A Journey of Despair by Nicole Zoltack

Author:Nicole Zoltack [Zoltack, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-09-19T23:00:00+00:00

The night will come.

The hounds released.

Fear reviled

‘Til you’re deceased

Day will follow.

The hounds now sleep.

Hope reborn

‘Til you weep.

Evening now.

The hounds will feed.

Despair looms

‘Til you plead.

Plead and weep.

Weep and plead.

Fear and despair choke the hope

‘Til you’re deceased.

The song gives me the chills, but the guys both look at her as if she’s the most amazing person in the world.

I snort.

Vince half frowns at me.

Gavin rolls his eyes but then closes one.

A wink? And why the half frown?

Are they… acting?

“Are the hounds coming for us, Lily?” I ask. “I take it they’re Hellhounds.”

“Oh, no. It’s just a song I’ve heard others sing.”

“Demons.” I nod. “You know… I hear a few off pitch notes. Really high. Awkwardly high. Like something a dog would hear. A dog or maybe a Hellhound.”

Her smile falls. “Oh, no. Crystal. Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope.”

“What’s wrong?” Vince asks, staring at me longer than he does Lily.

“She’s been affected. She’s turning.”

“Into what?” Gavin asks. He steps away from me and toward Lily, but he keeps his hands at his side.

“Into a believer.” Lily begins to weep.

“Believer of what?” I ask dryly.

“You’ve touched it, haven’t you? The Hellpower?”

I swallow hard. “Y-Yes…”

“It’s starting to take over you.”

“The high-pitched notes…” I hadn’t made them up. I did hear them, and they hurt my ears. How could the guys have not heard them too?

“Weren’t from me.” She shakes her head so hard her long black, almost blue hair falling forward, covering her. “He uses it. To call them.”

“He who?” Vince moves around me.

“The one who…” She glances at Gavin’s face, but then her gaze drops to where he’d been wounded.

“What’s going on with Crystal?” Vince demands. He doesn’t sound concerned about me, though. He’s not looking at me, for one thing, and for another, his back is to me.

“If she can hear the calling of the Hellhounds, she’s… well, she’s becoming…”

“What?” the guys cry.

“An aswang,” she utters.

Gavin stares at me. “Her eyes do look bloodshot,” he mutters.

I bristle. “What in the world? Can’t you see that she’s trying to turn—“

“What’s an aswang?” Vince glares at me.

I grit my teeth. She’s turning them against me. Can’t they see that?

“Aswangs…” She hangs her head. “You don’t want to know.”

“Tell us,” Gavin demands. He moves slightly so he can see both her and me, but he’s looking at her like he sometimes would look at me, and he’s staring at me like he would a demon.

I try not to bristle, to not take it personally. But it does feel personal. You come after me or my friends, or try to come between us, and you’ll come to regret it.

My fire’s fighting to burst through, but I contain it. A part of me, a stupid part of me, is worried she might not be lying. Oh, I’m definitely not turning into this aswang thing, but maybe that creature does actually exist. I mean, I’ll know if I’m turning into a monster, right?

The beast notwithstanding, of course.

And the Hellpower notwithstanding too.

“Aswangs are female eaters of the dead who can transform into black boars.

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