The Hellhound

Ch. Twenty-Seven

"Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you can't see from the center."

- Kurt Vonnegut

                                                                        ***

Rick hadn't said a word after Sirius' little revelation. It hadn't taken long to learn that Galloway wasn't the only Hunter with an epic cold shoulder. If it wasn't already so cold, it might have made Sirius shiver.

As it was, he was one degree away from shifting into his wolf form and its built in fur coat. His breath frosted before him, hanging in the freezing air. Ancient ice encrusted the walls, icicles that could kill a man if they ever fractured hanging from the ceilings.

He hated this part of Hell.

Rick shivered, chin tucked low, burrowing into his buttoned jacket. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his teeth chattering. The tip of his nose was bright red, the rest of his face deathly pale with the cold.

"C-can I die of h-hyp-pothermia down h-here?" he finally asked as they turned a corner and saw no sign of the deep-freeze letting up.

"I don't know," Sirius gritted out, clenching his teeth to keep them from chattering as well. "But let's not hang around to find out, yeah?"

Rick just nodded, burrowed deeper into his jacket and kept trudging forward.

They were almost there. Sirius inhaled deeply, the cold biting at his nose and making his lungs feel like they were shrinking. Barely there, just above the smoky smell of the ice and cold, was a scent that warmed Sirius' blood with fury.

His heart beat harder with every step he took, washing adrenaline through his veins in short, powerful bursts. It chased away the cold, chased away the fear that had been clinging to him like a creeping vine since she'd died.

She'd been gone less than a month. She'd been gone years.

Time didn't matter. Time was immaterial to beings such as himself. All that mattered was that he was one step closer to her. One step closer to doing what he'd promised. One step closer to what was rightfully his. 

The cold and dark grew deeper—unbearably so—making both of them gasp as the very air seemed to thicken in their throats, freezing their lungs. Ice crystallized on Sirius' lashes, cutting at the delicate skin around his eyes every time he blinked.

They kept walking, knowing the only way out was through.

Eventually, Rick began to stumble, the cold attacking the muscles in his legs. He yelped in pain when he touched the wall for balance, quickly yanking his hand away from the ice.

The outside edge of his palm, directly under his pinkie, was raw and bright red.  

"It burned me," Rick said, astonishment laced thickly through his voice. He stared dumbly at the wall, cradling his hand to his chest, careful not to brush the burn against anything.

The Hunter swayed, moved by the force of the shudders rocking through his body. Sirius exhaled, the cold making the thin skin of his lips peel. They needed to move. Now.

Careful of Rick's hand, Sirius took the Hunter's arm over his shoulders. Rick curled into the warmth of another body subconsciously. He swore every time he stumbled, nearly dragging Sirius into the walls as the Hunter fought to get his muscles to work in the powerful cold.

Shivers wracked Sirius as well, his skin prickling painfully with the frost. He'd never passed through this gauntlet in his human form before. 

Time seemed to stretch even for him as they battled through. The grim knowledge that they would freeze solid if they stopped loomed over them. Sirius didn't know if that would kill him, but didn't really fancy spending the rest of eternity as an ice sculpture if it didn't.