The Fire Wolves by Tim Lebbon

Author:Tim Lebbon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

CHAPTER 9

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Pompeii/Amalfi

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What a mess this was turning into.

Hellboy had already tried his phone, but the soaking had ruined it. He wanted to talk with Liz, get her take on things, and maybe ask Kate Corrigan to see if she could pull up some research on what he was dealing with here. She was an expert in European folklore and mysteries, and the fieldwork he’d persuaded her to undertake had made her indispensable. He could think of no precedent other than those fire dogs in Africa, certainly not in the cases he’d dealt with for the B.P.R.D. And those things had been . . . different. They’d sown destruction, but in an aimless, useless manner. This thing had purpose, and if Adamo was as involved as Hellboy suspected, then there was human influence behind these monstrous actions.

That was always when things turned bad. Drooling, roaring, tentacled things he could deal with. It was people who were often revealed as the greatest monsters.

He really needed to speak with the old demon hunter, but right now wasn’t the best time. Franca was shivering in the seat next to him, and if he started talking to the bone tied around his neck . . . well, they needed this ride. Last image he wanted to give out was crazy.

The little girl leaned forward and looked at him again, giggling behind her hands. Hellboy could not help chuckling, and that got the girl giggling again. Sweet little thing. Franca sat in the middle, and the girl had all but ignored the woman’s presence ever since they’d climbed into the vehicle. She only had eyes for Hellboy.

So did her parents. The father kept checking him out in the rearview mirror, offering a tentative half-smile that Hellboy knew so well. It said, You’re that famous one from America, but it also spoke of its owner’s previously-held doubts about whether he really existed. Well, now the guy knew. Hellboy smiled back.

The mother had turned around in the passenger seat, talking to Franca in rapid-fire Italian but spending more time looking at Hellboy. He’d done his best to put them all at ease when he’d climbed in after Franca, but they had their little girl to think of, and he could understand their caution. Good for them. You’ve got to look after what you love.

He hoped the guy hadn’t caught sight of the cannon in his holster as he’d climbed in. He doubted it; darkness hung heavy over these hills, and the roads were unlit.

Hellboy covered his face with his hands, then pulled them quickly away again. “Boo!” The girl squealed in delight, and Hellboy laughed softly.

The mother smiled at him, and he leaned back and closed his eyes.

There was a sense of urgency bearing down upon him, a pressure inside his skull that he could do little to relieve. Amalfi was maybe an hour away, and there was no way he could get there any faster. And all the while, the thought pressed home: The whole family is in danger.

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