Read Second Guard for Free Online Page B

their roosts, while a strutting banty rooster made one last turn around the
yard.
    They passed through a stable where horses whinnied and stomped their feet. One rubbed its face against the rough wooden stall door to rid itself of a pesky fly. Tali expected to be put off by
the smells as they crossed the enclosure, but found herself enjoying the tangy aroma of wet hay and the earthy scent of horses and leather tack. Chey greeted the stablekeeps by name, though he
engaged in no further conversation with them, and Tali wondered whom he’d come to meet. Perhaps an Earth Guild pledge who had chosen not to train?
    Finally, they entered a smaller outbuilding where a single lantern lit a dusty slice of evening inside. As they walked down the passageway, a deep, threatening growl rose from the middle stall,
causing the hair on Tali’s neck to stand on end.
    Zarif, too, stiffened by her side. “What in Elia’s name is in there?” he asked.
    Chey’s face broke into a smile. “The friend I mentioned,” he said, unlatching the stall door. A blur of gray fur came bounding out, knocking Chey onto the hay-littered floor.
Tali and Zarif both took several steps back in the cramped quarters, pressing themselves against the rough walls. Chey laughed when he saw their faces. He wrestled with the oversize dog that
tumbled over and around him, while Tali and Zarif watched in bewilderment.
They play like brothers.
    “Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you.” Chey said, stroking the back of the huge packhound that eagerly circled his legs. “I came across him on my journey. He was in a
standoff, actually.”
    “A standoff?” asked Zarif, brushing hay from his robe.
    “A pack of children with stones.”
    “How cruel!” said Tali. “Was he hurt?”
    “They gave him a few good bruises before he busted through the circle, knocking a few kids down on the way,” Chey said, scratching the dog behind the ears. “They got what they
deserved, didn’t they, boy?” The grateful animal wagged its tail and looked at him devotedly.
    “I am surprised that Earth Guilders would treat a packhound that way,” said Zarif.
    “They were not children of Machué,” Chey said quietly, glancing at Tali. “They were Sun Guilders, truth be told. Near the Zipa markets.”
    Tali’s hand flew to her mouth, embarrassed for her guild once again that night.
    “Perhaps they were afraid because of his size,” Zarif offered, trying to mend the moment.
    Tali shook her head. “The children of Intiq should know better than to harm a work animal. The Sun Guilders I grew up with would never allow their children to behave like brutes.”
She looked at Chey, hoping he would understand that Drayvon’s earlier remarks did not represent her guild any more than the children throwing stones.
    Chey nodded. “Well, he seems to have come out the other side of it anyway,” he said, rubbing the dog’s ears. “I wish I knew how he came to be lost in the first place.
Surely there is an Earth family missing him somewhere.”
    “He doesn’t look as if he’s missed many meals,” Tali offered, trying to hold her ground as the dog padded over to her. The top of his head, as large as any man’s,
nearly reached Tali’s shoulders. Short silver fur, the same shiny color of a Tequende trade coin, covered a long, muscular body. His ears stood at attention, except for the tips, which folded
over like fancy napkins. Tali had to admit he was beautiful, if alarming in size.
    “Have you given him a name?” Zarif asked, still pressed against the wall, eyeing the dog’s large jowls, which dripped saliva into the hay.
    “Not yet,” Chey answered. “I kept thinking he might turn around and find his way back home. But it seems he’s here to stay.”
    Tali reached out a tentative hand to gently stroke the packhound’s head. The dog licked her palm, nearly soaking it, and Tali laughed as the great beast leaned into her small frame,
obviously in search of another