Devil Moon by David Thompson Read Free Book Online

and the cat could not get at him from the rear. But as more time passed andthe shadows lengthened and nothing happened, it occurred to him that the Devil Cat might be waiting for dark to fall. At night it would be hard to see it, if not impossible. He would be at the beast’s mercy.
    Two Knives glanced down the valley. Should he fall prey to the cat’s claws, his family would be next. If he was to make a stand, why not make it where it mattered most? His feet acquired wings. He flew along the tree line, and off in the grass there was movement. He didn’t understand why the Devil Cat didn’t attack, but he was glad it didn’t. He ran and ran. His legs hurt and his chest ached, but he didn’t stop. He ran farther than he had since he was a young man of twenty winters.
    Dove Sings and Bright Rainbow were not in sight, but Elk Running was behind the lodge pleating a grass rope.
    “Go inside!” Two Knives shouted. “Go inside quick!”
    Elk Running did not ask why. Two Knives had taught his children from an early age the importance of doing as he told them in times of danger, and Elk Running obeyed.
    The waving grass kept pace with Two Knives. He flew around to the front of the lodge and reached the elk-hide flap just as Dove Sings was coming out with her own bow in her hands.
    “What is wrong? Why did you send Elk Running inside?
    Two Knives did something he had never done before; he pushed her and barreled inside after her. Quickly, he lowered and tied the flap, knowing full well it wouldn’t stop a mountain cat the size of the black one.
    “What is it?” Dove Sings asked in rising alarm.
    “Devil Cat,” Two Knives said.
    She looked at him as if she thought he couldn’t possibly be serious. “What are you talking about?”
    Two Knives didn’t take his eyes off the flap. He stepped back and drew the bow string to his cheek. “A black cat as big as two tawny ones. It killed Fox Tail, and now it is after me.”
    “Fox Tail is dead?” Dove Sings swayed and her hand rose to her throat.
    Elk Running and Bright Rainbow shared her shock. The boy recovered first and came to his father’s side with his bow ready. “We will kill it together, Father.”
    Two Knives was going to say no and tell the boy to move back, but two arrows were better than one. “Everyone be still.”
    Outside their lodge, complete silence fell. It was so quiet that Two Knives could hear the hammering of his heart. He was afraid for his family. He was very afraid.
    Then, with awful slowness, the elk hide bulged inward. Only a little way, then stopped. Two Knives could not tell whether it was the Devil Cat’s head or a paw. He was rigid with dread and his lungs would not work. He imagined the cat ripping through the hide and springing on them and tearing right and left with its claws and teeth.
    Bright Rainbow gasped.
    The hide was bulging again. The Devil Cat pressed harder, but the tie held and the hide only gave a hand’s width. The cat expressed its annoyance at being thwarted with a snarl. The bulge went away.
    Two Knives aimed at where the cat had beenpressing. His arrow would penetrate the hide. With luck it would also penetrate the cat’s skull. He drew the string as far back as he could without it breaking. Barely breathing, he held the arrow steady. His arm began to feel the strain. The hide didn’t bulge. He was focused on the spot where it had been and only on that spot. Dove Sings said something, but he did not hear what it was. The hide still didn’t bulge. His shoulder hurt, but he refused to slacken the string. He willed his arm to hold it steady. Had the Devil Cat left? he wondered. The string was digging into his fingers, but he didn’t loosen his pressure on the arrow. Then suddenly the hide bulged and he went to release, but Elk Running’s bow twanged before his and the arrow struck the hide slightly to the left of the bulge, missing the head and causing the Devil Cat to draw back and vent a shriek of fury.
    “I think