?Hound’s Duty?
⚡️Volume 2: The Badlands⚡️
?Written by Crownway Amef?
⚡️Episode 32⚡️
Somewhere in Mexico ~
The strong air from the Alladin jet forced trees to bow to their lowest level and the ground devoid of sand.
It lands on the rocky surface with its blades carefully coming to a stop.
Erik and the rest alighted from it. Their hands waved to rid themselves of the dust flying around.
Erik was quick enough to make out a figure approaching them and when the dust died down, he made out the figure to be Ken. His grandmother’s bodyguard.
He quickened his steps and ran to hug him so tight “It’s so great to see you, Ken!” He said all smiles.
“Uh you’re choking me buddy—- it’s so great to see you too,” he said to him.
Erik disengaged from the hug and his friends caught up to him.
Erik introduced them to Ken and Flora too after she was done hiding the jet with leaves and disguises she brought along.
“And lastly, this is Flora. She is a robot” Erik said.
“Oh wow… last time I saw you… and when talking to me on phone last night you didn’t sound… anyway you all are welcome. This way” he said ushering them towards the path that leads to the main road.
After a five minutes walk, they arrived on the road and he drove them off to Grandma Sarah’s new home.
Erik’s system screams joy and excitement as he’s seen beaming with smiles.
Susan rolled down the window of the car to inhale the air while Kira and Jeff buried their head in Professor Linn’s book that they took.
Ciara closed her eyes to meditate while Anthony keeps searching around for random things his eyes picks on the way.
Soon, they arrived at the mansion and the car came to a halt.
Another man was pushing Grandma Sarah’s wheelchair outside of the house. She has transferred half of her powers to Erik via the sword and with the last attack with black angels, she got injured so badly that she could not walk anymore.
Erik dropped his bag on the floor as he ran to his grandma’s wheelchair.
He grabbed the handles on both sides and called out to his grandma with tears brimming in his eyes.
“My adorable grandson, so good to see you,” Grandma Sarah said stroking his hair to the back before Erik stands to her level to hug her while seated in the wheelchair.
After the whole happy reunion, they were seen sitting around the dining table with delicacies before them.
“Grandma I’m afraid it’s time,” Erik said breaking the silence.
Grandma Sarah heaved a little sigh and smiled at him “I know my dear, I saw it overnight” she said.
“Really? Then can you tell us about the Dream Merchants?” he asked.
Grandma Sarah dropped her spoon and ordered Ken to move closer.
“Should I get it for you?” he asked.
“No, take me there,” She said.
“Let me do it, uncle Ken,” Erik said standing up from his seat.
He pushed his Grandma’s wheelchair to the safe just opposite the dining room. It’s an old safe and even a thief wouldn’t care to take a look at its content.
She brought out a minimal notebook that has writing inscribed on its hardcover ‘The Dream Merchants’
“I promise to help you but only after you’re done with your meal,” she said with a smile.
Erik gave a satisfied laugh and returned to his seat.
After a few minutes, they moved to the big hall of Grandma Sarah and she explained everything about the legend of the Dream Merchants.
“People make deals with the Dream merchants to see their loved ones in their sleep, some calls on the Dream Merchants to have a happy dream where they have everything they’ve always wanted while some… The supernaturals strike a deal with the Dream Merchants to travel through dimensions and places” She explained.
“In your case, you are to travel to Hade’s abode with it” she added.
“So how do we summon them, Grandma?” Erik asked.
“They are abstract entities, you can only feel them around but can’t see them. The spell is on the last page of the book” she said to them and flipped to the last page.
“You are my grandson Erik and it is quite unfortunate that you had to carry on with this mission. It is a very dangerous mission for a young teen like you. I don’t want to lose you–” she said trailing off with tears.
“Your parents would do anything to protect you and I would do the same my boy” She added.
“I will be fine Grandma. If there is one thing I’m good at, it is staying safe no matter what” Erik said to assure his grandma.
Ciara’s voice was heard reading out the spells and all head turns to her.
“You’ve got a Demin Witch? I’m proud of your circle Erik” Grandma Sarah said.
“I can read this” Ciara said excitedly.
“What’s your name, young girl?”
“Ciara ma’am” she answered with a twitch in her right eye.
She had never been talked to so nicely like that before and it gave her a weird feeling.
Grandma Sarah saw Anthony and she smiled “ I’m glad you will be going with him,” She said to him.
Anthony stared in confusion and Ciara gave him a teasing look “Strong Ghost rider” she said almost in a whisper.
“I’m not sure for how long Haliah can hold out, can we start tonight?” Erik asked.
“We’ll start the preparation by 12 at the midnight,” Grandma Sarah said.
“Thanks so much, Grandma, I’m so glad you’re alive and well,” he said.
She beams a smile at him and Ken smiled at him too.
Even when Grandma Sarah went to sleep, none of them could close their eyes for a second not to mention a minute.
Jeff and Kira scared them the more by reading out things and beings in hell. Different parts of hell and histories of those that last visited.
At exactly 11:00, Ken came out to them and asked Flora to go to the storage room with him to pack all the things needed for the crossover.
Erik and the rest were given another task, they were asked to fill up the big container in the large hall with water.
Soon, Ken arrived with Flora both carrying bags of salt.
It took them an hour to get everything set. The bathtubs for each one of them were included too.
———12 am
The alarm rang out so loud that it got them jumping to their feet.
Grandma Sarah’s wheelchair arrived at the hall with Ken pushing from behind.
Flora and Ken filled the bathtubs with water from the container that Erik and his friends got to the hall. After that, they emptied one bag of salt each and Grandma Sarah added drops of black thick liquid into the water each.
Susan was asked to light 6 candles beside each of the bathtubs and she did.
“The candles represent your state of living down there. If something goes wrong with any of you from there, the candle dies to let us know but if the candle dies from here, you will be trapped forever!” Grandma Sarah said then paused when she saw their faces.
“Is it possible to die with just a breeze?” Jeff asked.
“ It’s not a candle that can be put out with air, I mean if there should be any dark interference from our side here. You will be going to invade their privacy so it’s a must they invade ours but don’t you worry, I will seal the house so no evil can enter” She said reassuringly.
“No matter what you see or hear! They have power down there only, attack with the mindset of those that live on earth. Fight like a living immortal and not like those living there; don’t think like the dead! Hell is a different place to use tactics” She warned.
Grandma Sarah gave the book to Ciara and she started chanting the spell.
The water starts to boil even though it wasn’t on fire. The boiling turned the water black and Grandma Sarah joined in the spell so Ciara can stop from her end.
Once the spell starts, it’s not safe to break it unless someone picks it up before the first person stops.
As Ciara will be going be them, she could not complete the spell.
Susan entered the bathtub first and lay down with her head under the water, she holds a box with both of her hands and then on her tummy. The box contains the egg and she was smart to put soft paddings to the sides of the box before covering it up.
“Can she breathe? How long will this take? I can’t hold my breath for long” Jeff cried.
“You can stay here with Granny Jeff” Kira teased and entered her tub.
Out of many things that Jeff would not want to imagine, Kira being stronger than him is one of them and he wasn’t going to act weak in front of her.
He entered the tub and did the same with Erik, Anthony, and Ciara.
They were asked to hold their breath for 2 minutes to complete the spell.
At one point, Grandma Sarah’s voice starts to sound distant and fading, and finally, they could not hear her anymore.
Free air wafted into their nostrils and they started awake on the ground of Hades.
They were able to cross safely and the water isn’t affecting any of them.
“We are here!” Erik said.
His voice sounds different and his real form takes over. His body went up in flames but his sword changed the fire to blue. It’s protecting Falcon from being sensed by other demons and at the same time, for Erik to be able to summon his essence easily. Blue lava drips down his body one after the other.
Anthony’s clothes burned out from his body and flames covered him up to his head.
His weapons appeared strapped to his body with his hellfire chain.
Kira’s hair turned white and so long that she was stunned. Susan tried to touch it but it cuts her thumb and she retreated.
“It’s so d@mn sharp! This is not normal white hair” She said to her.
Susan, Ciara, and Jeff didn’t have to change. Erik and Anthony’s bodies changed due to the reaction to where they originated from. They are harbingers of death.
Just then, the ground before them starts to shake and split up into parts.
“He must have sensed our arrival,” Anthony said.
They were still contemplating how to cross to the safe side when their hands $h00ts up from the gap created by the earthquake that just happened.
Skeletal hands crawled to the surface at first before the skull came visible and then the rest of the skeletal body. They keep coming more and more all with swords in their hands.
“This was expected. If you can remember the first page I read out to you all, the Saviours fought the bony dead first” He explained.
Susan ties a rope to the box and then fastened it to her wrist.
She morphed into her dragon form and puff out a fire on the approaching skeletons.
Anthony swings his hellfire chain fixing one end to the floor and the other end th-ru_st into the rocky ground of hades. Erik touched the chain with his blue essence so it won’t scald Kira and the rest when crossing to the safer ground.
They walked on Anthony’s chain and crossed safely as Susan holds the Skeleton warriors with her fire.
When they were done, she fly to meet them.
Ciara molds out a ball of lava from Erik’s body and sent it toward the approaching skeletons and they melt into nothing but dust.
They didn’t do anything at all and Ciara used her magic throughout. She would switch from Erik’s blue lava to Anthony’s fiery ones.
Like that, they got rid of the skeleton warriors.
They were about to continue their walk when a very big Cerberus made its way inside.
Cerberus is like Falcon just that Falcon doesn’t have three heads.
Cerberus is a three-headed dog that guards the gate of hell.
The dangerous-looking monster growls as it strides proudly towards them and there’s another thing different with it, it speaks.
“Hades is very honored with this visit young humans”