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butterfly’s wing. He grew more and more afraid. When at last he saw the light from the cavern, he trotted the rest of the way to the turquoise lagoon. He laid Nessa down on her side by the water’s edge.
    Nessa was still asleep. Furgul splashed the cool, sweet water on her face. He splashed and splashed and splashed. Just when Furgul was afraid that she would never wake up again, Nessa opened her eyes. She looked at him and smiled.
    “Hello, Furgul.”
    “Nessa.”
    Nessa saw the immense columns of rainbow-colored rock. She saw the sparkle of light on the turquoise lagoon. She panted hard to get her breath.
    “Where are we?” she said.
    Nessa raised her head to get a better view. As she did so she shifted her foreleg, and Furgul saw the buckshot wound that had pierced her through the ribs. It must have caused her tremendous agony. She had lost a lot of blood, which was matted into her fur. But Nessa had been so brave she hadn’t even mentioned it. And she didn’t mention itnow. She gazed about the crystal cavern in wonder.
    “Are we in the Doglands?” asked Nessa.
    Furgul was so sad he could hardly speak. “Yes,” he said. “We must be.”
    “I wish Mama and Eena and Brid could be here too.”
    “They’ll be here soon,” he said, “you’ll see.”
    Nessa said, “I’ve never been anywhere so beautiful.”
    “Neither have I.”
    Nessa laid her head back on the shore of the lagoon. She looked at him.
    She said, “I love you, Furgul.”
    Furgul said, “I love you too.”
    Nessa smiled and closed her eyes. Her body went limp. Furgul nuzzled her throat to try to wake her again. But the scent of life had vanished from her body.
    Furgul choked with emotion. Nessa had never harmed anyone. She wouldn’t even fight for her food at the stinking troughs. She was kind and gentle and sweet. And now she was dead. Furgul wanted to cry, but he clenched his jaws and stopped his tears from falling. He promised himself he would never cry again.
    Instead, a mighty anger rose inside his chest.
    The masters had done all this. So many cruel things they had done. To Keeva and Nessa and Eena and Brid. To all the poor greyhounds they shut away in crates and bullied to race at the track. To all the greyhounds and lurchers they had shot and dumped in the chasm. Furgul decided he wasn’t goingto die. He was so angry, he was going to live. And he made himself a solemn promise.
    One day, when I grow up, I’ll set Keeva free
.
    I’ll set all the greyhounds free
.
    I’ll return to Dedbone’s Hole, and I’ll set the wrong things right
.
    Furgul craned his neck back and let out a long and terrible howl. The howl was full of mourning and full of anguish and full of rage. It echoed through the belly of the mountain and through the cavern and through the tunnels and through the solid, hard and timeless rock itself. And the mountain’s heart was so sad that drops of water fell from the witch’s fingers, as if the mountain wanted to cry instead of Furgul.

C HAPTER F OUR
THE RIVER
    T hree tunnels led out of the crystal cavern on the far side of the lagoon. Furgul chose the one in the middle because somewhere far down inside it he could hear a rushing, roaring sound. He didn’t know what was causing it, but the rushing and roaring felt like an echo of the sound inside his head, the sound of the wind, so he followed it.
    This tunnel also went down and down and the light behind him grew fainter until it disappeared. The scent of Nessa disappeared too. Now Furgul was alone. He had no one left to lose, except himself.
    The rushing sound became so loud it felt like walking down the throat of a roaring lion. Furgul stopped as he almost fell—his front paw had stepped out into thin air. He explored the edge of the rock and found that the tunnel ended in asheer drop into the blackness. The endless roar came up from directly below. He sniffed the rising vapor. It was a torrent of water. An underground river.
    He’d never met a river before,