The Healer

by Kevin Hensley

  Dreamer shook her head. “What you did was for a good cause. Look, I believe Ponder and Mauler were sent here for a purpose. If it wasn’t for Durdge finding them, they’d still be locked up in that little underground room, never getting a chance to do whatever they’re here to do. Everything is happening the way it is for a reason.”

  Snapper felt himself getting frustrated again. “Does that keep you from being afraid for your dad? For Caper and Boxer? Does it justify what was done to my dad? What’s being done to our people?”

  “Not at all,” Dreamer countered. “What I mean is, I think the best way to help them is to work hard at seeing this thing through. All of those bad things you mentioned are the effects of one big problem—the pigs in power being abusive. And I think Ponder might be right. She and Mauler could be the solution to that problem.”

  “How do we…”

  Mauler was making a lot of noise as he repositioned himself on the branch several times. Snapper threw him a withering look before continuing.

  “How do we know there’s anything to see through? Your dad didn’t want to help us. He didn’t give us any direction like we had hoped.”

  Dreamer’s eyes sparkled as she gave him an indulgent smirk. “That’s where you’re wrong. He did help us. He gave me and Ponder a great idea.”

  “Oh, yeah. You were about to tell me something before the dogs came after us. Well, what have you got?”

  Dreamer smiled. “My dad said it. ‘Go back where you came from.’ He meant for Ponder and Mauler to go away. But really going back where they came from would mean returning to the shrines where they first appeared.”

  Snapper tried to sound encouraged. “You think they’ll find some answers there?”

  “Ponder thinks so. When I was digging around in her mind, I found a directive from Optera that she had forgotten. I told you, remember? ‘When you are ready, we will meet.’ I think that’s what she meant. But since we’re here, I think we should go to the Karkus shrine first.”

  Snapper wanted to answer, but he was again distracted. “Mauler, buddy. What are you doing? I thought we were trying to hide.”

  “I am looking. Listening.”

  “Can you try to relax? You can sit still and do those things.”

  Mauler fixed his wide eyes on Snapper. “Can’t relax.”

  “Why?”

  “No Ponder.”

  Snapper’s temper rose and he opened his mouth to speak.

  Dreamer was quicker to the punch. “She’ll be fine, Mauler. Please. The best thing we can do is stay in one place until we’re sure it’s safe to move around. She’ll find us. Remember, she’s always poking around in my brain.”

  Mauler did not seem convinced, but he settled down.

  Snapper turned over the day’s events in his head. “Look, I think your plan is a good one. I’m sorry I’m being so negative. I’m discouraged. My father’s murderer was right there in front of me. And I was no match for him.”

  Dreamer set her jaw. “Scurvert does what he wants and he has the power of the law at his beck and call. There’s not much a sheep can do against that. Trust me, I had to come to terms with it too.”

  Snapper rolled his eyes at himself. “I tried to bite him.”

  “Yeah, I saw. Why bite?”

  “I have no idea. As a young kid my dad told me I would never have horns, so I stopped wishing I could be a ram. I started pretending I could grow up to be a dog instead. Imagining that my sheep’s body was just a disguise, which would someday fall off to reveal I was really a dog. Even now, I guess when I get desperate I forget my place and fall back into that. It would be good to have real teeth.”

  Dreamer shrugged. “Well, sorry, but that’s not going to happen.”

  “I know that.”

  She looked over at Mauler again. “Maybe that’s why we have him. His strength has saved our hides more than once already.”

  Snapper also cast a look at their hairy companion. “I catch myself feeling jealous of Mauler. If our places were traded, if I had the body he has…”

  “Then he’d have healed my scars, you’d be over there by yourself, and he’d be the one right here next to me.” Dreamer stuck her tongue out at him and smiled gently.

  Snapper laughed. “Alright, fair point.” He leaned into her. “There are perks to being me.”

  She stiffened. “Wait. Something’s wrong.”

  “What?”

  “In my head… there’s fear. Frantic emotions. It’s my mental connection to Ponder. I think she’s in trouble.”

  “OK. Keep quiet until we know more. Mauler will flip if he finds out.”

  “I’ll try.”

  A rustling below brought their discussion to a halt. Mauler sat up straight, sniffing the air. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and a deep growl came from his chest.

  Someone was approaching the tree.

  Chapter 80

  The footsteps were getting closer. And it wasn’t just one person. The sound was coming from all around them. Snapper’s heart was pounding so hard he was afraid it could be heard for miles. Mauler coiled himself up, preparing to get the drop on anyone who walked under his branch.

  “Here they are!” someone shouted. “Don’t get too close. Mauler is in the tree!”

  Dreamer huddled close to Snapper. “How did they find us?” she whispered.

  Mauler flexed his forearms, extending his claws to their full length. The footsteps stopped. The only sound was a tiny scratching in the leaves above Snapper’s head. He stood and whirled around.

  “Mrs. Flaxer!” he gasped.

  “Thank goodness we’ve found you,” she chittered. “I’m tearing my feathers out over here. Ponder is in the middle of a panic attack because we couldn’t find Mauler fast enough.”

  “But she’s alright?” Dreamer asked.

  “She’s fine otherwise. She’s close by. But look who else we found. Let’s get down from here.”

  Mauler reluctantly picked up the two sheep and carried them to the ground with him. He set them in the dirt and took a deep breath. “Dogs,” he growled. “One of them smells familiar.”

  “That’s right,” said Mrs. Flaxer. “Come on out, everyone.”

  No less than fifteen dogs emerged from the underbrush in a circle around the tree. Snapper’s heart raced all over again when he realized he recognized some of them.

  They each wore a Tooth & Claw pendant.

  Chapter 81

  Snapper and Dreamer stood off to one side with Ponder and the Flaxers, watching in silence as Boxer’s students gazed at Mauler with nervous reverence. Berger was there. So were Ledger and Tuxer. Most of the students were older, like Boxer himself, past their prime but still formidable.

  “Look at that,” someone said in wonder.

  “I never got to see him up close.”

  The dignified Great Dane stepped forward out of the assembly, his head held low. “Mauler, my name is Ledger. The dogs did not treat you well when you first arrived here. We had no understanding of what you were. Boxer alone did. He believed in what you are, so we also believe. We’re here because we consider him the true leader of dogs. Berger rallied us all as soon as we heard you were in the woods. On behalf of the men in front of you, I want to apologize for your treatment.”

  The muscled creature nodded slowly, but Snapper could clearly see that he was not impressed. “No apology,” Mauler said in a low growl. “Make it right. Help me. To help Boxer.”

  Ledger returned the nod. “That is our plan. Tell us what you need.”

  “I am going back where I came from.”

  “You mean the shrine? Where we first saw you?”

  “Yes.”

  Berger spoke up. “That will not be easy. The bunker that covers the entrance is under heavy guard. Even if we get through, the Doberman twins protecting the shrine are tougher than any other dog, except perhaps Boxer and the General.”

  Ledger glanced at him, a smirk creeping up his wrinkled brown face. “T
his will be a challenge. I’m all for it.”

  “Would someone mind explaining what we’re getting into here?” Snapper cut in.

  “Certainly,” said Ledger. He used a claw to draw a pair of paw-sized squares in the dirt, about a foot apart. He pointed to one square. “This is the bunker Berger mentioned. It’s in a clearing about a mile from here, right next to our HoundBlood arena. We’ll need to get past quite a few guards to get inside. Once we’ve done that, we’ll take a staircase straight down into the ground.”

  Ledger then drew a line from one square to the other. “The tunnel runs straight north and ends under Fleece City. The shrine is a massive cavern where the inner fire of the planet comes to the surface. The final gate is protected by a pair of well-trained ceremonial guards who are very selective about who may go through.”

  “That shrine sounds incredibly dangerous,” Dreamer commented.

  Ledger smiled. “It is set far out of the way so no one will go there unless they’re dedicated to braving its hazards for the glory of Karkus.”

  “Lead us,” Mauler said.

  “These woods are crawling with hunting parties. We’ll have to pretend to be one. All of you stay in the middle of us dogs until we get where we’re going.”

  The group snuck through the trees and around the village until they came to the clearing. The bunker and the HoundBlood arena both stood in near darkness, lit only by a spare few torches near the road. Rough-looking dogs walked around at regular intervals, their ears held high.

  Ledger sent Tuxer, the salt-and-pepper greyhound, to scout the clearing. Snapper and the others waited in silence, eyes and ears scanning in all directions for the six or seven minutes before Tuxer returned.

  “I count nine guards,” he reported.

  “Good,” Ledger replied. He selected Berger and four other dogs to escort Snapper and his companions to the bunker’s entrance.

  “Come on,” said Berger. “Stay out of the light of the torches.”

  They hunkered down in the shadows a few paces from the door and waited for the others to clear the way.

  “Wait a second…” Dreamer whispered. “Where’s Ponder?”

  Snapper looked up and swore. The wooden bird and her four little bearers were nowhere to be seen. “Nothing we can do about it yet,” he muttered. “Just wait.”

  Ledger and the other students attacked as a single unit and incapacitated the sentries.

  “Alright,” Berger said. “Let’s—”

  The sound of bounding feet stopped them in their tracks. One guard had gotten away and was tearing across the clearing.

  Berger and the other four dogs started forward. “Don’t let him howl! Every hunting party will come running!”

  But it was too late. The guard had gotten enough distance between himself and Ledger’s men to take a deep breath. He opened his mouth and tilted his head back.

  A red blur dropped out of the sky and landed on the poor watchman’s head. He hit the ground, stunned. Ponder fell to the dirt right next to him. A second later, the Flaxers descended on her and snatched her back up into the darkness as quickly as she had appeared.

  Snapper gazed after her. “Awesome.”

  Berger rushed them to the bunker’s entrance, where the other students had congregated. Tuxer hung back long enough to pull a ring of keys off the collar of one of the unconscious guards. While he was unlocking the door, Ponder rejoined the group.

  “You saved our skins,” said Dreamer.

  “I elected to do my own sweep as Tuxer was doing his,” Ponder said. “He missed guard number ten.”

  “Cut me a break, I’m old.” Tuxer grinned. A second later, he pushed the bunker’s metal door open and motioned them all inside.

  Chapter 82

  Dreamer kept close to Snapper in the cold, dark hallways of the bunker. Mauler walked in front with Ledger. Ponder and the rest of the dogs took up the rear.

  “How long do we have before the guards get help?” Dreamer asked, if only to break the silence.

  “Most of us used a sleeper hold Boxer taught us, so I estimate we have three to five minutes before one of them wakes up and sounds an alarm.” Ledger looked over his shoulder and snickered. “Except for the last fellow. Ponder absolutely cold-cocked him.”

  “I feel poorly enough about that. He was only doing his job.”

  “Whatever,” Berger growled. “Most of these cowards know what Pincher is and go along with him anyway. I sure won’t lose any sleep.”

  The hall dead-ended at another steel door. Tuxer came to the front, flipping through the key ring again.

  When he opened the door, Dreamer was hit by a surge of hot air like the breath of an enormous beast. The wall ahead was a single round shaft of roughly cut and polished stone. She stared down the gigantic spiraling stairwell plunging straight into the earth. She could not see the bottom except for a pulsing red glow.

  “Dogs first,” said Ledger. “Mauler, you and your companions next. I’ll guard the rear. When you reach the bottom of the stairs, everyone stop and wait for my instructions.”

  Berger, Tuxer, and the other dogs stepped forward to lead the way. The metal staircase wrapped around a thick metal pole running down the center of the shaft. They made their way single file.

  As they carefully descended, Dreamer became aware of a series of scattered paintings on the walls of the shaft. She realized she was looking at the very images that had been photographed for her theology textbook. They were placed at random, like graffiti, but were obviously given much care and attention. Some were crude, others abstract, still more very detailed and realistic. All of them revolved around dogs, war, flames, stone, volcanoes, and the central figure of Karkus.

  “Look,” Mauler said, pointing.

  “Giver of earth, giver of fire,” Dreamer muttered. “The Skin-Weaver. The War Hound. He who knit the tectonic plates together and turned the molten rivers into solid rock.”

  No one else said a word for a few minutes. They walked around and around in circles, straight down towards the red light. At last, Tuxer and Berger reached the flat stone ground and stopped to wait for the others.

  When Ledger stepped off the staircase, everyone else was looking at him expectantly. “Alright,” he said, “here’s how we’re going to do this. Tuxer, Berger, and… you two.”

  A pair of shepherds came forward, one tan and white and the other brown and black. Aside from their coloration, they looked like brothers.

  “You four,” said Ledger, “will lead with Mauler. Once you get within a hundred yards of that gate, all five of you run as hard and as fast as you can to take the pair of Dobermans by surprise. Dogs, attack them two on one and do not let them close the gate. Mauler, your job is to run right through and into the shrine. The rest of us will hang back and do anything we can to stall Pincher’s men. They cannot be far behind.”

  Mauler, Tuxer, Berger, and the two shepherd brothers moved into position. Everyone else gathered in the middle of the tunnel.

  Dreamer squinted, trying to see the gate ahead. The pulsating red glow was coming from the far end of the tunnel, but it did not light the place enough for her to see very far.

  Ledger took a deep breath. “Go.”

  A burst of noise erupted through the tunnel. It did not come from their group. Dreamer spun around and tried to look up the stairs. She could not see anyone in the dim light, but she could sure hear them. Angry dogs. Lots of them.

  Snapper grabbed the fur on Mauler’s neck and pulled him so they were face to face.

  “Run,” the sheep ordered. “This is the time to do what my dad said. Use all of your strength. Don’t turn back for us. Not even Ponder. We can only get out of this if you reach the shrine. Run as hard as you can and let nothing stop you. Do you understand?”

  Mauler looked down the tunnel. “Run.”

  Chapter 83

  “Go with him!” Ledger shouted. “Mauler cannot face the ceremonial guards alone!”

  Snapper, Dreamer, an
d Ponder rushed ahead. Tuxer and Berger followed with the shepherd brothers, leaving the rest of the dogs to slow the pursuers down.

  With his dead run, which was more like a series of twenty-foot leaps, Mauler easily gained ground on everyone else.

  The echoing snarls doubled in intensity as the first of Pincher’s men caught up to them.

  “Traitors!” one of them shouted. “Boxer’s students have turned on us!”

  “No surprise,” said another. “Let’s take their hides as a trophy for the General.”

  Snapper came to a sliding stop and turned around to fight, but Ledger ran into him and shoved him along. “Go with Mauler! We’ll hold them off for as long as we can.”

  “What’s going to happen to you?” Snapper called out as Dreamer dragged him away.

  “If our mission is accomplished,” Ledger managed to say as he was beset by three of the village dogs, “that won’t matter! Now go!”

  Snapper and Dreamer left him behind to try to catch up with their companion. The sounds of aggressive dogs rose to a deafening crescendo. Snapper realized the students had been quickly overwhelmed and now the hunting party was gaining on them.

  “We are almost there,” Ponder called out, flying ahead of them near the ceiling of the tunnel. “We have traveled over half the distance to Fleece City from our starting point.”

  Snapper heard her but was focused on running his hardest. His chest was tightening and he felt a cramp of pain with every breath.

  “Three quarters of the distance now.”

  Then Snapper was hit and thrown off his feet. No less than six dogs surrounded him, piling on top of him. He saw the same thing happen to Dreamer.

  Up above, Ponder doubled back. “Do not hurt them!” she shrieked. The Flaxers dove down, picking up speed and preparing to use Ponder’s heavy body as a battering ram.

  “Leave them!” A thunderous voice brought everyone to a halt. The dogs around Snapper put their ears back and ducked down at the command. “They don’t matter. Catch the Mauler!”

  Snapper was suddenly released and the crowd of dogs passed him by. Now he was able to see who had shouted. The dog striding imperiously down the middle of the tunnel was so massive, he stood a head taller than Boxer. His ears pointed straight up and his face was pitted with a horrid scar. He wore an expensive, studded medal on a tooled leather collar.