“Don’t look!” Rudi covered Bell’s eyes with his hand. He didn’t understand what he was shielding Bell from, only that it looked too bright. Too blue. Nothing that could belong in Hell. The two had been hiding on top of one of Court’s towers, hoping to get a better view of the troops deploying. Rudi had been keen to show Bell, his uncle Ghenus, and Silvoh who were somewhere down there, wearing their new armour. They didn’t get to see them then, but once Uncle Ghenus grew, Rudi was sure they would see him from anywhere. They distractedly missed the evacuation when Pox finally found them. The Ox was still trying to usher them to the shelters in the caves when this blue light started exploding everywhere. Rudi didn’t like this light. Not at all. Chieftain Lobo had always told him the smells in the air spoke to their kind. Right now, Rudi could swear he could hear funny whispers. They just sounded wrong.

Bell fidgeted while he pulled Rudi’s hand down from over his face, his blue and golden eyes changing from protest to concern. He held Rudi’s hand with both of his. “What’s wrong?”

Rudi’s stomach quivered in that funny way again. It was happening every time Bell stared at him like that. It wasn’t in the same way when Rudi was hungry; or when he got too full from eating too much candy that Haru brought him from Earth. Just… funny. “Nothing,” he said, looking away to the horizon. “It’s just… the wind, it smells funny.”

Bell lifted his nose to the air, taking a few sniffs. He even got on his tiptoes, as though that would help him reach the scents better. Rudi wanted to tease him, but he also knew that Bell would probably tease him worse later on.

Since they had parted ways with Mara, Bell had been keeping his child form. Rudi thought it was his real one, or at least closer to it. He was still much smaller than Rudi, and Rudi was faster, but Bell made his legs strong enough so that he would not fall too far behind. It didn’t bother Rudi which form Bell picked, his scent never changed. Rudi could tell, because only Bell’s smell made him breathe funny, and muddled his mind a bit, too. Not in a tired, or a scary way, like when his father yelled at him. With Bell, it was a weird, but a good kind of muddle.

Another bright flash sparkled in the distance, followed by a roaring that seemed to have split the skies, and Bell latched himself on the wall. “MUMMY!!”

Bell scrambled, looking ready to jump off, but Pox yanked them both down and pressed his back against the wall. Strong winds blasted against the wall so hard that even under Pox’s thick arms Rudi felt the tremor. Rocks and other debris fell on them, but Pox started running, holding both of them in his arms. He didn’t stop, even as he stumbled and crashed into things in his path. He was aiming for the gate that would lead them to the stairs and off the tower.

Rudi smelled them, whatever was coming after them, though he could not see them, and whatever they were, their smell grew stronger, making Rudi gag and cough. His heart drummed, not because of the sky that seemed to crash down all around them, or because of whatever was chasing them, or even how tightly Pox carried them, but because he could hear Bell’s cries. And they sounded so… small. Like a baby. Faolán had said before that there were few demon babies in Hell, and that they didn’t stay small for long; especially wolf babies. Rudi, though, had seen one. A real baby. Only one time, when his father took him along to see his own father - Rudi’s grandfather. That day, his father seemed especially mad with grandfather because he had had another child. Grandfather made lots and lots of children, and father was never happy about it since most of them would end up living in his home, like Uncle Ghenus, Uncle Jhenus - who followed him; Aunty Chenus, and the youngest - Uncle Bhenus. Well, the latest baby would be the youngest now - Uncle Nhemus. While his father shouted at his father, Rudi snuck away to take a peek at his newest uncle. It was the size of one of Grodus’ hands, and already all covered in fur, and Rudi imagined then that if no one looked after it, even the wind could blow it away. The way it cried back then… sounded like Bell right now.

Rudi squeezed one arm out from Pox’s grip, earning him the ox’s attention. “I can help!” He didn’t know how, since he didn’t have any weapons, but wasn’t this why he and Faolán had been training?

Pox did not reply, focusing instead on the dark path ahead. They were deep inside the tower now, on a frantic descent to reach the training grounds. The things behind them, the ones Rudi couldn’t see, crashed into the walls, knocking wall torches or whatever stood in their wake. It was like the winds of Hell had grown long arms to chase after them.

Something got close enough that almost made Rudi expel the contents of his breakfast. Then the wall next to them exploded, but Pox’s swift motion avoided most of it, shielding them from the debris. Rudi wondered how Pox could be so big and so fast at the same time.

Something tried to reach them again, and Rudi felt electrifying tingles on the top of his furry ears. To avoid the blow, or slash, or whatever it was, Pox crashed, shoulder first, into the bricked edge of the entrance to the large patio. The ox rolled on the ground, protecting their heads from the hard landing, except Rudi could already smell the blood from the ox. Still, the ox didn’t stop, already on his feet, running.

They made it to the training ground's South entrance, near the kitchens. There was no one in sight, with everyone either fighting or taking refuge in the caves. Rudi had never seen the training grounds this empty, and it felt strange, this sudden quietness. Even in the late hours, there were always soldiers practising or sharing meals and cups, or telling stories.

Pox finally paused behind the armoury shed and set them down. Rudi shuffled himself closer to Bell and began searching his slight body for injuries, but there was only a red mess on his small face. The crying had stopped, taken over by small sniffles. Bell had changed again, seeming somewhat… younger; smaller. Small enough that Rudi measured he could hold him in his arms. Not much about his scent had changed, though; not even in his distress. If anything, it had become more intense. Rudi lifted the hem of his own shirt and wiped the child’s tears and snot. “I’ll take you to your mother. I’ll protect you, Bell.”

Bell met his eyes, blinking away the tears as if Rudi’s words had opened up a path he could now see. For a moment, it seemed to Rudi that Bell couldn’t understand him, but then a small hand clutched Rudi’s sleeve. “I-I’m going to protect you, too!” His voice sounded closer to the one Rudi heard for the first time when they met. Rudi knew he shouldn’t, but he smiled.

Rudi’s ears twitched at the sound of metal clashing too close for comfort. He leaned over the side of the shed, his eyes darting to locate Pox. He spotted the ox in the field, swinging his axe at what looked like a large winged bug that kept appearing and disappearing. Rudi narrowed his eyes at the sight, making sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him, but the smell never lied, and it was stronger from that direction.

Pox finally struck the creature squarely in the chest, and as it fell, Rudi could see their attacker more clearly. Its wings seemed too twisted, too burnt to fly, yet fly it did. All of its body looked cracked and charred, too thin to be as strong as it was. The creature only had half of its head, but it still twitched and raised its arms to Pox. Even with several slashes across his body, Pox didn’t seem to care and advanced toward the beast. On the ground, the winged beast made no sounds, but it scrounged and twitched toward Pox as if something was pulling it toward him. Pox severed one of the creature’s legs, which then landed a few meters before Rudi’s eyes. Rudi covered Bell’s eyes with his hand.

Pox lifted his axe again, but a buzzing sound held his move. Bell’s hand clutched Rudi’s and pulled. A violent gust shattered the shed, scattering wooden splinters everywhere, some of which buried themselves in Rudi’s back and legs.

Rudi’s head felt heavy, and all around him, everything looked cloudy. He heard Pox’s axe drowning in what was now a permanent buzzing sound. “Bell?” Rudi spun to his sides, searching, unable to hear his own voice. “Bell!”

 Just before him was a short, wide-bladed sword, and Rudi clambered toward it. It wasn’t the first time he had held a sword, and he had been training with Faolán long enough to have wielded one already. This one felt heavier. It looked sharper, too; much more than what he was used to. Yes, that’s why his hands trembled, he just wasn’t used to it. Rudi squinted, taking steps forward, ignoring the throb in his hands and wrists. “Bell!! Where are you?”

Pox was ahead, still fighting one creature. With his back to him, there was another ox who had joined the fight. Rudi couldn’t recognise this new ox, though there was something oddly familiar about him. He had never seen a demon ox before he came to Court, but spending so much time with them, he could start telling them apart. It was mainly their horns, how far apart they were; or how curved they looked; sometimes their many scars gave them away, and those Rudi could read much better since lots of wolves in Vargr went by their scars, too. Mainly, it was the smells that helped Rudi the most, because they all smelled different. This new ox that fought back-to-back with Pox might look like an ox, but he didn’t smell like one. Rudi’s heart raced when he caught a whiff of Bell’s scent mixed with the smell of blood in the air. His hands ached, and the sweat from his palms made the hilt of the sword feel tougher to hold. The harder he tried, the heavier it felt. He had just promised to protect Bell, and now he was gone! “BELL!!” Rudi cried, sinking on his knees.

 “It’s alright, Rudi!” The new ox said, his voice thick and charged with effort, but Rudi knew in an instant. Despite wanting to disbelieve his eyes, Rudi knew him as Bell transformed. The scent never lied. He was fending off the second creature that came at them, striking and parring as though he was Pox himself. “Bell…” He muttered, losing the grip on his sword.

A drowned grunt came from the real Pox as he kicked the transformed Bell away from what would’ve been a certain hit. Instead, the ox took the blow on his back and stumbled, but then he spun quickly and threw his long axe at the creature, not giving it time to give chase. His axe caught one of its wings, and that was enough to turn the creature on him. Bell, having landed nearer to Rudi, reverted to his child form, his eyes on Pox, threatening to cry again.

Rudi drew closer to Bell, unsure when he had stood up. The sight before them made it hard breathe. Their guardian was fighting two of those things with his bare hands, his long axe lost, and while his blows seemed stronger, heavier, his opponents were still flying above him and pressing down, drooling jaws took bites as though they intended on swallowing Pox whole. It wasn’t long before they forced Pox on one knee. 

“Run!” Pox’s voice startled them both, strained with effort. “Take Bell and go!”

One creature reared its head to the skies, and the buzzing sound grew stronger. “GO NOW!”

Rudi grabbed Bell’s arm to pull him along, but like attempting to pull an iron rod that had cemented itself on the ground, Rudi wrenched back. Bell kept his back to him, his small body seeming as stiff as an icicle, but then, Bell raised his head. An acute pain seared Rudi’s ears, forcing him to thrash on the ground and cover his head as best he could. The new sound overpowered the buzzing. Rudi kept backing up, unsure where to hide as even the ground was shaking. Squinting, he saw Bell standing firm, head tilted up where the glass dome above them was cracking. Rudi tried to call for Bell, but his jaw quivered and his head swam. Bell’s cries continued to ring in his mind until he could no longer hear, see, smell or feel anything.

Then, like a fresh cotton sheet spread out above him, a thin bubble of Cyan came from above and encased Rudi. And while the ground underneath him still vibrated, everything went quiet. Rudi opened his eyes, hearing his own rapid breathing, as though he was inside a glassed dome. Before him, Bell was still screaming, but the sound could no longer reach Rudi. At some distance, the same field that had encased Rudi was around Pox. He was on the ground barely moving. His enemies thudded on the ground, unmoving. One of them, the one with the half head, fell in front of Bell, and Rudi could see that it bled from its eyes, nose and ears. Bleeding wasn’t exactly right. It was some kind of black mass that boiled out of its body. It looked as if something had boiled it from its insides.

**

Beelzebub appeared on the training grounds holding his wife in his arms, while his colours held up Lucious in the air. The two were still unconscious as he set them gently on the ground before he approached his son. He regretted leaving Leviathan’s side as they marched away from Court, but Leviathan’s compelling glance had been enough to tell him that the king had released him. After all, they were fighting to protect their family.

While his son had his mother’s destructive scream, it surprised Beelzebub that it somehow did not affect him. It would please Aarin to know this. Perhaps the short time they spent under the mountains of Nar would give her renewed courage to use her voice again.

A gentle touch on Bell’s stiff shoulders brought the end of his piercing screech. The child’s face was a red mess covered in tears and mucous as he wrapped himself around Beelzebub’s legs. Beelzebub lifted his son from the ground, holding him close enough to coo words near his ear while he rubbed his back. Steadily, the child’s erratic breathing slowed.

Beelzebub showed Bell his mother and promised she was doing well. Pox, and Uncle Lucious too, would be alright.

Only then, when he was sure Bell had regained calm, did Beelzebub dissolve the shields around Rudi, Pox, and Lucious. Only then did he smile at the wolf child who stared back with horror in his eyes.