Seven Kinds of Hell by Dana Cameron Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Dana Cameron
thought.
Maybe this is where I finally unspool. This is where the world goes crazy and I wake up in the rubber room.
“Zoe,” the wolf-man said, and my ears pricked up.
He reeked of Beastliness and he could speak. Holy shit, he knew my
name.
“Zoe, there’s no need to worry. We just want to talk to you. You can trust us.”
I shook my wolfy head.
“You need to know what you are.” He nodded to another figure behind me. I turned to see the fifth, a human man, emerging fromthe tree line, removing a glove carefully as he negotiated his way around the headstones. “Download, if you’d be so kind?”
“This won’t hurt a bit.” Before I could move, the man put his hand on the back of my neck. That’s when the movie started.
As I stared, frozen, images played out in front of me. No sound, no words, but impressions accompanied them.
A variety of artifacts from around the world with transformed humans, wolf, or snake imagery seemed to suggest the long history of these creatures among humans. Some of them I recognized, like the Egyptian god Anubis, the caduceus of Asklepios, Hindi nagas, ouroboros, the Norse image of Fenrir. Other images were totally unfamiliar to me. But the one common theme was images of monsters—wolves, giant snakes, and every shape in between—attacking humans.
No, not simply attacking. Making the world better. Tracking and killing murderers, rapists, evildoers. But the viciousness of it all—
It was too much. I shook off his hand, backed away. They were exactly what my mother had warned me about, but she’d never said anything about wolf-men.
“I know you’re confused, Zoe. You must trust us. What Download showed you, that’s just the merest surface.”
Trust was not in my vocabulary, or the Beast’s. I moved a few steps, then backed up, uncertain.
“Let us help you—”
The two behind me tensed, ready to fight.
I bunched, ready to leap over them. I was drenched, my clothes and fur were matted down. There was no way I’d get away. At least I’d given Sean a chance.
The snake-man went on point; the others followed him, sniffing at the air.
I sniffed, too. I recognized the smell without being able to identify it, until I remembered the night at the cinema. I felt ill.Something
wicked
was out there and I had the insane urge to do something about it. Fix it, make it right.
One of the wolves howled, making me shiver. The two wolves and the wolf-man tore off away from me, but also away from Sean.
I had the worst urge to go with them. If it hadn’t been for the cookie tin, and my need to guard it, I’m sure the Beast would have carried me off with them. I wanted to run, chase whatever they were after, and be there for the kill—
If the snake-man hadn’t spat just then, breaking the thought, I would have gone.
He hissed. “You’re becoming a problem, stray.”
With that, he melted into the rain and mist, following the others, making no sound at all.
Goddamn.
I stood, confused, angry, and thwarted. I waited a few minutes to make sure they were really gone, then resumed my human form. It was one of the easy times; I was so tired, it just sort of happened.
I found my shoes, put them on, and headed for the car. I hoped Sean was still there.
Every kid dreams they have a secret family, I thought as I trudged across the wet gravel pathways. It was just my shitty luck that I actually had a secret family full of threatening, dickhead monsters.
Chapter 4
Sean was in the car. He had it turned on and was ready to tear out as soon as I appeared. I was glad for the heater; the spring rain was freezing and I was soaked.
“What about those guys? Who were they?”
I thought about the one with the Harley T-shirt, the one who’d shown up in Salem and then Boston. “I didn’t get any names. But definitely my father’s people.” I shuddered. “I was mostly running. Not a lot of talking.”
We drove until we found a coffee shop, but then sat in the parking lot. I wasn’t
Maybe this is where I finally unspool. This is where the world goes crazy and I wake up in the rubber room.
“Zoe,” the wolf-man said, and my ears pricked up.
He reeked of Beastliness and he could speak. Holy shit, he knew my
name.
“Zoe, there’s no need to worry. We just want to talk to you. You can trust us.”
I shook my wolfy head.
“You need to know what you are.” He nodded to another figure behind me. I turned to see the fifth, a human man, emerging fromthe tree line, removing a glove carefully as he negotiated his way around the headstones. “Download, if you’d be so kind?”
“This won’t hurt a bit.” Before I could move, the man put his hand on the back of my neck. That’s when the movie started.
As I stared, frozen, images played out in front of me. No sound, no words, but impressions accompanied them.
A variety of artifacts from around the world with transformed humans, wolf, or snake imagery seemed to suggest the long history of these creatures among humans. Some of them I recognized, like the Egyptian god Anubis, the caduceus of Asklepios, Hindi nagas, ouroboros, the Norse image of Fenrir. Other images were totally unfamiliar to me. But the one common theme was images of monsters—wolves, giant snakes, and every shape in between—attacking humans.
No, not simply attacking. Making the world better. Tracking and killing murderers, rapists, evildoers. But the viciousness of it all—
It was too much. I shook off his hand, backed away. They were exactly what my mother had warned me about, but she’d never said anything about wolf-men.
“I know you’re confused, Zoe. You must trust us. What Download showed you, that’s just the merest surface.”
Trust was not in my vocabulary, or the Beast’s. I moved a few steps, then backed up, uncertain.
“Let us help you—”
The two behind me tensed, ready to fight.
I bunched, ready to leap over them. I was drenched, my clothes and fur were matted down. There was no way I’d get away. At least I’d given Sean a chance.
The snake-man went on point; the others followed him, sniffing at the air.
I sniffed, too. I recognized the smell without being able to identify it, until I remembered the night at the cinema. I felt ill.Something
wicked
was out there and I had the insane urge to do something about it. Fix it, make it right.
One of the wolves howled, making me shiver. The two wolves and the wolf-man tore off away from me, but also away from Sean.
I had the worst urge to go with them. If it hadn’t been for the cookie tin, and my need to guard it, I’m sure the Beast would have carried me off with them. I wanted to run, chase whatever they were after, and be there for the kill—
If the snake-man hadn’t spat just then, breaking the thought, I would have gone.
He hissed. “You’re becoming a problem, stray.”
With that, he melted into the rain and mist, following the others, making no sound at all.
Goddamn.
I stood, confused, angry, and thwarted. I waited a few minutes to make sure they were really gone, then resumed my human form. It was one of the easy times; I was so tired, it just sort of happened.
I found my shoes, put them on, and headed for the car. I hoped Sean was still there.
Every kid dreams they have a secret family, I thought as I trudged across the wet gravel pathways. It was just my shitty luck that I actually had a secret family full of threatening, dickhead monsters.
Chapter 4
Sean was in the car. He had it turned on and was ready to tear out as soon as I appeared. I was glad for the heater; the spring rain was freezing and I was soaked.
“What about those guys? Who were they?”
I thought about the one with the Harley T-shirt, the one who’d shown up in Salem and then Boston. “I didn’t get any names. But definitely my father’s people.” I shuddered. “I was mostly running. Not a lot of talking.”
We drove until we found a coffee shop, but then sat in the parking lot. I wasn’t