by Julie Wetzel
“Good evening, Lord Dakine.” Darien bowed to the elf lord. “All are here and ready.”
“Very well. Let us put out these torches and call the hounds,” Dakine said, and the torches were extinguished, dropping the field into total darkness.
Vicky felt a hand touch hers in the dark, and she took it and squeezed. Darien’s familiar hand and leather bracers squelched the fear that rose in her. They stood for a few minutes in silence, letting their eyes adjust to the natural light of the night. Vicky started to be able to make out the shape of people moving in the blackness around her. She looked back up at the amazing stars above her to marvel at the beauty of the Milky Way cutting across the sky.
“Beautiful,” Darien’s voice whispered from the dark shape next to her.
Vicky turned to look at him. She could just make out his eyes. It surprised her that she could tell they were green in the lack of light.
“Yes,” she agreed, not sure if she meant the stars or the green eyes sparkling next to her.
Darien drew in a long breath and opened his mouth to let it rush out in a heavy sigh. “I’ll take you out stargazing some other time.” He pulled her towards the line of trees behind them. “Right now, we have work to do.”
Vicky followed him, trusting that he could see better then she could.
“Zak,” Lord Dakine called, “call the hounds.”
Vicky felt the pressure from Zak’s tentacle release her leg as he wobbled forwards, towards the trees. She could just make out his shape, slightly darker than the ground around her. Her eyes were getting used to the dark, and she looked around at the people standing behind her. There were now easily three times the number there had been before the lights had gone out. Vicky stepped a little closer to Darien and held on to his arm tighter.
Looking down at her, he turned to see what had frightened her. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “They’re here for the hunt,” Darien whispered as he pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re safe.”
Vicky leaned in against his cooler chest. She could feel his heartbeat speed up to match hers, and somehow that comforted her. Closing her eyes, she relaxed a little in Darien’s arms. Vicky was startled back to reality when an eerie warbling came from the dark mass just outside the woods. It went on for a long time as the tension level in the crowd around her rose. Vicky huddled in the circle of Darien’s arms as the sound stopped and silence filled the air. The normal sounds of bugs and wind that filled the night died off as everything waited for the forest to respond to Zak’s call. Darien patted Vicky’s side, startling her into taking a breath before she passed out. She hadn’t realized she had been holding the air, afraid to break the strange silence that had taken over the area.
“There are your hellhounds,” Darien whispered as he pointed to the edge of the forest, just in front of Zak.
Vicky’s eyes caught movement as something squirmed out from behind a tree.
Zak called to it coaxingly, and it wiggled out to be seen by the group. It returned a warbling call similar to the original call.
Vicky could feel the question in the sound. Zak answered back, and she felt the promise and eagerness in his voice. Even in the dark, she could tell the thing that had come from the woods was the same type of fay as Zak.
The smaller ball of tentacles wiggled happily and chirped some type of all clear.
Horror filled Vicky as the entire tree line came alive with wiggling tentacle balls.
Darien shushed her gently, trying to soothe the fear from her.
She tried to be calm as Zak led the first creature over to them. He barked, and Darien stepped back, releasing Vicky. She turned to protest being given to the mass pouring out of the forest, but Darien shushed her again gently.
“I’ll be right here,” he said as he patted her back. Darien took a hold of a lock of Vicky’s hair and held on to it as Zak pulled her a step closer to the mass.
The fay took hold of her left hand and pulled the gauze from the burn. He forced Vicky to bend over to show the burn to the new creature.
She shivered as the tentacle touched her timidly. It gurgled at Zak as it felt her palm.
Zak let out a growling gurgle towards Lord Dakine and Darien.
“The medallion!” Dakine said as he stepped forwards. “It’s keeping the hounds from the scent.”
Darien was just a step faster and found the cord wrapped around Vicky’s neck. He pulled loose the knot and slipped his hand up under her cloak to catch the silver away from her skin.
The new hound cooed slightly and writhed in happiness as it pulled away from Vicky to tumble past her into the people waiting.
Darien let out a sigh of relief and slipped the necklace into Vicky’s bag before stepping back to where he had been. Hellhounds were funny creatures. When given a scent, they would follow it to the ends of the earth until they caught their quarry or they tired of the chase. It was very rare for the hounds to tire of a chase in the real world. Extreme caution was always used when giving the hounds a scent.
Vicky watched as each of the writhing masses of tentacles came up to touch her hand with a feeler. Each one would gurgle excitedly before wobbling past and brushing her legs with their tentacles as if they were tasting her.
One of the hounds gurgled loudly after feeling her and wrapped a tentacle around her wrist tightly.
Zak barked at the fay and lunged after it, growling. The fay attached to Vicky pulled her over into the writhing mass of hounds as Zak grabbed onto the offending creature.
She shrieked in fear as the hellhounds swamped her.
Dakine grabbed onto Darien’s shoulder to hold him back as Zak grappled with the offending hound.
The two creatures rolled around on the ground for a moment, snapping and tearing at each other until one yelped loudly and backed away from the fight. Zak stood up, waving his tentacles angrily at the beaten hound before turning back to save Vicky from the other fay clinging to her. He ripped them away with a snarl and tossed a few back towards the woods.
The tentacle balls retreated, leaving Vicky curled on the ground with Zak standing over her protectively. He snarled and barked as the hounds backed up. Turning his attention to Vicky, he whimpered lightly to see if she was okay. She uncurled a little and nodded as Zak touched her softly with his feelers. Sitting up, Vicky let him into her lap, and he pulled her hand out for the hounds again.
It was all Darien could do to stand back and watch as the mass of tentacles flowed back over Vicky to start touching her hand again.
Zak sat in her lap and snarled at any of the fay that got overly touchy with her.
Darien had lost his hold on the strand of hair when she had fallen into the hounds, and he was dying to wade into the mass to take it up again. The thin strands had grounded Vicky to him so that one of the fay couldn’t just disappear with her. That had been the only reason he had left her hair down this evening. Darien closed his eyes and put his trust in Zak to protect her from the unpredictable fay.
Elliot touched Darien’s shoulder as the last of the hellhounds touched the burn on Vicky’s left hand.
The balls of tentacles had wiggled back into the group and found someone that ‘tasted’ right to join up with. The hounds left unpaired rolled around between the people, waiting for the hunt to start.
When Zak was sure all the hounds were done with Vicky, he wiggled out of her lap.
Darien stepped forwards to help her to her feet and checked to make sure she was okay. He pulled a few leaves from her hair before holding her to him, glad she was unharmed.
“Now what?” Vicky said as he released her.
Darien took her hand. “Now, we ride.”
Zak let out a warbling cry. The hellhounds picked up the call and started to change. Vicky gasped in horror as she watched one of the masses of tentacles thrash about as if it was in agony before splitting open. She nearly threw up as the creature literally turned itself inside out. Unable to pull her eyes away, she watched the quivering
mass as it reshaped itself into a dog.
It had the same long, lean body of a greyhound, but it was much larger and black as night. The dog yelped in pain as it tried to stand up before the transformation was complete. Vicky stared in amazement as the creature shook itself and stood up on wobbly legs. It sniffed the ground for a moment before starting to move off into the night, each step firmer then the last.
Vicky nearly fell over when something nudged her in the back. She whipped around to find herself face to face with the largest horse she had ever seen. At its shoulder, the horse stood almost as tall as Darien was and was midnight black. Its black eyes shown with intelligence, and it whinnied at her before bending over to nuzzle her. Vicky stepped back, unsure of the large animal above her.
The horse snorted its displeasure at her retreat before grabbing up a lock of loose hair to nibble on.
“Stop it, Zak,” Darien scolded the large animal as he patted its shoulder. “You’re scaring her.”
Vicky stared in disbelief at the creature. “Zak?” she asked, looking at the animal.
The horse whinnied again as it stomped its foot and nodded its head.
She reached out to touch his nose as Zak nuzzled her. Vicky looked around at the rest of the group to see there was a horse for everyone. “We’re going on horses?” she asked.
Darien chuckled. “What did you expect for a hunt?” he teased. “Motorcycles?”
Vicky’s mouth worked, but she could think of no comeback.
He took ahold of Zak’s shoulder to mount up, but the fay danced sideways away from him. “Zak!” Darien growled.
Zak glared at him.
“We talked about this. We ride together, or she doesn’t go.”
Zak glared at him for a moment longer before snorting loudly and turning his head away from the vampire.
Darien growled lightly as he went to the horse’s side and swung up with practiced grace. He held his hand down to Vicky as soon as he was settled on Zak’s back. “Come on.”
She looked up at him, stunned. “I can’t ride a horse,” Vicky protested as she wrung her hands together.
“It’s Zak.” Darien leaned over so that it would be easier for her to get his hand. “He won’t let you fall, and neither will I.”
Vicky waffled for a moment before taking his hand.
He pulled her up in front of him. “I can’t believe you’re a farm girl and don’t know how to ride a horse.” Darien dug at her a little.
“Hey,” Vicky snapped back. “My daddy lived in a time when they had these things call tractors. There was never a need for something as unpredictable as a horse. And that stupid mule always dumped everyone off in the creek, so I never rode him.”
He chuckled at her. “Then this should be fun.” Darien squeezed Zak with his legs to get him moving.
Zak ignored him.
Darien clenched his jaw. “Would you please tell him to listen to me?”
Vicky smiled and patted Zak on the neck just below his mane. “Come on, Zak.” Her pleading was rewarded with a soft snort as he nodded his head. “Thank you.” Zak let out a short neigh before starting to move under them. Vicky grabbed on to his mane for dear life.
“Easy there,” Darien said, easing her fingers out from Zak’s hair. “It’s okay to hang on, but there’s no need to pull.” He placed her hand on Zak’s neck softly before wrapping his arms around her. Using his knees, he signaled Zak over to Lord Dakine.
Zak trotted over to the elf lord mounted on a slightly smaller horse.
“Are we leading, or do you want to?” Darien asked as Zak danced around with excitement.
Vicky held on, scared out of her wits.
“Since cailín has the scent, you should lead.” Dakine looked out over the crowd of horses, dogs, and wolves, all filled with eagerness. “It looks like everyone is ready.” Dakine nodded. “Let’s go.”
“Hold on,” Darien whispered, and she tangled her fingers in Zak’s mane again. “Start them, Zak,” he called and held on tightly to Vicky.
She felt several strands of the mane wrap around her hands as he reared up and let out a deafening whinny.
Darien laughed with joy as they came down, and Zak kicked back up, repeating the cry.
The dogs let out a bay that could have woken the dead. The cry was picked up by the wolves, and they took off towards the city.
Vicky clenched her eyes shut as Zak wheeled around and took off after the dogs at a full gallop. It didn’t take him long to find a smooth gait as he chased after the hounds.
Darien pulled her locks together and leaned forwards to whisper to Vicky. “Sit up,” he said over the sound of the wind whipping past them. “You’re missing it.”
Vicky very slowly sat up into the man behind her and opened her eyes. The sights she saw made her gasp in awe.
***
The Wild Hunt moved with amazing speed as they galloped through the sky. The hounds that led the way were a sea of undulating black, broken by the occasional colored back of the werewolves running with them.
It was hard for Vicky to pick out any one dog for more than a few seconds through the continual shifting of the pack as it ran. She was surprised by the number of different breeds passing before her eyes. Having seen one of the hellhounds change, she had expected them all to turn into something resembling Greyhounds, but that wasn’t the case.
Each dog took on a form it liked. Most took on forms made for hunting, lean and fast without showing the known characteristics of any one breed, but Vicky’s eyes also caught dogs she recognized.
There were large breeds like mastiffs and the occasional Great Dane, there were Labradors and at least one Springer spaniel, but the breeds that surprised her were the small ones. There were many types of terriers and a few that looked like show dogs, but the one that pulled a laugh from Vicky was the Dachshund with its short, little legs pumping furiously to keep up with the rest of the pack.
Vicky turned her attention from the hounds to the host riding behind her.
Darien shifted a little so she could see around him without having to lean too far out.
The riders sat upon great black horses that pounded through the sky. Each hoof fall kicked up a small puff of what looked to be smoke. This had started to gather in the form of great black storm clouds behind the hunters. She shivered at the sight before turning to face forwards again.
Darien pulled her closer, thinking she may be cold.
Vicky looked down at the less-than-solid air below them and the ground passing underneath. It was easy to see cars and people as they passed less than five hundred feet above them. “Can’t people see us?” Vicky asked as she looked down.
“Yes,” Darien said, unworried. “But all they’ll see is the storm clouds formed by our passing. Tomorrow’s weather report will buzz with the randomness of summer storms and how they seem to form out of nothing.”
She could hear the amusement in his voice as they thundered through the sky. Looking around at the riders near them, she found the people she knew. Lord Dakine and Rupert rode on the left, while Elliot and Clara came up on the right. Vicky could easily see they were all enjoying the exhilaration of the ride. She relaxed a little as she grew more accustomed to the feel of Zak under her. His muscles rippled with strength and power as he ran. Vicky patted him softly on the neck, and he nodded his head with a whinny. She was starting to really enjoy the experience.
Darien had forgotten how much he loved riding horses. There was just something about the feel of a large, powerful animal at his command that stirred something deep inside him. It was a little different, since he didn’t actually have control of Zak, but Darien was still enjoying himself. He only had one complaint. Zak hadn’t supplied them with the same tack most of the other mounts had given their riders.
The lack of reins didn’t bother Darien much; he had ridden many horses without bridle and bit, but it would have been nice to have at least a blanket for padding. As it was, his hips and thighs were going to be
killing him by the time they reached wherever they were going. Looking at the girl in his arms, he wondered how Vicky would fare on her first ride. She would probably need a hot bath and a good massage after this night was over; that is, if he was in any condition to give her one.
Darien wrapped an arm around her middle and pulled her as close as possible to keep her warm. The wind was slowly dropping in temperature. The storm clouds brewing behind were really starting to cool things off. He was glad Zak had insisted on a proper cloak for Vicky. The shawl Michael gave her was nice, but it wouldn’t have kept her warm enough.
“Um…” Vicky drew Darien’s attention away from his thoughts. “May I ask a question?”
“Of course.” He petted several of her locks back down so they would stop whipping in the wind.
“Those creatures that came out of the woods—they were hellhounds?” Vicky asked, thinking about the masses of tentacles pouring out of the forest.
Darien watched Zak’s ears swivel back to listen to the conversation. “Yes.”
“Does that mean… Zak…?” She paused, not knowing if she wanted to ask the question.
“Is a hellhound?” Darien completed what she had started. “Yes. Does that bother you?”
Vicky sat very still as she thought about this fact. The creature that had dominated her lap, chewed on her hair, slept in her bed, and stole her food was a hellhound. No wonder he freaked everyone in the supernatural community out. Does that fact bother her?
Vicky thought about all the people in her life right now; the vampire sitting behind her, the spunky werewolf that made her coffee, and how the last man she kissed had turned out to be an elf lord. To discover the wiggly ball of tentacles that had grown on her was really a hellhound seemed par for the course. In fact, it was a little comforting to know what type of fay he was.
“No,” Vicky said, shaking her head. “It doesn’t.” She leaned forwards to pat Zak on the side of his neck.
“Good,” Darien said, a little relieved. “I wasn’t sure what he would’ve done if you said it did. He might have dumped us off right here.” Zak nickered softly and bobbed his head as he ran.