Dog Days by John Levitt

Author:John Levitt [Levitt, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Magic, Fantasy Fiction, Wizards, Contemporary, General, Fantasy, Musicians, San Francisco (Calif.), Fantasy Fiction; American, Fiction, Dogs
ISBN: 9780441015535
Google: L7L3klIbMA0C
Amazon: 0441015530
Publisher: Ace
Published: 2007-10-29T23:00:00+00:00

Ten

For a moment I thought I’d encountered a supernatural being. A spill of blond hair backlit by flickering candlelight created an aura around her head, projecting the illusion of a metaphysical apparition. Then the warmth pouring out through the open door melted the frost from my eyelashes and the figure morphed back into that of an ordinary woman. She stepped aside and as I half staggered into the house she closed the door behind me.

The cabin was one large room. The source of the gratifying warmth was immediately apparent; in one corner of the room stood a cast-iron potbelly stove, except that it was square instead of potbellied. Close by was a futon on a raised platform, and next to it sat a low wooden bench with amber bottles of various sizes, cobalt blue glass jars, crystals, dishes of vegetable matter, and sundry other things. I guessed they were all the stock in trade of a Wiccan healer.

Near the stove, on the floor, lay a piece of patterned fabric that looked like a prayer rug. I walked over to it, shrugged out of the backpack, opened it, and lifted Lou cautiously out. His body was cold. I pointed down at the rug.

“Is here okay?”

She nodded, and I placed him carefully down, shrugging off my coat and taking off the warming spell on my hands and feet to save some energy. She walked over to us and knelt beside the still form.

“I’m Campbell,” she said, running her hands along his body. “I can’t believe you made it here. Where’s your car?”

“It’s a ways,” I said. “I had to hike the last mile or so.”

She glanced briefly out the front window, where the snow was battering harder than ever. “How in the world did you find the place in this storm?” she asked, continuing her examination.

“I had a map.”

She had her head down on his belly, listening intently. I don’t think she heard my answer. She lifted his head, examined his ears, ran her fingers down his spine, acting for all the world like a judge at a dog show. I started to wonder if Victor’s faith might have been misplaced. Finally she straightened up and moved over closer to the stove. She stood there silently regarding me until I finally broke the silence.

“Well?” I asked.

“It’s hard for me to tell much yet,” she replied. She hesitated, started to say something, then stopped.

“What?” I prompted.

She stood there without replying. She no longer seemed like an angel, at least not like the traditional image that we grow up with. But she burned brightly with health and boundless energy, with the animation that makes even an ordinary woman seem especially attractive. And she was anything but ordinary. A wide mouth, strong nose, and weather-streaked blond hair. Or maybe that was just a look. What do I know? She wore a faded red sweatshirt and jeans, but even so, I could see she was strong and firm underneath, like an athlete. A silver chain holding

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