Hellhound by Rue Volley Page B

his mouth and he looked behind me.
    “Oh shit.” I said as I started to turn. I then saw a man, walking towards me. He looked normal, business suit, clean cut. I then looked back at Dorin.
    “What?”
    “Googles?” he said to me as I lowered them and turned to see what I could have done without, a demon, a nasty one. He looked a few feet taller than Ari’s had and this one had wings that expanded out to his sides. It then stopped and stared me down as its wings rose up higher and it suddenly screamed at me as it leaned forward, its claw like feet tearing into asphalt like sand. It flapped its wings and that, combined with its stinky hot breath, blew my hair back as Dorin stood behind me and avoided it. He then nudged me from behind and I almost stumbled. I looked back at him and raised my eyebrows. He waved his hand as if he was telling me to get on with it. I took a deep breath and turned back, gripping my sword tightly in both hands as the beast stood up taller and I watched it rise. Fuck me.
    “Listen. I am new at this so I would appreciate it if you just settled the fuck down.” I yelled up at it as it stopped and tilted its head at me. I then nodded to it.
    “Yes, this is my first time so let’s just be civil.”
    It then started to laugh, a deep and rumbling one that was a pure mockery of me and I knew it. I mean am I really trying to reason with it? I glanced behind me and Dorin was shaking his head.
    “Not prudent.” He said to me as I turned and suddenly felt the grip of its large hand around me. It lifted me up to its face as I tried to remain calm. Gunner stepped up next to Dorin and stared up at me.
    “Shit.” He started to step forward, but Dorin stopped him.
    “You know that is not the way we do things; she has to do this on her own Gunner, no help from us at all.”
    He looked back at me as he lowered his knife and stared the beast down. He knew, as I did not yet, that I had to kill on my own this first time out or the branding would rise from me and out of my skin. It would leave me to go back to purgatory forever so he could not interfere.
    “Gunner?” I yelled as it started to shake me like a rag doll. Gunner gripped his knife tightly and gritted his teeth as Dorin sighed.
    “You have to stop this.”
    “Stop what?” Gunner asked him and Dorin touched his shoulder.
    “You protect mortals, not us.”
    Gunner looked down and the memory of his sister falling to a beast played over again in his head. He knew he had to stand down, but his heart ached for his sister and now for me.
    I felt the last shake and then gritted my teeth as the beast pulled me close to its face and stared me down. It then opened its mouth and popped me into it like a fucking snack at midnight. Gunner and Dorin cried out as the beast swallowed me whole and Ari and Finna came running up and stared in horror.
    “Did it eat her?” Finna yelled as Ari gripped his ax and ran forward. Just as he started to swing his ax the beast suddenly cried out and started to stumble, back and forth and then it held its stomach as I started to cut my way from it. I screamed loudly as I shoved my sword into the fiery flesh and slice through it like butter. The beast tried to expand its wings and managed to get a few feet from the ground as I finally cut through the layers of its flesh and could see a bit of the outside world. I gritted my teeth and pushed down on the blade and cut a long hole and then lunged forward, pushing my way out of it as the beast cried out one last time and fell onto its back, wings trembling and chest slowly lowering as the fire extinguished itself inside of it. I pushed upward and climbed out, standing up and slamming my sword into the flesh, letting it stand independently as I reached up and wiped muck from my goggles. I flicked my hands and looked down as Gunner, Dorin, Ari and Finna stood there, mouths hanging open as they stared me down. I lifted my goggles and then looked down at my vinyl dress. I was