To Ignite A Fury

by GracieAKAPerseus

Gracie, Rue, and Ares embark on a journey that could risk the entire future. Along with a team they go to mishand the awful enemies put before them. FYI They are DOGS

TO IGNITE A FURY
By Grace Van Dyke

"Get out of the way Spark!"
Gracie looked up quick and shot an annoyed glance at one of her friends, Baron, a deep red and white Siberian Husky. Ever since Gracie had been a pup, all of the sled dogs around here had started calling her "Spark." Even though she hated the name, she also knew they had perfect reason to come up with a nickname like that. Gracie had been born from a Siberian Husky mother and a German Shepherd father whom she had never known. She was abandoned as a puppy as were her brother and sister. All she knew, was her dad must have known something about Greek mythology because each and everyone of her siblings was named after a Greek god, goddess, or in her case, a hero. "Perseus," she muttered under her breath. Her father must have also thought her a male as Perseus was a boy hero. But naturally, Perseus according to mythology was the son of Zeus, the one with the lightening bolt. Thus, her nickname, "Spark." Her brother, Ares named after the god of war, had given her the new name of Gracie because according to him it was "Close enough." Gracie's sister was born with the name Athene, the goddess of wisdom, but since she was a high fire rebel she quickly searched for a new name to upset their father if they ever found him. Loving herbs from taste to smell, she dubbed herself Rue. Both Ares and Gracie had agreed it was perfect because of the bitter leaves this herb held and Rue's grasping of her bitter attitude. Gracie and her siblings had lived on their own for the longest time, aimlessly wandering around Alaska, helpless and unprepared with only the memory of their mother's warmth to keep them going. Just as it seemed all was lost, the small family had stumbled into Baron, a champion sled dog, and he had guided them through life to where they were now. More than a friend, Baron was like family.
"Spark!" he sounded irritated now. "Move, or I'll run over that electric tail of yours!"
Gracie stepped out closer to the middle of the trail, enough to block their way. "None shall pass, Red Baron!" She sprawled her front paws forward, making it even harder to avoid her. Baron and his sled team skidded to a stop in front of her. Ares peeked out from his position near the front.
"Aw, Sis..." Ares mumbled trying to sound pleasant. "I'm supposed to be the dog of war, not you." Baron had also since educated her brother in the art of sled racing and he had been gaining quite a reputation with his speed and agility. All the dogs on the team cracked up laughing. Ares wagged his tail, happy he could make a joke here and then worthy enough for the best team in Alaska to suppress a laugh.
"Race ya!" Gracie yelled behind her as she took off bounding ahead of the stationed team. Baron was competitive even against the dogs he knew best and he led his team to catch up to Gracie. For a one dog team Gracie was fast, "lightening fast" as Baron called it but she knew it was impossible to beat the best nine dogs in the state. As the team crossed through an old iditarod finish line which they used as an end to all of their races, Gracie was a good 100 yards behind them. Ares had the nerve to wriggle out of his harness and go run backwards to his sister just to prove how ahead he really was. Gracie knew it was coming and with all the force she could muster, she rammed him in the chest sending him sprawling into a snow dune. She panted as she galloped across the old trampled finish line. Baron nuzzled her.
"Maybe we should think about getting you on a team my friend, you bound like a gazelle!" Baron wagged his fluffy tail and motioned to Gracie to go help her brother out from the wild blow she had given him. She swiftly made her way to her sibling and knelt down next to him.
"What was that for?" Ares grumbled warily but it was apparent he was proud of his sister's strength. "You're becoming as much of a rebel as Rue."
Gracie scoffed, "Like that's even possible." Both of them suppressed a smile and Gracie helped Ares up by the scruff of his neck.
"Thanks Sis, I mean uh Percy..." He gulped down his words and grinned the biggest grin he had in a long time.
"Call me that again and you're go-" She stopped what she was saying as she contemplated her decision. "Oh, what the heck!" Gracie whacked Ares in the side, sending him into another snow dune. Gracie took off to the old wooded camp that had served as their home for so long.
Ares popped his head out and laughed but it was cut short. "Hey! Where are you going?" He sputtered.
"To find Rue!" Gracie called back over her shoulder. "I wanna know how our little secret is coming along!"

When Gracie reached camp, she caught a whiff of the camp fire that had miraculously kept burning since they had first arrived as pups. "Rue?" She called. Gracie sniffed around and knew she had to be somewhere close by, probably gathering herbs or something. She plodded over to a leaf pile in front of the fire and curled up into a round fluffy ball. Ah, the warmth. Gracie recollected memories from her mom as she lay close to the burning sensation. She wrapped her tail up against her body and let out a deep breath before dozing off.
"Gracie, wake up!"
"Huh?" Gracie lifted her head up slightly and turned towards the noise. "Ah Rue!" Gracie said excitedly, wagging her tail. She gaited over to her sister and nuzzled her neck fur. "How's my little Athene doing?" Gracie let loose a crooked smile.
"It's Rue," exclaimed Rue, obviously irritated by being called the name her father gave her. "But I suppose you would be wondering more about Leon. He's over there." Rue flicked her paw off to the right.
"Leon, yes!" Gracie smiled hugely. "How's our little secret doing?" She winked. Rue gave an of-course-he's-doing-fine-why-do-you-bother-to-keep-asking kind of look. Rue rolled her eyes and lay down next to the fire. Gracie padded over to her little friend. "How are you Leon?" She nuzzled his velvety fur and lay down next to the young dog.
Leon was a little Akita, Mix, Baron had come across behind the everlasting fire. He had a brown head and a cream body and his fur was softer than silk. Gracie had taken a liking to him as soon as she saw him and treated him like her little brother. He was smart and witty and danger seemed to radiate off of him and this is what dubbed him their "little secret."
"Oh Spark," he started to Gracie. "I'm only a year younger than you, I'm not a puppy anymore." Nevertheless he snuggled into her fur and rested his head on her front paws. "You'll always be my big sister," he sighed. Gracie nuzzled his head and rested her head next to his.
"And you'll always be my little brother, Leon."

The next day Gracie went down to watch the championship sled dog race with Rue lagging at her heels. "I don't wanna go!" Rue whined. Being the rebel she was, she dragged her paws along, creating a fairly deep trench in the snow.
"Oh c'mon Rue," Gracie started. "This is for Ares and Baron." Rue shifted her eyes. "Our brother and adopted fa-" Gracie stopped. She knew how much Rue hated the word father. Maybe it didn't suit Baron anyway. "This is to support our brothers, and what could be more important than that right now?"
"You mean our bothers?" Rue teased. "And to answer your question, anything is more important than watching a bunch of dogs run back and forth."
"It's not back and forth!" Gracie snapped. Rue looked at her. Gracie tilted her head down and flattened her ears against her head. "Got it. You don't want to be here." Rue turned to leave and Gracie caught her by the scruff of her neck. "But you're staying to watch anyway." Just then Baron walked up.
"Gracie, Rue," he started and then broke into a playful competitive mood native only to Baron. "Who's gonna win this race?" He lolled his tongue out of his mouth and wagged his tail back and forth, stirring up the powdered snow. Rue rolled her eyes.
"You," she stated. "You always win." Rue stressed the always so it carried on for awhile.
"Aw cheer up, Rue." Baron nuzzled her coarse German Shepherd-ish fur. Rue wouldn't have like to hear it, but she did take after their father. Ares walked over with a wild look in his eyes as well.
"Prepare for victory!" He barked in his sisters' faces.
Gracie pulled Ares closer to her and sharply whispered in his ear enough so it would hurt, "Go get 'em, Bud." Ares and Baron bounded over to get tethered into their harnesses while Rue and Gracie sat on their haunches.
"Something bad is going to happen," Rue whimpered. Somehow Rue was able to tell when something bad was going to happen, it was almost like a gut feeling inside of her that twitched.
"How so?" Gracie asked back matter-of-factly.
"I don't, I don't," Rue sputtered. "I can just feel it is all. That's all." She figured those last two words were good enough to justify her feelings.
"Okay," Gracie looked agitated. Somehow her sister always turned out to be right.

Back at camp, Leon was all alone. He squirmed closer to the fire to keep warm but he could feel chills running down his spine and the fur along his back rose into little spikes. He would set his eyes on little yellow and red glowing things in the woods, he couldn't identify. Every time he saw a new glow he shivered harder and it seemed the fire was helping less and less. Leon could feel the little flames licking at his nose as he moved closer and closer to what he thought was his only protection. His feeling of security was that everlasting fire. He shut his eyes tight as he heard a deep baying. Only it wasn't a hound bay but a regular old dog bay and it was followed by a wolf howl, echoing so high it reverberated in his insides. Leon started to whine and he heard a sharp snarl. His hackles raised but only slightly because he was quite stunned from all of the noises around him. then he heard a raspy voice of a dog no doubt. It stung like a scorpion and jabbed at his heart, this voice. Leon was uncontrollably shivering but he stopped whimpering and kept quiet.
"This is not the one she likes most." The dog voice sounded. "We should leave him be, he's a waste." Leon heard a second voice, a higher wolf sounding voice that could only come from a female.
"Then the red one," she snapped. "We need him."
"Rip him limb from limb from limb," the dog hungrily stated. He licked his chops and Leon heard the smacking sound. Leon cowered and tried to bury himself in the shadows of the flames.
"Yes, the limbs," the female wolf agreed. She nodded and Leon could hear them leaping along the old iditarod trail that housed the Championship Races. There was a gun shot one would associate with a marker of how far the sled dogs had gone but Leon heard something else. At the same time there was a snarl and then a low moan of writhing pain that could only be associated with a sled dog caught off guard.

Leon hightailed it out of the woods to find Gracie and Rue. Something bad had happened to Baron, he knew it. He bounded and with every leap, the ground he covered grew wider. "Spark!" He yelled. "Rue!" After no response, Leon ran along the sidelines of the race grounds. "Sp-ooft!" Leon ran right into Gracie's leg and he gasped as he tried to regain his breath. "Baron!" He said louder than he may have liked. "He's hurt! Something happened on the trail-" Leon's talking kept speeding up as he got further along with his story. "And then there were these two dogs or wolves or I don't know and they were talking under their breath, they're trying to kill Baron I tell you!" Gracie looked concerned and exchanged glances with Rue. Rue looked Leon in the eyes.
"What did these guys look like?" Rue asked worriedly.
"I-I-I don't know!" Leon stuttered. "They stayed hidden!"
"Did they stay hidden or did you close your eyes?" Rue questioned.
"I-I-" Leon shut his eyes tight and turned to walk up the hill away from his so called sisters. "They still think I'm a baby," he muttered under his breath. "Just wait until Baron is dead, and then they'll learn!" Just then Leon caught the scent of a dog and curiosity overcame him sending him bounding back up to camp. When he reached the fire, nothing was unusual. The flames had gone higher but they always did in the afternoon. They danced beautifully under the sun, matching the bright vivid colors, the sunset in the evening had. Leon sniffed around camp and he got a scent of the dog and the wolf. "Old," he muttered. "Old scents." But just as he finished saying that, he caught a whiff of a way more recent scent. He followed its trail up to the point where he knew the dog had to be only seconds away from being there. This scent was near a puddle. Leon was thirsty, so he padded over to it and took a couple licks. He watched as his tongue made little rings in the water. Then he noticed something else. A distorted copper red color swirled in the rings and then a face came into view. "Gracie?" he asked aimlessly to no one. "No, Rue." He corrected himself. "No wait, Ares?" The figure had come into full view of a dog and he soon realized this was no Gracie, or Rue, or Ares, as he expected even though they looked just like the dog in the reflection. Leon turned quick and realized the dog was right behind him.
In his raspy voice the dog said, "I am Shakespeare, father of five, pure German Shepherd Dog. Beware for your little red friend, I assure you he is dead." But Leon was too stunned to contemplate what the dog had just told him.
"Oh my god!" Leon said wide-eyed. "You're Gracie and Rue and Ares'," Leon stopped to take in a breath. "You're their.." By now the malicious dog had turned his back on Leon and trudged off into the woods. "Father..." Leon let out and he was still shocked by the time he looked down and saw Baron's whithered, bloody body laying at his paws.
Gracie and Rue sprinted up to camp later that day searching for Leon. They stuck their noses to the ground and picked up his trail from which they followed deep into the wilderness. Gracie's paws did feel like lightening at that moment, her breath showing in the cool day, her paws just gliding over the icy spots. Rue wasn't as fast but she kept up and was soon running along Gracie's side, her tongue hanging out of her mouth, her ears flopping every time she hit a bump. Gracie reached a snow drift and she easily glided over it but Rue stopped short. "Gracie?" Rue tentatively asked.
"Yeah?" Gracie responded, now stopped and panting hard.
"I caught another scent," Rue started. "And...I think it leads to the trail." She stuck her nose to the ground and inhaled deeply. "Dog and..." she paused. "Wolf." Gracie shifted her front paws.
"Like Leon said," Gracie sighed. "Well, we better get a move on, let's follow that trail. If we haven't found Leon yet-" She stopped and exhaled deeply. "We'll probably find him with them." Rue and Gracie kept up a good lope as they trudged through the ever growing snow. "I never realized," Gracie strained. "That snow could fall so fast and so...thick." She wiped at her face with her paws but it didn't help, the snow had frozen into her fur. Rue struggled to bounce in and out of the fallen snow and each time she landed it seemed she was at a different depth.
"I-I-I," Rue stuttered. "I lost the scent, Gracie." Gracie could see a tear drop frozen on Rue's face.
"We'll find them," Gracie promised. But it was only a few seconds before she collapsed and Rue came down after her. "The snow!" Gracie whined. Rue closed her eyes and they froze in place.
"Gracie, I can't see!" Rue yelped as she frantically scraped at her eyes with her claws. Gracie climbed backward with much effort to find her sister and when she did, she lay on top of her. She closed her eyes and let them freeze too.
"If we're to die," Gracie yelped almost inaudibly. "I want to be here with my favorite sister."
"No!" Rue the rebel barked, but she lowered her head and went quiet. Gracie lay her head on Rue's hocks and she too went quiet.

"Shakespeare will be most proud."
Gracie was shocked when she was able to open her eyes and found she was snuggled up against Rue in an old cabin. "Wh-wh-where," Gracie tried to speak.
"Spit it out Mutt!" A new voice reached Gracie's ears, one of a wolf, female perhaps. Gracie jerked her head to the left in which she was staring into the yellow eyes of a pure white wolf. She lay her ears back against her head and strained to keep her hackles from raising.
"Where am I?" Gracie sputtered out, trying to speak as fast as she could so she wouldn't stutter.
"Get your friend up!" Snapped the white wolf. "You will know soon." The wolf eyed Rue and spat next to her paw. Gracie stared blankly into the wolf's eyes, with Gracie full of fear as she turned to leave the room. Gracie nudged Rue and licked her face, soon coming to the coppery taste of blood. Dried blood was caked all around Rue's eyes signaling her sister's obsessive scratching to unfreeze them.
"Rue..." Gracie sighed sympathetically. She nudged Rue's neck with her cold nose, hoping it would awaken her. Rue's right eye fluttered open but the left one remained shut. There was a large gash covering the left eye's lid and Gracie could already tell, it would never be able to be used again. Rue lifter her head and groaned, then she melted into her sister's fur.
"Oh, Gracie!" Rue breathed a huge sigh of relief. "I thought we were dead!" She nuzzled and nuzzled and nuzzled Gracie's shoulder until Gracie was sure her sister's nose would be as unusable as her left eye.
"What did I tell you Sis?" She rubbed her face into Rue's, licking up the remaining dry blood and crying happily.
"I just guess this left eye is still frozen though, huh?" Rue cocked her head and strained to open it. "Could be awhile I guess." She smiled and wagged her tail. Gracie cringed and thought, does Rue not know that eye is dead now? But she wriggled her tail back and forth to signal to Rue that everything was going to be okay.
"Mutt!" A sharp voice sounded. "Let's go, NOW." The white wolf poked her head in the room and smiled ominously. "I've got a surprise for you." Uh oh, Gracie thought, a surprise. Rue lowered her head and ears and whispered to Gracie.
"Who's that?" she quavered.
"I don't know, Rue, but do what she says." Gracie replied trying not to tremble. The two siblings meandered past old bones and rotted meat spread about the floor until they stopped behind the wolf. The wolf opened a door with her nose and revealed a very deep redded German Shepherd Dog sitting with an eyebrow raised and fangs showing. Rue yelped and hid her face under her paws.
"Gracie!" Rue's voice had gotten shriller from fear. "I know him!" Gracie cocked her head. He didn't look familiar. The Shepherd padded over to the two and he rubbed against Gracie's black saddle. Of course, Gracie thought, but it can't be!
"Hello, Daughters," The dog said. He paused before daughters as if recollecting a memory of some kind. Rue snarled, the most fearsome one Gracie had ever heard and it surprised the other two as well. "Well, my little Athene, I remember you well." The dog smartly stated as if there was no shock at all. Rue continued to growl and the fur down her back rose. "And, my little Perseus." The dog stopped and looked Gracie over, head to toe. "Although I would've sworn you were a boy when you were born." At this statement, Gracie rose from her sitting position and let out a snarl herself.
"You do anything to us!" Gracie snapped. "I will personally tear you apart, DAD." Gracie yelled the word Dad so everyone in the forest could hear.
"Uh, uh, uh." The dog sneered. "I wouldn't do that to your father if I were you. I could always send Akira to eat you, she is always hungry." He motioned to the white wolf and she licked her chops.
"Always hungry," she repeated. "And it would be an honor to eat you two under Shakespeare's orders." Her eyes gleamed on the shepherd as if he were her Master. "Unless of course you would like to say your last words to your sled dog friends." Akira had trouble pronouncing friends.
"What have you done with them? And how could you catch the fastest nine dogs in the state?" Gracie was dumbfounded. Rue stood in front, no longer afraid, just beckoning Shakespeare to make one move and she would attack.
"Oh not nine," he replied sullenly. "Only...three."
"Three?" Gracie asked out loud. She counted on her paws the only two that would mean anything to her, the ones she knew. Baron and her brother, Ares.
"Yes," Shakespeare replied. "Three. But one is not...Present." Shakespeare gleamed evilly to Akira.
"The red one, is now...redder." Akira said wittily.
"Baron!" Rue yiped. Gracie stared intently into her father's eyes.
"Who are the other two?" Gracie said calmly. Shakespeare came up to Gracie so his tail rubbed against her chin.
"Ares, and I brought an annoying one along for the ride as well." He grinned. "Calls himself Krieger."
"I don't know a Krieger," Gracie said puzzled. She cocked her head and Shakespeare shoved it back up. Rue came closer to Gracie.
"No offense," she whispered. "But the only boys on the team you know are Baron and Ares."
"Shut up, Rue," Gracie growled.
"Shut up, Perseus!" Shakespeare snarled, trying to mock Gracie's tone.
"Shut up all of you!" Boomed some voices from behind. Akira had unlocked a room from the back and two sled dogs jumped out. Shakespeare put his paw over his eyes. Gracie spotted Ares and let out a sigh of relief. She ran over to her brother and caressed him.
"We have to get out of here, Bud." Gracie looked into Ares' eyes and saw pure fear. This was something she had never seen from her brother. Rue stumbled over and hugged her brother. Her right eye showed admiration but her left eye twitched. Ares cringed.
"What happened, Sis?" Ares circled his sister and finally sat down on his haunches in front of her. Rue breathed deep and almost spoke but she couldn't choke a single word out. Shakespeare tensed his muscles and readied himself to strike. A gleam glinted off his white fangs and Gracie caught it.
"Move! Ares, Rue!" She leaped up and knocked her siblings to the side sending them all sprawling into a corner of the cabin. Shakespeare crashed into Akira, leaving a crumpled heap of canine against the opposite wall. Then Gracie spotted the second sled dog that had appeared out of that room with her brother. This husky was stalking along the edges of the room, staying hidden in the shadows. Ares took the hint and nudged his sisters in the side.
"Look!" He whispered harshly. Gracie stared to where her brother was pointing. A door with light to the outside. Snow was flooding in and she knew she would have to face the storm again but it could be the only way to save her siblings. Gracie started to move. "No!" Ares snapped. He slapped his sister down at the withers and she collapsed. "Wait for Krieger to strike!" Gracie shook her head and realized Krieger was the husky sneaking up behind Shakespeare and Akira who were beginning to regain their balance. Krieger sprawled his front paws forward and a grin spread across his face. He shot a glance to Ares and Ares' shoulder muscles twitched. "Get Ready," Ares whispered into Gracie's ear.
"Wha-?" Gracie started but she was cut off by her brother.
"NOW!" Ares barked. Krieger leaped onto Akira and Shakespeare snarling and raving, his fangs clashing with the enemy's. Ares shoved his sisters out the door, he assuming they wouldn't move fast enough and bounded out after them. Gracie, Rue, and Ares crashed together into the snow dune outside. Ares immediately got out and shook all the snow off. "I'm going in!" Ares snarled. Gracie poked her head out and Rue followed suit.
"You can't!" Gracie yelped. "They'll kill you!"
"Krieger saved our lives, now I am going to get him out!" Ares growled. Gracie jumped out of the dune and shook joining Ares' side.
"Then I'm going too." Grace said defiantly. They all heard a shrill yelp from inside and Ares kicked Gracie in the chest sending her back into the snow dune. He took off.
"Stay with Rue!" He barked over his shoulder and he took a running jump back into the cabin.

Inside, there wasn't a fire, but the fury inside sure signaled one. Ares landed and slipped in blood when he got into the cabin, falling on his face.
"Krieger?" He called frantically, trying to get up from his down position but struggled in the slippery mess. Krieger strained to look but he himself was too focused in the fight. If he took one wrong move, he would surely die. Shakespeare lunged at Krieger's leg, jaws extended and clamped down. An agonizing howl escaped the husky's throat but it was cut short as Akira scraped his back with her claws. She panted from the blow she had given and Ares took his chances and jumped. Ares landed on Akira's hind leg, crushing it. Now a new howl pierced the air from the pure white she-wolf. She limped to Shakespeare's side and raised her hackles. Krieger limped to Ares' side and exposed his fangs. Shakespeare eyed his son.
"Why stay with them?" he snarled. "When you can join us?" Shakespeare lifted a paw and motioned for Ares to sit next to him. Krieger glanced to Ares and nodded, for there behind Akira and Shakespeare was a recently burned out fire, with some still searing hot coals. Ares smirked and lurked forward to the Red German Shepherd.
"In fact, Father, I was waiting for the request," Ares replied. Krieger took the time to reposition himself to a striking position and extended his body forward, his muscles trembling with excitement.
"I always knew my little dog of war would join his old man," Shakespeare beamed. Ares sat beside his father and Akira and Shakespeare stared and smiled at him. With them finally distracted, Krieger pounced. Both wolf and dog flipped backward into the coals and the two sled dogs galloped out the door, Ares slamming it behind him.

"Ares!" Rue and Gracie yelped simultaneously as the dogs jumped to the outside. They ran to their brother and hugged him. "Thank goodness you're okay!" Gracie whined.
"Woah, hey! Share the love!" Krieger barked. The two girls shot an angry glance to Krieger. "Or not, that's okay too," He sighed.
"We don't have time for this guys!" Ares snapped. "Gracie, Rue, where's Leon?" The girls exchanged worried glances.
"Well, he trudged off earlier today talking about a wolf and a German Shepherd," Gracie started.
"And we kinda found his trail later today and then lost it," Rue added.
"But it wasn't our fault," Gracie continued.
"Because the snow ate us!" Rue yelped and she pointed to her left eye.
"And now we're one big happy family, right?" Gracie sputtered out.
"Wrong, Spark. Not without Leon." Ares didn't look impressed. Krieger started sniffing around for reasons Gracie did not know but it was not until now that she looked this dog over. Krieger was iron gray with white covering his face, chest, paws, underbelly and tail. There was a slick black streak down his back and a jet black tip on his tail. Gracie saw blood dripping from his back and he was limping bad on his hind leg. He looked up and stared into Gracie's eyes.
"What are you looking at, Perseus?" He teased. Gracie scowled and turned her back on him even if she liked his attitude. "Hey!" Krieger yelped. Gracie whipped back around and the team all surrounded him. "I think I've got a scent!" Ares leaned down to the trail Krieger had uncovered and inhaled.
"That's Leon," Ares said. "But he was scared here, I can sense it." Gracie whined.
"Who wouldn't be scared from those mongrels?" She snarled. She set her nose to the trail as well and began a steady lope on it, soon breaking into a run.
"Hey, Gracie!" Krieger yelped. "Wait up!"
"Yeah!" Ares and Rue barked. And soon they were all upon Leon's trail panting, all of their breath entwining together on the cold day, as a team.

After hours, the dogs were slowing down. "You still got the scent, Spark?" Krieger barked ahead. Gracie shot him a glance and he shut up.
"I've course I've got the sc-" Gracie started and then stopped. "Oh my god!" She yelped. Ahead of them lay a trail of blood indicating a struggle or a dragging motion. Ares put his nose to it and sighed.
"It's not Leon's blood, it's Baron's."
"But Leon's scent is here!" Gracie frantically yelped, tossing her head this way and that hoping to catch a glimpse of her two friends. She looked to Rue who kept her head down. Ares paced back and forth on the trail and Krieger looked sympathetic, trying to help.
"We don't know that Baron is dead yet." Ares stated confidently. "Let's get a move on, we'll find them!" Gracie nuzzled her brother.
"I hope you're right, Bud," she sighed.
"Me too Sis, me too," he whimpered.
The wind picked up as the dogs made their way without using their noses anymore but just following the blood. Rue just trudged along knowing she wouldn't be as much help with the use of only her right eye. Gracie was basically tripping over her own paws from the sight of all the blood until she bumped into something fuzzy but ice cold. She gasped and a tear ran down her face.
"Baron," she choked out, tears now streaming down her face melting the snow under her head. Rue came up close and shed a few tears herself and Ares walked right up to him with no worry in his mind. He lay his head on Baron's chest and shot his head up, beaming.
"He's alive!" He yelped. "I can hear a heartbeat!" Gracie and Rue ran to warm up Baron, still unconscious when they heard Krieger yelp. A snarl soon followed.
"What are you doing here Stranger?" The dog questioned. Gracie looked up and she got all warm inside.
"Leon!" She barked. "Little brother!"
Leon beamed and ran to his 'sister' hugging her in a tight embrace. Leon's eyes lit up on Rue and Ares too, and he was clearly dumbfounded on how they all got there, but happy nonetheless. "Who's that?" Leon grumbled, pointing to Krieger. Gracie shifted her eyes.
"Oh he's alright, Leon, let him be." Gracie said, still wagging her tail.
"His name is Krieger," Ares corrected Gracie. "And he's probably the third best sled dog to ever walk the earth counting me and Baron." Krieger beamed as he was finally being recognized. Leon smiled and walked over to Krieger, giving him a high five. Rue gave them all a stern look.
"Guys, we need to get Baron back to camp!" Rue whined.
"No!" Gracie snapped. "Baron will be fine, he's strong. What we need is to make sure Shakespeare and Akira don't get him again." Leon whipped his head back around.
"You met them? You know that-," Leon started.
"He's our Dad," Ares finished. "Yes." Gracie sat on her haunches and listened intently.
"Leon, please, tell us what happened."
"Well, I found them as in you know Akira and your Dad, and I heard them at camp, so really I guess I knew they were going to kill Baron." Leon whined. "It's my fault."
"But you came to us and told us, but we ignored you," Rue said.
"So, it's our fault," Gracie added.
"Well, I got kinda mad and stormed off. I started to follow their trail, but the storm had dried out my tongue so much, I stopped to get a drink. There in the puddle was Shakespeare's reflection." Leon whined and lay down. "Then before I knew it, Shakespeare was making small talk with me and while I was still in shock," He stopped to take a breath. "He must have deposited Baron's body with me for dead." He closed his eyes. "That's all I remember."
"That doesn't help us much," Ares whimpered. He paced back and forth, creating a trench in the snow.
"Wait! Leon, you said Shakespeare made small talk to you, right?" Krieger shouted out excitedly.
"Yeah, but just a couple sentences," Leon replied.
"Well, what did he say?" Krieger barked. Gracie's eyes lit up.
"Yes, what did he say?" Gracie said, repeating Krieger.
"He said, I am the father of five, pure German Shepherd Dog. I assure you, Baron is dead." Leon sighed. "But that doesn-"
"AHA!" Gracie yelled, excitement rising in her voice. Everyone stared at her. "We're three of his pups guys." She motioned to Ares and Rue. "So, who are the other two?"
"That's it!" Krieger yelped. "Ares, Shakespeare wanted you to join his side to kill," Krieger started. "He's gotta be keeping two pups somewhere, planning for them to join his side," he finished. Rue joined in.
"Akira's gotta be the mother of those pups, otherwise why would she be with them?" Rue panted with her addition. Ares finally understood.
"They gotta be back in that cabin," Ares added.
"And that means we're going back in," Krieger barked.
"Not you guys," Gracie started. "Me, I have to go back in, to prove my father wrong and end this war." All of the dogs shot worried glances around the group.
"But you can't Gracie," Krieger yelped. "You'll never make it back out!" Gracie covered his mouth.
"I can and will," Gracie stated. "But I do want Leon along."
"Wha?" Leon stood shocked. "I don't wanna go!"
"Leon, I want you to go and personally tell my father that Baron is alive and he is going to have to step down," Gracie calmly replied. "All the rest of you, get back to camp." She sighed. "I'll bring the pups back with me, and I will return." She turned to go and Leon plodded behind her, but she looked back over her shoulder. "But on the slight chance that I don't," Gracie stated defiantly. "Then I died doing what I wanted to die doing." A tear fell from Rue's working eye and she turned to leave, with the others behind her. Gracie and Leon broke into a sprinting run back toward the cabin.

When Gracie and Leon had reached the door, there was no mistake the two were still home. Voices boomed from the inside, vibrating the snow under where the dogs were standing. Angry voices.
"How could you let them get away, Akira?" A voice belonging to Shakespeare screamed.
"It was you, MASTER," Akira hissed. "But what does it matter? We still have our future."
Outside, Leon nodded to Gracie and mouthed 'their future.' Gracie understood and braced her self to knock the door over with all her strength. The pups were their future and she had to find them.
"Wait, Gracie!" Leon quietly snapped. She turned to him. "Look!" He pointed. "There's a back door!" Light flooded out of the warm room Leon had pointed to, perfect for the keeping of puppies. "But one of us is going to have to distract them from the front," Leon sighed.
"I'll do it!" Gracie barked.
"No!" Leon blocked her chest from moving with his paw. "Let me." The glimmer in his eyes suggested he wasn't going to change his mind. "Wait for me to jump in and shock them, then you grab the pups and run!"
"You got it," Gracie nodded. Leon braced and then slammed himself into the door, smashing it to pieces. Inside, Gracie heard a startled yelp and a deep bark. She took this time to sprint in to the back room, the light blinding her eyes and then she skidded into a basket. She shook her head and opened her eyes. What she saw made all her insides go warm. Two beautiful wolf and German Shepherd Dog mixes were romping around in the basket, biting one another's ears, happily pouncing and whining. So innocent and yet they didn't even know what was planned for them. Gracie shot her head back up when she heard a sharp yelp she knew could only belong to Leon. But she closed her eyes and persevered, picking up the pups by the scruff of their necks. Tears were now streaming down her face because she knew Leon was in trouble. She scrambled out the door, pups in her mouth, snow being sprayed everywhere from her awkward running lope. Then she heard a high voice that made her stop in her tracks, set down the pups, and cock her head to listen.
"Gracie, please help me!" A high voice whined.
"Rue?" Gracie yelped frantically, tossing her head this way and that, now in panic mode.
"Sis, help!" the voice whimpered.
"Rue!" Gracie barked. "Where are you?" Her heart was pounding so hard it was audible outside her chest. Tears were now pouring down her face as her hackles raised and she snarled out of frustration and confusion. Then she saw white fur glinting from behind a tree. "What have you done with Rue, Akira?"
"For me to know and you to never find out, helpless mutt," Akira growled. Gracie showed her fangs and beckoned Akira to start a fight.
"I will find out, if it's the last thing I do, WOLF!"
"Hand over the pups and your sister will live, stupid one," Akira snarled. Akira had Gracie there when she spotted a gray and white blur shoot through the air.
"There is no Rue! Take the pups and run, Gracie!" barked the voice, she soon recognized as Krieger. Krieger landed on Akira's back leg from which Ares had crushed earlier that day and a piercing scream broke through the forest. Crows scattered from every tree in sight. Gracie scooped up the pups and ran deep into the forest, not quite sure what direction she was heading. Her heart was leaping into her throat and it seemed like she was choking on her own tongue, but still she ran. Gracie's paws burned as she smashed into something furry, causing her to drop the pups. She lifted her throbbing head and looked into her Father's eyes. He grinned and showed his teeth.
"Give back our future... and your future for that matter," Shakespeare said calmly. Gracie's fur raised along her back and she snarled. Her tail got all spiked up and her withers raised.
"Never, Dad!" yelled Gracie, clearly disgruntled. She moved the pups with her paw to behind her front leg and stood in front, protecting them. "They have a better future with us!"
"With who?" Shakespeare sneered. "A bunch of mutts who don't even know who they are?"
"We know who we are!" Came a defiant bark from behind. Krieger stepped to Gracie's side and growled at Shakespeare. "We're Baron, Gracie, Rue, Ares, Leon, and Krieger. Pure blooded heroes, all the way to the bone!" He motioned to the pups. "And this future is for the greater good!" Krieger snapped. Gracie chuckled quietly. What a cheesy hero speech, she thought to herself. Krieger gave her a look and she resumed her protecting of the pups.
"There is no Leon. Not anymore," Shakespeare smirked. "He's off to see Hades."
"No! He can't be dead!" Gracie yelped. "He's too smart for that!"
"Not dead, mutt!" Akira limped up, dragging her hind leg behind her. "Perhaps Hades is not the god himself but a dog of a different kind." Akira grinned. Gracie pressed her ears against her head and revealed all of her teeth.
"He was kidnapped!" Gracie yelled, enraged. Akira and Shakespeare smiled but not for long as Krieger pounced and smashed them into a pine tree.
"Go, Gracie!" He yelled. Gracie grasped the pups and threw them onto her back, too tired to carry them by mouth and the two dogs raced back to camp to join the others.

The everlasting fire burned bright in the sunset, mimicking the many colors of the horizon. The team all sat in a circle next to it with the pups in the middle, all except Leon. It took a lot of explaining on Gracie's part on where Leon was, and the group mourned for the longest time before finally settling for what they had now. Ares fondled the little boy pup and Rue played with the girl one.
"We need names," Baron said sweetly, now revived but with several scars across his body. Krieger smiled.
"They better be good ones," Krieger added happily. "Because they're our future." Gracie laughed.
"How about Denali for the boy?" Ares suggested, wagging his tail. "You know, like the island off Alaska."
"It's perfect for our future little sled dog," Baron said, beaming. Denali panted and lolled his tongue out of his mouth, clearly happy with his new name. Rue now had the little girl pup on her head and Rue smiled.
"How about you name the girl, Rue?" Gracie shook her fur. "For being the best sister in the world."
"Aiyana," Rue whined happily. She looked around the group. "It means eternal blossom."
"Perfect," Gracie replied, leaning down next to her sister and the little pup. Rue lowered her head so the pup slid down her forehead and landed gently in the dirt. She picked her up and put her between her paws, nuzzling her.
"Be my eyes, Little Aiyana," Rue whispered softly in the pup's ear. Aiyana wriggled all over and then curled up between Rue's paws. When the sunset had faded, the group exhausted from the entire ordeal and heavy with grief for not having Leon with them, fell asleep around the fire now dancing in the moonlight. A spark flew off from the top and nipped Gracie's nose. With her eyes still closed, Gracie knew that was her symbol.

The moon shone bright on Gracie's back as she clambered up on to the large ledge overlooking the camp. She padded up the rocky surface, feeling every texture under her sore paws. When she got to the top, she sat down and curled her tail around her body. She looked over at the team and smiled. They had done good, she thought, and they were going to get Leon back, she assured herself. She sighed and barely noticed Krieger behind her, who had silently followed her up. He sat down next to her, the moon glimmering on his black streak.
"It'll turn out okay, Spark," Krieger assured her, smiling.
"I know Krieger," she said returning the smile. "We'll get Leon back and the pups will learn from us and keep the team strong." She turned to the moon. "I know our future."
"Don't be so sure," Krieger started. "There will probably be surprises along the way." Gracie turned and smiled, wagging her tail.
"Hey, what does Krieger mean anyway?" Gracie asked, curious. Krieger laughed.
"Warrior," he replied.
"Well, that's good," Gracie started. She turned and nuzzled Krieger and he blushed. "Because we'll need a good one to help fight this battle."

END OF BOOK ONE