Chương 3

Another neat function of the charm that let her speak to people was that it could also amplify normal sounds. Like, a lot. Like many times louder, loud enough to scare off most anything, loud enough to hurt. When Lemon let out her bark, every bird in a mile radius took to the air with raucous caws of protest. The mountain lion was so surprised it fell out of the tree. Lemon could see the bark curl up as its claws fought to keep its grip, failed, and sliced through the wood.

Still, it was a cat, and other than that one time Lemon managed to sneak up on Midnight while she was watching some birds that nested in a lilac bush outside a window on the ground floor of the tower, she'd never seen a cat not land on its feet when it fell. The mountain lion hit the ground and shot off in a blur. Rather than attack, it raced through the trees and out of sight.

Lemon noticed with some satisfaction that it wove in a way that reminded her of Hogarth on his way to the privy when he'd had too much beer to drink. Once, it even crashed into a tree so hard it almost threw itself off its feet.

"Yeah, take that, you big, stupid, mangy cat!" Loni yelled after it. Lemon barked her agreement (just a regular bark this time), and her tail pumped vigorously. She glanced over at the other two kids, who were both staring at her, mouths agape.

"That was awesome," Andor said.

"My ears hurt," Shu complained.

"Did you see the way that pussy cat went running?"

"Yeah, just whoosh, and it was gone!"

"And my leg hurts!" Shu complained louder. Both boys turned to glare at her.

"Told you we shouldn't have brought her with us," Loni muttered. Lemon's tail slowed to stillness. It didn't take the humans long to start fighting each other once she'd chased off their common enemy. She barked again to get their attention and said,"If you all have this much energy, perhaps you don't need any help getting back home now. I know I certainly have other things to do with my time."

All three of them fell over themselves assuring her that they didn't want to be left alone in the woods and would appreciate her help just in case the cat came back. Well, Shu and Andor did. Loni only begrudgingly gave her any credit for helping at all, insisting that after all, he was the one who'd been hauling them around by the stick while they floated there doing nothing.

"Maybe you should try walking on your own," Lemon said.

"Doing magic is harder than some people give it credit for." Shu punched Loni's arm and said, "Thanks a lot, jerk. You'd better help me walk!" The boys got on either side of her and she put her arms around them. All three of them started moving, though slowly now that they had to help Shu with each step. Lemon trailed behind them, dutifully keeping guard for the mountain lion just in case it rediscovered its nerve and came after them again.

Eventually they made it out of the woods and onto a familiar road, just a mile or two outside of Wilbourghy. The kids let out ragged cheers and started limping their way towards home. Lemon took a moment to switch her charms back out, not expecting any need for levitation in town but knowing that her paws would be all sorts of sore by the end of her trip if she didn't take steps to prevent that. Then she trotted along behind the three children and enjoyed the smells and colors of a human village.

When they made it to the edge, a man who smelled like thatch and tar came running up and shouted, "There you three are! Where have you been? And what happened?" He scooped Shu up off her feet and peered at her leg.

"Girl, did you get mauled by that cougar that moved into the north woods?"

"It's a mountain lion," she muttered.

"Fool girl. It's the same thing! Now what were you three doing out there in the first place?" Tar-man didn't pay Lemon much mind while he talked to the kids, and seemed to ignore her while she followed them after he started walking.

"It's been getting after Pa's sheep," Andor said.

"So I took my spear and went out to hunt it. Loni came as backup, just in case I needed help, and Shu came because she said she knew lots about mountain lions and could help us find it."

"Looks like you found it," the man said grimly.

"You're lucky it didn't kill you."

"I stabbed it and drove it off!" Andor said proudly. His expression wilted under the adult's stern gaze, and he muttered quietly, "Well I did. Not my fault it came back." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Yeah, and broke your spear doing it," Loni said.

"At least I didn't forget mine at home like some people!" Andor yelled.

"Some backup you were!"

"Lemon saved us," Shu offered to tar-man that was holding her.

"Who's Lemon? Oh, this dog? How could a dog save you from a cougar?"

"I barked at it," Lemon said. Tar-man flinched so hard he almost dropped Shu, then let out a string of words that Lemon knew adults weren't supposed to say around kids. With visible effort, he took control of himself and said in a strangled voice, "You the wizard's dog?"

"Yes. My name is Lemon."

"Well, er, Lemon, thanks for saving these kids when you did. It would be a mighty different sort of day if they ended up in a cougar's belly. I know a few sets of parents who'll be wanting to thank you proper-like."

"I actually just need to deliver some medicine to Mardin," Lemon said." I've got some other stuff to take care of." Tar-man shrugged.

"If you, er, say so. Come on then. We'll head over there together so he can look at this leg." Mardin's house was different than just about anyone else's. Most of them were either small if the owner worked elsewhere, or big enough to live and work in if they worked at home. Mardin's was neither. It most closely resembled the local inn, in that he had his own rooms where he lived, and then he had four more rooms for patients to stay in if they needed to.

His home also smelled like medicine, which Lemon had mixed feelings about. It was certainly an interesting and unique smell, but not necessary a good one. There was a reason Lemon wore her mask when she was helping Hogarth with alchemy, after all. No one else was wearing one though, so she figured it would be rude if she put hers on. She didn't plan to stay long either way. Once she delivered her master's tinctures, maybe got a few pets and was told what a good girl she was, Lemon needed to get back to work.

Of course, when she got there, Mardin was distracted by Shu's leg.

"Oh my, quick, get her inside," the healer ordered when tar-man showed up.

"Sure thing. You think you could watch these two while I go fetch their parents? And this is Lemon, the wizard's dog. I guess she saved 'em or something."

"Hello, Lemon. It's good to see you again. Did Hogarth send you with those tinctures I ordered?"

"I have them for you," Lemon said, her tail giving an involuntary wag. She pulled all three stoppered vials out of her bag and floated them over to a table.

"Is this a good spot?"

"Hmm?" Mardin looked up from where he was untying the strips of cloth around Shu's leg.

"Oh, yes, fine, fine. So you saved these three, huh? That must be an exciting story."

"She barked really, really, really loud. It scared off a mountain lion that was trying to eat us," Loni said.

"Only after I'd already stabbed it with my spear," Andor said.

"Weren't no real spear anyway. Just a stick you whittled a point onto."

"Made it bleed, didn't I?"

"Barely," Loni said.

"And only after it already got Shu."

"Shut up! I drove it off once. I could have done it again if Lemon hadn't shown up."

"Yes, well, I'm sure your parents will love to hear all the details of how you three almost got yourself killed, but let's wait until they get here," Mardin said. That shut the kids right up. They knew they were in trouble, which Lemon honestly didn't want to stick around to see. She didn't like scoldings, even when they weren't directed at her. Getting ear scritches wasn't worth it. And besides, her master was counting on her to bring him his project, whether he knew it or not.

"I have to go," she told the healer.

"I have important things to do."

"Do you now?" Mardin asked, bemused.

"Well, if that's the case, then I suppose you'd best be on your way. Thank you for saving the kids." Lemon's tail started wagging again and she let out a small whuff.

"It was all a happy accident. Lucky I even came across them, but I'm sure they would have made it home fine on their own." That wasn't really a lie, since it was possible they would have been fine. Lemon didn't really think so, since they had run into that mountain lion again, and Andor had broken his spear in their first encounter, but it was possible. So it wasn't a lie, and she couldn't get in trouble for saying it.

Smelling the familiar smell of food-woman approaching the house, Lemon said her goodbyes to the kids, which got her a mix of sullen responses as the reality that their parents were all on their way set in. She didn't blame them for not being happy about it, but she wasn't about to sit there and witness it. She used Wizard's Hand to unlatch the door so she could leave, but before she got that far, a big, big woman filled the doorway.

The mistress of the kitchens at the local inn was well-known for her temper and her proficiency with a wooden spoon. Even Hogarth took care around her, and she absolutely hated Lemon, which was entirely unfair. How was Lemon supposed to know that those steaks were for the customers? And Hogarth had paid for the two she'd eaten! Food-woman needed to let it go.

"Loni!" food-woman thundered. Lemon's tail tucked down between her legs and she scampered under a table. Fortunately, food-woman was focused on her pup instead of on Lemon, and as she advanced into the room, she left a clear escape route for Lemon to dart through. Facing a mountain lion was one thing, but food-woman had her wooden spoon in hand. There was no way Lemon was saving the kid from that.

She slipped out through the open door, the sound of bellowing rolling through the village behind her, and made a break for the open road. There might not have been any head pets, and no one had really told her she was a good dog like they were supposed to, but Lemon knew the truth. She was a good dog. She'd delivered Mardin's medicines like Hogarth had wanted her to, and escorted some kids home from the woods. And she'd finally figured out what that animal she was smelling by the creek was!

It had been a good day so far. Lemon sat down in the middle of the road and pulled out her map. She knew where she was, at Wilbourghy, and where she needed to get to at the end. Now she just needed to figure out where to go next. She wished she was better at reading, but that was really more of a Midnight thing.

"Harp. E. Woods," she sounded out slowly. Oh, that sounded like fun. Maybe the trees played music. Stowing the map away, tail wagging and tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth, Lemon trotted down the road.