“Did you kick my dog?” she demanded.

“Are you the witch?”

“I said, ‘Did-you-kick-my-dog?’”

“What’s your problem, lady? I only wanted to talk to you.”

She raised her right hand and made a fist; both dogs began to slowly tighten their grips.

“I’d consider your answers very carefully if I were you,” Nick said. “Trust me, I’ve had some experience in this area.”

Alena glared down at him. “Do you know what a ‘crush bite’ is? It’s the way dogs bite—not by puncturing the skin like cats do, but by crushing and tearing. A dog this size can bite with a force of four hundred pounds per square inch—what do you think he’ll do to your windpipe if I give him the command?”

“Get these dogs off me right now,” Decker demanded. “These are dangerous animals—I could call the authorities and have them destroyed.”

“Wow,” Nick said. “I was just wondering if it was possible for you to get any stupider. Apparently it is.”

Alena knelt down beside him and glared directly into his eyes. “You’re right,” she said, “these are dangerous animals. I’ve taught them to hunt the way their ancestors did—in a pack. That one grabbed your leg to keep you from escaping; I had to train him not to follow his instincts and tear your hamstring out. I trained this one to go for your throat but not to crush it. That was a very difficult skill for him to learn—it’s like learning to carry an egg on your tongue. And this one down here—the one who’s drooling over your potbelly right now—he’s the one who would kill you. The other two are just supposed to paralyze you—to hold you down and stretch you out nice and tight while their partner disembowels you.”

“You’re out of your mind,” Decker said.

“I’m a witch,” she whispered. “What did you expect?”

“I’ll see you in court, lady. This is a violation of the First Amendment— you’re infringing on the freedom of the press.”

She slowly rose to her feet. “There’s only one way to deal with a man like you.”

At that moment Gunner came crashing through the brush into the clearing and collapsed to his knees, panting. “Alena—don’t!”

But Alena ignored him. She snapped her fingers and pointed to Ruckus, then to Decker. The little dog trotted over and positioned itself beside the man, then looked up at its master for the final command. Alena held out her left hand and raised her little finger.

Ruckus lifted his left leg and sent a jet of water onto Decker’s head.

Gunner heaved a sigh of relief.

“Hey!” Decker shouted as loudly as his constricted throat would allow. “What the—What’s he doing?”

“What a coincidence,” Nick said. “I was just thinking of doing the same thing.”

“Tell him to stop that!”