Alexi huffed. “It sounds so easy when you put it like that.”
“It’s not easy, but we have things under control.” Sophie gave the satchel to Kain and the blond hid it in one of his pockets. “I had to pet the damn thing to get that tuft of fur. Disgusting.”
“Awww…. Don’t talk like that about your future adopted pet…” laughed Kain.
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you think the shaman also needs strands of your hair?”
“Err… why?” Her brown eyes moved from one cambion to the other. Kain was clearly amused, and even Alexi seemed to feel better all of a sudden.
“We’re binding Irvene to you. You’re going to be her new mistress.”
“What the fuck?! Are you insane? Why?” That was it. Instead of making her life more bearable, Alexi and Kain had only managed to bring her on the brink of exasperation.
“Because you need a furry friend and Lure Academy needs a hellhound.” Kain winked at her and made his way to the door.
Alexi followed him, but took pity on Sophie and whispered in her ear: “If we set her free, the Count will immediately know something’s wrong, but we bind her to you and because you’re always with him, he won’t be able to tell the difference.”
“Oh… that makes sense…”
CHAPTER TWO
Sophie made her way through the woods, congratulating herself for having given up the high heels Casimir insisted she wore all the time in favor of her old, battered flats. She was holding her dress raised way above her ankles to make sure the hem didn’t catch any leaves or dirt. She didn’t know how much time she had, even though Leila had told her Kain and Alexi would do their best to keep the Count busy for at least an hour. There was no other way. She had to go to the chalet and see if the shaman’s spell had worked. It was the first time she was going there alone, so she really hoped it had worked because otherwise she’d become lunch for Irvene. Without the Count around, she doubted the hellhound would be so friendly.
The chalet came into view and Sophie stopped for a second to catch her breath. She looked behind her, studied her surroundings, and sighed in relief when she saw she was alone. No one had followed her. Berith, Casimir’s assistant, was busy ordering the cooks and maids around. Everything had to be perfect for the Spring Celebration. Sophie swallowed heavily and focused her attention on the small gate that was separating her from the chalet and Irvene.
“Here goes nothing,” she whispered and headed to the gate with big, determined steps. She opened it carefully, then sneaked into the courtyard and followed the narrow alley to the front door. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she could barely control her erratic breathing. “This is not
a good time for a panic attack,” she told herself. Two steps away from the front door, she stopped in her tracks. She could swear she had heard a growl coming from behind her, but she was too afraid to turn around. “Okay, you can do this. It’s okay. The shaman knew what he was doing.”
She let go of her dress, feeling she had to have her hands free even if there was no way she could have defended herself against the beast if it decided to leap at her. She held her breath and turned on her heels slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. Her eyes met the hellhound’s red orbs, and she was relieved to see the huge, ugly thing had stopped a few feet away from her. Sophie willed her breath to go back to normal and waited for two painful minutes to see what the beast would do. Apparently, it had no intention to do anything.
“Hi there… Irvene…” Sophie even managed a smile, which turned into a shriek of fear and surprise when she saw the immense demon hound launch itself at her. She was too paralyzed to do anything else, so she took two steps back only to hit the door. She raised her hands to protect her face when the beast rose on its hind legs and placed its big paws on Sophie’s shoulders. But the bite didn’t come.
Sophie opened one eye, then the other. She flinched when Irvene rubbed one of her two drolly snouts against her palm, then turned her head to rub the other snout as well. Sophie smiled and forced herself to reward the creature with a tentative scratch behind one of its four pointy ears.
“I guess it’s hard being a dog with two faces… How do you even eat?”
Irvene barked happily, then got off Sophie and barked again, louder this time.
“Shh… let’s not alert anyone.” Sophie wiped her hands on her dress, scrunching up her nose at the stinky droll which was stubbornly stuck to her fingers. “So, it worked. I knew it would work!” She would have jumped in enthusiasm, but she didn’t want to encourage Irvene’s barking. “Listen to me: no one must know we’re friends now, okay?”
The hellhound threw Sophie a confused look, then answered her with another bark. Sophie thought Irvene would launch herself at her again, but the hound turned to the right side of the chalet and started walking in that direction. She stopped after a few steps and looked back to see if Sophie was following or not. Seeing her new mistress hadn’t budged, Irvene barked again.
“Are you trying to show me something?” Another impatient bark, and Sophie knew she had to do whatever the hound wanted before the barking alerted anyone. She was pretty sure no one could hear Irvene from the mansion, but Casimir’s guests did go out for long strolls in the woods. “All right, all right, I’m coming. Just keep it down.”
Irvene led her to the back of the chalet, where Casimir had never took her before. The hound stopped in front of the wooden door of a cellar which seemed to had been built deep inside the mountain. Sophie had read about such cellars, but had never seen one. They were used to deposit wine and other strong beverages in bottles and barrels, at a certain humidity and temperature carefully controlled by the way the cellar rooms were carved in stone. For some reason, Sophie doubted what Casimir had stored there were bottles of wine. She reached for the door and was surprised to see it wasn’t locked.
“Well, this is unexpected,” she told Irvene. “He really trusts you, doesn’t he?” The hound growled and Sophie chuckled at the idea that she was talking to a dog. A big, ugly, dangerous dog with two faces, silver fur, and red eyes. She pulled the door open and stepped inside. Irvene followed her, and Sophie had to admit she felt safer this way. The shaman had bonded the hellhound to her, so she knew Irvene would do anything to keep her safe now. The thought warmed her heart and helped her breathe easier even in the darkness of the cellar.
She studied the stone steps that led deep underground and noticed there was some light coming out of a long tunnel whose entrance she could barely guess from where she was standing. “Irvene, come here.” She placed one hand on the hound’s back, then closed the door behind her. She was glad to see it wasn’t so dark that she would risk stumbling down the stairs, but the feel of Irvene’s soft fur and taut muscles underneath her palm reassured her. As if the hound had read her thoughts, it proceeded to guide her down the steps. When they reached the tunnel, Sophie grabbed one of the torches on the wall and motioned for Irvene to lead the way deeper into the mountain.
Soon, Sophie found herself walking between two rows of small, dark cells. She wasn’t surprised in the least when young men and women started calling for her from behind the bars, their hands reaching in an attempt to grab at her dress.
“Miss, please… Have mercy…”
“Don’t leave us here.”