The Hellhound's Secret

Brother's In Arms

The Hellhound's Bond

The Hellhound's Bond is an ancient symbol securing the Hellhound to a particular person of its choosing. The ancient mystic's first believed that it was a bond of protection, an enchantment that secured the guardian of the Hellhound and an individual together, making that individual a guardian of the guardian. It was later revealed that the Hellhound's Bond was, in fact, a warning. It only appeared when the Hellhound was suspicious of a certain individual and had marked them as untrustworthy or dangerous. The mark, when found, was a warning to the mystics and the Hellhound's guardian to watch their backs around the marked individual, for they were not up to good.

Over time, the Hellhound would mark itself with an identical rune, always found on the inner arm. Sometimes the inner wrist, but most often above the elbow, allowing its human guardian to know what to look for when they came across an individual they did not trust. The rune, however, has always stayed the same. Records show that it is depicted as a single, solitary line with a curved edge.

Kali traced her finger across the image present. It looked like a 'P' except the backward 'C' that aligned with the line that was curved and set three quarters of the way down the line, instead secured at the top. Frowning, Kali turned her attention back to the text and re-read it. This was what Eithne and Rune had managed to find on the images that she had provided, concerning the rune that she and Hunter shared?

"He's not to be trusted?" Kali whispered, unsure of whether or not to believe what she was actually reading. She and Hunter may have had their differences, and there was still room for them to improve their standings as friends, but everything he had done recently was for the good of mankind. He had selflessly put himself in danger to protect, not only her and the others, but the rest of the world, also. What was so mistrusting about a man that wanted to protect?

A knock on the door startled Kali, causing her to slam the book shut and slid it behind her. She relaxed as the door opened and Cam stuck his head inside.

"You okay?" Cam asked, noticing the startled expression.

"Yeah. Sorry," said Kali. "Was reading. What's up?"

Cam considered her for a moment. "We have an emergency," he said.

"I didn't hear any alarms?" Kali asked, furrowing her brow.

"I picked up the spike on the scanners," Cam explained. "It's down at the old railways. The others have gone on ahead, but I thought I'd let you know in case they need backup."

Kali nodded and, after sliding her book under her pillows, stood and followed Cam from the room.

~X~

Arriving on scene, Kali and Cam raced over to where Shane, Tori, and Dustin lay amidst their bikes. Kali knelt beside Tori and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" she asked.

"Uh-huh," Tori nodded.

"I got this!" said Cam, removing his vest. "Super Samurai Mode!" he called, unsheathing his sword and rushing at the new monster. He slammed the blade down onto his arm, only to be met with a clang of metal on metal, and a fist clutching the front of his suit.

"Cam!" Kali called as the monster threw the Samurai aside.

Cam groaned as he slid to the bottom of the support beam he had crashed into.

The metal man laughed and turned to Kali. "What?" he asked.

Kali growled and clenched her hands into fists. "Ninja Sword! Mystic Mode!" she called, running her two fingers down the blade. It sparked with black energy and Kali took a running leap forward. "Darkness Wave!"