You get hurt sometimes,Ponch said.That makes me sad .
Yeah, well, I get sad when you re hurt, too.
That s right. And your dam and your sire and your littermates, they hurt sometimes, too. So does Nita. I noticed that. But it didn t seem to matter as much asyouhurting .
Ponchpaused for a long time.But then I saw him: Darryl. And what That One was doing to him, and how it hurt him. And he didn t do anything to deserve that. It was awful,the way he was hurting. And that started to hurt me. And then I thought,Why doesn t the others hurt make me feel like this And then I felt bad about myself .
Kit hardly knew what to say. It wasn t that it was a bad thing for his dog to learn about compassion, but that the lesson would come all at once, like this, came as a surprise.
And the others didn t deserve to be hurt, either,Ponch said, looking up at Kit.Nita didn t do anything bad, for her mother to die. Why should she be hurt like that Why shouldDairine Or your sire or dam
They re good. Why do they have to suffer when they haven t been bad It s not fair!
Kit bowed his head. This line of reasoning all too closely reflected some of his own late-night thoughts over the past couple of months. And all the easy answers about the Powers That Be and the Lone Power, and all the other additional theories or answers that might be suggested by either religion or science suddenly sounded hollow and pathetic.
I don t know, Kit said. I really don t know.
Ifelt sad for them all ,Ponch said.Sad for everything, because it shouldn t have to be that way.All of a sudden I had to howl, that s all . He looked embarrassed.
Kit couldn t think of anything to do but get down on one knee and hugPonch , and ruffle his fur. After a momentPonch said,I m not going to howl now. It s all right .
I know, Kit said. But he wasn t sure that it was all right.
Ponchlooked at him again. 5bwhat do we do he said.To make it right
That answer, at least, Kit was sure of. Just get on with work, he said. That s what wizards do.
And their dogs.
And their dogs, Kit said. After dinner tonight, huh We ll go looking for Darryl again. We ll see if we can t get a word with him find out what s going on. Then he can get himself out of there, and we can get back to doing what we usually do.
Right.
They walked back up the driveway together, and Kit letPonch into the house, hurriedly shutting the door. The wind outside was beginning to rise. He ditched his coat in a hurry, because his pop had already carried the soup pot to the table, setting it on a trivet, and his mama was putting out bowls and spoons. NoCarmela tonight Kit said, because there were only three bowls.
No, she s over at Miguel s with some of the other kids.A homework thing. His mama sat down, took her spoon, and tasted the soup as Kit s pop sat down.
Oh, honey, that s so good! his mama said. Even without the celery seed. Who d believe most of it came out of a can What else did you put in there
Genius, Kit s father said, and grinned.
Kit was inclined to agree. He finished his first bowl in record time, and reached for the ladle to serve himself some more.
Another satisfied customer, his pop said.
Kit nodded, already working on the second bowl.
You ve got that fueling-up look, his pop said, as he chased the last few spoonfuls of soup around his own bowl. You going out on business tonight, son
Yup.
How long
Not late, Kit said. I don t think, anyway.Back by bedtime.
Yours,or mine
Mine, Pop.
Good, his dad said. What you re doing is important and so is getting your rest. His father gave himwhat Kit usually thought of as the eye, a faintly warning look. You re looking a little pooped, this past day or so. Try to relax a little over the weekend, okay
If I can, Kit said.
His pop looked like he was going to say something, then changed his mind, and reached for the ladle himself. Hey, who took all the beans
That would be me, Kit s mama said.
Now I m going to have to make another pot of this!
How terrible for us all, she said.
Kit finished his own bowlful and, smiling, got up and put his bowl in the sink. Then he went to get his parka andPonch s leash.
They stood out in the backyard a little while later, in the near darkness, and Kit looked down atPonch . Ready he said.
All ready.
You ve got Darryl s scent
It s faint,Ponch said.We re going to have to walk for a while .
Kit checked the force-field spell, which he had integrated into the leash-wizardry, and saw that it was charged, up and running; it would keep hostile environments out for a good while, and protect the two of them from deadly force for at least long enough to come up with a better, more focused defense. Okay. Let s go.
Ponchpulled the bright leash of wizardry taut, stepped forward, and vanished intoa darkness deeper than anything in Kit s backyard. Kit stepped after him; the blackness folded in all around.
They did, indeed, have to walk for some time. Kit kept a careful eye on the line of wizardry stretching between him andPonch , watching to make sure that it was drawing power correctly, and that the faint diagnostic glow of light running up and down it was doing so regularly. Beyond that, there wasn t much for Kit to do for a long while except keep walking through the dark, watching the ever-so-faintly illuminated shape of his dog asPonch led the way.
A whispering sound very faint, seemingly very far away was the first thing that Kit started to notice as differing from the darkness and silence surrounding them. It was incessant, a soft white-noise hiss at a high frequency, but every now and then Kit thought he heard words in it.Am I just imagining that he thought as the hiss got louder around them. You hear that he said toPonch .
The wind Ponchsaid.Yes. It s up ahead, where Darryl is. We ll be there soon .
I mean, do you hear something besides the wind The voices
Ponchpaused a moment, cocked his head to one side.No , he said.Not right now, anyway. Let s get there and see if I hear it then .
They started walking again. Quite suddenly, as if they d walked through a curtain, Kit andPonch were surrounded by blue-white light. Kit stopped, looking around him, blinking. After the darkness, this brilliance was dazzling.