Poor Mickey, carrying that glove, keeping it safe. So loyal to his longpaw. He’d been a good friend to the Leashed Dogs too, and had always stood by Lucky. He was not responsible for Lucky’s exile. He didn’t even know about it. . . .

I can’t leave him to face all that alone.

Lucky bounded out from beneath the trees, swerving this way and that to avoid the black flakes. He ran as fast as he could, his paws splattering against the wet forest floor. Brown streaks of mud caked his flanks, and his fur was soon soaked through with rain, but he barked excitedly. He had a mission now, a reason to leave the forest, to reach the city. He had somewhere to go.

He had to find Mickey as soon as he could.

CHAPTER SIX

Lucky swallowed down the last of the rabbit and yawned luxuriously. His full belly sighed with gratitude and he offered his thanks. Forest-Dog, you always watch over me. The rabbit was delicious.

He hadn’t expected to catch anything until he was out in open fields, but he’d found a small clearing between the trees and there it had been, gazing up at the sky. Perhaps he had the dark cloud to thank for that.

Lucky licked his lips, reminding himself that he couldn’t depend on trapping a rabbit again. And he had to admit that it was harder to hunt alone, particularly where tree trunks and branches concealed the path. Small animals had so many places to hide.

At least it had stopped raining. The black cloud had dispersed into smaller clumps of floating ash that loomed overhead in dark clots. Lucky couldn’t wait to get out of the forest.

He pressed on between the trees, pushing uphill as the light started fading and the Sun-Dog padded across the sky. Eventually the land flattened out. Lucky knew he should be pleased at this—flatter terrain surely meant that he was drawing nearer to the city, where he would find Mickey.

Yet a prickle of unease touched the fur of his neck. He felt like he knew this place, but he could not remember exactly how or why. The acrid remnants of the ash smothered his senses and memories. He tried to ignore the shiver that ran along his back. He would just have to hurry, to keep on moving, even after the Sun-Dog had gone to sleep. He journeyed toward the river, springing over a fallen trunk.

Ahead of him was a huge mound of black ash, the sharp smell instantly catching his nose. With a yelp, Lucky turned to get away from it. His paws skidded on fallen leaves, and he smacked against a long, low branch that swung into the towering ash. Dislodged, it started sliding to the ground in clumps, creating an avalanche of foul smells and black snow.