All Is Fair In Love And War

Chapter 6

April 4, 1943

By the time they got back to base camp, Carter's mood and general demeanor had gone from bad to worse. Douxie rarely, if ever, saw a smile from him. He understood it, he really did. And he knew the pain wouldn't go away. Not really. But all Douxie could do now was be there for Carter.

"Carter?" Douxie tried to grab his hand as they were trekking through the woods. He glanced warily at their fellow soldiers. "Carter, come on. Talk to me."

"I don't need to talk." Carter growled, wacking aside a tree branch. "What I need is something to punch."

Douxie sighed. "You're angry, and hurting. I know. I understand. But violence isn't the answer. It won't make you feel better."

Carter whipped his head around, eyes sharp with a glare. "Maybe it will." His face twisted with guilt when he saw hurt flash across Douxie's. "Sorry, I'm sorry." He rushed out, voice quiet. "I know you're just trying to help."

Douxie smiled softly and gently squeezed his hand. "Hey, it's okay. Just... don't stop trusting me, Carter. I've got your back. I always will."

Carter nodded, squeezing his hand back before he turned and continued walking. Douxie followed, staying close behind him. He looked around at the trees as they went, holding his gun a little tighter. Something wasn't right.

"Hey," he grabbed Carter's arm to stop him, unease growing. "Wait."

Carter's brows furrowed in a questioning look. "What?"

Douxie's eyes darted around. "I'm not sure."

They stood there, waiting and listening. After a minute, Douxie slowly let go of Carter's arm.

He sighed. "Maybe it was nothing-" his words were cut off when something heavy slammed into him, knocking him to the ground so fast he didn't even have time to scream.

"Douxie!" Carter yelled, eyes wide, frozen with shock.

Douxie let out a burst of magic from his hand, knocking the monster off him. He scrambled to his feet, breathing heavily. He grit his teeth when he saw what it was. "Oh great." He let his magic back into his hands as the hellhound shook itself off and got back to its feet.

"What the hell is that!?" Carter demanded, dodging to the left as the beast leapt at him.

"You don't even know how appropriate that question is." Douxie said, stepping in front of Carter to create a shield as the hellhound tried to run at them again. "It's a hellhound. Very nasty. They don't make very good family pets."

Carter readied his rifle, watching as the hellhound stalked around their little bubble of protection. "Why aren't the other guys coming to help? Didn't they hear us yelling?"

"It's the Vela." Douxie explained. "It keeps mortals from seeing things their brains can't comprehend. And," he looked back at Carter. "If someone is skilled enough, they can control it. Someone doesn't want our squad to know what's happening. We're in a soundproofed... fog of magic." He pointed ahead of them. "It's stopping there. Like a dome."

Carter flinched as the hellhound jumped at the shield again, claws scraping against the magic, leaving sparks. "So what do we do?"

Douxie sighed, jaw clenching. "We kill the bloody monster and then I can break the spell."

Carter looked to the side, eyes calculating. "Wait... someone is making the dome of magic... fog?" He looked at Douxie. "Another wizard?"

Douxie looked to the edge of the dome, eyes narrowing. "Or something more."