He looked at me, looked at Bella, and wagged his tail, little black tongue lolling.
Bella wasted no time petting and doting on him. He snuggled up to her, and licked her.
"His breath is a bit sulfurous, but he's still adorable." Her head tilted a bit. "Wait, is he a hellhound?"
I nodded. "My first."
She giggled. "You are too cute sometimes. What's his name?"
I gave her a blank stare. "I don't know, and I'm too tired to think of one now. I'm going to bed." I glanced around. "Is Elyssa here?"
"She's upstairs, I believe. She said she tried to text you but you never answered."
I pulled out my phone and saw two missed texts. I groaned. I'd probably been sensing the demon plane when her messages came through.
I ran upstairs and found her in bed reading a book. She leapt up and embraced me in a tight hug.
"How did practice go?" she asked. I heard yipping and growling behind me. Elyssa's eyes darted toward the floor and went wide with adoration. "He's adorable!"
The puppy seemed to love Elyssa right away, licking her nose and wagging its tail.
"A hellhound?" she asked, surprised.
"My first," I said.
She laughed. "You're so cute."
"Any luck finding Ivy?" I asked.
She shook her head. "It's possible Jeremiah pulled her off campus for the time being. I've got plenty more places to search and people to question."
"It's good to have you back," I said, and kissed her. The puppy licked our noses, obviously wanting in on the action.
I awoke with a jolt the next morning. Friday. Doomsday was tomorrow. My old friend, dread, seeped into my stomach, making it hard to feel hungry for breakfast. Elyssa kissed me goodbye and left in search of my sister while the puppy licked my nose, as if to tell me everything would be okay. I let him stay at the mansion with Bella since I didn't want him tagging along.
The university was positively seething with even more supernaturals than the day before as Vallaena and I headed back to the usual practice spot. There were no classes that day due to the Grand Melee celebrations. Robots and golems of every shape and size walked down the path from the ferry station as teams from the Science Academy and Arcane University showed off their latest creations.
Most of the robots and golems I saw were competing in the light- and middle-weight competitions. A huge flying saucer ferried robots the size of small buildings into the stadium. The fights with the giant golems and robots were the ones everyone was talking about.
Vallaena and I had to wend our way out of the east garden through tents that had sprung up overnight as people camped the grounds outside the east garden. Keg parties filled with frat boys and sorority girls sprouted like weeds among the campsites. Most tents flew flags announcing their loyalty to the various teams from each school, or simply to the academy or university.
We walked to the edge of the forest before Vallaena decided we were far enough from the crowds. I heard a trumpeting roar. The ground shook, and a group of guys burst from the woods an instant before the tragon slammed its snout against the shield, jaws snapping, and plumes of fire bursting from its maw.
The boys laughed and taunted the creature as it threw itself against the shield.
"Idiots," I said. I peered closer and recognized Billy and his friends from the night Lina had collapsed. A part of me hoped the tragon managed to bite off an arm or two.
"College boys," Vallaena said, shaking her head. She led me further away from the commotion until a bend in the forest hid the crowds from us.
"Why don't we go straight down to the barrier now?" I asked her, eager to summon a hellhound.
"You need to learn how to imprint the demon name on them," she said. "Summoning hellhounds here will not drain much energy. As I said yesterday, you may have only one chance to manifest one on the other side of the shield."
"How do I imprint the name?" I asked.
"First, you must find a worthy vessel," she replied.
For once, I remained silent, and waited for her to explain.
"The hellhound must be older, more mature. You've learned how to differentiate them by now."
I nodded.
"When you find them, you must picture the demon name the moment you bring through the hellhound." She tapped her forehead. "This will imprint the name. Then you must force your control over the hound, and command it to shift into human shape."
"Do I picture it doing that, or tell it?" I asked.
"I find a verbal command along with a visual image of the form to work the best. For example, I will say, 'shift', to the beast, and imagine the form I wish it to take."
"Sounds easy enough," I said.
It wasn't. I summoned a mature hellhound on my third try, but failed to imprint the demon name during manifestation. Thankfully, I could do this with a mental command, though it was much, much harder than during the summoning. Forcing the hound to do my bidding and shift took some time, but wasn't nearly as hard as I'd imagined it. While I was far from being the hellhound whisperer, I felt good about my chances.
After banishing my successful hellhound, I turned to Vallaena. "I'm ready. Let's do this."
She looked me over. "I believe it would be best if you had lunch and rested for a few hours. I know you don't feel tired now, but manifesting it on the other side of the shield will require a great deal of concentration and effort."
I sighed, but decided she was probably right. "Okay. We'll try tonight."
The rows of tents outside the stadium had thickened since our earlier passing. We ended up walking around the entire tent city to reach the other side so we could follow the road to the mansion. Greek Row was packed to the gills with parties, cookouts, and revelers of all ages acting like morons. A group of drunk guys staggered over and wolf whistled at Vallaena. She arched an eyebrow and grew horns. They screamed and ran.
Shelton greeted us with a worried look the minute we entered the mansion. I saw another figure emerge from the planning room behind him. The figure was large, obviously masculine, and a figure I knew well—Elyssa's brother, Michael.
"I got the proof," he said without preamble. "Found the person who planted the evidence, and made them confess. A judge is already reviewing the records, and the accused will probably be freed within a few weeks."
"That's great!" I said, walking to him. "Does Zagg know?"
Shelton shook his head. "He and Cinder are trying to figure a way through the shield. I just came up here to grab some lunch and found him waiting." He jabbed a thumb at Michael.
I almost asked him how he knew where we were, but decided it would be a stupid question.
"I have more intel," Michael said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. "Unfortunately, it's not actionable enough to trigger a Templar response."
"What is it?" I asked.
"I followed the trail of crumbs from the guy who planted the evidence, up the food chain, and found the ringleader of the operation." He pulled out his phone, and displayed the image of a middle-aged man in robes. "This guy told me the Arcanus Primus himself was involved."
Shelton sighed. "It's true, to an extent." He told Michael about the events in the Fairy Gardens.
Michael hardly batted an eyelash at the death and destruction. "I think I know why Daelissa covered up his death," he said when Shelton finished.
"How could you know that?" I asked, wondering if I'd missed something vital.
"The ringleader had records. He'd contacted several golem experts, trying to figure out how to bypass the protective spells on a golem and reprogram it without killing the spark." Michael pursed his lips. "I thought he was trying to rig the Grand Melee to win bets. But given the Daelissa angle, I knew there had to be more. He didn't know the answers, so I took all the data to a golem expert."
"What did they have to say?" I asked.
"He dug through the golem modification spells, and told me that if they worked, they'd make a golem change its targeting parameters." Michael took out his phone, and produced a holographic image with a group of older men standing as if for a group photo. I recognized Jarrod Sager in the center.
"Holy ass clowns," Shelton said. "It's the Arcane Council."
Michael nodded. "This spell will make the golem target these people. There's a shield in place that protects the spectators, and the council has even more protection. I assume someone on the inside will drop the shields." He flicked to another image, a series of runes making up a spell. "After the carnage, the golem will self-destruct, but leave enough evidence to trace a trail back to the Red Syndicate, leaving the vampires with the blame for the slaughter."
"But, they're about to sign a peace accord," I said.
Shelton made a popping noise with his lips. "Didn't I tell you Daelissa wouldn't like that? She wants the Arcanes and vampires to go to war."
"Why can't the Templars act on this?" I said.
Michael grunted. "I explained what I'd found to Commander Borathen. He told me he has to receive permission from the Arcane Council to act. Even though he marked his request as urgent, the council is too busy with the Grand Melee to pay attention. Everyone I've spoken to has blown me off—told me I'm paranoid."
"This was her end game all along," I said. "Kill the Arcane Council. Blame the vampires. Create chaos. She doesn't know where the rune is yet, so everything happening here is for another reason."
"Didn't Phillip Nosti's recording say the vampires were once allied with the Seraphim?" Shelton said. "Sounds like she wants the vampires to be on the outs with the Arcanes so she can convince them to fight for her instead."
I opened my mouth to say something else, when my vision blurred. I thought for a moment the vampling curse might be raising its ugly head again, but this felt somehow different.