Storm of Dogs (8 page)

A snarl echoed along the passageway. “I knew it. You dogs are too loyal and too foolish to keep away.”

Lucky and the others turned to see the sharp outline of Blade's pointed ears. She stood farther down the corridor, her Pack lined up in orderly rows behind her. Their coats shimmered wetly.
They must have rolled in water from the Endless Lake,
Lucky realized.
That's why we couldn't smell them.

Sweet threw a look at the jagged rock bowl, then back toward the Fierce Dogs. “We have to run straight at them,” she murmured. “There's a place to turn along the passage in front of them—a sort of side tunnel. If we surprise the Fierce Dogs by running at them, we can turn into it before they know what's happening. We can give ourselves a head start.”

Bella gave a quick nod. “We'll have to be fast to reach it before they do.”

Lucky stiffened, preparing to follow. He still felt giddy, and his legs trembled with cold and fatigue.
I'm not sure I
can
run.

There was no time to share his worries. Sweet burst forward, pounding toward the Fierce Dogs. Blade's jaw dropped in surprise as the swift-dog flew toward her along the tunnel. Bella and Storm scampered after their Alpha, and Lucky followed, struggling to command his shaking legs. It was impossible for any of them to keep up with Sweet, but he was falling behind badly.

“Prepare to die, bully dogs!” Sweet bluffed.

Looking up ahead, he could see confusion cross Blade's face.
She doesn't know what Sweet's planning to do—she hasn't guessed yet. She can't believe a Wild Dog would dare attack her in front of her Pack.
Blade's confusion gave the swift-dog the advantage. Sweet looked as if she was about to throw herself at Blade, but instead she changed direction and sprang down the side tunnel, away from the Fierce Dogs.

Blade's eyes widened with rage. “After them!” she barked.

The Fierce Dogs charged. They were powering down the passageway straight at Bella, Storm, and Lucky.

“Do what you like to the Mongrel Rats!” cried Blade. “But don't let the pup go!
I want the pup!
”

Bella had picked up pace. She turned the corner and disappeared down the side tunnel, reaching it before the Fierce Dogs. Storm was not far behind Bella, and Lucky was fighting to stay with her, tripping on his exhausted legs.
We have to follow Sweet and Bella into the side tunnel before Blade reaches it!
He gritted his teeth and ran through the pain. He found he was gaining on Storm.
She's slowing down,
he realized with surprise.
Why would she . . . ?

A tremor of fear ran through him as he realized Storm
wanted
the Fierce Dogs to catch up with her.
She doesn't want to run—she wants to fight!

Somehow this thought gave Lucky the surge he needed to catch up with Storm. “Come with me!” he barked. “We need to stay with Sweet. We haven't gone this far to fail now!” He caught her eye and saw rage there.

“I have a score to settle with Blade!” she snarled.

“Now is not the time for that! There's too many of them! Do you want Sweet and Bella to get hurt? Do you want to die yourself?” With a wince he forced himself to run faster, doing his best to ignore the pain in his forepaw. To his relief, Storm drew up alongside him, picking up speed. They scrambled into the side tunnel just ahead of the furious Fierce Dogs.

We're going to make it!
thought Lucky with a burst of elation.

But something was wrong. Sweet and Bella had stopped up ahead. Lucky and Storm slammed to a halt, panting heavily.

Lucky squinted through the gloom. His heart thumped, and his tail was stiff behind him. He could see the thick shapes of three Fierce Dogs. Their heavy collars glinted at their necks—all except the middle dog, who wasn't wearing one. He was smaller than the others, barely more than a puppy, but his thickly muscled body made him look much older. Lucky recognized the roughly cut ears—torn by the teeth of another dog.
Fang
. . .

He heard the scuffle of paws and turned to see Blade and the rest of her Pack. It was no use—there was nowhere left to run.

Storm's hackles rose and she dropped her head, a growl in her throat. Ignoring her littermate, she squared up to Blade. “This is how you act, with trickery and deceit!” she barked. “You're not even brave enough for a fair fight.” She took a step toward the Fierce Dog Alpha, but Sweet and Bella leaped in front of her, blocking her way.

“Stay calm,” urged Sweet in a low voice.

Storm's voice quivered with rage. “I should have known. The leader of the Fierce Dogs is nothing but a
pathetic coward!
”

Blade became very still, her eyes wide with outrage. “You run with the Mongrel Rats!” she spat. “How dare
you
accuse
me
of dishonor?”

Lucky licked Storm's ear, trying to coax her to keep calm. “Blade wants you to fight,” he reminded her. Then he remembered what the Fierce Dog Alpha had told him.

A young Fierce Dog will bring about the final battle, the one that will tear the sky in two and fill the world with snow and blood.

Fear crept along Lucky's spine. Blade didn't want Storm to fight—she wanted her to
die
.

The leader of the Fierce Dogs lifted her muzzle. “Fang, get over here,” she snapped. “By my side, you'll have the best view of your litter-sister's death.”

The young Fierce Dog gave a quick nod. He started limping toward Blade, pressing between Sweet and Bella. He passed his litter-sister, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

Lucky couldn't help feeling sorry for Fang, despite everything. He remembered the spirited, bright-eyed pup that he and Mickey had rescued from the Dog-Garden. Fang was nothing like that anymore—his skin hung loosely in rolls of fur, and the deep bite marks were raw. Every movement seemed to cause the young dog pain.
They've destroyed him,
thought Lucky, sorrow running through him to the tip of his tail.
If only he'd stayed with us.

Fang limped up to Blade and sat awkwardly by her side. The Alpha's eyes glinted in the half-light as she ran a tongue over her jagged teeth.

Lucky sighed.
He wanted to be with his own kind. Even after he saw Blade kill Wiggle.
Lucky's muscles tensed. Why
had
Blade kept Fang alive?
He was born after the Big Growl, just like his littermates.

Lucky frowned, his skin crawling as he remembered what Blade had said before—about how she would make Fang's death quick. She had not yet “put down” Storm, but Blade had never been one to ignore an opportunity to cause destruction whenever it suited her.

“Fang!” Lucky barked urgently. “Run! Get out of here!”

Before the young Fierce Dog could react, Blade swung around without warning and sank her teeth into Fang's throat, ripping the fur away savagely. Fang's blood spurted from his throat in wide arcs, splashing against the walls of the tunnel. A horrible gurgling sound came from the pulsing red tear. The young dog jerked and thrashed, collapsing onto his side. His back legs pumped and his forepaws scraped the tunnel wall, red with his own blood.

Storm gave a horrified yelp, but for a moment, no other dog made a sound.

Lucky was frozen to the spot, watching with horror as Fang started trembling violently, the way Terror used to when he claimed he had visions from the Spirit Dogs. But the young Fierce Dog wasn't having visions.

Fang was dying.

Blade loomed over him triumphantly.

Every dog was stunned by what they were seeing. The Fierce Dogs stood silently as the dogs from the Wild Pack cringed with fear. But Blade was victorious. She shoved Fang
toward the wall with her strong paw and started licking the blood off her coat. Fang shook violently, his eyes rolling back so they looked smooth and white as the Moon-Dog. With a last gurgle, his head lolled and his body fell still.

“You killed him,” Lucky gasped. “He was loyal to you—and you
killed him
.”

Blade slammed down her paw. “This has
nothing
to do with loyalty. I am saving every dog—you should be grateful!” She cast a sharp look at her own Pack. “The Spirit Dogs have spoken. The pups born after the Growl came must be put down. Now, all but one of them has.” Blade's eyes were wild. She licked the last of Fang's blood off her dark whiskers. The Fierce Dog Alpha stared at Storm. “It is time to put an end to this. It is time for the last of the pups to die.”

Lucky moved to block Blade's path. He glanced back warily at Storm.

The shock was dissolving from the young Fierce Dog's face, and instead her muzzle twisted with anger as she lifted her gaze from the bloodied body of her litter-brother. Butting Lucky out of the way with her powerful muscles, she charged at Blade.

Blade dropped her head, preparing to run at Storm. Then she looked up quite unexpectedly. “Something's happening!” she breathed.

Storm had stopped in her tracks, her head whipping left and right.

Lucky could feel it too. The air was shivering, and the urge to run was almost unbearable. His fur tingled and he looked to Sweet. The swift-dog's jaw fell open and her eyes grew round. “It's like in the Trap House, just before the walls started shaking.”

Mace shrank against the wall, and Dagger whined like a pup. “It's like before! When the longpaws left!”

“What is it?” barked Storm. She stared down at her paws. “It feels like Earth-Dog is shaking her fur! Is she angry? Is she sick?” She sprang back, turning to Lucky. “Why does every dog seem to know what's going on except me?”

“Because it's happened before,” murmured Lucky. Of course Storm couldn't know—she'd been born after the Big Growl. She had heard about it, but she couldn't have guessed how it felt. There was no time to explain. He whispered urgently to Sweet and
Bella, “We need to get out while the Fierce Dogs are distracted.” Sweet burst forward first, her light paws pounding a path over the trembling ground. Bella ran after her, zigzagging past the Fierce Dogs, who were too stunned to stop her. Lucky gave Storm a shove. “Run!” He didn't wait for her reply as he charged along the tunnel and was relieved to hear her pounding pawsteps behind him.

The ground still quivered beneath their paws. “Earth-Dog has spoken!” barked Blade. “This is a warning—she will send the Big Growl to destroy us all if the pup escapes!”

Lucky threw a look over his shoulder. Mace was sniffing the ground, his thin tail clinging to his leg. Dagger started along the tunnel after the Wild Dogs but paused, one paw suspended in front of him. “The air is trembling!” he whined.

“I don't care what the air is doing! Get the pup!” howled Blade, but her Pack recoiled in fear.

They're not coming after us!
thought Lucky with a surge of relief. It gave him the energy to push on. Turning back to Storm and gritting his teeth against the pain in his paw, he hurried to bound alongside her. Together, they slipped around a dark corner to see Sweet and Bella escaping through a gap in the rocks, out into the open.

Lucky and Storm burst outside, gulping the clean, cold air. Their paws skidded on the hard earth, but the ground seemed more stable now.
Maybe the Earth-Dog won't growl again after all,
thought Lucky with a quiver of hope. He ran for his life, fighting to keep up with Sweet, Bella, and Storm.

He followed the other dogs over low hedges and around sharp boulders, cutting a path along the cliff and back over the valley toward the camp. Twigs lashed at his legs, and burs clung to his tail.

Sweet had come to a halt up ahead and was waiting for Storm and Lucky to catch up. Her eyes narrowed. “I don't think we've been followed.”

“They will march straight to our camp to hunt down Storm,” Bella muttered. “Blade seemed determined. And after what she did to Fang . . .”

Lucky dipped his head, still queasy at the thought of what they'd seen.

“I'm not scared of her,” snarled Storm.

“You should be,” Bella snapped.

Sweet started for the camp. “Come on. We need to have the Pack around us—we're still isolated up here.” Her eyes fell on Lucky. “You look terrible. Hang in there, we're almost safe.”

The Sun-Dog was bounding beyond the horizon as Lucky limped into camp, propped up by Bella and Storm. Sweet had run ahead and now greeted them with Sunshine, Mickey, and Daisy, who gathered around Lucky, offering their help.

“He needs to rest!” barked Mickey, his black-and-white head cocked with concern.

“What he needs is food!” yapped Sunshine.

Daisy licked Lucky's nose. “He's so
cold!
”

Sweet barked impatiently. “Bruno! Snap! Go and get him something to eat.”

The hunt-dogs dipped their heads and bounded toward the trees as Lucky limped to his den. His body was trembling again, as it had in the cave. Deep, violent chills ran through him, and he struggled to stay upright. As he crept into the den, Bella, Sweet, and Storm squeezed themselves around him. He felt the warmth that rose from their fur, but his teeth still chattered and his body shuddered.

“You'll be okay soon,” Sweet soothed, reaching over to lick his nose.

Lucky wasn't so sure.
I was cold for so long, my blood feels like it has turned to ice. Will I ever get warm again?