Chapter 19

Drip... drip... drip...

I know your sins....

The words echo around me from deep within the darkness. I spin around trying to see where they are coming from but I see nothing except the infinite void.

Drip... drip... drip...

You will be judged.....

Again the voice calls out to me this time from a different direction. Looking for the source of the voice my foot steps in something wet and thick.

Drip... drip... drip...

Your actions will spell your doom...

Snarling I yell towards where I think the voice is coming from, “Who are you? What do you want with me?"

Drip... drip... drip...

As the drip grows louder and closer my ears finally turn towards what I think the source is and I begin moving quickly towards it. Each step I take however sends me deeper and deeper into the thick liquid that is now up nearly to my knees. Its at that point that something bumps into my leg.

I reach down to try and feel what it is only for my paws to find something wet and hairy floating in the liquid. With a jerk I pull my paws back with a startled yelp and call out again, “What do you want with me?"

Drip... drip... drip...

You will return to where it began...

Without warning a crimson glow expands all around me revealing a great cavern with giant stalactites hanging from the ceiling with a dark liquid dripping from them down into a vast lake below. Looking around I see that I have been blindly walking into this lake slowly getting deeper and deeper. Then I notice the objects floating in the water.

Swallowing hard I look closely as one floats by. It is the dismembered remains of a wolf floating face down in the water. With a jerk I try and walk backwards only for my foot to slip on something beneath the liquid causing me to fall back landing hard in the lake. As the fluid ripples away from me it is then that I realize that the lake is not water but blood.

Panic tries to take over my mind as I scramble to stand and get out of the lake. Soon I reach the shore panting only to gasp out loud as what I thought were rocks turns out to be thousands of broken bones. As emotions take over my mind I feel my body shift as my demonic form erupts from within sending a shower of blood in all directions. With a roar of defiance I yell out, “Who are you?"

Out above the lake six points of bright red light form and quickly expand into three set of eyes formed from bright red flames spaced equal distance apart side by side. Then the voice echos throughout the cavern causing the bones along the beach to shake and slide into the water in small avalanches.

You will present yourself to the thrice crowned lord before the next new moon and be judged or your protection will end.....

With that all six eyes explode outwards engulfing the world in flame and burning the flesh from my bones with a searing pain I've never before imagined.

...............

Gasping hard I sit up straight in bed sending a spray of sweat from my face as a thud and yelp comes from my right. With wide eyes I look frantically around the room while trying to beat away the flames I can still feel burning my flesh.

“What the hell was that for?"

I turn suddenly at the sound of the voice as reality slowly resets itself in my mind. Looking around it takes a moment for me to remember where I was. Then it clicks.

With a start I look over the side of the bed and see a jumble of covers and pillows trashing around on the floor before a pair of ears breaks free followed soon by the rest of Chase's head. Taking a gasping breath he quickly starts grumbling as he works free of the tangled mass, “What the hell was that all about? One minute I'm sound asleep enjoying a nice dream, the next I'm being thrown on the floor in a tangle of blankets."

I lower my head and say, “Sorry about that."

He looks up at me and yelps in surprise before catching himself saying, “And just why did you decide to go scaly again?"

I tilt my head at him in confusion then look down at myself at the same time my wings brush against the wall and ceiling. Looking at my body I just shake my head in confusion as I begin to will the change back to my wolf form. Once back to normal I say, “Im sorry, I don't know what happened."

Chase finally manages to free himself from covers and stands up. After kicking them to the side he sits on the edge of the bed and motions for me to move next to him. As I get situated he asks, “Were you having a bad dream or something?"

I shake my head as I work on a reply, “No it wasn't a dream.... it was..... something else."

His gaze is fixed so tightly on me I can almost feel it burning as I absentmindedly wrap my arms around myself to fight off a shiver of fear. Eventually he asks, “What was it Eb?"

I swallow hard before looking to the window and see the waning crescent moon hanging in the sky. For a long moment I relieve the pain and fear I had just felt before I reply, “It.... I think... it was a message."

In the corner of my vision I see him tilt his head to the side and ask, “A message?"

Nodding I look down at the floor fearing for a moment I was going to see the lake of blood instead. Eventually the words begin to fall from my lips as I feel an unstoppable urge to tell him everything, “Some powerful demons are able to enter the dreams of others in order pass on information, or spy on them, or... other things."

He looks at me for a long moment before asking, “Was it your brother?"

I shake my head with a smile devoid of any kind of joy, “No, it wasn't him. Agerex is no where near strong enough to even attempt something like that. No it was someone else. Someone who I had hopped would never take notice of me again."

“Who was it Eb?" He asks as he places a gentle paw on my leg.

I swallow hard and take a deep breath, “It was the thrice crowned lord."

As I say the words I cant help but let a shiver of fear run through my body causing my fur to stand on end. Chase however just looks confused and looks down for a moment before saying, “Thats a funny name. Why would he be called that?"

I look at him with a mix of incredulity and pity, “He is called that because he defeated three demon lords and took their crowns to form the largest and most powerful demon kingdom I know of. If he were so inclined he could wipe this entire forest from the face of the earth with as much effort as we wipe our nose after a sneeze."

Chase's eyes widen a bit at my rather crude but accurate description, “So what does he want with you then?"

I lower my head shaking it as I wrap the sides of my face with my paws, “I don't know the exact reason he wants to see me, though I can think of a couple reasons. But thats not the most troubling part."

He looks at me concerned, fear starting to finally grow in his eyes, “What do you mean?"

With guilt I could never have before imagined feeling I turn towards the wolf whom I have begun to let in my heart, “The worst part is that I have been summoned. He said that I have only until the new moon to appear before him or the protection I'm under will end."

For a moment Chase looks as though he has been hit over the head with a club, “But the only protection your under is....."

I nod sadly, “Your pack, yes."

Shaking his head he replies, “No, I don't believe it. Why on earth would he even care about you now, what have you done that could possibly have gotten him mad at you now?

Letting out a sigh I drop my paws between my legs and slump forward, “I don't know that it was anything recent. It was probably just the fact that I have been in one place for so long that he has finally managed to track me down. Either way unless I present myself to him before the new moon all hell will fall down upon us, literally in this case."

Chase moves his gaze to the window and takes the sight of the waning crescent moon in before saying, “How could he possibly expect you to do that so fast? The new moon is only two days away at most. Surely the distance to where ever he is would be to far to travel in that time wouldn't it?"

I give him a half smile before answering, “Yes and no. Traveling by normal means you would never reach it. His domain is not exactly.... around here."

He snorts, “I would think not, I know the area around here for three days travel in any direction like the back of my paw. Before you there was never a demon around."

I roll my eyes a bit, “Oh I'm sure there have been you just never saw them, but no his domain is a bit out of normal peoples reach, no matter where they are. In fact I only know of one location that is a physical link on earth to there."

With a look that I'm sure means he is questioning my sanity Chase asks, “What do you mean on earth?"

For a long moment I look at him gauging how best to tell him before just coming out bluntly, “Basically we need a portal to hell, or at least as close to hell as anyone living is likely to get."

He blinks at me for a moment before blurting out a bit louder than I would have liked, “And just how the fuck do we get a portal to hell?"

I sit there in shock at his sudden burst of language before I get my thoughts back on track to answer him, “Well like I said I only know of one natural entrance and it is nearly half way around the world. But I can make a temporary portal here without out to much trouble."

He blinks at me for a moment before asking, “How can you make a portal to go there?"

Shrugging I say, “Frankly thats the easy part. You just have to know the right runes, how to draw the correct circle, and have a source of power that can fuel the whole thing."

Nodding slowly as he speaks he says, “I take it you have the knowledge and materials to do that then."

I nod for a second then stop as I think, “Technically, though I will need a clay bowl and a paint brush to do it properly. Other than that I have everything I will need. Though I'm afraid my secret will get out to the rest of the pack that I am, at the very least, not entirely what I appear to be."

For a moment he thinks over my words before saying, “Well the bowl and brush we can get easy enough I'm sure we have a clay bowl around here somewhere. But what will you use to power the portal? We don't have anything magical around here that would do that do we?"

Giving him a grim smile as I look him in the eyes I say, “This kind of magic portal can only be powered by one thing in order for it to work properly."

He narrows his eyes in suspicion at me before asking, “And what is that?"

Without dropping my gaze I give him my one word reply, “Blood"

For several long moments he just stares at me his mouth slight agape and his eyes widening in surprise. Eventually he manages to find his voice, “Blood? You mean you have to sacrifice someone to make this portal? I wont allow it. I don't care who this lord thinks he is there is no way I will allow that....."

Before his rant can gain any more speed or volume I jump to my feet and quickly wrap a paw around his muzzle effectively muffling his angry tirade. Letting out an exasperated sigh I say, “There will be no sacrifice, not like your thinking."

His eyes narrow at me as he pulls my paw away with his, “And just how do you plan to perform blood magic if not with a blood sacrifice?"

Rolling my eyes slightly I let out a sigh, “The same way that I have done every magic that needed blood before, use my own."

He looks at me with narrowed eyes, “How could you use your own blood though? I Thought that in order to do blood rituals you had to drain all the blood and life from someone to work the magic?"

I scratch between my eyes a moment trying to hide a bit of irritation at his ignorance of such things from surfacing before saying, “If you are incredibly inept at magic or the source of blood has next to no magical affinity that may be true. But for those who have a greater understanding of such things it is easier to coax the same results from a much smaller amount of blood and of course the quality of said blood will have an effect as well."

Chase looks at me as though I've gone crazy, “You sound like a chef talking about ingredients for a casserole instead of talking about blood magic. How can blood have quality?"

This time I cant help but laugh a little at his unintentional humor, “Ha ha, in a way your not wrong. The ingredients of a spell or ritual are not to different than the ingredients for a good meal. If you were going to cook lets say.... steaks for dinner, would you just grab what ever meat you found in the fridge when you opened it or would you go looking for the best cuts you could find?"

He furrows his brow a moment before saying, “Well if I had the option I would of course go for the finest cut of venison or beef I could get."

I nod at his answer, “Of course you would and why is that?"

With a shrug he reply's quickly,  “Because it would make a better meal."

Grinning I reply, “Of course it would, the same can be said about magic. Of course I could use any supply of blood around to make the portal and it would work, but for the best results I would want to use the best ingredients at my disposal. In this case a small quantity of my own blood will have the best results. Plus it has the added benefit of not hurting anyone else here."

Still sitting uncomfortably stiff Chase looks at me and asks, “So what makes your blood so much better then and how much would you need to use?"

Feeling the answer to the first part would be obvious I snort slightly with an air of superiority creeping into my voice, “Because I'm a demon, I'm naturally more magical than any normal mortal around. As for how much....."

My voice trails off as try and figure out how much will be needed, “I'm not all that sure.... the circle I will need to cast is fairly complex... takes at least an hour to make.... is made up of thirty different runes...."

Chase holds his paws up and shakes his head, “Forget I asked, the less I know the better I think. So when do we need to do this portal thing and how do we go through it?"

My head snaps around and I stare at him with his use of the word we, “What do you mean by 'we'? There is no 'we' as far as this is concerned, this is me being summoned by a much more powerful demon. A demon that I might add has..."

“Has made a direct threat against my pack. One that I will not ignore." As Chase's words cut my own short I realize that he has a very valid point and one that I can not ignore.

Letting out a long slow sigh I look him over studying him for a moment before saying, “I can fix it so we can both go, but no one else understand?"

He nods, “I can accept that."

I narrow my eyes at him before continuing, “Ok, now while we are there you will do what I say when I say it, there is no discussion on that. Where we will be going mortals are not normally allowed except as play things or for dinner. You will have to stay by my side at all times and even then the protection I can offer will be.... limited at best."

His eyes widen and I detect a slight trace of fear in his scent as he asks, “Do they really eat people?"

With a nod I say, “Some of my more barbaric kin do yes, and have no problem with it. You have to remember this will be as close as hell as you are likely to ever get and I really wish you would not insist on going along."

He swallows once before replying, “I will not sit by idly while my packs safety is threatened or while a pack mate goes off to face danger alone. What kind of alpha would I be if I did that?"

Any rebuttal I may have been forming catches in my throat at his statement. For a moment I just stare at him before saying, “Thats all well and good, but I am not a member of your pack and never have been."

He waves a paw in the air dismissing my words, “Thats bull, your as much as member of our pack as anyone here and I think your the only one who thinks any differently."

Reaching out a paw he traces a claw down my exposed chest and a small hint of lust sparkles in his eyes for a moment, “Besides, after tonight I would imagine your more of a pack mate than most everyone else here, to me at least that is."

Growling in irritation I grab his paw and pull it away from my chest but don't let it go, “Chase.... I don't...."

He looks up at me with those wonderful eyes of his asking silently for me to go on. Licking my lips I finally find the words I'm trying to get out, “I appreciate the acceptance you are giving me, I really do, but now isn't the best time to really discuss that detail. I wont deny any more that I haven't been wanting to stay here on a more long term basis, but I'm scared of what that will mean for everyone here, especially you."

Opening his mouth to protest I just shake my head and continue, “I don't want to have this talk now. I promise we will ok, just not till after this thing with the demon lord."

Reluctantly he looks at me with a hardening gaze before pulling his paw free, “Ok Eb, I will respect that for now."

He looks past me towards the window where the moon is beginning to set above the trees, “I guess we should see about getting your supplies together so that we can get your portal made and get this summons of yours taken care of."

He looks around the room for a moment before finding his discarded clothes and begins to put them on, much to my displeasure, and heads for the door. As he rests a paw on the handle I catch a glimpse of the mirror over the dresser and see my demonic side looking back at me mouthing the words, 'Tell him, he has to know now.'

Swallowing hard I close my eyes and call out to him, “Before you go out the door there is one thing you have to know."

Slowly he turns and looks at me with a calculating gaze, “More secrets Eb? I am beginning to wonder if you ever intend to keep your word to me when you promised there would be no secrets kept that would threaten my pack."

The words sting much more than I would have expected causing me fight back a snarl, “This has nothing to do with your pack, but everything to do with what set me on the path here."

With a raised eyebrow he lets go of the door handle and crosses his arms across his chest before saying, “I'm listening."

Taking a deep breath I lower my gaze from his not wanting to see the change I fear will soon come to them, “I left home when I was very young, by demon standards anyway, and under very.... trying circumstances."

His gaze continues to bore into me cause me to suppress the desire to move away, “I didn't leave because I wanted to. I left because I was likely to be killed if I stayed."

I hear him shift as he takes a step closer and lowers his arms, “Why would you have been killed if you had stayed?"

Turning I sit on the end of the bed and look down at my paws and for a moment I can almost see the coating of blood that feels like is on them all the time, “Because in their eyes I was a murderer. I killed another member of the family, something that is a grievous crime even among demons. Except in certain circumstances."

Out of the corner of my eye I see him shifting slightly as he says, “Go on."

I lick my lips trying to fight back the sudden dryness that had invaded my mouth at the thought of revealing my oldest secret to someone whom I have grown to care so much for. Slowly I begin to get the words out, “For part demons like myself we don't come into our full demon form or powers until our fiftieth year. It can be a very trying and sometimes dangerous experience for us. For some of us the demonic side can be so powerful that when it manifests it can actually create another entity or personality within us when it awakens that can cause us to lose control and go on a rampage."

Twisting my paws around so I can look at them while speaking I continue, “My awakening was one of the more violent ones due to my draconian heritage. Well when I lost control I killed someone very important to everyone there."

Chase steps over and sits down beside me before asking, “Who was it?"

Swallowing hard I force out my answer, “The daughter-in-law of the thrice crowned lord....."

Slowly and with a great effort I force my gaze up from my paws and lock eyes with Chase, “My mother."