At least Rick would make it through the night unscathed, even if I didn’t. That thought gave me a little bit of solace.
A bite from the closest dog swiped at my good arm, but I dodged backward out of the way and the beast sailed through the air instead.
The other dog pounced on me at the same moment, leaping forward with more speed than should have been possible, using my head as a target.
I was already a little off-balance from the other dog, so I wasn’t able to duck completely, and the beast’s massive paw grazed the top of my head. I felt a searing pain as one of its claws tore through my skin and another fresh wave of hot blood poured down the back of my neck, but as bad as it hurt, I knew I would survive the blow.
The attack was followed by the sound of a sickening crunch as jawbones shattered. From this position, I could barely make it out, but it looked like the dog-thing had bashed its head right into Grax’thor’s oversized hilt.
It fell to the ground at my side and yelped but didn’t move. I doubted it was really done for, but at least it wasn’t coming around for another swipe just yet.
What luck. Grax’thor had saved me again. I scrambled back into a fighting position just in time for the other beast to lash out at my sword arm. The beast’s fangs sunk in deep, and I howled out in pain.
I smacked the thing’s head with my other hand a few times until finally it relaxed its jaws, relinquishing its iron grip.
Bleeding, breathing hard, and feeling lightheaded from the loss of blood, I staggered to pull my katana from its sheath before the beasts could rally for another attack.
The dog-thing let out a low growl and made to pounce at me again but stopped short. Instead, it put its massive paws over its ears and laid low to the ground.
“Yeah, that’s right!” I said to the beast.
I could see it clearly now. It was like a dog, but not quite. It looked more like a dog mixed with an otter for the back half, with a thick otter-like tail and more pronounced whiskers on the muzzle. I’d seen something like it in books once. A dobhar-chu, a mythical beast from Ireland.
What were the police doing with things like that? The police weren’t magical. It didn’t make sense.
“You’re no match for me, and you know it!” I spat at the beast, holding my katana in one unsteady hand, trying to look menacing. Even as I did so, I could feel my grip giving way. This had to end fast.
The dogs whined again, and I swung my blade in a move meant to finish the one before me but stopped short about halfway through.
“Mon ami!” A voice shouted from behind me, breaking my concentration.
A broad grin crossed my lips. It was Sevin. That French fool was standing in the doorway to Mei’s, grinning at me like an idiot. Yuri was next to him, blowing on a dog whistle. So that’s what had caused the creatures to stop attacking. It made so much more sense now.
“Sevin! Yuri!” I cried. “Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes?”
“Just get in here, lunkhead!” Sevin shouted, beckoning me forth.
I didn’t need a better invitation. I snubbed my nose at the dog-thing one last time, then turned and sped across the street. Once I was through the doorway, Yuri stopped blowing on the dog whistle while Sevin shut the door behind us.
We walked down the steps in silence. I had always loved Mei’s bar a little too much, but it had never felt as safe to me as it had in that moment.
There was a funny thing about Mei’s bar. If you weren’t welcome, you couldn’t even spot the entrance. I didn’t know how she’d accomplished it. Must be part of her dragon magic or something. At any rate, we’d be safe from any police or dogs that might want to harm us. For the rest of the night, at least.
At the bottom of the steps, Rick greeted us. He still looked a little shaken and ashen and was clutching that briefcase of his like his life depended on it, but he was otherwise unscathed.
When I saw that briefcase, my hand went instinctively to the back of my head, where a nice bruise was forming from where he’d smacked me in the alleyway.
“Rick! Buddy! I’m glad you made it.”
He nodded slightly, apparently still mostly mute. I guess I couldn’t blame the guy. He’d been through a lot in the last half a day or so.
“What’s in that case of yours anyway?” I asked him, flashing him a smile.
Rick’s eyes went down to his briefcase, and he laid it gently on the counter like it held some sort of bomb or something. He flicked a switch on the case, and it flung open, revealing a rather large stack of papers.
“My life’s work,” he said through gritted teeth. “All of my research on ancient cultures.”
I frowned slightly. “That bad, huh?” I put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, I understand. The publishing world is fickle.”
That was the final straw. Rick decked me. He balled his hand into a fist and laid into my jaw as hard as he could.
I staggered back a half step and my jaw tingled a bit, but that was it. Warrior, Rick was not. “Hey! What was that for?” I demanded.
Rick shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You’re a dick, Damian, you know that?”
“True.” I flashed him another grin. “But a dick that saved your life tonight. That should count for something, right?”
I heard Yuri and Sevin snicker in the corner. Rick looked at me deadpan for a moment, then he burst out laughing.
“What did I say
