by Erin Hunter
Storm sat under the arch and scratched her ear. “Do we go back to find the Pack now?”
“Yes, but . . .” Lucky looked toward the town, with its leaning buildings that reminded him of the city. “It might be quicker to move through the deserted longpaw settlement, rather than retrace our steps over the sand.”
“Easier too,” said Bella. “Walking on sand is killing us.”
“But we said we’d go back the other way,” Storm pointed out.
Martha nodded her large black head. “She’s right, we did, and we risk losing the Pack’s scent if we take a different route.”
Moon caught up with them. Lucky expected her to insist they return across the sand, tracking the path that the Wild Dogs had taken. Instead she told them, “The town makes more sense.”
Martha shook her head, which made her jowls wobble. “I thought you wanted to go back across the sand. It’s where we left the Pack’s scent. You said yourself that Alpha would have avoided the town.”
Lucky’s fur twitched with unease. Only a short while ago the group had been at peace. Another spat was the last thing they needed out in the freezing cold.
The Farm Dog met Martha’s gaze. Her blue eyes sparkled. “Alpha would have led the Pack onto the sand to avoid the longpaw town; that’s true. They’d have looped around it and tracked back to the waterfront. This means we can gain on them if we cut through the town. And the town will be easier on our paws than this sand.” She threw a look at Storm, who had lowered herself onto the wooden boards and shut her eyes for a moment. Lucky could see that the pup was weary, despite her steely determination. Moon turned back to Martha. “The camp the longpaws built over the Endless Lake was deserted, and the town will be too. There’s nothing for us to fear.”
Martha nodded in understanding. “Lucky, what do you think?”
The wind rose over the Endless Lake, lifting Lucky’s fur. It seemed to be growing even colder. The Sun-Dog was continuing his journey high above them, but clouds were blowing in from across the lake, smudging out his warming rays. Lucky shook his fur, trying the tactic that Moon had showed them to keep warm. He wasn’t sure which choice was better, but he wanted this journey to be over. Walking through the longpaw settlement would be quicker. Even if the hard streets were cracked and damaged, they’d be easier to walk on than sand hills, as Moon had pointed out, and they probably gave more shelter from the wind.
He met Martha’s eye. “Let’s go through the town.”
“Stick to the middle of the street.” Lucky remembered the collapsing houses in the city. This town didn’t look quite so damaged, but it was sensible to keep a safe distance.
The buildings here were lower and bled less dust than those in the city. Still the torn roads and shattered clear-stone were signs that the Big Growl had visited this place. Instead of dust, the sand seemed to be everywhere, coating the streets and buildings so that they looked as though they rose from the earth as giant yellow stones. Pools of salt water collected by the curbs, filthy with debris.
Green river grasses hung off buildings.
How did they get there?
Lucky shuddered at the thought that the Endless Lake was responsible for all the sand and water. Had the Big Growl shaken it so hard that it burst its banks, surging over the land? His fur rose along his neck in spikes, and he turned instinctively toward the coast. He couldn’t see the Endless Lake beyond the longpaw buildings, but he could hear its relentless roar and hiss as it broke over the sand.
“That’s a longpaw’s paw-cover,” said Bella, nodding her head toward a filthy object in the middle of the street. It was the size of a small rabbit and looked vulnerable surrounded by sand.
Storm tipped her head quizzically. “They cover their paws?”
“I don’t like this place,” whined Moon, her haunches low to the ground.
Bella shot her an accusing look. “You wanted to come through the longpaw settlement.”
“I’m just saying!” Moon snapped back. “You dogs grew up in strange places like this—you’re used to it.”
“We’ll pass through here as quickly as we can,” Martha soothed before Bella could say anything. Lucky was grateful to the large black dog. Her patient nature bore no grudges. She had accepted that they’d go through the town without complaint. And she found the fish. I’m glad she’s here. . . .
His thoughts were disturbed by a sharp, alarmed bark from Storm. She stood on stiff legs, her tail straight behind her and ears pointing up. “We have to turn back!” she barked. “We have to go right now!”
Bella sighed. “Not this again! We’re going through the town and that’s that.”
Moon glared at her. “Can’t you see the pup’s scared?” She turned to Storm. “It’s okay, don’t worry. We’ll be out of here soon enough, but it’ll only take us longer if we turn back now.”
Storm ignored them, taking a tense step forward. Her tan muzzle was raised. “Danger!” she barked. “There’s danger ahead!”
Lucky knew something was very wrong. Storm wasn’t a pup who barked at nothing. He stepped alongside her, lowering his head and sniffing carefully. The salty air masked everything, yet . . . Lucky’s heart lurched and a tremor of fear ran through his paws. Could that be . . . But that’s impossible, isn’t it? The whole reason the Pack’s traveling to find a new camp is to escape them. . . .
“Are they here?” he whispered.
“She’s just nervous, jumping at her own shadow,” Bella complained.
Storm’s eyes widened. “I can smell Fang and the other Fierce Dogs.”
This quieted Bella, whose whiskers flexed as Martha stepped protectively to Storm’s side.
Moon breathed in the air. “I can’t smell them, but if they’re here we should go right away—there’s no point rushing into danger since Storm has managed to sniff it out.”
Martha gave the pup’s ears a lick. “We need to keep Storm away from Blade.”
Lucky could see the whites of Moon’s eyes. The Farm Dog’s tail twitched nervously. “The four of us can’t protect her from the whole Fierce Dog Pack.”
Storm shrugged Martha away. “I don’t need protecting,” she muttered. She was staring along the street, her hackles rising. “Maybe we shouldn’t turn back. I’m sick of running away all the time.”
“The pup has a point,” said Bella. “In a way.”
Moon turned to her in surprise. “You’re not suggesting that we challenge the Fierce Dog Pack? We wouldn’t stand a chance!”
“No . . . But we could follow their scent.”
Lucky cocked his head. What did his litter-sister have in mind?
Bella drew closer to the others, talking in hushed tones. “It’s possible the Fierce Dogs passed through here recently on their travels, but I think it’s more likely that they’ve settled in the town. They’re a type of Leashed Dog, after all—it’s probably natural for them to drift toward longpaw camps, even though the longpaws left long ago.”
Lucky nodded. This made sense to him.
“I think we should follow the scent,” Bella went on. “We should find out as much as we can about where they’re based and what they’re doing.”
Bella’s suggestion was met with silence. Lucky’s brow furrowed. Follow the Fierce Dogs . . . Is that wise?
“Don’t look so worried, litter-brother.” She nudged him with her muzzle. “I don’t mean to have a confrontation with them. Just to get close enough to work out what they’re up to.”
“Yes, we should follow them,” Storm piped up. “It isn’t just about me—we have a duty to protect the other dogs in our Pack. Won’t Alpha be angry if he finds out we had a chance of finding out Blade’s plans and we just ran away?”
Lucky sighed, following her gaze along the quiet street. The pup had a point. “As long as we keep out of sight.”
Martha nodded, but Moon’s ears twitched and her eyes flashed nervously.
“I don’t like it. I don’t want to be in this creepy longpaw settlement,
and I don’t want to go anywhere near Fierce Dogs. But I want to give Beetle and Thorn the best chance of never having to meet those horrible dogs in battle. So, yes—we’ll follow them.”
She’s using their adult names now. Lucky took this as a good sign. Maybe Moon was beginning to come to terms with losing her mate. “Moon, I’m sorry we weren’t able to save Fiery,” he whined.
Moon nodded in acknowledgment. “At least we tried. Thank you. . . .”
Martha gave Moon a lick on the nose and the Farm Dog nudged her gratefully.
Lucky and Storm took the lead, with Bella and Moon behind them and Martha bringing up the rear. Soon they could all smell the Fierce Dogs on the salt air.
Bella trailed her snout across the edge of the street. She sniffed a broken loudcage warily. “This has been marked.”
Lucky was at a metal spoil-box that had fallen on its side. He turned back to her. “Here too. I think you were right—they’re marking the edges of their territory. They must have a camp close by.”
A volley of deep barks cut through windswept air.
“A patrol!” hissed Lucky. He leaped sideways over a mound of sand and river grass, ducking for cover behind a pile of damp rope and netting that stank of rotten fish. He could smell the Fierce Dogs coming closer and the fear scent rising off his companions. The Fierce Dogs would smell them too!
Lucky shut his eyes. I know the land of trees is far away, but I hope you can hear me. . . . Forest-Dog, please let me know how to keep us safe. The answer came to him immediately. He remembered how Mickey had taught him to roll in mulch of the forest to disguise his scent. Maybe they could use the same trick with sand.
Lucky’s eyes flicked open. “Copy what I do!” he urged. There was no time to explain. He demonstrated, dropping against the sand and rolling until his coat was sticky with salt and river grass. Moon, Martha, and Bella copied him with looks of confusion. Only Storm seemed to understand Lucky’s intention. Does she remember the night in the forest when we hid from the coyotes? Lucky wondered. She was very young then, her eyes not long open.
Once the dogs had all rolled in the salty sand, Lucky gestured that they should resume their positions behind the damp rope. He caught Bella starting to lick herself clean and he stopped her with a stern look. The dogs pressed against one another in a salty muddle just as two Fierce Dogs rounded onto the street.
With any luck, they won’t smell us now. . . .
Lucky held his breath as the Fierce Dogs strutted past the damp rope. He stole a glance at them. Their jaws were set, their muscles rippled beneath their black-and-tan coats, and their eyes glared straight ahead of them. They passed the Wild Dogs without even a sniff.
Bella rose, shaking her fur. “Well, you’re a clever one, aren’t you, Yap?”
Lucky batted her with his paw. “Just a trick Mickey taught me. Come on.” He hurried along the street in the opposite direction from the Fierce Dogs. He hoped they wouldn’t check this part of their territory again until much later, by which time he and the others would be long gone.
The dogs tracked the marks that the Fierce Dogs had left along the border of their territory, ever watchful. They darted between the crumbling buildings, catching their breath behind a loudcage scorched orange with decay. The Fierce Dog scent grew steadily stronger. Fear coursed down Lucky’s back—they weren’t far from the camp now.
Clouds were rolling in over the Endless Lake. Great white birds glided under them, swooping over the deserted town. One dived toward the dogs with a piercing shriek. Storm sprang into the air and Lucky saw her swallow a yap of surprise just in time.
The dogs reached a building with wide stone steps and faded images of longpaws plastered over the walls. There might have been a door once, but it had probably come away during the Big Growl. The odor of Fierce Dogs escaped from the opening and Lucky could make out the sharp, earthy scent of their Alpha, Blade. He noticed that there were no clear-stone lookouts. His stomach clenched. It must be dark in there. Shrinking against the wall of the building, he addressed the others.
“I want a closer look. But it’s not sensible for all of us to walk into Blade’s den. I think you should hide behind the loudcages. I won’t be long.”
“Can I come?” whispered Storm.
Lucky licked her on the nose. “That’s not a good idea.”
“You least of all,” agreed Martha, nudging Storm back with her snout.
Storm nodded and followed Martha behind a row of dead loudcages, Moon walking close to them.
Bella hung back. “Be careful, Lucky.” She licked his nose before turning to join the others.
Lucky crept up the stone steps and ducked into the building. He found himself standing on an expanse of scarlet soft-hides. Parallel sets of steps led up on either side of him, each meeting on the same floor with a series of doorways cloaked in red pelts. Lucky slunk up to one of these and peeled it back with his forepaw, seeing a damaged wooden door hanging at an angle. The space beyond it was dark and cavernous.
It took Lucky’s eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light. The room was even larger than he had imagined. Elaborate gold flourishes covered the ceiling, with images of winged young longpaws painted in tarnished white. The floor was covered in identical red-pelted seats. They faced forward in neat rows toward a raised platform. Looking closer, Lucky noticed that some of the seats had been mauled. Tooth marks punctured the corners of the fabric, and clumps of yellow fuzz hung out. His heart thumped as he noticed movement on the platform and made out the contours of pointed ears.
Blade was sprawled across a nest of debris that seemed to have been built from longpaw materials: shredded bedding, layers of red floor covering, and stuffing torn out of the sitting places. Two of her deputies were guarding either end of the platform. Lucky could make out their tall, muscular outlines.
So Bella was right. The Fierce Dogs have made their camp here. That’s a good thing—it means they haven’t caught up with the Wild Pack. Lucky had started to back out of the huge room when he heard barking. He spun around, his heart hammering against his ribs. It was coming from outside!
Lucky darted down the stairs and burst out of the entrance to the building in time to see Storm and Martha snarling at three Fierce Dogs. Two of them were almost as tall as Martha, but one was not much more than a pup. Despite his size, he growled at Storm and Martha, his jagged ears flattened and his lips peeled back. Jaws as sharp as broken clear-stone gnashed the air.
Lucky’s breath snagged in his throat. He recognized this Fierce Dog. . . . It was Storm’s litter-brother, the pup he’d known as Grunt.
The one they now called Fang.
CHAPTER SIX
“Run, Martha, Bella, all of you!” barked Storm. “I’ll handle these dogs!”
Lucky froze on the stone stairs that led outside the building. A thickset black-and-tan Fierce Dog turned to growl at him, spit hanging off her teeth. Fang and the other Fierce Dog took a step toward Storm.
Lucky tensed. He knew Storm was strong, but she wouldn’t be able to defend herself against two adult Fierce Dogs, as well as her own litter-brother. I should never have agreed to track them, thought Lucky with a stab of guilt. We should have left the town as soon as Storm warned us they were here.
“We’re not leaving you!” growled Martha, planting herself at Storm’s side.
“Martha’s right!” barked Bella as she and Moon stepped out from behind a damaged loudcage. They snarled at the Fierce Dogs, their heads low and hackles raised.
Fang threw back his square head and let out a volley of high-pitched barks. In a moment, Blade and the others would be here too. Lucky remembered with a tremor of horror how many dogs were in their Pack. He and his friends would be completely overwhelmed.
O Forest-Dog, whose cunning has rescued me so many times—what can I do to outwit the Fierce Dogs?
The answer came to him at once. Lucky the Lone Dog knew how to escape scrapes; Lucky the Pack Dog would need to use his cunning.
; He cleared his throat. “Hey, rat face!” he barked at the Fierce Dog who had turned to snarl at him. “Who do you think you’re looking at, stinky?”
The other adult Fierce Dog whipped around, forgetting Storm. “What did you say, filthy mongrel?”
“I said, who do you think you’re looking at, stinky!”
“How dare you!” snarled the Fierce Dog.
“Get him!” howled Fang.
The three Fierce Dogs charged after Lucky, who sprang off the stone stairs and tore along the sandy street at a sprint. He made for the pile of rope and netting where the dogs had hidden from the patrol. Skidding on sand, he almost slammed into a wall before righting himself, speeding up again as he turned onto the next street.
As the Fierce Dogs rounded onto the street he was waiting for them. They froze a rabbit-chase away, their dark eyes gleaming with menace.
“Stop right there, mongrel!” barked the female Fierce Dog. “When we catch you we’re going to rip your ears off!”
Lucky turned up his muzzle, doing his best to appear cool and calm, though his flanks were heaving and he fought to still his breath.
“Catch me?” he mocked. “You couldn’t catch a limping squirrel!”
“Insolent mutt! You’ll pay for that!” The Fierce Dog sprang after Lucky, a deputy by her side. Lucky spun around, breaking along the street. A moment before he reached the rope and netting he veered sharply to the side. He heard the wild scrambling of the Fierce Dogs’ claws and their howls of fury as they slammed into the rope.
Lucky looked up to see Moon, Martha, Bella, and Storm waiting for him at the end of the street.
Bella panted appreciatively. “Nice work.”
Lucky risked a glance at the Fierce Dogs. Their paws flailed wildly as they fought against the knots of netting. It wouldn’t take long for them to free themselves.
He started toward his Packmates but faltered. A shadow fell over the sandy street just ahead of him.