At the door of the building, Sam stopped, watching as Sally led the runners down the street in a ragged, rowdy parade. They were dirty and bloodied and had lost good friends, but they laughed. They were exuberant, elated at having defied death and won.

When several of the tribesmen started a chant, the sound echoed in his head, bringing back snatches of Dog’s song. He realized that the words were a hymn to life, a celebration of possibilities. The song filled him with a joy that he had been denying. Hours ago, he had stared into the jaws of death, yet he had not been dragged down into that darkness. He had survived to return to the shadows, where life poised on a razor edge.

He understood the runners’ exhilaration now. He was alive! Death and darkness hadn’t claimed him today, and that was more than enough cause for celebration. He felt free. His blood raced and he could no longer hold back. Capering away from Dodger, he spun up the street in a wild dance whose steps he invented as he went along. Inu raced around him, yapping his own excitement.

“Come on, Dodger,” Sam called. “It won’t do to disappoint the lady.”

“Nay. ’Twould never do,” Dodger replied, shaking his head. With a stretch of his long legs, the Elf passed Sam and started the race to catch up with Sally.

The dog, of course, won.