Death At My Door

Chapter 7- Do It I Dare You

"For your final test, you must start without your Hound and then summon him," Lucifer stated without interest.

"For the last time Lucifer, DO NOT call him Hound! You can call yours whatever you want but you have been told multiple times that you must call him by his name! My patience is running thin with you and your disrespect! Based on the way I act and stand, I am at a higher rank than you! No, that does not make me invincible, but that does make me stronger than you in my mind, soul, and in my physical ability," I growled, stepping towards him.

"Why? It doesn't matter what I call him; he doesn't have to obey to me," Lucifer said.

I took another step towards him, my veins burning and the flame in my eye began to ignite.

"Master,"Cujo stated, "do not get involved in his nonsense statements."

"Cujo, I love you dearly, but stay out of this. I'm doing this because it is what is right," I growled as I took another step towards Lucifer.

"Yes Master," Cujo stated.

Within seconds of Cujo's reply, a necklace appeared around my neck; it was a grey crystal that resembled Cujo's eye.

"Cujo," I called to him; there was no answer.

"Wow, look at that!" Lucifer clapped his hands to be a jerk. "It looks like Ashley doesn't want her Hound around as much as she thinks she does."

"Don't you dare speak of my relationship with Cujo like that! Our bond is one that you could never imagine, and your bond with your Hound will never be as strong as ours!" I growled, finishing the transformation into my Reaping appearance.

"Now, now Ashley. We cannot be a hypocrite can we? You asked me to not call Cadejo a Hound, yet you continue to call mine a Hound as well," Lucifer stated.

"You have never told me your Hound's name, and you never asked me to call him by his name," I stated. "So don't be accusing me of things I am not."

"If I spoke his name you would have an uneasy feeling; you would not return to your original state of mind," Lucifer threatened.

"Do it, I dare you. I'm stronger than you think," I taunted.

"Fine, you asked for it," Lucifer stated. "Cerberus," Lucifer whispered.

He was right, the name shook my strong will. Fear began to pass through my veins and I began to return to my human form.

"Snap out of it," I said to myself. "You can do this!"

I gained my strong will back and gained the will to fight.

Within a moment, a hellhound that towered over everything around it appeared out of thin air.

"You can't fight this fight alone Ashley; you surely won't win on your own," Lucifer growled.

"I wasn't planning on doing this alone," I snarled. "I swear, anger me any more and you will see your death."

Lucifer scoffed, "Yeah right."

The anger swelled inside of me, but it was an anger I have never experienced. It seemed to resignate around the room. My necklace began to glow and levitate off of my neck; in an instant, Cujo was next to me sizing up Cerberus in his hellish appearance as I sized up Lucifer.

"Are you going to welcome your death?" I asked.

"The question should be directed at you," Lucifer stated.

Then, we lunged for each other as the growls of our Hounds filled the room around us.