Cythraul

Being a supernatural beast hunter is hard. Especially when it comes to demonic wolves. Each night at mindnight, the demon hound (also known as the Cythraul) devours one soul. Can Will stop it?

Cythraul

It was close to midnight and a full moon was shining brightly through the cracks in the old ceiling. Skavias and his family were trembling in the corner of the house, looking from window to window in fear that the hound would attack them. They waited for the scream that would confirm their safety, but none came. Their fear grew and grew, just like every other family in the town of Ettandor, as everyone waited for the Demon Hound. The town was quiet, except t he faint noise of a baby crying. It was 11:59 when they saw it: the Crimson red eyes of the Demon Hound glaring at them through the opposite window. Skavias and his wife knew it was them tonight. He got up, closed his eyes and stretched his arms wide in gesture to tell it to take him and leave his family alone. His wife, with tears of fear streaming down her face, put her hands in front of their kids eyes and started to chant something that was said to keep the demon away. The window smashed, The wall rattled, The howl filled the house, Blood echoed as it dropped from the hounds mouth, and at exactly 12:00 Skavias scream let the citizens of Ettandor know that they were safe... For tonight.

A loose rock on the road made the whole carriage rock for a second. Will was tired, he had stayed up all night working on this case at his home and now came the time when he did the practical work. They were just heading into the forest that surrounded the town when he decided to open the curtains and look out to see how far they had, it was only two minutes and they would be entering the gates of the town. Will sat there with his eyes closed for the two remaining minutes of the trip. Bump, went the carriage on another rock; making the horses get off the track, they stumbled down a small ditch and cut across a few meters of the road. Soon enough they were back on track and entering the town.

To Will, it was the worst town he had ever seen. There were dead bodies all piled up on one side getting ready to be burned and on the other, were poor people standing on the side of the street begging for help.

"You'd think they would be glad that help was coming," Will grunted to himself. But then he realized that probably everyone here had lost someone they loved, and he took back his comment. The carriage stopped beside a mansion and Will stepped out.

"Ah, Mr. Spade, what a pleasure it is to meet you," the a man came up to greet Will, "I believe your here to help with our hound investigation?"

"Yes sir," replied Will, "but before I can start I need to have a rest, I was up all night last night preparing, and I’m exhausted!"

"Ah yes, of course, just follow me."

They both left the front yard and entered the house. Immediately Wills attention was drawn to an old, sword on the back wall.

"Nice Sword." He said casually.

"That one?" The mayor replied, "that one is very, very old, it has been in my family for generations."

"It looks, somewhat, familiar, like the one my father had when he was alive.” Will examined the blade,“I barely knew my father.”

"Yes, I love that sword, it always brings back memories of MY father." The mayor mumbled as he broke into a sweat, “I’m sorry to hear that.” He added in.

The rest of the walk was in silence, and after walking through hallways and thin corridors and all kinds of different rooms, it only got more awkward. But they finally got there; a small room on the second floor of the house. It had a double bed, a small bookshelf stuffed with all kinds of books and a small wardrobe that had carving of all kinds of animals, most of whom were unusual and exotic.

"Here is where you will stay for the time being, you can read any book you want and when you want something, just ring that bell and my butler will come to you," exclaimed the mayor.

"Ok, thank you very much, I really appreciate your help," Will replied, And with that, the mayor left him, alone, to catch up on lost sleep. And it was then, when he was truly happy.

It was a scream that woke him up, a scream of a young girl, followed by the sound of bells. He had forgotten that the hound attacked every night at twilight, he looked at the clock tower that towered outside his window and it was just after 12. He quickly jumped out of bed, and raced to the window, he scanned the town looking for the source of the scream, and when he found the small group of people all huddled in a circle he blinked once as if his eyes were cameras, then raced outside. In his head, he could still picture the town and knew exactly where to go, that was one of his special abilities; he could take a virtual snapshot of an area or thing (in this case: the location of the girl) and that would stay clear in his mind for as long as he needed it. This gave him an advantage at times like this.

There were several people scattered throughout the street when he got there, all chanting away. The little girls mother and father were gathered around their daughter… well what’s left of her… both of them with tears rolling down there face and eyes closed, chanting the chant.

“Let me through” Will tried the best he could to shove his way through the tightly packed crowd, "step away from the victim, I have to investigate."

But no one payed him any attention, they all stayed in their spots chanting their little chant.

"EVERYBODY," he exclaimed again, "LET ME THROUGH."

But no one listened. He froze. There was something strong gripping his right shoulder, and he knew it couldn’t have been anyone here since they were too busy focussing on their recitation.

"Nobody is going to listen to you,” Will turned around to find a old, rather short man, whose grip seemed to strong for his frail body, “You h-h-have to stop it, quickly, before the whole town is dead, you have to kill the beast and get rid of it.”

“Who are you?” Will said, thinking about why this man was not reciting the chant.

“My name does not matter,” he shook his head, “what matters is the fact that you need to kill it. Only YOU have the strength and power to stop this demon.”

“How DO you kill it then?” Will wondered wether the constant supernatural presence had gotten to the mans head, like a drunk’s whisky, but passed off the thought when he realised that a demonic beast was devouring thousands of people’s souls, leaving only the lifeless corpse of the unfortunate.

“The hound attacks at midnight, every night, and chooses its victims depending on the way they live their life.”

“Talk about OCD.” Will grunted to himself, then adverted his gaze back down at the man, “I realise that, how, and why am I the only one that can stop it?”

"The same way you slay any other beast, by stopping it’s heart.”

“Yeah, but can you penetrate it’s skin, when it’s said to be harder than diamond?”

“Exorcism.” The man said almost before Will could finish his sentence.

“So I recite a few words and POOF, the demon will just sink into oblivion?” Will laughed. “No. It is much more complicated than that.” Will cocked his head sideways in confusion. “The beast is merely possessed. First, you must exorcise the demon, and at that moment, it will be the most vulnerable to attacks, keep reciting Matthew 25:41, eventually the demon will exit it’s host and you may then destroy it.”

“Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels?” Will said off the top of his head.

“Exactly, but you must let the beast come to you.”

“How am I meant to kill it after I exorcise it though?”

“I believe you saw the sword in the mayor’s mansion?”

“Yes, but I’ve never once picked up a sword in my life, I use firearms.” Will said as he opened up this jacket to reveal two medium-sized pistols.

“You must use the sword, that is your destiny.”

The word destiny rung throughout the cold night air and the man walked away. Will couldn’t stop the man, he felt as though his body had been glued to a wall. When the man was no longer visible, he found he could move again. For some reason, he had a feeling that there was no possible way to find the man, no matter how long he looked, and when he looked back at the crowd he realized that the best thing to do was leave them be, so he decided to head back to the place where he resided. He buttoned up his rather casual blazer to escape the frigid air. There was no need to create a mental image of the way back to the mansion since it was visible from pretty much anywhere. The walk back was much longer and far more slower since there was no need to get there as quick as possible. It took awhile but soon enough, he was walking up to the front door of the huge mansion.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

There was no answer for a few seconds but eventually the butler opened the door and let Will in. Will pretended to head up to his room but turned around when the butler had disappeared. He ran over to the sword and lifted it off it’s shelf. He stumbled, his view of the room started to fade into that of a forest.

Will was more curious about the change of scenery than afraid. About 50 meters ahead of him stood a man, he had a sword poised at another mans throat, who lay on the floor. Will walked up to the men and looked into their faces. He could only see one of the men’s faces but he could tell who it was.

“How dare you!” the mayor hissed at the man underneath him.

The man said nothing.

“Mr. Spade.” The mayor spat, “now is the time to die.”

The sudden realization of what was happening hit Will hard in the stomach. The mayor was the one who had left Will fatherless, all those years ago, and somehow he was witnessing it before his eyes. One quick flick of the mayor’s blade, which Will now recognised as the sword he held in his hand, and his father shook violently and then went motionless. Will dropped the sword in horror and the setting flashed back into the house.

He was on the floor, the blade at his side, and over him, stood the mayor, one of Will’s pistols lay on the ground behind him, the other sat in the mayor’s hand, which hovered above his head.

“What did you see?” the mayor asked him.

“You killed him?!” Will growled, “you left me without a father, you b*****d!”

“Oh. This would look familiar then,” The mayor hissed, “although this time, I have a firearm, much quicker.”

Will couldn’t move, partly because if he did he would have his brains blown out, but also because he wasn’t sure what exactly was happening.

“Yes, i did kill him,” The mayor did a sort of laugh/grunt, “he didn’t put up much of a fight though.”

“Well I will.” Will picked up the blade that lay beside him and with one swift upwards motion followed by a lunge; the pistol was sliced cleanly in half, and the mayor fell backwards with a blade protruding his back. Will fell down to the ground, expecting to be suddenly transported again onto a freighter, or into a cave of some sort, but nothing happened. He looked up and stared in horror. The mayor slowly pulled the blade out of his stomach and threw it on the ground.

“You’ll have to put up a better fight than that if you want to kill me.”

“I cannot believe that you didn’t see this.” Will laughed as he lifted up his secondary pistol. The sound of gunshot echoed throughout the desolate room, and the mayor fell back, immobilised. Will ran tucked the pistol into his belt and picked up the black and ran towards the door.

"You can’t kill me." The mayor coughed up some blood. Will looked back; the mayor had his hand in his chest, digging around for the bullet. Now was the only chance that Will had to escape, and he took it.

He raced out the door and down the street, the mental image of the town appeared in his mind, some of it was blurred out from forgetting, but most of it was clear enough to read. He found the place where his carriage driver stayed for the time being, and ran into the stables, that was the least likely place that the mayor would think to look; there he greeted Claude �" his horse �" before slumping down onto a mound of hay. Both his aching legs, and the adrenalin that surged through his body did not allow him so sleep for the next few hours but once he was at peace, he did not wake until 9:00 the next night. Where he head the familiar sound of 9 church bells chiming. He put the mayor out of his mind for the time being and focused solely on the extermination of the demon, and he finally realised how he was going to kill it; the minute he picked up the sword, he found he wasn’t that bad at it. He got off the pile of hay. Placing his hands on his hips, he stretched his back and heard a loud crack. He patted Claude and opened the stable door, then headed inside to greet his carriage driver and let him know why he had been in the stable.

“Ah, Master Spade!”

“I need your help.” Will looked at him.

“Certainly! And may I ask, what were you doing in the stable?”

“Business.”

The two of them walked out the door and split up, there were still three hours, until the demon would reveal himself but they took advantage of it and walked around the town, helping everyone to board up their windows, steering clear of the mayors mansion.

Eventually the time came, Will headed back to the house and went to the kitchen and grabbed a big slab of beef. He slit his hand with a knife and smeared blood all over the beef; he knew that would attract the beast for sure. Then he set out. It was 11:30 when the howling started, way off in the hills past the forest. Then he saw it, a faint shadow of a giant wolf. The next thing he knew it was 11:55 and he was rotating around with a slab of beef tied to his back and a blade in his hands. Then he saw it, the Crimson eyes of the Demon Hound racing across the rooftops, looking for its feast: Will.

He gripped the handle of his sword. The beast smiled, the same smile that came from the mouth of the mayor. At that moment, every question that was overflowing in his head was answered, who, or, what was the mayor... he was the one who stood on four legs licking his bloodthirsty lips.

Will started to recite Matthew 25:41, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Nothing happened.

"Hahaha..." The mayor laughed as he stood up on his hind legs, "petty human! Im not possessed, this is my body! Reciting little bible verses will do nothing!”

Will took off and so did the beast. He ducked as the hound pounced, letting it soar over his head. The hound got up, and turned, like a meerkat, to face Will. It growled.

Will stopped and looking horror. The beast started to transform, its once huge legs, grew bigger and bigger. It’s tail exploded and blue flames licked up the air around it. Will looked like a mere fly against the giant beast that stood in front of him. “This isn’t even my true form.” The beast growled.

The ground shook with every pounce that the beast took, the terror that Will was feeling at that moment was no match to the terror that everyone around him felt. Will felt his legs start to burn and he jumped almost subconsciously, soaring through the air, five meters above the ground, as though the laws of gravity were not applicable to him. He landed on the back of the beast and stabbed the blade into the beast. Black mist started to shoot out of the hounds back, and the deafening cry of every soul that the beast had devoured escaped with it.

The beast shook and Will was thrown off its back and into a wall.

The hound lay on the floor; it’s head shaking violently, black ribbons still streamed from the hounds back. The beast shrank back to its previous size. It twisted its neck at a very unnatural angle, and its jaws gripped the hilt of the sword. He yelped as he tore the blade from his back.

“B*****d!” it roared.

It got up and slowly plodded toward the man that lay in a heap in the dirt.

“Do you know what a terrible way to die is?” the dog laughed, “Poison: It’s slow AND painful!” The dog grabbed hold of Will’s arm with its jaws and dragged the weak man through he sand before flicking its head and throwing him into a different house.

“Have fun dying.” The Cythraul grunted, but this time, he turned in the opposite direction and started to walk away.

“Is that the best you can do? Poison me?” Will laughed.

The hound stopped, turned around, and started to plod back to Will, who continued to laugh. The beast put his mouth up to his ear and whispered, “you WILL die.”

Will continued to laugh, “So will you.” The beast cocked its head to the side. With all the strength he had left, Will lifted the glowing sword and dug it into the beast’s head. The black mist streamed from its forehead, and the dog shook in pain.

It’s tail started to dissolve into the black mist, the fading slowly reached it’s hind legs, then its forelegs, but before it reached its head, the hound opened is jaws and grabbed hold of Will’s leg. He too started to dissolve and he felt his consciousness slowly fade along with it.

Something strange happened next, when everything went black, the faint smell of a roast, lingered throughout the air.

Will woke with a start, and screamed. His arm was bandaged and there was a large plate, filled with roast beef, gravy, mashed potatoes and a cup of what appeared to be, red wine. He looked around the house, it was neat, but painted walls of the house, left Will confused.

An old woman walked in, she was wearing a pink, dress with a golden necklace around her neck. She was hunched over, and a foldable wheelchair was holding up her weak legs.

"Where am I?" Will asked the old woman.

"You're in my house." The woman smiled.

"I know that, but where is your house?"

“England…”

"It doesn't look like England..." Will said as he peered out the glass.

"What do you mean?"

"What year is it?”

“2012.” She smiled.

Author's Note

There are probably a few grammatical errors in here so just ignore them, and also, some of the things in here may feel unfinished. That is simply because i planned on writing a sequel (if short stories have them), hence the ending.