HELLSPAWN HUNTER

Chapter 3

# HELLSPAWN HUNTER

## Chapter 3: Pack Mentality

The shadow-hounds moved like liquid smoke, their forms shifting between solid and ethereal as they circled Kael in the street. Their eyes burned like crimson stars, and when they breathed, frost formed on the broken asphalt.

*Fascinating,* Vex'thul observed. *They're using thermal displacement to lower the ambient temperature. Clever. Makes their prey sluggish.*

"Great science lesson," Kael muttered, his breath already visible in the sudden cold. "How do I kill them?"

*You don't. You survive them.*

"That's not helpful!"

*Neither is your attitude, but here we are.*

The largest hound, easily the size of a small car, stepped forward. When it opened its mouth, Kael could see straight through to the hellscape beyond—a throat that led to somewhere else entirely.

"Okay, that's deeply unsettling," Kael said.

*Wait until you see what comes out of it.*

The hound's throat began to glow, and something that looked like liquid fire started pooling in its mouth.

"Move!" Kael dove behind an overturned car just as the creature spat a stream of hellfire that melted the pavement where he'd been standing.

*Left! No, your other left!*

"I know which way is left!"

*Apparently not, since you're about to—*

Another hound materialized directly in front of Kael, its claws raking across his chest. The demon-enhanced healing kicked in immediately, but it still hurt like hell.

"A little warning next time?"

*I tried! You don't listen!*

*These things can phase through matter, which means they can attack from any direction. You need to stop thinking in three dimensions.*

"What other dimensions are there?"

*The ones they're using to flank you RIGHT NOW.*

Two more hounds burst up through the pavement beneath Kael's feet. He rolled sideways, came up running, and immediately tripped over a fire hydrant.

*Graceful.*

"I'm new at this!"

*So was I, once. The difference is, I learned from my mistakes instead of making new ones every five seconds.*

The pack was closing in now, their forms becoming more solid as they prepared for the kill. Kael could feel their hunger like a physical weight, pressing down on him from all sides.

*Stop panicking,* Vex'thul said. *Fear makes you predictable.*

"I'm not panicking!"

*Your heart rate is approaching 180 beats per minute, your breathing is shallow, and you just tried to hide behind a mailbox. That's panic.*

"Then help me!"

*I am helping you. I'm telling you to stop being terrible at this.*

One of the smaller hounds lunged at Kael from the side. He managed to grab it by the throat, but his hand passed right through its neck like it was made of smoke.

"They're not solid!" he yelped as the hound's claws raked across his arm.

*They're selectively solid. They can choose which parts of their body interact with our reality.*

"That's cheating!"

*It's survival. Learn the difference.*

The pack leader opened its mouth again, charging up another blast of hellfire. Kael looked around desperately for cover, but there was nowhere to run. The other hounds had him surrounded.

*Fine,* Vex'thul sighed. *I suppose I'll have to do everything myself.*

"What are you—"

Kael felt that familiar shift inside him, like gears clicking into place. His vision went silver, and when he looked at the shadow-hounds, he could see their true forms—not the smoky phantoms they appeared to be, but twisted amalgamations of darkness and hunger, held together by malevolent will.

*There,* Vex'thul said, his voice now carrying that harmonic undertone that made reality shiver. *Now you can see them properly.*

The pack leader's hellfire blast was already coming. Kael—or the thing wearing Kael's face—caught it with his bare hands. The flames wrapped around his fingers like ribbons, and instead of burning him, they seemed to flow into his skin.

*Hellfire is just energy,* Vex'thul explained conversationally. *And energy can be redirected.*

Kael opened his mouth and breathed the fire back at the pack leader. The hound's eyes went wide with surprise just before the flames consumed it. It didn't scream—it just unraveled, its form dissolving back into component shadows.

*One down,* Vex'thul noted. *Eleven to go.*

The remaining hounds hesitated, suddenly uncertain. They'd expected easy prey, not whatever this was.

"I don't like this," Kael said, though his voice still carried those reality-bending harmonics. "This isn't me."

*It's the best version of you,* Vex'thul replied. *The version that doesn't die stupidly.*

Two hounds attacked simultaneously, one from each side. Kael moved like liquid lightning, ducking under the first one's claws and driving his fist through the second one's chest. His hand came out the other side covered in shadow-stuff that felt like cold molasses.

*See? Much better.*

"I'm not in control," Kael protested.

*Control is overrated. Results matter.*

Another hound tried to phase through the ground beneath him, but Kael was already moving. He grabbed the creature as it emerged and slammed it into the pavement hard enough to crack the asphalt. The hound's form destabilized, scattering into wisps of darkness.

*You're learning,* Vex'thul said with approval. *Slowly, but learning.*

"I don't want to learn to be a monster!"

*Then you should have stayed human.*

The remaining hounds were backing away now, their red eyes flicking between Kael and the shadows where their pack-mates had dissolved. They were predators, but they weren't stupid. Whatever this thing was, it was more dangerous than they were.

*They're going to run,* Vex'thul observed. *Let them.*

"What? No! They'll just find other people to hunt!"

*Not our problem.*

"Yes, it is!"

*Why?*

"Because..." Kael struggled to find the words. "Because that's what heroes do. They protect people."

*We're not heroes.*

"Maybe you're not. But I am."

*You're a half-demon with anger issues and a savior complex. That's not a hero—that's a tragedy waiting to happen.*

The hounds were almost to the edge of the street now, preparing to melt back into the shadows between buildings. Kael could feel Vex'thul's control starting to slip as they argued.

"I'm not letting them go," Kael said.

*Then you're an idiot.*

"Fine. I'm an idiot."

Kael lunged forward, moving faster than any human should be able to. He caught the nearest hound around the throat and squeezed. The creature's form solidified involuntarily as it panicked, and Kael used that moment to tear its head off.

*Efficient,* Vex'thul admitted grudgingly. *Violent and unnecessary, but efficient.*

The remaining hounds scattered, phasing through walls and disappearing into the urban maze. Kael started to follow, but Vex'thul yanked him back.

*Enough,* the demon said. *Let them go.*

"But they'll—"

*They'll tell every other hellspawn in the city that something new is hunting in their territory. They'll spread fear and confusion. They'll make our job easier.*

Kael felt the silver fade from his vision as Vex'thul's control receded. He was himself again, standing in a street littered with shadow-stuff and melted pavement.

"That was..." He searched for the right word. "Intense."

*That was restrained. Wait until you see what we can really do.*

"I don't think I want to."

*You will. Power is addictive, boy. The more you use it, the more you'll crave it.*

"Not if I don't let you take control."

*You think you have a choice?*

Kael was quiet for a moment, looking at his hands. They looked normal now, but he could still feel the potential for claws just beneath the surface.

"Yeah," he said finally. "I think I do."

*We'll see.*

A scream echoed from somewhere deeper in the city, followed by another, and another. The Gate was still open, still spewing nightmares into the world. And somewhere out there, people were dying.

"Come on," Kael said, starting to walk toward the sounds of chaos. "We've got work to do."

*We're not heroes,* Vex'thul reminded him.

"Speak for yourself."

*I'm speaking for both of us. Whether you like it or not.*

"We'll see about that."

*Indeed we will.*

As they walked through the burning streets of Millbrook, Kael couldn't shake the feeling that this argument was far from over. In fact, he suspected it was just getting started.

And somehow, that thought didn't bother him as much as it should have.