Chapter 7

RILEY

The faint, rough warmth of something wet dragged across my arm, pulling me from a deep, pain filled sleep. I blinked against the darkness, my whole body tightening as I prepared for the worst. Had they found me? My pulse quickened, but then I saw it—a small figure close to me, a brown shape in the dim light. A dog. My mind pieced together its name from fractured memories. Scout. That was what the human had called it.

“Hey, you,” I whispered, my fingers slipping into its warm, thick fur. The dog’s eyes gleamed back at me, the only comforting glow in this hollow basement.

“How did you get in here?” I asked, voice barely above a rasp. I tried to lean forward, but the chain around my neck tugged sharply, the silver biting harder into my raw skin. I winced as I felt a fresh slice of pain, then the telltale trickle of blood. It seeped slowly, a crimson line over my skin, the scent was sharp and metallic in my nose, even as faint as it was.

It wouldn’t be long now. The poison would wo