Page 3

THREE

I accompanied Jacob to the bay the hellhound was in, surprised to find a big piece of paper taped on the door. Someone had gone through the trouble of writing a warning on it.

Don't enter without protective gear. Let room air out before entering.

I looked at my mentor who was just wearing his white coat. "Do we have protective gear?"

He laughed and put his arm in front of the lower half of his face. "Just don't breathe in too deep."

That was a curious thing to say which made me all the more intrigued.

I mimicked his movement, covering my mouth and nose without understanding why.

Then he opened the door and a dense, suffocating smell wafted out that made my eyes sting.

It was acrid and reminded me of sulfur, pee, and cleaning alcohol.

I made the mistake of gasping and it assaulted the back of my throat. I coughed and inhaled more and coughed until the normal air from the hallway had diluted the stench enough to make it bearable.

Jacob observed me with a concerned look. "You okay there?"

I nodded even though my lungs were burning. "All good. What is that smell?"

"Hellhounds have an interesting metabolism and their sweat, saliva, and pee contain high levels of alcohol and a few other noxious substances."

"Noxious is right." I wafted clean air into my face, grateful for a non-burning breath.

"We just need to wait for the gas to escape because if he sparks a fire, that could engulf the room in flames instantly."

"Is that why the fire alarm has been going off so often recently?" I asked.

"Yes, our new hellhound is to blame. It would be better if the room was properly ventilated but that's far too high tech." He stuck his head into the bay and nodded. "Alright, I think it's safe for us to go in but keep the door open. And if he does set himself on fire, make a run for it."

This was certainly an unusual way to meet a new animal but I was more intrigued than worried.

I followed him into the room, getting my first look at the hellhound.

He was smaller than expected, but mostly because he was severely malnourished and crouched in the corner.

If he stood up straight, his head would probably reach up to my elbow. Maybe even my shoulder.

His ribs and hips were poking through his skin and he was covered in dark fur. There were silver scars all over his body, some that looked relatively fresh.

"Oh, he is in bad shape," I blurted out, horrified by the sight.

The hellhound flinched at the sound of my voice and growled, baring all his teeth at me. He was trembling and shaking, clearly not used to human company or not keen on it.

Judging from the scars, my guess would be the latter.

Jacob cleared his throat. "The owner of the private collection had him chained up as a guard dog.

But despite their fierce looks, hellhounds aren't very aggressive.

The fire is mostly for self-defence. So when our boy here tried to run away instead of attack, he got thrown in a small cage and was pretty much neglected. "

Both anger and sadness curled through me. People could be so cruel, and I wanted to lock the owner of the private collection in a small cage. If he went to jail, that could come true, and I'd never wished for more.

“He’s not eating,” I noted, pointing at his food bowl that was still full of raw meat. He was also ignoring the soft bed that had been put out for him, favouring the corner instead.

“No, I think he’s too stressed to eat,” Jacob responded with a sigh. “It’s something we need to change because, as you can see, he’s skin and bones.”

"Poor guy. What's his name?" I asked.

"Gold Flame Obsidian."

"Sorry?"

"You heard me. That's what's on the paperwork."

"That's stupid," I blurted out, more anger rising up in me. That wasn't the kind of name you gave an animal you were going to love.

Jacob chuckled and nodded. "I agree."

I crouched down to bring myself to eye height with the hellhound. "Don't you worry, we won't call you that ridiculous name. How about... Obie?"

He growled again and cowered even more. Clearly the sight of me was striking fear in his heart, making it very clear what sort of interaction he'd had with people. Poor thing.

I didn't understand how anyone could treat an animal like this, regardless of whether it was a common dog or a mythical hellhound. It was barbaric and cruel and awful.

Jacob grabbed the chart from the side, scanning the results from the initial check-up. "Alright, initial blood results. Let's see. Oh, hmmm. They flagged something that needs more investigation and are requesting us to draw extra blood samples."

As if the hellhound heard us, he flattened his ears and let out the most menacing growl yet. His lips curled up to expose the full row of large teeth and he scraped his paw over the tiled ground. His nails were far too long and crackled with every scrape.

Jacob pushed my arm. "Out!"

I stood still for a moment too long, watching in fascination as the hellhound's nails created a shower of sparks that set him and the vapour around him on fire.

The sudden blast of heat made me brace, and I was glad that there was a good amount of distance between us because any closer, and I would have gotten singed.

The hellhound howled and shook his body in a very doglike way, spewing fire through the bay. Seconds later, the fire alarm blared deafeningly loud, and I quickly hurried out when I realised staying was foolish.

Jacob closed the door and signalled to someone to deal with the fire alarm, which was so loud, it was an assault on my eardrums.

I watched the hellhound through the window, amazed that he didn't seem affected by the actual flames. Was it not hot? Did his coat protect him or was the fire not that hot? I wanted to know but going back in was far too dangerous.

"Shouldn't we put him out?" I asked, thinking back to the time when I worked with the phoenixes. "Can we hose him down? Although that seems really mean."

"No, the gas and vapour will burn up quickly and he'll extinguish naturally," Jacob said, also keeping a close eye on the hellhound. "Drawing more blood without sedation is going to be tricky."

He was right. We were going to have to find a way to get close to Obie without him setting us and himself on fire.