Page 51 of Inferno
Hm. That was interesting. Zandro’s speech was clear enough, but also very much what Yorin would have expected of a domestic dog, if they could talk, which was to say over-excited and lacking much in the way of analytical skills. More akin to the thoughts of a five year old child than an adult. “I really don’t mean to be rude – I’m very sorry if this comes across badly – but do you think unicorns are more intelligent than fire-dogs? I’ve never spoken to one, but Nerik seemed to think it was very important that I be respectful to Mico earlier.” It was a slight ruse, blaming the earlier conversation for Yorin’s concerns, but without the context, the question could be taken as a grave insult.
Yes, unicorns much more clever, Zandro said, the nuances of the conversation apparently going straight over his head.Unicorns build roads and mine gems and make trade with two-legged people. Fire-dogs only work with infernals. Make things burn. He belched out a small plume of flame to make his point, wagging his tail fiercely.
“Well, there are certainly times when making things burn is very useful,” Yorin said. “You could work for a blacksmith and be a huge help. Or you could help in a copper smelter.”
Zandro wagged more vigorously, wriggling his butt at the suggestion.
Yorin chuckled, surprised at his own good mood, considering the circumstances. It had been a hell of a week, being asked out, turning it down, changing his mind, then his first date with Nerik, then that night with the fearsome storm, then finding out Nerik was an infernal…
Wait a minute. A piece of that puzzle clicked into place, in a way that Yorin hadn’t noticed before. He and Nerik had had their first date on Tuesday night, dinner at the pub. And then it was on Wednesday that Nerik had gone up the mountain. So he’d been to visit the infernal femalesafterhe’d started dating Yorin.
Oh shit. So Nerik had… with another woman… after they’d…
For goodness sake, did it really make any difference? Yorin asked himself. Nerik had already said there was nothing emotional in it. And Yorin hadn’t even known that Nerik was anything other than human at the time, so how on earth did he expect Nerik to have explained that he had to go and procreate in order to save an entire species?
But… Shit… Yorin had just sent Nerik off with his blessing to go and do the same thing, and it was only now that he was actually thinking about it, rather than worrying whether Nerik was about to set the entire forest on fire, that he stopped to consider what that really meant.
Except that he didn’t have a clue what it meant, because Nerik hadn’t had the chance to explain any of it before he’d left.
Shit. He wandered out the front door, taking a seat on the step. “Hey, Zandro?” he called, and Zandro appeared at his side a moment later. “Do you know much about how infernals reproduce?”
No, Zandro said.Make fire. Fire make new person. Zandro not understand.
“Oh. Okay. Well, thank you anyway.”
But then Zandro broke all of Yorin’s expectations as he asked,Yorin worry Nerik make new person, forget about Yorin?
“Yes, in a way. To be honest, yes, I am worried.” Regardless of the fact that the details weren’t entirely correct, Zandro had honed in on the core of Yorin’s sudden concern. It was surprisingly insightful for the fire-dog.
Zandro sat down beside Yorin, shoving his broad head in under Yorin’s arm.Yorin not worry. Nerik like Yorin. Nerik worry, worry, worry all night. Yorin come, Nerik happy. Nerik come back from mountain, Yorin happy.
Yorin smiled, stroking Zandro’s head, then rubbing his ears when the fire-dog seemed to enjoy the attention. “I’m sure you’re right. I’m just worrying about nothing.” If only life was truly as simple as it was when viewed through canine eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
By the time Nerik dragged himself through his front door the following day, it was past six o’clock in the evening. Gods above, he was exhausted.
The front door was open, he noted, but Zandro was lying in the middle of the living room floor, and he leapt up when he heard Nerik come in.
Nerik home. Zandro happy. Yorin happy,he reported, toning down his usual enthusiasm when he saw how tired Nerik was.
“Yeah, awesome,” Nerik said. He collapsed onto the floor, then did a cumbersome wriggle to get out of the straps of his rucksack. Once he was free, he rolled onto his back and pushed the rucksack out of the way. “Is Yorin here?”
Yorin home. Yorin come tomorrow.
That was disappointing, in a way, but also a relief. After running errands from the unicorns to the fenrig colony, then from the fenrigs to the hadathmet, then back to the fenrigs, and finally up to the infernal colony, Nerik was entirely out of energy. Mental energy, that was. His internal fire was still burning strongly, though he recognised that he’d need a decent helping of fuel before the night was over.
“Hey, Zandro? Can you bring me a log? About twice the size of my fist?” Nerik held up his clenched fist in demonstration.
Zandro help!The fire-dog rushed off, bounding down the front steps when he didn’t find what he was looking for in the rack beside the fireplace. He was back a moment later, dropping the lump of wood on the floor with a loud thunk.
Only now that he had the required piece of wood, Nerik realised that he also needed to remove his clothes in order to change forms. Or else, say goodbye to a decent shirt and pair of trousers when they inevitably caught fire.
Fuck, couldn’t life just be simple for once?
He lay still for a moment, then rolled over with a loud groan. “Oh, fuck me…” He propped himself up on his knees and elbows, then stripped off his coat, then his shirt, and then he paused, reconsidering his current course of action. “Hey, Zandro, can you close the door?”
Close, yes. Open, no.