Guardian Hound (6 page)

Then this prince…well, he was a man, no?

Though Mei Ling had many decades on her bones, she still knew how to get what she needed from men.

And if not, her teeth were surely sharper than his.

Germany, Eleven Years Ago

Lukas

Lukas stood in the middle of the classroom, naked, ready for Tilgard's instructions.

He had to do this perfectly.

Luckily, Oma had been working with him, training him behind locked doors, after dark and his bedtime, for the last two years. He wrapped all the secrets she'd imbued him in like a cloak, protecting him from the shadows.

The classroom was warm, and the window was shut, a feeble attempt to limit distractions. Lukas concentrated instead on the paper smells of the books, the musty chalk, and the new red ink Felix his tutor had used the night before when he'd sat and graded Lukas and Greta's homework.

Tilgard wore his traditional leather pants and jerkin, with rabbit fur tied to his waist and bacon treats in his pocket. He kept his head and jaw shaved, making his dark brown eyes seem like they bulged out and his nose and chin flattened. He didn't stare at Lukas, didn't try to challenge him. But he did stand in a position of command, and he demanded respect.

Finally, Tilgard made a signal with his right hand.

Sight hound.

Lukas changed swiftly, calling on that aspect of Hamlin's soul.

“Good,” Tilgard said, tossing him a bacon treat.

Lukas knew he'd done it perfectly, and that he now looked like Da, a champion gray-and-white greyhound. His head was diamond shaped, his body long and lean.

But the form didn't feel right. His jaw wasn't strong enough, and his hind legs weren't as powerful as Hamlin's.

Lukas stood still and proud as he waited for the next instruction.

Tilgard gave him a mixed signal,
sight
with one hand and
sound
with the other.

Lukas and Hamlin wagged their tail once and flowed into the shape of a Rhodesian Ridgeback.

This shape felt almost right. His chest was broad and powerful, and his nose was large, able to catch more scents. He liked the ridge that ran down his back as well, knowing that when he was older, he could choose this shape as a hound warrior, and the ridge would become armored spikes.

But this form wasn't completely right either. His eyesight, while strong, wasn't as keen, and in this shape, while he was fast, he wasn't fast enough.

“Good, good,” Tilgard said. Then he made one last sign, a
questioning
sign, meaning Lukas could take whatever form he wanted.

Generally, the final shape of the three forms that all royalty had to practice was their natural dog shape, what their true hound soul looked like.

Oma had prepared Lukas for this as well.

Lukas called on Hamlin to help. This had to be perfect, too.

With a great shake, Lukas shrank down, more and more, until he was a compact little black Scottish terrier.

Tilgard still told him that he was good.

Lukas knew he had the form correct—almond eyes, perky ears, long silky coat. This shape wasn't right, either, though it was the best compromise he and Hamlin could find. It was comfortable enough, with strong legs, a keen nose, and far-seeing eyes. It felt almost like Hamlin's natural form, just with all his senses dimmed.

Except his intelligence. Lukas and Hamlin were both sharp and aware as a Scottie dog, more than any other.

Tilgard gave the next command:
Change back into human.

Lukas sat down and looked expectantly at the hound master, as if he should get a treat. He tried to contain his excitement at the challenge.

After all the training, the weeks of secret study with Oma, Lukas was finally putting their plans into motion.

Tilgard gave the hand signal again, this time with the spoken command, “
Verwandele
!
”

Lukas swallowed.
Calm, calm, calm
. He made himself sit up on his hind legs, as if he'd confused the signal and was supposed to beg.

“
Nein,
” Tilgard said.

Lukas stayed on his hind legs and tilted his head to one side, fighting the urge to obey.

Hamlin pushed out and up in the little terrier body, filling all the space, his heart and courage bigger than the commanding presence in front of them.

When Tilgard spoke sharply, Lukas dropped down to all fours and yipped playfully, rear up, tail wagging, as if this were a game, though his heart raced and he panted.

If he'd been in human form, he knew he'd be sweating.

“Change back!” Tilgard commanded in English this time.

Lukas stopped playing and backed away, his eyes wide and his ears flattened.

“No, no, I won't hurt you,” Tilgard assured them.

Lukas stayed where he was, wary.

“Please, change.”

Lukas looked around the room, as if noticing it for the first time, sniffing the air.

“I don't know what you're playing at, but you need to quit, now.”

Lukas continued to ignore the hound master, only looking at him when he said something sharply. Maybe he could go play outside soon. He teased apart the scents in the air, seeking even the edge of the woods, the metal gate miles away. When he was in Hamlin's form he could smell it; now, only his imagination supplied it.

Tilgard left and returned first with Felix, then with Oma.

Nothing would make Lukas change back, no pleas or threats, as he and his grandmother had planned. He watched her carefully, impressed with her fine acting. She still had much to teach him.

Finally, the three of them left him alone in the classroom. Lukas curled up in a dog bed in the corner, exhausted with the effort of disobeying, his little body shaking.

Relax,
he told Hamlin as he closed his eyes.
No guard tonight
.

Hamlin shuffled closer and curled up with Lukas, glad for the rest.

When they awoke, Lukas was human-shaped again. The traditional cloak lay folded next to him, the one he'd worn two years before, the first time he'd transformed.

As soon as Lukas put on the cloak, Tilgard came back in the room. “Was that some kind of game, son?” the hound master thundered.

Shaking, Lukas turned to him, remembering to make his eyes wide and scared. “No,” he whispered.

He must have gotten the play-acting right because Tilgard pulled him into a tight hug.

“My boy, my boy,” he said softly, kissing the top of Lukas' head. “We'll think of something, eh?” he added, pulling back.

Lukas nodded solemnly, knowing they wouldn't. Oma had seen to that.

In two weeks' time, Lukas would have to show his forms to the court. Since Hamlin looked like a mongrel, the only way for Lukas to prove his royalty was by showing that he could take more than one form, on command.

And he would. He would easily go through all the breeds of hounds dictated by the court.

But then he'd
stick
in the last one, hiding in plain sight, away from the shadows.

His dreams, and
Oma's
, had foretold that there was the only way he'd survive into adulthood: By staying in hound form.

# # #

The next time Lukas played at getting stuck, he stayed that way for over a day. Hamlin guarded him in his sleep so he didn't accidentally change back.

It was nice not to dream of the shadows.

The next morning, at breakfast, Lukas pretended to be shamefaced at the dining table.

It wasn't all play acting—Da and Mama carefully didn't talk about it, or even look at him, as they buttered their toast or passed the orange juice. They all sat together in the new breakfast nook, just the four of them; Oma had taken her breakfast in her room—another test, Lukas was certain, to make sure he'd performed well.

Lukas wanted to tell his family, but he also didn't want to tell them. He'd grown so used to keeping secrets over the years—about his breed, about the shadows, about the hidden signals he and Oma passed, about the ancient stories of other guardian hounds that weren't in the regular recitations—and this was just one more.

After Da and Mama had left, Greta stayed at the table, stirring her tea. She wore a long-sleeved white blouse buttoned up to her neck though it was summer, along with a nice black skirt. Lukas had teased her when she'd first come in that she looked like a secretary.

“What's it like?” Greta finally asked, pushing her blond curls out of her face to stare at Lukas. “Is it scary, getting stuck like that?”

Lukas shook his head. “No. Being a dog…it's fun.”

Greta nodded. She wasn't a full member of the hound clan; it was usually only men who could change. She'd never seemed jealous of Lukas' ability, though. “You always do seem happy,” she said.

“Yeah.” Lukas had read that only hounds experienced pure joy. Though disobeying was thrilling, staying as a dog and romping as much as he wanted was a reward by itself. No school or studying, either with Felix or in secret with Oma.

“You only have to change into other forms once more. For the court,” Greta added, looking back at her tea-cup.

“It'll be fine,” Lukas assured her, though he knew it wouldn't be. He only had a few more days like this, in his human form. Then he'd stay as a hound for a year, maybe two. Oma hadn't been really clear on how long he'd have to stay hidden. But it wouldn't be that bad, being a hound all the time. He wouldn't have to study anymore.

“If you do get stuck, I'll do everything I can to help find a cure,” Greta said in a rush.

“What, as a secretary?” Lukas teased.

“Scientist. Idiot.”

Lukas grinned at her, then made himself continue smiling, even when it started to hurt. He'd give anything to be able to really say goodbye to his sister, Mama, and Da.

But it wasn't safe. He had to pretend he was stuck, and he couldn't give away their plans.

If his family knew about the shadows, the shadows would take them, and Lukas would never be able to rescue them. Only by hiding his human form, staying stuck in dog form, could he keep them safe.

It was sometimes so difficult not to tell them.

# # #

Lukas followed Oma into her room, his little Scottish terrier body shaking, small whines creeping out of his throat.

Yes, there was joy in being a dog all the time.

But he was also a boy, and after two weeks, it was getting harder not to change back. Being a hound all the time wasn't any more natural than being a boy all the time. As a member of the hound clan, he needed to do both regularly.

Plus, Tilgard watched him all the time. Lukas couldn't change back, even for a night, when he was being spied on that way.

Lukas had dreamed of being a boy again the previous night. He'd woken to find the hound master waiting patiently beside him.

It wasn't hard to figure out that Lukas' scent had given him away.

So he'd come whining to Oma, following her back to her room.

A tiny bed, more like a cot, was shoved into one corner near the door. It didn't look comfortable at all. A small, three-drawer dresser sat next to it. Smells of bitter herbs, moldy paper, and bright flowers flowed around him. Shelves filled the rest of the room, standing out from the walls at all angles, reaching all the way up to the fifteen-foot ceilings. Just a path lay between the shelves, wide enough for the crooked ladder Oma used to reach the top.

Not just books lined the shelves. Though Oma wasn't a hound, she had magic, more than any other human the hound clan knew. She'd created all the protection charms in the castle and had taught magic to generations of hounds. She'd said once it was why the shadows had come bothering her as well: They were attracted to her magic.

Lukas never liked it here. It was too closed in, too much like a library or a laboratory, not like a bedroom at all.

Oma sat down on the little dog bed she'd put next to hers, soft and dark blue, and smelling only of Lukas. He jumped immediately into her lap. Oma knew just how to use her nails along his back to soothe him, how to
skritch
along his ears where his hind legs really couldn't reach. It helped him settle into his skin, at least for a little while.

“I didn't want it to come to this,” she whispered, bending her head to his, her nose in his hair. “But you need help, don't you?”

Lukas nodded. He was trying so hard to be good, to always stay a dog and to act more like one, as though he only had dog thoughts in his head, but it was hard.

“I can make it easier,” Oma said.

Lukas pushed harder against her chest.
Yes. Better. Now.

“Normally, a hound soul circles the human one, rising only when called. For a while, I can change that. Make your human soul circle your hound soul.”

Lukas shivered. It sounded scary, making his human soul go away.

Hamlin pushed forward, leaning on him, assuring him that Hamlin would keep them safe.

Lukas nodded.

“Good. That Tilgard suspects something. You need to hide better.”

Lukas stilled. What was Oma asking of him now? Not that it mattered. He wouldn't deny her anything. They shared too many secrets.

“I'm going to smuggle you away, out of here.”

Lukas dropped his head and gave a great sigh. Away from the castle, away from Da and Mama and Greta and everything he'd ever know….He'd be lonely, but he suspected it would be easier to stay in one shape, away from them.

Plus, if he and Hamlin were far from the hound master, maybe he could change back into a real boy at night.

Slowly, Lukas nodded, giving his consent. It would only be for a year or two, right? Though that now seemed like an eternity.

“Good, good. Rudolf Von
DeWhite
will be your guardian. I trust him. Rudi. Not with all your secrets, but he'll keep you safe. He's a scent hound, not a sight hound.”

Lukas understood what that meant: Rudolf wasn't part of the court. Lukas thought he remembered Rudolph from a visit once.

“There are others, too, whom I have trained, who will hide your true location, confuse the search,” Oma continued, whispering. “So, first, a potion to put your human soul to sleep. Then, tonight, the full spell.”