The tooth was heavy in his hand, so he returned it to his pocket. As he did, he saw it was true that he stood within the dreaming circle. Had it all been only a fever dream?

“Good start.”

Sam turned to find Dog sitting at his side. He sat down next to it. If it was a dream, apparently it wasn’t over yet. “Start I thought I was… destined, or something, to die.”

Dog performed his curious canine shrug. “All mortals die, but you’re done with it for a while. You’ve got a life to lead and things to do. You’ve already started down the path.”

“And I suppose you’ll be right there beside me.”

“Let’s just say we won’t be strangers anymore.”

“Or any less.”

Dog cocked his head and stared quizzically at Sam. “Maybe you should hook up with my cousin, instead.”

Sam laughed. Dog seemed to be laughing, too. He put his arm around the animal, who snuggled close, a warm and comforting presence that filled Sam’s nostrils with a familiar doggy smell. Feeling more at ease than he had in more than a year, Sam settled back with his arm still around Dog and was soon fast asleep.

36

As soon as he showed signs of stirring, she put away her meal and bent to check his vital signs. His pulse was steady and much stronger now, and his pupils normal, He winced when she raised his eyelids; that was a good sign. He’d be awake before long. She settled down, out of his immediate line-of-sight. Awakening bandaged and under a sun shade would be disorienting enough without her furry image being the first thing he saw.

It took several minutes, but he did open his eyes, blinking them rapidly in confusion, As he started to sit up, she reached out a hand and laid it on his shoulder to force him to lie still.

“Take it easy, dear,” she said in her most soothing tones. “You’ve had a tough time and shouldn’t be moving about yet. You nearly died.”

Without turning to look at her, he said, “I thought I did.”

“You should have, with those wounds.” She moved around where he would be able to see her. To her surprise, his eyes remained placid, his expression calm. Her size was intimidating enough, but most norms reacted to her fangs and talons as though she might eat them on the spot. She had always found that reaction amusing. This man was acting like he was in shock, though her treatment should have removed any physical reason for his detachment. She hoped his spirit hadn’t fled too far to be healed; he was wanted elsewhere. “You’re lucky I found you when I did. If you’d been exposed much longer, even my healing song wouldn’t have helped.”

“Healing song?” he asked weakly.

“Yuh, healing song. It’s what we shamans do when we attend a sick or injured person. You don’t think someone bounces back like you did just from some antibiotics.” She raised one hand, which held a hypodermic. “Though they help. Lie still now and this will only hurt a little.”

He didn’t even quiver as she inserted the needle. He just lay there staring at her, his soft hazel eyes thoughtful and curious but calm as a mountain lake. “He waited until she had stowed the syringe away in her bag before he spoke, his voice stronger now.”

“Who… what are you?”

“Tactful fellow,” she sniffed. “My name’s Jacqueline. I’m what you would probably call a Sasquatch.”

His brow furrowed. “Never heard of a white Sasquatch. Or one that could talk either.”

“My, my, we are parochial. We Sasquatch were certified as a sentient species by the United Nations Advisory Council on Metahumanity in 2042. That august body did not find our inability to use Human languages to be a barrier, and our delegates still did not have even the Perkins-Athabascan, sign language to rely on. Since then, some of us have taken advantage of the benefits of technology.” She pulled back the mane-like fur around her head to reveal a gleaming data-jack. A permanent skillsoft cap protruded and a pair of wires lay against her dark skin and burrowed through the fur in the direction of her neck. “It’s a custom job. A Renraku speech synthesizer linked to a Mitsuhama expert system capable of translation between symbolic concept and verbal expression. The software has got an idiom-handling subprogram that’s a bit idiosyncratic, but it does help smooth out the rough spots. Still, I think that it’s much more socially acceptable to say ‘Pass the vegetables’ instead of ‘Me food want.’ Don’t you agree?

“As to the fur color, do you think were all black-furred like those yokels from the coastal forests? That would be awfully boring and hardly in keeping with reasonable expectations of adaptive biology. Up north in the Yukon where I was born, white fur is common. Useful for camouflage in the snow, I suppose.”

He seemed satisfied with her answer. Several minutes passed quietly. She was content to check astrally on the progress of his healing.

“What are you doing here?”

“Taking care of you, my boy.”

A flash of irritation crossed his face. “No. How did you come to be here?”

“Pretty much the same answer, really. I was looking for you.” She watched his annoyance shift to suspicious concern. His emotional guard was down, Lowered by her drugs and spells. Reading him was almost too easy.

“Why?” he asked.

She smiled at him, remembering not to let too many teeth show. “Let’s just say it was business.”

“A bounty hunter,” he said acidly.

“Now, that is jumping to a nasty conclusion. As to how I came to be here, I’d rather not get into specifics.”

His eyes went hard.

“Yuh, O.K.,” she said in a conciliatory tone. “I’m just doing my job. Even Sasquatches have to work for a living, you know. I do what my boss tells me, and my boss, he tells me to find this guy calling himself Twist. Says he wants this guy alive and healthy. That he’s got a few words he wants to put into this Twist’s ears.”

“Who do you work for?”

“Genomics.” She smiled inwardly at the confusion that brought to his face.

“But that’s…”

“I know, dear. How do you think we found out about you?”

“What do you want with me?”

“That is a rather complicated matter and I think I’ll let my boss explain.” Sam’s sour look made her decide to add, “Lets’s just say that he is a possessive sort and that your, shall we say, enquiries brought a certain matter to his attention. Before he acted, he wished to know if you had other information he might find useful. He seemed to believe you might have, shall we say, interests coincident with his in this matter. He wants to have a chat, so he sent me to fetch you.