A Proper Hellhound

by Orlando A. Sanchez

  “Kali?” Mori asked. “She’s been known to be fond of these disgusting things.”

  I nodded. “The orbs around their necks are some kind of controlling device,” I added. “Do we know who or what is controlling them now? Tell me it isn’t Kali.”

  “No, I don’t sense a divine presence, but as I said, we have greater concerns.”

  “Greater than flesh-eating creatures from my nightmares?”

  “Yes. Shadowhounds have gotten inside somehow.”

  “Ezra mentioned them. What are Shadowhounds? Why am I getting the feeling I’m not going to like the answer?”

  “I was about to start the full immersion when they attacked.” Mori looked down the corridor at the fluctuating runes. “Can you get past those defenses?”

  “How did you get past them?”

  “Same way that thing did.” She pointed at the remains of the Rakshasa before glancing at me. “The defenses are keyed to stop humans.”

  I shook my head. “The runes are on an eight-second clockwise interval,” I said, following her gaze. “We would need to shift from surface to surface or become a pile of dust.”

  She pulled out a phone and turned in small circle, holding it up. “No signal. The failsafes must be blocking everything,” she muttered. “We need to get out of this room, see if we can find Ezra.”

  “You said something about Shadowhounds?”

  “Have you ever wondered what could bring down a hellhound?” Mori approached the doorway, walking around the remains of the Rakshasa and looking down the corridor with fluctuating runes.

  “Bring down?” I said quietly. “No. Are you saying—?”

  “Shadowhounds.” She nodded. “They were created to hunt and…contain hellhounds.”

  “Contain? You mean kill?”

  “By now, you must understand that the magical world is a world of checks and balances. Every spell and creature has some kind of a counter.”

  “Even gods?”

  “Even gods eventually meet with Death.”

  “What about Death?”

  Mori gave me a short smile. “Even death has a counter. Life is occurring every second on this and other planes. Death is just the ultimate check and balance—even for immortals.”

  I understood the implication and felt it was better to change the topic. “How do Shadowhounds do it? How would they stop a hellhound?”

  “The same way a pack of large dogs can be used to bring down a wolf, Shadowhounds are used to neutralize and destroy hellhounds. Their fangs possess a specific poison fatal to hellhounds.”

  “How often have Shadowhounds been used like this?”

  “To my knowledge, once.”

  “Once?”

  “Shadowhounds are difficult to summon and nearly impossible to control. They exist in another plane entirely. It takes an immense amount of energy, and only high-level mages can bring them into our plane.”

  “And that one time you recall…?”

  “A few centuries ago, in the mid-1600s, a hellhound was unleashed in London when his bond was broken. His bondmate, Peter Thorndike, was killed in a duel by a mage named Thomas Fariner, causing the hellhound to grow to an immense size.”

  Memories of Peaches XL flashed in my mind. “What happened?”

  “Unlike your pup, that was a fully adult hellhound, having command of eldritch flame. The battle took place on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. When the bondmate fell, the hellhound grew and unleashed a blast of flame that engulfed a bakery. It then escaped into the city.”

  “The hellhound destroyed a bakery? That’s it?”

  “The hellhound destroyed a city,” she answered. “The fire raged for days and the Penumbra Consortium tried everything to contain it. It wasn’t enough. By the second day they reluctantly summoned Shadowhounds.”

  “Second day?” I asked. “How long was the hellhound free?”

  “Four days. It took two more days, a pack of Shadowhounds, and several mages to bring down one unbound hellhound, but they did it.”

  I looked over at Peaches. “How bad was it?”

  “You may have heard of the event. They call it the Great Fire of London.”

  “Oh. Damn.”

  “Yes, that is quite apt.”

  “And there are Shadowhounds here?”

  She nodded, holstered her guns, and reached into her bag.

  “How many?”

  “Enough.”

  SEVEN

  “IS THERE ANY way to stop them?”

  “Let’s figure a way to get you two out of here first, before we deal with Shadowhounds.”

  “Back at Fordey Boutique we were able to do a multi-port, but that was only twice, in one direction, and headed at a target.” I rubbed Peaches’ massive head as I looked down the corridor. “We’ve never tried this. I don’t even know how far he can port.”

  “You can’t stay here,” she said, examining the runes on the doorframe. “Can you focus energy?”

  I looked at her, confused for a second. “Excuse me? Do you mean cast spells?”

  “Yes. Can you?”

  “I know the Incantation of Light,” I said, and Peaches rumbled next to me. “But it’s not very effective. I’m not a mage.”

  “That much is clear, you’re not nearly cranky enough.” Mori kept rifling through her bag until she pulled out a small, black metal rod. It was about six inches long and covered in faintly glowing silver runes. “Here, this should help.”

  I flicked it with my wrist and it expanded to three times the length. “Is this a…wand?”

  “It’s a runically enhanced focus.”

  “So…it’s a wand.”

  She nodded with a sigh. “Yes. One of the few things that can stop Shadowhounds is concentrated light.” She traced the runes on the wand. “These runes will amplify your Incantation, allowing you to deal with them.”

  “If Monty sees me using a wand, he’ll lose his mind.” I waved the wand around in some of my best Gandalf poses. “He’s not big on wizards. Do you have a staff?”

  She gave me a ‘Did you really just ask that?’ look.

  “Mages, especially the Montagues, do not like to be associated with the trappings of wizardry.” She reached out and collapsed the wand. “Fortunately for you, he’s not here to see you use it.”

  “Exactly how do I use it?”

  “Point and shoot?” she said. “You have the command phrase?”

  “Sure, it’s igniscorus—”

  Mori covered my mouth before I could finish. I noticed the runes on the wand and in the circle beneath us increased in intensity.

  “What are you doing?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “How have you managed to live this long?” I was about to say something when she held up a hand. “No, don’t answer. I didn’t ask you to say the phrase, just if you had it. Besides, that’s the wrong phrase. Do you know the other one?”

  I nodded. The runes dimmed around us and she removed her hand. “Yes. I know it.”

  “Don’t say it,” she said quickly. “Remember, it needs life force to be effective.”

  “Got it, other phrase. Life force. Point the wand.”

  “Good. You see a Shadowhound, you say the phrase and send an orb their way. Try not to miss.”

  “What do they look like? Shadowhounds?”

  “Ever see a wolf?”

  “Yes.” I looked over at Peaches. “That doesn’t seem like much of a threat to a—”

  “Imagine them twice that size, with claws and poisonous fangs designed to shred everything, especially hellhounds. In addition, they can do that teleporting thing hellhounds do and only really have a few weaknesses—eldritch flame and concentrated light.”

  “Peaches doesn’t have eldritch flame.”

  “He’s too young,” she said. “This means you need to defend him. You see a Shadowhound, you keep them away with the incantation. Don’t let him get bitten.”

  “Point and shoot.” I looked down at the wand. “Can I keep this?”
<
br />   “No. You have about ten uses before it disintegrates.” She shook her head. “It’s a temporary focus. Remember, you are the weapon. Don’t depend on a crutch. Now, let’s get out of here.”

  We stepped to the edge of the circle in front of the door. The runes kept alternating on the four sides of the corridor.

  “It’s too long to run through.”

  “Get the pattern. Run when it’s not on the floor, then move to the next surface.”

  “You expect me to run on the walls and ceiling?”

  “Can a stone float on water?”

  “No. At least not usually.”

  “If you take the same stone and add velocity…?”

  “It skips,” I said, understanding her intention. “We need to skip across the surfaces?”

  She nodded. “I’ll meet you on the other side in case we have unwanted guests waiting.” She rummaged through her bag again. “One more thing. This isn’t a collar, but it will help so you don’t get lost.”

  She handed me a length of what appeared to be silver filament coiled into a roll.

  “What’s this?” I said, taking it.

  “Silver cord—a tether.” She pulled on the filament, tied one end of it around my waist, and the other end around Peaches’ neck. She whispered something under her breath and touched the cord. It shone brightly for a few seconds before disappearing. “Wouldn’t want you to get lost during the ports.”

  “Lost where?”

  “Nowhere. Once your bond gets stronger, you won’t need a tether. Ready?”

  “Not really.”

  “Good, let’s go.”

  EIGHT

  “I’LL SHOW YOU what you need to do.” Mori tightened her bag, adjusting the straps. “Remember, you need speed. Watch.”

  Mori raced down the corridor. I had long ago eliminated the word “impossible” from my vocabulary, right around the time I’d met Monty.

  She raced down the corridor for several seconds, jumped on the left wall, avoiding the runes, took several steps, leaped on the ceiling—moving fast, faster than I thought possible. A few more seconds and she jumped on the right wall and went out of sight around the corner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Peaches padded over to the far side of the circle opposite the door. He hunched down into ‘stalk and pounce’ mode. I didn’t think he could move fast at this size. I was wrong.

  He bounded off, covering the distance of the circle in a few seconds. I dashed after him as we crossed the threshold. The runes on the doorframe exploded with light. I saw the runes on the ceiling shift to the right wall.

  Peaches jumped in the air, angled left and blinked out. The next second, the corridor disappeared. I reappeared without breaking my stride on the left wall with Peaches next to me. We took several steps and disappeared again, avoiding the runes.

  We were moving faster now. Somewhere along the blinks, our velocity had increased. Three steps on the ceiling and we blinked out again. Moving even faster, I felt myself being pulled in his wake. We reappeared on the right wall near the end of the corridor. Peaches leaped off the wall and into the adjoining corridor into the welcoming committee of Shadowhounds.

  I flicked my wrist, extending the wand as the Shadowhounds closed in, growling. I counted five of them as they spread out and lowered their bodies in stalking mode.

  Behind them, the corridor extended for fifty feet and curved right, leading to a door I hoped opened into the front of the deli. I heard gunshots in the distance—Mori dealing with more unwanted guests. I moved to stand in front of Peaches.

 

 

 

  I held up the wand.

 

 

 

 

  Peaches soared over my head with a leap and landed in the middle of the pack. He crushed one of the Shadowhounds on impact and shredded another with his massive jaws.

  I pointed the wand. “Ignisvitae!” I yelled and felt a rush of power. It raced down my arm, into the wand, and unleashed a swarm of violet orbs that surrounded me. “Get out of the way, boy!”

  The orbs hovered next to me for a second before rushing at the remaining three Shadowhounds and Peaches. He blinked out as the orbs crashed into the Shadowhounds, disintegrating them. He reappeared next to me with a rumble, staring at me.

 

 

  The wand grew hot in my hand and turned orange. I dropped it on the ground and watched it turn to dust.

  “So much for ten uses.”

 

  “Which way?”

  Peaches turned and looked behind us.

 

  I looked down the corridor ahead and noticed the absence of runes. “This corridor looks safe. Let’s go find Mori and get out of here.”

  NINE

  WE REACHED HALFWAY down the corridor before I heard the growls behind us. We picked up the pace and burst through the door at the end of the corridor into what used to be the main dining area.

  “Nice of you to join me,” Mori said from behind the main counter as she unleashed a barrage of bullets at the nearest Rakshasa. “Get back!”

  I ducked instinctively under a swipe intending to remove the upper half of my body. Another Rakshasa roared as it closed on us. I counted four of the creatures closing in.

  “We have more Shadowhounds coming,” I said, jumping over the counter with Peaches next to me. What happened here? Where’s Ezra?”

  The deli had been turned into a war zone. Most of the tables were broken. The windows around the perimeter were shattered. The empty street was filled with craters and most of the buildings I could see were crumbling or in the midst of becoming rubble.

  “All good questions I don’t have answers to,” she said, jumping to the side as a Rakshasa slammed a fist down and removed part of the counter. “We have more immediate concerns, I think.”

  “What happened out there? Did I miss a war?”

  “Can you deal with these creatures while I dispatch the Shadowhounds?”

  “Deal with these creatures how? I don’t have a weapon.”

  “Where’s the focus?” She ducked under a swipe and backpedaled from a stomp. “Did you lose it?”

  “Not exactly.” I slid to the side as a Rakshasa caught my scent and raked the air where I’d stood moments earlier. “I kind of used it all at once.”

  I reached reflexively for Grim Whisper, forgetting it was gone. I leaped forward and away from the closing Rakshasa. We couldn’t do this for long. Eventually they would hit us, it was only a matter of time.

  “All at once?” She switched magazines and fired at another Rakshasa. “My bullets aren’t doing much, except angering them. Can you activate your hellhound’s battlemode?”

  “Battlemode?”

  “He gets larger and indestructible? It’s hard to miss.”

  “Peaches XL.” I nodded. “I don’t kn
ow if I can activate it. That usually happens on its own or when we’re in danger.”

  “What exactly do you think we’re in right now?”

  She kicked over a table and stepped back as the Shadowhounds entered the dining area.

  “Good point, give me a moment.” I crouched down next to Peaches.

  “Sure, take your time,” Mori said with a grunt. “Only dealing with monsters trying to eat us.”

 

 

 

 

  I stared at him. “Are you serious right now?” I looked over at Mori. “Do we have meat?”

  “End of counter,” she answered without looking at me. “Some smoked sausage links and about five pounds of today’s pastrami.”

 

  We moved to the end of the counter, where I pulled the meat down to the floor in front of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  He inhaled the meat with a few chomps and looked at me.

 

  I placed my hand on his head and the runes on the side of his body blazed with energy. Every muscle in my arm contracted as the energy flowed between us.

  Memories of London came to mind as the power coursing through my arm increased. It felt like the muscles were tearing themselves apart. I wanted to let go but found myself unable to remove my hand. I clenched my jaw against the pain.

  The runes along his flanks increased in intensity, blinding me. The force of the energy between us increased. I felt him push me across the floor as he grew. With a thwump, a blast of energy bounced me off the wall and onto what remained of the counter. Heat flushed my body to deal with the damage.