Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
It took more time than she wanted, although it was not more than a few minutes, but she discovered four of the demons she had been taught to call Valk. In the hierarchy of demons, they were at the very top, reigning over the others and extremely difficult to kill. Most lesser demons never got in their way or dared to oppose them. Fortunately, there were very few of them, mostly because they were so powerful, Lilith likely feared them banding together against her. She had proven to be as paranoid as she was narcissistic and evil.
The four generals had positioned themselves at the four corners of the battlefield, readying themselves for a massive strike. To Safia’s dismay, they were seated astride hellhounds. Behind each one was a pack of the two-headed beasts.
She touched the mind of each of the generals, a very delicate entry. Their orders were to wait until the demons and vampires had killed as many of the farm’s defenders as possible and then release the hellhounds, driving them straight into the remaining men who were alive. In the narrow valley, few would live through that stampede.
Safia passed the orders along to Petru.
Stop them.
There was complete confidence that she would. Her stomach clenched. She took her gaze from the hellhounds to her right and once more looked at her husband. It defied all reasoning that he was even alive. There didn’t seem to be a place on his body that wasn’t torn and bloody, but it didn’t seem to matter. He appeared larger than life. Indestructible. Even as she watched, he literally tore out one heart, tossed it in the air and called down the lightning as he was driving his fist through another vampire’s chest while two others leapt on him.
She couldn’t watch Petru and do the task given to her. She took another deep breath, let go of doubt, dismissed Lilith’s generals and studied the hellhounds. Technically, they were creatures. They might be from the underworld and totally terrifying, but they were still animals. She was very, very good at connecting to all sorts of animals, even feral ones.
Very slowly and with great care, she stretched her mind toward the hellhound the general to her right was astride. It stood to reason that if the general chose that one to sit on, that hellhound controlled the pack. She found that some animals, particularly pack animals, often shared the ability to communicate.
Her touch as she entered the hellhound’s mind was extremely light. She flowed in cautiously, careful to keep her presence light so that her entrance was undetected and the animal’s hatred and the centuries of torture this animal had endured wouldn’t paralyze her empathic nature to the point she wouldn’t be able to function.
The hellhound had a ferocious temperament. Hundreds of years of being subjected to cruelty and pain had only added to its hatred of humans. It loathed demons even more. The beast despised the demon on its back but knew if it dared to throw him off, it would be subjected to months of a bullwhip biting into its flesh and even longer of starvation.
The general’s name was Bos, and the demon particularly enjoyed jabbing its spurred feet into the hellhound’s sides. The Valk were immune to any poison the hellhound salivated and took special delight in driving the animals to the brink of insanity with their cruelty.
When Safia had adjusted to the hellhound’s vicious nature, innate cruelty and eagerness to kill, she began to flow through its mind, spreading out until she encompassed the entire brain. She matched the rhythm of the snorting, pawing beast, its heartbeat, the way it continually sent out silent messages to the rest of the eager pack to hold back when they wanted to charge. This particular hellhound was powerful and held sway over the others. She hoped that would be the case with the ones the other generals had chosen to sit on.
She turned her attention to the hellhound on her left. That general was named Shock, and he seemed even worse than Bos. He was so eager to send the hellhounds smashing into the army in the valley, he continually raked at the hound he was astride with his spiked feet to keep him agitated.
Again, Safia took time to slowly enter the hellhound’s mind. She couldn’t assume that because she’d managed to ensnare one creature, she could gain control of another. This hellhound was so tense and frantic to charge, its mind in utter chaos, it was seeing red. She had to be extremely careful as she entered its brain. She couldn’t make the least wave. It took effort to bring calm and center the animal, to bring it under her control.
Hidden with the smallest pack of hellhounds, the demon who had managed to make his way deepest into the interior of the farm was named Rupert. He seemed in charge of everyone, including the other three Valk. He was the one receiving direct orders from Lilith and passing them on to the others. He was much more alert than either Shock or Bos.