“Bro,” Timber whispered. “I don’t feel good.”
Even in the dark, Canyon could tell Timber’s face was swollen again. Canyon got up and jumped out the window. Timber shifted and looked at the window, then fell to the ground. His eyes closed and his tongue lolled. Canyon nosed his brother, shocked at his sickly scent.
Canyon sat down on his haunches, threw back his head, and howled in anguish.
“Aarrrrroooooooooooooooooo.”
No response—Canyon was on his own. He shifted and pulled his clothes on, his mind whirling. He had to take Timber to the cat doctor,now.
***
Sage woke with a start, falling off the couch onto her butt, with a wolf howling in her yard. She shot to her feet, her mind finally clear but filled with the strange memories of yesterday.
The howling wound to a stop, and she was certain it was Canyon. He’d sounded like his heart was breaking. She had to go to him. She pulled on her jacket and went outside. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she strode silently to the truck, where she heard Canyon speaking. She crept around the open tailgate to see a black wolf laying on the ground—Timber—his left foreleg bandaged, his eyes closed and his mouth open and panting. Canyon was near him, dressing quickly, while the robot sat near Timber’s head, shining light onto him.
“Bro,” Canyon said, his voice a low rumble. “Hang in there. I’m taking you to the cat doctor,now. Sage’ll go with us. I hope.”
Sage cleared her throat and stepped closer. “What happened to him?”
Canyon met her eyes, his expression grave.
“A giant spider got him.”
Sage gasped. “Kiki.”
Canyon cocked his head. “That thing’s got a name… and it’s Kiki?”
Sage snapped her mouth shut, then dropped to her knees next to the massive wolf. She touched his bandaged foreleg. “Can I see?”
Canyon sliced the bandage off with a knife. Sage’s heart hurt at the long, ugly gash through skin and muscle. She thought fast, knowing her aunts would kill her if they found out what she was about to do, but she wouldn’t let Timber die.
“Take him inside.” she said. “I’ve got to gather some plants.”
“Foxglove.”
“How do you know that?”
“Dream.”
Sage blinked at him. Someone had told him afoxensecret in a dream?
Canyon pulled Timber up and threw him over his shoulder, then started toward the house. Sage stared after him, panic threatening at the thought that she’d just invited twovodinto her aunt’s house. She swallowed it down.
“I need a flashlight,” she murmured.
The robot zoomed toward her with words flashing on the screen, and they played through a speaker in a monotone voice.
:Hello Miss June. It is good to see you. I will help—
Miss June?Good to see me?
Sage looked for a keyboard, muttering “How?”
:I will light your way to the Foxglove—
Okay…whatever this thing was, it was advanced. “Go ahead,” she said.
It wheeled through the yard shining light in front of them, until they reached the garden. Sage pulled six Foxglove plants out of the ground and took them onto the back porch to a workstation set up for this exact thing, while the robot waited at the bottom of the steps. She prepared the paste quickly then took the entire mortar inside through the back door.
