The next day, Aniu taught Steele to appear and be heard. It took all day, but Steele finally mastered it. She still forbid him from going to Nome, but said he and could go to White Mountain the next day, as long as Sesi went with him.

That night, Aniu went out again, as did Sesi.

Nuti asked Steele more about his life in Nome and the dogs he'd known.

Steele told him and Nuti said,

"Sounds like you had a lot of fans."

"I did!" Steele said proudly.

"Did you ever care about any of them?" Nuti asked.

Steele hesitated.

"I liked their attention," Steele said. "And some of them were a lot of fun to be around. But I guess I didn't care all that much about them. Except for Jenna…and her I guess I cared about mostly as a prize to be won."

Steele thought for a moment.

"Well, actually, it went a little deeper than that," he said. "I was genuinely attracted to her and she had a knowledge of sledding, so she'd understand when I talked about my career."

Nuti nodded.

"I always hoped she'd fall for me and maybe when I got old, I'd be sold to her family," he said.

"Just wondering here," Nuti said. "But why did you never go out with any of the other dogs in town? Sounds like you could have."

"None were as beautiful as Jenna," Steele said. "And no one got my job like she did."

The night passed slowly until the sun rose and the other two spirits returned. Steele jumped to his paws.

"Looks like your dog needs a walk, Nuti," Sesi said.

Steele scowled.

"I take it you're ready to go to White Mountain?" the fox said.

Steele nodded. The two disappeared and appeared on the main street of White Mountain.

Steele shuddered, remembering the last time he'd been there.

The cat Steele had met his first day in White Mountain came out from between two buildings, looking around.

"We can become visible now," Sesi said.

They did and the cat looked in their direction. He jumped slightly.

"Oh, hey, dog," he said. "Haven't seen you in a while. Make a new friend?"

The cat looked at Sesi, who smiled back.

"Yeah," Steele said. "This is Sesi. She's been helping me…"

Steele caught himself.

"Survive?" the cat suggested.

"Yeah," Steele said. "Right."

"You wouldn't consider making it a trio, would you?" the cat asked.

Steele looked more closely at the cat. Only now did he realize how bony the tom cat was.

"I don't think that would work out…" he said.

Then an idea struck him.

"…But I think I know someone who'd take you in. If I help you, would you do me a favor?"
"Depends what it is," the cat said suspiciously.

"Well, your new family would be in Nome," Steele said. "And as long as you were there, there's a team I'd like you to keep your eye on."

"Hey, that's it!" the cat said. "I thought you looked familiar. I've seen you on mail runs here before. Let me guess. You got kicked off the team for some reason, but being a dog, you still want to know how your pack is doing. Am I right?"

"Something like that," Steele said.

"Well, you've got yourself a deal," the cat said.

"Good!" Steele said. "Um…what was your name?"
"Shade," the cat said.

Steele said that Sesi would lead him to his new home the next day. Then they walked out of eyesight. Once the cat couldn't see them anymore, they disappeared and reappeared in the cave.

"Pretty clever," Sesi said. "Your plan is a lot more than I expected from you."

Steele rolled his eyes.

"I take it you mean Jenna's family?" Sesi said.

"Yeah," Steele said.

The other spirits stepped forward from the back of the cave.

"How did it go?" Aniu asked.

"Steele was a good boy," Sesi said. "And I think we've solved the sled team problem."

She told the others what they'd decided.

"And I'll go into town from time to time to talk to Shade," Sesi said.

The others agreed this was a good idea.

"Who will go to save the dog when the time comes?" Aniu asked.

"Sesi probably should," Nuti said. "She's the most inconspicuous."

"Yes," Aniu agreed. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

"Not again…" Sesi said.

Steele wondered what the spirits were referring to, but he knew better than to ask.

Nuti said he was going out, as was Sesi. Steele felt awkward being alone with Balto's mother, so he said he was going for a walk.

Steele decided to head to the river he had crossed on his way to the cave. He had no special interest in the river but it was something to head toward.

He was getting close when he a wolf trotting towards him. It was a small white wolf with brown ears, paws and rings around her eyes. She saw him and froze.

It took a moment to register that she could see him.

The wolf put her ears down and lowered her head.

"I don't want any trouble," she said, her voice soft and trembling. "Please don't tell anyone you've seen me."

"It's OK," Steele said. "I won't tell any other dog you're this close to town."

"Thank you," the wolf said, voice trembling less.

Steele wondered if this was Balto's sister or some other descendant of Aniu.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I had to come to this river," she said.

"Why?"

"Well…" she said. "You might not get it."

She looked at Steele, obviously wanting to be asked.

"Try me," Steele said.

"I…had this dream," the wolf said. "For the last few nights I kept dreaming that I was out hunting. I would see a raven and it led me here. Then there would be this tall figure standing on the log bridge in the mist. Then I'd wake up."

"Hm," Steele said, suspecting he knew who the shape was. "What's your name?"

The wolf hesitated.

"Qinu," she said finally.

Steele kept his expression neutral.

"It might not make sense to you, but in the wolf world, dreams mean a lot," Qinu said. "It might have been a message from…"

Qinu stopped, yellow eyes growing wide.

"Well, never mind. The point is I had to come check it out."

Steele nodded.

"I get that," he said.

"You do?" Qinu said, ears perking up. "Because none of my pack does."

"Do they know you're here?" Steele asked.

"Yes, of course," Qinu said quickly. "In fact, they're a couple of them not far away."

Steele smiled.

"No, there aren't."

"There are!" Qinu said, taking a step back.

"Don't worry," Steele said. "I don't want to hurt you. In fact, I think I can help you."

Qinu raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

"I think I know who sent you that dream."
Qinu took a step backwards.

"What do you mean?"

"I know about the spirits."

"How?" Qinu said, narrowing her eyes. "I didn't know dogs knew about them."

"Well…" Steele said. "I don't know if you'll believe this, but I'm a ghost."

Qinu snorted.

"Is this a joke or do you really believe that?"

Steele approached the little wolf, who lowered her ears and bared her teeth.

"I don't have a scent, right?" Steele said.

"Yeah, you do," Qinu said. "It's weird, but you have one."
Steele realized if spirits and some of their descendants could feel him maybe they could smell him, too.

"OK," he said. "But I can do this, too."

He vanished and reappeared on the bridge. Qinu gasped.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"I told you," Steele said. "I'm a ghost."

Qinu still looked skeptical. Steele reappeared in front of Qinu.