Hellhounds: The Legends of Doggy

10: 10 Reasons Not To Wake Up Dragons

Doggy turned, and a shiver ran down his spine.

"Is it a dragon?"

The serpent lay in a bed of twigs. Its green scales glimmered in the dull orange lighting, flames reflected in their glittering surface. Its eyes were shut, snores emitting from its gaping nostrils. A stumpy pair of wings jutted out from its flank, although they appeared too small for flight. 

"It's not a dragon. It's a huge snake." Lich's voice trembled as she spoke.

Doggy's heart raced, sweat tickling his paw-pads. He'd never seen an actual dragon before, although Toad had told him stories of the beasts. According to his brother, they breathed fire and ate innocent Hellhounds for lunch. 

Luckily for Lich, Super-Agent Fang X was well-accustomed with life-threatening situations. In fact, 'near-death encounters' were Doggy's middle name. 

"It's blocking our way to the treasure." The dragon filled the narrow corridor, twitching as it slept. "We have to sneak past. Like ninjas."

Doggy lowered his underbelly to the cool ground, creeping forward like a predator stalking prey. He pressed himself against the earthen wall, camouflaging with the scenery. 

"Wait," Lich said, her breath tickling the back of Doggy's neck. But he'd already stepped over the beefy tail of the monster, passing into a threshold from which he couldn't turn back. There was no way out.

"We're like explorers, venturing where no Hellhound has gone before." His tongue lolled, draping off the side of his muzzle.

And then Doggy's paw tapped something.

He let out a yelp, picturing tentacles curling around his leg, winding like vines. Was the monster sucking him in, pulling him into its toxic embrace? Doggy recoiled, backing into the beast's slippery frame. 

"Be quiet." Lich released a low growl. "That was just a log."

Doggy wished she hadn't spoken so loudly, because a moment later, the monster's eye fluttered open. Doggy froze, muscles contracting. The dragon's iris was a brilliant yellow, its pupil a dark slit. It snorted, flicking its tongue across its reptilian lips.

Doggy adverted his gaze, repeating to himself the Super-Agent motto: if he couldn't see it, then it couldn't see him.

And then a plume of fire burst from its jaws, and Doggy leaped away from the scorching heat. The dragon reared its serpentine head, towering high above the Hellhounds. A whimper bubbled up in Doggy's throat as its tail swept across the ground - heading straight towards him.

"Jump!" Doggy lurched into the air, just in time to dodge the blow. His pulse quickened, blood roaring in his ears. 

The dragon hissed and ducked its triangular skull, diving for Doggy. "Don't eat me!" his voice rose to a shrill wine as the beast's mouth opened, revealing sharp rows of white fangs. "Please?"

"'I do not vant to eat you." The serpent's words came out in a smooth flow of syllables, its maw barely moving as it uttered the phrase. Part of Doggy wasn't sure if it had spoken at all. "I just vant more petsss."

The dragon drew out the final 's', trailing off into a hiss.

It slithered to the side to reveal a stack of cages, previously hidden by its serpentine body. Dented wire crates littered the compound, each housing a creature. Some featured common animals such as bats, the jet-black variety which haunted the caves of Tartarus. Others contained rarer specimens, ranging from demonic snakes to feathered birds.

Doggy gulped. Being the 'pet' of this monster wasn't high on his to-do list. 

Lich nudged him, her flaming eyes narrowed into slits. "We attack in three."