"Do what you want to me," he shouted over the strange roar that filled the room, "but please don't hurt the kid. She's only five years old."
One of the huge shadows stepped forward and demanded in a deep growl. "Where is he? That villain was here, I can smell him…"
Nick looked up and saw a great dark muzzle over his head: dark lips curled back in a snarl, baring pointed teeth. Beyond the large, dangerous teeth he saw two yellow eyes and past those were black triangular ears, erect with anger. Nick stared, dumb-founded, as the big black dog's jaw opened again. "WHERE IS HE?"
Lene was the first to react. She wriggled free of Nick's arms and ran forward. "Bruno!" the little girl exclaimed, hugging the canine around its leg. The giant hound was much larger than she. Nick's heart leaped into his throat, and as the dog lowered its head, he feared that it was going to swallow her whole.
Instead, the canine sniffed at Lene and then looked back at Nick. Seeing the five-year-old seemed to have softened his anger. "The villain's scent is upon this child. It is strong in this room. Where has he gone?" The dark shapes, more giant hounds, moved restlessly behind their alpha leader.
"If you're talking about that freaky guy with the white hair," Nick managed to say at last, "he's not here. I fought him off with some firewood and he disappeared."
The black canine bobbed its head up and down in a nod. "A satellite then. But it must have been a powerful satellite for his scent here is concentrated. Who are you, human? It has been a long time since anyone but that villain crossed these woods on two legs. Why are you in our forest with this young one?"
"Lene!" she announced her name from his leg. "My name is Lene! You look just like my puppy Bruno." She hugged the dog's leg tightly.
"I… I'm Nick," he said, eyeing Lene warily. The canine seemed to be friendly but hadn't yet proved that he wouldn't swallow the little girl whole. "We're trying to get to the castle."
"The villain has been here, and now you speak of his castle. You will have to explain yourselves. Come outside, where there is room for our council to see you." The black dog turned and led the pack out the door. Nick scooped Lene into his arms and carried her out after them, making sure to grab his backpack on the way out.
The moon was beginning to rise above the trees, and it was brighter outside than in the cottage. There were still more hounds outside, and so many of them altogether that Nick lost count. He stood with Lene in his arms, the pack leader sat opposite him (almost as tall as Nick's shoulder, even when sitting on its haunches), and the rest of the pack members ranged themselves beyond the alpha male.
"My name is Arthur," the leader announced.
/Funny, Arthur doesn't really sound like a canine-like name,/ Nick thought.
"The villain who attacked you tonight is our enemy. Why do you go to his castle?"
"I'm… I'm not sure," Nick admitted truthfully. "I'm trying to find my way home, and I think that castle is the way out of This Place."
"You are not a resident of Other World then?" Arthur turned his head and looked at Nick out of one glowing, yellow eye.
"Other World?"
"That is what this place is called. From Nightingale Hill to the deep canyons to our woods and to the developed lands beyond – all of it is part of this place, Other World."
So This Place had a name.
"And why does the villain seek you?" the canine asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. This was the first time I ever saw that guy. I hope it's the last," Nick squeezed Lene tightly in his arms as he remembered the moment that the stranger had seized her. "Who was that guy anyway? You keep calling him 'villain.'"
Arthur bowed his head in concurrence. Rather than answer, though, he turned his back to Nick and faced the pack of hounds behind him. They seemed to be communicating, but spoke in a combination of body language and growls that Nick couldn't understand. Finally, the leader turned back to him and raised his black muzzle high. "My people accept your story and say that I may share ours. The villain – who first came to these woods decades ago – is called Günter, and he is the scourge of Other World. We came to this cottage here tonight in pursuit of him. It has been a long time since he has entered our woods, and we cannot be free until he is dead."
Nick switched Lene to the crook of his other arm. "Free?" he asked.
"About twenty-five years ago, Günter attacked Other World, seeking domination over the magic found here. He failed to completely conquer the land, but succeeded in capturing Nightingale Hill, the rise on which that distant castle stands. It is the doorway from Other World to the World, another land which is said to be similar to ours but much larger. I have never been there, so I do not know for sure."
/A doorway to the World? Is that where home is?/ Nick both wondered and hoped.
"It was during that war that Günter cursed us. My people and I have not always been like this," Arthur explained. "We, too, were once men and women and fought Günter in his quest for power. But he used my people's bones to build the gates of his castle and turned the remaining survivors into hounds. We are forced to roam our former lands in this cursed state. We cannot find peace until he is dead."
"That's why he looked so scared when he heard you," Nick realized.
"Scared? As well he should be," the great black dog looked pleased. "When we find Günter, my people and I shall tear him to shreds."
Nick shivered and looked away as the big hound licked its chops. He did not want to get on the wrong side of these guys. "And us?" he said slowly. "What do you intend to do with us?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the ground beneath them began to rumble. Nick lurched forward and struggled to keep his balance with Lene in his arms. For a moment, he worried that this was an angry sign from the canines, but then he saw that they, too, were frightened by the earth's movement. Several of the big dogs cowered down low or slinked against another dog for comfort.
When the trembling stopped, Arthur spoke again. "My people and I shall lead you to the edge of the forest, but we can go no farther than that. You are not safe here. When Günter attacked Other World, he unleashed an evilness to this place that no one knew existed. Even he cannot control it, which is why he often sends out satellites rather than physically leaving his castle."
"Satellites?" Nick asked.
"We must go now," the leader announced. "I will explain on the way." With a bark, Arthur called one of the big dogs over. "This is Bruno," he introduced, his voiced tinted with canine amusement.
"Bruno!" Lene exclaimed, squirming in Nick's arms. He set her down, and she ran up to the dog, her eyes shining with adoration. "You look like my puppy, only bigger!" the five-year-old squealed.
Bruno lay down on the ground before her, "Climb my back, little one. I will carry you."
"Is that safe?" Nick asked as she got onto his back. The dogs looked at him, and he put his hands up defensively. "Oh, no offense to you guys. I just meant – what if she has trouble keeping her balance and falls off?"
"I will not let her fall," Bruno assured him, rising to his feet once Lene was safely seated. "And we will be traveling so close beside each other that there will be nowhere for her to fall anyway."
"Besides," Arthur added, "you cannot move fast enough while holding her. We may have to carry you, as well, before long."
Pulling back his satellite, Günter's body was immobilized as it took him a few minutes to recover from the exertion of projecting himself into Other World. His eyes could see, though, and he watched powerless as Lene stood in her cage below the dais, her hand pointed across the room at one of the suits of armor standing against the wall. She didn't seem to realize that Günter had returned to his body and in his absence was using her powers to drag the statue towards him – despite the damper from the bars of the cage, which was severely hampering her magic.
Günter watched in fascination as the suit of armor crossed the floor, its arm lifting to point its sword straight ahead – perfectly in line with his throat. He admired Lene's ingenuity and willingness to take advantage of him in his weakened state; it was ruthless and definitely something that he would have done in the same situation. He could not move his body to dodge the attack, but there was still time yet, so he didn't panic. The suit of armor moved slowly. Lene was focusing so hard to manipulate it that she didn't turn and see that Günter had already regained consciousness. The sword's pointed edge came within inches of his throat… closer… closer… When it was right upon him, Günter's body tingled, recovering from the shock of producing a satellite. The edge of the statue's blade was just close enough to make the delicate hairs curl on his neck and yet not close enough to break the skin.
Günter's mouth twisted in a malicious smile, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Boo." Lene jumped in surprise, her concentration broken. His hand shot forward, and he blasted her back, hurling Lene against her cage. She struck it with a jolt and cried out in pain from the shock of the magical bars then fell to the stone floor. The physical damage wasn't enough to satisfy Günter though; he wanted to really see her suffer.
"Getting ruthless, are we?" he asked. "Tisk, tisk, my dear Lene. How can you condone my methods when you make such good use of them? Attacking the unaware in a state of defenselessness? Ah, sounds like me at my finest moment."
"Don't compare me to yourself," she groaned. Lene struggled to her hands and knees, spitting through the bars of her cage at Günter's feet.
He looked down at the wad of spittle in disgust; she'd dirtied his favorite pair of boots. "But, sweetheart, I thought you liked me? You've been my faithful companion for over ten years now." He gave her an arched look.
"I only followed you because I thought you were something else."
"Ah, yes, your knight in shining armor. It was pitiful, how you clung to me when you were little! If you knew what I was…" He shook his head, his face overcome with mirth.
"I don't think I've told you of my finest moment yet, have I, Lene? You're not in a hurry to go anywhere, are you? …No? Oh, that's right, you're in a cage. Let's see…" With a sweep of his arm, Günter easily sent the suit of armor sailing back to its place against the wall. He sat back in his throne and hooked one booted foot over the other in a reclining pose.
"It was over ten years ago, I believe," he began. "I had just tracked down a couple to their latest home. They moved so often, you see, because they knew that their family and powers were hunted by many. In particular jeopardy was their young daughter, who was beginning to really come into her powers."
Günter rubbed his hands together, relishing the next part of the story. "I got to their house, but it was too late to enjoy the pleasure of killing the parents. Some bastards had gotten there before me and drained both the man and his wife's powers and were just about to start in on their daughter. Well I, being the genius that I am, killed the bastards and took their powers – including the ones they'd drained from the couple – and pretended that I was saving the little girl. She believed it, truly believed that I was saving her," he taunted. "What a fool. And because she thought I was a hero, I have been able to manipulate that girl's abilities for over ten years now."
"Yes," Günter smirked. "Attacking the unaware when they are at their weakest… it has always been my specialty." He eyed Lene, whose face was hidden behind a curtain of dark hair. "What are you thinking right now, Lene? Do you want to kill me? Do you want it so bad you'll stop at nothing?" If Günter played his cards right, maybe he wouldn't have to kill her after all. Maybe he would be able to twist her heart until it turned dark, until her ideas of right and wrong disappeared and she saw only power.
Disappointingly, Lene turned her back on him and curled up on the floor, sobbing into the circle of her arms. "Weak…" Günter sighed. This was going to take a lot of work. Shaking his head, he rose from his throne and was about to taunt her some more when a sudden sensation gripped his body. Günter's skull throbbed, his back ached, and he smelled a charred odor. With a grunt he realized that the smell was coming from his own head; his satellite injuries were catching up to him and they were even worse than he'd expected. Cursing Nick's name, Günter felt consciousness slip away from him.
…
Nick ran alongside Arthur, trying to keep up. With four legs, the black dog and his companions had the advantage, and Nick had to fight not to fall behind the pack. There was no light apart from the moon that filtered through the treetops, and he often tripped over fallen branches and protruding roots.
"I /can/ carry you, you know," Arthur offered.
"What are you talking about? I'm… I'm fine," Nick panted.
"We have a long way to travel and will be running all night. The moon will soon be behind the trees, so you will be unable to see where you are going. It will be difficult for you, and you will be tired when we part ways in the morning."
"I… I appreciate the offer," gasp, "Arthur, but I'd feel awkward. Besides, I'm too… too heavy for you."
"Nonsense," the canine told him, "you would not be heavy at all. I am leader of the pack because I am the strongest, and you insult my strength by saying I cannot carry you."
"Oh! No offense m-meant…" Nick pressed his hand to his stomach, feeling the stitch growing there. The idea of being carried began to sound more convincing.
Before Nick could say anything else, Arthur gave a low bark. Another hound approached Nick from behind and butted him in the back of the knees with its head. He lost his balance and lurched forward, falling across Arthur's back. The big black dog was running crouched down low in order to catch him but did not falter one step, and once Nick was splayed across his back, Arthur straightened to his full height. Other dogs shifted their positions, running over to elevate Nick's long arms and legs. Recovering from the fall, Nick found himself lying face down on a platform of soft black dog fur.
The position quickly became uncomfortable for his lower extremities, which were being struck against the dogs' backs by the constant thumpa-thumpa motion of their running. Nick felt an aching feeling spread from his groin to his stomach and, removing his backpack with a grunt, he flipped over face up towards the sky and squeezed his eyes shut against the discomfort. Slowly the ache subsided and he settled down across the canines' backs, balancing the backpack on his stomach. Nick still hadn't found a truly comfortable position, but at least this way wasn't so painful.
Setting his head down near Arthur's neck, Nick gave a deep sigh. "Fine, you win."
"You cannot stay in the forest long; there are too many dangerous things about. We can run faster now that you are riding. Isn't it better this way?" The dog sounded amused.
Nick glanced over at Lene, who had somehow managed to fall asleep in spite of the bumping and jolting of her ride. The great canines ran so close together that there was no room between them and no need to worry that the five-year-old might fall. "Yeah, I guess so…" Nick said at last.
"Now that you're properly settled, I can answer the questions you asked earlier," Arthur told him. "You wanted to know about satellites?"
"Yeah, what are they? You said that Günter guy sends them out?"
"I spoke earlier of the evil that villain unleashed upon Other World and how it was too strong even for him… Günter knows that he is in danger if he physically leaves his castle. Only death waits for him here in Other World; my people and I are not the only ones who want him. So he projects himself from Nightingale Hill; that way he can recede back into his body at any sign of trouble."
Nick thought about it for a moment. "That person we saw then… he wasn't real? He sure felt real when I hit him."
"The satellites are just as real, just as strong, and just as dangerous as his actual self," Arthur said. After allowing some time for that to sink in, the pack leader spoke again, "So tell me a bit more about yourself. You said you come from the world beyond Nightingale Hill?"
"I guess so," Nick said. "I mean, I'm not really sure where I'm from… I just know that this place isn't my home. Everything about it is foreign to me."
"How did you come to Other World then?"
"I'm not sure about that either," he admitted. "It's kind of a long story…" Nick then went on to explain his lack of memory, his discovery of the Levittown, and his first encounter with Lene. When he brought up her ability to fill empty fridges and cabinets with things, Arthur interrupted.
"The child is able to use magic at such a young age. She must be a native of this place. That place you described, where the people have all left… it sounds like the developed lands beyond our forest. Where could they have all gone and why? I have not been there in many years, for this curse forbids us from leaving these woods."
"You've always lived in the forest, then?" Nick asked.
"Yes, Other World is divided into areas and their peoples, our area being the forest. We are a rural people, preferring nature to the uniformity of the developed lands. We have not seen anyone from other lands since we were transformed."
"Can you use magic, too? Like Lene?"
"Before we were cursed, we could," the canine replied. "Now the magic left to us is different. It's been integrated into the fibers of our very beings – the ability to run together far and fast without tiring; the power to speak to all creatures, man and animal alike; and a closer affinity to nature than what we had as men, including the ability to closely read the weather… Our powers were once as you describe the child's, magic we could use deliberately."
"Do you miss having powers?"
"We miss a lot of things about being human," Arthur said huskily and left it at that.
Changing the subject, Nick asked, "So what reasons would Günter have to come after me?"
"That is a good question. He would not come to these woods without reason, even in satellite form, so he must want something from you."
"He knew my name and Lene's, too. It felt like he was mocking me because I don't know who I am... like he knew more about me than I know about myself..." Nick stared into the darkness around them. That was how it felt inside his mind, dark and almost impossible for him to see the memories that should be there like the trees he would have been able to see if only the moon hadn't descended beyond the horizon. "If that guy's after me, I'm starting to think that he may be the reason I can't remember anything. As for Lene, I'm not sure what her story is…"
"I'm afraid I've never heard of any magical ability that involved aging faster than is natural," Arthur admitted. "But then, there are different levels of magical abilities that people can wield. Perhaps she is a special case?"
"Maybe," Nick said then yawned. There were no more questions, and he just sat there staring out into the night. Somehow, despite all the bumping and jolting of the dogs, Nick managed to fall asleep.
