CHAPTER 145

Unable to catch his breath, he couldn't get enough leverage to lift the paw free, and he moved his hands around in an attempt to get a good grip on it. The paw no longer felt right, and he wondered if the mighty beast had been toppled, which would allow him to squirm free and run.

"Chikuso!" This came from Yuki, and he turned his head toward her and opened his eyes, but his vision was obscured by hair. He could just make out her prone form, green eyes wide with alarm.

He wiggled his toes real quick, suddenly afraid that maybe he had been smashed or ripped in half, but she wasn't looking at him, but just above.

The weight on his torso shifted, and what he thought was a paw used a pair of arms to push away from him. Stunned, his mind ran through all the possibilities as he found himself looking once more into the six, fiery eyes of the Cerberus, only now the beast was in the form of a young woman with three heads. Unruly hair blocked his view of what the rest of her looked like.

They were looking down at him with confusion and uncertainty, and he looked to Yuki for any sort of explanation.

"It was the Lovers card," she groaned, her hand on her side. "I was throwing minor arcana at it and that one got mixed in."

"But what does that mean?" he asked, then looked back up at Cerberus. Cerberus was wearing a black leather dress, and all three necks were adorned with a black and red collar bedazzled with spikes.

"We...are...Cerberus." When Cerberus spoke, each head took a turn, which made him wonder if they were of one mind or just thought alike. He saw that the head on the left had a nasty cut on her cheek, and the one in the middle had a set of scratches across the bridge of her nose.

"Um...Yuki, what do I do?"

"The card is meant to make someone fall in love," she explained. "But I don't know what that means to a Cerberus."

"We...are...Cerberus!" They were looking down at Mike expectedly, but he wouldn't classify it as friendly. It was almost angry.

"Hi Cerberus, I'm Mike." He held up a hand and waved.

"Mike is...new master...to Cerberus?" They didn't look convinced, and the head on the right was now sniffing him.

Yuki groaned again, and when he looked over at her, he saw that she was using ice magic on a burn on her side. Her robes had been burnt, and he could see ruined flesh beneath.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Hellfire just missed me," she explained through gritted teeth. "It'll heal, but I need a bit. Mike, her tail isn't wagging, you'd better figure this out quick."

He looked back at Cerberus and nodded.

"Yeah, sure, I am absolutely your new master." He smiled, then wondered if smiling would seem too threatening. Was showing teeth to a dog okay? Was Cerberus even technically a dog now?

All three heads were sniffing him now, and he saw that Cerberus still had ears like a dog, sharp pointed ones that stood at attention. Their skin tone was similar to his own when he spent too much time in the sun (which was almost never), and he held still as they gave him a once over.

"Master smells," each head began.

"Of human," finished the first head with a growl.

"Of demon," said the second head with a grin.

"Of the fae," finished the third head with a snarl.

Well that answered his question about individuality. He took a deep breath and put his hand on the center head's forehead. She smiled and leaned into it, letting him scratch her ears.

"Cerberus forbids...passage to mortals," said the first and third head.

"I am no mere mortal, Cerberus." Mike kept petting the center head, trying to keep her happy. He wasn't sure who controlled what, but this one seemed to like him. When she looked at him, her eyes were no longer red, but an ominous black. The others, however, still had fire in their eyes.

"Humans are forbidden," said the first head, and he felt the hand on that side of Cerberus dig claws into his shoulder.

"Fae are forbidden," said the third head, and the other hand reached for his throat. He looked at the center head. If he drew an invisible line separating Cerberus into three parts, maybe there was something he could do to get the upper hand after all.

"Yuki?" He looked over at the kitsune, who was lying on her back against a log. "Is that tail wagging?"

"Ye...yeah." She was taking deep breaths and digging through some of her cards. "Why?"

Mike grinned and moved his hand down the center head's cheek.

He didn't have the strength of Hercules. Strangling such a beast would still be impossible, even as she was right now. However, he had something even better, and while the Cerberus was under the effects of the Lovers card, he was finally going to be able to play to his strengths.

"You're a good girl, aren't you?" he asked, and he stared deep into her eyes, willing his magic to life.

"We are not..." said the first head.

"A good girl," said the third head.

The middle head ignored the others, her adoring eyes now locked on his face. She opened her mouth and panted, and he traced his thumb and finger around her lips and then slid the tip of his finger inside her mouth.

Naia's magic rumbled inside of him, bouncing around as if ready to escape, and it told him exactly what he needed to know about the mythical beast and what they needed.

"Suck it," he told her, and the middle head complied. His magic was now streaming from his finger into her mouth, and her eyes widened in surprise.

The first head curled her lips into a snarl, but then her face went slack as the fire went out of her eyes.

"Master...not human," she said, then sniffed him again. She relaxed her hold on his shoulder and he used his other hand to pet her head and rub her ears as well.

"That's right, Cerberus. I used to be human, but not anymore." The center head was letting out cute little squeaks while she sucked on his finger, and Mike moved his hand along the first head's cheek.