The Broken Path

by Erin Hunter

  Lucky furrowed the skin above his eyes. Sure enough, the sky between the high overhead branches had darkened, and there was a chilly breath of wind between the trees.

  “Bad rain!” he growled. “It’s coming.”

  Martha was beside them now. “And we’re out here with no protection. The trees won’t help much!”

  “It’s at times like these I see why Lucky liked the city,” muttered Twitch, turning to pad back to the others. “All those places to shelter.”

  “There’s no time to get back to the Food House,” said Lucky. “Let’s find what shelter we can.”

  Just as he said it, thunder cracked above them. Lightning was playing among the Sky Dogs, and that meant rain at any moment. Uneasy, the dogs ran forward, then spun and ran back.

  “Where will we go?” barked Martha.

  Lucky looked around the shadowed trees, their branches already shifting in the rising wind. Through the pines he could make out the slope of a ferny bank; beyond that stood a broad oak, twisted with age. “Come on, this way!”

  The dogs bounded toward the bank and over the top. The roots of the ancient tree were thick, jutting from the earth, and its branches were thickly tangled.

  “This is our best chance,” barked Lucky, leading them in among the roots, close to the gnarled trunk. The dogs jostled and huddled close together, glancing up anxiously into the dark leaves above them.

  It’s as good as we can hope for, thought Lucky, so long as the rain doesn’t fall too heavily. We’ll just have to pray to the Sky-Dogs.

  Thunder crashed again, and Lucky pricked his ears as huge raindrops began to clatter on the foliage above them. The high pines roared in the storm, wind and rain howling and hissing in the branches.

  As raindrops splattered to the earth, Moon flinched back, bumping into Lucky’s flank. Lucky’s heartbeat thudded, and he heard Bella gave a whine of fright. A few more drops hissed on a thick root and trickled toward him.

  It’s coming through! Lucky realized desperately.

  The smell of the rain was stronger and closer, scorching his nostrils. Lucky coughed in disgust, and heard Bella whimper. More fat drops splashed around them, sizzling on the soil, shriveling grass blades like flame. Twitch, at his side, trembled uncontrollably.

  “It’s all right,” barked Lucky above the noise of the storm. “Don’t worry. The rain has to pass soon!”

  “It’s not that,” yelped Bella, wincing as a raindrop spattered between her forepaws. “What if the rain burns Earth-Dog? What if she loses her temper and growls again?”

  “I’m sure that won’t happen,” whined Lucky. I’m lying, he thought, shivering. I’m not sure at all.

  Rainwater was finding its way down the tree trunk, trickling in tiny runnels and pooling on the ground. Moon shrank from it, whimpering, but there was no patch of ground the rain wouldn’t reach, Lucky knew. He covered his eyes with his paws. Please, Earth-Dog. Please don’t growl now. We’ve done nothing wrong; don’t punish us.

  Twitch struggled to his paws, backing away from pooling water as it trickled faster down the gnarled trunk. “We have to move!”

  He’s right. We need better shelter. Lucky sprang up, shaking off a few spatters of rain before they could sink through his fur. The forest was dim under the black clouds, but he could see a gleam of pale gray, just a few rabbit-chases farther into the trees. “Follow me!”

  Hesitantly the other dogs rose, shaking themselves, unsure; but Lucky sprang from the shelter and ran. Moments later, he heard their frantic, running paws and their harsh panting as they came after him.

  Lucky shut his eyes as he raced, forced to find his way blind for fear the rain would get under his lids. Am I even going the right way now? Panic clenched his chest, squeezing his heart, and his pawsteps faltered.

  Then he felt hard rock scraping under his claws, and he opened his eyes. “Here!”

  The stony outcrop was small, but its slabs jutted out some way over the bare earth. Lucky skidded onto his flank and slid beneath it, feeling Bella crash into him a moment later. He squirmed farther into the hollow; it went deeper into the slope than he’d first thought. The other dogs were piling after him now, a flurry of paws and fur and thrashing hearts. Crammed together, they all wriggled around and stared out at the driving rain as thunder rolled across the clouds.

  “Just in time,” murmured Moon, her body trembling against Lucky’s.

  Lucky twisted his head, dislodging Twitch’s one remaining forepaw from his eye. The earth beneath him was damp and cool, and reeking with a multitude of scents. Beneath the rotted leaf-smell there was the odor of long-dead mice and snail slime; he could even make out the territory marker of some old badger. Lucky shivered at that, feeling a twinge in his old, healed wounds.

  I don’t want to stay in here too long.

  Neither did the others. He could hear their uneasy whines, feel the trembling in their muscles, and already the dampness seemed to reach his bones.

  “If this rain doesn’t stop soon,” murmured Martha, “I’ll be able to swim out of here.”

  “Maybe this whole mission was a bad idea,” growled Twitch. “Look, I’m sorry. If you want to go back and join Alpha, go ahead. You’ll catch up fast if you run. And at least you tried.”

  Lucky clenched his jaws, and held his breath. I shouldn’t speak. They have to decide for themselves.

  “I’m not leaving Fiery!” declared Moon. “The rest of you go back if you want to.”

  “No way!” yapped Bella, sounding annoyed. “We started this together, and we’ll finish it that way.”

  “Quite right,” grunted Martha.

  Lucky’s muscles went limp with relief. There’s still hope—I couldn’t have chosen better companions on this mission. With comrades like these, there was a good chance they could rescue Fiery after all.

  And maybe we’ll discover what those yellow longpaws are up to.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The Sky-Dogs’ mood was fickle today, Lucky thought as he peered nervously out of the cave. One moment there was a torrent of lashing rain and whirling black ash, blurring the landscape and hissing where it burned the earth. The next it had slackened to a few spatters, and Sun-Dog’s rays poked weakly through the treetops. The pale light gleamed off sodden bark and wet leaves, sparkling in puddles. Lucky licked his chops. However thirsty he was, he wouldn’t touch those rainwater pools.

  At least Earth-Dog didn’t grow angry and shake off the bad rain, he thought with relief, turning to the others. “Come on, all of you—there’s been no Growl. We have to get to Fiery as fast as we can!”

  Twitch untangled himself from the group of dogs, dragged himself on his one forepaw to the cave entrance, then stretched. “Let’s get going, then.”

  The three-legged dog limped ahead of them as they picked their way down the bank and into the forest. The ground was drying fast where the light of the Sun-Dog touched it, and as they traveled on, it grew easier to avoid the pools of rainwater.

  Martha raised her head and sniffed, then shunted Lucky with her shoulder. There was an excited gleam in her eye. “We’re getting closer to the river.”

  “That’s good, I think. Doesn’t it run near to the Dog-Garden?”

  Martha’s nostrils flared, and a tremor ran along her flank. “It’s the bad part of the river. The part that was poisoned by the Big Growl.”

  “Well, at least we know what to expect.” Lucky yapped to the others. “Listen, don’t drink from the river when we reach it. It’s the bad stretch. But at least we know we’re on the right path to the Dog-Garden.”

  Moon growled in agreement. “Good. We’ve taken too long as it is. Who knows what’s happening to Fiery?”

  Long, yellow grass parted as the dogs pushed through it, and there before them lay the silver line of the river, glittering temptingly in the Sun-Dog’s light. It looks so safe, thought Lucky bleakly, yet we can’t touch it. He knew the others’ throats must be as parched as his; his tongue felt swollen in hi
s mouth.

  Twitch halted abruptly, forcing Lucky to stop behind him. “Lucky, wait! There—on the other side.”

  “What is it?” asked Moon, as she, Bella, and Martha came to a halt behind Lucky and Twitch. All their hackles were up, every dog alert for danger.

  Lowering his body, Lucky crept on his belly through the grass until he had a clear view of the far bank. Dogs! He recognized them at once, just as Twitch must have.

  They were small and scrawny with hunger, and they cowered on the ground as Terror raged and howled, pacing back and forth in front of them. Twitch’s Pack. We cannot let them see us.

  Terror’s high, cracked voice drifted clearly across the river. “You do not show respect for the Fear-Dog! None of you! Quiver before him; beg for mercy! Fear his wrath!”

  “So he’s still up to that old nonsense,” muttered Lucky. “Fear-Dogs indeed!”

  Twitch gave him a frightened sideways look. “You don’t believe in the Fear-Dog?”

  “Of course not,” scoffed Lucky. “Terror spreads these lies to intimidate his own Pack. It’s an insult to the true Spirit Dogs.”

  Twitch shivered. “But what if the Fear-Dog is real? There could be Spirit Dogs we’ve never heard of.”

  “He has a point, Lucky,” whispered Martha as she stared across at the ranting Terror. “How can we know all the Spirit Dogs that exist? Back in the city, when Bella and I lived with longpaws, we didn’t even know about the Sky-Dogs!”

  “That’s true,” murmured Bella. “You told us all about them, Lucky. Perhaps there are Spirit Dogs we don’t know.”

  Lucky felt doubt creep over him again.

  Drawing a deep breath, he sighed. “You’re right. I can’t know all the Spirit Dogs that guide us; no dog can. But I don’t think there can be any such thing as Fear-Dog.”

  “But how?” pleaded Bella.

  “Can’t we all tell when a dog is communicating with the Spirit Dogs?” whined Lucky. “Think of the Great Howl, and how you feel. Have you ever felt a Fear-Dog then? Any of you? When Martha is linked to the River-Dog we sense it—we know it’s right. We know the spirit is there; we know it in our bones and the roots of our fur. But look at Terror now.” He jerked his head at the raging, pacing dog on the far bank. “The only place Fear-Dog lives is inside that mad dog’s head!”

  “But Terror says—” began Twitch.

  “That’s just it. You don’t sense the Fear-Dog, do you? Terror has to tell you about the Fear-Dog because he’s the ‘only dog who sees him.’ Your Pack—you all relied on his stories. You’ve never seen or felt the Fear-Dog, but Terror convinces you. He’s an unstable bully. He collapses in a fit and calls it a ‘message’ from the spirits! It’s all nonsense. Why do the dogs in his Pack listen to a word he says?”

  “It’s easy for you to say that,” argued Twitch nervously, “but what if—”

  “Twitch,” said Bella slowly, “you know, I think Lucky’s right. I saw a dog like Terror once.”

  Twitch’s ears flicked, but Lucky laughed. “Another like him? Impossible!”

  “I did,” insisted Bella. “The way you described him—his body jerking, his eyes rolling? Well, there was a dog who behaved like that at the vet’s.”

  “The what’s?” asked Moon.

  “The vet’s—it’s a place our longpaws took us to in the city, whenever we were ill. There was a longpaw in green fur who healed us in his shrine.”

  “Huh. I’ve heard it all now.” Moon twitched her nose in disbelief.

  Taking no notice of her, Bella went on: “Well, sometimes he stuck a sharp thing in your scruff for no reason, but you always felt better afterward. That one time, I’d eaten something bad, and I was with my longpaw in the little room where you wait to find out if the vet-longpaw will agree to heal you. And another dog was brought in, a little thing with white fur. She acted just like Terror—twitching and gasping and flailing around on the floor of a cage, her eyes rolling like a dog with water-madness. I think her longpaws had put her in a cage so she wouldn’t bite them. Maybe she was talking to the Fear-Dog, but I don’t think so. She just had this terrible fit, and the vet-longpaw agreed to take her into his shrine.”

  All the dogs were silent, taking in Bella’s terrible story.

  “She never came out again.” Bella gave a sad whine. “So you see, I don’t think she was talking to Spirit Dogs. I think she was just very, very sick. The longpaws knew things like that, and the vet-longpaw was wise and kind. I think Terror has the same sickness as that little white dog.”

  Lucky licked his jaws. The Leashed Dogs could still surprise him with their strange knowledge, and in a way Bella’s story reassured him. There might be an explanation for Terror’s madness after all.

  But before he could answer his litter-sister, a snarling ruckus broke out among the Pack on the other side of the river. Lucky and his friends started, alarmed.

  “How dare you!” howled Terror, lunging at a small black dog. He landed on him with his forepaws, crushing him beneath his weight. “Who are you to question the mighty Fear-Dog?”

  The rest of his Pack was whimpering hysterically, but the dog he had attacked lay cringing beneath him, paws twitching in panic.

  “Terror,” whined another dog, trembling as he stepped forward, “Great Terror, please. I don’t think Splash meant to—”

  With a screaming howl, Terror spun and grabbed the shivering dog with his jaws, shaking him violently before pinning him to the ground. Splash was trying to creep away, pressed so tightly to the ground it was as if he was trying to melt into it.

  Twitch’s voice was hoarse as he muttered to Lucky, “You see? This is how Terror keeps his Pack in line. Who will argue with a dog like that? You’d be amazed how obedient you feel when you never know what your Alpha will do next.”

  “His Pack isn’t crazy at all,” whined Moon. “They’re terrified.”

  “Exactly,” growled Twitch. “They’re not bad dogs. They’re stuck with Terror out of fear. Like me.”

  “You’ve taken a huge risk by helping us,” murmured Moon. “I’ve only just realized how huge. Thank you.”

  “Should we get involved?” Martha shuddered nervously. “Help those poor dogs?”

  Bella shook her head. “I think we need to keep as far away as possible. It’s especially important that he doesn’t see Twitch with us.”

  Twitch shot her a grateful look, wagging his tail.

  “I’m much more concerned with finding Fiery than watching that mad dog,” said Moon. “We should get out of here.”

  “Then we’ll take a long way around to the Dog-Garden,” agreed Lucky. “I don’t want us to be in earshot or scent-range of Terror. There’s no telling what he might do.”

  “Don’t worry,” muttered Twitch. “Trust me, Terror sees and smells nothing else when he’s in one of his rages.”

  On silent paws, Lucky’s group backed into the long grass and crawled away among the trees. This close to the river their paws sank in the sodden earth; scents were hard to place among the dank odors of wet bark and rotting plants. At least that’ll make it hard for Terror to scent us, thought Lucky as he yanked his paws free of a patch of clinging mud.

  Sounds were easier to catch, though. The dogs came to a squelching halt as they heard the rustling of paws in fallen leaves.

  “What now?” Bella gave a growling whine. “Why is this forest a meeting place for every dangerous dog in the land? It’s full of them!”

  Moon pricked her ears and paced a slow circle. “Where do you think that dog is?”

  Lucky tilted his head. “Behind us. If we keep moving forward, we might simply outpace it, and we won’t seem like a threat. Pretend we haven’t even noticed. But let’s form a flank-to-flank line.”

  They formed a line as Lucky suggested, and walked on with only an occasional backward glance. Moon was at Lucky’s right flank, and Bella at his left as they padded cautiously through the trees. Catching his friends’ darting eyes, Lucky could see that they too sti
ll heard the crunching paws of a dog behind them.

  “I don’t like this,” he muttered after many rabbit-chases. “Whoever that is, this dog isn’t giving up. I think Moon and Bella should move farther to the sides and slow down. I’ll keep going. If that enemy dog follows me, you’ll both end up behind it. Then we can turn and hem it in, find out why it’s after us.”

  Moon and Bella nodded, and he watched them from the corners of his eyes as they veered off and faded into the trees like shadows. Bella, he was proud to notice, was almost as silent and crafty as the Wild Dog Moon, her paws soft on the forest floor.

  Twitch and Martha drew closer to him, taking Bella and Moon’s places at his sides. Lucky hated walking on like this, all the time aware of the enemy dog creeping behind him; his skin twitched with his bristling fur, but he forced himself not to look back. The sound of the softly treading paws was growing steadily closer, the dog-scent stronger. A little nearer and he might even identify the smell as one of Terror’s Pack, or a Fierce Dog, or a complete stranger.

  Surely Bella and Moon had maneuvered themselves behind it now? Lucky slowed, hesitating, and a gentle breeze brought the dog’s scent straight to his nostrils.

  “Now!” he barked, and spun on his haunches.

  Twitch and Martha twisted around with him, flying at their pursuer. The strange dog stopped, startled; the Sun-Dog dazzled Lucky’s eyes, but he could see the light gleam on a glossy hide and packed muscle.

  Fierce Dog! There was no time to change their minds and run; they’d face her down, whatever she was up to. Snarling, Lucky hurtled toward the surprised dog. He half turned, as if to flee, but Bella and Moon were right there, closing in fast, their teeth bared in snarls of warning.

  The dog hesitated for just a moment, but that was enough. Lucky reached her first, flinging himself onto her and rolling her backward into the undergrowth. Moon was there an instant later, helping him pin the Fierce Dog to the ground, where she writhed and struggled, muscles rippling with the effort. Martha, Bella, and Twitch surrounded them for backup, snarling as they blocked every escape route.

  It had happened so fast, Lucky had barely breathed in. When he did, slobber drooling from his jaws, the dog’s scent caught him full in the nostrils. Shocked, he leaped back. The dog threw off Moon and struggled to her feet.