But beneath that placid herbivore consciousness there was something else. Not aggression, but defensiveness. Not fear, but concern. The rhino had to be careful, lest it was challenged by another rhinoceros.

The incredibly dim and almost useless eyes searched for a shape vaguely like its own. The ears twisted and turned, aiming at each new sound, looking for the sounds of another rhino. The excellent nose sniffed the air.

No challengers. No enemies. Just some birds. The rhino was calm.

I would have to supply the aggression. Which was fine, because I had plenty. I had to save Rachel and Ax. And I had to do it right now.

"0kay, you guys stay with me, but stay back. Wait till I've cleared away defenses before you advance. Now, let's see what this horn can do." My new body moved surprisingly well. I felt almost like I was tiptoeing.

But I was a tiptoeing giant.

I trotted out from beneath the cover of the trees. I knew the gate of Fenestre's compound was right across the street. But I could not see the gate. I couldn't see anything beyond maybe thirty yards, and then, only if it moved. In order to see, I had to look first with one eye, then the other, because the two eyes were too far apart, with too much massive jaw and snout and horn separating them. It was like having your eyes in different rooms.

"You guys will have to aim me," I said.

"A little left," Marco said. "That's it. Now, forward !" I trotted. I broke into a run. I felt hard pavement beneath my surprisingly sensitive feet.

"Gate!" Marco yelled.

I lowered my horn. I increased my speed. The gate was metal bars. I saw them clearly about two seconds before I hit them.

More than two thousand pounds of rhino hit tempered steel.

WHAM!

I felt the impact in my massive, bony face and back into my shoulders.

It was like getting hit in the face with a sledgehammer! But it was like getting hit and not caring. I felt the impact. But my rhinoceros body was used to impact. It was built for impact.

"What happened to the gate?" I asked, too blind to be sure.

"What gate?" Marco said. "0kay, now straight on, veering slightly right, big guy!"

I trotted on my four Greek column legs. I felt the twisted remains of the gate as I ran across them.

ScrrrEEEET! ScrrrEEEET!

"Man, does this guy have a lot of different alarms, or what?" Tobias said.

"0kay, fence number two," Marco announced.

I kept running. This time it was just chain link. I felt something sort of tug at my horn.

"Where's the fence?" I asked.

"You just went through it," Cassie said.

"AII right. This may work," Marco said.

"Rowrrrowrrrowrr!" I heard the dogs very clearly. Smelled them even more clearly.

"Doggies!" Tobias warned.

I caught a vague glimpse of two dark shapes hurtling through the air toward me. I think maybe they tried to bite me. I'm not sure. I did feel a sort of scraping sensation on one side.

"Yow! Yow! Yow! Yowyowyowyow!"

"What happened to the dogs?" I asked.

"Doggies go bye-bye," Marco said with a laugh. "The doggies are hauling doggie butt."

"l think I like this morph," I said. "What's next?"

"Final fence, then the door."

"Look out! Guards! The guys with the shotguns^

"Holy crap!" I heard someone yell. "What is that?"

"Shoot it!"

I spotted them moving. It was like watching a very old, very fuzzy black-and-white movie on a bad TV. They were shadows, ghosts moving swiftly against a blurry background. Just enough for me to see.

I turned toward them, all rhino instinct now. They were possible danger. They were challenging me. That was a mistake.

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Rhinos get shot at all the time. Unfortunately, there are people stupid enough to think rhino horn is a medicine, and people creepy enough to slaughter endangered rhinos to get it.

But they don't go hunting rhinoceros with shotguns. You want to shoot a rhino, you need a high-power, high-caliber rifle. Not a shotgun that fires a bunch of small pellets.

BLAM! BLAM!

I felt something sting my face and shoulders. It made me mad. I charged.

Not a trot, an out-and-out run, with head down and horn out.

"Run!"

They ran. I ran after them. It took about three seconds for me to catch the first one. I plowed right into him, felt the contact with his soft, mushy body, tossed my head, and . . .

. . . Let's just say that particular man won't be sitting down for a long, long time.

I had lost the other guard. But that was okay. They weren't my goal.

"Get me to the door!" I yelled to the others.

"Left. . . okay, now right. . . okay now . . . jeez, what are you, blind? Left, right, okay, CHARGE!"

I charged.

WHAMMMM!

I felt like I'd hit a truck. I backed up and slammed forward again.

WHAMMMM! Crunch.

"Man, that was a tough door!" I said.

"Um, Jake? You missed the door. That was the wall. You okay?" Cassie asked.

"l'm fine. One more push and we'll be in." I reared back and slammed forward. I felt scraping along my back. Then I was in much cooler air.

"We're inside, aren't we?" I asked.

"Yes," Tobias answered, sounding tense. "And we are out of time." I'm sure it was a beautiful house. But I didn't really see it. All I saw with my dim rhino-vision were walls and doorways. But at least we'd been right to guess that there were wide hallways. Wide enough for me to barrel down like a ... well, like a rhinoceros.

And the ceilings were high enough that Tobias, Cassie, and Marco could fly down them, searching madly from room to room. Searching with vision greater than human vision and hearing that could pick up the sound of a gopher belching from a distance the length of a football field.