––––––––
Outside, it was already dark, even though it was only mid-afternoon. A furious wind slapped Honey in the face as soon as she stepped out of the side door and rain splattered into her eyes. She tucked her tail under. This is crazy! If there was one thing Great Danes hated, it was getting wet. She couldn’t imagine that Anja would have come out in this weather. She was about to turn back and return to the arena when something caught her eye.
Wait. Was that a dog over there?
Honey shook the water out of her eyes and looked around again. She had come out on the west side of the arena, right next to the fairground. The Ferris Wheel loomed in the sky above her and there were several other big machines which humans liked to sit in and scream a lot as they were thrown around. But all the rides were deserted now, the twinkling lights switched off, and all the stalls had their shutters down. The humans must have decided to shut up early because of the storm.
Just ahead, behind a round platform with giant teacups, Honey could see the silhouette of the Viking ship, and next to it stood the carousel. Honey squinted. That was where she thought she had seen the dog. It was hard to tell in the lashing rain, but she thought it looked like a big dog. Anja?
Honey put her head down against the rain and started making her way across, trying her best to avoid stepping into the puddles. As she got closer, she realised that the Viking ship was swaying wildly in the wind. The chains that attached it to the massive triangular stand were rattling as it swung first to one side, then to the other, as if riding the swell of an invisible wave. The wind buffeting the ragged sail made it look even more like a ship tossing at sea. Honey could hear the wooden body of the vessel creaking and groaning as it shuddered under the force of the wind.
She rounded the side of the carousel, peering past the rows of wooden horses frozen in mid-gallop, and saw it. There! A movement! Deep in the centre of the carousel. Honey scrambled up onto the carousel platform, squeezing past several wooden stallions with tossing manes as she pushed her way towards the centre. She saw something move ahead of her again. She rushed forwards ... and crashed into something solid.
“Oh!”
Honey realised that she had run straight into the centre column in the middle of the carousel. The movement she had seen was herself, reflected in the panel of mirrors mounted on the sides of the column. Annoyed, she turned back and wove her way past the wooden horses again to the outer edge of the carousel. She was sheltered from the rain here and she didn’t really want to step out into the storm again. But then her eyes strayed to the big wooden ship and she thought of the mystery Peemail again.
“Meet me by the Viking ship ...”
Making her decision, Honey jumped off the carousel platform and headed over to the ship. It was huge, she realised as she got closer. She kept a careful distance as it continued to sway and swing in the wind, and looked around desperately for any signs of Anja. She was completely soaked now and starting to shiver.
“Hello—? Anja—?” The wind whipped the words out of her mouth. Honey took a deep breath and tried again, louder. “ANJA—?”
Nothing.
The ship creaked.
Honey looked up at it nervously. The hull of the ship swung past her, rocking and shuddering in the wind ... She turned away to scan the area again and, this time, she was sure she saw the figure of a dog standing just in front of the giant teacups.
“Anja!” Honey cried. “I thought you—”
She stopped and her eyes widened. The dog shape faded, then came back—a pale grey form that seemed to shimmer in the rain—but the thing that had her blinking in disbelief was that she thought she could see the giant teacups through the dog’s body.
Almost as if the dog was made of nothing but grey smoke.
It moved towards her and Honey backed away, her mind racing. My eyes must be playing tricks on me in the rain, she told herself. It’s just a dog. A normal dog. It came closer and Honey realised that it was a large dog, but too small to be a Dane. It had the same body shape though—the lean, athletic body, deep chest, and long legs—with a fine head and softly folded ears, all covered in a smoky-silver coat. An eerie howling suddenly filled the air. It rose into the night sky, blending with the howling of the wind. Honey felt every hackle stand up on her back. Was this the Phantom Hound?
The ghostly grey dog turned around and paced in a circle, then trotted away, before pausing and looking over his shoulder at her. When Honey didn’t move, he came back and repeated the whole sequence. It was almost as if ... as if ... as if he’s asking me to follow him! Honey realised.
“Who are you?” she called, squinting through the rain. It was hard to see the grey dog’s face. She thought she caught a flash of amber eyes. He turned and began trotting away again—and this time he did not come back. Honey strained to keep his grey form in sight. He was heading away from the fairground, towards the back of the arena ... she saw his ghostly form float past the fence that ran along the back of the arena and then a sheet of rain swept across her vision and she lost sight of him.
Frustrated, Honey craned her neck, trying to catch sight of the ghostly grey form again, but there was nothing to see except lashing rain. Honey shook her head, trying to get the water out of her eyes.
Should I follow him?
She started forwards, then something—someone—rammed into her, knocking the breath from her body.
Ooomph!
Honey staggered as the force knocked her sideways, straight into the path of the swinging Viking ship. She jerked her head upwards. Above her, the Viking ship swung to the highest point of its arc away from her and held there for a moment, as if frozen in time. Then with a creak and groan of its wooden hull, the ship began to make its descent back down along the arc.
Run! screamed a voice inside her head, but Honey felt paralysed, her paws frozen to the spot, as the huge wooden vessel hurtled down towards her.