“You’re doing it again,” Coltor sighed.
“Doing what?” Seir asked, only smiling harder.
“That thing where you talk nonsense.”
“He does that quite a lot,” I agreed, taking a step toward the creature, who was sitting quite regally, just watching us. Waiting. “But in this case, he’s making sense.”
Coltor grunted. “I’ve got two mad demons on my hands at once then. Lovely.”
“Not at all.” I reached out with my mind, offering a greeting to the animal. It responded with annoyance that it had taken me so long to acknowledge its presence. “This is no dog. It only looks like one. This is a hellhound.”
Coltor straightened. “Looks like a dog to me.” It was distant, but I heard the low growl of discontent at his comment. “My mistake.” He held his hands up. “So, what, exactly, is a hellhound doing here?”
The hound stood and turned around, walking several paces back toward the cabins ahead of us.
“She snuck through a doorway when we weren’t looking. Didn’t you?” Seir was thrilled to have been the victim of the hound’s stealth.
“Snuck. Through.” Coltor looked ready to chew on some rocks in order to vent his frustration.
“They do that sometimes.”
He turned his horrified expression on me. “How do we fix that?”
I shrugged. “We don’t. There aren’t many of them, and they’re usually on very particular missions, so it’s best to just be friendly if you see one. They’ll complete their business and move along soon enough.”
Are you coming? I’d like to see my mistress.The hound swung her head around, impatience clear in her bright amber stare.
“Mistress?” I asked.
Yes. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen her. I need to be sure she’s alright. I know she’s here; I can smell her.Her head swiveled around again.Her scent is on you, too, demon.Hound or not, her judgmental eyes scraped me from head to toe, and I had the irrational need to pass her inspection.
“What is your mistress’s name?” Seir and Coltor were watching my one-sided conversation with rapt attention as we walked.
She’s called Phin.
As my thoughts caught up to what she’d said, my heart stuttered. “Phin?”
Yes, that’s what I said. Hurry up.
I glanced over my shoulder and found both Seir and Coltor as speechless as I was. Seir met my eye, many of the same questions I had reflected in his expression.
“Tap, wouldn’t that mean…”
“Yes,” I confirmed.
If Phin was bonded to a hellhound, she was part demon.
Chapter 15
Phin
After I’d reassured both Hailon and Merry that I was perfectly steady on my feet, they’d taken me back outside for some fresh air.
I’d only had a handful of episodes since my arrival at the crossroads, and they’d all been fairly easy to manage. A few minutes, frozen with deals in my hand in the library was far nicer than standing out in the frigid cold of the churchyard. Even my ability to think and speak clearly had improved. I supposed I’d been due a bigger one, but the situation couldn’t have been more mortifying.
The odd pair of birds had followed, circling above us as we toured Merry’s vegetable beds and flowers, her voice soothing as she listed the names and possible functions for everything she had planted. I appreciated that she had such enthusiasm for ensuring that not only was everyone well fed, but that there was beauty year-round. The climate of Ravenglen was not all that different to Vincara, and the plants in both Merry’s and Hailon’s gardening beds reminded me of the smaller one my mother kept outside our home in the forest. The ones at the church, sadly, suffered from my less than green thumbs, though the herbs usually did okay as they required very little attention.
I turned my face into the sun again, reveling in it while I could.
