Storm of Dogs (23 page)

Lucky recoiled as bile rose in his throat. Chase looked up at him. The small dog's body was shaking so hard that her words were half-garbled. “B-b-b-lade,” she managed. “She . . . she k-killed him!”

Blade's silky voice emerged from the snow. “And I'd do it again.”

Chase made a break for her, trying to scramble up the rocks, and Lucky threw himself in the way. “No!” he barked sharply. The small dog's grief would get her killed.

Blade took a threatening step toward Lucky, glaring at him furiously. “At last I get to pick off the City Rat.” She pressed back on her haunches, preparing to pounce. Lucky's heart pumped violently. His leg was bleeding, and his head felt light. He wouldn't have the strength to fight her off.

For a moment he thought of the Forest-Dog, and the stillness of the woods in the snow.
You have always protected me. If you can work a miracle, wise Spirit Dog, please save me one more time.

There was a dull thump overhead and a boulder tumbled from the rock face, smashing
down in front of Blade's paws. She sprang back, panicked. Suddenly she was a different dog—wild-eyed with fear. “The Growl!” she gasped. “It's coming!”

The fighting paused as the dogs froze where they stood, their bodies heaving.

“Is it the Growl?” yipped Dart in terror.

“The Earth-Dog is angry!” barked Dagger.

The Fierce Dogs started barking, and some of the Wild Dogs joined in, crazed with fear. Lucky nudged Chase away from Blade. When they were safely beyond the grasp of her fangs, Lucky stopped, sniffing the air. He sensed no vibrations. The ground felt steady beneath his paws.
Did the Forest-Dog hear my words?
He peered through the snow at the top of the rocky outcrop.
Could that be
. . . ? A bundle of snow seemed to shift between the rocks, scampering out of sight.
Not the Forest-Dog—Sunshine!

He remembered what he'd told her:
A dog's duty may come in different forms
.
But what
is my
duty?
he wondered again.

Blade seemed to jolt out of her panic. “The rats are getting away!” she boomed. “Stop them!”

At once the Fierce Dogs fell into line, hurtling toward the Wild Pack with deadly ferocity. The battle started again in a whirl of snow and blood. Snap and Mickey fought back-to-back, protecting each other but surrounded. Bruno was badly wounded. The old dog fought on, though he could barely drag his hind legs and his face was twisted in pain. Twitch was fighting with vigor, snapping viciously with his teeth and rearing up onto his back legs to swipe at a Fierce Dog with his good front paw, but the strain was showing in his exhausted body.

Fear clutched at Lucky's throat, and his breath came in fast gulps. The Fierce Dogs were overwhelming them. He was thrust to one side as Storm tore past him, racing along the waterfront.

He sprang after her. “Storm? Storm, what's wrong?”

Then Lucky saw it: Their old Alpha and two Fierce Dogs had converged on Martha at the edge of the frozen river. They snapped and wrenched at her flanks and she stumbled,
struggling to keep her footing. Great clumps of her long black fur were sinking onto the bloodstained sludge.

“Bring her down!” snarled one of the Fierce Dogs, and the half wolf smashed his shoulder into Martha's side. The two Fierce Dogs mauled her flanks, their muzzles soaked with blood. The black dog couldn't defend herself against such a vicious attack. One hind leg collapsed behind her, and the Fierce Dogs barked in triumph.

“Get away from her!” howled Storm. She sprang onto the wolf-dog's back, sinking her teeth into his neck, so wild with rage that the Fierce Dogs shrank back. Storm bit harder, releasing a dark river of blood that splattered onto the dirty snow. The half wolf shook himself free with a shrill whine and fled after the Fierce Dogs.

“Coward!” growled Lucky.

“I'll kill him!” Storm shrieked.

Lucky placed a gentle paw on her flank. “Martha's in trouble. . . .”

The great black dog had slumped onto her belly and was wheezing badly. Blood sprang from the deep bites in her flanks. She sank her head between her forepaws, resting it on the earth. A calmness seemed to come over her, and her breathing eased.

Then her eyes met Lucky's, and her floppy black ears pricked up. “Where's Storm?” she gasped. “Is she okay?”

Storm's eyes were full of fear. She crouched in the snow, her muzzle close to Martha's face. “I'm here.”

The great black dog licked Storm's whiskers. “That's good,” she murmured in her deep, soothing voice. “You have grown up to be so strong and courageous. We are all so proud of you.”

Storm no longer looked like a deadly attack-dog. She seemed to shrink before Lucky's eyes, turning into the fragile pup called Lick, eager to prove herself, yearning for love. “It's only because you believe in me,” she whined.

Martha's eyes sparkled. “Continue to be loyal—to be the strong and kind dog I know you are.”

“I learned that from you,” Storm told her. “You have always been like a Mother-Dog to me. I need you here, I need you to remind me.”

“You don't need reminding. The strength and kindness are in you.” Martha's eyes began to close.

Lucky quivered with sadness, an ache tightening in his throat. He watched helplessly as panic crossed Storm's face and she nudged the great dog with her nose.

Martha opened her eyes slowly. Her voice was light as the swirling snow. “I'll be with River-Dog now, I will be free . . . and I will always watch over you and the rest of the Pack.” Her tail gave a jerk and settled on the snow as her eyes fell shut for the final time.

With a piercing howl, Storm leaped to her paws. “This is Blade's doing! Her fault, all of it!” Before Lucky could stop her, she had spun around and leaped over the edge of the bank. She landed on the frozen river, sliding out into the center on braced legs. Her eyes were furious, her hackles high. “Where are you, Blade, you pathetic coward? Come and face me, if you dare!”

The dogs rushed to the riverbank
. The Fierce and Wild Packs snapped and snarled at each other, but the real fighting stopped as they jostled to see Storm. Thorn started climbing over the edge, onto the frozen ice.

“We'll help!” she yapped.

Beetle scrambled after her. “You don't need to fight alone!”

“I do,” Storm barked. “Get back on the bank—
please
. I know you mean well, but this isn't your battle.”

Reluctantly the young dogs turned and climbed back onto the snowcapped bank, where Moon was waiting anxiously.

Lucky squeezed a path between the Packs. “The ice . . . it could crack! You don't have to do this, Storm!”

Storm showed no hint of fear. She stood glaring at the bank. “I
do
have to, Lucky,” she replied. “It's time to settle this fight, once and for all.”

Blade sauntered along the riverbank, ignoring Martha's prone body. Her eyes were fixed on Storm. “Finally the pup has the honor to confront me. I thought you would try to run away forever.”

A hush fell over the dogs lined up along the bank.

Storm's muzzle wrinkled. “I have been longing for this moment. It is time for you to pay for what you did to my litter-brothers—time to avenge Martha, my Mother-Dog, and all the other dogs you killed without a moment of remorse.”

Blade took a step onto the frozen river. The ice creaked beneath her paw, and Lucky's ears flicked back as he wondered if it would hold her weight. It must have been frozen solid—it held fast as Blade crept closer to Storm until the two Fierce Dogs were squared up to each other.

Blade made the first move. She lunged at Storm and their bodies slammed together. The two dogs skidded on the ice and rolled into a frenzied tussle. The dogs along the bank started barking and snarling, calling out support for Storm or Blade.

Lucky pressed his forepaws deep into the snowy bank, his whole body throbbing with tension. The sky was silvery, and the snow was still falling so hard that it was difficult to see what was happening. Blade had pushed Storm down onto the ice and was bearing down on her, snapping at her face. Then Storm scrambled free, sliding over the ice and tripping Blade off her hind legs with the swipe of a paw so the bigger dog fell with a thud.

Lucky's ears pricked up. He'd spotted a flash of a familiar gray pelt stalking through the snow by the rocky outcrop.
What's our old Alpha up to?

As Lucky watched, the dog-wolf looped through a patch of heavy snowfall along a ridge
of rock, approaching the edge of the frozen river farther downstream.
He's trying to creep up on Storm and Blade.

The other dogs hadn't noticed, focusing on the fight ahead. At this distance, the dog-wolf was almost invisible through the blizzard, but Lucky could make out a faint movement of gray fur as the half wolf edged closer to the tussle, keeping low to the ground.

With a vicious jerk of her head, Storm ripped off one of Blade's pointed ears. Blade howled in pain and head-butted Storm, sending the young dog spinning across the ice toward the rocks.

Suddenly the dog-wolf leaped from the rocks onto Storm's back, angling his long muzzle to bite down on her throat.

Lucky's world froze as he stared from the riverbank. Blade was rearing on the ice, Storm buckling beneath the half wolf's grip. In that instant, no dog moved. Even the snow seemed to stop falling, each flake suspended and glinting like clear-stone. Terror surged through Lucky.
This isn't how it's supposed to be!
The final battle between Blade and Storm would be cut short—the young dog would fall because of a cowardly attack. Martha and Splash would have died for nothing.

Blade will win the Storm of Dogs.

A light seemed to rise through the icy air, the last sparkle of the Sun-Dog outlining the trees of the forest.
He was there all along—the Spirit Dogs never deserted us.
Clarity came to Lucky. He knew what he had to do.

This
is my duty.

The dogs along the bank were barking again, the snow was falling, and their old Alpha was peeling back his lips, preparing to bite. In an instant Lucky was flying over the edge of the bank, skidding onto the ice. He threw all his weight against his old Alpha, knocking the half wolf off Storm's back. The Storm of Dogs would be a fair fight—whatever happened now.

The wolf-dog landed hard but rolled back to his feet, spitting with anger. “City Rat! Will I never be rid of you?” He lunged at Lucky's injured leg, but Lucky threw himself forward,
fighting harder than he had in his life. His teeth snapped feverishly until he found flesh. He bit hard, then drew back before the dog-wolf could strike, starting forward, then ducking away, doing his best to confuse his opponent.

The dog-wolf's eyes flashed. “I am stronger than you. I will win, and you will die out here on the ice, far from your city and your begging and tricks.”

Anger flared in Lucky's heart.
He wants tricks? I'll show him tricks!
As the half wolf started to rush forward, Lucky gave a yelp and folded onto one side. He whimpered, cringing away from the dog-wolf. He heard the Wild Pack barking desperately.

Mickey's voice rose over the other dogs. “Leave him alone! This isn't fair!”

“Not even fit to fight,” the half wolf mocked.

Lucky, seeing him drop his guard, sprang forward, sinking his teeth into the dog-wolf's flank and biting down with all his might. “Fitter than you think!” Lucky snarled as he released and lunged again.

The old Alpha howled in shock and pain. He struggled to get up, but his long legs skidded and he fell, striking his head on the ice.

He tried to rise again, but his feet slid, and he fell back upon the ice. Lucky stood over him, and the dog-wolf cowered. “Mercy,” he begged, his voice cracking. “I should never have sided with the Fierce Dogs. Don't kill me!”

The dogs along the bank were barking wildly. Most of their words were lost in the ruckus, but Lucky heard Bella's voice. “You can't trust him!”

Lucky hesitated. The dog-wolf didn't deserve his compassion, but he looked so pitiful, collapsed on the ice. Lucky felt the rage drain from his body. He shook his fur and narrowed his eyes. “Run away and never show your face again, not here, or our camp, not in the forest or by the banks of the Endless Lake. If you promise to disappear for good, I will let you live.”

“I promise!” the half wolf spluttered. “You won't see me again.” He struggled to his paws and turned to go. Lucky sighed deeply, then remembered Storm and turned to see that she and Blade were fighting again. Through the tumbling snow they were a blur of dark pelts,
their blood vivid red on the ice.

Then pain tore through Lucky's shoulder. Lucky gasped with shock—the dog-wolf had bitten down into his flesh. Lucky spun sharply, throwing his opponent over his shoulder.

His old Alpha crashed against the ice with a snapping sound, his head rolling at a strange angle. He lay still, and after a moment of hesitation—was this another trick?—Lucky moved forward to sniff at the half wolf. His neck had broken on impact . . . he was dead.