Miriel thought of everything Father had told her about lions: Ignore the head – the bone is too thick for an arrow to penetrate. Send your shaft in behind the front leg, up and into the lung. But he had said nothing about fighting such a beast when armed with but a knife.
The sun slid from behind an autumn cloud and light shone from the knife-blade. Instantly Miriel angled the blade, directing the gleam into the eyes of the lioness. The great head twisted, the eyes blinking against the harsh glare. Miriel shouted again.
But instead of fleeing the lioness suddenly charged, leaping high towards the girl.
For an instant only Miriel froze. Then the knife swept up. A black crossbow bolt punched into the creature’s neck, just behind the ear, a second slicing into its side. The weight of the lioness struck Miriel, hurling her back, but the hunting knife plunged into the beast’s belly.
Miriel lay very still, the lioness upon her, its breath foul upon her face. But the talons did not rake her, nor the fangs close upon her. With a coughing grunt the lioness died.
Miriel closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and eased herself from beneath the body. Her legs felt weak and she sat upon the trail, her hands trembling.
A tall man, carrying a small double crossbow of black metal, emerged from the undergrowth and crouched down beside her. ‘You did well,’ he said, his voice deep.
She looked up into his dark eyes and forced a smile. ‘It would have killed me.’
‘Perhaps,’ he agreed. ‘But your blade reached its heart.’
Exhaustion flowed over her like a warm blanket and she lay back, breathing slowly and deeply. Once she would have sensed the lioness long before any danger threatened, but that Talent was lost to her now, as her mother and her sister were lost to her. Danyal killed in an accident five years ago, and Krylla wed and moved away last summer. Pushing such thoughts from her mind she sat up. ‘You know,’ she whispered, ‘I was really tired when I came to the last rise. I was breathing hard, and my limbs felt as if they were made of lead. But when the lioness leapt, all my weariness vanished.’ She gazed up at her father.
He smiled and nodded. ‘I have experienced that many times. Strength can always be found in the heart of a fighter – and such a heart will rarely let you down.’
She glanced at the dead lioness. ‘Never shoot for the head – that’s what you told me,’ she said, tapping the first bolt jutting from the creature’s neck.
He shrugged and grinned. ‘I missed.’
‘That’s not very comforting. I thought you were perfect.’
‘I’m getting old. Are you cut?’
‘I don’t think so …’ Swiftly she checked her arms and legs, as wounds from a lion’s claws or fangs often became poisonous. ‘No. I was very lucky.’
‘Yes, you were,’ he agreed. ‘But you made your luck by doing everything right. I’m proud of you.’
‘Why were you here?’
‘You needed me,’ he answered. Rising smoothly to his feet he reached out, drawing her upright. ‘Now skin the beast and quarter it. There’s nothing quite like lion meat.’
‘I don’t think I want to eat it,’ she said. ‘I think I’d like to forget about it.’
‘Never forget,’ he admonished her. ‘This was a victory. And you are stronger for it. I’ll see you later.’ Retrieving his bolts the tall man cleaned them of blood, returning them to the leather quiver at his side.
‘You’re going to the waterfall?’ she asked him softly.
‘For a little while,’ he answered, his voice distant. He turned back to her. ‘You think I spend too much time there?’
‘No,’ she told him sadly. ‘It’s not the time you sit there. Nor the effort you put into tending the grave. It’s you. She’s been … gone … now for five years. You should start living again. You need … more than this.’
He nodded, but she knew she had not reached him. He smiled and laid his hand on her shoulder. ‘One day you’ll find a love and then we can talk on equal terms. I do not mean that to sound patronising. You are bright and intelligent. You have courage and wit. But sometimes it is like trying to describe colours to a blind man. Love, as I hope you will find, has great power. Even death cannot destroy it. And I still love her.’ Leaning forward he drew her towards him, kissing her brow. ‘Now skin that beast. And I’ll see you at dusk.’