CHAPTER 144

She blew on the tarot card and it hovered in the air. She put the phone on top and then summoned tiny little ice clamps to hold it in place. Mike pushed the start button and watched as the card and his phone zipped away into the woods. He wondered if insurance would cover loss in the Underworld, but figured he would just order another one. Hopefully Quetzalli hadn't fried out his computer since he left, because that's where the most recent backup of his phone was.

The sniffing came closer, and the blazing eyes of the Cerberus twinkled in the mist like stars. It was coming closer, and he and Yuki hid behind the trees to buy themselves a few more seconds.

The distant tones of his alarm echoed through the mist, and Cerberus charged toward it, kicking up dirt and leaves that splashed against the trees they were hiding behind. They both waited until it was some distance away, and then broke into a run.

What started as a jog soon turned into a sprint, and he was surprised how easy it was to breathe. Yuki turned into a fox and ran by his side, her tails twirling about as if they propelled her. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the growling of Cerberus, followed by the snapping of teeth.

The phone went silent.

The sensation of home was even closer now, and the trees seemed to be spreading apart. However, the sound of heavy paws behind them grew louder, and he took a look over his shoulder to see a pair of eyes glowing in the mist. Cerberus was on their trail once more, and it was going to be a race to the finish.

Yuki started zigzagging behind him, leaving a frosty trail that sprouted into low ice walls punctuated with spikes. He heard Cerberus crash into them and roar, which caused him to grit his teeth. The damn thing was fast, and he suspected that his luck was about to run out.

His heart pounded in his chest, fueled by terror. He realized now that the sound of paws was no longer behind them, but off to the side. It occurred to him that they were primarily running a straight line, and it looked like Cerberus had caught on.

Glowing eyes appeared in the mist to his left, and a giant ball of fire formed beneath them. Unable to dodge, he dropped and slid. A jet of fire carved its way through the trees where his head had been, and he managed to stumble back to his feet in time to leap forward and dodge another blast.

Yuki formed a massive ice wall between him and Cerberus. Another blast of fire melted a clean hole through it, and was followed by a thick, shaggy head. Massive teeth were the only thing Mike's brain processed, and he bolted forward.

Cerberus roared and crashed through the ice wall, sending chunks of it everywhere. A large piece caught Mike in the small of his back, and he let out a gasp of pain before falling to the ground. He rolled to his feet, and suddenly Yuki appeared between him and Cerberus.

"Go!" She shouted, then fanned out her tarot cards with one hand and summoned up a volley of ice. All three heads were now focused on her, and their jaws opened wide to reveal fire that swirled and danced among their teeth.

Mike tackled her from behind, causing the concentrated fire blasts to tear the forest apart above them. Her ice magic spiraled outward, sending icicles in every direction, and her tarot cards fluttered about like falling leaves. The smell of burning hair filled the air, and when he rolled off of her, he saw that a giant chunk of her hair had been melted away.

Cerberus was on top of them now, and the center head opened wide above them.

Mike screamed in anger, and the banshee's cry caused the Cerberus to back up in confusion and whimper. It pawed at multiple sets of ears, then shook its head and stumbled about.

Yuki held her own ears as he screamed again, but the effect had already diminished. Cerberus charged forward and head butted both of them, knocking them away from each other. Mike fought to clear the branches and leaves from his face and was shocked to see three very angry heads above him.

As he opened his mouth to scream once more, a heavy paw pinned him in place, and he let out a high pitched squeal instead. Unable to breathe, he turned his face away from the sharp claws in front of him, and saw Yuki struggling to her feet. She was searching the ground, her hands frantically overturning leaves.

"Keep running," he gasped, then tried to push himself free. The Cerberus was crushing him, and his mind went to everybody at the house, flipping between each of them and then finally settling on Cecilia.

She wasn't even going to be there to help him cross over. Angry, he continued to fight, but all he could smell was sulfur and dog breath.

Daisy fluttered out of his collar and danced around, trying to distract the heads. With a snort, Cerberus blew the fairy away, and she tumbled into the leaves.

A large icicle slammed into the head on the left, and then a volley of razor sharp swords crossed the muzzle of the head in the middle. The head on the left opened its jaws wide and fired a jet of flame in Yuki's direction, and she dove to the side and threw a handful of tarot cards at Cerberus.

In the explosion of magic that ensued, Mike closed his eyes and looked away from the torrent of wind, fire, earth and rain that cascaded down around him. He felt a jolt like an electric shock, and the massive weight on his chest diminished, but didn't leave. A storm formed, and over the howling of the forest, he wrapped his arms around Cerberus' paw and tried to push it off of him.