Reaper's Word

Chapter 31: Hell Hound Chooses Mistress

Clair chose a plush bedroom to sleep. Tomorrow she would be staying in her old home once again just to get in the habit for sure. She had changed into normal clothes and curled up, she fell asleep. Her dreams were random and made no sense. At one point she swore that something warm and soft pressed to her face suffocating her. Then a burning in her arm. She'd moved herself grabbing blindly for a pillow to hug to her.

She thought that the pillow felt oddly warm but she fell back into a deep sleep. She slowly woke knowing that it had to be mid morning. She opened her eyes. The smell of rose and sandalwood was in her nose and a good amount of black fur in her face. Clair sat bolt upright nearly flipping off the bed. Whatever was next to her darted off the bed and she got up looking around the room.

"Hello?" She asked stupidly, moving toward the door. There was a sound of movement and around the edge of the bed a small wolf-like head poked around it.

She noted the eyes. They were a brilliant red and scared looking for a moment and then fierce. The thing looked very much like a smaller version of the hell hounds, and to Clair it was adorable. Deadly and scary, but adorable none the less. It had been laying with her, she'd been holding it. Could life here get any more strange? She didn't think so, but if she learned one thing befriending the monsters was smarter than freaking out.

"Okay, did I scare you?" She asked. It seemed confused for a moment making a very low whining sound. Clair felt something brush her mind. It was a very odd thing, not a voice but a consciousness that gave her feelings and images in a jumble. It took her a moment to understand.

"No? Not me, the others?" The images of Zeta, Beta, and Alpha came to her. The young one was terrified of the older ones. There was the image of older hell hounds in a very dark place that didn't look like anywhere Clair had ever seen. The older ones seemed to go for the younger ones trying to tear them apart. Only the two parents defending the younger ones against the mass.

"Well..." Clair said crouching down. This was a very odd thing. She looked around the room and she got a warm amused feeling from the house. "...maybe..." At that moment there was a howl somewhere far off in the house and the little one ran and jumped on Clair in her crouched lap. Its head sticking right into her armpit and it's gaze moving behind her as it shook against her.

"I'm only human you know." She put the images and feelings in her mind that the thing gave her into words. You could feel the meaning behind them. A whole different way of communicating your thoughts. She didn't fight it, she let it happen. Just like everything else. In her mind Clair had a clarity happen. Heard the hound speak in images.

‘They'll eat me, I have no one. You have the reaper's scent on you. He controls them.’ The mental communication was going to take some getting used to. Reaper, she didn't know how that word came to her mind but it did.

"He does as he wishes. I can't control him." Clair looked at her arm. There was a bite mark there scabbing over. The thing had bitten her.

"You bit me!"

‘The reaper will not kill his mistress for now. Safe till I am grown. Then my master may switch.’ Clair was confused by this, but the shaking little body against her touched her deeply. Even if it would grow to be a killing machine. She felt a bit of a connection to it oddly. She looked at her arm. Damn it, for once could someone ask first?

"Well where is your master then?"

‘You.’ Was the mental reply. Clair didn't like the sound of that, what would Isaiah do if he found out she had a hell hound apparently attached to her? Clair stood holding the little hell hound. It was about the size of a small beagle at the moment. Its weight was surprisingly slight as it seemed underweight.

"Come on." Clair said moving from the room and moved through the house to the kitchen making sure that Isaiah and the others weren't near her. They seemed rather worked up and frustrated. She was starting to wonder if they knew the little hell hound was here but couldn't find it. Inside she laughed slightly, why she just accepted this turn of events she didn't know. It felt normal. Well as normal as things got here.

"Here." Clair said setting down a plate of raw chicken from the fridge. She didn't think it was going to be eaten anytime soon.

‘Food.’ It said and moved forward devouring it like a garbage disposal.

"Do you have a name?"

‘Name? No.’ Came the mental impression.

"Are you female?" Clair got the feeling that it was a female just by the air and sense she had. It wasn't speaking in words but the images and feelings could be interpreted as such.

‘Yes.’

"Well I guess we should keep up with tradition. How about Gamma?"

‘Okay.’ She didn't really seem to mind or care.

"Could go with Kappa or..."

‘Gamma. First I like.’ She mentally answered, crunching on the bones and was done in five minutes.

"Hungry I see." She sat on her hind legs and tipped her head. Red eyes staring at her. She looked so much the loyal dog that it was almost funny. Clair felt the others coming this way and she told Gamma that they needed to leave. Gamma followed her, and they made their way far from the others. Looked

like she needed to hide this little hell hound. She wasn't sure how that was going to go seeing she needed to go back into hiding herself.

Over the next three days she fed and hid Gamma. Though she didn't think that hiding the hell hound was going to work for very long. Gamma was growing every day. Three days and she was the size of a large lab. Whatever the hell hound had done while she slept had created something in Clair. She just couldn't let her fend for herself or seek out Isaiah and tell him to take her.

"How long does it take you to grow?"

‘Depends on food.’ Was the response. Clair managed to piece together that Gamma was near the age of sixty three but was still a young pup by hell hound standards. At age sixty four they were fully mature but wouldn't stop growing until the age of sixty six. That was if they didn't reach their size first before then, or were deprived. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

"Gamma, Isaiah is headed this way." Clair said sensing him and they moved to the door. However they were in the library and the entryway was across the room, it had no doors. Through this Beta suddenly showed. His head down following something he'd scented. She had somehow missed Beta at first. A critical mistake.

Clair turned, feeling him just a bit to late. His head came up and he stared at them for a moment. What seemed like shock passed behind the hell hounds eyes, and then they narrowed. Beta charged them. Gamma darted around Clair, she wasn't even half the size that Beta was.

Gamma was between the wall and Clair. Her head wrapped around Clair's leg and she let out a low nasty growl. Beta's lip curled back showing teeth. Both hell hounds had fur raised along their backs. Clair didn't know what she was supposed to do with this. Her heart felt like it might come right out of her chest. This was not a dog fight she wanted to witness. Beta glanced at Clair, Gamma gave an even nastier snarl moving from behind Clair in front of her legs.

"Gamma!" Clair snapped. She couldn't hope to win against Beta.

Her ears were flat to her head and her tail held close to her body. Beta moved forward his snarl leaving and he moved along Gamma's side sniffing her. Jabbing with his nose a couple times. Gamma gave a snap at him but he snapped back nearly biting her.

"Beta." Came Isaiah's voice. Beta moved off to where Isaiah was now standing in the room.

"What have you done this time Clair?" He said in a dark voice. He sounded exasperated like she'd done it on purpose

"I've done nothing. Nothing I wasn't forced into." Isaiah's gaze moved to the hell hound, and a frown came across his face.

"She is yet a pup."

"Yeah I know." He looked at her. Something passing behind his eyes. "Hence why I was hiding her so you wouldn't rip her apart."

"I would have tied her to me, not ripped her apart." Isaiah was confused, no pup should be able to come through to the other side. She must have been on the verge of maturity to have come through then. Just what he needed when he had two males. Zeta being their sister did not set off their drives.

"You chose a human?" He said to Gamma.

‘I am much bigger now, stronger. She feeds and protects me as a master should. I can change at maturity if I so wish.’ This was a very intelligent hell hound. He'd met seven in his life and killed four because they were uncontrollable. Beta was the only other that had such a cognitive straight forward thought process like this one. Zeta and Alpha were a bit more short minded on things and their communications.

"What am I to do with you Clair." Isaiah sighed. He looked back down at the young hell hound. "You realize that I could kill her and just bind you to me."

‘Yes.’ She mentally spoke. Isaiah got the feeling that this hell hound was surer than he was, that he wasn't going to kill Clair anytime soon.

"She matures in two weeks' time." Clair said, "Her name is Gamma, you'll have to take it up with her if you wish to switch it." Isaiah felt amusement once again, only Clair. He'd have killed any other on the spot for this or the way she dare talk to him. As if his opinion or desires didn't count much.

"I'm not sure I like your tone." He said his eyes growing a bit darker. Gamma gave a growl. Once hell hounds had a master they were bound to protect them to the best of their ability.

"There are three to your one." He said to Gamma. her growl stopped but she watched him.

"You have one day left Clair." Isaiah said rather flatly.

"I know." He looked at Gamma.

"Follow me Gamma. You have some things to learn and see. Gamma looked at Clair and she gave a nod. Gamma moved off following Beta who left the room first.

"Have you decided?" She asked Isaiah wanting to know what he was going to do. Their cat and mouse game would change depending on his answer. He looked her over and then moved toward the door.

"You'll know soon enough." Isaiah responded. "I'm sure you will give me trouble trying to find you again."

"I'll try my hardest."

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't." He smirked taking one last look at her and leaving the room.

If he didn't have to deal with the new hell hound he'd have grabbed her right there and kept her with him until her last day was up. However, inside his masochistic side liked the idea of a fair hunt. So that was what it was going to be with her. It truly was unfortunate that the hell hound was a more pressing matter. It had to understand the magic and tie to the house now. Things Clair could not see. Clair always seemed to get just enough of a chance to get away.