The commander glared at Echo, "What are you doing?"
Not paying any attention to the red streak of blood dripping from her hand, Echo turned her head to the side, looking at the tiger.
"What did you do?" Echo asked in confusion.
The tiger walked to Echo, roaring at everyone, and then replied "Nothing!"
Jasmine had already pulled Calixta, Ember and Ryder away from the dining area. She came back, hoping everything would be okay.
Echo recognised the tiger right away. It was Hunter, but how did she get so big? Wasn't she just a cub a few minutes ago? Something felt amiss. Echo turned her gaze to Damon, who was closely watching Echo. He had tried to jump in front of her, but she was quicker than he expected.
"Are you okay?" Damon asked, standing beside Echo.
The commander looked at Echo and Damon in confusion.
Echo sighed. How did the commander and Sebastian not recognise the tiger? They knew she brought her, so why were they acting like they had never seen her before. Yes, she was larger than she was, but she had the same stripes as earlier.
Sebastian stared at the tiger for a while, and then his eyes widened.
"Hunter!" the commander turned his gaze to the tiger. He glanced back at Echo, and took his sword away, once she took her hand away from it.
"How is this possible?" Sebastian asked, still wary of the tiger. He immediately whipped his head to Echo, and continued, "Care to explain?"
Echo glanced at the tiger, and then at everyone around the room. Her brows creased when she realised that everyone had their eyes on her. "I don't know. Maybe there's something about this in the library."
She expected everyone to agree, but Jasmine stepped forward.
"I've read almost everything in the library. I can assure you, familiars don't just suddenly become adults," Jasmine replied.
Echo sighed, and lowered her head slightly. Damon put his arm around her shoulder almost as if telling her that no matter what happened, that he'll be with her. She turned her gaze back to the tiger, 'What did you do Hunter? How did you get so big so soon?'
The commander turned his gaze to Jasmine, and then back to the tiger. His brows furrowed, as he added "Unless he's not a familiar!"
'Not a familiar? Then what could she be?' Echo asked herself, she turned her gaze to Damon and raised her eyebrow.
Damon did not react to Echo, he had the same stoic expression on his face, as he watched everyone trying to rack their brain.
Echo couldn't help but feel like Damon knew what was happening. He was acting too casual… like he had seen this happen before. She glanced at Hunter, who was now licking her front paw. Turning back to Damon, she raised both her eyebrows. Neither of the two were paying attention to the very serious conversation the others were having.
Damon sighed as none of them knew what was happening. There was no doubt why the demons were winning… The Protectors were not as smart as they claimed to be. Or was it that he had expected more from them. He felt Echo's gaze on him, when he finally decided to share his knowledge.
"The tiger might be a hound!" Damon hinted. The group turned to him, as if waiting for further explanations. Damon raised his eyebrow, despite having a calm expression, "A hellhound!"
Echo noticed the commander's eyes widened, before she asked, "Was that why she was in a demon's lair?" She realised that it made sense for Hunter to be a hellhound, but then it did not make sense for a hellhound to follow a Protector.
She immediately voiced her doubts, "If she is a hellhound, why did she bind herself to me?"
Damon raised his eyebrow as he turned his gaze to Echo. He was hoping that at least she would understand the matter, but she was just as stupid as everyone else. With a sigh he replied, "Think about it, are you really a Protector? You weren't born a Protector, and like you explained you don't have magic like the other Protector's do. Which means when the witches resurrected you, they didn't change your blood."
Everyone understood what was happening, but there were several unanswered questions.
The commander voiced a doubt that was on everyone's mind, "Hellhounds don't bind themselves to humans either."
Echo sighed. This conversation was not going anywhere. No one knew what was going on, and even if Hunter was a hellhound there were a lot of things that were not adding up. She couldn't help but feel lost. She barely knew anything about herself, except for what the witches had told her. She couldn't shake the feeling that Hunter might be linked to the missing memory of the accident, or the few days she didn't remember once she was resurrected.
"Echo!" she heard her name, and turned her gaze to the commander. He continued, "Do you think it's possible?"
"What's possible?" Echo asked, confused once again. She was not paying attention to the conversation, so she might have missed something important.
The commander glared at her, "That Hunter is a hellhound?"
Echo thought for a while, before replying with full honesty, "I don't know. She could be, but as far as I've been told hellhounds only bind themselves to demons… and I am not a demon."
Sebastian huffed, and scratched his head, "Why can't anything be straightforward? Why do we always have to solve mysteries?" He complained, and continued, "I'm a warrior, I fight, not solve mysteries."
"A warrior's job is to solve the mysteries of war," Calixta blurted. She was listening to the conversation, while standing at the back and no one had noticed her.
Echo turned to Damon, waiting for him to say something, but he was lost in his own thoughts. She finally turned her gaze to the commander and Jasmine, "Commander, Jasmine, I think it's better if we take our leave."
She did not wait for a response, but dragged Damon, and patted the tiger's head. The two followed her out of the commander's house and back into theirs.