Bonedust

pumping at his sides, one hand gripping the tranq gun. The hound leapt gracefully over a rotten log, her long legs pulled tight to her body, and there was a snarl from the other side.
    Urban hurtled over the log with Gabe scrambling to keep up behind him. The path led downhill, to a clearing with a small rock cave jutting out of the ground like an open mouth. Pandora’s tail flagged from the opening of the cave, and then her body twisted. A tan coyote, half her size and wild-eyed, snarled viciously before sprinting back into the forest. It disappeared into the underbrush, but the dirgehound refused to give up. She lunged after it with a shrieking bark of her own.
    “And the hunt is on!” Urban flashed Gabriel a wild grin, his own eyes dancing with the thrill of the chase. He ran after his hound, his bag thumping against his shoulder rhythmically, and Gabriel hurried after him. His calves ached and every now and again, a sharp pain shot under his ribs. He merely pressed an arm against his side and focused on pacing his breathing. Still, he fell behind.
    He found Pandora straddling the coyote, her jaws clamped around the side of its throat. The animal jerked and kicked and writhed, screeching an awful sound, but the hound didn’t let go. Urban dropped to his knees beside the pair, pressing the tranq gun against the coyote’s thigh. It released with a hiss and a click and Gabriel watched as the creature shuddered.
    “Back up,” Urban said and Pandora promptly dropped the coyote, backing up into a tree stump, her tail wagging. The coyote threw its head back, mouth open in agony as the drugs forced it to shift. A man lay there a moment later, his ginger hair sticking up every which way. Urban clasped his fingers around the man’s shirt collar and pulled him up into a sitting potion. “Where did you put the gems?”
    The man shuddered, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. “Why…should I tell you? Yer just gonna take me back! Don’t wanna go…back…” He moaned, head rolling back on his shoulders. Urban gave him a little shake and the Shifter met his gaze. Then he twisted, heaved, and promptly threw up the contents of his stomach.
    Gabriel eased closer. “I think I might know where he hid them,” he said, then as an afterthought, added, “Maybe.”
    “Thank the Goddess, because this bastard’s useless now.” Sure enough, the sedatives had taken effect. The man lay sprawled across the ground, his golden eyes mere slits as he looked up at the starry sky.
    Urban stood, reaching for Pandora. Her body wiggled as he praised her, tickling behind her ears. She rolled onto her back, presenting her tummy and Urban rubbed it until one of her back legs kicked at the air. “Alright. Let’s go then.” He hauled the slim-framed Shifter onto his shoulder and looked at Gabriel.
    A smile teased at the corners of Gabriel’s lips and he turned away. “Back this way.” They came upon the little clearing and he bent down at the mouth of the small cave. It was pitch dark in there, but he reached a hand out, feeling in the darkness and praying he wouldn’t touch a snake or something.
    He paused, a laugh on his lips. Urban was a snake and he wanted to touch him . His fingertips brushed something cool and as he pulled it out into the light of the moon, he saw the glimmer of crystal and silver. “Found it.”
    They retrieved all the stolen gems and secured them in Urban’s bag. Even Pandora’s steps dragged a little bit on their way back to Battery City. Gabriel groaned in the silence between them, glancing up at Urban, his face illuminated by the moonlight and beautiful. “I don’t think these shoes were made for wild goose chases across uneven terrain. My feet are screaming.”
    “We could cut them off?” Urban suggested.
    “Har har. Clever. But you could give me a foot rub when we get back.”
    “I thought you wanted to take this slow.”
    He paused. “I do.”
    “Foot massages lead to full body massages. And you know where those lead.” The snake wore a devilish grin. “That’s right. Naughty places.”
    “How about you buy me dinner first…and then I’ll think about it.”
    “Ooh, a bargain. We’ll see. Let’s get rid of our baggage first.” Urban sighed as he hoisted the coyote Shifter onto his other shoulder. Pandora gave a soft chuff of agreement as she trotted ahead of them. Gabriel had never seen the hound look so calm.
    They waited outside on the curb while Urban dropped off