Iron and Magic (The Iron Covenant #1)(72)

“Deidre,” Elara said, her voice calm. “Crawl toward me. Do it very slowly.”

The girl swallowed. Slowly, ever so slowly, she shifted onto her hands and knees. Elara took a slow gliding step sideways toward the bed and the gun.

The beast watched her, Lisa’s blood dripping from its mouth. It licked its fangs, running its tongue on the shreds of human flesh stuck between its teeth. Outside the dogs snarled in a frenzy.

Deidre crawled to her. An inch. Another inch.

Another.

Elara took another step.

Ten feet between them.

Nine. Deidre was almost at the edge of the bed.

Eight.

The creature leaned forward, lowering Lisa to the floor, its gaze locked on them. Elara held her hand up, palm toward Deidre.

They froze.

The monster stared at them.

Elara took short shallow breaths.

A moment passed, long and slow like cold molasses.

Another…

The creature dipped its head and bit Lisa’s neck.

“Deidre, when I say run, I want you to jump off the bed, run outside, and scream as loud as you can. Scream and keep running. Don’t stop. Do you understand?”

The child nodded.

Elara shifted her weight onto her toes.

The beast tore another shred of flesh from Lisa’s throat, exposing more of the broken vertebrae. She’d make it pay. Yes, she would.

Deidre perched at the very edge of the bed.

Now. “Run!”

Deidre jumped off the bed and dashed to the door. Elara lunged forward and grabbed the shotgun.

A piercing, desperate scream tore through the castle. “Hugh! Hugh!”

The beast sprang at her. There was no time to aim, so she drove the butt of the gun into its face. The creature reeled. She pumped the shotgun and squeezed the trigger. The shotgun barked. Pellets tore into the beast’s face, knocking it back.

Elara sprinted to the hallway, slammed the door shut, and threw herself against it, back to the wood. She had to buy time.

The beast let out a screech behind her. It lashed her senses, whipping her into a frenzy.

“Hugh!” The terror-soaked shriek sounded further away. Run, Deidre. Run.

The beast slammed into the door from the other side. The impact shook it like the blow of a giant hammer. Elara’s feet slid. She dug her heels in.

The door shuddered again, nearly throwing her. It would break through on its third try.

She leaped aside and pumped the shotgun.

The door flew open, the creature tumbling out all the way to the other wall of the hallway. Elara jerked the shotgun up and fired.

Boom!

The blast tore through the beast. Blood spatter landed on her face. The monster surged upright, its face a mess of bloody tissues, its left eye leaking onto its cheek.

Pump. Boom!

The creature jerked back, then lunged at her.

Pump. Nothing.

Elara flipped the shotgun, brandishing it like a club.

Hugh came around the corner, running at full speed and plowed into the beast, knocking it off balance. As the monster came back up, Hugh grabbed it, twisting it around to face her, muscling it, his face savage, and caught its throat in the bend of his elbow. His forearm pressed against the beast’s neck. It kicked, jerking and flailing, claws ripping the air only a foot from her face as it struggled to break free, and for a second, she didn’t know if Hugh could hold it.

Hugh caught the creature’s head with his left hand. The powerful muscles of his arms flexed, crushing. Bones crunched. The beast’s head lolled. It went limp.

Relief flooded her. She lowered the shotgun.

Hugh dropped the beast like a piece of trash and turned to her.

“Hurt?”

“No.”

“Others?”

She made her mouth move. “I only saw one.”

Deidre ran to them and wrapped herself around her, trembling uncontrollably.

“It’s okay,” Elara cooed. “It’s okay. Safe now. It will all be okay.”

“What if it comes back?” the little girl whispered.

“If it comes back, Hugh will kill it. That’s what he does. He protects us. It will be okay.”

Hugh gave her an odd look, but she was too tired to care. Exhaustion mugged her like a wet blanket, smothering her thoughts. The danger had passed. Hugh’s sentries had failed, and he would take it personally, which meant not even a fly would make it into the castle for the rest of the night. And, knowing Hugh, probably for the rest of all nights.

Lisa was dead. Lovely, kind Lisa.

She was so tired.

Iron Dogs, hounds, and a couple of her people charged up the stairs, pounding into the hallway. The dogs tore at the corpse.

Hugh grinned at her, showing even white teeth. “You were right. There were fifteen.”

She didn’t have any witty comebacks. She put her arm around Deidre and walked toward the stairway, heading for her room.





The door to Elara’s bedroom stood wide open. Serana stood on the side, guarding. She snapped to attention as he passed.

Hugh stalked through the doorway. Elara lay on the bed, fully clothed, her eyes closed. Her breathing was even.

Asleep.

An assault rifle lay on the night table, within her reach. She’d washed the blood from her face, but small red drops peppered her dress. The child curled next to her, asleep.