Guardian of Atlantis (The Children of Atlantis) by Annie Rachel Cole Page B

drew Raven’s attention away from the key.
    “What did you do to me?” Jay rolled over onto her back.
    Raven kicked his foot.
    Jay yelped in pain.
    “That’s what you get for messing with me. Next time it’ll be worse.” She hoped she sounded tough. She kicked his foot again.
    Jay yelped again and tried moving away but his movements only caused an eruption of groans from him.
    Raven hurt, but Jay acted like he was dying. She watched his face change colors with each movement he made and wondered how he had been thrown there. She really didn’t want to stick around to find out either, especially with him being a really big Hellhound who wanted her dead.
    She spotted her book bag on the other side of Jay. Watching him carefully, she stepped around him and picked up it up. She chewed her bottom lip. Raven thought about the things she needed to do. Finding a safe place was definitely priority, but where was the question. Who could she trust? And she had to find her mom. At that moment her dad’s journals weren’t exactly a priority. She slipped the key into her pocket.
    Lost in her thoughts, Raven forgot about Jay until his growls filled the kitchen.
    Self-preservation kicked in. Raven moved away, from Jay, but not fast enough. A huge hand wrapped around her right ankle, claws slowly em erged from the fingertips. She jerked her foot, but Jay’s grasp only tightened.
    “You’re not getting away from me that easily,” he growled. He yanked her leg o ut from under her, sending her crashing to the floor.
    Still hurting from her trip through the wall, Raven laid on her back stunned and gasping for air.
    Jay climbed out of the rubble, shaking the bits of food and broken glass off of his huge frame.
    Raven’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. She rolled over to h er stomach, desperately scooted away from him as fast as she could.
    “Come back here!” Jay grabbed her foot and pulled her back toward him.
    Raven screamed.              
    Jay’s sharp claws sliced through her jeans, straight into her flesh. He flipped her over onto her back. “I’ll enjoy watching life leave your eyes as I squeeze your scrawny neck.” He laughed. “Poor, stupid Ethan. What was he thinking, claiming a pathetic little human like you? Your death will destroy him. The pack’s mine. Ethan’s so dead. He’s too soft. Too worried about harming humans. You can’t worry about weak, pathetic humans and lead the pack.” His eyes gleamed with anticipation.
    Fear fueled by anger surged through Raven’s muscles. She kicked at Jay’s hand with all the strength she could muster. The first kick didn’t do anything. The second kick only made Jay tighten his grip, digging his claws deeper into her calf muscle.
    He laughed.
    Something snapped in Raven. She aimed her next kick at his face. Her boot made contact. Raven heard a sickening crunch, but she ignored it, knowing it would be her downfall if she thought about what she was doing to him. She pulled her foot back. Blood poured from Jay’s nose.
    He howled with pain. “You little—”
    Raven kicked him in the face again, preventing him from finishing his sentence. “Don’t call me names!” she yelled. Another wave of anger surged through Raven fueling her strength.
    Growls spewed from Jay. He tightened his grip on Raven’s leg. His claws dug through her flesh and into the bone.
    Raven kicked again, aiming for Jay’s nose. “Let.” She kicked again. “Go.”
    Jay took another kick to the face.
    “Of.”
    Kick.
    “My.”
    Kick.
    “Leg.”
    The last kick loosened Jay’s grip, giving Raven the opportunity she needed. She pulled her leg out of his claws. Raven ignored the wave of raw fire shooting through her leg as she scrambled out of Jay’s reach and struggled to her feet.
    Jay cradled his injured face. “You’ll pay for this.” H e pushed himself up.
    Ignoring the pain and blood flowing out of her leg, Raven grabbed a large ceramic cookie jar from the kitchen