whisked about. Having these pups in her life was the best thing to ever happen to her. For once, she didn’t feel the fear of constantly being watched, or the need to always look over her shoulder. They were able to make her feel at home. The new medicine that she was taking probably had nothing to do with it. After all, it was a lovely day outside, and nothing could go wrong.

“Hey! Auntie Lilith! Look what I can do!” Stevan called.

She looked up just in time to see Stevan climb onto the old armchair. He stood up on the armrest of jumped off, landing cleanly on his paws. She smiled at Stevan and patted him on the head.

“Wow, that was so good.”

“O-Oh yeah! I can do better than that!” she heard Seth yell.

He too climbed onto the chair, but instead of stopping there, he made a leap and hopped onto the back. Seth looked down at the lamp besides the chair and saw the chain hanging from it.

“Careful now,” Lilith warned, “I don’t want you getting hurt now.”

Seth ignored her and hunched down. His tail wiggled back and forth as he leapt from the chair, grabbing the lamp chain with his teeth, rocking back and forth, and then flipping down to the ground. He stumbled slightly as he landed, but he smiled nonetheless.

“How was that Aunt?” he asked excitedly, bouncing around on his little paws.

She gave him the same smile that she gave Stevan. “That was amazing. Where’d you learn to do something like that?”

“I-I’ve been practicing!”

“Well, if you keep it up, you’ll only improve.”

Seth beamed at her and nuzzled her. He had never had anyone actually notice him like this, and he didn’t know what else to really do. Lilith smiled softly down at each of the pups and then she saw Becca. Becca hadn’t let up on her attack, and now she had reached Lilith’s paw. She saw the small, red ribbon and took one end in her mouth and began to tug. Lilith gasped in shock and horror. She stood up instantly and tried to cast away Becca, accidentally kicking her.

“Let go of that!” she commanded with a harsh tone.

Lilith frantically bent down and tugged at each end of the bow, until finally fixing it after much tedious work. She gave a sigh of relief and her body relaxed. She looked over and saw Becca lying on the floor, crying. Lilith’s ears lowered as she realized the mistake she had made. She walked over to Becca and crossed her front paws.

“I’m… I’m sorry if I hurt you Becca.. I didn’t mean to do that.. Can you ever forgive me?”

Becca looked up at Lilith, little teardrops in her eyes. She nodded and gave a weak smile. Lilith wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled back.

“Hey, hey, chin up… I have an idea! Let’s go outside!”

All three of the pups eyes lit up with bright sparkles as they heard this last word. Becca began to whirl around, giggling excitedly.

“You really mean it?”

Lilith nodded her head. “Of course. But we still have to stay on our guard. I still feel a little uncomfortable going outside.”

“Oh, we will Auntie!”

The pups were out the door in an instant as she followed behind slowly. She peaked out through the hole, checking in all directions before exiting the house. Lilith could see the pups playing merrily in the street, so that gave her some comfort, but not much. All at once, they disappeared down a near alley, giggling all the way. She stepped off her porch and began to make her way to them. She saw what looked like to be a sled down at the far end of the street, but now wasn’t a time to worry about that.

“C’mon Kids, let’s get back out to where Auntie can see you.”

She took the corner slowly as she peered down the alley. Her mouth opened slightly in shock as she saw it completely empty. Lilith took a few steps down the alley.

“Please. Don’t play this game with me. C’mon now,” she called shakily.

Once again, she started to feel that familiar feeling. The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand, and her ears perked, listening for any unusual noises. She took a look over her shoulder and took a few more steps, hearing the dull crunching of the snow between her paws. A flag fluttered clumsily in the delicate breeze and whistled past her ears softly. A lone street lamp flickered momentarily as another breath of wind eased its way. Lilith gave a heavy sigh and she gulped. The lacy, red ribbon tied around her front paw bobbed back and forth. She could see an intersection of four alleys about halfway down, so with quite a bit of courage, she made her way, trying to stifle her fear as best she could. She paused for a moment, and she could have sworn that she heard a noise. Her teeth started to show, releasing some of her fear by occasionally chattering. Was she being watched? She stole a peek back. No. No one had been there. Lilith lowered herself closer to the ground submissively. All around her she felt the dreaded stares of hundreds of pairs of eyes bearing down upon her, watching her every move, plotting her destruction, looking through to her very soul to decide her fate… There it was again. She straightened herself, focusing her mind and body with all her might. A breathing that was slow and calm, a far cry from hers. She sucked in a deep breath, the frigid air stinging her lungs before she began to slink along the nearest wall. Her breathing became shallow and near silent as she edged closer and closer to the corner of the building. She tilted an ear forward, but still heard that inhaling and exhaling from before. It was now, or never. She squinted her eyes shut tightly and with one brave move, she leapt out into the open, exposing herself outright. What she saw when she opened her eyes, shocked her at first, but then quickly brought a scowl.

“Well hello my sister. Come to join the party I see?”

“Not in your dreams, Hal… Now please, I would like to take the children back with me if you wouldn’t mind.”

Lilith walked over to Becca, Seth, and Stevan who had been sitting down in front of their uncle. She turned her back to Hal and began to shoo away the three pups.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to come back to Nome with me? We could have a grand time together,” Hal chuckled.

“Yes I’m sure Hal, so please, just leave us in peace. You promised that if I did that last thing, that you would never ask of me again.”

He put a paw on her shoulder, before putting more of his weight onto her, forcing her down. “Now, now. Where is your sense of helpfulness? I was sure you would be overjoyed to aid in my latest plan.”

Lilith whirled around and hit his paw away. “Don’t you dare touch me… And don’t think I don’t know why you want me included.. I overheard you that night with our brother, Greg. You had come up with that whole convoluted scheme before, knowing full well that it wouldn’t work, and yet you somehow convinced him that it would, and that in fact it was his own idea, when in reality it wasn’t. You planned for his death I bet, and probably for Burt’s as well!… They were probably the only ones that were in you’re way, weren’t they!?”

“My, my,” Hal sneered, “you figured all that out? I am most impressed indeed.”

“Shut up… I’m not coming with you, nor are these pups to do so either. You are nothing but a puppet master… I would even dare to compare you to… Lucy.”

A low growl resonated deep from Hal’s throat as he began to snarl at Lilith, making the three pups cower behind her. “You have the audacity to associate me with such filth! That worthless dog that left her creators feeling ashamed!” Hal began to pace around her, a thin strand of saliva dangled from his maw. He looked her hard in the eyes, and she returned his glare. “Fine then, if this is how you wish to play, then I full well except your challenge.”

In one smooth movement, he raced around the backside of Lilith, and grabbed up Becca. Hal sat down and dragged Becca closer to her, putting a claw at her young throat. Becca let out a shrill scream as she tried to struggle from his grasp. Lilith was crouched down on all fours, teeth bared, and ready to strike.

“This isn’t her fight. Now let.. her.. go..” she growled.

Hal grinned at her, his teeth glimmering in the moonlight. His clown nose moved up and down as he inhaled deeply. His eyes widened as he began to trace a line in the shivering pup’s neck fur. An icy gust soared down the alley, pelting all five dogs with powdery, white snow.

“I think not Sister Dear. See, if you don’t do what I say, then maybe I’ll spill innocent blood. Or I’ll just wait… I’ll keep waiting for weeks on end for the perfect moment to strike.. I’ll follow you everywhere, watching you, plotting your destruction. Oh what fun that will be… I may even use someone that you may or may not know or trust… The possibilities are endless.”

Lilith suddenly lost her edge. He had struck her weakest point. She had just begun to trust the three pups she had been caring for. He had just laid the possibility that he could use one of these seemingly innocent ones to do his very bidding into her fearful mind. Hal grinned madly at her and she backed off.

“So my dear sister. What is your answer now? Because if you really don’t want to come back to Nome, then I know exactly what to do,” Hal snickered.

The very venom of his words began to poison her thinking, making her stutter and shake. He watched her eyes with glee as they slowly drifted to one side and then to the other.

“Well? I don’t have all day for you. What’s your answer now Sweetie?”

Lilith crossed her front paws and looked down in shame. A teardrop or two came to her saddened eyes. She took in a deep breath as she fumbled with her words. She knew that she was going to hate herself, but with much regret, she looked at Becca, and then back at Hal.

“… Fine… We’ll come with you. But so help me if you hurt any one of these children, I will rip you limb from limb. I want you to promise me that you won’t harm me, or them.”

Hal released Becca from his grasp, and she fled to Lilith, crying into her pelt.

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