Page 44 of To Dwell in Shadows (Shadows of Aurelia #2)

S elene held up her arms as the spirits pressed in around her, pushing and shoving to get in front of her, each one trying to be heard, eager to relay their message into her ears. Although she could make out individual faces before, now the spirits blurred together.

“Step back,” Selene said weakly. The shadows that carried her words to the spirits were faint. “Give me a moment… ”

She dropped her head, trying to breathe, but the spirits only pushed in closer. Cold fingers brushed against her body and tangled in her hair, pleading for attention. From the way her knees wobbled she knew she was close to curling up on the ground, just as Sam had done.

“Help,” she whispered.

She thought she could handle it, but she was wrong.

There were too many of them, and they were too desperate.

Eventually, she would have to be carried out by Vanthee as well, assuming she didn’t lose her mind first. Or perhaps she might suffocate, drowning above water since her air supply was choked off by spirits .

But then, she heard something that made her freeze. She lifted her head, trying to focus on the faint sound.

It was barking.

It was distant at first, but it gradually grew louder. She dismissed it as her imagination. A result of all the spirits trying to get their messages to her.

She caught the sound of another bark, followed by a high-pitched yip. Then a third, unmistakably like Zetta’s howl.

Suddenly, she felt a blast of heat, like a furnace flaring to life, and the horde of spirits surrounding her broke apart.

Selene’s legs gave way, her knees slamming painfully into the ground.

She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for what might come next.

Then something warm, wet, and gasoline-scented swiped across her cheek.

Gasping for breath, Selene opened her eyes to find Zetta sitting in front of her, tail thumping.

But she hadn’t come alone.

The hellhounds had arrived—all thirteen of them—and they were herding the spirits away from her like a pack of determined sheepdogs.

Some of the hounds were blasting burning red fire from their throats.

Most souls zoomed away down the maze’s corridors to escape; others pressed themselves into corners, watching the hounds fearfully.

Selene looped her arms around Zetta’s neck, hugging her with relief. “How did you know?” she asked into Zetta’s fur. The hellhound leaned into her, resting her great head on Selene’s shoulder.

Ahem, said a Drago floating above her. You said you would listen to our stories!

Selene leaned back and replied, “And so I will. But one at a time.” This time, the shadows easily zipped from her mouth to the spirit.

Meanwhile, a hellhound with streaks of gray in his coat was barking furiously at a trio of Nereid spirits huddled together.

Another dog, with eerie yellow eyes, stood on his hind legs, paws pressed against a wall to snap at a trembling Goblyn.

Seeing her pack so worked up seemed to excite Zetta, and she started zooming around the other dogs.

Selene watched her for a moment, then called, “Zetta, come!”

Instantly, all of Zetta’s counterparts froze. One by one, they turned toward Selene, then bounded toward her expectantly. She stared that them, dumbfounded for a moment. Until a slow smile spread across her face.

“Sit,” she said hesitantly.

Without hesitation, the hellhounds obeyed, settling onto their haunches in front of her.

Now that they were still, she studied each dog more closely.

Some had blood on their muzzles, and a few were favoring one paw.

It made her wonder how they had all escaped from the kennels.

Surely, they couldn’t have run all the way here…

could they? She had only spent time alone with Zetta, but now every single one of them was gazing at her with unwavering devotion.

Looking past the dogs, Selene saw the spirits of Sam’s victims still hovering, impatiently waiting for her to fulfill her promise. She looked back at Zetta and said, “I don’t know how to train you for this, but I need to see one spirit at a time.”

She held up a finger and repeated, “One at a time.” She pointed to the spirit, then to the dog. “Do you understand? One at a time.”

Zetta tilted her head with confusion, and Selene made a frustrated noise.

This is never going to work.

But before she could think about a plan B, the gray-streaked dog stood and trotted to the nearest spirit, a Sasquatch-shaped Vowa. With a gentle nudge of his nose, he guided the spirit forward, causing Selene to clap excitedly. “Yes! Good job!”

The gray dog seemed delighted by the praise. Selene continued, “Can you keep doing that? Bring me one spirit at a time.”

When the Vowa spirit floated hesitantly toward her, several others tried to follow. But the gray dog blocked them with a low growl. A few other tried to sneak around the Vowa, but the other dogs herded them back .

Without waiting for an invitation, the Vowa began to share his story. He told Selene how he had gotten into debt from a bad business deal. When a traveling wagon show came to town, he thought he could win some of his losses back by fighting a demon…

The other dogs, less interested in herding, closed in around her as the Vowa continued his story.

One hellhound rested its heavy chin on her thigh.

Another flopped down at her feet. Zetta curled up against Selene’s hip, as if supervising the gray hound’s efforts to usher the spirits to her, one by one.

And so, Selene remained there for many hours, surrounded by hellhounds, listening to the stories and carefully recording the names of each spirit Sam had killed.

When the last spirit told his story, the sky was growing orange with the light of morning.

Most of the hellhounds had fallen asleep, but Zetta and the gray-streaked one—whom Selene had nicknamed Smoky—remained as alert as ever, carefully watching the spirits and barking warnings whenever one ventured too close.

None of the stories were easy to hear. Most of the Aurelians Sam had killed were either those who had entangled themselves in vampire affairs and paid the price, or brash hooligans seeking notoriety by challenging a demon.

Each had died with regrets. Fractured families, wasted potential, and poor choices were a common thread among the stories.

Many demanded that Selene help them cross over the moment they finished their tale, while others simply vanished before her eyes.

Most only wanted messages of love conveyed to their families.

She had expected to see more vampires from the rampage Sam had unleashed to kill his captors, but since it was technically their second death, they must have transitioned immediately.

Slowly, she rose to her feet. Her back ached from sitting on the ground for so long, and her knees had grown stiff. The hellhounds began to stir too, yawning and extending their front paws to stretch their backs.

In her fragile mental state, she reflected that the divide between human and demon had never felt more stark.

Now that she had truly seen this part of Sam, she understood why he had always tried to hide it from her.

Although she was well acquainted with his tender side, his full demonic nature was formidable.

It hadn’t bothered her when she had seen him brutally slay vampires, but hearing how he killed those far less lethal was harder to reconcile.

When all the dogs were awake, Selene said wearily, “All right, pups. Let’s get out of here.

” She looked down a corridor that split into a fork, contemplating the best way to navigate out of the maze.

The thought of stumbling her way through, hitting multiple dead ends, and possibly retracing her steps made her already aching body throb.

As she considered which path to take, Smoky lifted his head to sniff the air.

Then he did a little twirl and began trotting with determination down a corridor.

The other hounds watched him for a moment before following—some barking with excitement, others jogging along dutifully.

Selene glanced down at Zetta, who met her gaze with a soft chuff, and together they took off behind the trail of hellhounds.

Either Smoky had the makings of a brilliant search-and-rescue dog, or he was exceptionally lucky, because the pack took only a few wrong turns before Selene could hear the caw of the death-ravens that lived in the surrounding forest. The scent of roasted meat filled the air, spurring the dogs to quicken their pace.

Selene watched them all burst through the maze’s exit just ahead.

Then she heard someone screech. Rushing out of the maze with Zetta, Selene spotted Vanthee scrambling up a nearby tree.

Below her, a small fire flickered weakly, practically stamped out by the hellhounds in their frantic attempts to get to the steaks she had been roasting.

“Vanthee, what are you doing here?” Selene asked hoarsely .

Vanthee gestured to the now extinguished fire. “Helping you get out. I saw that all the hounds were gone and I figured they were with you. I thought roasting meat would give Zetta a scent trail to follow.”

Selene slumped down on a fallen log. “That was a brilliant idea.”

“Are you all right?”

“Exhausted and slightly traumatized, but otherwise fine.” She gestured to the notebook. “I’ve got a lot of letters to write when we get back to Aurelia.”

“Did you really need this much backup?” Vanthee asked, watching the dogs scrabble over a hunk of fat.

Selene began to roll her stiff neck. “I don’t know, they just… came.”

“Did you call all of them?”

“No, not consciously. But they were a big help in there. What’s going on with Sam?”

“He’s all right. Blight met us at the gates on a horse and took him in. To his chamber, I assume.”

Vanthee passed her a full waterskin, and Selene drank it down gratefully.

“What happened in there?” Vanthee asked.

Selene described how the spirits had crowded her, then how the hounds came, and how she had listened to the stories each spirit had to tell.

She shared snippets of a few memorable ones, and Vanthee listened attentively.

But some of the questions, and the confusion behind them, reminded Selene that Vanthee had never left the Underworld.

She couldn’t fully grasp the joys and sorrows of mortal life the way Selene could.

They both sat in silence for a few moments, watching the dogs. Then Vanthee asked, “Now that the trials are over, what do you think will happen next?”

“Sam has to convince his parents that you should be the Dark Sovereign.” Selene poured some water into her hand to splash her face .

“But what if they don’t believe him?” There was a hint of vulnerability in her tone.

“They don’t have a choice,” Selene said, stifling a yawn.

Vanthee blinked. “Of course they do. Why would you say that?”

Selene gave her a long look. “It’s your destiny. Come to the library tomorrow, and I’ll show you why.”