Chapter 20
Tyr's motorcycle purred to a stop in front of Beth's house. He pulled out his phone to text her that he'd arrived when Nathan's message flashed across the screen.
?Nono won't settle. Keeps whining and pacing, acting anxious. Can't reach Kayja or Remi. Could use your help.?
Tyr frowned at his phone. The hellhound pup had been remarkably well-behaved from the very beginning.
The front door opened and Beth stepped out, her face lighting up when she saw him. She wore a cozy sweater in deep sea green that made her eyes sparkle.
"Hey." Her smile faltered as she caught his expression. "What's wrong?"
"Nathan just texted. Something's up with Nono." Tyr showed her the message. "I promised I'd head over."
"I'm coming too." Beth grabbed her leather jacket from the hook by the door. "That poor pup - he must be really upset if Nathan's worried enough to text you."
"You sure? We were supposed to have dinner..."
Beth was already locking up. "Dinner can wait. Nono needs help." She pulled on her jacket as she descended the porch steps. "Besides, I love that goofball. Even if he did smoosh me, trying to sit in my lap despite being the size of a pony."
Tyr couldn't help smiling as he handed her the spare helmet. Her genuine concern for others, even a lost hellhound pup, was just one of the countless things he loved about her.
"Hold on tight," he said as she slid onto the bike behind him, her arms wrapping securely around his waist. The familiar warmth of her body pressed against his back made his chest tighten with emotion.
The motorcycle roared to life, and they headed toward Nathan and Harper's place, the cool night air whipping past them. Beth's arms tightened slightly as they took the curves, her trust in him evident in the way she moved with the bike.
Tyr pulled his motorcycle into Nathan and Harper's driveway, the headlight sweeping across the front of the house. Before he could even cut the engine, Harper burst through the front door, her foxy-red hair glowing in the porch light.
"Thank goodness you're here." Harper wrung her hands, her usual calm demeanor clearly shaken. "We fed him a couple days ago, and he's not acting hungry. He just won't settle down."
Beth swung off the bike, already heading for the door. "Have you called the vet?"
"There's no point taking him to the vet again." Harper shook her head. "He's a hellhound, not a dog. They wouldn't know what to do."
Nathan appeared in the doorway, his phone in hand. "Still no answer from Kayja or Remi. I've tried calling and texting both of them multiple times."
Tyr's enhanced senses immediately picked up Nono's distressed whining from the living room.
He followed Beth into the house, where the oversized pup paced back and forth, his claws clicking against the hardwood floors.
Tiny flames shot from his fur with each turn, singeing small marks into the baseboards.
Beth knelt down, opening her arms. "Hey sweetie, what's wrong?"
Instead of his usual enthusiastic greeting - which typically involved trying to wash Beth's face or squash her in an attempt to sit in her lap - Nono just pressed against Beth's legs. Beth's expression shifted from concern to alarm.
"He's shaking," Beth said, running her hands over Nono's trembling form. "Like he's terrified of something."
Tyr tensed as Nono suddenly lurched to his feet, his head swinging toward the front door.
The deep bark that erupted from Nono's chest shook the house to its foundations, windows rattling in protest. Each successive bark grew louder, more intense, until the entire house seemed to shake with the force of them.
Harper lunged for a Tiffany lamp on the end table as it wobbled precariously. "What in the world?"
Hellfire erupted through Nono's coat, painting the walls in eerie crimson shadows.
His barks transformed into thunderous growls that made Tyr's vampire instincts surge to the surface.
Whatever had triggered this reaction in the hellhound was powerful enough to set every supernatural nerve ending on high alert.
Suddenly, Nono's massive head tilted, his growls taking on a different quality - recognition mixed with desperate longing.
Three sharp knocks cut through Nono's growls. The hellhound hurled himself at the front door, leaving scorch marks on the hardwood where his flaming paws touched down. The door shuddered in its frame as he slammed against it repeatedly, whining eagerly.
Everyone froze, staring at the door. Tyr shifted slightly, positioning himself between Beth and whatever waited on the other side. His enhanced senses picked up a familiar energy signature just as Kayja's voice rang out.
"It's okay! Open up - everything's fine!"
Tyr tensed as Harper rushed to unlock the door. The moment the latch clicked, Nono burst through like a black meteor, leaving scorched pawprints in his wake.
Where Nono's fur flickered with mere embers, this new presence blazed like an inferno.
An enormous hellhound, easily four times Nono's size, stood beside Kayja.
Living flames rippled through her midnight fur, casting a red glow across the entire yard.
Her presence radiated ancient power that made even Tyr's centuries-old vampire instincts urge him to retreat.
"Don't worry about the neighbors," Remi called out cheerfully from where he stood beside Kayja, his dark eyes twinkling with mischief. "I've cast a glamour over the whole property. No one will see or hear anything unusual."
Nono pranced around the larger hellhound, his entire body wiggling with pure joy.
His earlier distress had vanished completely as he bounced and yipped, red sparks shooting from his fur in celebration.
The adult hellhound lowered her huge head, gently nosing every inch of Nono's form as if checking for injuries.
Her inspection was thorough but tender, a mother's careful examination of her lost pup.
Tyr watched in fascination as tiny flames jumped between them where they touched, creating intricate patterns that danced through both their coats. The larger hellhound's fire seemed to respond to Nono's excitement, dimming from its initial inferno to a warmer, more controlled glow.
"Well," Beth breathed beside him, "I guess we know why Nono was so anxious earlier. He must have sensed his mother approaching."
Kayja's growl resonated through Tyr's bones, making his vampire instincts surge to high alert. Even Remi took a step back, his usual mischievous expression replaced by wariness.
"No." Kayja's voice carried dangerous undertones that made the air crackle with demonic energy. "What Nono sensed was another sorcerer attempting to summon him."
Harper gasped, instinctively moving toward Nono as if she could shield him from the very idea of being summoned.
Kayja's mottled red skin darkened with anger, the patterns shifting to deeper crimson as she continued. "I'm guessing the first one must have had a partner. The same way they separated him from his mother originally. They wanted a hellhound puppy. I don't know why, though."
"Maybe they thought it would be less dangerous?" Beth ventured to ask. "Easier to control?"
The adult hellhound's fiery fur sparked brighter, her head swinging toward the demoness. A low rumble of confirmation vibrated through the ground.
"Partners working together." Tyr's jaw tightened.
His gaze swept the darkness beyond the glamoured yard, reaching with his vampire senses for any hint of magical interference.
"They're powerful enough to attempt summoning a hellhound pup - and apparently succeeding at least once. That's no small threat."
Kayja's swirling eyes shifted from green to stormy blue, then back again.
Her black horns seemed to absorb the hellhounds' flames, creating strange shadows.
"We know Nono somehow broke free before they could bind him, and put an end to the summoner.
But he didn't return to Hell, which should have happened when the summoner died.
I have no idea how Nono ended up here in the Hudson Valley. "
The group exchanged puzzled glances. A hellhound pup, separated from Hell and his mother, somehow finding his way to their small supernatural community? The odds seemed impossible.
"Hold on. Wait." Harper's face drained of color, her freckles standing out starkly against suddenly pale skin. "So there's still a sorcerer out there trying to summon him?" Her voice trembled as she hurried to Nono's side, her arms going about the pup's neck.
A wicked smile curved Kayja's lips, her whirling eyes gleaming with satisfaction. The black patterns in her mottled red skin seemed to writhe with pleasure.
"Not anymore." Kayja's tone dripped with dark amusement. "We were on our way here when the mother felt the tug of the summoning. Nono is still young enough to have a mystical connection with her, so she felt it and followed it back to the summoner."
Nono seemed oblivious to the grim undertones of the conversation, still prancing around his mother's legs with puppyish enthusiasm. Sparks shot from his fur with each bounce, creating a mesmerizing dance of flames between mother and pup.
Tyr felt Beth shift closer to him, her warmth pressing against his side as she rose on tiptoe. Her breath tickled his ear as she whispered, "I probably shouldn't ask what happened to the summoner, should I?"
Before he could respond, Remi's rich laugh rang out. Obviously he had overheard her question, because the young Djinn's dark eyes sparkled with mischief as he grinned at Beth. "Probably not, no. It's safe to guess he went the same way as the first one."
Nathan drew Harper close as they both knelt beside Nono, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. Nono's tail wagged madly as he tried to lick both their faces at once.
The mother hellhound lowered her enormous head, and she nuzzled first Harper, then Nathan. Her touch left faint traces of warmth on their skin, but no burns.
"She wants you to know how grateful she is," Kayja translated, her whirling eyes softening. "You gave her pup safety and love when he needed it most."
Beth reluctantly let go of Tyr's hand to give Nono one last hug. The pup's whole body wriggled with excitement as he pressed against her, nearly knocking her over in his enthusiasm. Tyr caught her shoulder to steady her, then reached down to ruffle the pup's fur.
"Goodbye, little one," Beth whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
The mother hellhound touched her nose to Nono's head, and both their flames began to pulse in sync.
The red glow intensified, building to a brilliant crimson that lit up the night sky.
In a rush of heat and light, both hellhounds vanished, leaving only scorched pawprints in the grass as evidence they had ever been there.
Kayja's form shimmered, the mottled red patterns in her skin writhing like living shadows. "Well, my work here is done." Her whirling eyes shifted from stormy blue back to their usual green as she faded from sight, leaving only a trace of demonic energy crackling in the air.
Remi's dark eyes sparkled with their usual mischief as he swept them an elaborate courtly bow, complete with flourishing hand gestures.
"Ladies, gentlemen - it's been a pleasure.
Try not to acquire any more supernatural pets while I'm gone.
" He winked, his grin widening. "But if you do, call me right away! "
With a shimmer of Djinn magic, he vanished.
The sudden silence felt heavy after all the excitement. Beth's shoulders slumped slightly as she stared at the scorched pawprints in the grass. Harper knelt beside the marks, her fingers hovering just above the singed grass but not quite touching.
"I'm going to miss that goofball," Nathan said, his voice thick with emotion, his arm tightening around Harper's shoulders.
Tyr understood completely. Despite only having known Nono for a short time, the hellhound pup had carved out his own special place in their lives with his enthusiastic affection and playful nature.
"At least we know he's safe now," Beth said, leaning against Tyr's side. "And back where he belongs, with his mother."
Harper nodded, rising to her feet. "That's what matters most."
Tyr squeezed Beth's hand gently. "We should let them get some rest. It's been quite an evening."
"Of course." Beth hugged Harper, who still looked a bit shaken. "Call if you need anything, okay?"
Nathan ran his hand through his already tousled hair. "Thanks for coming over so quickly. Both of you."
"Anytime," Tyr assured him. He meant it - the music teacher and the fox shifter had become good friends over the past months.
Harper managed a small smile. "Drive safely."
Beth slipped her hand into Tyr's as they walked back to his motorcycle. The night air carried a hint of autumn crispness, and the stars twinkled overhead through breaks in the clouds. Tyr helped Beth with her helmet before swinging his leg over the bike.
She settled behind him, her arms wrapping securely around his waist. The familiar warmth of her body pressed against his back centered him, helping push aside the lingering tension from the evening's events.
The motorcycle's engine purred to life. As they pulled out of the driveway, Tyr caught one last glimpse of Nathan and Harper standing in their doorway, arms around each other as they watched their unexpected foster pet's scorched pawprints slowly fade from their lawn.