Page 28 of The Bell’s Toll (Wanderlust Emporium Presents, Season One)

The moment I step into the room, I notice the problem. It looks like someone has set off fireworks. Flashing lights bounce off the brick wall. However, there is no sound. The graffiti crawls across the surface of the wall like it’s alive.

“Get Khiva here. Now,” I demand.

“Already summoned her,” Conah says at my side.

“How long has it been doing this?” I ask the attendants.

Only one answers. “It just started when we told Cadaman to get you. We had one passenger come through, and suddenly it started doing this.”

“Who came through?” Conah asks before I could get the words out.

The attendant points to an older level one demon. He looks terrified and confused as he huddles against the wall.

I march over to him and yank him up by his shirt.

“What the fuck did you do?” I snarl.

His eyes widen. “I…I… didn’t do anything. My daughter. I haven’t spoken to her in years. She told me to come visit.”

“Do you feel that?” Conah asks at my side. I was so pissed that I wasn’t paying attention. There’s a surge of energy coming from the man’s briefcase. I snatch it out of his hands and place it down on the table. Just then, Khiva shows up.

“What’s going on?” she asks.

I don’t answer. Instead, I pop the briefcase open. I immediately take a step back from the power emanating from the crystal in that box.

“Oh shit,” Khiva says, coming up beside me. “That’s a chaos amulet. That’s a very expensive and powerful object.”

“Why the fuck would he be traveling with something like this?” I ask, turning to her.

She shakes her head. “Only reason he would travel with that, is so it would do this.” She points to the portal. The firecracker effect seems to get worse.

I go back to the older man. “Who the fuck are you?” I snatch him up off the ground.

“My name is Akathol. I swear I know nothing about this. I haven’t seen my daughter since she was a baby. She reached out and asked me to meet a friend to bring this to her. I swear.”

I look at Cadaman. He nods his head, letting me know the man is telling the truth. Only demons can scent the truth on other demons. But even then, it’s still tricky. Demons are known for manipulation. However, judging from the fear in this one’s eyes and the way he shakes, he’s truly scared.

“Dominus, something’s happening,” Unina shouts, getting my attention.

I turn to the portal. The firecracker effect has stopped. Now the graffiti on the wall is spinning in circles like it’s in a washing machine. I let Akathol go as I make my way over to the wall.

“Careful, Raziel,” Khiva warns.

I stop right in front of the portal. Coming from behind the wall is a grumbling sound. I lean a little closer to hear it better.

Suddenly, the portal opens, and a hellhound leaps out on top of me. Hellhounds are like giant dogs with a ravenous appetite, jet black fur, razor-sharp teeth and a tail that’s made up of spikes they can shake off and toss into their victims.

The hound snarls down in my face before leaping off me. Conah tries to grab it, but it tosses him against the wall. Unina screams. Khiva stands in front of her, her arms out wide as she recites spells of protection.

The hellhound ignores her and turns its attention to Akathol. The old man shakes like a leaf in the wind as he holds up a hand.

The hound bares his teeth.

“No,” I shout as I recognize the hound’s intentions.

However, it’s too late. It pounces on Akathol severing his body in half with one bite. I roll to my feet and jump up. Turning into my true form, I face the hound. It takes one look at me and immediately turns and races for the stairs.

“Fuck.”

I fly through the air to tackle the creature, but both of us go flying through the door and onto the casino floor.

Every demon and forsaken in the building turns to us.

I hop to my feet to face off with the hound.

Conah rushes up the stairs. He’s also in his forsaken form.

The human appearance is gone, and in its place is the winged being with black eyes and clawed feet.

I spread my wings out wide and snarl at the hound. Hellhounds are strong and are known for their speed and wit.

The hound moves to the side, keeping me and Conah in its sights. Around me, demons and forsaken scatter. The humans can’t see what’s going on, but they are running as well.

“Go low,” I say to Conah through our mind link . “I’ll go high.”

“Got it,” he replies.

I take flight, lifting into the air. Conah dives for the hounds’ legs, and I go for its head. The hound rolls to the side out of our way causing Conah and I to fall into each other.

We quickly right ourselves and turn back to the hound. An overweight human chooses that time to walk out of the bathroom. He’s busy drying his hands. Not that he’d be able to see us anyway.

The moment the hound turns to the human, I know its intentions. I charge for the beast, but I’m too slow. The hound tackles the human and locks its teeth on his neck.

By the time I grab hold of the beast, the human is long gone. I wrestle with the hound, taking a bite to the shoulder. Wrapping my arms around its body, I lift him up in the air until my back touches the ceiling. He claws at me and sinks his fangs deeper into my shoulder.

I fly straight to the ground, slamming the hound against the marble floor. His head cracks open sending brain matter and blood everywhere. It goes limp.

Placing my feet on the floor, I melt back into my human form. Blood pours down the front of my shirt. The skin slowly mends.

Unina and Khiva race up the stairs, both looking frazzled. A fucking hellhound just came through my portal. That’s not even the biggest issue; a human was killed in my district. Shit just got real.