The Horsemasters by Joan Wolf Read Free Book Online

by a boulder, and Ronan stared at it, wondering if the cave bear was still within.
    Erek gestured and the men spread out into a large circle in front of the den. Erek, who as last year’s bear slayer was to have the honor of making the attempt again, took up his position a few yards in front of the cave entrance. Then he signaled to the dogs.
    Both dogs immediately advanced to the opening beside the fallen boulder and began to bark. Minutes passed. What would they do, Ronan wondered, if the bear had already left the cave. Would they go in search of it?
    A sharper note came into the dogs’ voices, and the men in front of the cave entrance tensed. Coming out of the darkness of the cave, advancing slowly on all four of its feet, was the bear.
    Ronan’s heart accelerated. It looked big.
    The dogs were in a frenzy, growling and making a high whining kind of noise. The bear halted, looked at the dogs, then looked at the men. One of the dogs jumped up to snap at the bear’s nose. The bear swatted at it with his paw. The dogs barked and snarled and approached the bear from two different sides. With a roar of fury, the bear rose up on his hind legs.
    Dhu! It was enormous. It was more enormous than Ronan had ever imagined a bear could be. Its deafening roars reverberated around the empty meadow. The rank smell of bear filled Ronan’s nostrils. A few of the men stepped backward.
    Now! Ronan thought. Now was the time for Erek to make his move. The tradition was for the bear slayer to rush forward while the bear was upright and at bay and drive his spear directly into the bear’s heart.
    Erek was lifting his spear. The watching men ceased to breathe as their leader rushed forward into that terrible embrace. If the spear found the right place, the bear would die immediately. If the bear slayer missed, he would be mauled to death.
    The bear moved just before Erek’s thrust. There was a deafening roar of anguished fury. Then the horrified men of the Red Deer saw Erek’s spear fall to the ground as the wounded and infuriated bear grabbed the man with its immense and deadly claws.
    He hit a rib, Ronan thought in horror. He missed the heart and hit a rib.
    The next cry of anguish came from Erek.
    Dhu, Ronan thought, looking around wildly, were they all to stand here like stones and watch their leader being mauled to death? He looked around again. No one was moving. Then Ronan understood.
    They could not attack in a group. Only one man could slay the sacred bear. If they swarmed over Elder Brother in a group, terrible luck would fall upon the tribe. Understandably, considering what was happening to Erek, no one seemed prepared to jump in alone.
    A blood-curdling scream came from Erek. Before Ronan realized himself what he was going to do, he had lifted his spear and run forward.
    “Ronan!” It was Neihle’s voice. “You cannot do anything alone! Come back or he’ll kill you too!”
    It was much later that Neihle told Ronan he had called him back. At the moment, Ronan was aware of nothing but the immense animal before him. He reached out and pricked the infuriated bear on the chest with his spear. “So, Elder Brother,” he said. “Here is another come to slay you.”
    The bear let Erek slip from his claws and turned to Ronan. Erek moaned and moved feebly.
    The bear came for Ronan.
    It all happened very quickly. There was the smell, the heavy, pungent, choking smell. There was the sting of claws raking along his back, the feel of thick rough fur against his face. Then Ronan’s left arm moved, jabbed, and drove the heavy spear home. He felt the bear sag against him, felt the moment the breath fled from its body. Slowly, inexorably, it toppled over, almost dragging Ronan down with it. It was only at the last moment that Ronan managed to disentangle himself and pull back, breathing hard.
    “Good lad.” Neihle was beside him, gripping his arm. “Good lad.”
    “How is Erek?” Ronan panted, looking beyond his uncle to the man lying