They were back at the train, and Zin couldn’t find Kudzu. It wasn’t unusual for him to explore on his own, but maybe she was smelling a bit of something now too. Something a little skunky. Something that reeked of bad intentions.

She finally found Kudzu in the parlor car—the Chocolate Ogre’s private retreat. The dog was licking chocolate from the Ogre’s hand.

“Kudzu! Come!” Zin said. The dog reluctantly turned and strolled over to its master.

“Kudzu’s been a good companion to you, hasn’t he?” the Ogre said.

“The best,” answered Zin.

“I know you really care about him … and I guess I can understand why you did what you did. Ripping him from an abusive owner, and all.”

Zin knelt down and scratched Kudzu’s neck. “Had to do it. I saved him from a fate worse than death.”

“Maybe you did … but that doesn’t change the fact that you ripped a living thing out of the living world.”

She looked up at the Ogre, who sat in his stained chair. Was it her imagination, or was there more of the brown stuff on him than yesterday?

“Let me ask you something, Zin, because it’s important.” He leaned forward. “When you ripped Kudzu, did you just rip his spirit, or did you rip the whole dog into Everlost?”

“I guess I ripped everything, sir,” Zin said. “I mean it weren’t like I ripped his little doggy spirit out of his body or nothin’; I grabbed him, pulled him into Everlost, and there he was. It’s not like there was a dead dog left behind when I ripped him here—I ripped him body and soul.” Kudzu lay down and rolled over, wanting a tummy rub. Zin obliged, and the dog purred like a kitten. “He didn’t sleep for nine months, neither, on accounta he never officially died.”

“So …” said the Ogre, “somehow, he was flesh until you pulled him here … and now he’s not.”

“That’s right—he’s an Afterlight just like any of us. He don’t grow old, he don’t get sick, he don’t change, and he got the glow.”

“Still, by taking him you did something very wrong.”

Zin didn’t like the direction this conversation was going. “No more wrong than anything else I done,” she said defensively. “No worse than any of the things you made me to do,” and then she added “sir,” a little snidely.

“It is worse, and I think you know that.”

“Well, that there’s water under the bridge. Nuthin’ I can do about that now.”

And the Ogre quietly said, “Yes, there is.”

Zin didn’t want to hear this. “C’mon, Kudzu, let’s go.”

She practically lifted the dog to his feet and headed for the door.

“Come back here,” said the Ogre. And when she didn’t, he said, “That’s an order!”