Devil Moon

in and there was the Devil Cat, the hide pushed back, crouched in the opening and glaring at them with slanted eyes of blazing yellow-green fire.

“No!” Dove Sings shouted, and scooped Rainbow into her arms.

Elk Running had set down his bow, but he had a knife in a sheath on his hip. Drawing it, he leaped at the giant.

“Stop!” Two Knives shouted, too late, for the next instant the Devil Cat reared and struck Elk Running across the chest. Elk Running cried out and was flung at Two Knives. Both of them went down and the lance was knocked from Two Knives’s grasp.

Two Knives sought to rise and defend his family. Out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed a black blur. Dove Sings screamed. He pushed from under Elk Running, who was thrashing and spurting scarlet, and rose.

Dove Sings was down. The Devil Cat had her by the throat. She was striking its head and neck to no avail as its fangs ravaged her flesh.

Two Knives scooped up the lance. He thrust at the Devil Cat’s side, but it was too fast and dodged. He went after it and it skipped away. He had never seen anything so fast. Feinting left, he speared to the right and the tip penetrated the cat’s shoulder.

There was not a lot of room for the Devil Cat to move, but move it did, vaulting clear.

Dove Sings was struggling to rise. Her throat and the front of her dress were red. She saw Two Knives and reached for him and would have buckled had he not wrapped an arm around her waist.

“I have you.”

The Devil Cat was crouched on the far side, hissing mightily, its long tail flicking back and forth.

“We must flee,” Dove Sings gurgled.

Two Knives turned to his son. Elk Running’s eyes were wide and his face wooden. A crimson pool was spreading under the boy’s body. Whirling, Two Knives propelled his wife toward the hide. He looked for Bright Rainbow but didn’t see her. Another moment and he burst out into the harsh glare of the hot sun. He turned to the right, or tried to. The hide exploded outward and the Devil Cat was on them. It leaped full onto Dove Sings, ripping her from his grasp and smashing her belly-down on the ground. Their eyes met and she raised her fingers to Two Knives in mute appeal. He went to throw himself at the cat—and the beast bit down on the top of her head. Its fangs punctured her skull as his flint knives would puncture melons. He saw the life fly from her, saw her eyes go empty.

In a rage, the Devil Cat shook her and clawed at her body.

Nearly numb with a hurt that surpassed any physical wound, Two Knives ran. He didn’t know where he was running. All he could think of was that his wife was gone. He had gone a dozen strides when he remembered his daughter. “Bright Rainbow!” he cried, and stopped and turned. He took a step to rush back and heard her call him.

“Father!”

Bright Rainbow stepped from behind a nearby pine. Sweeping her into his arms, Two Knives fled. He did not care if some would call him a coward. He had lost three of those he loved; he would not lose Bright Rainbow or his own life if he could help it. He realized he still had the spear and firmed his grip.

“Mother,” Bright Rainbow said, and sobbed.

“Not yet, little one,” Two Knives cautioned between puffs for breath. “We must be as quiet as we can or the Devil Cat will be after us.” He glanced back, but there was no sign of it.

“I am sorry, Father,” Bright Rainbow said, sniffling. She wiped at her face with her sleeve. “I will try.”

The woods were a green tangle. Two Knives had been through them countless times and knew them well, yet he couldn’t tell where he was or which direction he was running. A glance at the sun revealed he was headed north. He remembered a certain slope and a possible haven, and he ran faster.

“They are both dead, aren’t they?” Bright Rainbow asked.

“Yes.”

“What will we do without Mother?”

“Quiet.” But Two Knives wondered the same thing: what would he do without the woman who had been everything to him? Sorrow washed over him, but he fought it. As he had told Bright Rainbow, now was not the time. There would be ample time later on for grief—provided they lived.

Branches loomed in their path. Thickets rose in impassable barriers. Logs and boulders had to be vaulted or avoided. At one point Two Knives nearly tripped over the spear and shifted his grip so he held it higher and it wouldn’t happen again.

“Where are we going?” Bright Rainbow asked.

“I said no talking.” Two Knives was listening for pursuit. The Devil Cat was bound to come after them. It had killed everyone else. Which proved that its reputation for bloodlust was well deserved.

“Father,” Bright Rainbow said.

“Not now.” Two Knives had spied his goal.

“Father, please.”

“We are almost there.” Two Knives weaved through oaks. Above him canted a bluff. Midway up was a jumble of rocks from a bygone slide and above it their salvation.

“It is important.”

Two Knives remembered not listening to her in the lodge, and the tragic consequences. “What is it, little one?”

“The Devil Cat is after us.”

Two Knives glanced over his shoulder. “No!” he cried, and pumped his legs. He reached the slope and up they flew, small stones and dirt sliding out from under his feet. In desperation he lunged the final distance and hurled his daughter from him. Turning, he held the lance ready to thrust.

A black streak was almost to the edge of the forest.

“What do I do?” Bright Rainbow wailed.

“There!” Two Knives yelled, and nodded at what he hoped would be their sanctuary.

“What about you?”

“Do it!”

Then there was no time for talking. There was no time for anything.

The Devil Cat was on them.

Part Three

The Call of the Heart

Chapter Seven

Evelyn King was in love. It had taken a while for her to admit it, but now that she had, she was giddy with glee. Which was strange, since until recently the last thing on her mind was boys. Now one in particular was all she ever thought about, or dreamed about, or imagined going on long rides with in the mountains or on long walks around the lake or simply sitting and staring into his eyes. She giggled and caught herself.

“What is happening to me?” Evelyn asked out loud, and shook her head in amusement. She was changing. Her mother had always said the day would come when she would go from being a girl to being a woman, and she’d always scoffed. Maybe it happened to other females; it wasn’t going to happen to her.

Evelyn had doubted she would ever fall in love. She had doubted she would ever marry and have a family. So