Cat-Tooth Magic and Dog-Eared Miracles Read online

SPECIAL THANKS FOR DOWNLOADING THIS FREE EBOOK

  Fallen Stardust: A boy, an outcast and an alien must find salvation in a world of ruin. Samuel must find a medicine to cure the fever ravaging his village. Markus must find the motive that murdered those he loved. And an angel must find a future in a city crumbled into debris. But something lurks beneath the wasted world, and waking it may doom what little of humanity survives.

  The Sisters Will Dance: Blaine Woosely claws his way back to the living. He has cleaned his blood of his addiction, and an unexpected, family farm home rewards his efforts. Only, the country acres isolate Blaine when a sharp-toothed monster hunts to bring Blaine back to dark. The sad history of Blaine's blood brings magic to the country home's new master, but in the end, only Blaine himself can break his chains.

  Mr. Hancock’s Signature: The dead walk in Monteray. The corpse of a nearly forgotten farmer named Hancock arrives via train. Ian Washington remembers Mr. Hancock and vows to return the body home. Yet Mr. Hancock's body will not rest while Ian works to reopen a cemetery, and the corpse staring each morning upon the doorstep forces the town to choose between the isolation of their fear or the hope of their fellowship.

  Cat-Tooth Magic and Dog-Eared Miracles Brian S. Wheeler

  Flatland Fiction thanks you for your purchase of this ebook. This ebook remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed for any commercial or non-commercial use without permission from the author. Quotes used in reviews are the exception. No alteration of content is allowed. If you enjoy this ebook, Flatland Fiction encourages you to send us a review at [email protected]. Unless otherwise instructed, Flatland Fiction reserves the right to post such reviews online.

  Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2013 by Brian S. Wheeler

  Contents

  Story

  Help Spread the Story

  About the Writer

  Other Stories

  Cat-Tooth Magic and Dog-Eared Miracles

  “Platz!”

  Gyp smiled as he set himself into the morning’s cool, damp grass. Gyp supposed other dogs – especially the small ones with the hair hiding their eyes – would tremble and think the command’s tone too harsh. But Gyp knew better. He heard enthusiasm in his handler Kate’s voice.

  Gyp's eyes never left his handler as Kate walked ahead in the field. Excitement filled the air. The sun set the blue sky aglow. Scents danced in Gyp’s nostrils. Children crowded the field’s fence to watch the dogs, and Gyp welcomed the sounds of their talk and movement.

  More people gathered behind the fence than customary for the weekly training sessions. Like many a German Shepherd, Gyp paid keen attention to his environment to anticipate when Kate prepared to take him for a walk, or load him into the family’s station wagon for a breezy ride through town, or treat him to occasional chicken to supplement his kibble. And Gyp looked forward to his weekly training more than anything else – more than even swimming trips to the park’s pond. He felt how his attention and work pleased Kate, and Gyp relished making Kate happy more than all the comforts in his dog days.

  Gyp’s dark coat and wide chest testified to his fine working line to the people versed in the training and breeding of fine dogs. His great grandfathers worked as sentries in the cold and snowy fields of Eastern Europe. They worked as narcotic and bomb sniffers on borders and in airports. They protected the populace and helped nab assailants as police dogs. Some worked as seeing-eye dogs. Others served as shepherds. But Gyp could imagine no job more important, or better suited to his breeding and his build, than that of making Kate happy.

  Gyp stole a peek at the children who smiled and pointed at him as Kate continued down the field. But then Gyp centered his full attention upon Kate, sensing that she was about to stop and face him. Gyp’s ears tensed, and he stilled his breath to be ready to move.

  “Here!”

  Gyp bounded towards Kate. Of all of the commands practiced through the week – the sitting patiently while Kate walked around the field, obediently walking at Kate’s side, the jumping over boards to retrieve, the biting of a handler’s sleeve – the recall remained Gyp’s favorite exercise. He accelerated with each stride. The wind tickled his ears. Kate’s smile broadened as she watched her dog sprint straight to her.

  Gyp heard the children and adults beyond the fence cheer. He showed his teeth in a wide smile, and his tongue joyously dangled in the crisp morning’s air.

  Gyp stopped in a bound at Kate’s feet, centered with her stance, and gazed upon his master, still as stone waiting for the following command.

  “Foos!”

  Gyp twirled around Kate and resettled on her left side to complete the exercise. Gyp smiled at the crowd applauding him. He could imagine no better way to spend an autumn morning than by dancing with Kate through the commands and strides of their training’s routine.

  Gyp followed closely at Kate’s side and matched her pace as they stepped to the field’s center. There, a stranger waited for them. Gyp paid the man little attention. He entirely trusted Kate. Her body language would tell Gyp if the man be friend or fiend.

  “Well done, Kate,” the man grinned. “You two scored high all across the board.”

  “It’s more him than me, Judge Allen,” Kate returned. “Gyp does all the work.”

  “You’re a heck of a team,” the judge responded. “How long have the two of you been together?”

  “Seven years. Gyp’s my first dog and I’ve never worked with another. We started when he was hardly ten months old and I was hardly nine.”

  Gyp watched the nodding judge closely.

  “You two are on pace to reach third tier next spring. Have you and your parents considered your plans after high school, Kate? People tell me you’re at the top of your class.”

  “I’m hoping to go into chemical engineering.”

  Judge Allen shook Kate’s hand. “Well Kate, I have some forms for you to fill out. The national club offers scholarship funds to qualified young trainers, and I can’t imagine a young lady better qualified.”

  Gyp recognized few words in the exchange, but he sensed the happiness in Kate's body language. He smiled as Kate reached down and stroked his ear.

  Gyp maintained his focus after the judge dismissed Kate from the field. He steadied his pace though he wanted to leap circles around his master. It was a perfect morning, deepened by the bond he shared with his handler. He vowed to never leave her. He promised to protect her no matter what animal or man might dare threaten her. Gyp knew Kate would do as much for him.

  And in the world of the pack, dogs considered such a bond like magic.

  At Kate's side, Gyp watched the remaining dogs work through the field’s routine. Gyp enjoyed the children who came to stroke his fur. Though many of those boys and girls enticed him with tennis balls and Frisbees, Gyp remained next to Kate. They were both young, and Gyp grinned to imagine all the many more mornings he would have to run next to Kate.