Xámza

Chapter 10 Ogre

"El Capitán told me of his life. How he made his way from the mountains of Yemen to the sea. He said he missed his dog," explained her father.
"He had a dog?" asked an astonished Amaris Dahia.
"When he was a boy."
"The ogre was a boy! What a frightening thought," she said.
"Life can be frightening. The dog was the only one who was ever true to him. He would kick the dog, forget to feed it, and still it kept crawling back to him."
"He's not as bad as I thought...he's worse!" exclaimed Amaris Dahia.
"But deep within his cold heart burns a tiny fire."
"For his dog."
"Dogs. Horses. I don't think he would know the difference."
"Dogs don't have hooves," she reminded her father.
"A minor detail."
"Papá! You cannot disguise El Alavádo as a dog!"

Kalil blinked his familiar Trickster's Eye and his face took on a child-like innocence that meant only one thing—he was secretly brewing some devilish scheme.