"You dropped it on my BEAR!" Shouted Jessie as we bolted out the door. "Randall! Hold on sweetie, I'm coming." She bolted for the hole without a second thought, and I was right behind her, but there was someone else who was faster. Abel blurred past me, spatial lubrication letting him slide through the hall and down the hole so quickly even my vision could barely track it.

Grabbing Jessie as I sprinted past, I dropped into the hole, stepping off air with Ripple Running, State of Grace slowing us down. As she landed, safely, I let her go, and shifted into Mephistopheles as I tossed her the collar. "We've got him, charge that thing up with your most subversive life force."

Slamming the butt of my staff down, I vaulted across the empty entryway, hurling myself toward the Hellhound as Abel smashed into the side of its head. Randall was torn up, but he'd held out for the few seconds we'd taken to get there. He might not be some crazy uber powerful demon beast, but he was a bear the size of a fucking bus, and he was coming up quick on the peak of F-rank.

Abel's punch had been enough to jerk the hound's head to the side, but not stop it. I slammed my staff right into its exposed eye, dumping in all the hellfire I could muster.

The Hellhound howled, jerking back and stumbling away, eye burning. Mephistopheles used Marked for Death as part of its base, so defenses could be bypassed. The thing might normally be tanky as hell (pun intended) but my hit was doing SOMETHING at least. "Ok." I growled to myself. "Let's try this again." I triggered Pit of Despair. This time, thankfully, it didn't drop into another floor. It just dropped into the dust. I made a mental note not to use that skill when I'd gone up stairs, at least not to its full depth. I felt Callie prepare to subdue it through the bond. "Jessie! NOW!"

A sea of darkness leapt up, wrapping the hound from snout to tail, though it was already starting to break down as I watched. Jessie didn't need to be told twice. Leaping forward, she snapped the collar around its neck, the dark metal device snapping shut as the symbols carved into it glowed a bright vital green. The hound howled, tearing free and throwing her aside, where she was caught by Nat.

"Everyone stay back!" I yelled as I backed away from the thing where it was struggling. It was free, but every time it tried to move, sparks of green would come off it, causing it to yip and snap. "Bethy, you're about up here. You ready to do your part?" The glow of the magma from the hound's mouth was starting to dim slightly, which seemed like a good sign, but that didn't make it much less terrifying.

Seeing it like this in the middle of the room gave me a new appreciation for the thing. It stood about five feet at the shoulders, close cropped ears and lean features, kind of like a hunting dog. Its eyes (or eye right now) blazed a deep ruby red and its obsidian teeth shone in the residual glow from its mouth.

As I watched, its snapping became less and less frequent, and when it finally ceased attacking enough to be vulnerable, Bethy charged forward with a triumphant squeal of. "PUPPY!" And hurled herself onto its back. Its non injured eye went wide, and it started to buck and shake, but Bethy held onto the collar, riding its back like a bronco at a rodeo, shrieking with delight.

As we watched, the ground began to change, black grass sprouting, tombstones rising from the dirt. Above them a red sky unfolded, black clouds partially covering a bloody moon. With almost no warning, Bethy's legs clamped down as she leaned sideways, planted a hand on the grass, and flipped the struggling animal up and over, slamming it back first into the ground.

She blurred forward, leaping on top of the Hellhound, and like a striking viper, sunk her fangs into its throat just above the collar. It struggled, but she quickly pulled back, slashing open an arm and dripping the blood into its mouth before she grabbed it around the neck in a chokehold and held it still.

The dog was terrified, bucking and fighting, but Bethy's eyes glowed bright red as she made shushing noises, muttering softly to the animal that it was alright.

When it calmed down, she rolled off of it, looking down at her dress with a pout. "What a bad boy, you made mommy all messy. Oh well, it was our first time meeting, so I'll let it slide." She looked down at the cowering dog and scratched behind his ears. "Who's mommy's good boy? Who is it? You are! Yes you are!" To my shock the Hellhound's tail actually started to wag, the great beast straightening up.

Callie stepped up next to her. "I uh...brought his bone?" She said uncertainly, passing the lure to Bethy, who nodded happily. "So can he tell us anything?"

"I've named him Luggage!" She pronounced. Apparently breakfast foods were cat names. "And yes, he can tell us all sorts of things. But he's shy right now. I'm going to have to patch him up, since mean old Shane put one of his eyes out. Jessie can you heal Luggage?"

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Our healer was currently patching up her bear, who was mostly done bleeding. She glared at the vampire, then at the whining dog, and sighed. "I guess. Randall is ok anyway. Mostly superficial wounds. Have..." She grimaced saying the name. "Luggage, come over and wait by me. I'll patch him up next."

Bethy clapped happily, tossing the bone lure casually. "Luggage, go play with your toy while you wait." The dog's head jerked up, and then he blurred across the room to snap up the bone excitedly before lying down to gnaw on it.

"Alright. So...that was easier than expected." I said cheerfully. "Sorry about Randall, Jessie. Is he doing ok?"

She sighed, nodding as she stood up. "I have him patched. I know you didn't mean it and he's fine so it's water under the bridge." Walking over to the hound, she knelt down and placed a hand on his flank. He growled slightly, but Bethy cleared her throat and he settled down. "Wow, his fur is so soft." Said Jessie as she channeled power into him, smiling softly.

The Hellhound had a glossy black coat that seemed to actively suck in light around it, and it made the demon dog hard to spot unless you knew where to look or it was in action. It was interesting that it was soft, for some reason I'd assumed it would be like barbed wire or something. Something durable and defensive.

Once she finished up the healing, Bethy was at the dog's side in a snap, rubbing her face on his fur. "Oh, you're feeling all better now aren't you? Did Auntie Jessie fix you all up?" She gave us a serious glance. "Dog's need more affection than cats. Donuts and Poptarts are too independent for cuddles, but Luggage is a good boy, aren't you?" She cooed to the hellhound a bit more, and its tail started wagging again.

"That's nice to know." I said slowly. "But we're in the market for some other information. To start with, why don't you tell us about the Hellhounds. Is Luggage the only one?"

She cocked her head, listening as the dog made snuffling grunting sounds, and then shook it quickly, hair bouncing. "Nope. He says there's a whole litter of them. Thirteen total, counting him. He's the youngest. Apparently all his brothers and sisters are bigger too."

I sighed in defeat. "Of course they are. Of course we ended up catching the runt of the litter." A deep growl echoed out from the hound and I cleared my throat, holding up my hands defensively. "Sorry, man. No offense."

"Did mean old Uncle Shane make my baby sad?" Bethy cooed to the massive infernal killing machine. "It's ok, you're mommy's good boy. Now, do you think you could show us a way to the headmaster's office without running into any of your siblings?" She paused for a bit as the dog snuffled. "I..." She looked at us. "How would you describe a specific location to a dog?"

I paused. "Shit. That's a really good point." I said quietly. "Ummm...oh, ask him if there are places where some of his siblings can't go?" She looked at him expectantly, and he snuffled, which she translated with a nod. "Ok, well is there a place in the MIDDLE of all those places where ALL of them can go?"

She listened for a minute. "Apparently he calls it...well, I can't translate that, but the closest approximation is 'bad place with mean things that don't smell good'." She paused again. "Or possibly 'mean place where smell is bad' I think he might be saying his sense of smell doesn't work in the headmaster's office. But yes, he knows where that is. He says he knows a smelly path that dogs don't like."

Callie sighed. "Well that sounds promising. But presumably smelling bad beats getting eaten alive by a pack of Hellhounds, or at least as many as can get to us in the F-ranked section."

I nodded. "Abel, can you get Randall up through that hole if I give you a boost? I figure it'll be easier than trying to get him through that tiny ass stairwell. Straight line rather than a spiral at least." I glanced at Jessie. "He's good to be moved now, right?"

She nodded. "Definitely. The hallways up there are big enough too thankfully. Though I really need to find some kind of bear shrinking artifact. Maybe I can wish for it. It'll be so convenient." She stopped, frowning at the bear. "No I'm not trying to turn you into a teddy bear. Well, yes, obviously I'm going to cuddle you to sleep when you're tiny, what does that have to do with anything?" She threw her hands up. "You're a BEAR, you don't even have a reputation!"

I nodded to Abel, who snickered as he walked over to where the bear sat. "Come on huggles." He snickered. "Let's get your giant ass up to the second floor."

Reaching out, he manifested the massive hand of his Ragam, then grabbed up the bear and shoved forward. The hand closed around the animal, space rippling and shifting as Randall started to fucking SHRINK so he could fit through the opening. I blinked in shock as Abel kicked off the wall, slipping through after him. "I didn't know he could do that." I said blankly. "Did you guys know he could do that?"

I'd seen him do a lot of crazy shit, but shrinking was new. Everyone else looked just as shocked. We all made sure we had what we needed and then headed back to the spiral staircase, which was easier than going through the hole in the floor. When we got to the top, we found Abel and Randall lounging insouciantly, obviously trying to look cool.

"Good work Abner." Said Bethy cheering as she and Luggage ambled past the spot they were resting. "You're the best pet mover ever. I'm totally gonna remember this. I'm so happy for you, you finally found something you're good at!" She sounded so genuine that if I hadn't known she was almost definitely fucking with him, I never would have guessed.

Abel's face turned purple with rage, and he sputtered as she walked past. I stepped up next to him as he stood, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't feel too bad." I said with a reassuring smile. "Didn't you notice?" At his blank look I nodded after her. "She got two letters right this time." That was when I lost my composure and started laughing. It felt good to get some of the tension out.