He looked over his shoulder and shot me a death glare, before swiping at another row of skeletons and then turning around. With a leap, he was away from the rest of the still standing skeletons, the specters closing in fast. He took off running toward us.
"How do we open this thing?" Roki sounded almost frantic.
I looked up and saw rungs about five feet above my head. There was no way to reach them without a ladder. Remy moved me out of the way, went up on his haunches, and gripped it with his teeth, pulling on it. It didn't budge.
"Should we try a different door?" Roki looked at the other two we had passed.
"No. This is the one. I'm sure of it. Remy, try pushing?"
He spit out the rung and hit the front door with his paws, with no effect whatsoever. They were barred or locked.
I looked around for a doorbell, something, anything. The specters were much faster than the skeletons and not far behind Rome. We were running out of time.
Out of desperation, I looked at the intricate carvings on the door, trying to make sense out of what I was seeing, but they blurred in my vision.
"Past the city where no living soul resides, lies the doors to Helheim. None shall enter without invitation, and only the servants of gods hold the crimson key."
"What?"
"What?" I was just as shocked as Roki, even though the words had come out of my mouth. "What the fuck does that mean? Why can't these stupid things be in fucking English?"
"This is the way. You are a servant of a god. Crimson key? Did anybody give you a key?"
"No!'
Fress shifted, rolled his eyes at me, and grabbed my wrist. One claw slid from the tip of his finger, and he poked me in the palm, blood swelling from the fresh wound. He placed my palm against the door. "Whenever crimson is mentioned in a vision, you can always bet it means blood."
The door clicked and opened, partially. "Oh. Thanks. And ouch."
He lifted my hand and ran his raspy tongue across the wound. It healed, and he gave me a wink. "Remy?"
The hellhound pushed the door open with his massive head. The five of us slipped through and held it open for Rome to get inside. I started bouncing in fear. The specters were almost upon him, and it was going to be close…
"Hurry!"
"He is." Roki pulled me out of the way just as Rome leapt the remaining distance, landing on just this side of the threshold.
Remy started pushing the door closed, and we all fucking helped him. Spectral arms slid inside just as the door slammed shut. Luckily, the severed limbs evaporated into black mist instead of falling to the ground.
"That was close. Who's up for a nap?" I slid down to the ground and leaned back against the door. "Anybody bring anything to eat? I'm starving."
Roki pulled out a Powerbar from his pocket and dangled it in front of my face.
"Ew," I said with a look of utter distaste on my face as I reached out and took it. "These things are disgusting." I tore the package open and chomped off the corner, chewing loudly. "You couldn’t pay me to eat one of these if it weren't an emergency."
"Sorry. Next time I shall bring bento boxes."
"Was that sarcasm? Cuz that wouldn't be a bad idea. I could really go for some udon and rolled-omelets. Oh! Oumurice would really hit the spot right now."
The shrieking of tortured souls ruined the rest of my appetite.
Chapter 20
It was cold outside. It was colder in Helheim. Funny me, you'd think Hell would literally be hot. Nope. My breath not only fogged, but crystalized mid-air, and I scratched an arm on my nipple.
"What the fuck?" Instead of shifting into my fox form, I opted for my demi-form, sighing in relief once I was ensconced in my nice, warm fur coat.
"Cheater." Rome stroked the hair on my face, creating a shiver that had nothing to do with the sub-arctic temperatures.
"Did you just pet me?"
He blinked in surprise. "I did. I'm sorry. Your fur just looked so soft…"
"Do it again," I said and leaned against him, grinning up and exposing teeth that were a little too sharp in my fur covered human face.
He blinked at the ears on top of my head. "You're adorable."
"Hehehe. Perv. Like the fox-girls, huh?"
"Uh… You're not that foxy. More wolfy."
"Shit. You forget about stuff like that when you can't see yourself." I pouted.
"Even wolfy, you're still a fox." He ran his fingers over my pelt again and smiled.
"Hellhounds don't have a demi-form?"
He shook his head. "All or nothing."
"What about kitties?" I asked before I turned around. Had I just looked, I would have had my answer. Fress and Kottr were still human, but furred. Cat ears stuck out above their heads. "Dawwwwwwww."
They blushed when I got gushy over their cuteness. Not as in red cheeks, but they lowered their faces and looked everywhere but at me.
"Focus, Kaede-sama." I gasped when I saw Roki. He was hot as a human. As a demi…. Holy fuck. His fur was thick and red, but white around his muzzle, down his neck, and I'm sure his belly. Maybe other places. Might have to explore just how far later.
I'd seen his demi-form before, but like most things about himself, he tended to keep it under wraps unless absolutely necessary to expose another side of himself. I could have counted the number of times I'd seen it before on two fingers. I was still staring when he put his fingers in front of my face and snapped.
I blinked. "What? You're hot. Sorry, not sorry."
He just shook his head and turned away, trying to see down the dark corridor leading away from the door. "You are sure this is the right way?"
"It's where my gut pointed me. If I was wrong, feel free to hate my guts."
"I do not think I could." He bowed.
"Stop being a suck. C'mon. Let's go kill a god." I stopped moving, and the hallway faded away. "Not all paths are straight. Not all intentions are pure. Trust not those who would have you seek death for it is of nefarious intent."
"What?" Hiroki grabbed my hands. "What did you say?"
"Beats the hell out of me. Something about crooked paths and not trusting people. I sound like a fucking fortune cookie."
"Kind of taste like one, too," Remy said as he walked past me, winking. I assumed he was Remy, since Rome had no idea what I tasted like. Except my face. Doggy drool. Yuck.
I started walking again, ignoring Roki's worried expression as I left him standing there trying to decipher my ominous prophecy. He caught up and whispered quietly. "Maybe it means we should not trust Freya?"
"She's like the god of gods. The big wig. Head honcho. Gots Odin's balls in her purse. If we can't trust her, then who can we trust?"
"Ourselves," he answered without hesitation.
"Well, I'm not going to start second guessing everything because of some super stupid power that she gave me. Why couldn't she give me something cool, like wings. Or telepathy. Or firebolts! I want firebolts. We could warm this place up."
"You have fire. You just refuse to learn to harness it."
"Uh. That's more my father's thing. I'll stick to being cute and eating a lot."
"Truly, you are unbeatable."
"If you're gonna be good at something, be good at what you love."
He snickered. Something dirty popped into his brain. I could always tell. "Perv."
"Hai." He bumped my hip with his, and we slammed into the back of Rome and Remy, not having paid enough attention to the path ahead of us.
Rome flashed us an angry look and made a shushing motion with his finger. He moved away from Remy and let me through.
"Okay, wrong door," I whispered, praying to whatever god that would listen and not try to kill us that we could get out of Helheim without being seen by Hel or Headmistress Lateran. They were both in a cavern about a hundred feet down from the ledge where we stood. The path we were on wound around it several times before opening at the bottom.
"What the fuck?"
Rome clasped his
hand over my mouth, even though I only whispered. He made a shushing motion again and pointed at his ear. I stared at him blankly.
He rolled his eyes and motioned at his brother. Remy walked forward, and Rome reached into his twin's blazer pocket and handed me one of the walkie talkie stones.
As soon as it touched my palm, I heard him. Be quiet! My mother has better hearing than I do. If we're lucky, she hasn't smelled us yet.
Us?
You.
You saying I stink?
No. I'm saying you smell delicious. I've told you that before.
I still blushed. So, what do we do?
Well, if they're both in here, you can bet your ass you picked the right door. They have to be guarding Fenrir.
Shit. You're right.
Now, the question is, are they going to leave anytime soon?
That is literally a god and your mother. Surely, they have better things to do than hang around the body of a sleeping god.
Of course, they do. Makes you wonder what else is guarding it.
I have a plan!
Oh, fuck me. Rome shook his head and rubbed his face.
You might have had a shot, but that was kind of mean, so now I changed my mind.
What's your plan?
Nope. I had one feel bad left, and you just stomped all over it with your anti-Kaede remarks.
Kaede… He paused to take a deep, yet quiet as to not alert the angry god and parental unit below. I’m sorry. What is your brilliant plan?
Kiss me.
Your brilliant plan is for me to kiss you?
No. Kiss me, and I'll tell you my brilliant plan. I don't know why I said it, but I did. Strike that. I loved teasing Rome. That's why I said it. He was irresistible when he was flustered, and the fastest way to fluster him was to tease him. Besides, I didn't think he had it in him.
I was wrong. His lips found mine, and his tongue parted them before I even registered that he was, in fact, kissing me. But then my brain melted, my toes curled, and the butterflies started flapping in my stomach. That was a pretty good clue.
What's your plan? He didn't wait until the kiss ended to ask. How he could think while I was kissing him was kind of disappointing. So, I slid a hand down to his ass and grabbed a cheek. He inhaled deeply through is nose. Finally, I pulled away. Look across the cavern. Two levels down, there is another passageway.
He shook his head and looked across the way. I see it. How is that going to help us?
I'm going to sneak around to there, go down that corridor, and turn off the necklace. Then, I'm going to run like my life depends on it while the rest of you get your cute little butts down into that hole and find Fenrir. See? Brilliant.
That's the dumbest fucking idea I've ever heard.
What? Why?
What good is it going to do us to find him, when it has to be you that kills him?
Uh… I'm going to keep this stone in my hand. When you find him, I'll double back around and come find you guys.
You know the necklace only stops people from listening in telepathically to conversation and sensing you. You can still be seen, smelled, and most likely heard.
I can be quiet.
He laughed. Out loud. I gave him a shushing motion, and he looked over the edge of the spiral staircase. Sitting very still for a moment, he finally relaxed. It's too risky.
Do you have a better plan?
No. But that doesn’t mean there isn't one.
It's my call. Get ready to look for Fenrir.
He nodded. With an inaudible sigh, he pulled the heavy chain from his neck and put it over my head. I shifted into my full fox-wolf form and headed down the path, padding as silently as I could and sticking to the wall. Even if they heard me, they wouldn’t be able to see me from the angle they were at.
You're doing good. They still don't see or sense you.
Good. I'm halfway there…
Still good. Stop!
I froze mid-step. Hearing their voices below, I lowered myself to the ground and readied my invisibility spell, just in case.
You're good. Keep going.
Lifting myself from my belly, I continued toward the other passage and finally breathed a sigh of relief as I bound through the exit.
I'm in.
Let me know before you trigger the necklace.
I will, as soon as I find a place to hide.
Heading down the dark corridor, I let my eyes shift back to the darkness. It seemed to go on forever until I found a stairwell leading down off the left side of the passage. To the right, another stair led upward. I wanted down and stepped onto the landing, looking over the ledge into darkness. Hopefully it ended on the level they were on. Hopefully.
I'm ready.
I'll let you know if they take the bait.
Rome?
Yeah?
Why do you think your mother is here?
She was probably called back by the goddess to guard Fenrir's body. That's the only reason I can think of.
Makes sense. Thanks for answering. It bothered me that Tatsuo knew she was gone, but they were guarding his spirit in the mortal realm. It made sense they would guard his body in Helheim. Just would have been nice to know.
I shifted back into my demi-form and keyed the sequence on the necklace.
They're coming! His mental shout was microseconds before the growl that echoed down the corridor and up from the stairwell. At least I was certain where it went.
Which way?
Up toward us!
Perfect, I thought to myself. I waited until I heard clamoring up the stairs at the end of the passage I'd just traversed. Moments before they hit the landing, I rekeyed the necklace and ran down the stairs as fast as my little feet could propel me.
Found another corridor!
Take it! You'll see a stairway on your left. I should be coming out of it…now!
I collided into Rome.
"Run!" There was no more time for stealth, and I took off in the opposite direction they came, hoping we got to Fenrir long before they caught up to us.
We ran for what felt like an eternity. I was huffing and puffing when Rome finally scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder, shifting into his hellhound form.
The corridor whisked by as I held on for dear life.
He skidded to a stop just before we plunged over another drop off. He leaned over the edge, and I leaned over his head and whistled.
It went down for miles.
"What the fuck? They dig a hole into the center of the earth and toss him down there?"
Rome nodded his gigantic head.
"Legend has it he is suspended on a stone circle, chained to four boulders," Roki hissed from atop Remy.
"How do we get down there?"
Remy shifted, and Roki jumped to the ground before he fell there. "I don't think we can. There aren't any stairs. Kaede, are you sure he's down there?"
I nodded, knowing without a doubt he was.
"We can get you down there." Fress looked at his lover who nodded. They shifted and motioned to the chariot behind them.
"Good thing we brought them with us," I said and climbed aboard. Roki and the Romies climbed on behind me.
"Are you sure we can trust them?" Roki was worried because of my prophesy. We didn't have any other choice. It was either that, jump, or face Hel. The kitties seemed like the best choice.
"They brought us here."
"That is what worries me."
The chariot lurched forward, and they leapt from the ledge. We were in free fall for a moment until they started running through the air, circling around the cylindrical cavern and heading downward.
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night," I shouted and grinned as my voice echoed back at me.
Rome swatted me in the back of the head.
"Oh, stop. It's not like they don't know we are here."
There was a roar from one of the kitties, and I looked over the front of the chariot, my heart freezing mid-beat an
d icy fear running up my spine.
"There he is."
About a hundred feet below us was the stone disk suspended by magic in the middle of the hole we were flying down. He was spread eagle on his stomach, each one of his paws being pulled taut in the four cardinal directions as Gleipnir coiled around him tethering him to the boulders we couldn’t see.
A loud snarl sounded somewhere up above us.
"Stop!" The scream from the goddess above us threatened to deafen everyone. Even the kitties shuddered, the chariot jostling its passengers.
"We're not going to make it!" Rome looked above us, the falling form of the goddess Hel proving his point.
"Yes, I am," I said softly and rolled over the side of the chariot like a deep-sea diver.
Ignoring the three of them screaming my name, I focused on the disk below me. I made a series of pops to slow my descent, not wanting to splatter across the stone disk. The last one put me right above Fenrir, and as I fell, I called my katana…
The blade struck him solidly in his back, just below his massive neck. I felt like a toothpick skewering a whale, that was the size difference between us. At the very last moment, the blade shifted and struck the ropes coiled around him.
Gleipnir screamed, and I watched in horror as I smacked against the freezing gray fur of the wolf god of Ragnarok. The corded blackness began to sizzle and dissolve around my blade. In a moment, the strand frayed and pulled apart. It was like I lit a fuse in the middle, and I watched in rapt horror as the disintegration spread around the torso of the wolf. Wherever it touched, it spread to other coils and eventually headed down the legs of the massive wolf.
When it reached the end, the remaining ropes slithered over the edge of the disk, the boulders crashing against each other and the walls of the cylindrical cavern.
"What have I done?"
"Freed me," Fenrir rumbled.
The chariot landed a moment before the goddess. She dropped the hellhound next to her, who shifted into a frightened looking Headmistress Lateran.
"Foolish child! What have you done?"
I looked at the two of them, standing there and quivering. "I think I done fucked up."
Hel snarled and started forward, but the paw closest to her slid across the stone and positioned itself under the wolf. Then the other front one did the same, and the two hind legs moved at the same time. With a heave, Fenrir's body stood. I popped off his back before I was tossed into the pit below.
A Tail of Two Kitties: A Reverse Harem Academy Tail (The Fox and the Hounds Book 2) Page 19
