Page 80 of Blacktail

Blacktail scented the cat and felt no lie. “Perhaps,” he said, “but I am not the only one.” Then he bit off her head.

viii

A few breaths later Blacktail limped into the back chamber, the sleeping chamber where the scent of Mercy was strongest. It was empty save for the beagle and his sleeping mistress.

The beagle had planted himself between Blacktail and Mercy. Blacktail padded forward until he loomed over the ridiculous little dog. He wasn’t running away, Blacktail realized. He came here to protect Mercy. He came to serve as her final guard.

“Go on now, little fellow,” Blacktail said gently. “Enough of us have died. Don’t you think?”

“I told you to stay away from her,” the beagle growled.

“What is it with you—you…you dogs?” Blacktail cried, exasperated. “How can you not see the foolishness of this? You may die for nothing, and worse than die—do you think the Forest God will welcome the likes of you to the Far Hill?”

“Bite you and bite your fucking Forest God,” the beagle said. “You stay away from my mommy.”

“Bah,” Blacktail spat. He snatched the beagle up in his jaws and threw him against a wall. The little dog struck it hard and bounced off, then lay there, dazed. Blacktail had heard something crack when he struck the floor.

“Watch this, you little idiot,” Blacktail said. “Are you watching?” He sprang up onto the sleeping pile of Mercy.

“NO!” the beagle shrieked. “STAY AWAY FROM HER! MOMMY—WAKE UP, MOMMY! RUN, MOMMY! RUN! RUN! RUN!”

Amazingly, Mercy was still asleep. Magic acorns indeed. Blacktail licked its face cheerily. “Two-legs? Can you hear me, you vile monster? It’s time to wake up!!”

The two-legs pried one eye open. Seeing Blacktail’s bloodstained muzzle grinning down at her, she jerked awake. She sat up, scrambling backward. When her back pushed against the wall, she froze.

“That-a-girl!” Blacktail barked at her. “Goooood puppy!” He looked back over his shoulder at the beagle. “Are you watching this, little fellow? Do I have your full attention? I have something important to show you.”

“Please,” the beagle whined. “Please, please, please don’t hurt her.”

Blacktail considered this. “Very well,” he said, jumping down from the bed. “You lot seem fond of your lessons. Here is one of mine, just for you.”

The two-legs’ paralysis broke. She scrambled out of bed in a flurry of sleeping skins, fell, and jumped back to her feet. She shouted something Blacktail couldn’t understand at the beagle.

“RUN, MOMMY!” the beagle shrieked back.

“Yes,” Blacktail said dryly. “Run. Do. Let your loyal servants die here in your stead. I would expect nothing else.”

The two-legs cocked her head at the sound of his voice. She stared between Blacktail and the beagle for a long moment, wondering but not understanding. For the briefest instant, Blacktail felt a surge of unease—he would have expected her to be gone by now.

But no sooner had he thought it, the two-legs turned and ran down the hall.

Blacktail blew out a long breath. He turned back to the beagle. “There,” he said. “Do you see, you little idiot? Do you see? Now do you see?”

The beagle watched her go. His expression was impossible to read. “Run, Mommy,” he said softly. “Run away.” When she was out of sight, he made a halfhearted attempt to drag himself away from Blacktail with his forepaws. But it was no use; he was too fat, his wounds too severe, the pain in his hip too much. He curled his lip up at Blacktail, then closed his eyes and waited to die.

“Gah!” Blacktail spat. “You are impossible. I—”

At that moment, Blacktail’s head exploded with a blinding flash of pain. He heard a clatter of wood on wood. Splinters rained down on the floor around him. He staggered, dazed. What happened? Did a tree fall on me?

“NO, MOMMY! Don’t! This one is—He’s—You CAN’T win! He’ll KILL you! RUN AWAAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAA­AAAAY!”

Blacktail staggered back a step or two, then turned to look at the entrance to the sleeping chamber. Mercy stood there holding the shattered remains of a long stick. She bared her teeth at him.

As Blacktail watched, Mercy squatted down between the beagle and Blacktail, protecting the little dog with her body. Blacktail gaped at this, unable to credit what he was seeing. He heard a liquid sound, looked down, and saw a fat drop of blood plop onto the floor of the den. Is that mine?

Mercy, still not running away, looked directly at him and shrieked something at the top of her lungs.

“What?” Blacktail asked stupidly. Another drop of blood fell. “What?”