breath. Bringing back thoughts of the fire serpent, a massive head emerged, followed by the rest of the dog-like body. Sam had seen Hellhounds before. He’d even fought and defeated one — but this one was different. For one thing, it was smaller. It stalked up to where Sam stood motionless, its eyes level with his. The other Hellhounds he’d seen were eight foot or more at the shoulder. This was a juvenile. It was different in other ways, too. Its jaws were heavier, more massive and the claws on its feet looked like shards of obsidian. Its coat suddenly ignited into flame, shooting molten sparks over and around Sam. Despite the fact that his clothes were beginning to smolder, he didn’t move. From experience, he knew that he was essentially impervious to the fire generated by this creature. More to the point, he knew that this was some form of test. If he displayed weakness here, the Hellhound would overlook him for a more powerful master.
Sam stood his ground and met the eye of the creature. For what must have been minutes but felt much longer, the Hellhound’s fiery gaze burned into his dark irises. Instinctively, Sam knew what to do. He opened his mind to the creature, giving it access to his memories. He had no idea how the Hellhound would react, but he had to try. Perhaps the demon would find some worthy deed in Sam’s past, but he doubted it. What would some evil creature like a demon find worthy in Sam? But then again, this demon had only just been born. Were demons born evil or were they a product of their upbringing and environment? He’d soon find out.
He felt the Hellhound sift through his memories, concentrating — oddly — on random memories that Sam felt would have little significance to a demon. His moments with Aimi. Lessons learnt from Hikari. Meals shared. Then the demon’s attention shifted to more martial memories. Of him fighting other demons. Protecting humans. Making sacrifices. Finally Sam felt something pass between them.
Yeth.
What? He hadn’t spoken, and he was pretty sure the Hellhound hadn’t either.
Yeth.
The word came again, a deep sibilant voice in his head. A moment of realization struck. The Hellhound was telling him his name — and names meant power amongst demons. The Hellhound’s name was Yeth.
He stared at Yeth for a moment longer. For a fraction of a second, the Hellhound’s gaze wavered. It looked away for a moment and in that moment, lowered its head ever so slightly. It was hardly noticeable but Sam knew it for what it was. Obeisance. The Hellhound was giving him its servitude, had considered him worthy after all.
He rocked back on his heels, for some reason more pleased with this outcome than he’d thought he would be. Samael, he said, using his mind and not his words. He wasn’t sure whether this would work or not, but he’d have to learn to communicate with his Hellhound at some point. Why not now?
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,
