I braced myself for the potential confrontation; they no doubt had more questions about the hellhound. I'd given Quin a quick rundown of my run-in with the hellhound, but I left out the blood bond part. I didn't have time to fully explain it or deal with the outburst that would no doubt come after it. I couldn’t very well run away or shut them down this time. We were there to discuss the situation, and they had seen me having a run in with the damn hound.
The room was quite dark with only a little natural light, as is typical of buildings of its age. The hunters had seen us. Their eyes had all settled on us when we entered the room. They’d chosen to return to talking to each other in harsh whispers rather than greet us. Quin grinned at them and greeted them all by name, each one extending his hand, which Quin used as an excuse to pull them into a man-hug. I smiled and nodded at them each in greeting. I knew Matyas and Dimitri, but the older blond was new to me. Matyas introduced him as Viktor.
Matyas led things. “We have something of a problem. There are two hellhounds loose in the city, and a horde of shades. We're only three, we cannot remove them alone."
I remembered what Elise had said, and said firmly, “We will deal with the hounds, you deal with the shades."
Quin looked at me questioningly, but I held Matyas' gaze and dared him to push back against me. His mouth tightened and his eyes flicked to Viktor but he finally nodded and took a big drink of his beer. I couldn’t risk them dealing with the hellhounds. Elise had been adamant that I had to keep the one that had dared form a bond with me safe. That would be far more difficult if the hunters were doing what they did best: hunting.
Dimitri leaned a little closer to me and said, “What happened to that hound earlier, Evelyn?"
I knew the line of inquiry was coming. I’d run the possibilities through my head on the journey over. I didn't like the way my name sounded coming from him, he toyed with the syllables, somehow adding a slime to the word. A desire… or a threat, perhaps. I allowed my mouth to form a small smirk as I took a long deep breath and relaxed my muscles into a practised look of mild boredom.
I shrugged and said, “You tell me, you're the ones who ran after him."
He narrowed his eyes at me, small creases formed at the corners.
Matyas said, “You looked as if you spoke to it."
I gave Matyas a dark look; I was not going to be pushed around. I couldn’t afford to allow him to start down that line of questioning or insinuation.
“He ran into me then took off down the road. There was no talking," I said sharply.
Viktor made a quiet rumbling sound of dissent, but no one acknowledged him.
Quin said, “We have been hunters our whole lives, are you questioning our position here?"
Matyas leaned back and put his hands up appeasingly. "No, no, of course not. We couldn't find the hound, was all."
I raised an eyebrow.
“And you thought, what, I spoke some magic words and stuffed in my pocket?” I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Well, it doesn't matter now, they're our problem," I said.
There was a rivalry between the hunters. We were united in our hate of the creatures, and our desire to protect the innocents, but there was a lot of money to be made, too. Quin and I had worked very hard to carve out a good reputation, and we weren't going to back down and risk losing that.
Quin pushed his chair back and said, “If we get anything on the shades, we'll let you know."
I fought to hold down a victorious smirk; it was good to have my twin on my side. We’d done what we needed to do without allowing them to ask too many awkward questions.
Matyas said, “Of course, of course. We will do the same with the hounds."
I said in the sweetest tone I could muster, "Thank you all; a pleasure, as always."
I could feel Quin's tension as he walked out of the pub in front of me. The hunters barely waited for us to leave the room before they began whispering again. There were too many questions. My hands were trembling again. I was walking a fine line.
Quin hissed, “Want to tell me what happened, sis?"
I growled back, “When we're home, away from eavesdroppers."
The ride back home was tense. I didn't like hiding something from Quin. I didn’t know how I was supposed to break it to him. I knew he was my brother, he would stand by me, but it was bigger than anything we’d faced before. We didn't have secrets, we couldn't afford them. They would be too easy to manipulate, and we needed each other. I reminded myself that we were a team.
The trees were beginning to show signs of spring proper, bright green buds spreading along the branches of the trees lining the road. Someone had planted crocuses and daffodils in the flower beds along the edges of the park. The city was always so grey through winter, it wore it like a mourning veil. There was something thoughtful and contemplative about it, but I was glad to have colour once more.
The moment the front door was closed, Quin said, “What didn't you tell me, Evie?"
I pulled off my boots and explained about the blood bond and what Elise had said. His anger dissipated and was replaced by concern.
He pulled me into a hug, and the anxiety melted away. I wasn’t in it alone; he would stand by me.
He said, “Oh, Evie, what have you got yourself into this time? I know I said you needed to get laid, but this was a bit much."
I had to laugh. The entire situation was past absurd. He made some coffee and I curled up on the sofa. I knew he was going to say something. I didn't like when he refused to look at me.
He perched on the edge of the coffee table and said quietly, “We should speak to Kadrix about this. He'll have some information."
I glared at him. “You really think we can trust that damn elf with something as important, as dangerous, as this?"
His expression darkened and he stood. “Kadrix isn't just an elf. He's helped us many times over the years."
I ground my teeth together and watched as he paced a small circle in front of his seat.
“You wouldn't have found me if it weren't for his help,” he said firmly.
“He fucked me around!"
“You were too closed-minded to ask the right questions!"
It felt like a slap in the face. He'd taken the cursed elf's side over mine.
Once again we were standing in Kadrix's lab… workshop… thing. Quin had apologised an hour or so later, but it still stung. I'd retired to my room after dinner and watched some trashy movie while I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do. Strange emotions started lingering in the back of my mind, unexplained sensations. I was growing more concerned, and I felt as though I had no one to turn to. Elise had the serene calm from her lady and the absolute faith that everything would be ok. She seemed more concerned about my keeping the damn hound safe than whatever I was going through. Quin had taken the elf’s side.
Quin explained what had happened to Kadrix whose eyes lit up at the prospect of my being bound to a damn hellhound. I leant back against one of the workbenches and crossed my arms over my chest to fight the urge to spin my blades; the risk of the elf pissing me off was too high. Quin was apparently attached to him, and he wouldn’t approve of my slitting the alchemist’s throat. Kadrix walked around Quin, his hand brushing Quin's arm. I ground my teeth; I was beginning to see just how far Quin’s trust ran.
“Show me your hand, Evelyn," Kadrix said.
I didn't like his brusque tone. He stepped closer to me.
“Evelyn, I am trying to give you some answers, now show me your hand."
I looked to Quin for support and found none. I held out my hand that had a faint white line across the palm and nothing more. I’d never healed that quickly before. I was a normal human; I healed at normal human speeds. I wondered if that was part of the bond. If he could affect my healing so quickly, what other things would the bond do to me? Kadrix lifted my hand and inspected the palm, he poked at the line and pursed his lips. He reached across one of the benches and picked up a sparkly blue powder. I pulled my hand back. It was one thing when Quin used healing powders on me. It was another when an alchemist went poking around a blood bond with a hellhound.
The elf had made it quite clear that his priority was knowledge; I had no doubt that he wouldn’t think twice about harming me if it meant he gained more information.
Kadrix rolled his eyes at me and said, “Do you want answers or not?"
I ground my teeth together and held out my palm once more. I had to trust that he wasn’t going to poison me or some such. He was the only potential lead that I had, and I needed to know what I was facing. He sprinkled it in the blue powder that burst into a bright green flame almost immediately. I watched it in fascination. There was no pain. It tickled a little, as though someone were blowing lightly across my palm. The flames died out after some thirty seconds or so. Quin and I looked to Kadrix expectantly.
He shrugged and said, “You're bonded to a hellhound."
"I knew that! You were supposed to tell me something more, like why, or how!"
I shouldn't have lost my temper, but I couldn't help it. He wasn’t taking my situation at all seriously. I could be facing a slow death, and yet he was treating it like it was nothing. He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture and walked away from me.
“Your blood was mixed, that's how. I don't have more details than that, my crystal ball broke last week."
I curled my hands into fists, my fingernails bit down into the palms of my hands. I would not smash his face in. We needed him as an alchemist. I glared at him and ground my teeth together.
Quin offered me a small smile. “At least we know what we're dealing with now."
I took a deep breath and said as calmly as I could manage, “Elise already told me I was bound to a hellhound."
A feeling of elation burst into the back of my mind. I couldn't pinpoint where it'd come from, I knew it didn't belong to me though. I tried to calm myself, snapping at Quin and the elf wasn't going to do me any good. I needed to collect my thoughts and break the bond with the hellhound. Surely that wasn’t going to be too difficult?
"Kadrix, what do you know about these bonds?" I tried to be as polite as possible.
He sighed melodramatically, his mouth tightened. I could see the cogs turning in his mind. He was preparing to ask for a sacrifice in return for the information. Elves required a sacrifice for everything. His eyes settled on Quin and his expression changed.
He leaned back against the bench behind him, making a pewter bowl wobble. “They're very unusual on this plane. They can only bond with those with demon blood; now, if you'd like to give me some of your blood, I can confirm if that's the case with you."
“Not a chance in hell,” I said.
Blood was incredibly potent; giving him some of my blood would open me to far too many potential problems. It would give him potential control over me. He could have used it in all sorts of concoctions. No, there was far too much risk there.
He smirked at me. “Don't say I didn't offer. It is a very strong bond, unlike anything on this plane. You will be able to feel and track each other. That is likely how he found you in the first place."
“He was stalking me before he initiated the blood bond."
I swallowed hard and dragged my fingers through my hair. A hellhound had been stalking me so that he could form a blood bond. I pulled out my blades and began spinning them.
“He must have had some tie to you to help pull him through into this world to begin with. He can't belong to a demon, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to bond to you."
His condescending tone was grating on my nerves. He was acting as though I’d just met my first nymph rather than had my life thrown into turmoil.
He pushed himself off the bench and said, “I have work to do. Take your money."
I gave him a sharp nod, took the money he handed to me, and left. I'd had enough of his company for a long time anyway. I didn't understand how Quin got on with him so well.
I didn't want to go home. I wanted to pace, to run. I paused for a moment; the desire to run wasn't something I usually felt. The hound was there, in the back of my mind, influencing my thoughts.
Quin put his arm around my shoulders. “It'll be ok, sis. We'll figure it out."
“I'll need lots of caffeine and alcohol between here and there. Does Starbucks have an Irish option?"
Quin laughed. “I don't believe so, I'll treat you to an extra-large something or other, though."
We went in Starbucks maybe twice a year; I wasn't sure what they had on offer. I did know that they all had caffeine and sugar though.
The barista girl gave Quin her best coy smile as she fluttered her eyelashes at him; I tried not to roll my eyes. I really wasn't in the mood to watch another girl throw herself at my brother. He ordered us both something with copious amounts of cream, sugar, and flavourings. We headed downstairs and claimed a quiet corner for ourselves; I needed to be somewhere away from home. Somewhere I could clear my mind.
The desire to run bubbled in the back of my consciousness; it ate at me. I took a big gulp of my coffee and tried to push it away while telling myself that I was still sane. There was a solid, known cause for the feelings in the back of my mind. Outside sources had confirmed as much. I was sane. I kept reminding myself that we would resolve the problem. I was going to be ok.
Quin said quietly, “Talk to me, Evie. You're worrying me."
I gave him a half-hearted smile. “I'm worrying myself."
I enjoyed the coffee for a couple of minutes while I tried to gather my thoughts. There were surprisingly few people in the underground section of the Starbucks that was conveniently sectioned out. The decor was very typical for the brand, but the ceilings were arched much like the interior of one of the churches. It would never compare to Elise's, but it was a pleasant change of scenery.