Hellhound Born (Kasadya #3) by Karen Swart Page A

spun around, searching for the jerk.
    “Go born , it’s the only way!” Chax replied. I froze.
    What? He’s joking, right?
    I tried to find Chax in the chaos around me, but it was difficult. Pain shot through my back and I cried out.
    “Now Kasadya!” Chax yelled again, but he didn’t need to.
    My vision was already red. Unlike the first time, I didn’t disappear into the born form. It was like we were there together. She had no voice, but I could feel her. She turned her red vision on the field, searching for our attacker.
     
    Moving around in front of us was what looked like a heat wave. And it was in the shape of a man.
      Gotcha!
    I stormed forward and started my assault, swords glided through the air meeting his. With no warning, my hellhound swung out and jabbed one of my wings into his body.  He lost whatever charm he had to stay invisible. She stood up and pulled him from the ground, his feet dangling and the sharp bone of my wing lodged in his shoulder. She brought him face to face with us and roared at him. He was scared, his eyes bulging.
    Hi there! Meet my kick ass hellhound born you ass!
    We punched together, our fist hitting his torso with immense force. The sound of ribs cracking, rewarded us.
     
    He flew back, landing with a thud. He scurried around, desperate to get away from us. We stepped closer. He started to scream for help from some demons nearby who were fighting with a few Fallen. They took one look at me and started shifting out. They must have known that he was so toast. Abandoning him was their only option. He turned around and glared at me.
    “Mercy, Hellhound,” he pleaded.
    I started laughing, but it sounded deeper, more evil. I stopped a foot from him and looked down at his simpering face.
    “You’re going to die today. And I am sending all of you a message,” I said as I sneered at him.
    With two precise moves, his head was cut clean off, sliding to the ground with a sickening thud. I looked up and saw the Fallen looking at me; my eyes searched the crowd until I found him.
     
    The entire time I could feel him too. I heard him talking to me, encouraging me, telling me to be careful. Chax stood there, bloodied but alive, and smiled at me.
    “I-” I was about to say something, but then wham!
    Something slammed into me, nearly knocking me off of my feet. The feeling was familiar, bringing memories of the cave and Ira to the forefront of my mind. But this hurt way worse. I roared and fell to the ground, trying to get them out of me.
    “Michael!” I heard Chax scream, but my own scream of agony burst from my mouth. 
    I was freaking dying !
    My body shook, the ground following the motion. I heard someone curse and a fight going on somewhere in the distance.
     
    Another bolt shot threw me and I arched my back, trying to relieve the pain that assaulted my body. A burning sensation was spreading up from my feet towards my head, making everything worse. In desperation, I cried out “Chax hel…”
    The next bolt was so strong that the moment it hit me darkness claimed me. I drifted off into a dark world filled with nothing, and for once I was pleased. The pain was gone and I could breathe again. But it also brought the loneliness with it. The void was always empty, with nothing inside it but me.
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    The moment I cracked open my eyes I wanted to kick myself. The pain was overwhelming. With a groan, I rubbed at them, desperate to wipe the pain away.
    “Kasadya?” I heard Chax say next to me.
    “What happened?” I croaked out, my throat on fire.
    “You defeated Avaritia and received divinity,” he replied.
    I could feel his hands slide behind my back before he pushed me upwards. My body felt like a truck had taken a test drive over it, eliciting a groan from deep inside my chest.
    “Here, you will be thirsty.” Chax said.
    I reached out and tried to open my eyes again to see what he was offering. Squinting them, I could see a huge jug.
    To hell with what