Hell Hound

by Matthew Sylvester

  'In that you are wrong. I'm going to take you into a confidence. Break it and I shall inhabit your body whilst you scream in the corner of your mind that I shall banish you to. Understood?'

  I was completely robbed of the power of speech, so I settled with just nodding. Dawn's head bobbed frantically too. Looking over I could see she was wound up as tight as a bowstring. Sat bolt upright, hands on her knees, eyes wide. She really was getting thrown in at the deep end. Probably thinking that being a Case Worker was not a career she wanted to pursue.

  'The story of an honourable agreement is a…fabrication,' He paused to daintily nibble on a slice of cake. 'They were, in fact, soundly defeated in battle by the tribes of humans who once lived in the forests of Darkmoor. The victors were aided by certain members of Elsewhere, who were just as sick of their thirst for blood and instinctive sadism as the humans. Once defeated, they were given this land as a reservation. They were Bound, never to leave the boundaries of the land granted them.'

  'So, it was a Magical binding?'

  'No, it was a Blood Binding,' he replied as casually as if he was discussing the weather. How he went from psychotically angry to calm as a cucumber I don't know, but it made my legs so weak I knew I would have collapsed had I been standing.

  'What's a Blood Binding?' asked Dawn in a whisper.

  'A number of those who are Bound are sacrificed in a manner according to the requirements of the Binding. Those sacrificed are not required to give their assent.'

  'Bloody hell! That's awful.'

  'The Dog-riders were awful. They were getting too powerful. They enjoyed the Hunt too much. They threatened the balance, killing everything they saw with no thought for the future. Even the most long-lived denizens of Elsewhere could see that the Dog-rider's short-term enjoyment was going to leave nothing left if they continued unchecked,' said Reeve, his eyes staring at something only he could see, lips peeling back in a snarl.

  He's reliving the events! I thought, amazed at just how old he truly was.

  'How did they manage to break the binding then?' asked Dawn.

  'That is something only they can tell you. But believe me when I say that either a powerful Merlin, or a being from Elsewhere, must have been involved.'

  'Can you take us to them?' I asked, stomach twisting at the thought of facing such creatures.

  'No. They and I do not care for each other. I can give you the GPS coordinates of their ring, and I shall try to be on hand should there be trouble, but I should not be present. Do you have the Gifts?'

  I held up the backpack I'd dropped beside my chair. In it were the customary gifts of honey, lamb's blood, salt, and bread. I'd brought along far more than was customary in the hope that it would appease the Dog-riders. I had everything crossed that the assassin was a rogue, and the clan had nothing to do with the killing.

  Fat chance the way this case is progressing, I thought, trying to push the thought of a Fae burying into my mind, to the back of my mind.

  When working a case, you need to wear the clothes suitable for working the case, dependent upon location. I always thought it was rather daft that TV detectives would be shown wandering round farm yards without wellies, usually placing a carefully polished and obviously expensive shoe into the nearest, freshest ankle-deep cow-pat possible whilst the country folk looked on in amusement. It annoyed the piss out of me.

  We were more than prepared. To the casual observer, we looked like hard-core walkers, which we were. Darkmoor's weather was, at the best of times, unpredictable. We had everything we needed to spend the night on the moor if we had to. Something which I wholeheartedly didn't want to do, but just because I didn't want to do it, didn't mean I wasn't going to prepare for it.

  As my foot sank into a hidden dip in the moss we were crossing, I smiled smugly. Good boots, gaiters, and quick drying walking trousers meant that the huge puddle beneath the moss wasn't going to make me have to squelch my way to the ring.

  Looking down at my GPS, I could see we needed to make a slight course correction. 'Five metres to the left more,' I said, waving my hand vaguely at Dawn, who dutifully changes course.

  'Found it!' she said, doing a quick victory dance in what I presumed was the middle of ring.

  'Decorum, dear apprentice, decorum.' I grinned as I joined her in the ring.

  'Ah, bollocks to that. We've just walked five miles across a moor, to find a Fairy Ring no more than what, two metres across?' She grinned back.

  'You have a point. Now shut up and help me prepare.

  Preparations were simple. The gifts were each placed at the four points of the compass. It didn't matter which was placed at which point, but there were any number of schools of debate about the correct way to do it. Me? I just plonked whatever I pulled out of the backpack on to the nearest point. There was time and place for ritual. This wasn't it.

  'Right, I want you to the ready with a Shield and a Firestorm.' I held a hand up as she started to protest. 'Don't even try to deny it. If your Fireballs are that advanced, there's no way you won't have learned that as well. Centre it on the ring. That's where they'll appear.'

  There was one last gift and that had to come from the person Summoning them. Taking out a small folding knife, I opened it, made a quick and shallow cut, then dripped the resulting blood into the ring.

  'Is that it?' asked Dawn, sounded rather disappointed.

  'What, you expecting funny robes as a load of mumbo-jumbo?' I swear, Dawn had far too much of a Mundane's understanding of the Magical world.

  'Well, not very impressive, is it?' she grumbled.

  'Just give it a few minutes. Then you'll have more impressiveness than you can shake a hockey stick at.' I was seriously regretting not having brought some flash paper and confetti. Judging by the look on her face, she'd have loved a bit of that. Wouldn't have been good for the environment, though. That, and Fae detest confetti. Confuses them.

  'How long? ‘she asked. Her hand was in her pocket, and I could tell she was itching to get onto SpellBook or some other form of social media.

  'How long what?' I was peeved that she was peeved so decided to play dumb.

  'Until we get absolutely torn apart by psychotic fairies and their fucking pit bulls!'

  'Not long at all.' The voice was in our heads. It made my brain itch. Turned my blood into ice. Made me want to shit, piss, and vomit whilst masturbating at the same time. It was awful. It was delicious.

  I turned lowly, nonchalantly towards the circle and the Fae that hovered just off the ground in the middle of it. An aura surrounded the Fae chief. It was as if he had a halo that was made from oil. Blood. It surrounded him. It dripped from him. Globules that fell to the floor raced inwards, back to him, re-joining the aura. It was a perpetual cycle that drew the eyes. Held them.

  ‘How may I assist you?’

  I wanted to offer him my soul. My body. I'd never desired anything so much in my life. Dawn whimpered, the sound drawing me back, snapping my mind out of the fugue caused by him. It only took a second, but it was enough. I shook myself, my whole body as a guttural growl grew in my throat.

  'Dawn! Look at me!' Eyes glazed, mouth hanging open, one hand holding a breast, she gazed over. 'Don't let the fucker get into your head!'

  ‘I object. I'm not a fucker, as you put it.’

  Things were getting out of hand. I'd summoned a Fae expecting it to be like any other Fae, but this, this was beyond anything I'd ever dreamed of. Or had nightmares of. It stretched, arms out wide, chest popping as he forced them back and out as far as he could. ‘It feels good to be here.’

  That made my heart stutter. Be here? What the hell did that mean? I couldn't ask him because it would take up valuable time, but also because it would show my ignorance. I decided to go with things, and then ask Reeve what it meant when we were back in safety.

  Holding up the dead Fae, I waited until I had his attention. Eyes that were a solid cyan narrowed, lips peeling back from teeth that were teethier than anything I had ev
er seen. Even Mrs. Lebowski's teeth paled into comparison.

  'See this? This little shit killed someone I needed to talk to. Someone who was part of a plot to bring back the Hound.' That got his attention, his eyes snapping up to meet mine. 'Friend of yours?'

  One second, he was starting at me with a hatred bordering on psychotic rage, the next he was flying out of the ring, arms outstretched, claws reaching for my throat. A host of Fae on the backs of their three-headed Battle Hounds appeared in the circle.

  'Fight!' Was the only warning I could manage as I activated my Icons and lobbed a Fireball of my own straight into the chief's face. A casual wave diverted it, but it gave me time to get my Shield up. The look on his face as he planted it straight into the Shield would have been comical had it happened any other time. As it was, it allowed me to get an up close and personal look at one of the most powerful Fae I'd ever had the displeasure of letting.

  Sharp cracks to my right told me that Dawn was pistols up and doing her job. A Battle Hound yelped, blood and flesh budgeting from it as a shot scored its way along the hound's flank.

  Flesh wounds were bloody horrendous things, as the hound was discovering. A couple more shots, and a Fireball took out its riders as it writhed. Hope began to grow as I thought that we could take these Fae. Grow that is, unto the next wave appeared in the circle.

  All of that took place in a less than a second. Flinging my Shield arm outwards, I sent the chief flying away from me, then unleashed a Lightning Chain. Bolts of lightning leapt from my outstretched fingers, arcing through the air to wrap themselves around Fae after Fae. They glowed brightly before bursting under power. Their hounds howled and yelped as the lightning washed over them, smoke rising from burned hides, teeth shattering as their jaws snapped shut.

  But they kept on coming. The chief was holding the damned circle open, there was nothing I could do to close it. Sneaky bastard, I thought, giving him grudging respect. Despite that I was starting to hate him more than I'd hated any other living being. And I hated a lot.

  'Dawn, kill the chief!' I was getting tired, and tiredness makes me sloppy. It shouldn't have been a surprise therefore when a two-headed, fire-breathing hound leapt at me, and I completely missed it with a Fireball spell.

  If you've ever run into a wall before, you'll know what being hit by the damned thing felt like. Stars exploded before my eyes. It felt like my tits were touching my backbone, and the world rotated as my feet were taken from beneath me. Even then I remained lucid enough to know they could have killed me with that attack. Which meant that they wanted me alive, and that meant they wanted to take me to Elsewhere with them.

  As I crashed to the ground, heavy paws pushing me deep into the soft ground, my head hit something much, much firmer. Darkness closed around the edges of my vision, and I cried out with pain. Head flopping like a baby's, I tried to see how Dawn was doing and cried out again, this time with fear.

  A Battle Hound advanced on her, flames roaring out of the creature's head, splashing over her Shield. The continuous attack was wearing the Shield down, and as I forced myself to focus on her eyes, I could see the terror in them.

  'Fae!' A voice rolled over us. That's a bit of an understatement really. It was more like a sonic boom. If you've ever stood in front of an air cannon at a museum, you'll know what I mean when I say that I felt the voice roll over me.

  The world came to a halt. Everything went silent, and I sighed, glad for the respite.

  ‘Kill him.’

  And with that the silence was gone. As one the Fae turned to attack the newcomer, I gasped as the pressure of the hound was lifted from my chest. Greedily, I sucked in as much air as I possibly could, whilst my hands tapped a couple of Hospitaller Icon. A cool sensation flowed over my body, washing away the bumps and bruises I'd suffered and, more importantly, sorting out my head. The Icons were good for minor injuries like this

  Battle raged behind me as I looked over to where Dawn had last been. My heart stopped for a second as I scanned the area. She was gone. Rolling over onto my front, I gulped, forcing residual nausea from my head injury back down, wincing at the way the acid burnt its way back down. A pistol started firing.

  Oh, thank God! I thought. Lifting my head, I watched as Dawn shot down a Battle Hound. There was the drumming of hooves, and I cringed, expecting to be ridden down.

  'Jane. Good to see you're still alive. Ringo and I shall continue the fight from here. If you could please ask your assistant to stop shooting things?'

  'Reeve?' I stammered, my brain still scrambling to catch up with events. He was sat on an armoured llama, which stood patiently chewing on cud. Reeve himself was decked out in what I could only describe as an eclectic suit of armour. A shinty helmet, baseball umpire's chest plate, police riot armour on his arms and lets. And the biggest sword I'd ever seen.

  'Fae's Bane thirsts,' he said as he raised the weapon one-handed. 'It has been a while since she feasted. Stay back. I wouldn't want her to hurt you by mistake.' With that, he dug his heels into Ringo's flank and thundered into battle.

  'Dawn! Get out of the way. Let Reeve fight!' I called. Well, screeched if I'm perfectly honest. When I really need to shout, my voice goes all screechy. I bloody hate it.

  Fae and hounds alike swarmed towards Reeve. Fire was belched. Spells were cast. And Fae's Bane cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Every time she cut or even touched a Fae, they would stick to the blade, then be gradually drawn into her. It was both gratifying and more than a little disturbing, the air filled with agonised screeches.

  Whereas before time had come to a stop upon Reeve's entrance, now it sped up. Before I even had time to register the fact, all the hounds that had come through the portal were dead, their severed limbs and various other parts of their bodies lying all about.

  'Doesn't hold back, does he?' said Dawn as Reeve cut through a cluster of Fae with Fae's Bane whilst burning another group out of the air with a Fireball from his other hand. Ringo, still chewing the cud, snapped at a Fae who got too close. Oh, it's not grass he's chewing, I thought as Fae blood dribbled down his chin.

  ‘Flee!’

  The battle had drifted away from the circle and we now stood between it and the remaining Fae.

  'Shit. Shoot the fucks. Shoot them now!' I shouted as I spread my fingers and sent more Lightning into the tightly-packed Fae. Still they came, washing over us like a swarm of bats until, without warning, they were gone, the circle closing with a little pop.

  'I don't ever want to summon anything ever again,' sobbed Dawn. I pulled her in close, holding her tightly as she wept in my arms. Tears ran down my own cheeks as the effects of the adrenaline started to wear off. Yet again, I'd nearly lost her.

  'Jane Doe. I have someone you might want to speak to,' said Reeve.

  Looking from up where I had buried my head in Dawn's hair, I saw, still sat astride the ever-chewing Ringo, held in his hand, the still-smoking Fae chief.

  'Right. Yeah. He's still alive?' Eloquent as ever.

  'For now,' said Reeve, lifting the Fae closer to get a better look. 'He's seen better times though. Might want to hurry.'

  ‘You think you're close to finding out who wants to Unbind the Hound? Those closest to the Merlin couldn't be further from their true goal!’

  'What the bloody hell does that mean?' I said, striding towards Reeve and the Fae, as if being closer to them would make things easier to understand.

  'It appears that's all you'll get from him. He has passed,' said Reeve. Leaning forward, he offered the Fae to Ringo as if he was offering him a lump of sugar. There was a snap of teeth, and then Ringo's jaws set to work once more. I burped, my stomach twisting into knots. I need a bloody holiday.

  'Thanks for helping out,' I blurted, desperate to drown out the sound of the chewing. 'Much appreciated.'

  'Not at all, my dear!' He grinned, arms opening wide. 'This was a glorious battle, and one I wouldn't have been able to join had you not created such an appallingly bad circl
e!'

  Pain spiked in my ribs, and I looked down to see Dawn drawing her elbow back for another blow.

  'Sorry?' I said to her. The cow drove her elbow back into my ribs, 'Okay, guess I deserved that.'

  'Bloody right you do! You nearly got killed!' Her eyes glistened as tears brimmed over and started to roll down her cheeks. 'I can't bloody graduate if you die, you stupid mare!' She sobbed.

  'I suggest that you leave now. I shall deal with the cleansing of the area. This place needs to be scoured,' said Reeve, his tone brooking no argument.

  'Thanks again, Reeve. I owe you.'

  'I know you do. I'll add it to the tab.' He gave another of his grins before turning Ringo and trotting over to the largest pile of bodies.

  'Come on, Dawn, let's go.' I grabbed her hand and started to walk away from the scene of the battle.

  'What made you choose Lightning back there?' she asked hoarsely.

  'Star Wars. Makes me feel like I'm the emperor. All Sithy.'

  'You do know that was Return of the Jedi, and not A New Hope, yeah?’

  'Piss off.' Laughing, I placed my arm around her shoulder and pulled her in tightly, resting my head on hers and drawing her scent in.

  Casting Spells takes it out of you. Although the Spells don't come from within us, the Mana—the energy powering them—comes through us. We act as conduits, and there's only so much we can draw before our bodies need a rest. Add the effects of adrenaline to that, and the crash experienced by a Magician can be truly momentous.

  Arriving back in Crediton, I was surprised at how quickly the journey had passed. I must have been drifting off more than I thought. Shivering at the thought of crashing off the road whilst asleep, I looked over at Dawn.

  Her head had slipped to the side and a pool of saliva had gathered in her collarbone. It was both incredibly cute and stomach churning.

  'Babes,' I reached out and shook her lightly, ‘we’re home. Game face on.'