The Empty City (22 page)

He thought of the challenges they'd faced together, the small achievements of every day as they learned to fend for themselves. He thought of Daisy's mole, and her pride and pleasure as she'd presented it to him.... The way that Martha had launched herself into the river to rescue her friend. How Mickey had helped to herd his friends out of the city.

Lucky's decision was made.

He pressed close to the wall as he rounded the end of it, then raced across the last stretch of open ground. Blood thundering in his veins, he huddled against the wall beneath a barred, cracked window, panting as quietly as he could. He couldn't let the Fierce Dogs smell him, or hear his thrashing heart.

Then, for an instant, he thought his heart had stopped. The Alpha Fierce Dog, her voice as silky as it was vicious, was growling at her captives.

“Where is the other dog?”

Lucky's blood ran cold, and his skin tightened. The
other
dog?

He heard Bella's submissive whine, her frightened protestation. But the Alpha wasn't interested in denial. “You know very well, Pet Dog. The one like you.
Where is he?
”

“I don't know who you mean …” whined Bella, then gave a yelp of shock as jaws snapped audibly.

“Oh yes, you do …” snarled another Fierce Dog.

Lucky, listening beneath the window, was stiff with horror. The knot of fear in his belly had swollen till it felt as if it filled his whole body.

They can smell me!

The Fierce Dogs hadn't spotted him but they knew he was here anyway; they'd picked out his scent from the other dogs and matched it to that of his litter-sister. These terrifying hounds must have stronger noses than any dog Lucky had ever known. How was he supposed to rescue his friends now?

The big house was raised farther
off the ground than the low doghouses that surrounded it, and a flight of wooden steps led up to the main door. They were the best cover Lucky could hope for just now, and he crouched beneath them, ears pricked for the first hint that he'd been discovered. He'd taken care to roll in some mess that he'd found in the grass—at least now he would smell of the Fierce Dogs. He hoped the deception would be enough.

He wondered what chance he'd have if they did detect him. He certainly couldn't outfight them, or even stare them into a stalemate. Could he hope to outrun them? Sweet could, if she were here. Despair gnawed at his guts.
I'd be caught and torn to pieces before I was halfway across the grass
.

He'd waited for hours now, as the sky darkened and the air cooled and the moon rose, and still he didn't see what he was going to do. He knew his friends had been fed a little; he'd heard the Fierce Dogs carry in bowls of food and drop them, clattering, to the floor, dry nuggets spilling and rolling. He knew, too, that they were held captive in a tiny room, with a guard at all times—and he knew it was small because he'd heard Daisy's muted whine of complaint. If Daisy thought it was cramped, he dreaded to think how Bella was feeling. He had to do something soon, but his head seemed—for the first time in his life—completely empty. He had no ideas, no ways out. No crafty tricks. It was as if he'd never been a Lone Dog in control of his own destiny.

But I
was
a Lone Dog
, he told himself.
And I was the
best.

He felt as if the Forest-Dog was whispering in his ear, steeling his dog-spirit. Yes, he'd need cunning and stealth, and those were the gifts of the Forest-Dog. Breathing quietly, Lucky shut his eyes and begged.

The Fierce Dogs hadn't spoken much to their prisoners—only to order them around—but they did talk to one another when they prowled outside the house or stood sentry in the deepening darkness. Their actions were precise and controlled, and they seemed to anticipate one another's movements. They were frighteningly disciplined, and they never relaxed their vigilance for a moment. These must have been the prized Fierce Dogs of their disappeared longpaws. Lucky shuddered, remembering with dread his few previous encounters with dogs like these. The only sensible thing to do, ever, was run....

But Bella, Daisy, and Alfie didn't have that option. So Lucky wouldn't run, either. In the shadow of the steps, barely daring to breathe, he lay and listened.

Three of the Fierce Dogs came out of the big house. Lucky shrank back, hoping they wouldn't see him, but they didn't come down the steps. They sat above him, unseen, talking in loud sneering voices about their captives.

“We should kill them, Blade,” grumbled one of the three, staring out at the huge moon. They were so close; Lucky struggled to keep his breathing silent and his heart steady in his ribs.

“Dagger's right,” growled the second. “We should leave their bodies by the fence, so no one else will dare trespass. And besides, they're too much trouble.”

“And they eat,” added Dagger. “A
lot
. They're as greedy as if every meal could be their last. A waste of rations is what they are. Pathetic mutts.”

“Or we could give them a beating and send them on their way,” said the other, with less enthusiasm. “It would be another kind of warning. They'd be sure to spread the word.”

“They're not going anywhere.” The third dog, the one they'd called Blade, growled her opinion. Lucky recognized her silken voice—she was the Alpha. “Not until they tell us how they found us and how they got in. They're all sticking to this story about jumping the fence, but I don't believe it, do you, Mace?”

“Don't worry, Blade. We'll get the truth out of them,” said Mace darkly. “They'll be sorry they ever tried to steal from us.”

“Indeed,” growled Blade smugly. “I imagine it won't take long to persuade the mangy little mutt. And she'll tell us where the fourth dog is, too. I know he's here somewhere—I can scent him.”

Beneath them, Lucky shut his eyes, trying to summon the nerve to act. These glossy, terrifying dogs might be ferocious and ruthless, but they weren't the brightest of creatures. If he'd been in Blade's position, he'd have thought of a hole in the fence as soon as Bella told her ridiculous lie, and sent one of their patrols out to check. It would've been sealed and safe by now.

As he'd expected, the guile of the Forest-Dog would be his salvation—if there was any salvation to be had.

Stealthily he crept out from his hiding place under the steps. He could hear the Fierce Dogs muttering above him, secure in the knowledge that their captives weren't going anywhere. One of them rose and stretched—Lucky heard his claws click and scratch on the wood—and he stopped still. But the dog settled again, grunting and sighing.

It was a nerve-shattering task to cross the grass, moving silently between the shadows. Lucky placed each paw carefully, praying to the Forest-Dog that they wouldn't catch a stronger whiff of his scent—not just yet.

He was a little more than halfway to the fence when he stopped, breathing in and out, calming his jangling nerves. Was this far enough? If he went too far, they wouldn't be tempted to come after him; on the other hand, he had no desire to misjudge the distance, and end up in a Fierce Dog's jaws....

I can do this
. Hunching his shoulders, filling his lungs, he gave a wild, deafening bark, and leaped into the air. Spinning, he dropped to all fours, then dashed in a circle, halted, and howled.

The Fierce Dogs got to their feet, staring at him in the moonlight, but they looked too dumbfounded to move for a moment. At his howl, more Fierce Dogs stuck their heads out of the house. Lucky lifted his head and howled again, the sound cutting through the still night air. “Hey,
stupid
!”

Blade lowered her head, snarling, but she only raised a paw, hesitating. Clearly his behavior was too frenzied not to raise her suspicions.

“Mad dogs, sad dogs, stupid crazy bad dogs!
Ha!
” Lucky racked his brains for the worst street insults he could remember from his days in the city. “Your mothers had worms! Your fathers were
foxes
!”

“You little—” roared Dagger, but Lucky barked over him, well into his stride by now.

“You were born in spoil-boxes! You taste so bad, the fleas spit you out! Your mothers were tailless!
You hear me, mange-breeders?
Your fathers licked sharpclaw spit!”

They sprang at him, howling with rage. Lucky hesitated only for an instant, his eyes wide as they raced across the grass, drool flying from their jaws. The insults had done their work, and all of them were after him.

Good!

And … bad!

Lucky spun on his hind legs, and ran as fast as he could.

He raced for the fence, doubled back, spun, and dodged—just as one snapped its teeth close to his tail. They were fast, but Lucky knew that his insults had upset them. They lunged for him angrily, more erratically than a Pack of Fierce Dogs should. This gave Lucky an advantage. His biggest advantage, though, was his fear of the Fierce Dogs. It made him dodge and duck and fly. Panting, he hurtled along the fence away from the hole Daisy had scratched out. He had to draw them farther away. Hopefully his friends had heard the commotion.
Now, Forest-Dog
, he thought,
please let Bella be smart enough to make a move....

Lucky slid to a halt on his haunches, tumbled into a quick reverse, and bolted between two pursuing Fierce Dogs. They were enraged now, howling with hate. Saliva from snapping jaws whipped across Lucky's face and he ran again, his heart in his throat.

He was running out of ideas, and they were getting wise to him. Maybe it was time to make his own escape? If he could just dodge through the bushes, keep ahead of them long enough to reach the hole under the fence—

Oh no!

Lucky bounced off wire he hadn't seen in the dark, shocked enough to slide onto his flank. Sure enough, the fence took a sharp turn here, right in front of him.

As he scrambled to all fours, shaking and gasping for breath, the semicircle of Fierce Dogs hemmed him in.

He blinked and panted, staring wildly at the sleek Fierce Dogs. They were calm and controlled now, muscles bunched as they regained their discipline and formed a moving, snarling trap around him. Slowly, slowly, they stalked forward, stiff-legged, fearsome teeth bared. In the darkness their eyes glinted with hatred.

“Who's clever now, stinking mongrel?” snarled Mace.

Fur bristling, Lucky backed up till he could go no farther, the wire of the fence biting painfully into his haunches.

But that was nothing. There would be worse biting in a minute, far worse. These savage dogs were going to rip him to pieces, limb by limb.

“Blade! Blade!”

Blade's elegant head snapped around, and Lucky realized, with a chill in his blood, that although there were several Fierce Dogs waiting to kill him, one seemed to be missing. Despite her fury, Blade must have sent one of them back to check on the prisoners. And now …?

“They're gone, Blade! The prisoners are
gone
.”

Blade whipped her attention back to Lucky, her muzzle curling back from her white, deadly teeth. Unable to help himself, Lucky shrank against the fence, shivering.

“Where are your friends?” the Alpha hissed. “Are they still in the compound?”