Lynan had only seen one once before, when Usharna had consented to his coming on a royal hunting party on Ebrius Ridge. He had vague memories of how big great bears were, twice as tall and twice as wide as a large man, with muscles like steel coils covered by bristly, brown fur. Their muzzles were filled with large pointed teeth; their claws longer and sharper than butchers’ knives. He had been told that given enough warning a man could outpace one, but that the creature’s turn of speed was remarkable for its size and over a short distances a great bear could easily catch the fastest human.
Again that shuffling sound, closer yet. Lynan could smell something heavy and musty in the air, something that caught at the back of this throat.
“It’s definitely headed this way,” Kumul whispered. “It has our scent, and is moving back and forth to pin it down.”
“Nothing for it, then,” Ager said. “Our only chance is to set an ambush. But to do that we have to get out of the dell.”
As best they could in the dark, the two men scanned the immediate area for a likely site. Kumul pointed to a broad golden fan with low branches about forty paces away on the other side of the dell. Ager nodded, and the four of them ran to it. The branches were numerous and sturdy enough to hold them all, and within a few seconds the entire party was perched in the tree like a family of giant birds, armed only with their knives. Lynan tried desperately to slow his yammering heart, convinced it was loud enough for the bear to hear whether or not it had their scent.
A short while later it came into view. It broached the lip of the dell and jumped forward, landing on all fours. Its snout weaved from side to side. It started keening, obviously disappointed no prey was yet in sight. It reared up onto its hind legs, made a sound that rose to a curiously high-pitched scream, and sniffed the air around it. Curved, yellow teeth glinted in the moonlight. The bear fell to all fours again, and shambled forward, crisscrossing the dell until it regained the scent. With a satisfied snort it headed for the golden fan.
Lynan’s stomach knotted itself into a painful mass and his mouth went dry. He tightened his grip on the knife and found himself wishing fervently to be somewhere else— back on the cliff face for example. The bear was soon directly under the tree, obviously confused that the scent was once again lost. Before it could look up, Ager, screaming the ear-piercing battle cry of the Kendra Spears, leaped from his perch onto the beast’s back and drove his dagger straight between its shoulder blades. At the same time Kumul dropped in front of the creature and slashed at its head, cutting it across the snout.
The bear reacted immediately and with astonishing agility for something its size. It roared and swung round in a wide arc. Kumul caught the full force of the bear’s weight and was flung away like a rag doll, his weapon spinning out of his hand. Ager slid down the spine of the bear and landed on his rump, his dagger still stuck between the creature’s shoulder blades. It turned again, looking for Ager, its jaws opening in a wide gape, blood streaming from its wounds. In doing so, it came directly under Lynan’s branch and he dropped onto its back, using all his strength to drive his knife into the tough hide where neck met shoulders. The blade hit bone, skidded off. The bear shook its head, throwing off Lynan as easily as it had dislodged Ager.
Jenrosa had also left the tree by now and hurried to Kumul’s side. The bear saw the movement and charged toward her. Seeing her danger, she swung up her weapon, catching the beast another blow across its snout. The bear screeched, lashed out with one foreleg, and connected with Jenrosa’s skull, sweeping her aside.
Lynan shouted in rage when he saw the magicker struck down, and he lunged forward, thrusting his knife into the thigh of one of the bear’s massive rear legs. This time the point found muscle rather than bone and it sank deep. Dark, warm blood spurted over his arms and face. The bear lifted its wounded leg and kicked. Lynan dodged the blow, darted in again to retrieve his weapon and struck again. By now Ager had caught his wind and he leaped again onto the bear’s back, pulling out his blade and plunging it a second time between the shoulder blades. This time he found an artery. The bear reared up on its legs, tottered for a second, blood pouring from its mouth, then fell forward and was still.
For a moment there was silence. Lynan dared not move in case the bear suddenly came to life again. The aftershock came soon after; his hands and thighs began to shake uncontrollably. Ager came to his side and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Well done, Prince Lynan. Are you hurt?” Lynan shook his head. “Then see to Jenrosa, and I’ll check Kumul.”
Lynan went to Jenrosa and knelt down beside her. A wide, vicious-looking cut ran raggedly across her forehead. Blood streamed down her pale face and into her sandy hair, turning it dark. He tore off a piece of cloth from his own shirt and pressed it against the wound. After a while the flow of blood was staunched. He lifted the cloth carefully and inspected the wound. A large purple welt surrounded the cut. He put an ear to her mouth and listened to her breathing. It was slow but steady.
He was joined by Ager and a battered Kumul, carefully rubbing his left arm.
“How is she?” Kumul asked.
“Unconscious,” Lynan answered. “The blow was a heavy one. At least the bleeding has stopped. I think she needs a surgeon. How are you?”
Kumul shrugged, winced in pain with the motion. “At worst a cracked rib or two, at best I’m badly bruised.”
“I can make a sling for you,” Ager told his friend. “As long as you don’t use your left arm, you should heal quickly enough.”
Kumul nodded at Jenrosa. “And her?”
“She needs a surgeon,” Lynan repeated. “There are towns in Chandra not far from this ridge. We’ll have to take her to one of them.”
Kumul and Ager said nothing, but the expression on their faces said enough.
“She needs help!” Lynan argued. “You can see that for yourselves!”
“We can’t risk it,” Ager said grimly. “If we go into a town, someone is bound to report seeing us, and then we’ll have a company of Royal Guards in pursuit, probably led by someone in Dejanus’ pay, if not Dejanus himself. What do you think will happen to Jenrosa if we are apprehended?”
Lynan looked down, knowing the man was right, and hating himself for knowing it.
“Look, lad, we don’t know the injury is that serious,” Kumul said gently. “Jenrosa could be up and about in an hour. Her only chance—our only chance now that we’re back on land and so close to Kendra—is to keep moving and to stay away from places where we’re likely to be recognized. If her injury’s serious, I think Jenrosa would rather be in our hands than the enemy’s.”
“We’ll have to carry her,” Ager said matter-of-factly. “She may not come around for a while.” He used his knife to hack two long branches from the golden fan and tied his and Kumul’s cloaks between them, then he and Lynan carefully lifted the magicker onto the crude stretcher and placed her own coat over her to keep her warm.
“Kumul can’t help in his condition, and we’ll soon tire out moving her by ourselves,” Ager told Lynan. “So one of us will drag her along. We’ll have to move slowly, though, especially going down the ridge.”
“There are many streams at the bottom,” Kumul said. “We can stop at one of them. We will need water and rest and should hide during the day.”
“I’ll go first,” Lynan said, lifting up one end of the stretcher. Jenrosa’s weight sank in the middle, keeping her in place. Her face was white and pinched, but the cut on her head was dry now and her breathing was still regular.
They started off slowly, Ager leading the way, Lynan in the middle pulling along the stretcher, and Kumul last. The dark made it impossible to always to pick the best course, and they frequently had to backtrack to find an easier route, especially for the first few hours when they were still climbing to the top of the ridge. Every hour Lynan and Ager took it in turns to pull the makeshift sled.