The Forbidden Life of Alex Moore(32)

The hellhounds leapt over the railing and made themselves a front line for this new enemy. Lilly’s mouth was dry as she watched the men warily approach. They each carried a weighted machete just like Alex’s. As they passed the bloody circle where the hellhounds that had attacked last night had fallen, they slowed.
Finally, the three men stood in front of them. They eyed the hellhounds that defended Lilly and Alex with distrust. Who could blame them? Lilly glanced at Alex’s face. He knew these men and something twisted in her heart. If they attacked, which it looked like they intended to do, Alex would be forced to fight against his own again. It would hurt him, inside.
“What is this madness?” the man standing in the middle of the newcomers asked.
“Change, Jackson,” Alex answered darkly. “This madness is change.”
The man he’d called Jackson shifted his gaze from the hellhounds to Lilly and then to the hand Alex held clasped in his own. She saw something move in his eyes. Astonishment, mixed with rejection.

“A human female?” Jackson demanded.
Lilly might have laughed if not for the loud, shrieking bay that rushed them from all sides. The three men brought their weapons up, turning so they stood with backs in the center of the ring they’d made.#p#分页标题#e#
“Stay with me, Lilly,” Alex said. “Back to back, like they’re doing.”
She just had time to do as he instructed before the first hellhound broke from the trees. In seconds, more joined. A lot more. So many, she lost count. The sound of growls and breaking bone, of blood-curdling howls and pained screams filled the day. They fought without speaking. Lilly loaded and fired, but the hellhounds learned quickly that she could see them now and they dodged with greater speed and more respect.
Blue-Eyes and the five hellhounds that had followed him dove into the melee without hesitation. Blue-Eyes worked in tandem with Lilly, wounding the ferocious creatures, slowing them down enough for her to shoot.
The battle might have lasted for days or it might have ended in seconds. Lilly had no frame of reference. All of her attention was focused on the danger coming head on and her awareness of Alex behind her, still standing, still swinging. And then suddenly it was over.
Slain hellhounds covered the ground. The snow had become slushy and now it mixed with blood and gore, sharp with the stench of sulfur and brutality. Only one of the three men still stood. The others lay in mangled pieces beside the black corpses.
Shaking with the shock of so much violence, Lilly lowered her rifle and tried to catch her breath. Blue-Eyes and three of his mates gathered around her, and cautiously, she petted one, then another as they nudged forward for attention.
Jackson moved to Alex’s side and watched Lilly with the animals. His jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide.
“I don’t understand this,” he said.
From the corner of her eyes, Lilly saw agreement on Alex’s face. The turn of events didn’t make sense to him, either. Yet with each passing moment, Lilly sensed that Alex’s shock had waned and in its place was acceptance… tolerance…. hope.
“It confuses the hell out of me, too,” Alex said. “But it is what it is.”
Jackson made a sound of disbelief. “And what the fuck is that?”
“Evolution?” Alex offered, meeting Lilly’s eyes and smiling into them. “It’s the wave of the future, my friend.”
Jackson shook his head. “Your future, maybe. But not mine.” He looked down at the bloody mess around them and the eviscerated bodies of his comrades. Silently, he and Alex moved through the dead hellhounds, putting blades through hearts, removing heads. Finished, Jackson faced the hellhounds that had fought for Alex and Lilly.
They sat in row, ever watchful. It seemed they’d prepared themselves to face whatever might come next, even death. Lilly was moved by their courage. She believed they’d earned a right to live, but the two men facing them might not agree.
“What do you want to do with them?” Jackson asked, with a nod at the creatures.
“Let them live,” Alex said and Lilly wanted to cheer. “There are others still out there, waiting to attack. Maybe others that want to belong. Either way, we might need the backup, later.”
Jackson gave Alex a hard look. “It’s not natural. You know how cunning they can be. They’re playing a game and once your guard is down, they’ll turn on you.”
There was a very real chance that Jackson could be right. But Lilly didn’t believe it. She shifted her gaze to Alex.
“They’ve had plenty of chances to do their worst,” he said. “Now they need a chance to do their best.”