A Proper Hellhound

by Orlando A. Sanchez

  I looked over to where Ezra appeared to be staring. I saw the bustle of the deli in full swing, but nothing out of the ordinary.

  “You mean the dragons?” I asked. “The last one, Kragzimik, was mobilizing to do something. I just don’t know if we stopped him in time.”

  “Dragons rarely show you their hand or their agenda, but you can rest assured, they are watching you and Tristan.”

  “I don’t know if Peaches and I could’ve stood against a dragon trying to erase us,” I said quietly. “You didn’t see this thing, it was immense. I mean, it was—”

  Ezra just stared at me. “You were saying?”

  “Sorry. It’s just that I can’t get used to you being, you know…Death. Especially when you look” —I waved a hand up and down—“like this.”

  “If I showed you my true self, the bond with your hellhound would be the least of your problems. This shell allows your brain to remain functioning. Please go with Mori and get your pup started.”

  “It would be great if this could get sorted with one lesson.”

  “Let’s see how this one goes.” Ezra stood and motioned to Mori. “I have some pressing matters to attend to, but this shouldn’t be too difficult. Contact me if there are any complications.”

  “Pressing matters?” I asked. “Life and death?”

  “Has anyone ever called you humorous?” Ezra smiled at me and shook his head. “And meant it?”

  “Not particularly, but I have been called special.”

  “That, I can believe.” Ezra turned to Mori. “You may need to provide some assistance. They can mentally communicate, but it’s still rudimentary. The bond is relatively new.”

  “Understood, sir.” Mori nodded and stepped to the side as Ezra headed to the back of the deli.

  Mori turned to Peaches and crouched down. A few seconds later, she held his collar and my bracelet in her hand.

  “How did you?” I pointed at the collar in her hand, looked at my wrist, and over to Peaches, hoping he didn’t spontaneously enlarge. “I thought that couldn’t come off?”

  “That would make it impractical.” Mori placed the collar and my bracelet in her bag. “The limiter collar and bracelet are meant as temporary measures.”

  “Have you ever done a full immersion with a hellhound before?”

  “Once.” Her face darkened. “It didn’t end well. The bondmate—”

  “What happened?” I asked warily, disliking this idea more by the second. “To the bondmate, I mean.”

  “He wasn’t…ready.” Mori shuddered and quickly flashed a smile. “I’m sure you two will do just fine. I’ve never seen Ezra schedule a full immersion with a hellhound pup. You two must really be special.”

  “Or he’s trying to kill me.”

  “But you’re Kali’s chosen,” Mori said. “You can’t die.”

  “No, I can. I just don’t stay dead.”

  “That’s perfect.” Mori adjusted her holsters with a nod. “I can understand why he would have you do a full immersion. Let’s begin.”

  FOUR

  “THIS LESSON IS designed to test the outer limits of your bond.” Mori led us through a network of corridors and hallways behind the deli kitchen. It was beginning to feel like the Corridors of Chaos when she made a right turn into a short, dimly lit hallway.

  All of the surfaces of this hallway were covered in faintly glowing red runes. At the end of the hallway, I saw a black door. Every part of me wanted to run away from that door. The little voice in my head advised me that using this door was an immensely bad idea, which would result in extreme pain.

  I ignored it and kept moving forward. I heard Peaches whine and noticed he slowed his pace as Mori led us closer to the door.

 

 

  Angry red runes I couldn’t decipher covered the large black metal door. The energy signature washing over me had a distinct homicidal flavor. I’d encountered a few menacing doors. The Suicide Doors at the Sanctuary were still fresh in my mind. This door made the Suicide Doors feel warm and inviting. The runes flared a brighter red as we approached.

  “I’m guessing those runes mean ‘keep away’?” I said, keeping my distance.

  “Not exactly.” Mori walked up to the door and placed a hand on the surface. The runes shifted and arranged into a different pattern as the door unlocked. “Closer to ‘touch me and die a horrible, agonizing death.’”

  “That was my next guess.” I kept my distance and Peaches stayed next to me. “We’ll just wait out here, thanks.”

  Mori motioned for us to follow her. “Not possible. We need to go in to begin the full immersion.”

  I felt the energy race along my skin as we crossed beyond the doorway. Inside, I saw a large storage space. Metal shelves held all kinds of supplies for the deli. I looked around but didn’t see what I expected: an open area to conduct hellhound training classes.

  “Are you sure we’re in the right place? This seems a bit cramped, unless the first hellhound lesson is stocking shelves?”

  Mori looked down at her clipboard and motioned for us to stand in an oversized rune-filled circle located in the center of the storage area.

  The large runic circle covered most of the floor and rotated slowly around us as we stood in it. The black lines of the circle shifted from ebony to deep blue as it turned.

  “This can’t be right,” Mori answered, holding up a finger and looking at her clipboard. “There seems to be a miscalculation. Could you and your hellhound please wait here?”

  “Miscalculation?” A cold chill gripped me. No weapons, no mark, and no mala bracelet. This training was testing the outer limits of my patience. “What kind of miscalculation?”

  “I just need to calibrate the full immersion to accommodate both you and your hellhound. I’ll return shortly. For your safety, please remain in the room. The corridor outside can be dangerous. If you encounter anything out of the ordinary while I’m away, use the circle for protection.”

  “I’d rather use my weapons.”

  “The circle would be safer.”

  “How am I supposed to use the circle? I’m not a mage. I don’t do magic.”

  “You’re bonded to a hellhound. Together, you’re as dangerous as any mage.”

  “Why would we encounter anything out of the ordinary? This is just a hellhound full-immersion training lesson, right? What could go wrong?”

  As soon as I said the words, I realized just how out of the ordinary the situation was.

  “I’ll be right back,” Mori said, quickly heading out of the room. “Don’t leave the circle.”

  Mori walked out, leaving the door of death open. I looked down the hallway and saw the runes increase in intensity at set intervals. I grabbed a can from one of the shelves and stepped to the edge of the circle.

  When the runes on the floor in the corridor were at their brightest, I tossed the can into the hallway. It rolled for a few seconds, bursting into a cloud of ash before it reached the halfway point.

  “That’s not good,” I muttered to myself as Peaches sidled up to my leg with a nudge, nearly dislocating my hip.

 

 

 

  I looked down at him and pulled out my phone. No signal. I’d have to get to the front of the deli to make a call. This hellhound lesson felt wrong somehow.

  I stepped back from the door when the muffled sound of an explosion reached us. Dust floated down in front of my face as the lights in the hallway flickered and turned off, plunging the corridor into darkness.

  That’s when I heard the growl. It wasn’t Peaches, who had entered ‘shred and destroy’ stance next to me. A few seconds later, the lights flickered back to life. I wished they had stayed off.

  Turning into the corridor, I saw an image that stole my breath. I reflexively reached for Grim Whisper, only to g
rab an empty holster.

  “Shit.”

 

  It was Peaches’ turn to growl as a rumble filled the room.

 

 

  The large creature lumbered down the corridor with shuffling steps. I had seen this once before and had hoped to never see another one as long as I lived.

  It was a mash-up of every child’s worst nightmare. Huge fangs protruded from its mouth and sharp claw-like fingernails adorned its hands. The eyes gave off a red glow as it stepped closer. Every few steps it would stop and sniff the air, then continue shambling closer. A large rusted chain hung around its neck. From the chain hung a glowing orange orb about the size of a grapefruit.

  I was unarmed, in a dead-end, and looking at a Rakshasa.

  FIVE

  SO MUCH FOR the full-immersion experience. I was going to have some strong words for Ezra when we got out of here. It was clear he needed to polish the hellhound-training curriculum. I stared down the corridor as runes continued shifting from floor-to-wall-to-ceiling in a clockwise pattern.

  The Rakshasa stood still in the center of the corridor, unaffected by the runes. It looked at us but didn’t advance. Then I remembered their method of locating prey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Peaches was right. I had never seen him use his omega beams at normal size. I crouched down and placed a hand on his head.

  I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing. I felt for the bond I shared with my hellhound. After a few seconds, I felt the strand of energy linking us. As I felt along the conduit of the bond, it merged with another, stronger strand of power.

  Finding the strand was faster than the time in the Danger Room and the bond between us was stronger. What threw me was my link to Kali. I still didn’t see any way to untangle the two strands so I left that alone. I remembered Dahvina’s words: “Hellhound, Kali, and this blade. You’re thrice-bound, and two of your bonds are so intertwined, I don’t know if they can be separated.”

  What I didn’t understand was why Peaches’ and Kali’s strands merged? I mentally established the bond with Peaches. A surge of power rushed through my arm, but unlike the Danger Room, this time it was a measured flow.

  The energy cascaded through my body and I could feel the warm flush of my curse dealing with the sudden onset of energy. Unlike last time, it didn’t feel like taking a bath in an active volcano. It still burned, but this time it was ‘standing in a sauna while fully dressed’ hot, not ‘strolling the surface of the sun’ hot.

  Sweat poured down my face as I exhaled and wiped my brow. LD’s words came back to me: “You need to work the bond.”

 

 

 

  I closed my eyes and envisioned a larger Peaches, feeling the power flow though us. The energy shot out from my arm and nearly knocked me down. I opened my eyes to see a large Peaches staring down the Rakshasa.

  I took a moment to catch my breath. Peaches wasn’t at Planet Peaches XL size, but he was still huge. No ordinary dog could grow to that size.

  If he grew to XL-size, Peaches wouldn’t fit through the door, and we needed to deal with this Rakshasa.

 

 

  “We just need to get its attention. Aim for the orange orb around the neck.”

 

  “Don’t remind me. Do you have the sequence of the runes in the corridor?”

  Peaches gazed out at the corridor for about half a minute, while I kept an eye on the Rakshasa.

 

  “We can. If we draw it into the room, then we can make a run for it. I don’t want to engage the Rakshasa unless we have to, plus we have to find Mori.”

 

  “I know. Meat is life.”

 

  “We’ll close the door behind us,” I said, moving to the far end of the circle. “Let’s get it in here.”

  SIX

  WE STOOD AT the edge of the circle, farthest away from the door. I stepped out of the circle when I saw her. Mori raced around the corner as the Rakshasa turned and focused on me with a roar.

  She opened fire, hitting the creature several times while she raced down the corridor toward us. The Rakshasa sniffed the air, turned, and swiped at her. She slid under the massive arm, turning the slide into a roll and jumped into the room.

  “Whatever you’re going to do, this would be the time.” She fired and destroyed the orange orb around its neck. It shook its head and charged at her. “That was unexpected.”

  She switched out magazines and glanced at me. I held out a hand.

  “I’m a decent shot. I can help.”

  “Not with these you can’t, sorry. Besides”—she glanced over at Peaches—“stop thinking you need a weapon. You two are the weapon.”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  The Rakshasa leaped into the air and crashed into the center of the circle. Mori rolled to the side and drew its attention with more gunfire.

  “Use…your…bond.”

  The Rakshasa slid to the side faster than expected, cutting her off and raking the air. Mori leaped back and dodged the swipe, as its large fist connected with a crunch and launched her across the room.

  The creature stopped to sniff the air again, turning slowly, and looked at me with a growl.

  “Oh, shit.” I placed my hand on Peaches’ head and felt a jolt of energy race up my arm. “What the hell?”

  The energy flushed my body with heat, but it was different from the curse. This heat traveled up and stayed around my head. It felt like my eyes burst into flames, as red beams of energy shot out of them and into the Rakshasa, punching two holes into its body.

  It looked down at the wounds for a second, took two steps, and exploded in a gorenami of viscera and blood. The lower half of the creature fell forward, lifeless. Mori limped over to where we were, with an expression of surprise.

  “You used the baleful glare?” She looked from me to Peaches. “How did you do that?”

  I clamped my hands over my eyes. The burning subsided after a few seconds. I kept my eyes closed. The sensation went from dunking my head in lava to the more comfortable feeling of pouring sulphuric acid in my eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

  Peaches looked at the remains of the Rakshasa and then back at me.

 

 

  l glare was barely adequate, bondmate. You left half the creature, the entire creature should have been destroyed.>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I faced Mori once my eyes stopped feeling like hot coals. “How did that happen and why does it feel like I just burned my eyes out of their sockets?”

  “I’ve never seen that before, not that I’m an expert on hellhound-bondmate abilities.” Mori holstered her guns, removed my hands, and looked into my eyes. “Doesn’t look like any damage. Can you see me?”

  Her image was slightly out of focus, but I could make out the general details. It was like looking at someone underwater, if that water was boiling and trying to melt your eyes in the process.

  “I can make you out, but you’re blurry. You have no idea what just happened?”

  “Seems like you used your hellhound’s baleful glare,” she said. “Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

  “No,” I said as my face flushed with familiar heat and everything slowly came back into focus. “I think I’d remember firing searing beams of energy from my eyes.”

  “Well, we can ask Ezra later. Right now we have larger problems.”

  “Larger than Rakshasas?”

  “You know of them?”

  “Somewhat.” I remembered my run-in with Kali.

  Good, means less to explain. You realize that if they grab you they—”

  “Make you dinner,” I finished. “I don’t plan on being on the menu.”

  “Correct, those creatures will devour anything. Try to avoid them if possible.”

  “The last time I saw Rakshasas, they were being controlled by an angry goddess.”