Tribulation by Philip W Simpson

watched Yeth
carefully. A tiny flick of its head seemed to indicate Sam that
he’d been heard but he couldn’t really be sure. Conscious that the
longer he stayed here, the more likely they would receive some
unwanted attention, Sam produced a small piece of material from his
back pocket. It was a strip of cloth that he’d torn from his jacket
months earlier - a piece of cloth that he’d used to bind one of
Grace’s wounds last time they were in Hell. He’d found it back in
the Cash and Carry after the battle in L.A. after Grace had
disappeared. Some instinct had forced him to grab it and stuff it
into his pocket, even though at the time hadn’t made sense. It did
now though.
    He held it out
to Yeth and pictured Grace in his mind. It wasn’t hard; he
remembered her clearly and wasn’t likely to forget. It wasn’t like
he had a lot of friends.
    Sparks from the
Hellhound’s snout caused the rag to smolder. Sam pulled it away
hastily, but not before the great beast had had a chance to sniff
it. It looked at Sam, eyes blazing. Without pausing to see if Sam
followed or not, it raced off, trailing molten fire, heading for a
nearby cave entrance. Sam took off after it, hope filling his heart
with more elation than he’d felt for months, if not years. The
first part of his task was complete. And that was the easy part.
Now for the second.
     
     

Chapter
Four
    Hellhound
    “ This is the evil in
everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes
all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is
madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join
the dead.” Ecclesiastes 9:3
     
    Y eth moved at breakneck speed. Sam, no slouch in the
speed department himself, had trouble keeping up. The Hellhound
didn’t seem to concern himself with petty matters like his master
being able to follow him. In fact, it seemed like Sam was being
completely ignored.
    They raced
through underground tunnels so steep that sometimes Sam found
himself sliding. Ahead of him, he could hear Yeth’s claws clicking
on the rocky surface. Most of the tunnels were quite narrow, the
Hellhound’s bulk almost filling it completely. Side chambers
contained pools of molten lava but Yeth never ventured into any of
them. In fact, the Hellhound did not falter at all, seeming
completely sure of his path.
    All at once,
the tunnel began to level off. They were no longer in the volcanic
mountain. This, Sam reflected, seemed to be a better way to travel
than across the plain where he was continuously exposed. Once
again, Sam had no idea how long they were traveling for but all at
once, Yeth came to an abrupt halt. Sam almost slammed into his
rear.
    Sam sensed
other evil presences in front of his Hellhound, and sure enough, a
demon Prince and a horned demon were blocking the way. Sam’s glamor
was still in place, so the Prince had no idea he was behind the
demon dog.
    The Prince was
addressing Yeth. “Make way. I have important business to conduct.
Move aside.”
    Curiously, the
humanoid demon did not try to win the Hellhound’s service. Perhaps
they knew when one of the great dogs already had a master. Or
perhaps they just assumed that any Hellhound away from the lava
pools in the volcano was already spoken for. Sam didn’t know or
care, but he was interested to know how some of these things
worked. He had a lot to learn about Hell. Knowledge, after all, was
power.
    Sam could sense
the indecision in Yeth’s mind. This was a Prince, a superior that
lesser demons obeyed. However, Yeth’s master was also a Prince and
his needs came first. Sam knew that Yeth was wrestling with
conflicting desires. Finally, one won over. Decision made, the
Hellhound did not move.
    “Move! I
command it!” yelled the demon Prince, his voice rising in a
combination of anger and consternation. A disobedient Hellhound was
obviously not a creature to be taken lightly. In fact, it appeared
to be a subject of some concern.
    Sam risked a
peek around