Guardian Hound

by Cutter, Leah

  Peter sighed and looked up at her. “The shadows are real,” he said. His eyes grew dark, and Sally knew he was talking with his raven soul.

  “And you will be in danger,” he added after a moment.

  “The whole world will be in danger,” Sally pointed out. “It’s up to us to save it.”

  After all, she’d always wanted to save the world.

  # # #

  When Lukas ordered Sally and Harita and Rudi to the center of the warriors, Sally knew he was wrong.

  She wasn’t there to be protected.

  The clan warriors transformed around her, showing their true natures: fierce claws and sharp teeth. She doubted her heart, then. She couldn’t fight as they could. Maybe it was better for her to be inside the circle.

  At the first cry of pain, though, Sally knew she’d been right. The heart wasn’t supposed to be protected—she was supposed to inspire the warriors and lead them.

  But how?

  Early the next morning, Sally lay on top of the bed while Peter still lay under the covers. His normally dark skin was still pale. The white bandage covering his burned hand lay outside the blanket, stark against her navy blue sheets. She lay on her left side—the bandage covering the burn on her right cheek hurt too much when she lay on it.

  “I need to go talk to Lukas,” Sally told Peter as she pushed her tired body up. She hadn’t fought, but she found she was just as exhausted as everyone else. The shadows had drained all of them, sucked out their life.

  “All right,” Peter said with a sigh, lifting one corner of the sheets.

  Sally pressed his hand down. “No. You’re staying here.”

  “But—”

  “Peter. I know.” Sally tried to shove her own fear to the side, though it still hung like a tight ball in the middle of her chest. “Those shadow things are awful. But I need to talk to Lukas. Alone. And…” Sally paused, then made herself sit all the way up, forcing herself away from the comfort and warmth of her mate. “I need to go by myself. I need to not be scared of everything outside or of being away from you.”

  “You don’t have to do this alone,” Peter protested.

  “Yes, I do, and you know it,” Sally said as she finally stood up. “I’ll text you when I get there. And when I’m on my way back.”

  “I don’t like it,” Peter said stubbornly. “You shouldn’t go. Not alone.”

  “I love you,” Sally told him, warmth bubbling up where there had only been fear and anxiety before. “And I won’t ever do everything you want me to do.”

  “I know,” Peter said, still sulking.

  Sally took his good hand in hers, squeezing the fingers. “I promise to be back as soon as I can. But I have to go alone.”

  “I don’t have to like it,” Peter said. “But we trust you.”

  Sally fetched Peter’s phone, gave him a last kiss, then stepped out into the brilliant Seattle spring sunlight. She shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her hoodie and breathed deeply. It was too beautiful a day, particularly after the horror of the night before, to be stuck inside.

  Still, Sally didn’t dawdle on her way to house Lukas and Rudi shared.

  Lukas opened the door before Sally even knocked.

  “What is it?” he asked, his black hair mussed, his face young and vulnerable, as if he’d just woken up. “What’s wrong?”

  “What, you mean Peter didn’t call to tell you I was coming?” Sally asked, amused.

  Lukas looked down, sheepishly, at his long bare toes. “He did. But he couldn’t explain what was wrong.”

  “It’s okay,” Sally said. “We need to talk about what happened last night.”

  Lukas looked up, worried. “You’re not quitting, are you? You’ll stay? You’ll come and fight again tonight?”

  “I’m not quitting,” Sally said hurriedly. “But we have to figure out what went wrong.”

  “I know,” Lukas said, slumping more. “Come on in.”

  The smell of bacon and morning coffee still lingered in the air. The bright yellow walls of the living room surprised Sally—it seemed more modern than what she expected Rudi would choose. She liked the big comfortable couches and the white-painted mantel with the portraits on it.

  “Here. Sit,” Lukas said, flopping down. He immediately stood up again. “Should I get you anything?”

  “It’s fine,” Sally said, sitting down and patting the couch next to her. “It’s polite to ask, but we’re also friends. We’re fine.”

  “Good,” Lukas said, sitting beside her but not looking at her. “I don’t know what happened last night. What went wrong.”

  “Have you ever fought the shadows before? By yourself?” Sally asked.

  Lukas shook his head. “Only in my nightmares. I’ve never seen them before, like they were last night. I thought—I thought it would help, you know, that they were physical. That we’d be able to fight them, finally.”

  “What about when you were cursed?” Sally asked. “Didn’t you fight the shadows then? Didn’t they attack you if you transformed into your human form?”

  Lukas shivered, and Sally bit her lip. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked that.

  “They did attack. Trying to get inside me. To control me. Even when…” Lukas paused, his gaze distant. “I did fight the shadows one other time,” he said softly after a long moment. “When I broke the curse. I couldn’t really fight them, though. I had to let them roll over me. I had to endure them before I could break free.”

  “So you didn’t fight?” Sally asked.

  Lukas shook his head. “I’ve never fought and won. Not on my own. Only the knight has been able to do that.”

  “You’ve brought together a brave group of warriors, from all the different clans,” Sally pointed out. “Of course they all want to fight the shadows. But maybe that isn’t what they need to do.”

  “It’s too much,” Lukas protested. “To ask them to accept, to endure the shadows. It’s too hard.”

  “But that’s why I’m here,” Sally pointed out gently. “I’ll bring them through. That’s what the heart is supposed to do, isn’t it?”

  Lukas sighed and looked at his hands, rubbing the left over the bandage wrapped around his right. “Peter won’t like it. You, in danger. In the fight.”

  “You don’t like it, either,” Sally pointed out.

  Lukas shook his head no.

  “You can’t really guard me, though, unless I do,” Sally said, trying to reassure him. “You’re the guardian hound. That’s your job. To protect us while we endure.”

  “That makes sense. But—” Lukas sighed. “I don’t want to change. To…transform into my hound soul. I’m afraid I won’t be able to change back.”

  “I understand,” Sally said, nodding. “But you’re going to have to,” she added gently. “The knight needs his hound.” She remembered reading about knights and their hounds in history class, going off to battle together.

  “I know,” Lukas said. “I will guard you as best I can,” he promised.

  “And we will endure,” Sally promised in return.

  She not only had a heart that beat wild and true, but the courage to stay—what her dad had always lacked.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Seattle, Present Day

  Lukas

  A much more subdued group gathered in Mei Ling’s expensive suite late that afternoon. Lukas winced at every bandage and scar that he saw. The sunken eyes and pained expressions hurt him greatly. His own wounds were nothing compared to what he’d put the others through.

  “It’ll be all right,” Rudi assured Lukas quietly, standing beside him.

  Lukas shook his head no, but didn’t say anything.

  All of the clan members that he’d found were warriors, trained to fight like how Rudi was training Lukas. He knew how strong the urge was to use tooth and claw against your enemy.

  To stay still, strong, and endure in human form…how could he ask them to do that?

  But Sally was right. He mus
t.

  Lukas waited while everyone got settled. Mei Ling draped herself over one of the chairs, her makeup hiding her injuries, but her dark eyes still showed how much pain she was in. Ariel sat more stiffly in the other, her face deliberately blank. Virmal sat even closer to Harita, looking as though he wanted to tear something—anything—apart. Peter and Sally looked pale and drawn.

  Hamel pressed closer as Lukas cleared his throat. “Last night didn’t go how I’d hoped,” he said.

  “You don’t say,” Ariel said dryly.

  Lukas nodded, feeling his cheeks grow enflamed. “I’m sorry. I made more than one mistake, and I put you all in danger.”

  “You hurt my brother,” Harita hissed.

  Virmal gave a deep growl.

  All the hackles stood up on the back of Lukas’ neck. He didn’t want to fight Virmal, not just because he was supposed to be working together with him, but because there was some odd attraction he didn’t understand that made him want to bite and not tear.

  “Hush, you,” Ariel said dismissively.

  Virmal turned to glare at her, still growling.

  “Y’all don’t scare me,” she drawled. “So just put it back in your pants.”

  Part of Lukas was indignant at how Ariel talked to Virmal, yet part of him snickered at the putdown.

  “We’re not here to fight each other,” Peter interjected.

  “No, we’re here to fight the shadows. And we lost,” Mei Ling said pointedly. “I don’t like to lose.”

  “I know,” Lukas said. “And I’m sorry. But next time, it will be different.”

  It had to be different. Or they’d all be dead.

  “So what are we supposed to do?” Peter asked. “What do you want us to do differently?”

  “The only time I’ve ever really successfully fought the shadows on my own…I didn’t fight,” Lukas admitted.

  Mei Ling raised one cool eyebrow at him. The rest of the warriors just stared at him.

  God, he was such an idiot. He still pushed on. “I’ve always just had to, uhm, endure, I guess. Not fight. Let the shadows do their worst, spend themselves, finish their attack. Only then could I break away.”

  “Not fight?” Virmal asked. “We’re sitting ducks.”

  “If we give up, we’ll die,” Mei Ling said. “That’s what you’ve said. The whole world. Dead.”

  “No, no, you’re not supposed to give up. But just, hold on. As warriors, you’re all strong, and different. Unique. But in human form—”

  “We’re weak,” Ariel interjected.

  “You may be able to combine, to transform, and be greater than you are individually,” Lukas finished.

  “Is that what your visions tell you?” Mei Ling asked.

  “My visions aren’t as clear as that. But somehow, you must form the knight. If you don’t…” Lukas didn’t have to finish that.

  “But how will we protect ourselves, if we can’t fight?” Virmal asked. “Who will protect my sister?”

  Harita rolled her eyes at him. Lukas knew she didn’t think she was the one who needed protecting.

  “I will protect you,” Lukas assured them. Hamlin pressed close, and Lukas’ voice grew rough. “We are the guardian hound. And that was my second mistake.”

  “What do you mean?” Ariel asked sourly.

  “I didn’t take my true hound form, last night. I—I was afraid. I was cursed and forced to stay in hound form for ten years. I didn’t transform, not as I should have,” Lukas admitted.

  Virmal snorted. “A hound? Protecting us? You have no claws, no armor.”

  “He is the size of small horse. You might be surprised,” Peter replied.

  “So we meet again tonight, to not fight?” Mei Ling asked. “I don’t like it.”

  The rest of the warriors nodded.

  “But you’ll be there?” Lukas asked.

  “The birdman promised me a fight,” Ariel said. “But I ain’t got a better suggestion. The first time I fought those damn shadows, I couldn’t do anything, either.”

  “We’ll be there,” Harita said quietly.

  “And the shadows won’t be the only thing hunting you if we don’t survive,” Virmal promised.

  # # #

  A large drop of water plopped onto Lukas’ nose as he stepped out of the house. He shook his head and looked up. Solid clouds blocked the night sky, reflecting back orange from the streetlights.

  Of course it would rain tonight. The clear spring weather wouldn’t hold.

  Lukas sighed and brought up the hood on his jacket, shoving his hands into the front pockets. All his clothes—his sweatpants, T-shirt, jacket, and even his boots—were loose, so he could slip out of them easily when he transformed.

  The wind blew cold and clean, carrying scents of cherry blossoms, crocuses, and new grass. Lukas shivered, and Rudi placed a hand on his shoulder, urging him forward into the wet night. Rudi left his hand there, giving Lukas a solid weight to ground him.

  Hamlin bounded up to Lukas, then sank back down again.

  Lukas didn’t share the excitement of his hound soul: Dread marched with him, lining his stomach, making his chest leaden.

  They didn’t bother turning on the lights at Miller’s Park this time. The ground squished under Lukas’ feet, the tops of his boots already soaked through. The rain had turned into a mist, fine and persistently wetting everything it touched.

  “Thanks for coming back tonight,” Lukas told the assembled group. They all looked bedraggled by the rain, tired, and everyone bore wounds from the night before, bandages gleaming in the dark.

  “So what do we do?” Peter asked.

  Lukas looked to Sally.

  “Let’s try standing in a circle, holding hands,” Sally suggested, taking Peter’s hand in hers, then reaching for Virmal’s.

  “I don’t do this Kumbaya shit,” Ariel muttered, staring at the group, her arms crossed over her chest.

  Harita took Virmal’s hand, then reached out to Ariel with the other, while Rudi on the far side did the same.

  “Fine,” Ariel said, swinging out her arms and grabbing the offered hands.

  As soon as the circle closed, shadows sprang into the night. They rushed at the group, speeding like snakes, rustling darkness across the wet grass.

  “Closer!” Sally urged. She threw an arm around Peter’s shoulders, drawing them in.

  Rudi looked up from the group. “It’s time,” he told Lukas.

  Fear struck Lukas. He didn’t want to do this. His friends—the knight—they would stay human. Why did he have to change?

  With a whining growl, Lukas stripped his hoodie and T-shirt over his head and toed off his wet boots. The ground was freezing against his bare feet and his skin was already wet.

  Lukas spread his arms out and raised his face to the cloud-covered sky.

  Come, he told Hamlin.

  Let go, Hamlin replied.

  Shadows slid past Lukas’ feet, heading toward his friends. The tall tree in the corner of the field shook. It was only moments before the tall shadow thing was back.

  How could Lukas let go? He wanted to fight. He needed to fight.

  Fight, yes. And survive, Hamlin assured him.

  But he couldn’t fight. He’d never been enough, just by himself, to fight and win.

  Endure. It was all Lukas was good at.

  Lukas dropped his head down to his chest, his arms falling, then he let go, leaning against his hound soul, trusting that Hamlin would catch him.

  Quicker than a blink, Lukas found he’d transformed. He growled, fighting back his panic. He wanted to change back to human, to see if he could, but there was no time.

  Shadows slammed into the exposed backs of the huddled humans. Sally, Virmal, and Ariel all cried out in pain. Then Sally yelled, “Stay! Stay here!”

  Lukas didn’t know which warrior fought not to transform. He knew all of them wanted to. But Sally kept the group together, held them there, helped them endure.

  With careful teet
h, Lukas tore one long skinny shadow, then another, away from the group, flinging them across the field.

  But there were too many for him to grab, and they came too fast.

  “Closer,” Sally called.

  The group of humans burrowed into one another, their sides and heads touching.

  Suddenly, a light sprang up above the group. Up it grew, fleshing out, taking shape and form.

  The scent of the group flourished, overcoming the stench of the shadows: cool glass and fresh mint, strong blood and warm silk.

  Above Lukas, finally, stood his knight. He wore a full peaked helmet, with just a slit for the eyes. A solid chest plate covered his torso, while fine chain protected his arms. Broad gauntlets and leg greaves were buckled around his hands and shins. None of his armor looked new: It had all seen battle before, a dull silver with dents and patches.

  Hamlin barked, greeting the knight happily. But the knight stayed frozen, floating above the group of humans, unmoving.

  Where was the knight’s sword?

  Lukas turned and raced off to where the towering shadow beast had pulled itself out of the trees.

  Another being strode beside it: a tall, dark man. A single sniff told Lukas it was a viper warrior; the acrid smell of clan poison mingled with his blood.

  Was it the one from Tulum? Lukas wanted to howl. The viper warrior been thoroughly corrupted by the shadows.

  “Good puppy,” the thing called to Lukas. “Go fetch.” It threw a ball of shadows at the knight. It hit the knight solidly in his chest, staining the metal further. But the knight didn’t move, and stayed frozen above the field.

  Lukas growled in frustration. What else was he missing? Why wasn’t the knight acting, moving? The other warriors were going to kill him, if the shadows didn’t, if they failed again.

  Hamlin pushed them forward, diving toward the tall shadow thing, hoping to tear into it again as they had the night before.

  The viper warrior was faster, however. He slashed out at Lukas. Only Hamlin’s quick reflexes skidded them to the side, narrowly avoiding the claws.

  The viper warrior snarled, his fangs exposed and dripping. His eyes were as black as the shadows.

  What did he see? What did he think he was attacking?