Page 98 of The Lost Guardian

“What are you doing?” Ali whispered, her eyes never leaving the dog.

“Just getting this good girl some lunch,” he answered, keeping his voice as high and cheerful as possible. “You like jerky, right, baby?”

“Rios, I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Ali said.

The chimú growled again, as if echoing her thoughts.

Santiago babbled some nonsense about man’s best friend as he fished around Ali’s discarded pack for some dehydrated meat. When he found it, he tore the wrapper and broke off a piece.

“Don’t you dare throw that,” Ali warned him, but it was too late. Santiago tossed a chunk of jerky in the dog’s direction.

The animal hopped backward, snarling and barking, inching forward and then reversing again. Finally, she came close enough to smell the meat. She nosed the morsel several times, lips pulling back in a snarl between sniffs. Finally, she snatched it into her mouth, hardly chewing before swallowing. The dog cocked her head and took a tentative step toward Santiago.

“You like that?” Santiago said softly. “More?” He broke off another piece and tossed it her way.

This time, she snatched it right out of the air, and Santiago smiled. He threw her more pieces of food. Her thin tail windmilled back and forth, and he couldn’t help but have his spirits lifted. Before he knew it, the jerky was gone.

“Now what, Rios?” Ali asked him. She had lowered her knife as the dog ate, but her grip on the hilt remained tight.

The dog chuffed at them, pawing the ground. She looked at Santiago’s face, then his hands, cocking her head one way and then the other.

“Sorry, girl, that was it,” he said. Putting aside their own need for sustenance, all the rest of their food was dried or canned to survive the trek. It was nothing that a dog would enjoy anyway.

The chimú huffed out a breath.

“Give it a granola bar or something,” Ali suggested, “and make a break for it.”

“They have chocolate,” Santiago replied, affronted.

“So? We need to—” Ali stopped as the dog inched her way toward them. “Shit,” he heard Ali mutter, raising the blade.

“Don’t,” Santiago warned her, remaining still.

“Rios…” Ali’s voice was a shaky whisper as the dog came closer.

“Just don’t,” he repeated. He didn’t want to be attacked, of course, but he couldn’t stand the thought of hurting an animal. She was clearly hungry, this far up on the mountain.

The dog was close enough now that Santiago could see he had been wrong about her nakedness. She had a small tuft of coarse fur at the top of her head, sticking straight up. Her black skin was smooth and shiny, dewy fog clinging to her sides.

Santiago froze. He didn’t even dare breathe.

The dog leaned forward to sniff him, moving his hands with her nose in case he had some jerky hidden beneath them. He felt Ali tense beside him, but he willed her not to move. Then the dog’s face was directly in front of his, her wet nose pressing against his cheek as she examined him further. Santiago held his breath…

Only to feel a coarse, wet tongue lap at his chin. A laugh bubbled up in his chest, spilling over in a startled exhale. The dog gave him another happy lick, then bounded back into the maze of the cloud forest.

Ali and Santiago remained struck for a few long moments. After a while, Ali sheathed her knife and shrugged off his flannel, tying it around her waist. She grabbed her pack. Santiago stood, his limbs wobbly.

They stared at each other and burst out laughing. Santiago doubled over, stomach cramping, and Ali wiped away the tears streaming down her face. They were surely suffering from hysteria. He didn’t mind, though.

“You continue to surprise me, Rios,” Ali said.

“I surprised myself,” Santiago answered honestly. If someone had told him how he would react in this situation a week ago, he wasn’t sure he’d believe them.

“It’s a good look for you, you know,” Ali said.

“What is?” he asked.

“You,” she answered. “Taking charge.”