Free The Fallen 4 by Thomas E. Sniegoski Page B

like this. His fur was so short that it was practically nonexistent. As Gabriel crept closer, he wondered if the dog had any fur at all. That was when he noticed that the animal’s eyes didn’t move as he approached.
    Gabriel’s hackles suddenly rose. Something wasn’t right.
    Then he caught sight of something long and thick attached to the dog’s back end, thicker than a tail, and trailing down into the dirt behind him.
    Gabriel growled and slowly backed away from the strange dog. The dark flesh around Gabriel’s muzzle peeled back to reveal ferocious teeth, ready to rip and tear if necessary.
    But still the other dog did not react, and Gabriel began to wonder if this was a dog at all.
    Just as that doubt entered his mind, the ground beneath his paws began to tremble. Something huge and stinking of rot and death erupted from beneath the dirt and leaves.
    Something that tried to eat Gabriel in one big bite.
    Gabriel barked wildly, just barely avoiding the snap of massive jaws.
    It wasn’t a dog at all that he had tried to befriend, but some strange type of dog-shaped lure that grew out of the top of a monster’s head. Gabriel found it amazing that the false dog, the lure, was somehow able to mimic the smell of another dog. The monster itself sort of resembled the toads that Gabriel used to find on his walks with Aaron through the woods back in Lynn. Only, this one was much bigger and uglier, and was now crawling from its hole to attack again.
    Gabriel turned to dart beneath the bushes and return to the school and the protection of Lorelei’s magickal barriers.
    But the toad-thing had other ideas.
    Even though Gabriel was fast, the monster was quicker. Something hard dropped from the air, striking the Lab’s back, pushing him to the ground. Flailing in the dirt, Gabriel caught a glimpse of the doglike protrusion, now nothing more than a fleshy mass, being drawn back on its thick, muscular stalk.
    Gabriel climbed to his feet again, but the toad would have none of it, whipping him again with the fleshy appendage. Gabriel lay there, cowering as the toad-thing dragged its body closer.
    Then anger replaced fear as Gabriel realized he had no oneto blame but himself. Aaron had warned him about going outside Lorelei’s magickal barrier, but the Lab had let his excitement get the better of him.
    And now he was going to pay the price for his stupidity.
    He would end up in the belly of this beast, and Aaron would never know what had happened to him.
    Gabriel could smell the horrible stink of the monster’s flesh and hear the hiss of its labored breath, the rapid-fire beating of its heart as it propelled its lumpy body at him, mouth agape to engulf him. Gabriel jumped to his feet, but he couldn’t evade the attack.
    The toad bit down on Gabriel, drawing the dog into its enormous mouth. It tossed back its misshapen head in an attempt to swallow him down, but Gabriel was not in the mood to be eaten this day.
    Heavenly fire suddenly coursed through his body. Gabriel was burning. Inside the monster’s mouth he was burning away the darkness of the beast.
    Unable to contain the holy fire, the toad expelled the dog in a stream of sizzling digestive juices, roaring its displeasure. It brought its whiplike appendage down upon its enemy once more in an attempt to extinguish the divine flames.
    But Gabriel would have none of it. The fire now gave him the strength to fight back. He attacked the thick, muscular tendril and tore away the fleshy hunting lure.
    The toad cried out in sudden pain, rearing its grotesque mass away in an attempt to flee. But Gabriel could not letthis horrible thing continue to live and feed upon some other unsuspecting dog or person.
    Gabriel sprang at the monster, his body leaving a burning trail of brush behind him. He sank his teeth into the beast’s accursed flesh. The taste was horrible, which made his fury all the more intense, and he bit and tore and ripped away huge pieces of the toad, filling his mouth