Guardian Hound by Leah Cutter Page A

against the shadows. Finally, after all these years. Maybe, just maybe, he could be free of his curse. Oma would see that it was time, and would let him go back to being a real boy. Maybe she could explain as well why she’d cursed him with his greatest enemy.
    Rudi always walked Lukas with a leash, but not because Lukas or Hamlin gave him any trouble. However, Rudi had been lulled into some complacency: Two of the boards in the corner of the fence around the backyard were loose enough that Lukas could squeeze through them.
    And he did so, that night, as soon as he was certain Rudi was sound asleep.
    It was the first time Lukas had been out in the city on his own. He transformed into Hamlin once past the fence and started to run. It thrilled his speeding heart to be in his native form. They raced through the empty streets, running at full speed past the dark houses and parked cars. They avoided the corner bars and young people smoking in the street, heading directly toward the old part of town and that scent, just there.
    She lived on the first floor in a corner building, in the back, near the alley.
    Lukas whined as he circled the building. There was no gate. The front door was old, and mostly glass, and the lock was ancient. The back door wasn’t any better. Lukas could see where the doorjamb had been recently repaired—had it been kicked open? There weren’t even bars on the street-level windows, unlike the building next door.
    She was not safe there.
    Somehow, he would have to find a way to guard her.
    # # #
    Every night, after Rudi had gone to bed, Lukas pushed his way through the fence, then he changed into another form and raced to the human’s—Sally’s—building. He wanted to confuse the scent, in case Rudi followed him, or anyone else.
    The first week, Lukas let Sally see him as Hamlin, wondering how she would react to a very large, strange dog approaching her with no human nearby. It was on a quiet back street, full of parked cars, the houses and apartment buildings set back with fascinating smelling gardens.
    Lukas walked directly up to Sally. She showed no fear, though he came up almost to her chest; she merely smiled at him with her warm brown eyes. She wore her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a plain T-shirt and jeans. He blocked her path along the sidewalk, so she stopped.
    â€œHey, boy, do you live around here?” Sally asked, letting him sniff and lick at her fingers.
    The salty tasted exploded across Lukas’ tongue and he knew, knew , he was finally on the right path. She was the one, the heart of his knight.
    â€œI can’t take you home,” she mourned after a final skritch around his ears. “My apartment will only take small dogs. And I’m sure you belong to someone. Go on, now. Go on home.” She pushed past him and continued to walk down the street.
    Lukas sat on the sidewalk and whined at her back. She had to take him in.
    But she disappeared behind the unsafe door of her building and he could only guard her from the outside.
    # # #
    Two weeks later, Rudi walked into the living room carrying the board. He placed it on the floor, then stepped back, sitting down on the couch. He kept his tone conversational, though he smelled excited. “So who’s the girl?” he asked.
    Lukas looked at Rudi, then at the board. How had Rudi found out? He hadn’t followed Lukas, that much Lukas knew. Was it because Lukas still carried her scent with him, after every visit?
    He could walk away. Rudi hadn’t taken him to his study and closed the door. He could go into the kitchen, or even out the dog door and into the backyard, though it was raining.
    Trust , Hamlin said.
    Lukas sat on the floor and looked at Rudi. Yes, he needed to trust Rudi about this. Sally was too important. He didn’t know how she was part of the knight, how she would help defeat the shadows, but she would.
    Slowly, Lukas walked to the board. With a single paw, he