Snow Dogs

It started with the cold. Sakura froze when she heard something in the distance.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.

“Shhh,” she whispered. The cowboy took a listen for himself. Miya looked up at her parents. The adults tried to listen through the quiet.

That sounded like barking in the distance.

“Oh no…”

“What?”

Sakura looked pale. “Run.”

“Huh?”

She threw Miya through the invisible glass. The child fell back into Spike’s legs.

“Go!” Sakura screamed. Spike didn’t have to be told twice. He grabbed the little girl and ran. The barking started to get louder. Sakura turned her head. They warned her about things like this.

“What should I do?” she asked. Kaze-san grabbed her by the cheeks.

“You have to be prepared to fight,” she said. “I will show you the way.” Sakura had never been trained to be much of a fighter. She was never created to do that. But that didn’t matter anymore.

The tenshi-chi stood with her back turned to the biting cold. She drew in a deep breath and shook out her wrists.

“Okay…” She lifted her hands out to her chest level. Sakura closed her eyes and started to chant. Sparks of heat started to build around her.

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There were eight of them. The hounds sniffed the trail. The grounds and air froze in their wake. Their targets were near. These were not some dumb mutts. Their master saw to that himself. The hounds looked at each other. They gave each other an unspoken command and broke off in different directions.

The family’s attempt to throw off the scent failed.

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Spike had to keep running with the kid in his hands. He had never been a fan of children. This one was slowing him down. He didn’t have time to think about that. Sakura was going to try and handle things on her end. Question was, would she be able to find him in time?

“Papa,” Miya whimpered.

“Not now,” he hissed. “We’re getting out of here. Just hold on.” The cowboy held his daughter to his chest. The child began whining.

“Come on, be quiet,” Spike whispered. He froze when he heard laughter in front of him. The cowboy slowly turned his gaze forward. A man in white robes stood up ahead in his path. Well, it was hard to tell if he was a man or a woman. They snapped their fan closed.

“Well, hello there,” he said. Spike drew out his gun. The man in white held up his hands.

“Whoa there!” he shouted. “A little trigger-happy, there aren’t you? I just want to talk.” Spike didn’t lower his gun.

“Could’ve fooled me,” he said under his breath. The pale man tilted his head.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked.

“Should I?” the cowboy asked. The pale man tossed back his head. The long hair swept around like a cape made of snow.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “You’re not going to get out of here.”

“And why is that?” the cowboy asked. Patches of ice formed as the pale man twirled around.

“Let’s just say that the boss says no,” he said.

“And who is your boss?” Spike asked. His opponent tapped the side of his nose. He let out a loud whistle. The cowboy didn’t take his eyes off of him as he could hear the dogs barking. The other man smirked.

“I am Pire, lord of the snow!” he shouted with his arms open in the air. The temperature dropped faster. Spike’s hand ached while holding the gun. Miya squirmed around his arm. The barking got louder. Her father pulled the trigger.

Bang!

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Sakura opened her eyes. Her hands felt like they were on fire. A smirk that wouldn’t be out of place on her husband’s face crossed her lips.

“Bang.”

She snapped her fingers. Little sparks flew everywhere. She turned around as the barking grew closer. Yelps filled the air as giant white wolf-like creatures ran toward her. The tenshi-chi backed up with a smile on her face.

“That’ll show you!” Sakura shouted. However, the time for celebration was cut short when she felt a hot breath on her back. She slowly looked out of the corner of her eye.

“Well hello there, my dear.”