By Sieran Lane in Fiction — Oct 29, 2023

A Pomeranian Strikes a Deal with a Demon

Two hellhounds, their infernal eyes glowing, bounded down the lane towards them.

AI image generated by author via Nightcafe

Lithium the Pomeranian, and his hellhound friend Draco, were on the run from their pursuers.

“This is pointless,” Draco said. “We’ve been running for miles on the open plains. My siblings can still track us, no matter how many smelly plants we rub ourselves against.” But the hellhound finally slowed down to a walk, and sniffed the air about him.

Lithium frowned. “Well, I told you we should have stayed underground.” He made a pouty face.

Draco’s eyes softened, though he still looked fierce. “I’m sorry, but again, we couldn’t hide underground forever. We had to come up for fresh air for your survival. Well, as fresh as this blasted landscape could be.”

Lithium nodded, his fluffy head bowed with a morose look. Broken buildings, weeds, and barren lands met them wherever they went. He had begun limping at some point, but bossy Draco encouraged him to keep going. Now his paws were numb and he just wanted to stop. “What do you have in mind?” the Pomeranian asked.

Draco sniffed the air again, then his ears cocked, as if he heard something that Lithium didn’t. The helldog snarled.

A flash of light erupted in front of them. When the light faded, a hooded figure appeared, carrying a sickle.

Lithium was spooked by its ghastly appearance, but Draco just sneered at the creature. “Your disguise doesn’t make you any handsomer.” His body moved subtly to shield the Pomeranian.

The grim reaper, or whatever the thing was, laughed with a raucous sound. “I didn’t think you would fraternize with other dogs, my friend.”

Draco snapped, “We’re not ‘fraternizing.’ But I’m not going to stay as Tobin’s servant dog.”

“But you were made to be a servant dog — ” the creature began.

The hellhound let out a deep growl and pounced. The hooded figure moved out of the way just in time, and its voice was much angrier. “Sheesh! Even after all these years of living on the mortal plane, you still have no manners. How barbaric.”

Draco’s eyes glowed a hellish orange. “What do you want, demon?”

The demon trailed its gaze over to Lithium, and the dog shivered at the cold depths of those eyes. It grinned. “Normally I wouldn’t bother with mortal dogs, but this one is different.”

“Oh no, you don’t!” Draco barked.

“What do you want from me?” Lithium shouted at the same time.

The hellhound shook his head at Lithium, but the Pomeranian ignored his friend. “Speak, demon,” he said, trying to sound confident.

“I am Alzar,” the demon incanted. Its eyes shone red, and its grim reaper disguise melted away to reveal — a bizarre, formless being that looked like it was made of grey rain, but also not. It defied Lithium’s comprehension.

But Draco jumped in front of his face. “Don’t look at him,” the hellhound warned. “Focus too hard and it could scramble your brain.”

This astounded the Pomeranian. “Really?” As annoyed as he was, he was relieved at being shielded from that sight. He could hardly remember Alzar’s form now, as if even his memory shied away from that thing.

Alzar guffawed and his voice was like a call from a dungeon. “I don’t know why you’ve grown so attached to this golden fluffhead, Draco, but I hope you know that mortal dogs have a short lifespan. Even if he cheated death by walking through a time machine.” He shrieked with laughter. “I couldn’t believe my ears when I first heard of it. A Pomeranian, small as a child, accidentally stepped into a time machine and got transported centuries into the future. And now he’s with us, in this beautiful, lurid landscape.”

The satisfaction in the demon’s voice when he said “lurid,” made Lithium more apprehensive than anything else Alzar had said. The dog piped up again. “So what is it you want? Or are you stalling because you’re afraid you won’t get it?”

The demon hissed, and light flashed again. Draco made a sound of surprise, then his fur bristled.

Lithium was overcome with curiosity. Without thinking, he darted around his friend to see what happened; his jaw dropped. Alzar had transformed into a pink poodle. Lithium snorted. “If I’m supposed to find you attractive, it’s not working.”

Alzar the demon poodle smirked and lifted his snout. “I know it won’t work, since you already like someone else.”

Neither Lithium nor Draco reacted to this statement.

The pink poodle continued, in his nonchalant tone, but now with some puppy-like yipping, “I want to strike a deal with you. You two can’t run away from Draco’s siblings and Tobin forever. But I have the perfect solution to help you. All I need is a little favor, and I will hide you from your pursuers.”

Draco asked, “What little favor? And while Tobin is just a mortal man who managed to bind us with magic, Luna and Solo are hellhounds, built to track and hunt. How could you hide us from them?”

With his smirking poodle face, Alzar said, “Just trust me when I say I have the ability to hide you. As for the favor, I just want to take away your friend’s innocence.”

Before Lithium could figure out what that meant, Alzar said, “You may be a cute Pom Pom, but you’re still a dog. Do what you were born to do and kill someone.”

Lithium was horrified, then he said, “But there’s no one for me to kill. We haven’t seen any humans for days.” His mind whirred with plans of escape. He might be traveling with a hellhound, and even enjoyed his company, but that didn’t make Lithium a murderer.

The poodle demon laughed so hard that he almost choked. “Oh, you’re such a rookie, honey. I’ll transport you two to a human being right now, and you can end their life!”

The Pomeranian glanced at Draco. “I don’t want to do it,” Lithium admitted. “I’m not a killer. I’d rather stay on the run with you forever.” His wording was oddly romantic, even though there was nothing romantic about this.

Draco lightly nuzzled the top of his head. “And I will keep you safe.”

Alzar snarled and barked. “How sweet. Unfortunately, you don’t have much time. I’ve alerted your siblings to your presence.”

“You did what?” Draco demanded.

No sooner had he finished speaking, did they hear the sound of baying in the distance. Two hellhounds, their infernal eyes glowing, bounded down the lane towards them. They were less than a kilometre away.

“Fine!” Lithium bit out. He ignored Draco’s shocked expression. “I accept your offer.”

The poodle demon grinned. “That’s my boy.” He bent forward and nipped the Pomeranian’s paw. Lithium yelped and Draco growled. A dribble of blood fell from Lithium’s paw, and landed on the ground. The ground became bathed with an eerie silver light. Alzar cackled. “The contract is signed. I wish you well!”

In the next instant, a portal emerged near them and Lithium jumped with fright. But this time, it was Draco who nudged him. “Let’s go. Luna and Solo are almost here.” Lithium stumbled in and Draco dashed after him.

A second later, the portal snapped shut and Draco’s siblings pounced on thin air. They howled their frustration, while Alzar laughed and vanished from the hellhounds’ sight.

***

Lithium was dazed when he stepped out from the portal. Draco appeared beside him, looking glamorous and deadly as usual. They were in a brightly-lit hospital room, full of beds, where all the furniture was intact and in good condition. Had the demon sent them back in time?

They heard a shriek and a gasp. At the other end of the room, there lay a lone human on a bed. But something was very wrong.

Lithium’s legs carried him there, though he had a dreadful feeling. Draco padded beside him with a scowl.

On that last bed of this huge room, lay a slender human with long brown hair. She gasped for breath, and her hands and feet were bound by linens to the four corners of the bed. When she saw the two dogs, she wept. “This is my salvation come, isn’t it? The Lord had mercy on me. I don’t want to suffer anymore, please, please…”

She sounded completely delirious, so Lithium sniffed at her face, her hair, and even butted her nose with his. “Why are you here? What happened to you?”

The human couldn’t understand dog language, and if Draco could translate, he didn’t seem to want to. In fact, the helldog was strangely silent.

The human girl said, “My fever was so high, that the doctors couldn’t do anything. I feel myself fading away every day, but I don’t want to wait anymore.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “One day, the demons came and killed all the doctors and nurses, and spirited away all the other patients, except me. I was too weak to resist, so one of the demons tied me like this, saying that I would be a gift for someone.”

Lithium’s mouth hung open with shock, but the human continued, “It was madness. What would anyone want with a girl who is severely ill?” She coughed, then she let out a dry laugh. “The doctors said I’m highly contagious. Any other human would just be struck by the same illness if they dared to touch me.” She sighed. “Though I would rather be touched now than to stay in such a lonely place. I won’t die of hunger or thirst, either. Somehow, they got me hooked up to an infinite supply of liquid nutrients and water.”

The Pomeranian spotted the intravenous tube on her wrist, stunned that this thin, almost imperceptible tube was what kept her alive.

The girl coughed again, and she gazed with wide, overly bright eyes at Lithium and Draco. “I’ve always liked dogs,” she said. “I am blessed that you would be my saviors.”

Lithium glanced at Draco. “I’m suddenly not sure whether she wants me to save her or kill her.”

Draco laughed despite everything. “Is there a difference? This poor girl has not long to live. She may be an innocent victim, but taking her life swiftly, would be a kind end to her suffering, and her soul can rest in peace wherever it chooses to drift.”

Lithium blinked. It was surreal to hear a hellhound talk about souls resting in peace, but Draco was no regular hellhound. “This is really hard to do,” the Pomeranian said. “I’m not a bulldog, I can’t just — go for the throat or anything. Maybe I could chew off the tube instead?”

Draco shook his head. “Then she would die a slow and painful death of thirst and starvation. Best to finish it fast. I would do it myself if the agreement wasn’t specifically for you to ‘lose your innocence.’ ”

Lithium frowned and turned back to the helpless patient. She murmured, “Please, please, have mercy on me. I’ve been sick for so long, and I’ve been so alone. I want to see my Maker. I want to be — unborn.”

Something about the way she said “unborn” made Lithium’s hair stand on end. He took a deep breath, and sprung onto the bed. The girl gasped. Lithium licked her face in apology, and cleansed away her tears. Then he bit her throat.

***

She didn’t even struggle. After an initial cry of startlement, she fell silent and stayed still.

Moments later, Lithium had the courage to look at her face. Her eyes were wide open, and unless he was hallucinating, there was a faint smile on her face, too.

“So how did you like your first killing?” That was Draco. His voice sounded remote, almost hollow.

Lithium grimaced. “I don’t want to do it ever again. But I do hope she will rest in peace now.”

It was absurd, but he suddenly smelled something sweet in the air. At the foot of the deceased patient’s bed, was a small, colorful bag. He inspected it and found that it held a handful of jelly beans, as if it was a farewell gift for the girl. Lithium promptly felt sick.

Draco nuzzled him and licked his ear. “I’m really sorry.” He lowered his voice. “We’ll get revenge on that bastard one day. But for now, we won’t have to worry about Tobin or my siblings.” The hellhound tapped a paw on the best-before date of the jelly beans packet: Nov 16, 2023.

To see more of Draco and Lithium, check out "An Adorable Dog Enters a Post-Apocalyptic World."