Chapter 23: Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

That hint of shared feelings from Hellie returned.

Stronger.

This time I felt the hunger stirring within her. I perceived her thirst to hunt.

They tugged, tempting me, but I rejected them.

The sensations clashed with my memories.

I’d known Tiny Jem since grade school.

Yes. He was foul-mouthed, brash, and known for his insatiable drive to collect and sell fan merchandise.

But an ancient dark entity?

I mean, this was the same guy I’d haggled with multiple times over vintage toy collectibles.

Thinking back… he was excessive in his collecting, obsessed.

And there were rumors—several rumors—that he had messy ties to the dark web, procuring things, stealing, and possibly even killing.

None of us believed that sensationalist trash.

We all thought those were fake rumors—ones he created himself to gain some kind of dark street cred to sell his products.

Knowing what Hellie believed he was…

My gut tightened.

Tiny Jem.

Gluttony’s avatar.

A thud broke me out of my thoughts.

Hellie had dropped the book.

She looked in the direction of the woods and howled.

“Oh no, Hellie. We have to get out of here now. That’s not some cult member. He’s an avatar.”

Then it hit me like a public stoning, recalling the sentence I’d read out loud at Gene’s.

“To begin the hunt for Gluttony. Shit, to begin the hunt!”

And Gula was in the woods.

Damn you, Gene.

You’d think I would’ve learned my lesson the first time—never read anything aloud from Rules of the Black Arts for Advanced Users. It made things happen!

Despite my caution, I reopened the book and scanned for anything about Gula. I saw nothing helpful aside from a spell called “Unmasking the Avatar,” which I promptly skipped. We had already done that.

Unable to find anything relevant, I stuffed my grimoire into my backpack, trying to think.

I couldn’t.

Needing to redirect my jittery energy, I busied myself retrieving all the items Hellie had tossed to the ground. After picking up the last of the items, I made a logical plea to my companion.

“Let’s go home, Hellie. There’s no way he’s still in there.”

Reacting to my statement, Hellie dropped into a classic wolfman pose.

Hunched over, she let out a harrowing howl, staying intensely focused on the trees blanketed in darkness.

As the howl’s echo faded, she started to bark furiously and loudly as if it were a war cry.

“Okay. Okay, I get it.”

Our moves were evident. Hers was to stay. Mine was to withdraw.

Out of nowhere, a feeling drummed on my nerves, growing until it thumped with my heart.

Time to fight. Beat at me.

Time to feed. Beat at me.

I felt what it was guiding me to do, but there was no way.

I didn’t want to deal with Tiny Jem when he was just a bully.

Now I knew he was a supernatural freak, the avatar of Gluttony.

I could only imagine what powers he had at his disposal.

So far, all I had in my magic arsenal were low-level fire, push, and pull spells. And of course, Nudge Synchronicity.

But I did—

Hellie cut a glance at me, eager to hunt.

—have a reaper hellhound.

According to my grimoire, her kind could destroy the avatars. But, more important, feeding on them extended her life and, by association, mine.

But that meant killing.

A feeling that screamed ‘this can’t be happening’ took over my thoughts.

Killing.

I’d have to watch and listen to her wolf him down.

The thought was unsettling.

“Come on, Hellie. Let’s go.”

I scooped up the leash and tugged at it, but Hellie let me know her strength. She refused to budge, crossing her arms in defiance.

Even in our standstill, I loved seeing Hellie connect more to her human side, but now wasn’t the time.

“Look, I know where this guy lives. We go home, strategize something, and then we go after him.”

I started pulling away from the woods, but Hellie pulled back toward the woods.

“We need a plan, Hellie.”

What is up with her bratty behavior?

Hellie could’ve outright disobeyed me and taken off again. But instead, she put us in a stalemate.

We stood in the faint breeze of the field for several minutes.

In the silence, I tasted her bloodlust. It was still with me—not as tangible, but it was there.

It reminded me that although she’d eaten with me every day—and man, could she eat—our meals had only sustained her human side.

The emptiness creeping into my stomach told me I wasn’t satiating her hellhound side.

I wanted to use my authority to end the madness.

The swelling in my gut—even as ill-prepared as we were—screamed for release.

“Dammit, Hellie. We strategize next time, no ifs, ands, or buts.”

Oh my god, did I say next time? There might not be a next time.

I walked to Hellie and unhooked her leash, then moved past her toward the woods. Hellie caught up with me in a matter of seconds, and we walked side by side to our destination.

“Wait till we are in the woods to change, okay?”

It took us no time to reach the edge of the woods.

My body involuntarily tightened, but I drew strength from Hellie.

I removed her collar and placed it and the leash inside my bag.

They had sentimental value to me.

I didn’t want them to get obliterated along with her clothing during her transformation.

“You must listen to me—no matter what. That is an order.”

She stared into my eyes, resolute.

I saw her confidence in me. It was jarring.

More than that, her breathing, her heartbeat, and her emotions matched mine.

How? I didn’t know yet, but I trusted the harmony.

“Come on. Let’s get you fed.”

As soon as we stepped among the trees, I had the needling feeling that we’d crossed into another dimension. The ambient sound vanished, and when I looked back, the field appeared blurry, like I was glancing through thick glass.

I prompted Hellie to transform into her hellhound form. She twisted her body, attempting to trigger the change.

Nothing happened.

Oh damn.

I wanted to hightail it out of there.

I sucked in a deep breath.

There was no turning back.

It felt like I was locked into a wrong move in my role-playing game. All we could do was push forward and face the unknown.

We maneuvered deep into the shrouded pathways of the woods. Luckily, the moon’s light kept the area from sinking into complete darkness.

Hellie led the way, tracking, and I followed.

To the naked eye, we weren’t in another realm.

The trees, shrubs, and fallen leaves lining the ground appeared natural, but our movement across them felt unnatural.

Even though I heard Hellie’s growl, I didn’t hear anything around us.

The absence made me feel as if I were floating.

It was disorienting.

I turned my head from left to right.

I caught myself breathing hard.

The fear of being ambushed shot sharp pangs of paranoia through me.

Finally, we broke into a clearing, and Hellie’s growling turned into ravenous barking.

I took it as a sign that we were close to our prey.

“So, you two were dumb enough to follow me in here. Classic Bramwell-Gates.”

Why did all my bullies like to use my last name?

Tiny Jem coolly sat against a massive fallen tree about thirty yards away, eerily smiling at me.

Surprisingly, this piece of trash repping Gluttony wasn’t obese.

Instead, he was slightly schlumpy and managed to make everything he wore—today it was a movie tee, jeans, and sneakers paired with a suit coat—look messy.

Of course, his scruffy beard didn’t help the matter.

“Gawd, does your bitch realize how utterly stupid she looks barking like that? I mean, I can call her a bitch, right? She is technically a dog.”

“Her name is Hellie!”

“Well, too bad my deprivation spell won’t allow Hellie to turn into her other form. I specifically crafted the runes for your hybrid. Me! I would have gone with the full-blooded male hellhound. Now that’s a real demigod.”

“I know who you are, Tiny Jem. You’re Gluttony.”

“Even after all the scheming over the years, you still managed to get this far. Cute.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“It doesn’t matter because this is where it ends for you, and answers won’t serve you in hell, Malvic.”

His use of my role-playing name surprised me. First, The Eye’s followers. Now, Tiny Jem. I had no idea he knew that name.

It didn’t matter.

Hearing his biting sarcasm and seeing his body twitch, I readied myself.

Like a beast circling its prey, he was assessing me.

The situation was impossibly frightening. But facing death, I heard Gene’s voice saying, “This is quest-level shit.”

Quest-level, my ass! I’m out of my depth and drowning in vulnerability.

But what if I were playing the game?

What would Malvic do?

I’d had to rely on my wits when I was a low-level wizard—sharpening my focus, identifying choke points, and leveraging the environment.

All the pathways were pitch black, unsafe bets as means of retreat. And the woodland floor had no defensive covering, just scattered branches and the massive, downed tree behind Tiny Jem.

Then, I did something unexpected, surprising myself.

I found the confidence Hellie showed me.

I approached Tiny Jem, hardening my posture with each step.

As I moved forward, I slipped my arm behind my back and secretly motioned for Hellie to stay.

Stay, girl. Stay.

When I was about twenty yards away, just before Tiny Jem, I saw enormous patches of earth breaking open; curdling dirt fell inward.

“Don’t come any closer,” snapped Tiny Jem.

I stopped.

Although I didn’t hear the ground rumbling, which I imagined was thunderous, I heard squealing sounds.

“I have pets too.”

After his grand statement, four gargantuan boars the size of rhinos with coarse hair so spiky it appeared to be a coat of ice picks burst through the surface.

They stamped in place, kicking up dirt and swinging their heads in various directions.

Their narrow, glowing red eyes, large tusks, and loud squealing should have filled me with fear, but I was beyond that.

I was in survival mode.

Okay, there was a cry of fear on the inside, but I didn’t allow it to surface.

“Pigs suit you.”

“I hear your corny f#@king dig. But my true face is honored by them. They are his sacred animals. He whispers to me, ‘To see is to devour.’ He wants to talk to you.”

In a blink, Tiny Jem’s appearance shifted.

He was enveloped by grey smoke, which obscured his face. Only his eyes were visible, and they glowed the same color of red as the boars’.

“Malvic, I live in the minds of all humans.” Tiny Jem’s voice slowed, dragging with an icky, glutinous fatigue. “Can you hear me?”

To see is to devour—hit me from all directions. It seemed like I had heard it in my ears, but it came from within me.

And I knew the voice. It was me.

“Yes, it is you. I’m the side of you that tells you to covet Rules of the Black Arts for Advanced Users. The side that pushes deeper into the mystery of what is happening to you. I drove you into these woods. ‘Come on. Let’s get you fed.’ Sound familiar?”

No. That was Hellie. Not you. Get out of my head.

“I live in your head. You need more, and I can give you more. There are no mysteries—only what is known and not known. I could engorge you with knowledge until you burst. And believe me, you will vomit when you know everything.”

“And to gain that knowledge, what do you want from me?”

“All you have to do is kill my brothers and sisters and leave me be.”

“You would betray the others?”

“Do you think there is loyalty among Sins? There is only subjugation. Enough talk! Either rise to godhood or fall to your death.”

Godhood?

“Yes, I can give you that. Your time is short. Now choose! Once we go, so goes the rest of your senses. You will be enveloped in complete darkness and eaten by my pets.”

“So, Gluttony, you think I can kill your family. If that’s true, it must mean I can kill you. I’m passing on your offer.”

“You can’t do anything without knowledge. And he knows you don’t have it. Terrible choice, Bramwell-Gates.”

Mid-sentence, the dark goopy voice snarled with Tiny Jem’s smugness.

The otherworldliness was completely gone.

“I warned him about your obstinance. You’re going to regret not taking the deal, Bramwell-Gates…Malvic…or I think the name that best suits you now is Swine Food.”

Warned him—are they not the same?

“After you’re dead and my pets are using your bones to clean their teeth, I’ll be back to retrieve the Tome. Goodbye.”

What does my grimoire mean to these devils?

Tiny Jem snapped his fingers, and the boars let out squealing cries—an uneasy death knell.

Just like that, Gluttony’s threat was fulfilled.

All my senses faded.

There was nothing but darkness.