Nephilim Rising
Angelic Hosts Series, Book 4, Episode 13, Part 2
The hounds of Hell…
The air grew thicker and hotter as Blanca walked, one foot in front of the other, through the abyss. With each step, her anxiety ramped up. ‘What have I done!’ she thought.
A whisper, just on the edge of her hearing, or was it from within, answered, “Fear not, for I am with you.’
Fear gripped her heart and tears stung her eyes. “What’s going on? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do?”
Thoughts of her mother, Diana, the few she could remember, ran through her mind. Memories of her singing and of her scent filled her along with happier times with her Tia Marta. The sound of her little brother’s laughter caused a lump of pain to lodge in her heart. To never hear that or see Berto again was more than she could bear. Last of all, blue-green eyes filled her memory, a remembrance of her last moments with Antonio, embraced in his strong arms, reveling in the passion of his kisses, in the promise of what could be. And now it was over, for she was certain that all that waited for her on the other side of this supernatural doorway was a violent and horrific death.
Ahead, sounds of shuffling along with low growls sent a chill up Blanca’s spine. She stopped, hesitating to take another step. Something slithered to her right and on her left, a sharp scratch down her arm brought a scream to her throat, one cut off by the fear that seized her heart. A screeching howl made her skin crawl. Something fell at her feet and began to disintegrate into a stinking pile of putrid flesh and bones. Whatever had scratched her arm now lay dead before her.
That was when she noticed the blackness all around had given way to a hellish landscape. Everything was on fire from the desolate vistas of rock to the sky above. Heat radiated in waves carrying a noxious smell of rot and death. The low growls she’d heard moments before grew louder as what appeared to be a pack of wild dogs closed in from all sides. But they weren’t like any dogs she’d ever seen before. These mongrels were solid black, with glowing red eyes, and were larger than grown men. They bared their teeth as they snarled and snapped, inching closer. The massive incisors were yellowed, and shaped to needle-sharp points. She looked beyond them searching for a rock shaped like the devil’s horns. It was far in the distance. No matter how fast she ran, she wouldn’t make it to safety.
Her mind went blank. Her mouth went dry, and everything began to move in slow motion. A memory revealed itself, that of the Reverend Darius Jones, her last foster parent, reciting a prayer.
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” she began.
The hell hounds drew closer, snarling and snapping. Blanca knew the end was near.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” She sniffed and whispered, “Please, God, be with me. I’m so scared.”
The hell hound in front of her lunged.
“Blanca, duck!” a voice behind her shouted.
Without thinking, she dropped down, covering her head with her hands and curling into a tight ball.
Someone jumped over her colliding midair with the first hell hound. A cacophony of growls, barks, and snarls ripped the thick, hot air. The battle was joined by six more massive black dogs all going for the kill. Blanca peeked through her fingers horrified to see Antonio fighting off the giant vicious dogs. Crazier still, theirs weren’t the only pairs of glowing red eyes. Antonio’s face had transformed just as she remembered from the night of the full blood moon before the big bird man carried him away. He fought with an animalistic ferocity punching and kicking the unrelenting hounds. One jumped on his back, and he pivoted, twisting around to body-slam the creature before picking it up over his head and throwing it into a burning pit of tar. He wrapped his arms around another and squeezed until he broke its back. The remaining four backed away, alternately whimpering and growling, unsure whether to continue the attack, for surely they recognized an alpha.
Antonio turned to her. “We have to go. Run back through. I’ll hold them off!”
She stood, looking from the shrinking vortex behind her to Antonio. “I won’t leave you!”
“Blanca, do as I say, please! We don’t have time for this.”
She hesitated, and then one of the hounds ran for her.
Alarmed, Antonio twisted, sprinting after it. Behind him, the last three gave chase moving in for the kill.
Blanca froze, terrified, as Antonio gained on the massive beast just as it began to leap for her. Arms reached out yanking the hound backwards. Antonio threw it over his head and kept running. He scooped Blanca up into his arms and ran for all he was worth through the black abyss. She screamed, frantically slapping his chest, trying to get away.
“No! Put me down! You’ll die! You’ll die!” Tears flooded her eyes and fear wrapped around her heart squeezing it like a vice and choking off her words. The thing inside Antonio, that she’d witnessed trying to take possession of him, would not survive the power of the key inside her. He’d risked his life to save hers and there was nothing she could do. It was already too late. She threw her arms around his neck and cried.
“I’m so sorry, Antonio. Please forgive me. I’m sorry. So sorry. You didn’t deserve this. You’re a good man and I—” The loud buzzing and hum inside the vortex grew to a fever pitch of sound pressing in on her like the weight of the world. Clinging to Antonio’s shoulder for dear life, her last thought was, ‘Please, God, no. Not Antonio. Save him!”
Then the world went black.
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