The waves brushed gently against the smooth water-worn rocks of the shore. The smell of fresh pine wafted into her nose. Above, the sky was mottled with little clouds that Jenny kept pointing out. According to her, they were cumulus clouds. The tall peaks of the Rockies stretched in front of Willa, and the Sun was intent on killing her eyes. In the grass, she smelled rabbit and gopher. Sometimes there was a faint scent of moose, deer, or big-horned sheep nearby.

“Why won’t you take a vacation? It would only be for a month or two, and besides, you should have a lot of vacation days saved up over the years.” Jenny pointed out.

Willa snapped back to the conversation. “I prefer to work.”

“Can’t you work remotely?” Jenny smelled like old dirt and metal.

“Yes, but I don’t know where I would go if I do this.”

“Let’s see, you told me that you had gotten an amulet in the middle of the woods. Then, a voice spoke to you saying that you are needed somewhere and gave you vague instructions. What were those instructions again?”

“Go to the wall that divides the land, a testament to willpower.” It was vague, and the clearing they were in had a faint scent of something. Maybe she should ask Jenny when she finished working for the day.

“It could be the Great Wall of China. There are already human bones inside, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a hidden treasure. It could be that US-Mexico border wall, but that was unfinished and left to rot, so I don’t think so.” Jenny put herself in her characteristic ‘I’m thinking very hard’ pose, her hands on her chin.

“Both are equally far away, and I prefer staying in Canada, thank you very much.”

“Your sister left for Italy, and she’s younger than you.”

“Dana always wanted to leave for Europe. It’s been her dream since she was twelve.” Willa preferred the familiar comforts: the prairies, the fresh mountain air, driving past the wind farms that never ceased spinning, and her siblings. She wondered how Clara and Liza were doing.

“And you can have that dream too!” Jenny looked at Willa with those wild dark brown eyes that once promised that pranking the principal by dumping a vat of milk wouldn’t get them in trouble. It did.

“I’m not following any dreams, I’m perfectly comfortable where I am.”

“Well, I’m not pushing you to do anything then.” Jenny relaxed onto her red chair. The red chair smelled like mountain air, paint, and plastic. “So how does it feel to smell everything in sight?”

“It’s fine.” It was as natural as breathing to Willa.

The chairs were made of plastic and were hard. Both Willa and Jenny found them awkward to sit on, but the views the red chairs gave were stunning. The clear view of the Rocky Mountains always awed Willa, along with the view of Waterton Lake.

One time, after her sister’s wedding, Willa took a trip past the Canada-US border, where a clear-cut line signalled where Canada ended and the US began. Glacier National Park was a wonderful experience. Although Clara didn’t land, she...decided to have a different experience with her groom. The stuff married people do, Willa thought, thinking of when she opened the hatch to the guest cabin. That was something.

A white glove, soothing, caressing Willa’s shoulder. A large mirror, and a cracked reflection.

Willa stared into space. That again. Jenny thought it was connected to the amulet, seeing as the visions started appearing when Willa grabbed it. Willa thought it was a trick of her mind, but they felt real. She didn’t mention the persistent unnerving feeling, or that she occasionally sniffed out a wrong scent.

Jenny kept checking her walkie-talkie. It buzzed with a crackling static.

“Another call?” There had been a recent spate of sightings of wild animals roaming around the townsite in the past few weeks, especially deer and raccoons. Currently, park rangers had been looking for a grizzly bear who was rummaging through campsites. All rangers had been authorised to euthanize it should they come across it, much to Jenny’s consternation.

She checked it. “Sighting of a grizzly near Cameron Creek. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jenny put on her beige hat that smelled of pine needles and vanilla-scented shampoo. She headed to her truck and drove off the gravel road. Willa got off the red chair, took one last look at the clear mountain water, and headed back to the hotel.

She appreciated the view of the lake from the main floor of the hotel. Jenny had saved enough money for seven nights at the Prince of Wales, and for that Willa was grateful. As an annual tradition, they would book a night or two at the Prince of Wales Hotel. The small chair in the lobby allowed room for one person, and that was all Willa wanted. The smell of brewing tea wafted in, as well as the persistent old wood scent that permeated the air. Her nose crinkled at the pungent odour of some perfume that clung to a lady sitting two chairs away from Willa. She ended up coughing at the cheap cologne of a nearby guest. Some of the guests in the lobby made it hard for Willa to concentrate fully on her work. The budget for the security firm refused to sort itself out, not with her being frequently distracted by the scents of unwashed strangers, ranging from the somewhat sweet floral fragrance of a mature woman to the stench of a teenage boy. Willa hoped that her nephew would know about deodorant and how to apply it in the future.

The scent of raspberries filled the air. A girl’s smile, beautiful white columns, the wind whispering in her ear, a guide in the dark.

“Okaasan! Otosaan!”

The sound of feet being dragged haphazardly across the floor shook Willa from her daydream. Close to her seat, a teenage girl was being led by her parents away from the seating area in front of the large open window. Willa took a whiff of the air. Raspberries. It wasn’t like other scents where it was inherent to the person. It was like someone or something rubbed off on this girl. She took another whiff and instantly recoiled. The scent was close, too close for comfort.

Willa shuddered at the idea of a stranger approaching her.

She continued working on the budget for the year, checking the expenses incurred, the profits earned, and any numbers that she missed while she was distracted. She worked late into the night when the Sun dipped behind one of the peaks beyond the horizon and most of the guests were going into their rooms. She was about to retire when she was tackled by someone.

“Ate, ang habang panahon tayong hindi nag salita. Kumusta ka na?”

“Oi Liza, hindi mo ako kailangan harapin.” Why did Liza do this every time?

“Liza! Bumaba kay Willa!” Clara marched over to Willa and ripped Liza from clutching her sister tightly.

“Ate!” Liza shook herself off. “Buti ni Willa.”

Willa was lying prone on the ground. Her sister used to be one of the top athletes in high school, and her physique and strength showed that. The scent that clung to her was familiar, that of sweat and moisture. She must have taken a run before greeting Willa.

“Are you okay?” asked Clara.

Despite being shorter than both Liza and Willa, Clara radiated a formidable aura that served to keep all three of her younger sisters on their toes. Her scent was that of clean mountain air and oranges. Probably her shampoo, Willa thought.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Where were Miguel and Nina?

As if on cue, the two little sneaks came sprinting from the staircase.

“You’re it!” Miguel yelled.

“No you missed me, so you’re still it!” Nina yelled back.

“No, you!”

“No, you!”

“Kids, stop yelling. Everyone’s trying to sleep, so don’t make any noise, and you two weren’t supposed to be running around.” Clara sighed. “You two are going to be the death of me.”

Willa chuckled. “Didn’t you say that to Dana and Liza when they were in school?”

“Yes, and you were a little menace too. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that time you flooded the van with water because you wanted to experience swimming in a safe environment.” She smiled and hugged Willa. “You should come up north sometime. I haven’t seen you, the kids haven’t seen you.”

“I’m busy with work,” Willa retorted.

“But you just type on a computer,” Miguel pointed out.

“I do, but when I type on that computer, it helps the people I’m working with money.” Willa had no clue how to explain accounting to a six-year-old. “Without me, their work would be harder.”

“How’s it been living in Pincher Creek with Jenny? It has to be good, or you would have visited me in the last three months.” Liza jumped in.

“It’s fine, and it’s easier for her to live close to where she works. Sometimes we take trips to see the bison or Lundbreck Falls.” The two of them had shared a love of the outdoors. When Jenny suggested that she and Willa should move to be closer to one of the national parks for her job, Willa easily agreed.

Liza nodded. “Nice to be breathing all of that fresh mountain air. I should come down here more often, or you can visit me in Canmore. It’s the same atmosphere and perfect for a morning jog.”

“In a couple of weeks?” Will she still be here in two weeks? Her amulet bulged in her back pocket. She spotted Nina eyeing her pockets, but the girl didn’t say anything.

“Sounds like a deal. Something different after five years, good change of pace.” Liza started stretching her arms, with Clara ducking every time Liza’s outstretched arm went near her head.

“Where’s Jason?” Willa asked Clara.

“He’s working too. New solar panel installation in southern Saskatchewan. He sends his apologies, and wishes he can be here.”

“Why are you both here?”

“To surprise you, duh.” Clara shot Liza a look. “Is there any other reason?”

“No. Did you book rooms at the hotel?”

“Just two nights. Is Jennifer working late?”

“Yes.” Willa’s shoulders tensed. She hadn’t been able to identify the scent, only that it smelled wrong. Different from the overpowering raspberry scent from today. “There’s been a few bear sightings around town. Be careful.”

Afterwards, they all retired to their rooms. Willa dove into her blanket and soon found herself beginning to close her eyes. Later, she heard the sound of a door opening, and Jenny flopping onto the bed out of exhaustion. A new scent clung to her, that of well-worn gravel and—that wrong scent. Willa fell asleep later.

Morning broke, and Willa stretched. Being careful not to wake Jenny, who was still snoring with one arm hanging off the bed, Willa prepared herself for her morning jog. She changed into her athletic wear. She knocked on Liza’s room and asked her if she was ready for a run through the town

“No thanks. I think today I’ll be lifting weights.” Liza opened the door wider to show weights of various sizes on the floor. “Thanks for the offer.”

Clara wasn’t much for running, and neither Miguel nor Nina would have been interested. Jenny was still asleep. She was running alone today.

Willa started at the field next to the hotel. She looked both ways for big-horned sheep and other people. Neither was present, so she took off after saying the phrase that activated her amulet. She’d grown faster since receiving the amulet. She wasn’t a boastful person, but Willa suspected she might be able to outrun Liza one day. Willa rushed past the field onto the rocky face of the cliff, skidding in her brown boots and kicking rocks. She could taste the dust that sprayed on her face.

Once she reached the shore, she stopped running. The water sparkled, clear as Clara’s bronze skin. She chuckled at the memory of Clara flaunting her acne-free skin when they were all going through puberty. Liza learnt a lot of swear words very quickly during that period, even though their mother reminded her not to swear in their house.

“Konnichiwa?”

That raspberry scent again. Her shoulders tensed as she turned to face the sound of the small voice. The girl from the hotel was watching Willa, her phone out in her hand. She seemed to be examining Willa, a thought that made Willa on edge. She wobbled her hand.

“Nihongo wa hanasemasu ka?” The girl took a step closer.

She was speaking Japanese. Jenny had blasted enough anime into Willa’s head in middle school to know what it sounded like.

“Boat!” She pointed to the docks. Willa stared back, unsure what to make of this girl.

The pale girl with the overpowering raspberry scent walked next to Willa and shoved her phone in Willa’s face. Her ears pricked up. Teenagers, she thought, why are they like this?

“Atashi no tomodachi wa shitte imasu ka?” The girl asked.

Willa tried to move away, but the teenager was relentless. She refused to stop hounding Willa as they sprinted past the rocky beach and into a nearby picnic area. Willa’s tail was upright, as she sniffed the other girl. Raspberries, strong as ever.

The teen kept pointing at her phone, swiping to a group photo with her and three other girls. One of the girls stood out to Willa, the one with shoulder-length hair and round glasses. She looked familiar.

“Tenhou Mihira.” The girl stated. “Tenbin-za. Anata wa inu desu.” She pointed to Willa’s head and tail. “Nishikawa Hina.” She pointed at herself.

Willa wanted to run off, but Hina pulled out her texts and clicked on the most recent messages. Again, Hina stuck her phone in Willa’s face. She pulled down her helmet, but she could still see that the contact was listed as Unknown. The unknown person was typing.

That’s her.

Willa checked the camera on the phone. Was it on?

Have you been smelling anything strange lately? Probably in the past two weeks or earlier?

Willa froze. “How do you know?”

Your ears, tail, and the fact that you have been running around in a suit of armour, all point

towards you being the Dog. I’m surprised that you haven’t tried to sniff this phone yet.

“I don’t sniff people’s phones, and I don’t like strangers invading my personal space.” Willa glared at Hina.

This is important. I’ve been listening to your friend Jennifer Chang’s walkie-talkie. The recent wildlife sightings are not because of natural migration, but—

“We’re done here. Leave me alone.” Willa sprinted away, leaving Hina and her phone behind.

How did they access the park ranger frequency? She would bring this up to Jenny after work, and where were Hina’s parents? Why weren’t they keeping a leash on their child? And that scent…she sniffed the air again. It was still there, but what was it?

Snarling, a light blue trail against dark skies, wings of white.

Willa shook her head. What was in her head? These weren’t daydreams, but it felt like she had lived through those experiences. Jenny had once suggested talking to a therapist or a psychologist about the visions. She might take her up on that offer.

After detransforming, Willa walked up to Clara’s room and knocked lightly. Clara opened the door, the bags on her eyes contrasting against the light.

“Willa?”

“I’ve been having these images in my head for two weeks, and I don’t know why, but they sound and feel real, and I want to find a psychologist,” Willa explained.

Clara stared. “Come in. Liza has decided to watch over the kids today.”

Willa followed and placed herself on the bed. Clara was on the opposite side.

“What kind of images are you seeing?” she asked.

“There’s this person with white-gloved hands, and I feel like I know her. She touches my shoulder in a caring way, but I’ve never met anyone like her before.” Jenny was her only friend and Willa wouldn’t let a stranger touch her like that.

Clara nodded in her ‘Interesting, please continue’ way.

“I also remember…me in conflict with something or someone. It doesn’t seem like a dream, but like I have lived it.” Willa sighed. “Do you have any idea what this means? Why am I seeing things that have never happened to me?”

“I’m not sure myself, and I would recommend a psychologist, but Willa? I’m your big sister. If you have any problems, I’m always here.” Clara beamed. “You can call me at any time, and you won’t disturb me.”

“Thanks,” Willa said. The soothing aroma of oranges filled her nostrils.

Clara’s phone started ringing. She picked up and put the caller on speakerphone. “Liza?”

“Mom guess what! Ate Liza and Ate Jenny found a dead bear!” That was Miguel…wait what?

“Miguel sweetie, where are you?” Clara asked.

“By that path near those big falls.”

“Alright stay where you are, me and Ate Willa are coming to get you.” Clara put Miguel on mute. “I leave her with the kids for one day…”

“Let’s just go.” Willa bounced off the bed, grabbing the keys from Clara. She’s seen what happened when Clara drove in a cloud of anger, and she refused to repeat that experience.

A half-hour later, Willa and Clara found themselves next to a shaded clearing. Jenny was examining the corpse of a massive grizzly bear, its jaws agape. Willa waved her hand against the flies that started to buzz around her head. The stench of decaying flesh hit her nostrils, as she narrowed her eyes against the black haze. Clara was shepherding the children away from the bear's corpse.

“Willa! I was just about to call you!” Jenny waved, her latex gloves stretching to her wrists. “I found the bear that everyone was looking for, but now a rogue moose is roaming around near Upper Waterton Lake. Most of the park rangers are tied up there, so I would like a helping hand.”

“Willa’s here?” A voice piped up. Although the carcass’ scent masked numerous scents, Willa recognized the characteristic cologne and bleach scent of Jenny’s brother. She waved.

“Yeah, you’re not the only person here who had her siblings show up.” Jenny nodded. “I would have sent him away, but he wanted to learn more about animal decomposition.”

Caleb stuck his head above the bear’s stomach. “Nice to see you again! You should come to look at this. The rate of decomposition is fascinating.”

Willa trod over to the belly of the bear. Caleb was wearing a face mask, a cap, and latex gloves. Currently, his hands were deep inside the bear’s intestines with gaping holes. She sighed. Willa had accepted a long time ago that Caleb and dead things were a package deal.

“So what did you want to show me?” She asked.

“Alright, so according to Jenny, your bear has been dead since yesterday, right? Using this guidebook, the decomposition of this bear matches that of a bear that has been dead for longer. This is a bit weird, right?” He pointed at a wriggling section of the bear’s innards. “If you see here, that section of the intestines has become a maggot colony, and there are empty pupae inside. Those flies are black blow flies, which have a lifespan of two to four weeks. So this bear has been dead for longer than yesterday, I would say about two or three weeks. There are also beetle larvae inside the stomach, which helps to date the time of death. And there’s something else as well!” He gestured to the bear’s head. “Look into its eyes, and tell me what you can observe.”

Willa peered into its eyes, or rather, its eye sockets. It had no eyes. “There aren’t any eyes.”

“Yes, and that is a great mystery. I would have expected the eyes to remain, but here they were gone, without any trace.” Caleb looked at Willa in his ‘So what do you think?’ way.

“It’s…different.” Her interest in deceased things only extended to being aware that people die. Her shoulder had been a place to cry for her sisters and cousins and Jenny, although Willa often found herself dry-eyed. She grieved, but not outwardly.

Certain that Caleb was done showing her the parts of the corpse that interested him, Willa inhaled deeply—and the wrongness of the scent sent her head twitching. If she had dog ears, they would have been flattened. The wrongness permeated the entire glade, and its potency threatened to make Willa gag. Something was wrong, she thought, turning her head back and forth. Jenny was mourning the dead bear, while Caleb kept examining the insides of it. Clara was chewing out Liza over taking the children near the trail. Why doesn’t anyone notice how wrong this place was, she thought. The decaying flesh was sloughing off, and the wrongness grew stronger. Willa remained alert, her eyes darting quickly between her friend and the shadow-casting trees that surrounded them.

“Something’s wrong,” she stated.

“It’s a dead bear, and some of the other rangers are heading up here. Don’t worry about me. I have PPE, and it doesn’t appear that the bear was diseased.” Jenny gave Willa a thumbs up. “Caleb, can you go with Willa?”

“But this bear is fascinating. If I can ask my friend at the body farm—”

“I am your older sister and I know you are studying to be a medical examiner, but a bear isn’t the same organism as a human. Please go.”

This time, Liza took the wheel since Clara was too incensed to drive, Caleb preferred to write inside his journal about the specifics of bear decomposition, and Willa was too nervous. As Liza regaled Nina and Miguel with tales of marathons she ran or that time she and Dana briefly vandalised their old high school, Willa watched outside the windows. Occasionally, she would see a glimpse of unmoving shadows or eyes watching her, hidden beneath the trees. She shuddered and was still on edge by the time they reached the hotel. The open fields now contained long shadows that stretched into the distance, and she felt the presence of more than old ghosts in the darkened hotel.

Sleeping couldn't dispel any of the creeping images that filled Willa's mind, nor could she sleep. Her eyes remained wide awake, as she stared at the windows overlooking the town. She tossed and turned all night, haunted by visions.

They're overwhelming us, light the signal fires!

Over here!

Libra, look out! Below you!

So here, right?

My hands are stained, tell me, is this how I'm supposed to live?

A creaking noise sounded from the main floor. Willa jumped out of bed and fiddled with her pockets until she grasped the amulet. Peering around to make sure she was alone, she whispered the transformation phrase.

"Let me guard those who I love with zeal and fidelity, and beware the mark of the relentless hunt."

The amulet burst into a terracotta-coloured light, as sepia marks appeared around her body and head. From those marks came forth armour and some clothes. Willa knew that her ears and tail were beginning to sprout from some of the other marks. Her senses sharpened, with that wrong scent making her nose wrinkle.

She opened the door to her floor, the circular chandelier above hanging precariously and gently swaying. There is no wind, Willa thought. In all of her five years living in Pincher Creek and travelling to Waterton in the summer, the wind had never entered the hotel.

That wrong smell was everywhere, but it was strongest on the main floor. She tiptoed to the grand staircase, rounding each corner with a sniff. There was a large stone disk that always hung by her side, but she has never used it. Now she held it in her hand. If anything happened, it would be something to protect her.

At the end of the staircase, her ears pricked up. The sounds of sleeping guests resonated across the hotel. Nothing unusual.

In the middle of the night, the windows and chandelier cast long foreboding shadows into the hotel. Willa’s own shadow was contorted as she sneaked against the walls. The scent was becoming stronger the closer Willa got to the reception desk. Suddenly, her amulet started blinking a pale orange. She tapped on it, trying to turn off the blinking lights—and that’s when it attacked.

On instinct, Willa punched whatever decided to attack her with the discus in hand. Her hand connected with bone. It couldn’t bite but kept trying to shove her away.

Willa retreated to the dining hall, where she opened her amulet. Inside was a radar, with a blinking pale orange dot heading steadily towards her. Someone had left a stray flashlight on the bar, so she picked it up and turned it on. Illuminated within the harsh glare was a moose, eyeless like the bear. Willa shuddered. The wrong scent emanated from the crazed moose. She quickly dodged it as it careened into the bar, smashing multiple bottles with its antlers.

Taking advantage of the temporary lull, she scrambled back into the main lobby. Only the haunting wind, the sound of her breathing, snoring guests, and the crackling of hooves against glass could be heard in the hotel.

Willa gripped her discus as she stared down the deranged moose. She sprinted towards the wrought iron gate near the elevator, wrenched it open, and watched as the moose jammed itself inside it. Death and decay wafted into her nose. The moose struggled to free itself from the tight space, kicking the gate in the process.

Willa wondered if she should wake Jenny up to deal with this. Outside of the Chang family hunting trips, she never dealt with animals in any capacity. She was about to call Jenny when the moose ripped apart the wall of the elevator, knocking Willa onto the reception desk.

A pop sounded from her left shoulder as she screamed in pain.

No one stirred, except for some quiet feet, and the moose turned towards Willa. She swore that malice crossed its face before it charged her.

Her legs refused to move, and she fumbled for anything. She wouldn’t throw her discus, who knew if it came back? She couldn’t stand still though. There were some small rings on the left side. Willa had no clue what it did, but she held one in her right hand anyways.

The moose charged at her, intent on something. When it reached her, she grabbed its neck and slapped the ring onto it. The ring formed a tight circle around its neck. The moose tried to stomp on her but she twisted to the side for the helmet to catch most of the blow. The ringing refused to cease, making her clutch her head in pain. The moose was trying to bite off the collar which kept tightening around its neck and beeping repeatedly.

Warning: 3 seconds to neutralisation of the acquired target.

What? Willa tried to pop her dislocated shoulder back into place to no avail. The collar on the moose started pulsating rapidly in a strobe of terracotta light.

Commencing neutralisation of the target.

The moose’s body shook with great energy until it exploded into fine dust.

Neutralisation of target completed. Seek a new target for the hunt?

Willa staggered to her feet and warily approached the collar beeping sky blue. The dust of the moose lay scattered over the floor of the hotel. Good luck explaining any of this to the receptionist, Willa thought, the cleaners, or anyone with a functional brain. She picked up the collar and put it back on her waist.

“Huh?”

Willa turned around, her left arm hanging limply. The young girl from yesterday was watching her, her phone shining brightly in the night.

“Hokori wa erebētā kara kita nodesu ka?”

You should have listened to me.

“I told both of you to leave me alone,” she snarled.

The moose and its ilk are what your friend and the Park Rangers have been chasing for the past two weeks. I don’t know what they are, but your collar was effective at killing it. I doubt that any kind of conventional weaponry would be effective. Work with me to eliminate this threat.

“And why should I?”

Think of the people here, your friend, her brother, your sisters, and your niece and nephew. We both know that if these creatures run amok, they would be a danger to the guests and the rangers here.

Willa marched herself up the stairs, ignored Hina’s pleading eyes, and closed the door behind her. Wincing in pain, she lay down and slept. Her arm would heal, just like the marks where the cage had imprinted onto her back.

The morning sun arose, and Willa flopped out of her bed. Her arm was aching, but she could feel her shoulder wasn’t as dislocated as last night…last night. Hina, the moose, the phone asking her to work with them…her dislocated shoulder. The bed next to her was unoccupied. Written there was a note saying that Jenny was working, and wouldn’t be back until late in the evening. The wrong scent had infiltrated the bedroom. That was likely because of Jenny chasing after corpses. Wait, Willa thought as she steadied herself, that moose was dead. She killed a moose with a collar. The bulky armour she wore felt heavier. What was going on? How was she going to explain this to Jenny? She closed her eyes, and her hand instinctively reached for the disk.

You can call me at any time, and you won’t disturb me.

Ate Clara would know what to do.

“The hunt has ended, and my oath has been fulfilled,” she whispered to herself as the armour fell away into sepia marks. Her left arm had almost healed, and she marched herself to Clara’s room. One knock later, Clara opened the door, the bags in her eyes getting darker.

“Hi, Willa. Do you need anything?” Clara asked, her exhaustion evident.

“I need to tell you something.” Willa looked around. “In the room.”

“Sure. Kids, me and Ate Willa are going to talk privately, okay? Just stay put.” Clara folded the sheets, letting Willa sit beside her.

“What’s been troubling you lately?” she asked.

“Those visions I’ve been having…I should tell you something. I think they’re connected to this.” She took out her amulet. “I found it in the forest when I was hiking alone. It lets me transform into a dog.” Nothing happened when she transformed, so she wouldn’t be hurting anyone. “Can I show you?”

Clara nodded. “Of course you can.”

Willa held her amulet in the air. “I swear this, I will pursue all that flee from my vigil. Let the hunt mark them, and let me pursue them with zeal and fidelity."

Terracotta light enveloped her. Sepia marks appeared from her body once more, forming armour around her arms, legs, and torso. An exhilarating feeling overcame Willa, as the world burst into the faint scent of freshly cleaned linens and ube ice cream.

Once it was finished, Clara was astonished. She looked at Willa from the metal helmet down to her combat boots. Willa took off her helmet.

“Awwww, your ears!” Clara smiled. “Do they move? Can you move them?”

Willa flattened one of her ears, then raised it up.

“Wow!” She blinked. “If you take away the amulet, will your visions stop?”

“I’m not sure.” Sometimes, she stored it in her suitcase. The visions still occurred.

“Well, if you-”

“Mom!”

Miguel burst into the room. “What’s this?” He pulled down his shirt collar to reveal a sepia-coloured mark in the shape of hunting rifle crosshairs in the middle of his collarbone.

Willa and Clara exchanged a look.

“Did you-” Willa started.

“I only saw a flash of light, and then you were there. Miguel, where’s your sister?” Clara asked.

“In the bathroom.”

Clara got up, walked over to the bathroom, and grabbed Nina. Checking her collarbone, she also sported a sepia marking in the same shape as her brother’s. Nina wasn’t as bothered by it as her brother, who returned to the bathroom to try and scrub it off.

“Miguel!” Clara abandoned Nina and Willa. “Get over here!”

After wrangling a struggling Miguel into the bedroom, Clara flopped onto the bed. Willa rolled her over and propped up a pillow beneath her head.

“Ate Willa, why does your hair look like a burnt carrot?” Nina asked. “Why do you have a tail?”

Willa touched one of her side braids. “Good question.” It was the colour of a burnt carrot, but not a burnt carrot.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

At that moment, someone decided to knock on the door. Willa made the kids promise not to run off or leave the room before she opened the door. A shirtless Caleb and Liza in her athletic apparel were standing there, both sporting the same sepia marks on their collarbone and smelling of dried blood.

“Hey Willa, do you know-woah where did you get that suit of armour? And those ears!” Caleb exclaimed, staring at Willa’s erect ears.

Willa stared at Liza, pleading with her eyes to help her.

“That was her old eighth-grade cosplay!” Not like that! Willa wished she had telepathy.

“I’ll explain inside.”

Clara recovered and was now sharing the bed with her kids and Liza. Caleb put a T-shirt on by order of Clara, and Willa was explaining to her family and Caleb.

“...so I found this amulet in the woods, and it transformed me into a dog. After I was turned into a dog, I started wandering around the trail and into the townsite. Someone called Parks Canada, and that’s where Jenny and a couple of rangers found me. They thought I was an off-leash dog, so they took me and-” Should she say what happened? No, it’s embarrassing.

Clara picked up on the lack of words. “What happened?”

Willa’s eyes darted between Liza and Caleb. Could they see the marks on her back?

Clara’s eyes narrowed. “What. Happened.”

“I was put in a cage and then I transformed into a human.” The strain of metal on her back…

Clara’s eyes narrowed. “Jennifer and I will talk later.”

“Is any of this connected to the dust that’s clinging to the floors in the lobby?” Liza lifted her shoes, covered with fine dark red dust on the bottom.

“That was my fault.” Clara would be pissed if she mentioned killing animals in front of Miguel and Nina. “There was a girl as well, Hina Nishikawa. She’s staying at the hotel.”

“The Japanese girl that kept following me yesterday?” Liza pursed her lips. “She was kind of odd, but I thought she was just admiring my muscles. Heard her phone go off a few times, something about the Dog…wait is that you?”

Willa’s tail twitched. “That one.”

Caleb put his hand in the same posture as his sister. “Is she interested in forensic entomology by any chance?”

She shrugged.

After tracking down Hina based on the potent smell of raspberries that trailed behind her, Hina followed them back into the hotel room clinging on to her phone.

“Konnichiwa!” Hina waved at everyone in the room. “Fuwafuwa no shippo!” She pointed at Willa’s tail, which stood erect and seemed especially fluffy today.

“She likes fluffy tails?” Caleb asked.

“You speak Japanese?” replied Liza.

“A little bit, enough that I can translate what she’s saying. By the way, are you interested in the unique funerary practices of various nations?”

Hina looked puzzled.

“Anata no kawari ni honyaku dekimasu.”

Hina gasped. “Hai!”

Clara and Liza alternated between asking questions, Liza asking out of curiosity and Clara asking from a position of wariness.

Hina started talking. “One of her friends is a Mihira Tenhou, and she has an amulet with the sign of Libra.” Caleb stopped to let Hina keep talking. “Her friend likes fashion, like those large poofy Victorian dresses. She had a dream about meeting a dog in the mountains, and to look for the watcher in the mountains.”

“The Watcher keeping her eternal vigil, unsullied by impurity and falsehoods.”

“As I should. Can you apply the elixir there?” Someone touched her shoulder, applying a liquid that made Willa twitch and moan. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” A white gloved hand squeezed her hand. “Take care.”

Willa blinked. Huh? Who was that?

“...and this person on the phone wants to talk with everyone, especially my sister.”

“How does she know about Jennifer?” Clara asked.

Caleb repeated the question to Hina in Japanese. Hina responded back.

“She says that her contact knows a lot of things.”

“And who is this contact?”

“She doesn’t know. They texted her while she was searching for astrology and the Chinese zodiac on the Internet.” Hina piped up. “They told her that their identity needed to remain hidden, but they wanted to help Hina find her friend’s partner. Since she was in Canada at the time, they recommended trying to go to the Rockies.” Hina asked something. “Also, Hina wants to know if this used to be a castle, or a fancy house.” Hina should not have accepted a text message from a stranger. Who knew what they could do?

“No, it has always been a hotel,” answered Willa.

Caleb translated, and Hina muttered something under her breath.

“Willa?” Jenny burst into the room, ignoring the startled looks of Caleb and Clara. “Can I talk to you about something?”

I was waiting for you.

Jenny whipped towards the phone. “Text to voice messaging?”

Yes, although that isn’t an important issue. I have located the reason why there have been multiple sightings of aberrant wildlife. Someone has hidden multiple beacons around the town and in the wilderness surrounding Waterton National Park.

“Do you know where they are?”

Yes, sending the coordinates to your phone right now. I’m also sending them to your fellow park rangers as well.

“I don’t think you know my–what?!” Jenny grabbed her phone out of her pocket as her phone kept repeatedly beeping. “How do you have my number?!”

In case you fail, I wanted to make sure at least someone knows where these are located and the knowledge to disable them. That information is located in the last text message. Whoever made the beacons made it so that they could only be disabled physically and not remotely. Since you’re aware of the zodiac and your friend Willa, I trusted you with the majority of the information. I’m fairly certain about who has been planting these beacons.

“Wait, maybe we shouldn’t disable all of the beacons.” Jenny put her hands in that characteristic thinking posture. “Even if we disable all of these beacons, there still would be wild animals. As painful as it is for me to suggest this, it’s clear that they are long gone and can’t be saved or rehabilitated.” Jenny sighed. “We are going to have to euthanize these animals.”

“What if we make traps, like when we went with Dad on his hunting trips? Willa, you know what I’m talking about,” Caleb suggested.

Those ones? Willa remembered them clearly, trudging through the long grass, waiting for the ducks and their magnificent flight. Caleb was pulling a fake duck on a string while he chatted with Jenny, and their father was setting up traps. She remembered him daring her to shoot the most ducks, and his shocked face when she presented him with twenty-five ducks. It wasn’t that hard, all she had to do was close her eyes and listen. It helped that they had a distinct scent. "Sure."

Caleb smiled widely. "Jen Jen can join me with trapmaking."

“Don’t call me that!”

“I know how to shoot things,” Liza added.

“Since when do you know how?” Clara asked.

“Since I snuck out and joined Jenny on one of her family hunting trips.” She smiled, proud of her accomplishments. “I don’t know what could be used, I don’t have a hunting licence and I don’t own any guns.”

“I still have some of my dad’s old hunting rifles, ammunition, and scopes,” Jenny mentioned. “They still work, but I don’t think it will completely work. Caleb mentioned that they were dead, and hunting rifles don’t work if they’re already dead.”

Willa’s eyes turned towards the rings and collars on her waist. They were effective at killing that eyeless moose. It could be useful.

“These rings on my waist, I don’t know how they work, but one of them exploded a moose in the lobby.” That was a reasonable explanation of the events last night.

Jenny nodded. “That explains the complaints from the cleaners when I woke up this morning.”

“Wait, if Willa can turn into a dog, wouldn’t she be able to help hunt down the animals? She’s always had a good sense of smell even when we were kids.” Liza looked at Willa. “Isn’t there something like a hunting dog? Do you know what kind of dog you are?”

She shrugged. She looked like a dog, good enough for her. “Yeah, I can help with that.”

“I’ll send out a message to the rangers in case they see you so they know not to put you in a cage again.” Jenny started typing on her phone. “They should know by now, but…”

“What about Hina?” Clara pointed out. “Her parents need to know about this, or one of us has to look after her.”

Hina muttered something.

“She said that you don’t have to worry about her parents. They’re sleeping and left her free to do whatever.” That explained how she was at the bottom of a cliff waiting for her, Willa thought. “She wants to watch over the kids.”

“No offence to her, but I’m not trusting a teenager with my kids alone. I’m staying behind. Jennifer, do you have a spare walkie-talkie?” One was tossed to her. “Thanks.”

Hina pointed at the amulet.

“She says that there should be something inside the amulet, like a makeup kit.”

Willa opened up her amulet. There was a miniature radar, light blue lines beeping as she looked at the crowded radar filled with eight blinking sepia dots.

“Huh?” She looked up as Caleb stared at his collarbone where the sepia mark was now blinking, glowing and stopping in regular intervals.

Everyone had this, even Hina who was entranced by the blinking light on her collarbone. Willa watched as one of the dots paced around the room twice with Liza doing the same actions as the blinking dot.

“I can track all of you.” Willa showed everyone the inside of the amulet. “It doesn’t say which dot is which person, but if I can sense your scent I can know who is who.” Indeed, the scent of everyone was sharper, although the raspberry scent of Hina was overpowering above all other individual scents.

If we don’t disable some of the beacons, what if we lure the animals to a certain area? Surely, that would make your plans easier to execute and I can concentrate my powers on other, more pressing concerns.

“Like a kill zone? What kind of pressing concerns?” Jenny asked.

Something else. It’s not relevant to this part of the world.

Willa questioned the aloofness of this unknown contact, and why they chose to hide themselves. Clara muttered about the insecurity of talking to someone you don’t know and Internet safety…before slapping Jenny on the cheek.

“What was that for?!”

“Putting my sister in a cage!”

Evening fell over the valley quickly. Caleb managed to acquire the needed supplies, while making the cashier at the local sports store uncomfortable with frequent forays into the topic of human decomposition. Jenny sighed as her brother recounted the tale to her.

“I feel bad for Vincent,” she stated to Willa at the bar later that day.

“I feel worse for Caleb.” Willa drank her beer.

Clara explained the situation to Miguel and Nina and made them promise to keep safe and to listen to what she told them. Both of them took a liking to Hina, and soon pestered her with many questions.

“Where’s Japan? Is it nice there? Why are you here? Why are you tall?” Miguel asked.

“How old are you? Can we play games on your phone? Do you want to play tag?” Nina asked.

Hina took it upon herself to enjoy the pleasures of staying at the hotel, from tasting the food served in the dining room to cuddling Willa’s tail. Liza filmed the exchange where Willa had to force the girl off of snuggling with her admittedly fluffy tail. She refused to delete it, even after Willa turned into a dog and nipped at her heels in annoyance.

Most of the traps were set up far from the townsite so that no one was injured. Liza still had to calm down and attend to a middle aged man who managed to entangle himself in one of Jenny’s handmade snares.

“Almost there—hyah!” Liza yelled as the man fell face first into a spare mattress provided by Willa. “You alright there?”

The man nodded.

“Good enough!” Liza swung down from the pine tree.

Jenny reset the trap, after relocating to a more remote location. Willa assisted with the preparations, and training Caleb and Liza on how to use the collars on medium sized rocks on the beach. She tinkered with the collars and the discus on her own time. Most of them were metallic in texture and scent, and all of them were engraved with the Chinese character for dog. In total, she had thirty-three collars and one discus. The wrong scent still remained in the remote trails and in the townsite, and Willa knew that the darkness lingered too long underneath the pine scented mountains. The scent of rope and Jenny’s calloused hands smelling of summer leaves and home grounded Willa to Waterton.

“You’re still thinking about your visions?” Jenny asked.

Willa nodded.

“I’m sure there’s an answer to them, out there in the world. Whatever it is, I don’t think you can find it by staying here.” Jenny finished up the knot she was tying.

What was her purpose in all of this? Willa never imagined herself at the centre of anything other than a quiet, mundane life in Pincher Creek, growing old with her sisters and Jenny. Something gnawed at her spleen. This was supposed to be her life.

“That’s what you want?”

Another vision. Not now, she thought.

A slivered moon cast its glow on the land below. Willa didn't notice the change, except that the wrong scent had intensified. She and Liza were alone in the woods, the leaves rustling softly. Willa’s ears pricked up with the sound of the whistling wind. Flipping open the amulet, she watched the comforting beeping of the radar dots. Behind her, Liza’s mark blinked in tandem with her dot on the radar. Clara broke out her spare makeup kit, but despite the egregious application of foundation, the marks shone through the layers. The marks weren’t distracting in the dark, only a slightly brighter point of light. Willa closed her eyes and concentrated on the sounds and scents of the forest. The grazing big horned sheep, the buzzing sounds of horseflies, the chirps of the grasshopper—that.

There was a herd of elk, yet the scent that entered her nostrils felt wrong. Willa started toward the direction of the elk but stopped. Better to become a dog to remain undetected. Standing back, Willa shifted into a dog. Liza was visibly stunned by her sister’s transformation as the armour began to mould into the dog’s body, but remained silent.

Willa’s ears flattened as she trekked through the forest, the elk scent strengthening as she crept closer to their location. There, a herd of six elk grazed in an open field, inattentive to the two interlopers in their midst. Liza readied a collar and aimed at the largest bull, a specimen that would have graced the centrepiece of any hunting lodge were it not for its rank scent that smelt distinctly of wrongness.

Willa inhaled. No other sources of wrongness.

Liza handed Willa another collar, which remained clasped between her teeth. The herd was still not alerted to the presence of the two sisters. She crawled slowly into a nearby overgrown tree, making sure that none of the elk noticed her presence. Eventually, she spotted her chance.

After she dove into the clearing, the first elk she came across didn’t have a chance to react to her presence before it was collared. Willa bit the leg of another. It almost gored her, were it not for Liza shooting its antlers off with a spare shotgun. Left wounded, it couldn’t do anything with an exposed neck and Willa facing against it. Afterwards, she spat out chunks. Even as a dog, she thought that meat was rancid.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the elk head stirring. She put a collar around its mouth and sprinted to aid Liza. Barking to get her attention, Liza understood and dove into the forest, taking some spare collars.

The remaining four followed them into the woods, not noticing the strangely well-trodden path that dog and hunter were taking. That was their undoing, for multiple snares entangled them. Liza and Willa easily collared all four of them, with Liza covering her nose and mouth with a scarf and Willa finding a safe bush to stick her head in. Soon enough, red dust covered most of the forest floor.

Willa caught the wrong scent coming downwind from close to the falls. Tracking the scent, she found herself in a mixed group of animals, ranging from Canada geese honking loudly at the waterfall to several black bears staring intently into Willa’s eyes. She sensed that most were aware of her and Liza’s presence. Well then, she thought, it didn’t matter if she tried to retain the element of surprise.

Strangely, all of this felt natural to Willa, as she tore through the ranks. She had hunted before, but as a human and always with a snare, trap, or gun. She had never hunted with her sense of smell, although that was helpful at times, or with her teeth. This though…the adrenaline pumped through her body, driving a thrill Willa had never experienced before.

Liza also had success in collaring the wild animals. That shotgun was useful in distracting them. Willa noticed that shooting off heads and necks couldn’t prevent the animals from moving, only the collars. She also had a ferret aiming for her amulet, which she fended off easily.

Once they were finished, Willa panted, staring at the crescent moon. Liza's walkie-talkie crackled to life.

"This is Jennifer Chang, hailing anyone on this frequency. There's a congregation of animals gathering at the Prince of Wales Hotel. Does anyone copy that?"

"Copy that, this is Liza. Me and Willa are finished with the wild animals near Cameron Falls.” She looked over the horizon, spotting some roaming wildlife close to the townsite. “We’re fairly close by, do you want us to head there now?”

“Copy that. Yes, as soon as you can.”

Liza motioned for Willa to follow her. They crept into the sleeping townsite, a few tents pitched and smelling of humans. The wrong scent lingered on some of the tents though, and Willa took care to avoid them. Strangely, no animals bothered her or Liza as they trekked through the deserted town.

Willa kept her tail close down, her ears pricking as she caught wind of a powerful wrong scent coming from the field near the hotel. Closing her eyes, she sensed its origin: a cluster of animals more numerous than those that gathered near the falls. The scent drew her in as she tracked it up the hill.

Upon reaching the entrance of the hotel, she opened her eyes with Liza finally catching up to her. Most of the animals were standing motionless, paying no attention to the reddish brown dog or the woman with a shotgun. Willa snuck around an eyeless white-tailed buck and a similarly eyeless wolf. Liza squeezed herself between two big-horned sheep and past a few eyeless rabbits. Come to think of it, all of the animals gathered at the hotel had no eyes, Willa thought as she made contact with a vacantly staring hawk.

Walking around the entrance, Willa sniffed something wrong. A side door. She looked to Liza, who shrugged and opened it. It swung open.

“Huh? Shouldn’t it be harder to open?” Liza muttered to herself.

Willa followed through. She had seen the side door before, but it hadn’t been large enough to swallow a moose whole. She sniffed again, catching wind of an unfamiliar scent close to the door frame. Someone had tampered with it. Her thoughts never lingered, for Liza waved for Willa to trot over. At the tall window, the congregation of animals watched intently. Willa felt the need to watch them back. That felt right for some reason.

A scream echoed from the third floor. It sounded like…Clara? Liza and Willa glanced at each other before rushing up the stairs.

Across the open area where the chandelier hung, Willa caught the metallic tang of blood and the growl of a large grizzly. She growled back, loud enough for the grizzly to hear and issue a challenge. Liza was running around the barristers, shouting about her sister’s health. The menacing bear flashed its teeth and jumped on the chandelier. Willa barked and leapt onto the chandelier, her teeth sinking into the bear’s neck. The bear roared, trying to claw Willa off of its back. She held on desperately.

“Clara! Oh shit, Clara!”

Liza reached where their sister was, lying in a pool of blood and unmoving. Willa’s nostrils detected the scent of blood to be…human in origin.

Out of anger, she aimed her teeth at the bear’s ear, biting down hard on the small nub. The bear roared in pain. Its right front paw was about to swipe Willa off of its back before a shotgun blast rang out in the dark of the night. Liza reloaded her shotgun again, anger driving her into shooting the bear square in the chest one, two, three, five times. Each time, the bear roared. It was about to pounce back onto the balcony–until Willa shifted back into a human and hit it with the discus, stunning it temporarily.

She tried to collar it, but it refused to budge and bit into her right arm. Willa bit down on her tongue to keep from screaming in pain and wrenched her arm from its mouth. She still clasped the collar in her hand but with rivulets of blood running down her arm. Already, she felt her body knitting back together underneath the skin. Her armour wasn’t damaged, but her arm stung. Behind her, Liza was grabbing gauze, towels, anything to stem Clara’s bleeding.

The wrong scent entered into Willa’s nostrils as the bear lunged forward, intending to push Willa off of the chandelier. Willa moved out of the way, as the chandelier kept swinging from the weight.

Clearing her mind, she closed her eyes. The metallic scent of blood, Liza’s frantic breathing, Clara’s shallow breathing…a strange scent. Near the chest of the bear was something empty and devoid of scent, but Willa could still pick it up via her sense of smell. She lunged forwards, punching the bear in the chest with her left hand.

The chandelier swayed as the bear and woman tangled with each other. Eventually, Willa prevailed by smashing the bear’s arms with her discus and then collaring it. The bear began to claw at the collar, with Willa choosing to jump off of the chandelier and onto the fourth floor. Wincing in pain, Willa was aware enough to watch the bear explode into red dust.

Serves it right, she thought, for injuring her sister. Her right arm seemed to be mostly healed, so Willa pushed herself onto one of the barristers.

Clara’s eyes fluttered as Liza put pressure on her stomach wound to stem the bleeding. Willa opened the door into an empty room and took all of the towels. She handed them off to Liza, who exchanged the already bloody towels with the fresh clean ones.

“...Willa? Liza?” Clara’s voice was weak.

“Hey, you’re awake! That’s good.” Liza slid a few extra towels underneath Clara’s head. “Can you be awake a little longer?” Her hands trembled slightly.

The towels were absorbing a lot of blood, as Clara weakly turned her head around to face Willa. A pang of guilt hit Willa. If she had been there, maybe…maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Why hadn’t Willa stayed with Clara? She could have protected her better, maybe she wouldn’t have been hurt and lying on the floor bleeding out…

“Where are the kids?”

Silence descended on the sisters. In an instant, Willa leapt from her position and searched every single room on the fourth floor, and then the third floor, and then the second…

“Miguel! Nina! Where are you?!” Willa called out.

No response.

“Hina!”

No response there either. They weren’t in the lobby, the dining area, or the reception area, or the main entrance. Many of the animals started dispersing, heading down the cliff. Willa inhaled. No strong raspberry scent wafted into her nose, nor the scents of Nina and Miguel. Above, she also heard Liza opening and closing doors rapidly. She headed upstairs.

“Did you find them?” Liza asked.

Willa shook her head. “I couldn’t detect their scents either.” Where had they gone? They couldn’t have gone further than the field.

All of the hotel guests had been woken up by the commotion. Some immediately gaped at the sight of Clara and helped to stabilise her. Others just stared blankly at the increasing amounts of red dust that carpeted the hardwood floors. Someone asked for a refund, and another person complained that their boat keys were missing and that their trip to Glacier National Park was ruined. Liza was trying to calm everyone down to no avail.

Suddenly, a light raspberry scent caught Willa’s attention. Following it down the stairs, the trail ended at the side door. From there, it dissipated, intermingling with elk, moose, deer, and rabbit. Willa sniffed again. Still nothing. She opened her amulet. The only dots present were Liza and Clara, with Clara’s dot slowly fading in and out. Willa held it to the sky and sprinted out into the field and back. No other dots showed up.

Someone tapped her from behind. Willa whipped around, her eyes darting around. A woman was holding her cellphone in her hand.

“Hi, someone called me on my phone and wanted to talk to an armoured woman? I don’t know who she is.” She handed the phone to Willa and took a good look at her. “What–”

“Leave.”

The woman nodded and waited inside the hotel. Willa answered the call.

“Your friend and her brother need your help. They lost their walkie-talkie ten minutes ago. They’re being cornered at the beach by a pack of wolves.” The voice sounded electronic.

“I can’t find my niece, my nephew, or Hina on my amulet. Do you know where they are?” Was there a range limit? Willa looked again. At the very edge of it were two dots, Jenny and Caleb. No group of three dots appeared on her amulet.

“Forget them, not the priority. What’s important is that you are the only one in the area with the ability to combat these creatures. Your sister is mending your other sister. Don’t worry about the children.”

“Excuse me?! They are my priority, they’re my family. Where are they?!”

The person on the other side ended the call. Willa placed the phone back into the woman’s hand.

Upstairs, Clara was unconscious, but she was still breathing. One of the guests who was a paramedic told her and Liza that they had done all they could, and that any further help would have to be from medical professionals. Willa and Liza protested, wanting to stay by their sister’s side. Eventually, the paramedic won out.

“I’m glad for what you have done for her, but she’s safe right now. All we can do is wait for the ambulance, or for an airlift.” The paramedic looked at the two sisters gently. “It’s alright.”

A minute later, Willa and Liza were outside the hotel. Liza kicked a rock out of frustration, while Willa kept her eyes on the horizon. She watched the water ripple and splash against the rocky beaches.

“Now what?” Liza asked.

Willa took a deep breath. “I’m going to find Clara’s kids and Hina, and then I’m going to help Jenny and Caleb.”

“Good plan.”

There were faint traces of raspberry in the field. Somehow, Hina and the kids had managed to skid down the cliff without any injuries. Following that, the trail led north towards the town proper, and went cold near the water. Willa wanted to swim into the water to find the kids, but Liza reminded her that Jenny and Caleb still needed assistance.

Travelling through the murky woods, Willa dispatched a few rabbits and squirrels with the collar. Through the townsite, they found themselves close by the same red chairs where, days earlier, Willa and Jenny had discussed the future.

There wasn’t a pack of wolves. No, there were more than that. Willa smelled deer, moose, at least three bears, multiple big-horned sheep, and hawks. A speck waved hello in the distance. That was Caleb. Another speck waved rapidly in the air. That was Jenny.

A hawk dove for Willa’s amulet, only to be shot by Liza. Willa took advantage of this by collaring the hawk. All of the animals turned towards Willa, as their eyes filled with an eerie pale flame. Willa growled, and leapt into the fray.

What happened next passed her by in a blur. All Willa remembered was that she tore through half of the animals there with her discus lighting a sky blue trail through the moonlit night. Her legs buckled more than once, yet Willa kept fighting onwards. At one point, Liza covered for her as Willa found herself facing off against a white-tailed deer.

Eventually, all four of them were forced to the edge of the water, a crowd of animals hemming them in. Liza kept her gun cocked, yet both she and Willa knew that she was running out of pellets. Jenny kept her eyes on the skyline, waiting for reinforcements. Willa still had collars and her armour was soaked in blood. A particularly menacing cougar growled, forcing the four into the water. Willa kept her eyes trained on the animals, watching for any sudden movements.

Suddenly, Caleb tapped Jenny’s shoulder.

“What?”

“I hear something.” Caleb turned his head towards the mountains.

Willa’s ears pricked up. Sure enough, she heard a low rumbling, and coming closer by the second. Her eyes shifted focus as the source of the rumbling sound came into view. It was…

“A boat?” Liza exclaimed. “Who’s boating at this hour?”

There was indeed a boat in the water. Sleek, smelling of fresh mountain water…and coming right at the beach. What were they trying to accomplish here?!

“They’re heading for us!” Willa yelled.

She yanked Liza to the right as Jenny did the same to Caleb. The boat was larger than Willa initially assumed, yet whoever was driving it had enough skill—or stupidity—for the boat to completely jump out of the water. She watched as the boat gracefully sailed over her head before crashing into the pack of animals, leaving a messy trail of pulverised wet rocks and several animals caught within its trail. The propeller ceased spinning, clearly never being able to run again. Willa’s nostrils detected something…raspberries?

Hina popped up behind the driver’s seat. “Ha~a.”

“What happened?” Nina’s voice was familiar and comforting to Willa, who let her shoulders relax. “Where’s Ate Willa and Liza?”

Hina pointed at Willa. Nina waved to Willa. She waved back, happy that her niece was safe.

“Who are you waving to?” Miguel’s safe!

“Ate Willa.”

“Oh hi, Ate Willa!”

Willa jumped into the boat. The deck was empty, only containing two children and one teenager. She sniffed the air. There were three sheep approaching the boat. Gunshots and shotgun pellets rang in the air. Willa’s ears instinctively flattened from the noise, but perked up at one of the sheep leaping onto the deck. In an instant, she punched it in the face and whirled around to face the other two.

“Hina! Take the kids below the deck!” she shouted.

Hina seemed to have understood, taking Miguel and Nina down into the boat. Meanwhile, Willa was fighting off a ram. After collaring it, Willa dashed to another ram, shifting into a dog and biting into its neck. She did the same to the next ram, and she continued fighting onwards…

There was more than what she assumed. Based on preliminary reports, she was led to believe that there would only be a force of ten thousand. Enough that the Eleventh Gate could repulse them without assistance. Confident in her scouts’ reports, she had only posted a meagre force of a hundred scouts along the Wall. Now, in the thick of battle, she estimated that the true number of this force was roughly between a hundred thousand and three hundred thousand in number.

She tore through them all with her measured advance. Her discus sailed through the void, a light blue trail against the dark. Some of her fellow scouts were fighting alongside her, their fur standing out amidst the dark turmoil.

Before she left the Wall, she called upon assistance from the Houses and the Gates, whoever was ready to fight alongside her. She knew the Warrior would come, her appetite for war and combat unable to be quenched for long. Sure enough, in the far distance a blur fought her way through the enemies, her axe weaving in and out on the battlefield. Her partner wasn’t present, as expected. If the Sovereign descended from her high and mighty Gate, she sniffed, that would be a miracle. On her right, one of the twins was fighting off enemies with a swift flick of her wrist, her pen lance darting in between those they were fighting. She wanted to leave, she could hear that clearly.

Oh, are you done fighting yet? Pollux, are you okay down there?

Fine so far!

The twins. She wanted to sigh, but first she had to deal with the incursion. It was her duty after all, she was not one to shirk her vigil for something as trivial as “going to tease the King”.

She sprinted across the field, the invaders falling beneath her feet. There was a winding bonelike creature, long and sinewy. She closed her eyes, and lost herself in an ever-shifting terrain of scents. The Warrior’s cherry scent drifted in and out of the battlefield, while the twin’s lemon scent was consistently located on her right. The creature that she wanted to track smelled of old bones and hatred, a deep malice that carried purpose.

The trail laid before her was clear. She sent her discus soaring into the pitch black of the void and shifted into her canine form.

All trembled before her paws as she hunted her prey. The scent shifted to the left, but she kept track of its movements, always staying abreast. Finally, she cornered it close to the edge of the Eleventh Gate and the abyss beyond. It shrieked, while she barked in response. Pouncing upon the creature, it shrieked more before biting into her ear. She tore away herself, watching as the ear regenerated. After it finished, she bit into its neck. The creature’s eyes lost its pale lustre as she tossed it into the void and shifted back into a humanoid shape.

A scout with golden yellow fur approached her, his eye marred by a large scar. “We’re suffering heavy casualties. Reports say that the eastern section of the Wall has sustained the loss of ten scouts, and reports from the other three sections are slow in progress due to the lack of able messengers.” The scout punched another invader in the face as he continued. “The twins left.”

Of course they did. “Give the order to fall back for now. The Wall must not be breached.” She would not fail her oath now of all times.

She continued fighting, her armour slowly accumulating scratches and dents. She didn’t mind, for her external appearance never concerned her. Her oath entailed her to watch, keep vigil between the Eleventh Gate and what laid beyond, and to defend when necessary. Recent events have charged her to fulfil the defence part more frequently. She never complained as some did. She was bound to the oath she swore, for eternity. That drove her to keep fighting against superior numbers. The Wall shall never fall, she swore that.

A harmonious chime sounded from above, driving the invaders to their knees. She took advantage of this, driving many of them back into the void. Above, wings fluttered as the Scales chimed once again. A forceful gale drove them further back, while the Scales balanced back and forth. Some of them disappeared, replaced by little whirls of wind and the fresh scent of raspberries. Judgement, she knew it so well. The Scales made their final declaration when the portal was closed, leaving a clear blue area. The Lady swooped down, her wings folding upon landing.

“Where have you been?” The Warrior asked, her axe being tossed between her hands as her eyes narrowed. “Sitting in your House without a care while the rest of us fight?”

The Lady ignored her and reached out to her. “The battle’s over. Come with me.”

They’ve done this before. The Lady summoned a gust of wind to hold her aloft while she flew back to the Wall, that stalwart bastion of vigilance. Once she landed, she asked for status reports from the scouts present. The signal fires that burned brightly atop the towers changed to burning orange. The terracotta coloured stone of the Wall was comforting to her. According to the status reports, no section of the Wall was breached. The eastern sections have sustained some damage. Messages were to be sent to the Sixth and Tenth Houses. The healing elixirs were running low, so she sent out orders for the Fourth Gate. A blur sped past the ballista and the towers, wanting to return to the First House.

The Lady redirected the wind back onto the open space near the border, blowing it forwards. The heat contained within the wind caused her to take off her helmet. Her ears flicked up. The Lady looked out of place along the Wall in her white dress devoid of any speck of dirt and ethereal wings compared to many of her scouts running around with their snouts dirtied by soot and ash. Her lace blindfold covered her eyes, but she knew instinctively what she wanted. She took her by her white gloved hand and led her down the tower doors.

Inside was a ladder, through which she led the Lady carefully. Many of the scouts barely paid the two any attention. Here, the stone was marred by the scars of past battles as they pulled past sections turned inky black. Along the Wall were cannons manned by soldiers, who readied for any potential disturbances with bows, swords, and axes. Inside the Wall were rows and rows of battle-ready weapons, primed for war. She took the Lady into a small room, filled with maps of Earth and relative locations of the Gates and Houses. The centrepiece of this room was a circular table, onto which she slammed.

“I may not agree with the Warrior often, but I must ask this: where were you?”

The Lady gave no response.

“We both swore the oath together, as partners. The Seventh House and the Eleventh Gate are bound by oath, and I will not have you shirking your duty.”

Her wings shimmered. “I had my reasons.”

“If this is about the Mistress, don’t. That scorpion was never worth your attention or your time.”

“It wasn’t about her.” The Lady looked forlorn. “But…have you ever thought about the costs of what we do?”

“No.” It was not her place to think about such trivial matters.

“I know I used to be reluctant to go to Earth, but you should come one day!” The Lady swept her hands across the table. “There are trees, more vast than the ones in the Sixth House! The air is livable by a slight margin.” She winced. “It’s not as balanced as in the Seventh House...but the people! Oh, the love that’s in the air!” The Lady swooned a little. “Come with me to Earth one day!”

“How is this relevant to the conversation about the dereliction and abandonment of your sworn duties? Even the twins stayed longer than you.”

The Lady’s wings folded themselves around her. “I wanted to tell you…there’s a woman I met recently. She’s beautiful, kind, sweet and gentle, and I love her.”

The tone of voice…not again.

“I want to bring her to the Seventh House.”

No. “A human in one of the Houses or the Gates will cause disruption and disorder. Our duty is to uphold the integrity of the border. You cannot do that when a mortal resides in your own House.”

“Love can coexist with duty. If any of us can do it, it would be me, the Spirit of Balance.” The Lady stood tall. “I can do my duty and love someone, feel the close bond between lovers. If they can love, why can’t I? I want something more than war and duty.”

“That’s what you want? Fleeting love that will only last as long as this human lives? The choice, our only choice, if we are to choose between duty and love, is duty.” She had already forsaken any chance of love, although there was not long ago…that was different. “The presence of anyone from the Lower World would split your focus between what is true and what is false. You can not prioritise the life of one person over an entire world.”

The Lady’s wings stopped shimmering, as the Scales moved back and forth between balance and imbalance. “There is a way to achieve this. I’ll show you one day.”

She crossed her arms as the Lady tapped the door twice before exiting. Sighing, she pored over the reports from the battle.

“Willa? Are you alright?”

Willa opened her eyes. The Sun was out, shining directly in her eyes.

“What happened to Ate Willa?”

“Shhh, don’t look.”

The last thing Willa remembered was fighting a wolf…it was daytime now? “What happened?”

Jenny put her hands on her hips. “You don’t have to worry about the safety of the kids or Hina, or anyone here. On the other hand, you need a shower.”

“That was awesome!”

“Caleb, she doesn’t need to hear that right now! And there are children here!”

“Ate Liza, why can’t I see anything?”

“I’m already in big trouble with your mother. I don’t want you to see anything.”

“Ate Liza, where’s Mommy?”

“...oh fudge.”

Jenny and Caleb dragged Willa into the campsite washroom. She winced when they took off her helmet to go and wash it. The amount of blood on her armour, on her clothes and everything was too much. When she was done showering, she looked at the beach. The sight made her gag. Thankfully, Liza moved the kids and Hina far away from the area.

“...did I do all of…that?” She asked Jenny as they walked away.

“Yes, you did.” Jenny’s concern was apparent. “Are you okay? You looked like you were in a trance. And before you say anything, I’ll explain everything to the park rangers.”

“I had another vision.” This one was longer though. Who was the Lady?

“Oh. What did you see?”

“This massive wall and there was a lot of fighting. There were these scales and an angelic figure. I was arguing with her.”

“That’s new.”

“Yeah, that’s new.”

They walked in silence the rest of the way.

Once they got back to the hotel, Willa collapsed on the bed out of exhaustion. She slept for the entire day. Once she was well rested, she asked Liza about the kids and Clara.

“The kids are fine, they’re with Hina right now.” Liza nodded. “She seems like a good kid. Clara got airlifted to Foothills Hospital. They told me she was stable, but she was in a coma right now. Jason dropped everything and is driving here at breakneck speed, or something like that. His text messages were illegible.”

Willa nodded and buried her head in a pillow. Clara…

For the most part, the kids were unhurt. They seemed to have adopted Hina as a big sister figure, which Hina didn’t mind at all. Willa tried to resist the urge to hug them tightly and never let any of them go. Hina herself went through something similar with her friends and slept through the Calamity. She was planning to sleep through this one as well, but she noticed a menacing bear in the lobby, so she grabbed the kids and left the hotel immediately. After she was told about Clara, she mumbled for a bit and stated that she hoped that Clara recovered and that she was sorry about the confusion.

Hina must have inherited her heavy sleeper tendencies from her parents, because they had slept through the entire night. They both hugged their daughter, glad that she was safe and sound…until they discovered that their daughter had stolen someone’s keys and taken their boat on a joyride. Despite Hina’s protestations that she did it to protect Miguel and Nina, they still forced her to apologise to the man.

“Gomen nasai!” Hina bowed deeply to the confused man. “Gomen nasai!”

The man was deeply confused until Jenny translated what was going on. He fainted once he was shown the extent of the damage to his beloved boat with its many scratches against the hard rocks.

Caleb took many photos of the aftermath of the fight on the beach, with each photo making Willa’s face increasingly blanched and drained of colour.

“Can I send this to my friend at the body farm?”

Out of nervousness and tiredness, Willa quickly nodded her head.

“Thank you so much!” He turned around. “Are you alright though?”

Willa shook her head.

As promised, Jenny explained the entire situation to her superiors and coworkers as best she could. The beacons were disabled and placed into a storage container to be transported to Calgary, and then to the Northwest Territories. Everyone believed Jenny, especially after she dragged back one of the bodies left behind after the fight. After a thorough autopsy corroborated her statements, Parks Canada promised that they would be watching for any further signs of this occurring.

A few hours later, Liza and Jenny were sitting next to Willa. Miguel and Nina were shooting water guns at each other, laughing as they got soaked. Hina joined in with a water gun, playfully shooting at the kids. Liza smiled and tried to give Nina tips on how to effectively soak her brother and Hina in water. It worked.

“Willa, don’t beat yourself up over Clara.”

She stirred. “I’m fine.”

“I’m your Ate Liza, and I know when my younger sister is feeling happy, and this is not it.” Liza hung her arm around Willa. “When I’m frustrated or when I need a breather, I clear my mind by going on a run. Also, Jenny and Caleb told me you weren't fine."

Jenny shrugged when Willa glared at her. "You need a break from work or something."

All of a sudden, Hina approached the three women, carrying a cell phone.

You didn't have to worry about the kids at all. I would like to talk to you and Hina Nishikawa alone, in a private setting.

At this time? Willa looked at Liza and Jenny.

"I'm sure it won't take long," Liza assured Willa. "You'll be back in no time."

Willa followed Hina back to the hotel, where Hina turned on her laptop in her room. As Hina typed on it and talked to herself, Willa wanted to say something.

"Thank you for looking after Miguel and Nina when neither Clara nor I could." Hina turned around.

Hina kept typing, but Willa saw the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. Once she was finished typing, the computer whirred to life. An app opened, allowing for the unknown contact to type.

The beacons that the park rangers found were of unknown origin. This is the first time I've seen anything like this. It sends out pulses on an unknown frequency, meant to resonate with an unknown quantity. Based on my resources, I have determined the most likely source of the beacon.

Hina leaned in closer, eyes glued to the screen.

Aliens.

Hina nodded as if aliens were a reasonable explanation for the beacons. Willa wasn't convinced.

The aliens most likely planted these beacons to prepare for their invasion. Based on the way that the beacon has been handled, I suspect that the aliens can take on a humanoid form. How it relates to your ability to become the Dog, or if it is related, is unclear at the moment. Any possible chance of a government cover up is minimised due to your actions regarding Parks Canada.

Willa didn't know much about what was going on, but she was sure that it wasn't due to an alien invasion.

I have also located the location of your Key, based on your conversation with Jennifer Chang. It's in the British Isles. I found a computer terminal through which I can send you and Hina Nishikawa. Preparing the transportation sequence now.

"Wait! What about my sister and my friend? What about Hina's parents?"

They have been informed through text messaging.

"Before we go, I want to ask: who are you?"

Very well then. I won't reveal myself often, but considering our shared situations, my identity may be helpful.

On the screen, the words shifted until Willa was no longer staring at the words Unknown. Instead, it spelled out Ganymede.

"Who–?" Willa started.

The computer rattled before sucking Hina and Willa into the screen. It beeped and shined an electric blue with a symbol of two waves imposed on it before shutting down.