“Iwill not hurt you,sagana,”a scratchy voice rumbles in my mind.
When the voice doesn’t say anything else, and I don’t feel teeth tearing into me, I peek an eye open. I come face-to-face with one of the dog’s massive heads, lowered so he can watch me better. He’s staring at me with what almost looks like affection, which is odd because I’ve never seen this dog before.
“Yeah! We’d never hurt oursagana,” an enthusiastic voice pipes up in my head that’s different from the first one.
I look around, trying to figure out who is talking to me or if I’ve just finally cracked under the pressure and am hearing voices. Honestly, the second is more likely. Hades’s dog is staring at me so intently, it feels like he’s trying to communicate with me. “Are you talking to me?” I whisper to the dog hesitantly. I don’t know why I’m even asking, because dogs, even three-headed ones, can’t speak to people.
“We are, yes,” a third voice chimes in. This voice is deep but not rough like the first one. Apparently, the voices belong to the dog in front of me. Or is it three dogs?
“How?” I reach up to rub at my temples. This whole day is giving me a headache. Or it could be the voices in my head. Who really knows?
“We are yourfamiliaris,sagana,”the scratchy voice informs me. The dog lowers his other two heads to stare at me in concern. A massive tongue from the dog’s right head snakes out to lick me across my face.
I sputter as I’m covered in underworld doggie drool. “What was that for?” Reaching up, I use my sleeve to wipe my face clean of the sticky liquid that smells like brimstone and smoke. I doubt it’s ever coming out of this dress. Good thing I don’t like wearing fancy clothes much.
“To help you feel better!”This voice sounds so excited that I don’t have the heart to tell him that being covered in smelly saliva doesn’t make my headache go away. His excited voice practically shouting in my mind doesn’t help, either, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
Once my face is as clean as it’s going to get, I ask, “What is afamiliarisandsagana?”
“Fuck,” Hades hisses behind me. “First my brother and now my dog, earthling? You’re lucky I like you.”
Taking my eyes off the dog that can apparently talk to me, I turn around to face Hades. By the smile on his face, he isn’t anywhere as annoyed with me as he’s trying to seem. “What are you talking about?”
Hades exaggeratedly sighs, like I should know all of this. Unfortunately for me, my status as an earthling means I have no idea what’s happening in this realm. “Saganameans witch, wisewoman, or mage, so that’s you.Familiarismeans a familiar, which is an animal who is bound to a very powerful magic user. They increase their bonded’s power. While they’re common here, most earth creatures don’t have enough power to create a bond with afamiliaris.”
My eyes widen. “Are you saying I just bonded with your dog?” The only bonds I know of are mate bonds. From what he’s saying, it sounds like thefamiliarisbond is different, though. Oh, how I absolutely love accidentally forming otherworldly bonds. With a three-headed dog, no less.
Hades rolls his eyes. “No. When you were born, Cerberus became yourfamiliaris. The bond has always been there, you just haven’t experienced it yet. That’s why they can speak to you in your mind.”
I nod, like that makes sense because I don’t know what else to do. Apparently, witches can have familiars, and mine is a massive three-headed dog. Sounds about par for the course for me. “So, I’m not crazy?”
Hades smirks at me. “You definitely are, but not for hearing Cerberus’s voices in your annoying blonde head. That’s howfamiliarescommunicate with their bonded. Magic creates the bond and allows communication between species who normally can’t speak to each other.”
“Takes one to know one,” I mutter under my breath because I’m a super mature person. Hades barks out a laugh as I turn back to Cerberus. “So, you’re my familiar, huh? Should I call you all Cerberus, or do you have individual names?”
“We are,sagana. You can call me Cer,”the scratchy-voiced one tells me. The center head nods while he speaks, so I’m going to guess that’s the one that is talking to me. I reach a tentative hand out to his snout but stop short of touching him. He closes the distance and nudges me with his surprisingly velvety soft nose. I spend a moment rubbing his muzzle before I retreat.
The left head lifts and moves closer to me next.“I’m Bear. We’re pleased to finally meet you.”
Before I can say anything polite in return, the right head swings down and bumps into me in his enthusiasm.“And I’m Russ!”I stumble back from the rough contact but don’t losemy balance. When I’ve righted myself, I look up into Russ’s mournful puppy dog eyes.“Sorry,sagana!”
“You’re good.” I can’t be mad at his earnest voice, so I give him a smile and a few pats on his nose. His giant tongue lolls out of his mouth as he enjoys the pets. I laugh at how goofy he looks. “My name’s Isabel, but I go by Izzy most of the time.”
“We are at your service, Izzy. Anything you need, we will do for you,”all three of them solemnly tell me together. At their pledge of loyalty, it feels like something falls into place. Like I was missing something before, but I never knew it. I rub at my chest absentmindedly, trying to adjust to the new sensation. It’s not a bad feeling, just different.
“Thanks, guys.” Cer moves his head closer until his forehead is level with mine. I cautiously lean in until we’re pressed against each other, and I feel a strange sense of calm wash through me. As tempting as it is to stay in this weird bubble of peace with my new three-headed dog friend, I still have so many questions. Pulling back, I turn to face Hades, who is watching our interaction with bittersweet emotions flitting across his face. “It’s great and all to find myfamiliaris, but what exactly am I supposed to do with them?”
Levi is the one who answers, his lips tilting up as he watches me. “You don’t have to do anything, little raven. Cerberus will follow you around most of the time. When they aren’t with you, they’ll be able to find you if you need them, much like Aggie.”
I glance between Levi and the twenty-five-foot-tall dog skeptically. “How exactly are they supposed to follow me? I think people might notice if I have a two-story-tall dog walking around with me.”
Levi chuckles. “They can change what they look like. While this is their natural form, Cerberus have several other smaller shapes.”
Well, that’s super handy. Whoever created familiars sure thought this whole thing out. Turning around to ask what forms they can take, I’m startled to see a three-headed rottweiler with glowing red eyes sitting behind me. While they’re definitely shorter, Cerberus still comes up to my chest. Their tail is thumping happily as they watch me. “I guess that answers what other forms you can take.”
“We have a smaller one that will fit in better on Earth,”Bear informs me in his deep voice. While Cerberus having three heads who can each talk to me is a bit confusing, at least they all have very different voices so I can tell them apart.
Anything I was going to say is interrupted by servers bustling into the spacious outdoor area. They’re all carrying trays with different handheld desserts on each. I snag what looks like a cup of tiramisu and a brownie because one dessert is never enough. As I pop the rich, chocolaty brownie into my mouth, I stare thoughtfully at Cerberus. “What do you eat? Do I need to keep dog kibbles on hand?” I sure hope not. I bet they can go through pounds of dog food a day with how huge they are.