The Broken Path

by Erin Hunter

  “Lick!” barked Lucky in disbelief.

  She stood there, legs straight and head slightly lowered, her tail flicking just a little. Her glossy sides heaved and she glanced around, shamefaced.

  “What in the name of the Earth-Dog are you doing?” yelped Lucky. Moon, Twitch, Martha, and Bella backed off a little, sitting on their haunches and staring at the young Fierce Dog.

  “I wanted to help,” whined Lick. “And you wouldn’t let me come.”

  “I told you why!” barked Lucky.

  “I didn’t want to stay with Alpha and the others,” she said, her voice lowering to an unhappy rumble. “And no dog tried to stop me. Actually, I don’t think any dog noticed me leave.”

  “But Alpha will be furious when he finds you gone!” Bella pricked her ears forward.

  “No, he won’t,” Lick growled. “He’ll be glad to see the back of me.”

  Lucky licked his jaws, anger and uncertainty warring inside his chest. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Lick. To Alpha—and some of the others—Lick might as well not exist. And Lucky was forced to admit to himself: He hadn’t recognized her. She’s not a pup anymore. When I attacked, I thought she was a fully grown Fierce Dog.

  A fully grown dog without a proper name . . .

  Lucky shook himself, irritated as much by his own softness as by Lick’s behavior. “None of that matters. This was reckless! You could have put us all in danger.”

  “You don’t understand!” She flopped onto her belly and gazed up at him, pleading. “I have to help; I can’t just wait and watch or I’d go crazy. It’s like eating or sleeping. My whole body tells me to do it!”

  Lucky shook his ears, trying to clear his brain. The others were all looking at him now, waiting for him to make a judgment. I’m their leader on this mission. I have to decide.

  He sat down on his haunches, his expression grim. “You can’t go back now, Lick.” He showed his teeth. “Even though I want to make you.”

  Lick pricked her ears hopefully.

  “It’s too far, and I can’t risk sending you alone. By the Sky-Dogs, Lick, I’d like to let Alpha give you a good beating!”

  She whimpered apologetically and pressed herself lower, resting her jaw on the ground.

  “But if I send you back, you’ll get lost—or worse, you might run into Terror. You’ll have to come with us.”

  Lick sprang joyfully to her feet. “Thank you, Lucky. I’ll help; I promise!”

  “You’ll do exactly as you’re told,” he growled. “Don’t think I’m happy about this!”

  Moon curled her lip. “You’re right, Lucky. We don’t have a choice. She’ll have to come.”

  Bella, Martha, and Twitch all glared at the young Fierce Dog. At least she has the grace to look ashamed, thought Lucky. But that doesn’t make things right.

  “It’s agreed, then. We go on, and you come with us. But Lick, you put a paw out of line and you’ll answer to me. Now let’s find Fiery.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Sharp-snow pelted from a black sky. Lucky dodged and rolled, ducking his head to avoid the sting of its hard little pellets. They bounced off the grass and settled again, falling until they lay as thick as soft-snow. Beneath Lucky’s paws, Earth-Dog grumbled and shifted in pain and anger.

  Please don’t be angry with me, Earth-Dog, begged Lucky. It’s the sharp-snow that’s hurting you.

  But the ground trembled beneath his paws again. Either Earth-Dog didn’t hear him, or she didn’t care.

  As the land gave a sudden heave, Lucky ran, fleeing the Growl and the sting of the sharp-snow. He plunged into a forest, hoping the trees would shield him, but as he looked up the sky brightened from black to a dazzling silvery white. Lightning was barking again, louder than Lucky had ever heard him, turning night to day. The mass of sharp-snow shattered into tiny pieces, and now the pellets hurtled between the leaves and the branches, and he couldn’t avoid them.

  It’s just a dream. Just a dream!

  But it didn’t feel like one. Dread clung to his fur like wet mud. He should be afraid. He should be running, fleeing, racing to escape . . . something. But there was only this heavy, fateful horror. There was no Fear-Dog here; there was no Fear-Dog at all. But that wasn’t the reason he wasn’t afraid.

  He didn’t feel afraid because he knew there was no escaping the Storm.

  The knowledge hit him like a pawstrike from Lightning. It was far more horrifying than the sharp-snow. The real Lightning barked again, slashing his claw into a tree that cracked down the center and toppled with a crash. Earth-Dog replied with a rumble of fury.

  Please don’t growl again, Earth-Dog. The world couldn’t bear another Big Growl. It couldn’t survive a war between the Spirit Dogs. . . .

  If they chose sides in the Storm of Dogs, it would be the end of everything.

  Lucky jerked awake, shaking the dream from his fur like pellets of sharp-snow. Dread still churned in his gut, deadening all other feeling until he suddenly felt a pattering against his hide. Panic choked him. Sharp-snow? Is my dream real?

  No, he realized; it was only rain. And it was normal rain, too; the drops didn’t burn his flesh or singe his fur. Relief swept through him and he gave a trembling wag of his tail. A tongue swept the raindrops off him, and he recognized Lick’s scent. She was licking him gently awake.

  “Are you all right, Lucky?” Her voice was full of concern.

  “I’m fine, Lick.” Lucky was breathing hard. Swallowing, he nuzzled her coat. “It was a bad dream, that’s all.”

  Lick cocked her head. “Are you sure? You looked so scared, Lucky. Your dreams must be terrible. And your legs were jerking like you were running in your sleep. What were you running away from?”

  Lucky gave a yelp of amusement. “The longer you live, the more you worry, and the worse your dreams are.” He gave her ear a lick. “Have you had any more dreams? The ones about Fang?”

  “No,” whined Lick softly. “It’s as if telling him I’d chosen our Pack made him stop coming. But I did have a horrible dream just now. That’s what woke me.”

  “You did?” Lucky gave her ear a lick. “What did you dream about?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s fading a bit now, but it was frightening at the time. There was this sharp, icy water that fell from the sky and hurt my skin. And I think Lightning was fighting Earth-Dog. It was weird.”

  Lucky felt a prickle of unease run through his skin. He shook off the strange sensation, and said, “Let’s start moving. We have to get to Fiery.”

  “Good,” barked Lick. “This rain is horrible, even if it isn’t poisoned!”

  Of course Lick’s fur was much thinner than his, Lucky realized as he licked warmth into her glossy hide. She must feel the cold a lot more than I do, yet she hasn’t really complained.

  The two of them nudged the others awake, and all five dogs stretched and yawned and scratched.

  “What’s our next move?” asked Twitch, glancing brightly from one to the other. “This rain doesn’t look as if it’s stopping any time soon. It’ll be hard traveling in this mud.”

  Bella gave a thoughtful yap. “Can we travel far at all without finding food?”

  “No,” said Lucky, “and that’s a good point, but let’s not waste time. We can keep our eyes open for prey as we walk.”

  “I agree,” barked Moon. “We’ve taken too long to get to the Dog-Garden as it is.” Without another word she turned and set off in the direction Twitch had been leading them.

  It was just as well Moon had taken the lead; Twitch had been right about the ground. He was having particular trouble, stumbling on three legs through the soft, muddy earth.

  “Are you all right?” Lick asked him anxiously. “Do you need help?”

  “I’m fine,” he barked gruffly. “Just keep moving. I’ll manage.”

  “He’ll be fine, Lick,” said Lucky. “He’s learned to cope better than a lot of us. But I want you to walk in front of me.”

  “K
eeping an eye on me?” asked Lick. Her brow furrowed and her muzzle wrinkled.

  “Yes,” he told her shortly. He didn’t have the time or the energy to get into an argument with the young Fierce Dog. The rain wasn’t slackening as the dogs walked; it poured down in a relentless torrent, streaming into their eyes and nostrils and wetting them to the skin. Lucky could hear Lick grunting with the effort of every step.

  As they reached the top of a grassy slope, the young dog lost her paw-hold altogether and slipped, then slid helplessly on her flank down the other side. She couldn’t avoid Bella, in front of her, and both dogs tumbled to the foot of the slope.

  Springing to her paws, Lick barked angrily at the earth. “Why are you doing this? Why?”

  Lucky slithered down awkwardly until he was beside the two dogs, helping Bella to her paws and nuzzling Lick to soothe her. “Lick, it’s all right. It was an accident.”

  She wouldn’t be calmed. “Earth-Dog is making it as hard as possible for us to get to the Dog-Garden. She doesn’t want us to get to Fiery!”

  With an anxious glance at Moon, Lucky hushed Lick. “No, it’s just that we need to be careful. It isn’t Earth-Dog’s fault.”

  “Really?” barked Lick, clawing the ground to rake angry gashes. “How would you know? She could help us, but she won’t!”

  “Lick, that isn’t how it works—”

  “It could be! Earth-Dog might have sent the Big Growl because she’s angry with all dogs, and wants to destroy us!”

  Lucky licked his jaws, tasting rainwater. He rubbed his streaming eyes with a paw. He didn’t want to answer Lick, because he was suddenly afraid to. I never thought of it that way. Earth-Dog wouldn’t turn against us all so violently. She protects dogs . . .

  Doesn’t she?

  When they finally glimpsed the Dog-Garden’s wire fences through the trees, Lucky was too tired to be relieved. Lick’s paws dragged on the ground ahead of him as she blundered forward, dazed and exhausted, and he had to nip gently at her haunches to bring her to a halt. Moon took a scared breath as she shook rain from her face.

  “The Dog-Garden,” she whispered. “Fiery . . .”

  Forbidding fences still surrounded the place, seeming high enough, thought Lucky, to touch the clouds in the night sky. Within the garden, the strange, low houses lay in shadow, their walls sodden with rain. Faint light gleamed on barred clear-stone.

  Beside Lucky, Bella shivered. “It still feels like a terrible place,” she murmured. “Let’s be very careful.”

  “I remember,” Lick whispered, trembling, the whites of her eyes showing.

  Lucky nuzzled her flank gently. Of course she remembers. It’s her birthplace, the place her Mother-Dog died. It’s the place where she spent her earliest days starving with her litter-brothers while a dead pup lay close by.

  Lucky wondered if he’d made a terrible mistake in not telling Lick to return to the Pack. What forest dangers could have been worse than this for her? She might not be able to cope.

  It was too late. All he could do now, he reasoned, was keep a close eye on her.

  Bella was already leading the dogs around the fence, staying low to the ground and moving very cautiously as she nosed for the gap the dogs knew was beneath the fence. She spent a long time scraping at the overgrown grass with her claws, tilting her head, and sniffing. At last her puzzled expression cleared and she gave a low growl of frustration.

  “Here, I’ve found it. But the longpaws must have filled it in. There’s dirt stuffed into it, and stones.”

  “Oh no.” Lucky’s heart sank as he and Moon and Twitch scratched at the patched wire.

  “What now?” whined Moon in despair. She rose up on her hind legs to place her forepaws against the fence. “We have to get in!”

  “Wait a minute.” Twitch dug awkwardly at the soil with his forepaw. “They haven’t done this very well. I think we can break it.”

  All six dogs dug at the earth and clawed at the wire. The metal was shinier where the longpaws had fastened new patches, and the weak tendrils of wire were easy to see. Using their teeth and claws, Lucky and Moon managed to loosen it, while Martha scraped at the filled-in hole. The original opening had been made much bigger by the escaping Fierce Dogs, but even so it was hard work clearing the new earth. Half of every pawful rattled back into the hole as soon as it was dug out. All the dogs were panting with exertion by the time they had made enough of a gap.

  “I’ll go first,” said Lucky firmly. “I brought you all here, so if there’s danger I should face it first.”

  Taking a deep breath, he squeezed his head into the tunnel and hauled himself forward with his forepaws. Stones scraped his ears painfully, but with a bit more scrabbling and pulling, he felt his shoulders slip through.

  Lucky spat out soil and tiny stones, shaking his head free. For a horrible moment, as he tried to drag his haunches after him, he realized his backbone wouldn’t bend the right way.

  I’m stuck! Panic choked his throat and he coughed. Fear gave him a surge of strength, and with one shove of his hind legs he shot forward out of the hole, and tumbled onto clipped grass. His back was scratched and sore, but he was free!

  Free inside the Dog-Garden, anyway . . .

  Still, he couldn’t stop his tail wagging with relief. With a soft bark he called the others, and Moon, Bella, Twitch, and Lick took turns crawling after him.

  “I hated that,” muttered Lick, shaking dirt from her shiny coat. The others were spitting out tiny stones and scratching their ears. Martha came last; as Lucky had hoped, the rest of them had made the hole big enough for her to squirm through.

  Moon’s dark eyes shone. “We’re almost there,” she whispered. “Not long now, and we’ll have Fiery back!”

  “Who’s been repairing that fence?” asked Martha darkly. She stretched and shook her head. “Look at this place!”

  Lucky’s mouth dried with fear as they all gazed around at the Dog-Garden. Last time he had seen it, on the night he and Mickey had rescued the Fierce Dog pups, the grass had been wild and overgrown. Now it was trimmed as neatly as close-cropped fur, and bright lights shone on it in patches, turning it silver. Once cracked and sagging, the low dog-houses had been patched with some kind of white mud, and the holes in their roofs had been covered with ribbed metal. The scattered and dirty dog bowls were back in neat rows, polished shiny and clean.

  “There must be a lot of longpaws,” whispered Bella. “Far more than we thought. We’ll have to be careful.”

  Yes, thought Lucky, and I’ve led my friends into even more danger than I realized. It won’t be as easy as rescuing the Fierce Dog pups.

  The memory of that night sent a stab of anger through his guts. I rescued three. And now one of them is dead, and one of them has joined Blade. Some rescue!

  The worst of the changes was obvious when they crept around the corner of one of the low houses. The Dog-Garden had been taken over not just by longpaws, but by loudcages.

  The monsters crouched, sleeping on a patch of hardstone. Lucky halted with the others and stared in horror. These were different from the loudcages he’d known in the city. They were much bigger, very long, with many round, black paws, and blank eyes.

  The scents around the loudcages and the dog-houses were confusing; there were so many, it was hard to tell if they were old or recent, close or far away. Treading quietly from the clipped grass to the rough hardstone, the dogs crept around the loudcages, sniffing at the acrid smells of their round paws. Moon lifted her muzzle to the body of the longest one, daring to flare her nostrils at its flank.

  There was no sound, at least; nothing but the chirrup of insects in the grass and the distant whisper of the forest’s highest branches. If we keep quiet, we can find—

  Moon’s whimper rose to a strangled wail. “Fiery!”

  “Moon!” growled Lucky, alarmed, as he ran over to her. She was crouched beside the loudcage, staring up at it in disbelief, nose trembling. “Moon, what is it?”

  �
��Fiery!” She lunged toward the loudcage, flinching back just before her nose could touch it and wake it. “Lucky, he’s in there! Fiery is in its belly!”

  “Quiet! You’ll bring the longpaws. Moon, please—”

  But clearly Moon could bear it no longer. Her voice rose in a howl of distress.

  “He’s been eaten alive! Lucky, help me. I’ve got to get him out!”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Moon scratched frantically at the beast’s belly, where a hatch was set into the metal of its body. Her claws made a screeching, horrible racket but she couldn’t seem to stop. The hatch hung slightly loose, but some kind of hook kept it from swinging wide. Pawing and tugging desperately, Moon whined to her mate.

  “I wish Mickey was here,” whimpered Bella, licking Moon’s scruff. “He’s good with longpaw doors.”

  Martha nudged Moon gently aside. “I think I might be able to do it,” she said. “Let me try.”

  Pulling the door as wide as possible with her teeth, Martha worked one of her huge paws in behind the hook. “Now, if it’s like . . . and I can just . . . there!”

  Lucky and Moon instantly stretched up to pull at the widening gap, almost falling over each other as they struggled to tug on it. It was wide enough now for a squirrel, but not for any of the dogs.

  “That’s not the way. Let me try,” growled Lick. “I want to get out of this rain, anyway!” Wriggling beneath Martha, she shoved her nose and one paw into the creaking space, then seized the edge of the metal with her jaws. “All you have to do is pull hard.”

  “If it was that easy, we’d—” Lucky fell silent, awed as Lick’s packed muscles worked, and the door wrenched open with a screech.

  “Wow,” breathed Twitch.

  “Well done, Lick!” exclaimed Martha.

  Lucky could only stare after the young Fierce Dog as her haunches vanished inside the beast’s belly. She’s so young—but so strong. And Lick hadn’t even hesitated—she just knew she could do it.