PROLOGUE:
Libo-libo ang bilang ng mga bully sa ating bansa, hindi lamang sa loob ng ating bansa kundi maging sa iba pang dako ng mundo. Kung gaano kadami ang bilang ng mga bully sa mundo, higit sa bilang nila ang mga taong binubully, maaaring doble, triple, at ang higit na masakit sa lahat ay maaaring higit pa dito ang bilang nila. Hindi madali ang lumaki bilang isang batang binubully ng kapwa bata nito, kung minsan, higit na matanda pa sa iyo ang nambubully sayo, hindi rin natin maiiwasan na bata pa saatin ang gagawa nito saatin. Napakaraming negatibong epekto ang hatid saatin ng bullying. Ilan nalamang dito ay ang low self-esteem, discouragement, loneliness, school dropouts, ang ang pinaka malala, suicide o death.
Isa ka ba sa kanila? Mahilig maglaro ng mga tao, mahilig pagkatuwaan ang damdamin ng iba at gamitin bilang pampalipas oras lamang? Ngunit, papaano kung ang taong napili ninyo na maging isang laruan ay hindi pala basta basta? Ano ang gagawin nyo?
~~Apollo~~
Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
*****
Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
[[Winner of the 2018 Wattys "Hidden Gems" category]]
[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]