Hound

by Caleb James

  She felt the warp and weave of reality glimmer. “The Hound is coming through,” she shouted as she alit in the meadow and raced toward the base of the Center’s wall, where a shimmering door had appeared.

  “Hurry, Your Majesty,” Dorothea said as her long, delicate wings flitted and clicked.

  “Hound!” May screamed as a tall figure appeared. You will not trick me again.

  With jaws wide and her legs tight around her salamander back, she leapt toward the door.

  I will eat you. Her pulse rang in her ears as she flew through the air. I will devour you. I will be whole.

  She landed jaw first in the dust, her mouth empty. The door was gone. And the portal was vanishing.

  “No!” she shrieked, and the salamander howled and twisted back on itself. Its broad snout poked at the shrinking portal.

  No! And as the force of Redmond Fall’s magic crashed down on her, she fought back. Engorged with the life’s blood of thousands of creatures, she clamped her salamander jaw onto the shimmering circle. She felt the flavor of the magic, took it inside, and with a few clicks, twists, and shimmies, she stopped it from closing. A tickle here. A tickle there. It sparked back to life. And what minutes earlier had looked like a siege that could last for ages, ended as she chewed a hole in the Center’s defenses.

  With Dorothea on her right and a battalion of flying creatures and the few trolls and ogres who’d made it across, she breached the wall and entered a courtyard filled with spear- and mace-wielding guards.

  The moment stretched before her as she made eye contact with each of her would-be attackers. “It’s simple,” she said. “You’re either with me… or you’re lunch.”

  Thirty-Two

  WITH NIMBY tucked in a pocket of his too short robe, Finn fell out of a mirror onto the pink-and-white marble floor of a place that was strange and familiar: the foyer of the Central Park West apartment of romance novelist and ex-pat fey Katye Summer. The ravishing strawberry-blonde sister of May smiled as she waited for Finn to catch his bearings.

  For his part, she was a lot to take in, dressed in pink from her cleavage-teasing camisole and tight leather mini to her red-soled Jimmy Choos. Where the hell am I? Because in front of Katye, standing sentinel, was a massive bullfrog that was over a foot tall and wider in the haunches.

  “We’ve not met,” she said as she offered her hand.

  “I’ve been here.” Finn tried to gather his wits while trying to cover as much of himself as he could with Redmond’s robe. Through the far windows, he glimpsed the park. This is New York. And she’s not to be trusted. His acute hearing caught distant traffic and a pond bubbler gurgling on a rooftop deck. It smells like roses. Do not trust her.

  “Take a moment.” Her smile dazzled. She’s trying that glamour thing. It was like Liam and how just looking at the man could rob him of his senses. He scrambled to his feet, aware of the warm air on his exposed chest and legs.

  From within the pocket of his—Redmond’s—robe, Nimby cried, “Alex, I want my Alex.”

  The frog croaked and, with a great leap that doubled his length, squeezed between Finn and his mistress’s feet.

  “That’s Lance,” she offered. “He’s protective. Too much at times. And we’ve not met because we’ve been away.” She gave him an appraising up and down.

  Lance croaked again.

  “He’s jealous,” she said. “You’ve done well. You are indeed the Hound. Woof. In a different life and a different body, we had a history, you and I.”

  Lance bellowed.

  “It was centuries before you, sweetheart.” She rolled her eyes. “Men… frogs… dogs. Oh dear, what has become of my dating life?”

  “A question.”

  “You’re a quick study. But what you’ll find is the rules of one world don’t apply in the other. Questions are fine here, though it does take an adjustment.” She chuckled. “And I will still exact a cost.”

  Finn held his tongue. While on the surface Katye appeared friendly, there was more to her story than he knew. Including the revelation that May was correct and her sister had indeed fooled around with the Hound. But why?

  “I want my Alex,” Nimby cried. She grabbed the edge of the pocket. Her wings spasmed out of sync and would not give her flight.

  “Poor thing,” Katye said. “Let me see her.”

  “Alex, I want my Alex.”

  Finn scooped her out. Her wings were torn, a large section of the lower pair was missing altogether, and a white film clouded her vivid red eyes.

  “Poor, brave thing,” Katye said. She stepped past her protesting frog and laid a finger on Nimby’s bald head. “So broken.” She made eye contact with Finn and shook her head. She whispered, “Too broken.”

  “Alex,” Nimby whimpered. “I want my Alex.”

  “I didn’t want her to come. I tried to stop her.”

  Katye cradled Nimby in her hands. Tears welled in her eyes. “She’s dying. So much death. It must end.”

  “My Alex,” Nimby moaned.

  “He’s on his way, love, and Jerod, and all the others.”

  “Please. Alex.”

  There was a buzz from the speaker by the door and the voice of the doorman. “Ms. Summer, Alex Nevus and company are here.”

  She hit the button. “Send them up.”

  “I already did, Ms. Summer.”

  She smiled. “They practically live here.” Her voice drifted as she soothed circles with her forefinger on Nimby’s back. Seemingly lost in reverie, she repeated herself. “And we were away. But I do forget my manners. Your clothes, while I appreciate the male form….”

  Lance barked.

  “Hush, you know that I am yours and yours alone.” She winked at Finn. “In truth I’ve only ever loved one man,” she said loud enough for Lance, but then lowered to a whisper that only a dog could hear, “at a time.”

  Finn stared from the frog to Katye. Are they all mad?

  “I have things that will fit you better. Though as I recall, you go through outfits at an alarming rate.”

  Cradling Nimby and with Lance tight at her heels, she led Finn into a closet filled with men’s clothing. “These are his.” She glanced down. “He won’t mind.”

  Lance’s abdomen pumped like a bellows as he howled his protest.

  “So you say. Look, I’m fine with what I’ve got on.” I don’t need duds from the frog prince.

  Not one for designer clothes, even Finn recognized that the walk-in closet, larger than many a New York apartment, represented more than he made in a year, probably several years. Inside were a series of floor-to-ceiling mirrors. At first he didn’t recognize the tall redheaded man who looked like he was dressed for a Renaissance-fair strip club. Redmond’s tightly belted robe gaped wide across his chest and threatened to do so down below.

  “Nonsense.” She brushed past him, making more contact than was necessary. “Here.” She grabbed a dark green shirt, a pair of drawstring black pants, and suede sandals with thick leather straps. “This should be quick to get in and out of… and no reason for smalls. Though as I recall,” she said, letting her free hand drift onto his shoulder and down to his chest, “that would be the wrong word to describe—”

  Lance rammed his head into Finn’s shin.

  “For the love of God.” Finn knelt. And this is how we get a room at Bellevue. “Look, Lance. I’m not interested in what your… girlfriend is offering. I got a boyfriend; at least I hope I do.”

  Katye glared at them. “Pheh! So some things do change.” She shrugged. “Ah well, c’est la vie, c’est la guerre, c’est la dreck.”

  Finn straightened, having appeased Lance. “You said there’s been so much death. Are you referring to the fires?”

  “To all of it. What’s been”—and holding Nimby—“what’s upon us, and what’s to come.”

  Does no one give straight answers? He wanted to ask more when he caught the sound of an elevator and voices in the outer corridor. A key turned in the front door.
/>   “I’ll greet our guests and return this one to her Alex. We have much to do. Dress and then join us.”

  He watched her leave and then shut the closet door. Even so, he easily heard the greetings from rooms away. That’s Alex and Jerod. Charlie and Liam… who’s not human. He heard Flora Fitzgerald’s faint Irish lilt and caught the whiff of lavender. Hail, hail, the gang’s all here. There was a girl’s voice—Alice Nevus—and a pair of women’s voices that were identical. But not possible if they’re speaking at the same time. Unless they have two heads. Losing it. There were others too. Some he placed names and faces to from the night of a thousand fires. He dropped Redmond’s robe to the floor and stared at his body in the mirrors.

  “Woof, indeed.” He smiled. All the gain with none of the pain. His thoughts fixed on Redmond. Is he okay? I need to get this done and get back to him. And the craziest piece was that in the midst of something so insane, I’ve fallen in love… with a fairy… and you’re a dog. Don’t care. He shut down the rational part of his brain, the part that could dispassionately pull apart an arson scene, discern where and how it started, if someone was to blame, and even if someone needed to pay. “I am in love with Redmond. I love Redmond,” he whispered.

  He’s an addict.

  He snorted. I pissed on his bunny.

  And like a lead weight, the absurdity of the task before him returned. “What the fuck?” He glanced in the mirrors, threw on the clothes, and headed toward the voices in Katye’s library.

  Even having been there before, the magnificent room, less pink but with views of the park and a soaring coffered ceiling inset with lavish scenes of gods and ancient allegories, was a lot to take in.

  Heads turned. All quieted as he entered. He recognized Alex, who cradled Nimby in his hands. His face twisted with tears and grief.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. His voice boomed across the room. “I didn’t know this would happen.”

  “It was her choice,” Katye said. “She knew. She chose.”

  Alex was beyond words. He tried to soothe Nimby, who lay broken in his hands, as she whimpered his name over and over.

  Jerod spoke. “There’s got to be something we can do.”

  Katye shook her head. Her message was clear. “In times of war, sacrifices must be made.” She looked to the two Marilyns. “Mothers send children far away to keep them safe. Lovers are torn apart, and there is death. None of this must be in vain. And yet—” Like a general rallying her troops, she turned on her heels and made eye contact with all. She acknowledged the fey, most with surgically altered ears and teeth. She smiled at Flora. Finally she turned back to Finn. “Speak. Tell them what you’ve learned.”

  Charlie interrupted. “Finn, is that really you?”

  Despite the somber room, he smiled at Charlie’s bewilderment. “Yeah, I’ve had the romance novel makeover.” He flicked back his hair. He would have gone further, but seeing Alex with Nimby…. Why did she come with me? Right, sacrifices.

  “Is that all?” Flora asked through narrowed eyes.

  “No,” he said without humor. “You were right. None of us are here by chance.” His gaze landed on a tall auburn-haired man standing next to a waif-thin blonde with a furry red dog in her arms. Redmond! But no, when the guy turned, he recognized them both as fey who’d fled the Unsee and landed in Manhattan. Frederick something and…. Lianna. Their paths had crossed on the night of a thousand fires.

  “You are the Hound,” Flora stated.

  “Apparently so.”

  She persisted. “And the contract between the Hound and May….”

  “Was not written on paper but on hearts.”

  “So you do know,” Katye said.

  “Yes.” He looked at her. “And I would know why you and your sister Lizbeta concealed that fact. Or the fact that you were fooling around with an earlier version of me… the Hound, despite knowing your sister May was in love with him. Not exactly sisterly.”

  Katye sank into a tufted red leather chair. Lance hopped onto the arm and stared at her. “None of us is without fault,” she admitted. “You’ve learned much, and perhaps my role in this does indeed paint me a villain. We saw no other way to stop her. To end the war. But as I see now, we merely pushed things back another thousand years. And here we are again. You, me, my sisters, death.”

  “Please just be straight with us,” Finn said.

  Flora spoke. “She can’t, Finn. Don’t you see? That’s a mistake we keep making. Fey illogic and human logic are incompatible.”

  “Thank you,” Katye said.

  Flora, no stranger to Katye’s collection of rare manuscripts, unfolded the centerpiece of the beautiful work of an eleventh-century monk. She pointed at a central figure with long silver-and-red hair. “This is the Hound back then.” The man sat upon a throne, a jewel around his throat and one hand covered in silver. The bottom of the picture showed another world underground.

  There, on a second throne, sat a beautiful blonde queen—May—and at her side her two sisters, Katye and Lizbeta.

  Finn walked over and stared at the drawing. “Around his neck, that’s the houndstone. It’s somehow inside of me.”

  “Yes,” Katye said. “You gave it to May.”

  “Apparently I also took it back.”

  “Indeed,” Katye said. “But more than that. It holds her heart, and you took it.”

  Finn glared at her. “I did what?”

  “You did as you were told. You were a very good dog.”

  “By whom?”

  She nodded and would not look either him or Lance in the eye. “By me.”

  “You tricked her.” Finn struggled to pull the pieces together. He remembered May’s anguish as she’d bared her soul and past hurts to Redmond. “What sort of sister does that?”

  “Finn.” Flora placed a hand on his forearm. “Stop thinking like a human.”

  “Right.” He stared around at the others, all eyes fixed on him and Katye. There’s a reason to this insanity.

  “Don’t think in straight lines,” Flora said. “The fey are twisty.” She looked to Katye. “I think I know why you tricked your sister May.”

  “Then speak,” Katye said. “I cannot force my lips to do what must be done.”

  “Your magic is love.”

  “Yes,” Katye said. “It is my special, as May’s is power and Lizbeta’s is peace.”

  “You used your magic to make your sister fall in love with the Hound.”

  Katye nodded. “I thought that by so doing we could end the war. Enemies would become lovers, and all would lay down their weapons.”

  “And that’s not what happened. Because magic is twisty, and the three sisters are like weights and balances caught in an eternal dance. Your spell backfired.”

  “No,” Katye corrected her. “You were correct before. It didn’t backfire. It was met with an opposing force. May’s special, her power, would not allow itself to be overrun. So every night she and the Hound would love and be lovers. But come the dawn’s first fingers, love flew away and war returned. If anything, it made things worse.”

  “So you and Lizbeta came up with another plan.”

  “Yes.”

  “You broke your sister so that she could never rule the three realms.”

  “And this is where I came in,” Finn offered. “You had me steal her heart.”

  “Yes, and Lizbeta wrapped your deed in her Mist so that none would or could remember what you’d done.”

  Finn remembered the anguish in May’s voice. “She never knew. All her attempts to cross over, to steal hafflings, they were always doomed.”

  “Yes, and now she knows the truth.”

  Jerod, who’d not left Alex and Nimby, spoke through clenched teeth. “So all that crap you told us about being tricked by May, and how Lizbeta was lured into the Mist, those were all lies.”

  “No. Not lies. Much of it was truth. But what you see now are three broken sisters. None of us fit to rule. At best Lizbeta and I have attempted
to restrain May, but she has grown too strong.”

  Finn looked at Katye, who had moments ago tried to seduce him. She’s supposed to be one of the good ones. “And now she knows how to put herself back together. Rip out my heart, steal another haffling, and presto chango.”

  Alex’s voice wavered through clenched teeth. His gaze never left Nimby. “You used us.”

  Nimby looked up at him with unadulterated love. “Alex.” Her voice was barely audible. “I should not leave you, because you’re stupid, stupid… learned nothing, nothing….”

  “Of course I used you,” Katye said. “But given a choice between May’s brutality and what Lizbeta and I have tried to do….”

  “Point taken,” Jerod said, his attention riveted on Nimby.

  “Nimby knew what she was doing,” Katye said. “She knew that Finn had to make it through without breaking.”

  Nimby shut her eyes. With her final breath, she whispered, “Alex, my Alex, my Alex. Pay attention.” And she died in his hands.

  Jerod, who’d not left his side, wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

  Katye nodded. “We all have our roles in this sad drama.” Tears streamed. “Your little Nevus fairy was brave and true. Have no doubt that her sacrifice was for you… for all of you.”

  Alice joined her brother. She stared wide-eyed at the dead pixie and wept, as did most of the others.

  Finn, the only one other than Alex who heard Nimby’s last words, chewed on them. “So what didn’t you learn, and what are you supposed to pay attention to?”

  Liam spoke. He gave a courtly nod to Katye. “It was not from spite that Lizbeta and Katye have pulled our strings. Just as what has been done to them is a direct result of their own actions. Magic bounces and ricochets. And the big spells, the world changers, those splatter far and wide.”

  Finn nodded. “Like friendly fire?”

  “I don’t know what that is,” Liam said. “But when Lizbeta and Katye used the Hound to trick May, it’s a spell that came with unintended consequence.”

  “But expected,” Katye said. “You are wise, Liam Summer.”