At the far end, the rocky hill overlooking the Agora was where Arlan would meet Romano. The area of the Agora known as the Areopagus had been the sacred meeting place of the Greek prime council, which had once combined judicial and legislative functions in the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Much later, the apostle Paul was said to have stood on the same rocky hill and preached to early Christians.
A holy place. A haunted place.
Arlan caught the scent of another dog on the night air and thrust out his muzzle. He twitched his black nose. Two dogs, three. More. A pack.
The muscles in Arlan’s rear haunches tightened as the dogs approached. Arlan could become any of God’s creatures, although he was better at some manifestations than others, and some were much more difficult to keep in check. Despite his experience, there was always a moment of panic when he encountered a creature of the species he’d manifested into. There was the chance they would know him for the charlatan that he was and attack him. It would be impossible for them to kill him because he had to be beheaded to die, but dog bites could lay a man up for weeks.
A whine and then a growl halted him. Out of a grove of stunted olive trees came three, four, five dogs, all his size or larger. A big gray with the pelt of a wolf led the pack of three females and a sullen young male. Animals did not speak, but they communicated. Members of the Kahill clan had some form of extrasensory perception; they could all, on some level, communicate with each other without speaking. Arlan’s accompanying gift was the ability to communicate with animals.
The dogs’ thoughts floated around him. They were simple. Primal.
Fear. Distrust. Hunger.
But there was also an inquisitiveness, particularly from the young male who hung back, guarding the rear.
The big gray parted from the pack, leaving the others behind to wait for his command. If he so ordered it, they would all attack at once. Arlan would not have the opportunity to morph back into a man before he was seriously injured.
The gray approached.
Arlan’s hackles rose. He froze, eyes downcast. His breath came in short pants as he attempted to stifle the twinge of fear he felt deep in his canine bones.
One of the others, a black bitch with a torn ear, whined. She seemed to be the first to understand he meant them no harm. That he had no intention of usurping the pack leader’s authority or taking his females.
The gray bared his teeth but made no sound. He wondered what Arlan was doing there. He recognized the stranger as one of them…and yet not one of them.
Arlan communicated that the pack had nothing to fear from him. That he was merely a traveler. He attempted to seem casual although he wasn’t quite sure how that translated in dog language.
The gray met Arlan muzzle to muzzle and sniffed. Arlan kept his gaze downcast. To look into the leader’s eyes would be a direct challenge.
I mean no harm, Arlan communicated firmly. While he had to make it clear he had no intention of taking the gray’s place, he could not cower. To cower would show weakness, and the way of God’s creatures is to kill the weakest. A form of natural selection, he supposed. I simply wish to pass.
Our territory. Why are you here? What do you want? Barely enough food for us.
On a journey. A mission. Passing through. I do not take what is not mine.
The gray looked Arlan directly in the face. Arlan slowly lifted his gaze. The powerful male’s nose twitched. He was still attempting to assess Arlan, but he seemed to sense that Arlan was no threat to his pack.
I only wish to pass, Arlan repeated, lifting his gaze slightly. He still wasn’t making direct eye contact, but now he was studying the gray in the same way that the dog was studying him.
The alpha male continued to stare, reminding Arlan of a game he used to play with other boys in the sept during mass or at a particularly boring family dinner. A version of Chicken. They would stare at each other until someone broke the spell; the first to look away was the loser and would later be subjected to juvenile name-calling and a healthy dose of shoving.
Pass, but continue on your way, the gray warned. I see you again and I’ll rip your throat out. My bitches will eat your innards.
Ouch. Arlan choked down the growl that rose in his throat and remained where he stood until the pack leader walked away. The other dogs slowly turned and loped after him.
Arlan exhaled heavily, his hot breath stinking in his nostrils. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He waited until he saw the last swish of tail disappear into the olive grove and then continued in the direction he had originally set out. His tongue lolled, testing the night air.
He only had time to circumnavigate the meeting place once before he had to get into place prior to Romano’s arrival. As he peered over a rock, taking care with his footing, he silently cursed Regan. His partner had not been himself for the last year. This was not the first time he had not shown up at an appointed time and place on sept business. Arlan had been trying to cover for him longer than he knew he should because he was Fia’s brother.
Thoughts of Fia made him smile. At least on the inside. He didn’t think dogs could really smile.
Arlan loved Fia Kahill. He had been in love with her for at least a thousand years, but it was unrequited love. Or so she said. Right now she had a boyfriend. A human boyfriend. She told Arlan that although she and Arlan were occasionally lovers, she wasn’t interested
