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6.93% Fox Fire (BL) / Chapter 7: Animal Blood

Chapter 7: Animal Blood

*I...I...uh...I blacked out again. I'm in a furry horror movie. They probably drugged me up and they're...*

Hyeon put his hands over his face. "OH GOD. What will happen to Nammi?! My poor body! They're gonna..." He rambled the possibilities to himself.

Sani was offended and flicked his tail in annoyance. "I'm not sure if I gave off the wrong impression, Hyeon? We're not into that sort of foreplay."

Immediately, Hyeon shouted, "YOU'RE A DOG...THING!" He pointed to Sani's ears who muttered, "Coyote actually... "

"Are those even real? I mean, I guess they have to be if the other guy changed into that!" He gestured to the canine next to Sani. At least, Hyeon assumed it was the driver, Blue. He looked like a grey pitbull with a white chest, but his jaw was abnormally large with jagged teeth protruding. Instead of normal puppy eyes, he had eight beady ones like a spider. This was not a creature you'd want to encounter in the night.

Blue sat next to Sani's feet and looked up at Hyeon. Foamy drool pooled to the ground from between his too-many large teeth that couldn't fit in his mouth. "I find what you said to be a little offensive, Mr. Falken. Am I not like the other spirits you've seen before?" it growled.

Hyeon was becoming hysterical.

"Seriously, why do you look like an arachnid and a dog got all jiggy with it and then you came along!? And how is Nammi so freaking calm being next to you!?"

Sometime during his outburst, Nammi joined the trio and laid belly up next to the demon dog comfortably. That was very out of character for her considering she runs away at the sight of...normal dogs. Hyeon knew Nammi could easily escape her carrier if she tried. In the past, it was common for her to suddenly disappear from her confines at the vet clinic.

"What kind of dream is this?"

Sani tried to get his attention. "Hyeon?"

"How is this even possible?!"

"Hyeon."

"Did I die on the way to-"

"HYEON!"

He stopped his long-winded frenzy and finally gave Sani his attention.

"Do you even know what or where we are?"

"NO! I DON'T!"

Sani and Blue glanced at each other before looking back at Hyeon. "We're animal spirits like you. If you want to be more technical, this dog here is a hell hound," Sani motioned to Blue. "When you asked earlier what a spegill was, you've never seen one?"

"No."

"You've never seen animal spirits?"

"No."

"And you're not from a dýr family?"

Everything sounded foreign to Hyeon. "A what family?"

"Dýr means animal in some languages such as Old Norse and Norwegian. It's the common name for families with animal blood. Are you sure you don't belong to a dýr family? Your soul feels otherwise which is why I chose your lackluster resume. If you were a normal human, it would've been impossible to find this job online since only dýrs can see the listing. You're. Not. A. Dýr?" Sani's grey eyes gleamed. The angry glow from his irises looked like small lunar eclipses.

Hyeon didn't know what to think. Surely, they were crazy. A weird club. A cult. At least those would be easier to explain than this. He said quietly, "I-I'm not. This is all new. Please…take me back to town."

A silent minute went by. Blue was now laying down with his head between his paws, listening intently. Sani paced with a hand over his mouth. Then the man stopped and...laughed?

*What the f-*

Sani was actually amused by the situation?

Hyeon was irate. "I want to go back to town. Now."

The amusement turned into a wicked smile. His grin became wider like the Cheshire Cat, showing his sharp canine teeth. "You can't! The contract has been signed. While you probably saw a normal contract in your eyes, but a dýr would see different terms and conditions. Regardless, you signed it. I'm curious to see how an interesting human such as yourself holds up here. Let's head inside, shall we?"


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Review Time!

Dýr means 'animal' in the Old Norse and Norwegian languages.

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Chapter 8: The Southern Lights

*This is crazy. Everything is crazy. He's crazy, I'm crazy.*

He put Nammi back in her carrier while Blue waited for him to make sure his belongings were in order. That's when Hyeon realized Blue also had two tails.

"I will transport your pet and luggage safely. Mr. Descheeni is waiting for you," assured the spider-dog.

Hyeon glanced up and noticed the sun was setting. The last daylight was quickly fading. He didn't want to be stuck out here at night, but he didn't want to follow them into the cave, either. Hyeon peered back at Blue but he, Nammi, and his luggage disappeared.

*Where did they go?*

Sani appeared beside him. "So, you said you didn't know what a spegill was. It's an Icelandic word for 'mirror.' It's not difficult to make one temporarily for a couple of hours or even a few days, but it takes a decently strong dýr to keep it up longer than a week. If you're powerful enough depending on your bloodline, it's possible for a mirror to last for years."

"Normal humans won't notice what goes on inside of the mirror, so they see what the conjurer wants them to see: the American dream house with a perfect picket fence, a plain building, or something natural like a tree. Humans don't feel anything when they're near a mirror. Dýrs will see the same image, but they'd know something was suspicious by the fight-or-flight symptoms. Are you sure you're fully human? You felt something in the car, correct?"

Silly question. "I'm 100% certain I'm just a person."

"Well, if you know where and what to look for, you can enter the mirror. But this place…this place is special. Festr Castle can't be accessed by simply passing through the mirror; you have to wait until the Southern Lights appear which should be," he checked his watch, "now."

Right on cue, green streams filled the sky overhead. They swished back and forth like a slow creek. The beams reached up into space and covered the few twinkling stars. Lime green was the dominant color with occasional rainbow slivers. Hyeon was mesmerized since it was his first time seeing the lights in person, something he only saw in photos and nature documentaries.

When the aurora australis shifted, there were random flares that would touch the ground right at the cave's entrance. It was amazing to witness.

"That's where we can cross."

Hyeon was confused. "Where? Cross to where?"

"You see where the southern lights reaches down when it moves in front of the cave? That's when you go. Don't hesitate or you'll have to wait for the next flare."

They waited. Both were was bracing themselves to step into the cave at the perfect time. He couldn't believe he was doing this. It had to be a dream; a weird dream after falling asleep in the Cadillac.

"Now!" Sani yelled when the green waves rushed down. He pulled Hyeon with him into the darkness.

As soon as they moved inside, it suddenly wasn't black anymore. In fact, they weren't even in a cave. Instead, it felt like they were still outside except grey, early morning fog surrounded them. The forest flora appeared to be in the same spot as before entering cave...like a mirror. The temperature was cold enough to sting his exposed skin and the only sound Hyeon could hear was their feet crunching on the moist gravel.

"We're at the edge of Festr's land, but you don't have an insignia yet. You're like a beacon to whatever is lurking. Sometimes lower-leveled demons can pass through the barrier if the Lord is having a bad day, so stay close. Don't leave my side until we arrive at the castle property. If you get lost, I can't guard you. Do you understand?"

Hyeon nodded in response. Demons? His heart thumped in nervousness. It would be painful he if was mauled in his dream by a demon.

After some time of walking, the fog lifted overhead to reveal the sky. The moon was a dark blood color. This made the moon's rays not white, but red. It reminded him of being at a science museum and trying out the color spectrum activity to see the room in one dominant color.

Not knowing he had paused to observe the strange phenomenon, Hyeon realized he was alone. Sani must've not noticed he fell behind, too.

"Sani?" he said aloud. No response. Which way were they heading?

*I think we were going in this direction.*

He crept slowly through the fog. It was eerily quiet.

*Crack.*

Hyeon stopped to listen.

"Sani?" Again, no response. "H-hello?"

It was hard to hear with the deafening roar of his blood pumping. After ten seconds of being motionless, Hyeon continued with caution. The coldness affected his breathing.

*CRACK.*

He froze. The sound was closer.

*I should go back.*

When he decided to return to where he lost Sani, he stiffened in terror.

A dozen paces away stood some sort of animal about half his height. It resembled a hyena, but its head was nothing but a skull. The eye sockets were glowing white and it had luminescent tears dripping down its face. The tips of its spine were poking out through the fur.

Hyeon couldn't muster up a call for help. Instead, he squeaked out, "S-Sani."

His body trembled from fear and winter cold. This hyena thing abruptly pounced forward which caused Hyeon to react with adrenaline. He jolted to the right and ran as fast as he could. His lungs hurt from the icy breaths. Branches scratched his skin.

It was right behind him, its warm breath grazing his heels.

Hyeon didn't notice a tree root sticking up. His foot tripped over it and collapsed, causing his head to smack against a rock. When he looked over his shoulder, the creature sprung in the air to kill him, rip out his throat and disembowel him.

Just as quickly, a massive black blob flashed above him and collided with the attacking hyena mid-air. The new animal stood in front of Hyeon and snarled a warning at the demon, which didn't put up a fight. It limped away, knowing it didn't stand a chance against its challenger.

Hyeon's felt relieved until he actually saw what saved him.

A midnight black wolf had glowing yellow eyes. Its height was double or even triple the size of a normal wolf. Charcoal-colored smoke appeared and covered the wolf completely.

As Hyeon lost consciousness, the last image he saw was a pair of hands reaching out for him.


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Spegill means 'mirror or looking glass' in the Icelandic language.

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