by Sue Bentley
It was Teddy, and Storm was hot on his trail.
“Over here!” Julie yelled to Isaac, waving her arms.
Isaac appeared as Julie ran toward the ditch. She saw Teddy reach the plank bridge and scamper straight across. Storm bounded after him, but skidded on some mud.
With a yelp of alarm, he plunged into the ditch. There was a splash as the tiny puppy fell into the muddy water at the bottom and sank out of sight.
“Storm!” Julie screamed as Storm’s mud-covered little form rose into view again. Coughing, he began splashing around and searching for something to rest his paws on in the sticky earth.
Isaac rushed up, his eyes wide with horror.
Julie realized that Storm probably couldn’t use his magic without giving himself away. She didn’t think twice. Thrusting the plank aside, she jumped into the ditch.
Mud splashed everywhere as Julie landed waist-high in the ditch. Her foot slid against a submerged brick and she gasped as pain shot up her ankle. Ignoring it, she reached down and grabbed Storm. He scrabbled against her, his muddy fur plastering her T-shirt.
“Thank you for saving me,” he woofed, mud dripping from his muzzle.
“No problem,” Julie said, using a clean bit of T-shirt to wipe mud from his eyes and nose. “I’m just glad you aren’t hurt.”
“Are you two okay?” Isaac asked worriedly.
“Kind of,” Julie said, wincing at the sharp pain in her ankle. Now that Storm was safe, she was starting to feel sick and shaky.
“You are hurt. I will help you,” Storm yapped.
“But Isaac . . .” Julie stopped halfway through protesting as she felt a warm tingling sensation in her hands and golden sparks fizzed in Storm’s fur, hidden beneath the thick coating of mud.
The pain in her ankle grew warmer and then icy cold and seemed to drain away completely, just as if she’d emptied out a packet of sugar. “Thanks, Storm. I’m fine now,” she whispered.
“Can you climb out by yourself if you give Storm to me?” Isaac said, reaching down.
Julie nodded. She handed Storm up to him.
“All right, little fella? That must have been a nasty shock,” he crooned.
Julie scrambled out of the ditch and rose to her feet. Teddy came running toward them, his tongue lolling happily. His black fur was covered with sand and brick dust.
Julie quickly grabbed the little mongrel. “Got you!” Isaac passed her Teddy’s leash and Julie clipped it on to his collar. “Oh heck. Look at the state of these two!” she said, looking down at the pair of messy pups.
“Have you seen yourself?” Isaac said. “You look like you’ve had a bath in melted chocolate. And look at my T-shirt. Mom’ll go nuts if I come home like this.”
Julie nodded. “Mine will, too. What are we going to—Hang on, I’ve got an idea! Follow me!”
Chapter ★ TEN ★
“Hi, Gran!” Julie said ten minutes later, as the apartment door opened. “Surprise!”
“Oh, my goodness! What on earth happened to you?” Granny Harding’s eyes widened in shock as she saw the mess they were in. “Okay. Wait there. I’ll get some old newspapers. You’d better take off your shoes and then you can carry those pups straight to the bathroom.”
Julie flashed Isaac a grin as they padded through the apartment with their arms full of muddy puppies. “Gran always knows what to do and she doesn’t make a fuss like most grown-ups!”
An hour later, Storm and Teddy had been bathed and Julie and Isaac’s clothes were in Gran’s washing machine. They sat there wearing borrowed bathrobes, taking turns drying Teddy and Storm with the hairdryer.
Storm didn’t like the noisy hairdryer, but Teddy didn’t seem to mind it. He closed his eyes, enjoying the way the warm air ruffled his scruffy, black fur.
“There. You’re all done.” Julie stroked Storm’s cotton-wool-soft, gray and white fur. “Mmm. You smell wonderful.”
Storm gave her an unimpressed look from under an extremely fluffy bunch of fur.
Julie and Isaac erupted with laughter. “Sorry, Storm. But you should see your face,” she apologized in a whisper.
Gran came in from the kitchen and put a plate of sandwiches, chips, and a homemade chocolate cake on the table. “I thought you might like these.”
“Thanks, Gran. You’re the best!” Julie said.
“Yeah. Thank you so much, Mrs. Harding,” Isaac said politely. “And thanks for being so cool about this.”
Gran smiled. “Don’t mention it, dear. It’s nice for me to have unexpected visitors.”
While Isaac finished drying Teddy, Gran produced a box of dog biscuits. She doled them out to the clean, dry puppies. Teddy and Storm lay on the rug, chomping away happily as Julie and Isaac went to sit at the table.
“Dig in, you two,” Gran said, pouring cups of tea. “Oh, I’ve forgotten the knife and forks. Could you get them for me, Julie? They’re on a tray in the kitchen.”
Julie went into the kitchen and returned with the tray. Just as she was approaching the table, Teddy jumped up, pawing at her legs. “Oh!” Julie stumbled as she tried to avoid stepping on him. The tray of cutlery flew out of her hands. It fell to the ground with an almighty crash, right beside Teddy.
Gran and Isaac almost jumped out of their skins.
“Yikes!” Storm screeched in shock, leaping to his feet with his fur all standing on end.
But Teddy was still nosing around for biscuit crumbs and didn’t seem upset at all.
“That’s odd,” Julie said.
“What is, sweetie?” asked Gran.
“Well,” Julie began. “Teddy didn’t react at all to the loud noise right next to him. It’s as if he didn’t hear it . . .” A suspicion jumped into her mind. “Isaac, can you stroke Teddy to distract him for a minute?”
Isaac looked puzzled, but he tickled Teddy’s chest. Teddy wagged his tail and nibbled Isaac’s fingers.
Julie went and stood behind them. She clapped her hands loudly. Teddy didn’t look around and his ears didn’t even flicker.
Julie looked across at Isaac. “I think I know why Teddy seems to be such a problem. He’s not misbehaving. He could be deaf,” she said gently.
“Deaf?” Isaac echoed. “But he can’t be. The vet looked in his ears when he checked him over. He would have noticed if something was wrong, wouldn’t he?”
“Not necessarily,” said Gran. “If Teddy was born that way, there might be no outward sign—it can be easy to miss in puppies. People assume that they don’t learn their names or come when they’re called because they’re young and boisterous or just disobedient.”
“Just like Teddy,” Isaac said wonderingly.
“Exactly!” Julie thought back. “It makes sense when you think about it. Teddy probably turned on Storm in the park, because he couldn’t hear him coming and thought he was being attacked. Teddy didn’t react when I clapped my hands, but when he saw me frowning and wagging my finger at him, he got the message! Do you remember?”
Isaac nodded. “He knew he’d done something wrong then, didn’t he? And those other times when he seemed to obey you, you were actually looking at him, so he understood what you wanted him to do,” he recalled eagerly.
Julie nodded, feeling even more certain that she was right about Teddy.
Isaac dropped down beside Teddy and hugged him. “Poor little boy. It’s not your fault. You can’t help it, can you?”
Teddy licked Isaac’s face and looked perfectly happy.
Julie took the opportunity to whisper to Storm. “What a shame for Teddy,” she said sadly. “It must be weird living in a world of silence. Can you use your magic to make him better?”
Storm put his head on one side. “But Teddy is not sick. He was born that way. He is just different.”
Julie realized that Storm was right. She hadn’t thought of it like that. Teddy wasn’t suffering. He was a healthy, happy little dog and his silent world was quite normal to him.
“Why don’t you take Teddy bac
k to see the vet? She’ll tell you if you’re right about him,” Gran suggested.
Julie nodded. “Good idea, Gran.” She turned to Isaac. “At least you’ll know that there’s a reason for the way Teddy is.”
A shadow crossed Isaac’s face. “Yeah. But it doesn’t help much, does it?”
“What do you mean?” Julie asked.
“Think about it,” Isaac said miserably. “What’s the use of taking Teddy to training classes? He’s not going to be able to learn anything if he can’t hear instructions. And if he won’t do as he’s told and keeps chewing things up, Mom and Dad will definitely make me find a new home for him!”
Julie realized that he had a point. It seemed that Isaac and Teddy were facing a whole new set of problems.
Chapter ★ ELEVEN ★
“I wonder how Isaac and Teddy are,” Julie said to Storm a couple of evenings later. She’d been hoping that Isaac would call when he’d been to the vet, but so far she hadn’t heard from him.
Storm nodded. “I am thinking about them, too.” He was curled up in Julie’s lap while she was reading.
When the phone rang in the hall, Storm immediately jumped down and ran toward it. Julie got up and followed him.
It was Isaac. “Hi, Julie. You were right about Teddy,” he said at once. “He is deaf. The vet thinks it’s a problem with the nerves inside Teddy’s ears. So he was probably born that way.”
“Oh,” Julie said. This was one time when she didn’t feel good about being proved right. “I’m so sorry,” she said.
“I was, too, at first, but the vet’s been really good,” Isaac said, sounding quite cheerful. “She told me that I’ll always have to be extra careful with Teddy near traffic and it’s going to be really tough to train him. But guess what, she’s got another patient who’s got a deaf dog, called Flossie, and the owner, Mrs. Norman, has taught her to respond to hand signals.”
“That’s fantastic!” Julie enthused.
“I know. The vet called her while I was at the office and Mom’s taking me and Teddy over to meet them this weekend. Mrs. Norman only lives in the next town.”
“Oh, I’m so happy for you,” Julie said warmly.
Storm sat on the carpet, a curious expression on his face. Julie gave him a thumbs-up sign and Storm’s tail began thumping against the carpet.
“I’m going to be at Gran’s tomorrow. Why don’t we meet up? You can tell me more about it,” Julie suggested. “And I’d love to help you train Teddy . . . um . . . if you’d like me to, that is,” she said, trying to be tactful. She knew that Isaac wasn’t too happy that she had managed to get Teddy to behave in the past.
“I thought you’d never ask!” She could tell that he was smiling.
Julie replaced the phone. She beamed at Storm as she told him what Isaac had said.
“I am glad for them both,” he woofed.
It was bright and sunny the following morning as Julie and Storm closed the door to Gran’s apartment and walked downstairs.
“I’m really looking forward to meeting Isaac and Teddy,” she said as they reached the bottom of the stairwell.
But Storm gave a sudden whimper of fear and shot into the side room where the trash cans were stored.
“Storm?” Julie heard loud barking and snarling and glimpsed some large shapes prowling about outside the glass front door. Sunlight glinted off their pale eyes and extra-long, sharp teeth.
Her heart missed a beat. Storm was in terrible danger!
Julie turned and rushed after him. She reached the doorway just as a blinding flash of gold light and a shower of bright sparks lit up the trash room.
Storm stood there, a tiny, helpless puppy no longer, but a powerful, young, silver-gray wolf. His thick neck-ruff seemed to be gleaming with a thousand tiny, yellow diamonds. Standing next to Storm was an adult she-wolf with golden eyes and a gentle expression.
A sob rose into Julie’s throat as she realized that Storm was leaving. She’d hoped so much that this day wouldn’t come, but she forced herself to be strong for Storm’s sake.
“Shadow’s dogs are almost here. Save yourself,” she urged, her voice breaking.
Storm’s midnight blue eyes softened with affection. “Be of good heart, Julie. You have been a loyal friend,” he rumbled in a deep, velvety growl.
“I’ll never forget you,” Julie breathed as a tear rolled down her face.
There was a final burst of dazzling light and big, golden sparks fluttered down around Julie and crackled harmlessly onto the floor.
Storm raised a huge front paw in farewell and then he and his mother faded and were gone.
Behind Julie there was a disappointed snarling. Through the glass door, she saw three normal-looking dogs padding off awkwardly in confusion.
Sadness swept through Julie. One golden sparkle lay on the floor. She picked it up and it tickled her palm for a second before blinking out. Julie gave a bittersweet smile. At least she’d had a chance to say good-bye and she would always remember the wonderful adventure she had shared with her magical puppy friend.
“Take care, Storm. I hope you lead the Moon-claw pack one day,” she whispered.
Julie squared her shoulders as she went to meet Isaac and Teddy. The two of them were going to need tons of help and support and she was determined to be there for them. A warm feeling spread right through Julie as she realized that there were two new friends in her life to enjoy and she knew that Storm would always be watching over her, wherever he was.
★ About the Author ★
Sue Bentley’s books for children often include animals or fairies. She lives in Northampton and enjoys reading, going to the movies, and sitting watching the frogs and newts in her garden pond. If she hadn’t been a writer, she would probably have been a skydiver or a brain surgeon. The main reason she writes is that she can drink pots and pots of tea while she’s typing. She has met and owned many cats and dogs and each one has brought a special kind of magic to her life.