The Shadow Howlers

Jameson received a mindlink from Psyche that Sabnac was coming to help them. He couldn’t help the ripple of fear that ran down his spine. That demon was one scary man, but if Psyche trusted him with Selena, then he figured they should give him a chance.

“Psyche just mindlinked me and said Sabnac is coming to help. He should be here soon.” Nyx, Helios, Andrew, and Hermes all gasped in surprise.

“Who is Sabnac?” Selena asked. They were in the office trying to come up with a plan of attack.

“He’s one of the scariest demons in the underworld. He and Psyche trust each other, though. He’s the one who killed her sisters.” No sooner did Jameson finish speaking than there was a loud knock on the front door.

“That’s probably him now,” Andrew said as they all stood up, left the office, and went to the front door. Polly and Trisha stayed in front of Selena. They wanted to see the demon for themselves before they trusted him with the Queen. When Andrew opened the door, there was an enormous man all dressed in black. He had messy black hair, scruffy facial hair, and black eyes. One word could describe him: scary.

“Everyone, this is Sabnac,” Jameson said softly. As Sabnac began to enter the palace, suddenly there was a rainbow of glitter covering him. He stopped and stared at the two pups in surprise, as they continued to cover him in glitter.

“What are you doing?” He asked them. Polly and Trisha stopped once he was fully covered. They stepped forward and glared at the large man.

“You are not Sabnac. If you were here to help, you would have come through the gate and the guards would have mindlinked Daddy. You came to the door.” Everyone looked from Polly to Sabnac in surprise. She was right. Everyone else who came to help went through the gate so they wouldn’t scare anyone. Sanac began backing up, but Omar and Alani stopped him.

“Who are you?” Trisha demanded. Suddenly, the glitter was gone, and the demon turned into a beautiful woman with long, dark brown hair. She smiled and looked at the pups, shaking her head.

“No one has ever found me out before. How did you do it?” She asked, chuckling lightly.

“We know a bad person when we see one,” Polly said.

“Who are you?” Trisha asked again. The others were speechless. How did the pups figure out that the demon was an imposter when none of them had?

“I’m Eris. I don’t mean any harm. I was hiding in the office when I heard you say that Sabnac was coming, so I decided to pretend to be him. I thought maybe it would give me a chance to be around everyone without hiding." Trisha and Polly tilted their heads to the side almost simultaneously.

“We believe you. Are you here to help us or hurt us?” Polly asked. Eris smiled as she looked at the two pups.

“I would like to help you. I know I play a lot of tricks, but that’s because I’m lonely. Playing tricks on people is the only way I can get attention. I’ve been watching all of you andI’m jealous. Even though you’re not related, you seem like one big family.” Trisha and Polly took her hands.

“If you stop playing tricks on us and you talk to us, then we can be your friends. Will you help us now?” Trisha asked. Once again, everyone was speechless. Eris lifted the two pups in her arms and kissed their cheeks before putting them back on their feet.

“I think I like you two the most. Can I really stay?” Eris looked up at the adults. Zaiden and Selena started laughing.

“If Polly and Trisha have given their approval, that’s all we need. I’m beginning to think that our two little guards have secrets of their own.” Zaiden said. Everyone began nodding while staring at the girls. They looked at each other and shrugged. They had no idea what he was talking about.

“There’s a Sabnac at the gate who said you’re expecting him.” One of the guards mindlinked to Gunnar.

“Let him in.” He replied.

“It looks like the real Sabnac is here,” Gunnar told the group. Andrew opened the door, and the dark demon greeted them. Only this time, he was smiling. He stepped into the palace and everyone looked at Trisha and Polly. They didn’t move or say anything as they looked at Sabnac, so they assumed it was the real one this time.

“Welcome,” Selena said with a smile. If this was the man who killed the evil sisters and helped her mother, then she would welcome him with open arms.

“Thank you for allowing me to come here. I don’t know what Psyche told you, but I used to be dead set on killing as many gods and goddesses as I could. I promise that is no longer my intention. I have come to realize that I was upset because they were happy and I was miserable. Helping Psych has opened my eyes. I don’t want to be constantly angry anymore.” Sabnac looked around at all the stunned faces. When he felt someone taking his hands, he looked down to see the two pups smiling up at him.

“Mr. Sabnac, you can be happy with us,” Polly said smiling at him. Sabnac didn’t know what to do. He’d never been around pups or any other little ones before. He sat down on the floor and Trish and Polly climbed onto his lap, resting their heads against his chest. Sabnac carefully put his arms around them. The good feeling he had when helping Psyche felt ten times stronger from the emotions and kindness of the pups.

“Hey, that’s not fair. I wasn’t a demon, and you glitter-bombed me,” Helios said with a pout. Trisha and Polly rolled their eyes at him.

“You’re annoying,” Trisha said, making everyone laugh. Sabnac couldn’t stop looking at the pups on his lap. They were so innocent, and yet they seemed wise beyond their years. When he looked into their eyes, he gasped in surprise. He knew that look and why they were like they were.

“No one told me you had special pups here,” he said, looking up at the others, who were all still in shock that the pups were so taken with the large demon.

“Yeah, they’re pretty incredible, aren’t they?” Gunnar said, smiling at Trisha and Polly.

“So what goddess sent them here?” Sabnac asked.

“What do you mean? No one sent them here. Bianca and I are their parents,” Gunnar said. Sabnac shook his head.

“No, they were sent here. Look into their eyes. They have the mark of the goddesses.”