The track zig-zagged up behind Lence to the cave entrance, which was the only way in. Eventually the leogryf would come back to its lair.
There was no breeze so they could not get downwind of the beast, but luckily its sense of smell was fading. To help disguise their own scents, Byren and Lence had scrubbed their bodies, aired their furs and rubbed dried heather on their skin.
The rest of the hunting party were waiting further down the track watching the three different approaches, ready to warn them when the beast was spotted and drive it back this way if it tried to retreat.
Not long now. The big muscles of Byren's legs trembled with tension. Waiting was always the worst. He had chosen to crouch on the extreme edge of the track. Behind him was a sheer drop into the ravine. Lence couldn't have done it. His head swam just looking at a drop like that, but heights had never troubled Byren.
Just then, a distinctive bird's cry floated on the cold, still air. Byren tensed and caught Lence's eyes across the path. The lookout's signal. Lence nodded. The leogryf approached.
Soundlessly, Byren strung his bow and selected an arrow, determined not to let the beast slink away wounded. It was better to kill it outright. If Lence's spear missed its mark, his arrow wouldn't.
Heart beating like a great drum, he rolled his shoulders to ease the tension and fixed his gaze on the path. Like him, Lence would be preparing to meet the beast. But Lence's weapon of choice was the spear. There was no glory in killing from a distance.
Winter coat white against the snow, the leogryf's fur almost cloaked its presence as it padded up the path, wings folded along its back, forming a shield. The angle was bad for a shot, too great a chance of missing the spot where the shoulder met the neck. Still, Byren could have attempted it, an arrow striking there would pierce the beast's lungs or heart, but he held back so that Lence could make his move.
His brother would wait until the beast moved between them, then leap in to drive the spear in behind the foreleg, under the wing nodule. If the angle was right the spear would sever the spine, crippling the leogryf. Then Lence could finish it quickly and, tonight, the hunting party would celebrate his bravery around the feasting fire.
Byren held his breath as the leogryf hesitated. Massive head down, it sniffed the snow suspiciously. Unable to make out their scents, it kept coming, moving into full view.
Byren bit back a whistle of appreciation. They'd known from the size of the paw prints and the length of the stride that the beast was big, but knowing and seeing were two different things. Rearing on its hind legs this leogryf would be twice as tall as a grown man. Though hollow-boned, it would weigh more than him.
Barely breathing, Byren waited as the beast prowled up the path. The moment its head passed them, Lence sprang from behind the rock, took aim and threw. But the leogryf reared back and Lence's spear missed, skittering across the snow not far from Byren.
The beast spun to confront Lence, tattered wings lifting, revealing its back and providing a target for Byren. He could have put an arrow into the base of the leogryf's neck, but Lence had a second spear and Byren was not about to spoil his brother's chance of making the kill.
Lence aimed and threw. This spear took the leogryf in the shoulder. It screamed in fury, staggering, then snarled and dropped to all fours, muscles bunching to leap.
Byren sprang to his feet, aimed and let the arrow fly, but the beast chose that instant to spring. His arrow lodged in the muscle of a rear leg. Again, it gave that uncanny scream.
The leogryf collided with Lence, its momentum carrying him to the ground.
Lence did not stand a chance.
Byren plucked another arrow, notched and drew.
Thwang.
The string broke.
He'd waxed it only this morning, but there were no guarantees in life. Dropping the bow, he reached for his hunting knife. It was razor-sharp and as long as his forearm. He knew the others would be making their way up the track but they would not be in time to save Lence.
Desperate, Byren leapt onto the rock he'd been crouching behind and flung himself onto the leogryf's broad back. The half-raised wings collapsed under the impact.
The leogryf released Lence and reared, trying to throw Byren. His thighs flexed, clamping around the beast's flanks. The leogryf writhed, wings struggling to beat, thick mane nearly blinding him. It was worse than breaking a horse.
Byren buried his face in the leogryf's neck and held on with one arm, while reaching past the thick mane. He plunged the knife into the point where the leogryf's shoulder met the neck.
The beast screamed again and rolled, tearing the knife hilt from Byren's hands and crushing the air from his chest. It sprang to its feet, rounding on him.
He lay sprawled in the snow, facing certain death, unable to lift his head, unable even to catch his breath. He must not die like this!
Yet he could not move.
The beast took one step, then another, then fell to its knees and collapsed. Hardly able to believe his life had been spared, Byren scrambled to his haunches.
'Lence?' he croaked, gulping great lungfull's of cold mountain air. His legs shook so badly he had to crawl, praying all the while to Halcyon for his twin's life, praying the beast had not managed to get its rear legs into his brother's belly and disembowel him, or torn out his throat.
Chapter Six
Lence lay on his stomach. He must have turned and tried to run. The thick fur of his winter coat was shredded from his shoulders to his buttocks. Only the many layers of cloth underneath had saved his back from being lacerated. Byren's knees ploughed through the fine white snow as he dropped beside him. 'Lence, speak to me.'
His brother stirred and Byren rolled him over. Lence seemed unhurt, thrusting Byren's helping hands away.
'I'm all right, just winded. Saw nothing but stars for a bit.' Lence grimaced and shrugged his massive shoulders. 'M'back feels like the beastie danced on it.'
Byren grinned with relief. 'I guess he did.'
Lence came to his feet easily enough, his gaze going to the fallen leogryf. 'So what happened?'
Byren pointed to the wound as they approached the beast. 'I was lucky. My hunting knife found its heart.' He stepped around the body, onto the far side near the drop but, before he could retrieve his knife, he saw an impossible sight.
A second leogryf stood poised on the high rock behind Lence, about to attack. Just as Lence spun to see what had startled him, the beast leapt.
'Down, Byren!' Lence threw himself across the fallen leogryf, shoving Byren out of the path of the attacking beast. They both went down, sprawling in the snow. Byren's legs swung off the ledge. He felt the weight of his thick-soled winter boots drag him over and scrabbled for purchase on the slippery snow-covered rocks. Lence grabbed his arm. Byren clutched him. For a terrible moment he felt Lence begin to slide towards him, then Lence wedged his legs between two rocks and saved them. Relieved beyond measure, Byren swung his weight onto the ledge.
Even as this was going on Byren was aware of the leogryf sailing over them. He rolled closer to Lence and looked up to see the beast's paws scrambling as it hung suspended in mid-air, wings battling to prevent its fall. Then it dropped. Its feral scream of fury echoed up the ravine walls.
Byren wriggled around to peer down over the ledge's lip. He was in time to see the beast battling valiantly to prevent its fall, but its ragged wings were in even worse condition than the larger one. Unable to gain height, it was rapidly tiring. A vicious gust of wind drove it into the cliff face, stunning it. Then it tumbled out of control towards the jagged rocks below.