40

Kuro and Grace walked in silence across the still land. They were still in Sheltered Hell, but everything looked rather eerie. It was utterly silent, and the castles and stony buildings around them were towering black silhouettes that seemed to frown upon them and their mission.

They stopped. Grace recognised the gates as they stood in the Gateland, and time itself seemed to grow still.

'It's this one, isn't it,' she said to the cat. 'I can't forget it even after all this time...'

'Fear tends to imprint longer memories –  even habits – than any other emotion,' nodded Kuro. 'Let's go.'

Grace went through with the cat at her heels, her heart growing heavier already as she emerged on the other side.

'It's not quite the same as I remember it,' said Grace, whispering for some reason.

'This whole place is tinged with illusions to terrify you more,' said Kuro softly. 'But it's not that bad, really. The trick is to let go of fear and accept it for what it is.'

'It's a little hard to do that,' said Grace, staring at her shadow, which followed them a little slower than their actual pace.

'Don't pay attention to these things,' said Kuro, nuzzling against her ankle and making her look back at him with a smile. Even a small touch like that seemed to ground her and give her courage.

'I suppose you're right,' said Grace. 'Lucien did say that these shadow things aren't harmful... they aren't, right?'

'Oh, completely harmless,' said the cat. 'Look, mine's jumping at something that isn't there!'

'Gosh, it's so creepy,' said Grace, feeling a chill run down her spine.

'There, there,' said Kuro. 'Courage, remember? Fear feeds this place. So does evil and hate, actually, but in a different way. You've got to be brave, and if you really nail it, it'll yield to you.'

'Really?' said Grace.

'Trust me.'

'All right, then,' said Grace, glaring at her cowering shadow, which began to dance wildly the moment she set her jaw. 'Let's show this place who's boss!'

'That's the spirit!' said Kuro cheerily. 'Hey, should we sing? It tends to help at times like this!'

'I've heard you sing, Kuro. We want to keep the bad things at bay, not summon them!'

'I wasn't that bad, okay?!'

'Lucien talks like that when you mention his drawing.'

'Well, he's a total lost case, but I—'

'You're not far behind in singing, my friend.'

'Oh, whatever.'

'Anyway, it's better not to attract too much attention around here.'

'Yeah, you're right, I guess. We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Go that way, Grace. There are always moonbells under huge rocks like that.'

'All right. Hey, how will we find the way back?'

'My nose isn't for nothing, human.'

'Well, I'm counting on you.'

'Count away! All the way till nine.'

'I say, do cats really have nine lives?'

'Well,' began Kuro, before he suddenly stopped and mewled.

'What did you do that for?!' whispered Grace. 'We're supposed to be quiet!'

'I sensed something,' said Kuro nervously.

'Oh, no!' said Grace.

They stood still, listening and watching intently for anything out of place. It was completely silent, and for a moment, Grace wondered if Kuro had, perhaps, been mistaken.

Then, it came: a loud, rising howl that permeated the still night air and seemed to fill their senses.

Grace squealed as Kuro suddenly jumped into her arms, looking more scared than she had ever seen him before.

'Save me!' he said. 'There's a dog nearby!!'

'So much for protecting me, you silly cat,' said Grace, looking around carefully. 'I don't stand any more chance against an aggressive dog than you do! Still, it's only a dog... and it sounds more sad than angry to me...'

'Whatever,' said Kuro, pressing himself against her. 'I don't like it! Pick the moonbells and let's get out of here! It's taking everything in me to not run off this instant!'

'Okay, okay,' said Grace, patting his warm fur and being rather glad of it considering how cold it was.

The howl came again, louder and more mournful this time.

'There they are!' said Kuro, speaking so softly that if he were not so close, she couldn't have heard him. 'A whole cluster of moonbells!'

'Good,' said Grace, her heart beating faster as she plucked a clump of the small, white, luminous flowers that were really shaped like bells and were quite pretty.

'Stop staring at them and hurry back before something gets us!' said the cat urgently, jumping down again. 'Let's GO!'

'Okay, let's run!' said Grace, and she was about to do so when the howl started again, and it sounded so sad that she stopped in spite of herself.

'What are you doing?!' exclaimed Kuro. 'Why are you walking towards the howl?!!'

'It's in pain,' said Grace with a frown, moving in its direction cautiously. 'I need to see what's wrong!'

'Oh, seriously?!'

Grace heard the howl again, nearer this time, and she went towards it. At last, she spotted the creature making it, and for a few seconds, she was rather frightened.

It was a dog, indeed; but not the kind she was used to. This one was much wilder, much more dangerous-looking. On top of that, it had the same hollow-looking body she had noticed on the horses she had seen on her first night. She could see its teeth and the bones beyond it like an X-ray.

'See? I told you this was a crazy idea!' said an outraged Kuro a few feet away from her. 'Come back, you idiot of a human!!'

'Wait,' said Grace. 'There's a chain around his leg, and he's bleeding. That's why he's howling. It looks bad... we need to help him. It'll only take a minute!'

'Human, the second that Hell-dog gets the chance, he'll tear you down or something! And me, too!'

'It'll be fine,' smiled Grace, approaching the dog cautiously. 'I've always gotten along well with animals – they know I mean no harm. It's the humans that always misunderstand me.'

The dog stopped howling and looked at her with a whimper. As she drew closer, it took a step back until the chain stopped it from retreating further and pulled further at the wound in its leg, making it yelp.

'There, there, you'll be all right,' said Grace in her calmest voice.

The dog growled ferociously, and Kuro ran away at top speed as the sound terrified him. 'GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!'

'It's fine, I mean no harm,' said Grace gently, and she reached out and touched the chain as she tried to figure out how to undo it.

'GRRRRR! WOOF! GRHHHHH!!'

'Will you calm down, little friend? I'm here to help you,' said Grace very softly, and she touched the chain again.

The dog flinched slightly, but he didn't growl or bark this time. Only the slightest whimper which let her know that he was in pain and needed help.

'I think I've figured out how to undo it,' said Grace pleasantly, and she removed it very carefully, leaving the dog free and unharmed. 'I wish I could do something more about that leg of yours, but all I have is my handkerchief to bind it, so you'll have to make sure not to shake it too much, okay?'

The dog lifted its leg slightly, before setting it down and looking at her intently. Its eyes were red, and bored into hers. For the first time, she was rather scared.

'Well, goodbye, then,' she said, nervously taking a step backwards.

The dog neither growled nor followed her. It simply stood there, watching her, until she was several feet away with Kuro. Then, it howled again; but not mournfully; it was almost as though it was saying something. Maybe even being grateful?

Grace asked Kuro what he thought it had meant, but the cat insisted that it was merely a wild dog being a wild dog, and scolded her for being so reckless as to do something like that especially while he had been around.

'Dogs freak me out, okay?!' he finished at last.

'Yeah, yeah, I saw that,' grinned Grace. 'You're a cat, after all!'

'What does that have to do with it!?'

'Hmm, everything?'

'Really, human. If it had chased after you, this would have gone down differently. You're just lucky.'

'I suppose so.'

'Seriously, Grace, you're too kind for your own good sometimes!' said the cat earnestly. 'Think about it: if you hadn't fed me back on Earth, you probably wouldn't even have been here!'

'I wouldn't have had it any other way,' said Grace with a smile – but it faded as she looked down at the ground and noticed a third shadow walking behind them.