John Flanagan: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

Nimatsu's gaze switched quickly between the two girls during this exchange. He nodded several times.

'You are risking a great deal, Ariss-san. Is Ev-an-in-san as skilled as you say?'

'She's a lot better than I am with the javelin,' Alyss told him. 'So it's logical that I'm the bait and she's the hunter. A friend of ours says she can knock out a gnat's eye with a shot from her sling.'

'I'm not sure I'm that good,' Evanlyn said doubtfully.

Alyss raised an eyebrow. 'Well, this isn't the best time to tell me that.'

Evanlyn let the comment pass. She knew Alyss's sarcasm stemmed from nerves. The tall girl was putting herself into a position of appalling danger. She might try to pass it off lightly, but it was only natural that she should be fearful of what was to come.

'In any event,' Alyss continued, 'once it all starts, I'll be safely tucked up under my shield. You'll be the one out in the open, having to deal with the big kitty cat.'

She indicated the big wooden shield that had been made to her instructions. Almost two metres high, it was rectangular in shape and formed into a shallow curve. It was, in fact, identical to those being used by the Kikori and she planned to use it to protect herself from the Kyofu's attack.

Nimatsu sighed deeply. He admired this tall, courteous girl and he feared that she wouldn't survive the coming night.

'I still say, I don't like this idea,' he said, with a note of finality in his voice. He sensed he would not dissuade her. Alyss grinned at him, but there was little real humour in the grin.

'I'm not mad about it either. But currently, it's the only idea going round.'

Somewhere close to hand, an owl hooted at regular intervals. When she had first heard the sound, Alyss's hair had stood on end. Now she had become accustomed to it and it had become part of the overall tableau of the night, along with the occasional rustle of small, nocturnal animals moving under the trees and the soft breath of the wind through the branches.

She stood with her back to the largest tree she could find, the heavy shield planted in front of her, her arm through the support strap, ready to lift it into position. Only her head showed above the rim of the shield. In a scabbard on her right hip, she wore Evanlyn's saxe knife. The shorter weapon would be more useful and easier to wield than her long sabre – assuming everything went to plan. Her two javelins were rammed point down into the ground beside her. She doubted they'd be any use, but she'd brought them anyway. Her head, face and right arm were wound with tough leather for protection against the Terror's claws. By now she was convinced that it was some form of giant predatory cat. She had heard tales of tigers and their almost supernatural ability to take prey silently and unobserved. She couldn't imagine a bulky, clumsy animal like a bear doing that.

She leaned back against the tree. Her legs were aching. She'd been standing here for several hours and the unrelenting cold was creeping up her legs, stiffening the muscles. She longed to sit down for a few minutes but knew that would place her at a disadvantage if the monster appeared. Standing, she could move instantly, bringing the shield up to face an attack from the front or either side. The tree protected her rear.

She moved her legs, trying to get the blood flowing, easing her weight from one to the other. The momentary ease only made the discomfort worse when she placed her weight on the tired muscles once more. She wondered what time it was. The narrow moon had long departed and the shadows under the trees were deep and inky black. She looked up to the platform they'd built in the tree opposite her position. She could just make it out, and see the dark bulk of Evanlyn's form as she kept watch. At least Evanlyn could sit down, she thought. And that was…

Something was wrong.

She sensed it. Something in the forest had changed. Her heart pounded as she tried to pinpoint the difference. Then, she had it.

The owl hadn't hooted. Without realising it, she had been counting in her mind after each hoot. The owl had been making its mournful sound regularly, after she had counted between one hundred and fifty and one hundred and sixty. Yet her automatic, almost subconscious count had just passed one hundred and seventy-three.

There was something here. Something close by. Above the rim of the shield, her eyes darted from one side to another, searching the shadows, trying desperately to gain her first sight of the predator, striving to discover where the attack would come from.

'Alyss! Left! Left!'

Evanlyn's warning cry shrilled through the forest and Alyss swung to her left, lifting the shield as she saw a vague blur of movement coming at her.

Something huge slammed against the shield and sent her flying several metres. She gripped the handles desperately to retain her hold on the shield, her only hope of safety. She crashed onto her back on the ground, skidding in the powdery snow, the breath driven from her body in one explosive grunt. Then something huge and heavy and incredibly strong was on top of her, with only the curved wooden shield between them as she cowered under it, drawing herself up to protect her head and body and feet, clinging desperately to the handles as the monster tried to tear it away to get at its prey. Now she could hear the blood-chilling snarl of the Kyofu as it tore at the wood with its claws, and bit at the top rim of the shield with its massive teeth.

As huge cats do, it had drawn up its hind legs to disembowel its prey with one savage downstroke. But the raking claws met not flesh but hard wood, reinforced with iron. They splintered the first and gouged deep grooves in the second.

The beast snarled in frustration and fury as long splinters of hardwood stabbed into the pads of its paws. Somewhere beneath this unyielding surface, it knew, was warm flesh and blood, and it redoubled its efforts to get to it.

Evanlyn saw the sudden blur of movement from the edge of the clearing as the Kyofu launched its attack. She just had time to shout her warning before the monster slammed into the shield, sending Alyss flying. So far, Alyss's plan was working. She'd managed to keep the big shield interposed between the predator and herself. Now it was Evanlyn's turn. She kicked the coiled rope over the side of the platform, slid down a few metres, then dropped the remaining distance to the forest floor.

Her sling was already in her hand and as she regained her feet, she was feeding one of the heavy, egg-shaped lead shot into the central pouch. She wanted maximum velocity, so she spun the sling twice, then released, whipping the brutal projectile across the clearing at the predator.

The scene seemed to unfold slowly in her vision. She could see now that the Kyofu was a huge cat – much larger than the sand lions Selethen had pointed out to her when they were travelling through Arrida. This was immense, and its coat was white, marked with blurred dark grey stripes.

A snow tiger, she thought. Then her shot hit the animal with a sickening crack, taking it on the left shoulder, smashing and splintering the bone beneath the fur. She moved automatically, reloading the pouch, whirling the sling, releasing again.

Smash! The second shot slammed into the creature's ribs, fracturing them. The tiger howled in agony and fury and swung its head to see where its attacker lay.

Beneath the shield, Alyss heard the violent, thudding impacts as the two shot hit the beast in quick succession. At the first, she felt a lessening of the pressure on her right side, as the creature's left foreleg was smashed at the shoulder, leaving it limp and useless. Then she heard another cracking thud and the Kyofu was no longer intent on tearing the shield loose. As it raised its head to search out Evanlyn, the weight on Alyss was suddenly lessened and she could move her right arm. She released her right-hand grip on the shield and, with the strength of desperation, clawed the saxe from its scabbard.