Storm of Dogs (19 page)

He took a deep breath, remembering the warmth and safety he had felt in his dream. Pausing in his stride, he allowed the memory of its peace and tranquility to wash over him. It gave him confidence as he opened his jaws and howled Blade's name.

There was an anxious twitter of birds, but no dog emerged from Blade's lair. Lucky cocked his head, ears pricked. Had he heard a bark? He howled again, throwing more force into his voice.

“Blade!”

This time Lucky was sure he'd heard barking from within the cave. There was a scuffling of paws and several Fierce Dogs burst out, with Blade in the lead. She caught sight of Lucky, who hovered by the rock wall, staring straight at her. He stood his ground, even as Blade's lips gaped open and her teeth gnashed with a furious snarl.

“City Rat! Have you forgotten your previous visit?”

Lucky thought he should have shivered at the sight of her bared teeth, but instead he only felt the warmth of his dream tingle through his fur.
Blade is just a tyrant and a bully. She rules with fear, with no respect for loyalty or honor. Look at Fang
. . . . Lucky pushed away the memory of the bleeding dog.
Blade has had her time,
he thought angrily,
but she is destined to be defeated.
The thought gave him courage.

Blade must have seen something on Lucky's face that made her hesitate. She stopped in her tracks, her fur visibly rising along her back in dark spikes. Her deputies, Mace and Dagger, stood just behind her, with several other Fierce Dogs guarding the entrance to the
cave, their dark heads dropped threateningly.

Blade glared at Lucky. “Surely even you are not stupid enough to come back here alone. Where is the rest of your pathetic Pack?”

Lucky cleared his throat. “Our Alpha is not interested in a battle with you. You spoke of Earth-Dog's fury, and you were right—a second Growl came. It broke off the edges of the cliffs and stirred Lake-Dog into a fury. Our Alpha does not want to anger the Spirit Dogs. Your fight is with Storm, not with all of our Pack. Combat between our Packs will only lead to unnecessary bloodshed.”

“Your bloodshed,” growled Blade contemptuously. “Not ours.”

Lucky kept his voice steady. “There is no need to involve our Packs in this. Your issue is with Storm, and she has challenged you to a fair fight. She will meet you by the frozen riverbank, past the longpaw town and their broken wooden ledge that sprawls over the Endless Lake. On the banks of the river, where the forest begins, Storm will meet you to fight it out. She will wait for you alone as the Sun-Dog rises tomorrow. And she will defeat you in single combat.”

Blade sneered. “That pup? Defeat
me
?”

Mace and Dagger barked in amusement, and the other Fierce Dogs echoed them.

A shiver ran along Lucky's back. If Blade refused the challenge, their plan would be for nothing. He thought of Sweet's and Twitch's Packs, gathered in the cold by the rock face, waiting for him to return.

The Fierce Dog Alpha relaxed visibly. Her nerves at seeing Lucky so bold seemed to have vanished, and some of her former cool swagger returned. “I am glad that the pup has finally seen fit to offer herself up to the Earth-Dog as sacrifice. She is deeply deluded if she thinks she can beat me, but if it's a fight she wants, it's a fight she'll get.” Blade's lip wrinkled scornfully. “You can tell the pup I'll be there. And she'd better be prepared to be ripped open so the rats can finish her off. I was merciful with her litter-brothers—when the time came, their deaths were fast. Storm will not be treated with the same . . . compassion.”

Lucky's muzzle tensed. He remembered Fang's brutal death with a sickening twist of his
belly.
Blade doesn't know the meaning of compassion.

Her hackles rose threateningly. “Now run and tell Storm
that
, City Dog. And run fast! You have exactly two heartbeats to get out of my sight, or we'll deliver the answer to Storm ourselves, along with your pelt as a trophy.”

Lucky spun on his paws and shot over the rocks, darting between hedges toward the Wild Pack's deserted camp, toward the passage that wove between the rocks and down to the Endless Lake. He knew he had to be quick. He couldn't trust Blade to stick to the rules. The Fierce Dog might guess that his Pack was hiding near the riverbank. If she gave chase now, she would find them—he needed to tell Sweet that the attack-dogs were coming.

The clouds had drawn in by
the time Lucky reached the winding riverbank. The sky was metallic, a glistening gray, but no rain fell in the murky air. Lucky stopped to look up between the bare branches of a tree. An icy wisp spun down toward him, fizzing on his nose. He recoiled with a whine, remembering the foul black snow that had fallen in the forest, upstream by the Pack's old camp as he'd searched for Mickey. He sniffed carefully. There was no hint of foulness in the air. A flake landed at his paws, small and white. He gave it a gentle tap, and it melted with a cool tingle.
Don't be silly,
Lucky berated himself.
It's just ordinary snow.

Still, he slowed his pace a little, advancing more cautiously between the foliage and weaving a path behind the rocky outcrop, watching as the snow twirled and fell on the hedges. He could already sense his Pack. His tail wagged in anticipation, and he thought of Sweet with her soft, velvety coat and her delicious smell.

He pushed through the undergrowth and was greeted by a sight that warmed his heart. The two Packs were curled together in a tight circle, keeping each other warm. Lucky held back a moment, enjoying the scene. Whisper was licking Storm's ears, Mickey and Snap were pressed next to Splash, and Twitch was talking to Sweet in hushed tones. Lucky cocked his head, gazing through the undergrowth. He was about to announce his presence when Daisy gave a shrill yelp.

“Look at the rain. It's falling in white lumps!”

Storm sprang to her paws with a growl. “And it
feels
different. Sort of soft but colder than usual.”

Beetle and Thorn started running in tight circles.

“It isn't disappearing when it reaches the ground!” Thorn whined. “Something has gone wrong with the rain!”

“Maybe the Sky-Dogs are angry!” Beetle whimpered, scrambling to his Mother-Dog's side. “Is it something to do with the Growl?”

“It's okay, young dogs,” Moon soothed. “This is called snow. It isn't anything to be scared of. When the Ice Wind is deep and takes hold of the land, sometimes even the Sky-Dogs feel the chill. Their fur bristles from the cold and their rain turns soft and white.”

Storm looked up accusingly. “But why now? Are you
sure
the Sky-Dogs aren't angry, like Lake-Dog was when the Growl came back?”

Martha rose and gathered Storm and Thorn toward her. “It's just snow, like Moon said. It won't hurt us.”

“And when it gets warmer, the snow will melt into water, just like rain,” Moon assured them. “And Earth-Dog will lap it up.”

“Why doesn't she do that now?” Daisy asked. “Is it too cold for Earth-Dog?”

“Yes,” Moon murmured. “Snow is very cold, and that isn't how Earth-Dog likes it. She will wait until the snow melts to rain. Then she will drink it and it will all disappear.”

This seemed to reassure Daisy, and she breathed slowly through her nose, releasing a cloud of steam. She settled by Martha's side as all the dogs gazed into the snow, falling
silent in its soft hush.

Lucky felt a rush of affection for his Pack. He opened his mouth, about to bark his arrival, but he caught a strange scent and froze.
A Fierce Dog!

It wasn't Storm. Some other Fierce Dog was here. There was only one scent, but that didn't reassure Lucky. He shrank back into the undergrowth and stalked around the edge of the little makeshift camp, treading lightly so as not to make a sound. Fear bristled along Lucky's neck, and he fought to stay calm, trying to remember the warmth and peace of his dream—if he panicked now, the Fierce Dog might smell his fear-scent.

As Lucky watched, concealed beneath behind a snowy branch, the Fierce Dog came into view. His muscles flexed beneath his short black fur and he panted heavily, wild-eyed, as though he had been running for many rabbit-chases. Lucky recognized the trespasser as Arrow, the young Fierce Dog who'd been fortunate enough to have been born just before the Big Growl. Arrow's eyes were fixed on the Packs. He didn't notice Lucky crouching nearby as he clambered over a fallen log toward the camp.

Lucky pounced. He slammed into Arrow's chest as the Fierce Dog hopped off the log, throwing him into a thicket of brambles. The young dog struggled, twisting beneath Lucky's weight, and Lucky pressed down onto his chest. Arrow gasped for breath but didn't bite or snap. The Fierce Dog looked exhausted.

There was no telling what he might do. Was Blade close? Lucky raised the alarm call. “Help! Intruder!” he barked.

The Packs burst out from their camp with a volley of high barks. Sweet was in the lead. She took in the scene immediately, rushing to Lucky's side and pressing a paw down on the dog's throat.

“Who are you?” she snarled. “What are you doing here? Tell me at once or I'll rip your throat out!”

“Who cares what he says?” Moon barked. “We can't trust him. We should just kill him, or as soon as we release him he'll run back to his Pack.”

“That's true.” Sweet pressed harder on Arrow's throat, and Lucky saw the Fierce Dog
wince. Her claws had drawn a trail of blood, which ran down his neck and dripped onto the fresh snow.

“Please don't kill me,” he pleaded. “I've left Blade for good. I want to side with you.”

“Didn't Fang say stuff like this when he tricked you, Lucky?” growled Bella.

“You can
never
trust a Fierce Dog,” Bruno agreed.

“What about Storm?” Arrow yelped. “She's in your Pack—if you let me join, I'll prove that I can be trusted too.”

“Storm is different,” Snap insisted. “We've known her since she was a pup. Whereas you . . .” Her muzzle crinkled with distaste.

“Another spy sent by Blade,” Lucky hissed, thumping Arrow down harder against the bramble bush.

The Fierce Dog flinched. “I'm not a spy!”

Twitch loomed over him to snarl into one of his pointed ears. “Of course not. We'll just let you go and you won't harm us. You won't go straight back to Blade and tell her exactly where we are. How foolish of us to think the worst of you.”

“Kill him now!” howled Breeze. Most of the other dogs were barking in agreement. Lucky glanced around at them as they pressed closer to Arrow, baring their fangs. Only Storm held back, her head cocked thoughtfully.

Sweet bore down on Arrow, and he yelped in a strangled voice, “I'm not a spy, I promise you! Blade already knows exactly where you are and what you've got planned.”

Sweet loosened her grip slightly. “What do you mean?”

Arrow spoke breathlessly, spluttering out the words. “Your Omega,” he gasped. “The strange little dog with the bulging eyes. He ran to Blade and told her you would come and deceive her. That you'd challenge her to a fight with Storm, but the rest of the Pack would be waiting to attack Blade and any Fierce Dog who comes with her. She knows everything, and she won't come alone—you can be sure of that!”

The little black dog hadn't been Omega since Sunshine had taken over the role, but every dog in Sweet's Pack knew who Arrow meant.

“Whine,” spat Lucky with disgust.

Sweet dropped her hold on Arrow's neck, and his head lolled back against the snow. “Watch him, Beta.”

Lucky dipped his head in acknowledgment, keeping his forepaws on Arrow's chest. The Fierce Dog didn't struggle or try to rise. He lay in the mounting snow, panting.

Sweet and Twitch backed away a short distance, whispering to each other in lowered tones. Their Packs circled Lucky and Arrow, making sure the Fierce Dog was safely hemmed in.

Bruno snapped at the young dog's neck. “How did you know to find us here?”

“I told you, the small dog told Blade. All the Fierce Dogs heard it; the Pack was together. Every dog knows where you are. They're planning to surprise you with an attack. I wanted to warn you.”

A tremor of fear rose through the Packs.

“The Fierce Dogs know where we are,” whimpered Dart.

Whisper's eyes widened. “They'll be coming for us!”

“You should move,” panted Arrow.

“Shut up, intruder!” snarled Bruno, and the young dog fell silent. No dog spoke for a while as the snow spun soundlessly down from the gray sky and fell on the leafless trees.
If Blade knows we're here, we'll have to go,
thought Lucky dejectedly. What would they do now?

Soon Sweet and Twitch returned, crunching over the fresh snow. The other dogs parted to let them through, and the Alphas sat at a short distance from Arrow.

Twitch was the first to speak. “We will hear what you have to say.”