The Summoning
It had been a cold, rainy few weeks, and under the sound of the rolling thunder was the stentorian pealing of a bell. It had driven Kitty nearly to distraction until she'd resolved to find the source. Saddling her favorite mare, Luna, she rode into the countryside. The sturdy horse picked her way carefully across the muddy slopes and swollen streams until finally they reached a cave that the doughty horse flatly refused to enter.
But the pealing was coming from within.
Lighting a lantern she'd wisely brought along just in case, Kitty descended into the depths alone, leaving Luna tied securely to a tree outside. Her mother would have a fit if she knew what her daughter was getting up to, but she'd no intention of mentioning the adventure as long as it turned out well, which she anticipated it would.
Past mysterious ancient carvings and strange chambers she walked, surprised to find that the hike wasn't dangerous in the least. The path was broad and flat, as if trod by many feet at one time. Eventually, she came to a chamber that was different from the rest. More roughly hewn, cold. There was a table laden with strange items, and a brazier with a cauldron situated in it, as well as an odd stone archway that stood empty and seemed to serve no purpose. Tentatively, she reached out to touch the cauldron.
The next thing Kitty knew, she was snapping back to herself to the sound of a deep, smooth voice echoing from the other side of the stone archway- which was now glowing well enough to illuminate the room (fortunate, since her lantern seemed to have gone out.) as it contained a shimmering portal of some sort.
"Oh... damn," she sighed.
"Well, no. I'm not a
demon," the voice explained patiently. "I am a hellhound. We eat demons." At Kitty's stunned blink, he sighed and continued. "My name is Orinn. what's yours?"
"Kitty. Well, Catherine, but everybody calls me Kitty."
"Pleased to meet you, Catherine," the mysterious voice intoned, and there was an odd weight to the way he said her name. "I would like to strike a deal with you."
At that, Kitty perked up. She was
good at bargaining. "Oh? What kind of deal?"
"Well, obviously, I would like to get out of this hole. Hell isn't pleasant, and I've heard things are much nicer on your side of things. I'd like to see it."
"I see, I see," Kitty said, leaning back and examining her nails, pretending nonchalance. "So what would it be worth to you, to be free?"
"Well, I wouldn't be free. I'd be bound- to you. For the duration of our lives, most likely. It's quite an undertaking. In exchange I would be prepared to offer you my services as a very large, intelligent hound. I can provide physical security like nothing you've ever seen," he suggested, and Kitty could hear the prideful puffing up in his tone.
"Y'know what, that sounds good," she said after a moment's thought. Their family wasn't super active in politics, but they had made a few enemies over the years, not to mention your standard ne'er-do-wells and muggers and the like. The city could be dangerous for a woman traveling alone. "So, our arrangement is: I'll help you explore up here, and you'll keep me safe in exchange?"
"Correct," the hound said, and Kitty could hear the smile in his voice. "Do we have an accord?"
It was Kitty's turn to smile. "We do."
The portal glowed brightly enough to make Kitty shield her eyes, and she felt the... the
impact of the moment and knew that her life, from this moment, would never be the same.
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