Page 152 of Phoenix's Fire

"She's immune," Lansin promised. "If you ever want to breed her, I can tell you how to make the puppies that way too, but Veralon - one of the tailed Reapers - helps us out when we have litters."

"I don't even know what she eats," Ayla said.

Lansin nodded. "Well..." And he began telling her the basic things she'd need to know to care for a dog. Kanik knelt as well, reaching in to pet the dog's hip. Zasen didn't. Instead, he made his way over to me, grabbed my arm, then tugged me back far enough our friends wouldn't be able to overhear.

"You bought that dog, right?" he demanded.

"Do not fucking tell her," I warned.

But Zasen just chuckled. "I was thinking about doing it tomorrow. How'd you get Lansin to say that?"

"I asked," I said a little too innocently.

Zasen nodded. "So, house fund?"

"Definitely the house fund," I agreed, glancing over at Kanik. "And he's been putting some in as well, so he won't feel like he let her down again."

"But you have to walk her too," Zasen said. "That's my rule. Everyone who lives with that dog needs to know how to handle it."

I just slapped him on the shoulder. "I don't know how to break it to you, but I think the thing's cute. I also like that she'll be sleeping in Ayla's bed, so if one of you two does something stupid, expect to get teeth in your balls."

Zasen hummed as if thinking about that. "Okay, you make good points. The dog is an even better idea than I realized."

"And," I added, "Lansin pointed out that Ayla can do dogs. Not just have one, but this? If she wants, it could be the start to her career."

"So we will never,evertell her you bought that animal," he swore.

"Webought," I corrected, "but yes. Exactly. Holly is something Ayla gets to do all on her own, and I get the impression she's good at this."

"Fucking amazing," Zasen assured me. "And maybe even a bit terrifying, but it looks good on her."

Forty-Seven

Tobias

The going was slow on the way back to the compound. All of us had taken wounds, and since there were only seven of us, that made pulling the carts hard. The one Dragon body? It wasn't enough. I knew it wouldn't be.

But when we finally reached the main door, Gideon shoved forward to lurk over the keypad. The thing beeped four times as he entered the code.

"Who all knows how to get in?" I asked.

"Not you," Gideon snapped at me.

I grunted. "And if you'd been killed back there too? Then what are we supposed to do?"

"Bang loudly," he told me just as the heavy electric bolt released.

Slowly, the door swung inward. Along the ceiling, lights began to flick on. They were faint at first, but grew a bit stronger the longer they were on. Even better, the long, narrow hall sloped downwards, making the carts roll easily.

We didn't make it five feet before men began hurrying toward us. "We got the carts," someone said.

"This is it?" another asked.

"Where's the rest of the team?" someone demanded.

But the seven of us were all being propelled forward. The most wounded were given shoulders to lean on. The guy with a limp was carried by two others. As a gatherer, I hadn't been greeted this way on my own. Instead, I'd been expected to guide the hunters to the infirmary - and this time it was my turn.

"Over here! Over here!" someone yelled

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