Finally, Billy said. “So what is it? What will it do to me?”
“We are not sure.” Brother Dog responded after some thought “As I said I have never heard of such a thing. All we know is it was causing you more harm when I tried to remove it, and it healed you. But, this is not the way of the Wolver.”
“Hmm, it seems to me we can do nothing but wait,” Uncle said. “We all agree it has done no harm, we cannot remove it. Perhaps it will be dormant forever and Billy will carry this new ability of understanding languages to his home country and be a great man because of it.”
“yeah!” Billy said under his breath “Like that’s gonna happen.”
12 Discovery
I
t bothered Brother Dog no end. Whoever or whatever was following them had so far evaded him.
Even though Uncle Xu had suggested, whoever or whatever it was might be using some kind of concealment magic. It was made more difficult now, as they entered the more highly populated cities and villages he was beginning to think there might be magic involved after all. He was well skilled at tracking and had far better senses than anyone on this backward world.
"Too many humans!" He complained as he was forced to spend all his time on all fours.
He had to attend to where he was walking as the people of this region didn’t seem to like dogs and they often urinated on the street.
Unlike normal dogs, he did not like the smell of urine and was disgusted when he saw other dogs sniffing it. Another problem was the dogs of this world seemed not to like him and or were confused by him. He was happy that they couldn't speak because he was sure they would alert their owners of his presence if they could. As it was, the barking fits they had at his passing was frightening. He was both thankful and chagrined at the human habit of tying the dogs up. He had several encounters with wandering dogs that one or other of the humans had to intervene.
Many children actually cowered when they came upon him and some people would even toss scolding hot water at him if he wandered too far away from the group. More than once he had to dodge a kick or thrown rock.
They passed through an area that he realized to his horror, there were hung dog carcasses in preparations for eating. Billy almost vomited when he realized what he was seeing. It was cold comfort to Brother Dog however, it showed where Billy’s true loyalties were. The Magician and his apprentice seemed to be unmoved by the terrible sight, which gave him pause.
Zhoulin saw the distress on Billy’s face and decided to tease him a little. She had been eating dog all her life.
"Oh, that is making me so, hungry!” Zhoulin said jokingly. He didn’t laugh...
"Oh come on!" she said, giving him a little poke "Dog meat is delicious, you should try it sometime. We had an old woman in our village who lived to be a hundred and three and she swore by it, said it kept her feeling young.” she gave a laugh and turned to continue walking.
Brother Dog and Uncle stood there, mouths agape. He looked at her for a moment turned and walked away. "I am so sorry Brother Dog, " she cried out embarrassed. It would be a while before she was able to look him in the eye again.
She turned and hit Billy, who yelped in protest. “What did I do?” As she stomped away embarrassed.
Uncle just shook his head and continued on.
Even the realization that these dogs were nowhere near his level as a species; and perhaps not even his species at all, like monkeys and men, didn’t relieve Brother Dog’s urge to vomit. Nor the urge to stand up and kill all the humans.
The country was rife with cutpurses and there were rumors of a few cutthroats as well. There were soldiers and warriors abundant as apparently there were some kingdoms at war for some reason. Billy didn't understand half of it and was afraid and unhappy most of the time. He was also frustrated that there were so many glimpses of things to see and he was required to keep hooded with his head down. Once in a while, he would see some fantastic statue or building. One building they went past had columns with stone dragons carved all up the full length. They were so well-made, they almost looked real and took his breath away. They looked so realistic he wondered how these people had such great imaginations. He was later to find it wasn't all imagined.
The food was very strange to Billy's taste. Usually, it was so hot with spice he was soaked with sweat after only one or two mouthfuls. He was always trying to drown the fire inside with great gulps of water, which actually seemed to make it worse. Finally, Zhoulin convinced him to drink the local tea which seemed to work better.
He didn't much like the tea either. It turned out true Chinese tea was just rolled up tea leaves dumped into the hot water. No sugar, no milk, just leaves in water. Mom would be so disappointed, he thought. She was always drinking bagged tea, which turned out to be called black tea, thinking she was drinking the real thing. Billy spent half the time spitting out the bitter leaves. As far as he was concerned, it wasn't good enough tasting to try to learn to drink properly.
They passed a small wheeled stall that was so common here, where a man was cutting up and cooking something that smelled delicious. He got Zhoulin to run over and get him some. It tasted so good he was delighted. It looked like some kind of spaghetti with a nice meaty flavor.
Zhoulin was surprised as he wolfed it down. She couldn't resist mentioning it.
“Why are you surprised… hey? That wasn't dog meat or something, was it? He blurted out.
“No, of course not.” She laughed “I just never thought you would like to eat chicken entrails.”
“Chicken what?” Billy said.
“Entrails.” She repeated.
"I think you would call it chicken guts, master Billy." Brother Dog put in helpfully.
Just then They walked past another stall were dried pig faces were hanging on a long stick to dry, empty eye sockets staring back at him. One woman walked by, chewing on what had to be a pig’s ear. He threw up and then threw up again as the entrails came up.
He gave up asking what the food was after having to throw out several lunches, once he found out what they consisted of. The worst shock was the cooked snake because it tasted so good, but he almost vomited again when Zhoulin told him what it was. He ate better when he didn’t know.
During all this, they would practice sword fighting, whenever there was a chance. He was really enjoying the sword practice... well stick practice really. Brother Dog held onto his sword jealously and took it back whenever he could. So Billy and Zhoulin were reduced to practicing with sticks most of the time. With bouts of hand to hand combat.
But Billy went into it joyfully. He could think of a few people back home who were going to get a good thumping.
Brother Dog had eventually rigged a back harness for his sword so it looked like he was carrying it for his master, ostensibly Uncle Xu. He would not allow Billy to act as his master for some reason, probably some kind of pride thing. One time he had said under his breath "It's bad enough walking on all fours, never mind answering to a mere boy."
Billy felt he was getting pretty good at this sword fighting thing. Of course, he and his brothers had played at Sword fighting on the farm, but to actually be trained was not so easy.
Once, he had managed to knock Zhoulin on her butt, which was a bit of a triumph as she knew some strange fighting skill that he had never seen before. Next time she flipped in the air and kicked him in the face knocking him out. She claimed it was an accident, but he wasn’t so sure.
They had been having an argument about something just before the practice. Even though she claimed she wasn’t angry Billy had seen a certain look in her eye that reminded him of the look in Marcy’s eye. Sometimes, he just went too far.
He had heard a comment once, however, between Brother Dog and Uncle Xu, about his quickness to learn the skill, so dumping Zhoulin gave him a shot of pride. He didn’t want to admit, but he was in awe of her skills. He had heard about her battle with the Wolvers as well.
She was so quick when they sparred, he cou
ld barely see the stick coming at him before he got a solid whack on the head or butt when he wasn’t paying close attention.
They hadn’t seen or heard anything about the Wolvers since the spring had blown up. But there was the funny scar on his side still. He rubbed it occasionally wondering what it really was. But it was one of those things he put out of his mind most of the time. Like the time he had been bitten by a snake.
Mom and dad had been in town at the time and Billy was home alone. He had a terrible fear of his father, but he was also extremely curious about everything around him and he did like snakes. He liked to catch them and scare little girls with them. Not that there were so many girls around. The trick to catching a snake is to sneak up behind it and grab it just behind the head and hold on tight. He had many times done this and it was surprising how much strength a two foot long Garter snake could have. They would writhe and pull inside his hand, squirming with all their might, but they seldom got away.
This time, however, he grabbed the snake too far back on its neck. The snake instantly flipped around and bit him. He involuntarily tossed it in the air, then realized as it slithered away in the grass, that he hadn't even seen what kind of snake it was. Looked desperately for the snake in the long grass, but it was gone. Then he sat there for a long moment, weighing his options. If he told dad he had been playing with snakes, dad would beat the crap out of him. If he didn't tell… Hmmm. If he didn't tell, he might die of snake venom. He thought about it and realized, by the time help arrived, he would be dead anyway. He checked the bite for any sign of swelling and saw none. He went to the house and blew his cheeks up in the mirror to see what he would look like all swollen up.
Then he made a bunch of faces. He debated putting some iodine on the wound, just in case. But then realized Mom would spot that right away.
“Ah, what the heck, if it was poison I should be writhing on the ground by now,” He had said to himself. Just for fun, he flopped on the floor, twitching and gasping, just to see what it felt like. He went out to continue the never-ending chores. Oh well, maybe they will find me on the path to the well all curled up and dead. Huh! Wonder what they would say. He had thought then forgot about the snake.
Billy looked down at the new scar on his side. It was frightening to think maybe something was living inside him… Beside him? He couldn't really get his head around the whole idea, but he could speak and understand everyone around him, so it was kind of cool, in a really strange kind of way. So as with the snake, he decided to let it be. If it was going to kill him, he would be dead by now, he thought. Remembering the incident brought out a bit of homesickness. According to his friends, this thing had healed him. He wished it would have given him some kind of edge in fighting, or maybe super strength, or something, but it didn’t seem to work that way.
Much to his chagrin, he was easily bested by everybody. He was used to losing fights with his older and bigger brothers, however, that fact was something he didn't share with his new friends. As they had some crazy idea he was going to, "Save the world!" He chuckled whenever he thought of that. "Save the world! Heheh! Now that, was funny!"
Not that he wasn’t willing to fight. Having his big brother Steve around had taught him how to fight or at least stand up for himself. Although his punches and kicks seemed to have little or no effect on his older brother. Steve seemed to love a good scrap, or at least provoking Billy into a no-win fight.
Even though he was willing, Billy often got the poop beat out of him.
Leave it to say, he really enjoyed the little practice fights he had with Zhoulin and when he was Lucky, with Brother Dog himself. He kept thinking; Boy is Steve going to be surprised when I get back. I will give him such a black eye.
They had walked late into the night and stumbled upon an encampment that looked peaceful enough. They were all tired and a little off guard. Usually, they preferred to camp alone, but now being so near their destination, there were people everywhere and the road was getting more dangerous. Camping alone seemed a very bad idea, even camping with strangers seemed to give them a semblance of security. As long as they kept to their individual disguises they should be safe enough.
Billy and Zhoulin had set about making a fire, keeping to themselves as usual. Brother Dog had the dubious honor of not having to do anything. He had curled up near the spot they had chosen to set camp, keeping a watchful eye as always.
As fate would have it a mischievous wind came up that night and as is the case sometimes. Zhoulin was gathering wood and it was a hot night, she was trying to pass herself off as a young man. She was wearing a light cloak that could in the correct light be mistaken for a woman’s dress. Not that it was so important she hide her gender, except they had caught conversations along the journey. The local government was definitely looking for them. As Billy and she playfully gathered wood for the fire, the wind whipped around them and just happened that their laughter, caught the attention of a certain man who looking up noticed the young beauty.
He was an older man and wasn’t that interested in such a young girl, but as fate would have it as the wind gusted the other way it concealed once again the girl who had first gotten his attention but in the same gust revealed the foreign boy.
The man gasped as the momentary wind pushed back the thin hood and there was a boy with foreign hair, foreign eyes, and freckles on his very white cheeks. The man’s mouth fell open in shock and surprise. He almost jumped up to shout, then he thought about it for a moment and sat down again. He wasn’t an utter fool. He knew deep down that somehow this could make him some money and he like everyone else, could use some money.
He watched the two carefully, trying to think of a way this could be of some profit to him. A boy, a foreign boy in the middle of the kingdom must be worth something. He could hardly believe his luck which had been very bad for a very long time was giving him this opportunity.
He wasn't an evil man really, just an unlucky one as so many are, trying to find that one thing that could turn his life around. Just one time. Just enough so he could hold his head up a little and go and eat something that wasn't moldy porridge. He had had many bowls of moldy porridge, he had made many mistakes. So if ever an opportunity came along. But this time, no this time was going to be different.
He was going to be patient and find one good way to make this lucky break pay. He knew he would have to be quick as well.
There was no way he could hold the little group here, and if he had noticed the foreigner boy so would someone else. He wasn’t even sure how many there were in the group. An old man, a girl pretending to be a boy, a foreign boy obviously pretending well….he wasn’t actually pretending at all, more hiding behind the hood of his cloak avoiding making contact with the people around the camp so the man sat and watched keeping track of all their movements. Cataloging in his mind who was and wasn't part of the group. He noticed the dog as well.
"An odd one that," he thought as he sat munching on a bone he had managed to borrow from an unguarded fire. He had no special reason to think that, it was just odd. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the dog was not quite right, somehow. He didn't have to wait for long, however. The group had just set up their tent when the city guard appeared. The man smiled. Usually, he would have scurried off to some hiding place. One never knew when the guards would take a nasty turn and beat the daylights out of you, but this time he watched intently.
If the guards discovered the group any profit he could gain would be lost. To his relief, they passed right by the little group without a second glance. Then he remembered something he had heard in his travels. On one particular night, he was just recovering from a good bout of bijou drinking when he overheard a conversation. It was not well known because it involved a very high ranking member of the court and the court was somewhat embarrassed.
The great and powerful wizard Lijiang had disappeared mysteriously after going out ostensibly to grab a member of a rebel group. The tale that he had heard was almost too unbeli
evable. A whole guard patrol had gone missing all of an evening and nothing but a few suspicious bones had been found scattered around an old fire. And the much-vaunted Spring Of Souls had been reduced to a mere puddle of its former self.
Oddly enough the rumor went an old man and his apprentice (a young girl) a strange foreign boy and a very odd dog that sometimes walked on two feet had shown up at a nunnery not far in time or distance from the said extinguished Spring Of Souls. They were all recovering from some very strange wounds.
It was whispered, the emperor wanted to talk to the members of this group, in the worst way, but the group had slipped away. Even after the torturing of the nuns, they could get the little information. There was also a rumor about some strange misshapen wild wolves terrorizing the region at the same time. This he disregarded completely as totally unimportant. Probably just a pack of wild dogs. But now, yes, this dog was all wrong this had to be the group. Now the trick was, to insert himself in such a way that the guards couldn't kill him after he had given the information and had to pay him. But there was always the chance they would kill him after, to get their money back.
No, he would have to run after he got the money, but he was and not really a runner. No this would take some thought.
13 First blood in the Battle of the Old House
B
illy sat down near the fire and put his hand on Brother Dogs head for a moment. “Man, I am tired!” he said. Brother Dog ignored the gesture. “As are we all,” he mumbled.
“Yes,” said Uncle, “but the good news is, we are very near our destination.”
“Really?” Billy said. Happily surprised.
"Yes, I think maybe four or five more days and we will be very close."
“Four or five days? How is that near?” Billy said.
“Well, it isn’t a week,” Zhoulin chimed in, as she stirred some broth in a pot.
The Jewel of Nirune (The Sword of Time Book 1) Page 15
