by John Corwin
Chapter 45
"What went wrong?" I asked Vallaena, watching as my admittedly adorable little hellhound licked her nose, and wagged its tail.
"What did you imagine when you ordered it to manifest?" she said.
I thought back to that instant and remembered an image of my former best friend's dog flashing into my head. Except his dog was big. Why mine turned out so tiny was a mystery. I told her this, and she shrugged.
"The spirit you pulled forth might also be young. There are many factors which can affect it." She kissed the hound on the nose again, and set him down. "In any case, you must now banish it."
My hellhound looked up at me with huge adoring eyes, his little tail wagging. "But—but I can't. He's too cute."
She sighed, tapping her fingers on her leg, and nodded. "I agree. Summon another hound, but try not to make it cute so you can banish it without emotional trauma."
I went back through the process, and found a similar presence to the first, though this felt a little different. It actually felt as though it was more intelligent, older. I pulled it through, and ended up with a dog the size of a Doberman. It didn't wag its tail, but just stood there looking at me, as if waiting on a command.
"Sit," I said.
It looked at Vallaena, back to me, and remained standing.
"Some of them require training," she said. "Although this is definitely a much older spirit. He would be a fine hellhound."
"And I have to banish him."
She nodded. "You need to learn how." She walked to the newly minted hellhound, and petted it. It grudgingly gave its tail a wag or two, as if it found the whole process somewhat degrading. "Using your Daemos senses, grip its spirit, and imagine the manifestation portal swallowing it whole."
I tried as she said, but had trouble grasping the soul. It felt slick. When I explained this, she told me that since it was in a physical shell, it would be harder to grasp, but to continue trying. Thankfully, the new hellhound didn't seem to mind, and sat on its haunches while I tried to banish it back to hell. I finally managed to latch into the creature's soul. How exactly, I did it, I wasn't quite sure. It was like trying to latch a suction cup on a porous surface, and finally finding the exact area where it can grip.
Willing the manifestation to reverse itself was easy after that, and the oily pool swallowed the hellhound whole. The baby hellhound whimpered as the other one sank into the earth without so much as a bark, and huddled at my legs.
"It's okay," I cooed, picking—I checked between its legs—him up and petting him. He seemed to take comfort.
"How sweet," Vallaena said, her voice weary. "Now, let us keep practicing."
By midnight, I'd repeated the process numerous times. Every hellhound was different. Some were mean and had to be restrained. Some were full of energy and wanted to race after every squirrel they saw. Others were calm and stoic like the second one.
Most of them didn't come through fully trained, and that was the hard part. Vallaena explained that if I manifested one who refused my orders, the plan would fail.
"When I manifested the hellhound inside the shield," she said as we walked back to the mansion, "it took a great deal of energy. I was so tired, it took all I had to banish it."
"So I might only have one try at this," I said.
She offered a grim nod.
I was beyond exhausted, so trying tonight was out of the question. That left tomorrow, and a short window on Saturday. We were cutting it too close.
Once home, I set the puppy on the floor. He raced around sniffing everything, tail wagging like mad.
"How cute!" Bella said when she saw him, and knelt down to pet him.
He made a little growling noise, and backed away. Even if he was a puppy, he was still a hellhound. One bite from those little teeth, and it wouldn't be good for Bella. My felycan friend, Stacey, had almost died from hellhound bites, and I'd almost died saving her.
"Behave," I told him in a stern voice. "She's my friend."
He looked at me, looked at Bella, and wagged his tail, little black tongue lolling.
Bella wasted no time petting and doting on him. He snuggled up to her, and licked her.
"His breath is a bit sulfurous, but he's still adorable." Her head tilted a bit. "Wait, is he a hellhound?"
I nodded. "My first."
She giggled. "You are too cute sometimes. What's his name?"
I gave her a blank stare. "I don't know, and I'm too tired to think of one now. I'm going to bed." I glanced around. "Is Elyssa here?"
"She's upstairs, I believe. She said she tried to text you but you never answered."
I pulled out my phone and saw two missed texts. I groaned. I'd probably been sensing the demon plane when her messages came through.
I ran upstairs and found her in bed reading a book. She leapt up and embraced me in a tight hug.
"How did practice go?" she asked. I heard yipping and growling behind me. Elyssa's eyes darted toward the floor and went wide with adoration. "He's adorable!"
The puppy seemed to love Elyssa right away, licking her nose and wagging its tail.
"A hellhound?" she asked, surprised.
"My first," I said.
She laughed. "You're so cute."
"Any luck finding Ivy?" I asked.
She shook her head. "It's possible Jeremiah pulled her off campus for the time being. I've got plenty more places to search and people to question."
"It's good to have you back," I said, and kissed her. The puppy licked our noses, obviously wanting in on the action.
I awoke with a jolt the next morning. Friday. Doomsday was tomorrow. My old friend, dread, seeped into my stomach, making it hard to feel hungry for breakfast. Elyssa kissed me goodbye and left in search of my sister while the puppy licked my nose, as if to tell me everything would be okay. I let him stay at the mansion with Bella since I didn't want him tagging along.
The university was positively seething with even more supernaturals than the day before as Vallaena and I headed back to the usual practice spot. There were no classes that day due to the Grand Melee celebrations. Robots and golems of every shape and size walked down the path from the ferry station as teams from the Science Academy and Arcane University showed off their latest creations.
Most of the robots and golems I saw were competing in the light- and middle-weight competitions. A huge flying saucer ferried robots the size of small buildings into the stadium. The fights with the giant golems and robots were the ones everyone was talking about.
Vallaena and I had to wend our way out of the east garden through tents that had sprung up overnight as people camped the grounds outside the east garden. Keg parties filled with frat boys and sorority girls sprouted like weeds among the campsites. Most tents flew flags announcing their loyalty to the various teams from each school, or simply to the academy or university.
We walked to the edge of the forest before Vallaena decided we were far enough from the crowds. I heard a trumpeting roar. The ground shook, and a group of guys burst from the woods an instant before the tragon slammed its snout against the shield, jaws snapping, and plumes of fire bursting from its maw.
The boys laughed and taunted the creature as it threw itself against the shield.
"Idiots," I said. I peered closer and recognized Billy and his friends from the night Lina had collapsed. A part of me hoped the tragon managed to bite off an arm or two.
"College boys," Vallaena said, shaking her head. She led me further away from the commotion until a bend in the forest hid the crowds from us.
"Why don't we go straight down to the barrier now?" I asked her, eager to summon a hellhound.
"You need to learn how to imprint the demon name on them," she said. "Summoning hellhounds here will not drain much energy. As I said yesterday, you may have only one chance to manifest one on the other side of the shield."
"How do I imprint the name?" I asked.
"First, you must find a worthy vessel," she replied.
For once, I remained silent, and waited for her to explain.
"The hellhound must be older, more mature. You've learned how to differentiate them by now."
I nodded.
"When you find them, you must picture the demon name the moment you bring through the hellhound." She tapped her forehead. "This will imprint the name. Then you must force your control over the hound, and command it to shift into human shape."
"Do I picture it doing that, or tell it?" I asked.
"I find a verbal command along with a visual image of the form to work the best. For example, I will say, 'shift', to the beast, and imagine the form I wish it to take."
"Sounds easy enough," I said.
It wasn't. I summoned a mature hellhound on my third try, but failed to imprint the demon name during manifestation. Thankfully, I could do this with a mental command, though it was much, much harder than during the summoning. Forcing the hound to do my bidding and shift took some time, but wasn't nearly as hard as I'd imagined it. While I was far from being the hellhound whisperer, I felt good about my chances.
After banishing my successful hellhound, I turned to Vallaena. "I'm ready. Let's do this."
She looked me over. "I believe it would be best if you had lunch and rested for a few hours. I know you don't feel tired now, but manifesting it on the other side of the shield will require a great deal of concentration and effort."
I sighed, but decided she was probably right. "Okay. We'll try tonight."
The rows of tents outside the stadium had thickened since our earlier passing. We ended up walking around the entire tent city to reach the other side so we could follow the road to the mansion. Greek Row was packed to the gills with parties, cookouts, and revelers of all ages acting like morons. A group of drunk guys staggered over and wolf whistled at Vallaena. She arched an eyebrow and grew horns. They screamed and ran.
Shelton greeted us with a worried look the minute we entered the mansion. I saw another figure emerge from the planning room behind him. The figure was large, obviously masculine, and a figure I knew well—Elyssa's brother, Michael.
"I got the proof," he said without preamble. "Found the person who planted the evidence, and made them confess. A judge is already reviewing the records, and the accused will probably be freed within a few weeks."
"That's great!" I said, walking to him. "Does Zagg know?"
Shelton shook his head. "He and Cinder are trying to figure a way through the shield. I just came up here to grab some lunch and found him waiting." He jabbed a thumb at Michael.
I almost asked him how he knew where we were, but decided it would be a stupid question.
"I have more intel," Michael said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. "Unfortunately, it's not actionable enough to trigger a Templar response."
"What is it?" I asked.
"I followed the trail of crumbs from the guy who planted the evidence, up the food chain, and found the ringleader of the operation." He pulled out his phone, and displayed the image of a middle-aged man in robes. "This guy told me the Arcanus Primus himself was involved."
Shelton sighed. "It's true, to an extent." He told Michael about the events in the Fairy Gardens.
Michael hardly batted an eyelash at the death and destruction. "I think I know why Daelissa covered up his death," he said when Shelton finished.
"How could you know that?" I asked, wondering if I'd missed something vital.
"The ringleader had records. He'd contacted several golem experts, trying to figure out how to bypass the protective spells on a golem and reprogram it without killing the spark." Michael pursed his lips. "I thought he was trying to rig the Grand Melee to win bets. But given the Daelissa angle, I knew there had to be more. He didn't know the answers, so I took all the data to a golem expert."
"What did they have to say?" I asked.
"He dug through the golem modification spells, and told me that if they worked, they'd make a golem change its targeting parameters." Michael took out his phone, and produced a holographic image with a group of older men standing as if for a group photo. I recognized Jarrod Sager in the center.
"Holy ass clowns," Shelton said. "It's the Arcane Council."
Michael nodded. "This spell will make the golem target these people. There's a shield in place that protects the spectators, and the council has even more protection. I assume someone on the inside will drop the shields." He flicked to another image, a series of runes making up a spell. "After the carnage, the golem will self-destruct, but leave enough evidence to trace a trail back to the Red Syndicate, leaving the vampires with the blame for the slaughter."
"But, they're about to sign a peace accord," I said.
Shelton made a popping noise with his lips. "Didn't I tell you Daelissa wouldn't like that? She wants the Arcanes and vampires to go to war."
"Why can't the Templars act on this?" I said.
Michael grunted. "I explained what I'd found to Commander Borathen. He told me he has to receive permission from the Arcane Council to act. Even though he marked his request as urgent, the council is too busy with the Grand Melee to pay attention. Everyone I've spoken to has blown me off—told me I'm paranoid."
"This was her end game all along," I said. "Kill the Arcane Council. Blame the vampires. Create chaos. She doesn't know where the rune is yet, so everything happening here is for another reason."
"Didn't Phillip Nosti's recording say the vampires were once allied with the Seraphim?" Shelton said. "Sounds like she wants the vampires to be on the outs with the Arcanes so she can convince them to fight for her instead."
I opened my mouth to say something else, when my vision blurred. I thought for a moment the vampling curse might be raising its ugly head again, but this felt somehow different.
"Justin, you okay?" I heard someone ask, as though far away down a tunnel.
I opened my mouth to reply when I saw something which looked remarkably like a stone floor rushing to meet my face.
Chapter 46
"He's coming around," said a familiar voice. I opened my eyes and saw Meghan Andretti looking back at me. "Justin, can you hear me?"
"Are you okay, baby?" Elyssa appeared from my other side.
I blinked. "What happened?" I looked around and saw I was in my bedroom. Shelton and several others crowded through the doorway.
I nodded. I felt groggy, but otherwise not too bad.
"I believe he has overtaxed himself in the past few days," Vallaena said. "Yesterday's activities and the strain of the vampling curse have been too much."
"Not to mention today's," I muttered.
Vallaena's eyes met mine. "Justin, you slept all night. It is Saturday morning."
Meghan gave me a worried look, and added. "The Grand Melee starts in two hours."
The end is nigh! I leapt to my feet, and almost fell down from a wave of dizziness. "We've got to go, now!"
Shelton gripped my arm and helped me stay upright. "Hold on, cowboy. What makes you think you're in shape to do anything?"
"He's right," Elyssa said. "You've done too much."
A sardonic laugh erupted from my throat. "It doesn't matter how I feel. All that matters is we get this done." I pounded a fist into my palm to punctuate the last three words. I turned to Vallaena. "You ready?"
Her chin lifted, and she looked at me like a proud mother—or maybe like a mad scientist who just brought a monster to life with a bolt of lightning. "I am."
Elyssa sighed. "You're crazy, but I love you." She pecked my cheek. "Let's do this."
I heard a yipping noise, and saw the puppy hellhound at me feet, jumping up and down. I picked him up and petted him. "If anything happens to me, please take care of the hellhound, Vallaena."
Meghan's lip curled in disgust. "I was petting a baby hellhound? But he's so cute!"
"I will," Vallaena said.
I sighed. "I'm not looking forward to walking across campus."
"Oh, yeah," Shelton said
with a smirk. "Guess you don't know what your girlfriend did."
I grabbed a protein bar from the pantry and gave Elyssa a concerned look. "What did you do?"
She smiled. "I happened to find a tunnel connecting this place with the arch."
"A what?"
"The doorway behind the arch," Shelton said. "It leads to here. We cut through the iron grate in the cellar and followed it down to that iron door. Didn't take me long to burn off the locks."
I gave Elyssa a smile. "You're amazing."
"I know," she said with a smirk.
My mind unscrambled as the protein bar kicked in, and I formed a plan. "In addition to getting the rune, we also need to stop the giant golems from killing the Arcane Council." My gaze found Michael standing at the edge of the room. Elyssa seemed to avoid looking at him. "Michael, can you convince the council not to go to the Grand Melee? Maybe evac them to an undisclosed location?"
He nodded. "I'll take care of it."
I turned to Zagg. You're well known here. "I need you to find out which golems are affected. Maybe you can get through to the operators and convince them to double-check."
"I'm on it," the professor said.
I looked at Shelton and Adam. "Please tell me you have good news."
Adam grinned. "Once Elyssa found the alternate route, we went down and ran our shield-hole generator. It's running through thousands of magic cipher combinations. We think this barrier is similar to the forest shield in design, otherwise we'd have no chance of opening a hole."
"How long will it take?" I asked.
"That, we don't know," he said with a frown. "But we also discovered the demon guardian is bound to the shield over the arch. If you banish it, the arch shield will lower, release the rune, and we'll have all the time in the world."
Profound relief swept over me. We could do this.
We took the stairs to the cellar, went through a hole Shelton had made in the grate, and followed more stairs down to a tunnel. At the end, I saw the slagged remains of the steel door that had blocked me the other day, propped against the wall. Through the doorway pulsed the star of malaether.
