“You like that, huh?” Val wiped her hands on a paper towel and fished the amulet out of her shirt. “Think it’s cool?”

The dog’s tail had stopped wagging. With his floppy ears pricked as much as they could, he sniffed the amulet intently, his damp nose hovering a quarter of an inch from the metal.

“You are so weird. You’re a dog,” Val told him. “How do you know this is anything other than a cast-iron blob?”

The dog snorted and lowered his nose to his bowl. He licked the food again, then took a bite.

“That’s it. Good boy!” Val gushed, stroking his back. “Very good boy.”

The dog ate in tiny nibbles, but he ate. Val pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of him. She sent the picture to Jess, then scrolled through her contacts and selected Qenzi before texting and adding the photo.

Look what I have.

Qenzi responded instantly for once.

He’s so cute!!!!! What’s his name?

He doesn’t have a name. He’s going to a new home soon. As soon as his leg heals.

You don’t mean that. You’re going to keep him and take him for walks in the park, Qenzi informed her.

Val scoffed.

Nope. You should come over and meet him. I know you’re an animal person.

I totally will, but I have three Yorkies. I don’t think they’ll get along.

Qenzi bombarded her with dozens of pictures of the aforementioned Yorkies in ridiculous outfits.

“She’s insane,” Val muttered.

The dog looked up from his bowl.

“No, no. Keep eating,” Val ordered.

He gave a long-suffering sigh and returned his nose to his dinner. Val returned to her conversation, sending another text to Qenzi.

They’re cute. Weird question. The dog keeps sniffing my amulet. Why would he do that? Is he a magical creature in disguise or something?

The screen indicated that Qenzi was typing. It went on for some time.

“Brace yourself,” Val told the dog. “Here comes a nerdy answer.”

The response came in the form of a text so long Val had to scroll to read the whole thing.

Certainly not. I’m not aware of any such magic, for one thing. For another, animals are amazing when it comes to magic. Unlike humans, most animals can see through the Veil, particularly wild animals. Domesticated animals lose the ability to an extent, but they can still sense magic. They also have an innate ability to feel the difference between good and evil magic. Your dog likes your amulet because it holds great power, significant enough that even his relatively dull senses (compared to the senses of, say, a wolf or eagle) are attracted to it. He can tell that it’s good, pure magic.

Val chuckled. “That’s pretty cool, buddy.” She stroked the dog’s back.

How do we know that it’s good magic?

You got it from the queen.

Val shrugged.

True.

If it was evil magic, he’d bark at it and try to hide from it.

Val grinned.

Makes sense. At least he’ll warn me if dark magic users try to break down my door, right?

Qenzi sent laughing emojis.

That’s unlikely, anyway. We’re in the new Golden Age, remember? Dark magic is rare these days.

Val shivered, remembering the effects Mordred’s black magic had on the land.

Thank Merlin for that.

The sound of metal on tiles drew her attention. The dog had licked the last specks of food from his bowl and was pushing it around the floor.

“Aw, good boy!” Val rubbed his ears. “What a good boy!”

The dog gave a dog grin, and his tail stirred his bed’s soft fluff.

“Want more?” Val grabbed the empty bowl and rose. “I had a feeling you’d like this. There’s another can if you want it.”

She placed the bowl on the kitchen counter and rummaged in her backpack. Before she could find the can, her phone vibrated, the long and insistent buzz of an incoming call.

“Qenzi wants to talk nerdy dog shit,” Val informed the dog.

He barked.

Val raised the phone to her ear. “Hey, Qenz.”

“Valerie?” a man yelped, panicking.

Val stiffened. “Mateo?”

The bodega owner was breathless. “Please, you need to come quickly.”

Val grabbed Genevieve’s keys and strode to the door, ignoring a questioning bark from the dog. “What’s happening?”

Mateo’s voice trembled. “It’s your new tenant. She’s causing shit.”