Page 285 of Phoenix's Fire

Kanik shifted as much as he could. I grabbed his wrists, and he clung to mine, but the moment I started pulling, Holly darted in, grabbing one of those leather straps over his shoulders to help even more. Together, we slid him out from under the brush, not stopping until we were beside my make-shift contraption.

"Now to get you on that," I said, trying to figure out how to make it happen.

"I can move a bit," he promised.

Mostly, he used his legs. His arms lifted and adjusted. It took a bit, and I felt helpless watching him, but Kanik eventually managed to flop down on the sheet, face up. I moved in to shift his legs, lining him up better, and I gently laid his tail over his knees.

"Holly?" I called, getting her to stand beside me.

Then I tied a knot in the rope the way Zasen had taught me. The kind that wouldn't slip and tighten. That went around her neck. A few wraps were secured around her body so they wouldn't squeeze her, and then I moved her to the end ofthe thing. Taking the ends of the rope, I tied each one to the branches, creating a sled of sorts.

"Stay," I ordered before going back to where Kanik was lying. Dropping to my knees, I grabbed his hands in mine, not caring about mud, blood, or anything else. "This is going to hurt too."

He nodded. "I know. It's okay. I'll manage."

But I didn't let go. "We thought you were dead, Kanik."

That earned me a weak smile. "Me too."

I nodded. "I don't like whiskey, and I never want to have it again. That means you can't die, okay? I have to get you back, and I'm scared, and I feel..." I gestured in front of my body, shaking my hand to show how it felt. "I don't like this, but I'm doing it, and if I stop..."

"You'll fall apart," he realized. "Okay. Then take me home, Ayla. Fix this, Phoenix."

That made something inside me relax. A weak smile found my face, and I nodded, but as I pushed to my feet, there was one last thing I had to say.

"I like you too much to never see you again, so I'm saving you!"

"Yes," he agreed, "you are. Ayla, you are definitely my hero."

"Holly," I said, turning back towards Lorsa and grabbing a part of the ropes I'd used to hold this sled together. "Pull."

She hadn't been trained for this, but my dog never let that stop her. She'd learned how to disarm Moles. She'd stayed at my side loyally through all of this. So when I started walking, pulling at the sled, she leaned into her harness, pausing when Kanik didn't move easily.

"Pull!" I ordered again. "Come, Holly. Pull."

This time, she dug in, putting her all into it. Behind her, the sled moved, so she pulled harder. Kanik groaned as he bounced across the ground, but in only a few strides, the branches shifted, making runners of a sort, and my plan proved it was working.

But it was a very long way back.

When we got the sled off the loose dirt and onto the road, it moved even easier. Now, Holly was trotting beside me, and I was stretching my legs. Kanik had passed out after an hour of walking, but he was still alive. He'd come to in the middle, but he was out again.

The moment we entered the city walls, I began to hope. A few more steps got us in front of our house. There, I ordered Holly to stay and raced across the yard, aware I was simultaneously exhausted and too excited to stop.

Throwing open the door, I barely stepped inside before yelling, "Zasen! Rymar! I need help!"

"What?" Rymar called.

"Ayla?" Zasen gasped, and feet followed.

"I found Kanik!" I yelled, glancing back to make sure Holly was still where I'd left her. "He's hurt!'

Zasen rushed around the corner in only his underwear. "What?" he asked, gaping at me in astonishment.

"Kanik!" I said, pointing behind me, through the open door. "We need to get him to the hospital!"

Rymar rushed out of the room, shoving a pair of pants against Zasen's chest. "Kanik?"

"Fuck." Zasen said, scrambling to get a leg into the pants. Then he took a step, hurrying towards the door while still bent over. When his other foot came up, he shoved that in his pants too, moving while getting dressed. "He's alive?"

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