slap and kick us if no one was watching. As we got older, he got creepy. One time, he touched my butt and told Teacher I was a filthy liar when I complained. I got fifty lashes and spent the week alone in my room while I filled a notebook with the sentence, 'I shall not lie.' He was a horrible person, and I only wish I was closer so I could smell his blood. If I’m bad, I can live with it."
"Doesn't make you bad, beauty. Wanna hear something worse? I wish I was the one who killed him, now that I've heard this. But I can live with it. The gray-and-brown wolf who slashed his throat was my buddy Devon. Finding out he got to avenge someone who tried to hurt my mate will make him happy." He paused at the sound of a lone howl, before responding with one of his own. "There’s our sign. Tell your brothers to move."
Since they already knew to listen for howls, they would be in motion. Rather than distract anyone playing an important part, I reached out to Nine.
"What's happening in there? Did you guys hear your cue to move?"
"Yes, of course. This is awesome, I wish you could see it. A housekeeper was mopping the great room area when we all ran out of our rooms as wolves. She's screaming and running in a circle while Three has the water from her bucket shooting straight up in the air and following her. No matter which way she moves, the water goes with. Ten has anything not nailed down floating through the air and slamming against the walls and… holy crap! Four is more talented than we thought. Thirteen, Teacher just ran out of the room he's been staying in. Remember how the ghost looked when he pulled off his own head and held it beside him in The Canterville Ghost? He's projecting that image, and it's chasing Teacher."
"Man, I wish I could see. Herd them toward the door. You need them to unlock it and get it open before Eleven can do his thing."
"Don't worry, Teacher is already fumbling with the bolt. He wants out of here, and Housekeeper is right behind him, yelling for him to move faster. The rest of us are blocking them from moving back. For the first time ever, I think Teacher is afraid of us. And… Hold on." He went silent.
"Nine! You're freaking me out—what's happening?" When he didn't answer, and I saw flames licking along the eaves, my body went cold. Frantic, I tried again. "Nine! What the heck is going on in there?"
Thankfully, he finally answered, sounding completely terrified, which didn't make me feel any better. "You should see someone coming out any second now, I hope, because it's getting smokier by the second. Eleven did his thing. He only meant to set that ugly portrait of Master on fire. But apparently, it had some sort of accelerant because there was a loud whoosh, and fire spread along the south wall. The entryway is holding for now because Three splashed all the water. It sprayed out around the door and the walls here. The wood is so old, it's catching fast in the rest of the place, and it's about to go up in flames. Oh, thank the goddess. Hold on. I am almost free. I need to concentrate and make sure everyone gets out."
As he spoke, the door flew open, and Teacher ran out with, yes, a hologram of the black-and-white version of The Canterville Ghost at his heels. Housekeeper seemed more afraid of the fire than ghosts, because she ran through the image and shoved Teacher out of her way. My brothers poured out, nipping at their heels with barks and growls.
I tried to get into their heads to tell them to pull back and let the deltas take care of the pair, but nobody was answering. I wanted so badly to run down and join them, but not only had I made a promise to my mate I wouldn’t leave his side, there wouldn't have been time. My brothers ignored the other wolves in the yard and closed a circle around the two of them.
Teacher shifted into a scrawny, gray wolf. Snarling at my brothers, he tried to push them back, but he wasn't any larger, and they had both numbers and years of frustration on their side. Housekeeper shifted into an equally unimpressive wolf, but she tried to