Glass Heart

Chapter 9

I woke what seemed a long time later, finding myself in an alien environment surrounded on all sides by three foot grass that seemed to be grey in color. There was a dog sleeping nearby, real dark in color, pointy ears, solid muscular build. On closer inspection, I realized the dog had two heads. Normally I'd be surprised, but my brain was still a little fuzzy and well . . . I was in Hell, a two headed dog was not the worst that I was expecting.

Other than the second head, it looked like a normal German Shepherd, with liver and sable coated markings making it a rich red-brown in color. Very handsome. It wore a black leather harness that looped under both front legs with holes for both heads, coming together on the shoulder blades with a metal clip for a leash of some kind.

I was always good with animals so I called out to it. "Here boy! Come here!" The head on the left with a bent ear glanced at me and then seemed to do a double take. I had no idea what that was about but I didn't care, I just wanted to pet him. "Come here," I coaxed again.

The dog stood in one fluid movement and shuffled over to where I was sitting in the grass. He just stood in front of me as if to ask, 'I'm here, now what?', like he didn't know what to do.

"What's your name, bud?" I looked at his harness and found a name stitched into it, "Orthus, huh?" That sounded familiar, I must have read about him somewhere but nothing was coming directly to mind. "You are quite the handsome fellow." That compliment immediately got his attention and the second head swiveled to look at me. From this angle, I could see the scars on the right head's snout. "Must've gotten into a fight, huh? I bet you won, didn't you?"

The head with the scar cocked to the side, as if confused. "It's alright, boy, I admire a champion," I reached out a hand, allowing him to smell my scent, he sniffed at my palm curiously. "You see? I'm a friend." The other head licked at my hand tentatively, as if expecting me to scold him. "Aw, good boy." I gently ruffled the fur between his ears.

After a moment where he seemed stunned still, Orthus was immediately all over me, in a good way, I'm guessing he didn't receive much praise from his master. He half lay on my lap, one head pressing stubbornly into my hand, the other leaning against my chest, calmly accepting the pets, each head having a seemingly entirely different personality though both craved the attention. One would think he was touch-starved, the poor thing.

When Ryon came back and saw me petting the dog, who had his extroverted tongue lolling out and seemed to be enjoying himself, he dropped his armful of wood in shock. "How the hellfire did you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, looking back up at him in confusion. He shakily pointed at the dog, who had decided my lap was a great place for him to sit on. "Oh, animals just like me for whatever reason, always have." I returned my gaze to the two-headed dog and scratched behind the extroverted head's ears.

"Orthus is not an animal." Ryon corrected and seemed to get even more confused. "Demons do not act like common house pets." He directed that pointed comment toward Orthus. Apparently, Orthus was some kind of demon, I couldn't say that I surprised, he was a two-headed hound after all, not a dog.

I shrugged, I didn't actually have an answer for him, "if he isn't a dog, why does he have the form of one?"

"Because I'm his master and this is the form I find him most tolerable in."

I gasped, "now that is just mean. Apologize to him."

"I will not apologize to a servant."

"Those who do not show respect to their underlings are not suitable for leadership." I sniped back. Ryon built a fire in silence, contemplating my remark. I could tell that it had surprised him, but I didn't know what emotions it had elicited, be it curiosity, scorn, nonchalance, or a combination therein. Finally, I asked, "if Orthus is your servant, does that make you his owner?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." One of Orthus's heads growled at Ryon, the other still leaning heavily on my lap. "Shut it, Orthus, or I'll have you out in the fields for the next century."

Orthus continued to growl, but I clicked my tongue and scratched behind his ear a little and he immediately ignored Ryon's very existence, preferring to focus entirely on his own enjoyment. "No wonder he's so touch-starved, you don't treat him properly."

"And how is that?" Ryon sassed, seemingly offended by the very notion.

"All I did was tell him he was a good boy and he melted, then you come in and threaten him. Now that's no way to treat any animal, demon or not." I reprimanded. Both of Orthus's heads looked up to me, eyes wide in shock and ears alert, apparently Ryon wasn't told off for his behavior nearly enough.

"And how would you know?" Ryon asked, a darkness in his eyes that set all my nerves alight.

I had to look away from his piercing gaze, unable to maintain eye contact with that look in his eyes. "You can judge a society, or I guess I should say, a dimension, by the way it treats its animals and its vulnerable."

Ryon was very matter-of-fact when he deadpanned, no emotion behind the statement, "there is no vulnerability in Hell."

"Maybe there should be." I shot right back, "has anyone ever stopped to think about why?" That was another statement that seemed to floor him. He stared across the fire at me, dark eyes pondering, completely at a loss for words.

Abruptly, he looked away, shutting down whatever thought had occurred to him as he tended to the fire with his bare hands. "Orthus, I need you to scout ahead, see if you can find a tree." Orthus growled, but Ryon interrupted, "it's not for me, it's for her."

Both of Orthus' heads swiveled to look up at me and he started whining. "Um, why exactly do I need a tree?"

"Trees in Hell have healing properties." Ryon explained, "their roots can cure poisons, bark can seal bone back together, fruit can mend internal injuries, leaves can sooth muscles, and the sap can eliminate pain. They're pretty rare in Hell, so they're left alone for the most part, but most demons never need healing anyway so its unusual to seek one out except in the most dire of circumstances." Ryon nodded to where Orthus was still whining at me, even pawing at my leg a little bit, "that's why he's so worried about you."

"Aw," I ruffled both sets of his ears, "I'm alright, bud, you don't need to worry. I think your master is just tired of carrying me."

Ryon snorted, dark eyes meeting mine over the fire, "as if I'd ever get tired of carrying you." His smirk made his elongated canines shine in the light of the fire, "but I am curious, do all humans sleep as much as you do?"

"No, and usually I wouldn't either. I guess I'm still recovering after casting that rune to bring me here. I'm not a very good rune-caster in the first place so I get symptoms like fatigue and dizziness afterward."

"That's unusual, I thought only those who—" Ryon cut himself off, shaking his head as if discarding an unwanted thought, "never mind, I guess it's different for humans." I was curious about what he was going to say, but something in me knew that if I asked, he wouldn't answer anyway.