He 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
“ 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.”
Yeth 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 the flank of his Hellhound. Just in front of Yeth, the tunnel opened up into a much larger chamber, the space filled with the Prince and the other huge Horned demon. On the far side of the chamber were two other exits.
Sam saw the Prince’s eyes widen suddenly when he registered his presence. Clearly his glamor didn’t work at such close proximity. Sam saw recognition there. Someone or something had already raised the alarm, spreading the word and Sam’s description.
The Prince stepped aside, allowing the Horned Demon more space in the chamber. “Seize him!” he screamed, pointing in Sam’s direction.
Sam was about to move and intercept the massive demon’s charge but Yeth moved quicker than Sam thought possible for such a great creature. It flashed in front of the Horned demon, which brought its mighty stone mallet down just in time, smashing directly onto the flank of the Hellhound. It may as well have hit a wall made of solid iron. The mallet bounced off; Yeth simply ignored the attack and went for the throat under the goat-like head. The huge jaws locked around the neck of the other demon, puncturing straight through the thick, corded muscle around the throat. The momentum carried both creatures to the ground where the Hellhound managed to pin its foe to the ground, intent on crushing the life out of it. The ground shook under the bone-crushing impact.
Yeth’s body ignited into flame and the Horned Demon bellowed in pain. It may have been a demon, accustomed to the burning pits of Hell but Hellhound flame was an altogether different heat. Sam could withstand it but it seemed not many other demons could.
Sam stood frozen to the spot, in awe of the conflict playing out in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his fellow prince doing the same. A battle between a Hellhound and a Horned demon couldn’t be something that happened every day and both were mesmerized. Sam would’ve moved into action if that had been required, but Yeth seemed to be on top of things and this Prince seemed no threat as yet.
The Horned demon wasn’t out of it yet. It had bulk and strength on its side. It probably weighed twice as much as Yeth. Not only that, but it had four arms. Ignoring the flames, it managed to get two of its hands up, locking them around Yeth’s jaws. It started to lever them open even as its other two hands encircled the Hellhound’s throat.
Sam didn’t have any doubts that Yeth would win. Not many demons could defeat a Hellhound — especially a Greater one. Yeth was a juvenile, and would fight for longer, but Sam just didn’t have time for this.
The other Prince still hadn’t moved. Sam darted over to the two massive struggling demons and drew his sword. Taking careful aim, he plunged his sword straight through the eye of the Horned demon. It had time to emit a single roar before it disappeared in a cloud of ash. Sam looked over at the Prince. Their eyes locked for a moment and then the Prince just disappeared. One second he was right in front of Sam, the next he was gone.
Sam cast his eyes around the chamber, desperately trying to figure out where the creature had gone. He couldn’t sense him with his mind either. Two options presented themselves. Either the prince was invisible, still in the chamber and able to shroud his mind and presence so effectively that even Sam couldn’t sense him, or — he was gone. That implied some form of teleport ability. It seemed there was a great deal he didn’t know about other demons.
If the demon was still around, there was nothing he could do about it. He shrugged, and then became aware that the Hellhound was on his feet, staring directly at him. If Sam didn’t know better, the look might have been interpreted as reproachful. Sam attempted a smile.
“Sorry,” he said aloud. “We were running out of time. It’s not that I doubted your abilities or anything.”