“Puck,” I called into the woods with scolding authority. “Puck!” I realized then that if I went around screaming I was inviting trouble. “God damned dog,” I grumbled, and stepping into the forest, I went after him. Vella followed.
We wove through the woods. Ahead I could see the blue light and a shadow of Puck following behind it. Suddenly, however, the light bounced up and then dropped out of view. In the darkness, I spotted Puck sitting on a rise. The moonlight was shining down on him. “There he is,” I said pointing, and Vella and I ran toward him. When we got close, I called him again: “Puck, come here you bad dog.”
Puck rose, wagging his tail, and jogged toward me.
Vella walked toward the rise where Puck had been sitting. No matter what, I was done following weird lights. “Let’s head back,” I said and turned to go, grabbing Puck by the collar.
“Cricket,” Vella called.
“Oh no. I’m not chasing any more lights in the woods. Come on.”
“No, wait. Look,” she said.
With a sigh, I walked toward the rise where Puck had been sitting. Down across the valley below us we saw the twinkle of light.
“What is it? A town?”
Vella shook her head. “I don’t know. Looks like some kind of building.”
We both stood there considering.
I looked down at Puck. He whimpered excitedly. “Well, guess we better go check it out. Could be help or we could get eaten alive. No way to know unless we go find out. You agree?” I asked Vella.
She had a strange, faraway look on her face and was smiling serenely.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Look, on the top of the building.”
I squinted. “A star?” It looked like there was a shining silver star on top of the building. “Maybe it’s a Holiday Inn.”
She shook her head. “No. It’s the Star,” she replied.
“What do you mean, the Star?”
“In the Tarot deck. The Star follows the Tower.”
“If you say so. But lights can also mean a soft bed and a hot meal,” I replied with a shrug. I looked down at Puck who wagged his tail. I stuck the pistol in the back of my jeans, and keeping a tight grip on my pipe wrench, we headed off through the darkness and toward the Star.