Free Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink Page B

we escape the Hounds? How do we beat them?”
    He sighs. “I’ve never encountered them myself, but I have heard stories. I suppose that is all we have to go on.” He pauses before continuing. “They are bigger and stronger than anywolf in our world, you can be sure of that. Even so, they do occupy a living body, and that body is vulnerable to death just like any other. It takes more to kill one of the Hounds than it would take to kill something found in our world, but it can be done. The thing is…” He rubs the stubble that has sprouted on his cheeks in recent days. I hear it scratch the flat of his palm.
    “Yes? What is it?”
    “We don’t know how many of them there are. If they travel in a large pack, well… we only have one rifle. I’m a good enough shot, but I’d rather not bet on me against a whole pack of demon hounds. I’d prefer to bet on another weakness.”
    “What sort of weakness?”
    He looks around as if afraid to be overheard, though I cannot imagine who would be about other than those in our party. When he speaks, it is with a lowered voice. “I’ve heard it said that there is one thing in particular that gives the Hounds pause.”
    I remember Edmund’s words just before we crossed the river:
If they are what I think they are, we should pray for the deepest body of water we can find.
    I meet his eyes as realization dawns. “Water. They are afraid of water.”
    He nods. “That’s right. Well, I believe it is, though I’m not sure
afraid
is the right word. I’m not sure the Hounds are truly afraid of anything, but it is said that deep, swiftly moving water gives them pause. It is the death they most fear, and I have heard it said that when confronted with a dangerousbody of water, they are more likely to turn heel than to give chase.”
    Death by drowning
, I think before remembering something else.
    “But can they not shift into another form, say… a fish or a bird or something else that can better navigate the water? At least until they are out of harm?” It was Madame Berrier in New York who informed me of the Souls’ ability to change shape. I have not been able to look at a crowd in the same way since.
    Edmund shakes his head. “The Hounds, unlike those Souls who shift from shape to shape, live and die in their form. They are honored to sacrifice themselves to such a role, for there is only one appointment more coveted than that of the Hounds.”
    “Which appointment is that?”
    Edmund reaches into his pocket for an old apple to feed the great gray horse. “Assignment to the Guard, Samael’s personal contingent of Souls in the physical world. The Hounds secure only this in-between place on the way to Altus while the members of the Guard walk freely among our people and can shift at will in order to do Samael’s bidding in our world. Though you should fear any Soul in human form, those of the Guard should be feared above all others. They are carefully chosen for their viciousness.”
    “But how will I know them? I already distrust any stranger, any animal, even, for fear it is one of the Souls in disguise. How am I to watch even more carefully for members of the Guard?” I can hardly fathom this new fear, this new threat.
    “They have a mark. One that is present when they are in any human form.” He studies the ground, avoiding my eyes.
    “What kind of mark?”
    He waves in the direction of my wrist though it is covered by the sleeve of my jacket. “A snake, like yours. Around their neck.”
    We stand in the darkness, each lost in our own thoughts. I have stopped petting the horse, and he nuzzles my hand to remind me of his presence. I stroke his face, trying not to picture something as horrifying as a particularly cruel legion of Souls with the hated mark branding them about their necks.
    “How much time do you think we have?” I finally ask, turning my attention back to the Hounds.
    “We rode hard today. Hard and fast. I tried to keep us on course for Altus while