Hellhound Blues

by Orlando A. Sanchez

  Contents

  Hellhound

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  AUTHOR NOTES

  TOMBYARDS & BUTTERFLIES

  Contact me:

  Thank you for reading

  ART Shredders

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Hellhound

  Blues

  A Brew & Chew Adventure

  by

  Orlando A. Sanchez

  “There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with meat.” -Peaches

  ONE

  SIMON WAS GONE.

  That usually didn’t bother me. Sometimes he would go outside with the angry man but he was never gone for long. He usually came back with delicious meat, because he knew as every hellhound knows, Meat is Life.

  After the time he tried to make me some healthy meat, I told him it was safer if he didn’t do that again. He almost broke my stomach, and I almost broke a building.

  Healthy meat is not good for hellhounds. It produces something called deathane, at least that’s what the scary lady called it after we exploded. I just know it didn’t taste good.

  Even though he was outside we were bondmates, so I could find him wherever he was. I tried to smell him but couldn’t find his scent. This had happened once before, but this time it was different. I sensed something else, something dangerous.

  The bond we shared was breaking.

  If it broke completely, bad things would happen. I would become what Simon called Peaches XL, and my hellhound nature would force me to destroy…everything.

  I needed help.

  The angry man had left earlier, and the old man with the bird was far away. I closed my eyes and felt for someone with power nearby.

  The cold girl.

  The first time I met the cold girl she said I was beautiful.

  She was right.

  This would have been smart for a human, but I knew. When I looked into her eyes, and she wrapped her thin arms around me in a tight, fearless hug, I knew she wasn’t human.

  Her eyes held the old wisdom. This little girl who could hear me like Simon, my bondmate, was special like the angry man.

  More importantly, the cold girl’s guardian was the most amazing hound I had ever seen. She wasn’t a hellhound, but other than that, she was perfect. The cold girl wanted to be friends. Maybe she could help me find Simon.

  The cold girl had been visiting the angry man every afternoon, when he would growl at her and she would make ice. Sometimes she made too much ice, and he would create fire to melt it.

  One time she made ice balls and hit Simon in-between his legs. He let out a howl worthy of a hellhound and then bent over. He wasn’t too happy about that, but I saw the angry man almost smile.

  The cold girl was close. I concentrated and stepped through the space into the cold girl’s house. A woman screamed as I emerged into the living space. Her name was Katrin. She made sure the cold girl and the Guardian had food to eat and water to drink.

  Katrin wasn’t special like the cold girl, but she seemed nice enough and didn’t mind my coming over…much. She did like to scream, but I figured that was just her way of saying hello. I barked back a soft hello and didn’t break any of the windows or walls.

  Simon always says people don’t like my loud barks, so I’ve been practicing. Katrin ran out of the room without leaving a treat or any meat. Maybe Simon can talk to her about how meat is life.

  “Peaches!” a young voice yelled behind me. “Rags look, it’s Peaches!”

  I turned to look into the old eyes of the young girl who ran at me. Behind her stood her guardian, ignoring me but keeping an eye on the girl. I tried not to stare but couldn’t look away from her houndishly fine features.

  “Hello, cold girl,” I said into her head.

  “Peaches,” the cold girl said, wagging a finger at me with mock seriousness. “How many times have I told you to call me Cece?”

  “Five times.”

  She nodded with a giggle. “Please use my name. It’s being polite, right, Rags?”

  Her guardian hound looked at me and shook her amazing fur. “I don’t think hellhounds have manners, Miss.”

  Even though the cold girl wasn’t my bondmate, she could hear me. That wasn’t the only thing that made her special. When I was around her, I could hear and talk to her guardian, and her guardian could speak to me.

  “I’m glad you came to visit,” the cold girl said, as she grabbed me by the neck and squeezed. Had anyone else attempted to squeeze me this way, I would have removed one of their arms, but I liked the cold girl. “Mr. Montague has me practicing ice balls. He calls them ‘spheres’. Want to see?”

  “Yes,” I answered, looking over at her guardian. “Hello, Guardian Rags.”

  “Hellhound, what do you need?” Rags answered in her wonderful voice. “You are interrupting an important practice lesson. Mage Montague expects Cecelia to master spherical constructs without accidental impacts. By the way, how is your bondmate? Can he walk without howling now?”

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  “You want Cece to hit him in his lower parts again?”

  “Can you tell Mr. Simon I’m really sorry about the other day?” Cece said. “I tried to hold the ice balls close to me, but they just flew away.”

  “Cece, focus on the lesson,” Rags said. “Remember what the mage said. Create one ice sphere at a time, and hold it in place before starting on the next one.”

  “I remember,” Cece said, and took a deep breath. “I have to hold it in my head first.”

  Cece closed her eyes for a few seconds and concentrated. She looked like the angry man when he was making some dangerous magic. I felt the energy around her increase, and realized the cold girl was getting stronger. She wasn’t as strong as the angry man, but she was still young.

  An ice ball formed in her hand. As she opened her eyes, I saw a small smile form on her face. She closed her eyes again as the ice ball floated around her. Another ice ball formed, followed by a third.

  “Cece, I think three is good for a start,” Rags said. “The mage said not to make more than two.”

  “I think…I think I can make one more,” Cece said, but I heard the strain in her voice. “One…more.”

  I felt her energy shift, and I knew this was a bad idea. It felt the same as when Simon made, what he called, his ‘magic missile’ and made holes in everything. I stepped back from the floating ice balls.

  “She is passing her limit, Guardian,” I said, carefully moving across the floor and away from the now fast-moving ice balls. “She should stop.”

  “Mind your place, hellhound,” Rags said, turning to Cece. “Miss, do not make any more ice spheres. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Just one more,” Cece said forming another ice ball. “See? I told you I could do it.”

  The ice balls were moving fast around her body, and the energy around her felt familiar. It was the same sensation I felt when the angry man would cast something and everything would break or explode.

  “Cold girl, you should stop,” I said. “This feels dangerous.”

  “Dangerous?” Cece lifted a hand. “Not at all. I have them under complete cont—uh oh, Rags?”

  The ice balls shot off in every direction. I leaped to the side to avoid being hit. The Guardian tackled Cece and covered her body, as two of the ice balls shot through the space where the cold girl stood a second before.

  “Hellhound, can you do something useful
?”

  The ice balls were racing around the room, and I didn’t want to get hit. I also wanted to show Rags my brave and fearsome side. I focused on the ice balls as they flew past me. I felt an energy shift inside, and red beams of light shot out from my eyes.

  The ice balls shattered mid-flight, sending shards of ice in every direction. Simon called these my omega beams. They were really called a baleful glare, and I had never used one at my normal size. It meant my bond with Simon was getting weaker.

  I looked over at Rags and Cece, and made sure they were unharmed. Cece looked ashamed, like when I chewed one of the angry man’s favorite shoes. Rags stared at me for a long time before turning back to the cold girl.

  “I told you Mage Montague said no more than two spheres,” Rags said. “It’s too dangerous for you to make more than two.”

  “I’m sorry,” Cece said, looking at me. “But Peaches protected us. He shot lasers from his eyes and blew them up!”

  Rags looked at me again and gave me a nod. “Indeed, he did,” she said. “Well done, hellhound. It appears you have some usefulness after all.”

  My heart skipped a beat as she spoke. I didn’t hear the words. Just the fact that she was speaking to me was enough. In that moment, I wished I had a sausage, not the healthy kind, to share with her, but I didn’t know magic and couldn’t create my own.

  “You’re welcome—” I started.

  “As much as I appreciate your assistance, your presence here is distracting to the Miss,” Rags said. “She isn’t focusing on the lesson and for some reason I cannot understand, wants to impress you. Why are you here?”

  “Simon is gone.”

  “What do you mean gone? Most likely he is at the store getting you more of that sausage you seem fixated on.”

  “No, he isn’t,” I said. “I don’t feel or smell him.”

  “Perhaps he just needed some time away from you and Mage Montague.”

  “We’re bondmates. Why would he need time away?”

  “I’m sure even bondmates need some alone time. Are you sure you can’t sense him?”

  I sniffed the air again and closed my eyes. I felt the energy of the cold girl, the warm undercurrent of power that covered Rags and the nervous energy of Katrin. I tried smelling in other places but couldn’t find my bondmate.

  I shook my head. “I can’t feel or smell him,” I said.

  Rags stepped close to me, and I took in her heady scent. “Would he hide from you? On purpose?”

  “No, he never has before,” I said. “The only time I couldn’t sense him was when—”

  “What’s wrong?” Cece asked. “Is Mr. Simon okay?”

  “One moment, Miss,” Rags said. “You were saying, hellhound? The only time you couldn’t sense your bondmate was?”

  “When our bond was broken.”

  Rags took a few steps back and placed herself between Cece and me. “Your bond. Is it broken now?”

  “No, or else I would be much larger and dangerous,” I said slowly. “But I feel it breaking. Can you help me find Simon?”

  “I don’t think we should get invol—” Rags started.

  “Of course we’ll help you,” Cece said. “We’re friends, and that’s what friends do.”

  “A broken bond is a very dangerous situation, Miss. We should wait for Mage Montague to return. He’ll know how to handle this.”

  “What if it breaks before then?” Cece countered. “Then Peaches will be in trouble.”

  “He is not the one in danger, we are,” Rags said, looking at me. “We’re better off leaving the continent until this situation is resolved.”

  “Please?” Cece pleaded. “Mr. Montague said he won’t be back for my next lesson until next week.”

  Rags shook her head and chuffed. “Very well, but we’re going to need help. We need a mage, and the Miss is not strong enough to track down your bondmate. Do you know of any mages besides Mage Montague?”

  “I know one, but he’s a dragon,” I said. “Will that work?”

  “As long as he’s a mage, we can use his ability to track your bondmate and figure out what’s going on with your bond,” Rags said, looking around. “But I don’t think a dragon will fit in this space, and Katrin would most likely leave us if we brought one here.”

  “He’s a small dragon,” I said. “I’ll bring him here.”

  “Can you talk to your friend, the dragon?” Cece asked, getting closer to me. “The way we talk?”

  I normally don’t let people get too close. Most of the time, people take one look at me and stay far away. Simon says it’s because hellhounds are scary dogs. I think it’s because people can’t handle my sausage goodness.

  The cold girl wasn’t afraid of me. She stepped close and put a hand on my head.

  “Miss!” hissed her beautiful guardian. “Don’t touch him. You don’t know where he’s been. Probably covered in germs.”

  “It’s okay, Rags,” Cece answered. “This is going to help him.”

  “Not as much as a bath,” Rags answered with a low growl. “Do hellhounds even bathe?”

  “Simon says I’m self-cleaning,” I answered as the cold girl’s hand rested on my head. My head became cold as Cece smiled at me.

  “There,” Cece said with a clap and a rub between my ears. “Now you can talk to your dragon. You have to hurry, it won’t last very long.”

  “Mage Montague expressly advised against you using your ability in this way,” Rags said, nudging Cece away from me. “What if he finds out?”

  “We won’t tell,” Cece said. “Besides we’re trying to help Mr. Simon, and he’s Mr. Montague’s friend. I’m sure it’s okay.”

  Rags turned to look at me. “You’d better move quickly,” she said. “The Miss is right. Your ability to communicate won’t last very long. Go bring us your dragon.”

  I stepped in-between and left them behind.

  TWO

  THE IN-BETWEEN place let me go anywhere I wanted. I smelled for the small dragon and found him. I focused, making an opening.

  I stood in the middle of the dragon’s house and sniffed around. I was in the right place, but it was empty. I looked around the large room. I saw the tables and the long bar. No one was present, but I sensed the dragon and one other person.

  They were hiding.

  This wasn’t hiding like Simon. I could sense them but not see them with my eyes. I had another way to make them appear. I turned and focused on the spot where I felt the dragon, took a deep breath, and barked.

  I had been practicing with Simon. This wasn’t one of my full barks. That would have destroyed most of the wall. This was a soft bark to let the dragon know that I could sense him and he should stop hiding. Many of the bottles behind the bar exploded after I barked.

  “Don’t shoot, Cole,” the dragon said as they appeared. “I’m serious. He’s not a threat.”

  Behind the dragon was a large man holding a large gun. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans. He looked at me, and I could tell he was angry about something.

  “Not a threat?” the large man spoke to the dragon. “Frank, did you just see what happened? Not a threat my ass.”

  Maybe he was like Simon and needed the strange smelling bean juice he called coffee. The angry man always felt better after he drank his leaf water. I was about to suggest both, when the large man moved the gun and made a noise.

  Simon called that noise ‘chambering’ and he told me that if I ever heard it, I should bite the arm of the person responsible. If they dropped the gun, I could leave the arm attached. If not I should remove the arm.

  I was just about to help the large man drop the gun, when the dragon let go of energy. All around him, I saw blue light.

  “He’s not a threat,” Frank said, shaking his body. “Lower the weapon before you lose something valuable.”

  “It just destroyed several thousand dollars’ worth of inventory,” the large man replied, still not lowering the gun. “I’m letting you explain this to
Grey.”

  The large man turned to the wall of broken bottles. I was proud I hadn’t destroyed the wall. I’m sure he was thinking the same thing.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Frank said, and walked down the bar to me. “Grey will be fine. Now, lower the shotgun.”

  “Are you seeing the same thing I’m seeing?”

  “Obviously.”

  “That’s a—” Cole started.

  “Hellhound,” Frank said. “I’m aware of what kind of creature this is.”

  “When have you ever met a friendly hellhound?”

  “Well, never.”

  “My point exactly,” Cole said, aiming at me with the shotgun. “Shoot first, ask questions later.”

  “You should put the weapon away, please,” I said, and the large man looked at me with surprise. “I don’t want to bite your arm off, but I will.”

  “Maybe put the shotgun away, Cole.”

  “That thing can speak?” Cole asked, taking a step back, surprised. “I thought a talking lizard was bad enough.”

  “Dragon,” Frank said. “Not lizard.”

  “Since when do hellhounds speak? How did I understand it?”

  The dragon stepped close to me and almost closed its eyes. After a few seconds, he nodded at me.

  “I don’t recall them speaking to anyone they weren’t bonded to,” the dragon said. “This must be a special case. Put the weapon away. I know who he belongs to.”

  “Belongs to? Since when are the spawn of hell owned by anyone?” Cole asked. “I’m going to kill it now.”

  Frank flicked his tail, and electric lights raced all over the bar. Some bounced on me and tickled my skin.

  “I said stand down,” Frank said, looking at Cole. “I’m the security for this dilapidated establishment, and I said he isn’t a threat.”

  Cole nodded and put the large gun away under the bar.

  “Fine,” Cole said, “if he eats you for like a snack, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Duly noted,” Frank answered with a nod, looking at me. “We have any meat left in the freezer?”

  “Of course,” Cole said. “This dilapidated establishment is always well stocked. Why?”

  “Get the hound some sausage while I find out what he wants.”