Chapter 14: Failure Is Not an Option Part One

Weird Nikki cuffed her hand to the side of her mouth and said, “You got yourself a beauty, Billy.” Then she spoke directly to Hellie.

“Hey, doll. Sorry to hear you lost your brother and got robbed while waiting for Billy at the train station. Small towns can be cray-cray.”

Hearing her say it back, my cover story—lie—sounded completely ludicrous, but it was working like a charm.

“I am so sorry for dropping this in your lap, Weird Nikki. I didn’t want to tell you about her like this, but since she understandably dropped by unscheduled, I’m in a bind with my class, and I don’t want her to be alone after everything.”

“No worries, I got you.”

Okay, everything went according to plan. Weird Nikki agreed to spend time with Hellie. She even bought my story about why Hellie wasn’t talking. On top of that, Weird Nikki also volunteered to bring Hellie some clothing.

Amid our chat, I had become so involved with Weird Nikki that I failed to notice that Hellie had slipped from my side.

As I talked, a ruckus behind me stopped me mid-sentence. I quickly shifted my focus and swiveled my chair around to investigate. I immediately noticed Hellie on the ground, looking up. I tracked her vision and saw a tiny moth flying behind me.

“They get in here from time to time. Come back up here and sit down.”

Not thinking much more of it, I turned back to Weird Nikki.

I had little time to resituate when I saw through the video stream that Hellie had leaped up and viciously swatted at the moth. Her reaction to the little creature was so fierce that it startled me, like a jump scare in the movies.

Up to that point, everything had gone perfectly, but there is a quote about things going well: “If everything is perfect, trouble is right around the corner.”

“What’s going on, Billy?”

Fumbling to address Weird Nikki, I could barely react when Hellie morphed into a dog mid-leap. Looking wildly into the computer screen, I saw Weird Nikki’s mouth gape in astonishment.

She saw!

I didn’t need to say anything; my wide eyes expressed it all.

Oh crap.

I closed and powered off my laptop.

I should have said something more—maybe, run into the adjoining space just around the corner and tried to stop it.

Anything.

But I just stood there.

Right after she changed, I tried to command her to stop, but it didn’t register. She had gone wild, barking and chasing, and there was no stopping it.

A part of me was numb, listening to the damage unfold. But the other part was scared because Hellie disobeyed my ground rules, which I thought was impossible.

Worst of all, Weird Nikki saw Hellie change into a hellhound live on our video chat. How the hell was I going to explain that?

Unable to do anything, I smirked and thought maybe I should be grateful. If Hellie had transformed into the beast-dog she was last night, nothing in my home would be salvageable.

It took me a few minutes to work out why, but Hellie had morphed into a much smaller but still large dog. Come to think of it, she looked much closer to Nightshade’s appearance—a much more jacked version though. Her fur remained sleek black and possessed the same full mane as her beast-dog form.

All in all, she looks very much like a regular dog.

Realizing my thought’s observation, I determined why her dog form had changed.

I told Hellie not to transform into the “other” her, the “beast” her, unless I gave her the okay. And she didn’t. She circumvented my rule without breaking it, turning it into a more acceptable form.

Clever.

So, if you didn’t break my rule, there must be a reason why you are not listening to me now.

I threw off the sullen state and started to think logically.

If that was just some rando moth, why would Hellie change into a hellhound? She could have smashed that with her hand. Plus, she only switched to a hellhound to protect me. Was I in danger?

I walked from where I was standing and peeked around the corner. Most everything in the living room area was shredded or broken.

The moth used the high ceilings to its advantage, staying just out of range of Hellie’s powerful leaps. Then it would swoop down, seemingly to make Hellie cause more damage.

I focused on Hellie’s actions, leaping and biting at the moth, but she missed every time.

How’s that? Hellie is a supernatural creature.

I shook my head, disappointed in myself because I didn’t notice it sooner. In The Lords of Omni, moths were familiars used for scouting and spying.

We had a spy in our midst, and Hellie had spotted it.

Armed with a little more information, I returned to my computer desk and grabbed Rules of the Black Arts for Advanced Users. There had to be something in there to help me understand what was happening.

I was sure that when I scanned the “Archetypes” pages earlier, I saw an entry for moths…or was it butterflies?

The sounds of Hellie’s wild hunt neared me, so I ducked into a corner, holding my grimoire. Huddling there, I opened it and flipped to “Archetypes.”

Bingo! I found the moth listed under the “Agents of the Darkside of the Moon” classification. I quickly zeroed in on the most crucial facts about the disruptive insect.

“Moths draw their powers from the mysterious darkness of the moon. Their sensitivities allow them to carry messages to their users from the spirit and earthly realms.”

Like I deduced, a spy. Another magic user sent it. But who?

“They can also tap into the opponent’s intuition and psyche, forcing them to use their abilities against themselves. Marked by their nocturnal behavior, the moth only manifests for users that walk the path of darkness. Each moth shared unique markings with its users.”

I read on and saw that they were nigh-indestructible, succumbing to only one weakness: the flames of hellfire.

Curious to see its markings, I swung up and carefully walked to where the dining table used to be. Unfortunately, the moth kept a high altitude, keeping its distance from Hellie. I squinted to see the pattern on its wings, but it was impossible.

Watching it twist out of sight into the open space above the bathroom, I couldn’t believe how closely the moth matched the familiars in The Lords of Omni.

Do role-playing games carry the truths of the supernatural?

Crash, Bang, Smash. The thrashing sounds in the bathroom swept away my ramblings and prompted me to read on.

I thumbed to the “Hellhound Archetype,” hoping to find something to calm Hellie. Fortunately, there were three pages of information I hadn’t read—most of them about hellhounds’ powers and abilities. But while scanning, I found two entries related to her current behavior.

One stated that “once a hellhound sets on its prey, it will not stop until one or the other is dead, or its user calls it off,” and farther down, it was written, “hellhounds seldom disobey their users. In those rare instances, they act on pure instinct to either protect their masters, reap a soul, or fulfill an assassination that users find morally apprehensive. Therefore, the users must exert an indomitable will to regain control.”

So she can disobey, but ultimately, I should be able to stop her. The only problem is that I must be indomitable. How the hell do you be indomitable?

At that moment, the pair came barreling back into the room. I stood my ground, breathed firmly, furrowed my brows, and yelled, “Hellie, stop now!”

With that, Hellie banged into the couch. Then she used it to launch at the moth, causing the furniture to flip into a loud crash.

Clearly, that didn’t work. Suddenly, amid all the racket, I heard a banging.

“Billy, are you and…that girl okay in there?” Jammer spoke through the intercom. The strain in her voice was layered with distress.

I activated the intercom with a prompt.

“Yeah, Jammer, we’re filming a story for the #BreakStuffChallenge. Everything’s good.”

I cringed as I spat out the worst but plausibly believable lie I had ever told. To be honest, I was surprised she wasn’t freaking out about Hellie’s barking too.

Jammer took a few seconds to process my statement, and during that brief silence, the moth landed on the door. It fluttered, baiting Hellie to attack.

I instantly recognized the moth’s ploy and forcibly whispered, “Hellie, don’t.” I desperately tried to stop Hellie without screaming and alarming Jammer. My command went unanswered, and Hellie launched into the air.

In a strange bit of coincidence, almost simultaneously with Hellie’s action, Jammer’s uncertain response came across the intercom.

“Umm…#BreakStuffChallenge?”

Boom! The force of Hellie hitting the door blew it off its hinges, and it crashed down on Jammer.

I shrieked, curled up my lips, and made an ugly face at the damage. I rushed to the destroyed door, lugging my grimoire, afraid for Jammer.

Once I got to the spot, I had to decide quickly: Follow Hellie and the moth, or help my friend?

I didn’t want to lose sight of them, but I couldn’t leave the door on poor Jammer. I slid the door off her. She was out cold but breathing, thankfully alive.

The tricky moth floated out of sight within seconds, and Hellie followed, hot on its trail.

“Dammit.”

Supernatural beings were officially loose in the building.

Somehow, I had to contain the situation. I sprinted down the corridor to the communal area and the community kitchen.

I was used to running laps on the indoor track that circled the entire second level. It was my routine morning exercise, but at that moment, it was a race to somehow stop them from destroying the whole building. Or even worse, escaping the building.

Immediately outside the corridor in the open area, broken pots, scattered plants, and toppled furniture showed signs of Hellie and the moth’s presence.

In the near distance, standing close to the mayhem, Gene and Myles screamed. Their backs were against the kitchen cabinets facing the kitchen island. Hellie had hopped on it and leaped up and down, trying to catch the moth while obliterating everything underneath her.

“Billy, what the hell is happening?”

I hustled to Hellie, then attempted to call forth everything inside me and shouted, “Hellie, get down! Go back to the room!”

The fright on Gene and Myles’ faces was off the charts, and they were shivering. But what they said next shook me.

“Billy, who’s Hellie? Who are you talking to?”

“Is there a poltergeist in here? Or is that little bug way up there smashing everything?”

I immediately recalled a detail I had glossed over. One of the descriptions under hellhounds’ skill sets said, when hellhounds are hunting, only the prey and the users are aware of their presence.

I guess to Gene and Myles, everything on the island countertop looked like it was breaking and scattering by itself. That explains why Jammer didn’t question the barking. None of them could hear or see Hellie.

So maybe I’m not entirely sunk yet?

I ran over to my friends and gave them an encouraging shove to run.

“I don’t know what’s happening. Go! Get to your rooms!”

But instead of seeking the safety of their rooms, they took cover a few feet away—Gene behind a column and Myles on the side of a couch.

I looked up at the moth floating among the high ceilings. It seemed more intent on causing chaos than escaping.

I dropped down and placed my grimoire on the ground. Then, with my now-free hands, I opened the cabinet drawers under the sink and rummaged like hell.

“Where is it? Come on, come on.”

There!