The kennels had little of the stables’ glory; they were a long low windowless building made from stone that had fallen from the walls, and if the builder’s intention was a construction that looked constantly on the edge of collapse then he had been entirely successful. I promised myself that once I had finished my reward would be a visit to Drusl, but that didn’t make me feel much better; the kennels continued to grow ominously in both size and stink as I approached. When I stood at the door, my heart racing, the animals inside sensed my presence and filled the air with angry noise. By the kennel door was a flaking wooden handle used to open the cages inside. I checked it was down and the animals locked up before I considered entering.
The kennel door opened onto darkness full of barking, shrieking animals that sounded as hungry and terrifying as any hedging. War dogs are huge creatures and I counted four pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness. Each animal was fed by way of a funnel which delivered food directly into a trough in an empty cage next to its own. The food would coax the animal out so its home cage could be cleaned. I took a step into the building and stood—Breathe out, no room for fear. Breathe in, I am the instrument—forcing my eyes wide open as I concentrated on the exercise of the False Lantern. Slowly, my eyes became unnaturally wide and the darkness changed. The kennel took on a curious look, becoming a collection of sketchy silhouettes outlined in shivering white against absolute black. Some lines were still: the edges of the cages, the handles which pulled up the inner gates to funnel the fierce animals from one cage to another. Other, more terrifying shapes bounced and snarled as they snapped furious teeth in my direction, eager to be at this stranger who stepped forward, stinking of fear.
I reached the first empty cage, and as I lifted the heavy bucket the huge animal next door threw itself against the mesh. I recoiled, spilling more of the filthy slop on my clothes. The three other dogs joined in with the noise, filling the stifling room with barking, growling and the clash of rattling cages. I forced myself back to the cage and emptied out a portion of food but the gelid slop of animal innards, old porridge and bones sliding into the empty cage did nothing to distract the huge animal next door. It seemed intent only on me. As I walked to the next cage it followed me down the length of its own. I put food into the remaining troughs but the other dogs were also more interested in my throat than the food. Then I walked to the handle which would lift the inner gates so the dogs would move to their eating cages.
As I touched the handle I thought I heard something above the dogs—a stifled laugh that turned the blood in my veins to ice. No one should be here. I turned. A silhouette filled the doorway, identity hidden by the glare from outside. In slow motion I saw an arm reach out for the edge of the door and before I could shout, “No!” the door was slammed shut and I heard the bar fall on the other side.
Panic flooded through me.
This was a prank, a cruel and stupid prank by some squire. No doubt to them this was little more than a game or a way of currying favour with Aydor or Tomas.
Breathe! Breathe out, breathe out.
With a screech of complaining metal, the shining lines of the outer gates on the cages began to move. Someone was pulling on the handle outside.
No.
Breathe in, breathe in.
I was frozen to the floor.
No room. No room for fear or … Breathe! Breathe.
I was moving, my body reacting while my mind remained clouded and chilled. I ran for the back of the room—Not away from the door, not away from the door—and grabbed the spade used to shovel dirt from the cages. The beasts scrabbled at the ground beneath their gates with huge luminous paws, clods of filthy hay flying as they dug and whined in their desperation to get at me. The space beneath the gates slowly grew. Glimpses in silver: a paw, a muzzle, an ear.
No time for fear no room for fear breathe out—fear— breathe in. I am an—breathe—instrument. I am—breathe—a weapon. Breathe!
The gate creaked up a little further.
Breathe!
Dead gods, whoever was doing this was taunting me. They were enjoying it.
Don’t scream for help.
The cages inched open further and one of the dogs, the biggest, managed to get its jaws underneath the gate, snapping out lines of phosphorescent saliva.
Everything in me wanted to run for the door. This was no prank; this was an attempt on my life and I’d take a hedging’s deal before I’d give them the satisfaction of hearing me banging on the door, screaming to be let out.
My tormentor became bored of the game and the gates opened with a screech. The first dog came at me, a huge beast of shimmering white ropes. Its mouth yawing open impossibly far as it jumped for my throat. I brought round my spade, smashing the blade into its head. The war dog yelped as it hit the floor but got straight back up, circling round to join the pack. I knew I was finished.
…if you escape the slavers will let the dogs rip you apart …
With a blade I’d be hard pressed to protect myself when the four animals attacked together, without one there was no way I would be able to hold them off.
Three dogs waited at bay, growling, while the dog I had hit gathered itself to lead their attack. I could almost feel the gathering tension in their muscles as they prepared to leap.
The dogs growled, deep and hungry, and then there was a pause in the moment—an unexpected strangeness. An unreality where the air was honey-yellow and the filthy stink of the kennel was banished by something other, some exotic and spicy scent. It confused the dogs. Growls turned into whines, jaws closed, tails went between legs and the dark kennel was suffused with unworldly light. In my fear I felt as though another stood in the room with me, willing my escape.
I threw myself sideways and squeezed under a gate, making it into the cage that had housed the biggest dog just as the strange light vanished and the dogs rediscovered their fury. The gate was attached to its lifting mechanism by a piece of twisted old rope and I swung the shovel, cutting the ratty length and bringing the gate clattering down. Denied their prey the dogs descended into a form of insanity and my life became nothing but sharp teeth, angry barking and paws scrabbling at wire mesh that looked far too delicate to hold them back.
Breathe.
Time ceased to have meaning.
Can’t breathe.
All was teeth and claws and noise. I closed my eyes and let time flow over me.
A change in the timbre of the barking snapped me out of my terror. The dogs, instead of barking, were letting out low growls. I opened my eyes to see they had turned from me towards the door. It creaked open. I could just make out a figure. At first, as the dogs did not bark, I thought it must be someone they knew, but as my eyes became more used to the glare I recognised the slim form of my master in her motley. She stepped forward, slowly and carefully, placing her feet like she was doing a knife dance. She had one hand outstretched and the nearer she got to the dogs the more the growling subsided until I could hear her speaking in a whisper, repeating the same set of nonsense words again and again as she inched forward. The biggest dog took four stiff-legged steps towards her and stopped to sniff her outstretched hand. It let out a whimper and turned twice on the spot before lying down with its head on its big paws. Then its fellows did the same. My master was using the Wild Gaze to calm the beasts, a skill I had never managed to learn.