still.
“Everything is scared of the Devil Cat.”
That was preposterous, but Evelyn didn’t say so. “I have to go to the stream.”
Arguing would be pointless. Evelyn chose another brand and gave it to her, as well as the pot, so her hands were free to hold the Hawken. “Stay close.”
“As close as your skin.”
Bright Rainbow wasn’t exaggerating; she rubbed against Evelyn with every step. When Evelyn stopped to listen, the girl bumped into her.
“Watch where you are walking.”
“If I could I would climb on your back.”
The grass, and the darkness, closed around them. As high as Evelyn’s waist, the grass swayed and rustled with the gusts of wind. The brand lit them and not much else.
Evelyn inched forward. When she realized it would take half the night at the rate she was going, she walked faster. She never stopped glancing to each side and behind her.
Bright Rainbow was trembling. When something burst from their path she cried out in panic and recoiled, and might have run off if Evelyn’s hadn’t grabbed her.
“It was a rabbit.”
“I thought…” Bright Rainbow said, and did not go on.
“Stay calm.”
“You would not say that if you had seen the Devil Cat,” Bright Rainbow said. “You would not say that if you saw it kill your father and mother and brother.”
“Try,” Evelyn said.
From somewhere in the grass came a guttural cough.
Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat. She had heard similar coughs before; it was the sound of a large cat. Apparently the beast didn’t care that they knew it was there. She advanced on the balls of her feet, poised to fight or flee. Not that she would run off and leave Bright Rainbow. Her father and mother had instilled in her that when people were in trouble, she should help. She would protect the girl with her dying breath, if need be.
There was another cough but from a different spot.
“Blue Flower,” Bright Rainbow whispered, and extended a quaking finger. “Do you see them?”
Deep in the grass, eyes gleamed in the flickering light of the brand.
Evelyn jerked a pistol. The rifle was more powerful and could drop bigger game, but she preferred to save it for when she truly needed it. She thumbed back the flintlock’s hammer and set the trigger and took deliberate aim —just as the eyes vanished. She fired anyway. The pistol boomed and spat smoke and lead. Nothing happened. There were no shrieks of pain, no sign that she had hit it.
Bright Rainbow dropped to her knees and wrapped an arm around Evelyn’s leg. “Do not let it kill us.”
“Get up,” Evelyn said. She jammed the spent pistol under her belt. Suddenly pain seared her leg. Bright Rainbow had held the brand too close. “Get up,” she said again, and pulled her to her feet.
“We should go back.”
“No.” Evelyn needed the coffee to stay awake. Alert for eye shine and bent at the waist so she could see into the grass, she came to the bank. Normally the gurgle of the water would delight her, but now it made her uneasy; it would be harder to hear the mountain lion. “Fill the pot. Hurry.”
Bright Rainbow moved to where the bank sloped, and stopped. “I cannot do it.”
“I will protect you.”
Her Adam’s apple bobbing, Bright Rainbow hopped down. She quickly squatted and dipped the pot in the stream. With her other hand she held the brand high over her head.
Evelyn gave a start. The brand was burning low. They would be lucky to make it to the clearing before it went out. “How much water do you have?”
Bring Rainbow raised the pot and shook it. “Only half.”
“That will have to do. Climb back up.” Evelyn reached down to help her—and her heart seemed to stop in her chest. Across the stream, in the grass on the other side, the slanted eyes had reappeared, fixed intently on her and the little Sheepeater. She tucked the Hawken to her shoulder but didn’t fire. She wanted a clear shot.
“What is it?” Bright Rainbow asked, and looked in the direction Evelyn was looking. Uttering a squeal of terror, she scrambled up the bank. “Kill it!” she cried, slipping behind her.
“I need to be sure,” Evelyn said. She blinked, and the eyes weren’t there. Suspecting that the cat was circling them, she shifted to either side but saw no trace of it. “Go slow,” she cautioned.
“I can feel its eyes on us.”
So could Evelyn. She put each foot behind her with care so she didn’t stumble. Any mistake now, however slight, could cost them their lives. It took forever to reach the clearing. The brand was nearly out. The fire itself was low but still burning. She moved toward it, intending to add firewood.
A living lightning bolt streaked out of the trees and launched itself at Buttercup—a black lightning bolt.
Evelyn barely had time to bring the Hawken up when the Devil Cat leaped and landed on Buttercup’s back. Buttercup whinnied and sought to rear, but the picket rope hampered her. The cat, about to bite at her neck, was unbalanced and nearly fell off.
Evelyn saw it clearly for the first time. God help her, but it was exactly as Bright Rainbow had described: a huge cat as black as the bottom of a well with eyes that blazed with ferocity.
“Kill it!” Bright Rainbow yelled.
Evelyn was trying to fix a bead, but Buttercup, bucking and kicking and turning, was doing all she could to throw the cat off, and the cat was never still. Its neck filled her sights, only to be replaced the next instant by its tail.
Bright Rainbow tugged at Evelyn’s dress. “What are you waiting for?”
Buttercup was frantically pulling at the rope. Already her flanks were red with blood. The mountain lion snapped at her throat and ripped out a chunk of hide. Squealing, Buttercup reared, the picket stake pulled free, and she flew toward the forest.
Evelyn lunged for the rope, but the horse was moving too fast.
Buttercup raced into the trees, the mountain lion clawing and tearing. By happenstance Buttercup passed under an oak and a low limb raked her back and caught the cat across the chest. With a piercing yowl the mountain lion went tumbling and Buttercup disappeared into the darkness.
Evelyn was rooted in dismay. She’d had the buttermilk for years and adored the animal. Then she realized she shouldn’t be worried about the horse; she should be worried about them. Whirling, she added fuel to the fire and yanked Bright Rainbow down beside her.
“What do we do?” the girl asked.
“We stay put.”
“Is that wise?”
“Yes.” The way Evelyn saw it, the fire was still their best defense. She realized she had made a grave mistake in not leaving when they had the chance. Now they were stranded afoot, the worst fate that could befall them.
From the woods came a shrill shriek.
“The Devil Cat is mad,” Bright Rainbow said.
“I aim to make it madder if it comes anywhere near us.” Evelyn commenced to reload her spent pistol. She would need all three guns to stop a mountain lion that size, and even they might not be enough.
“We will still wait for your parents?”
“We are not budging,” Evelyn confirmed.
“I hope you know what you are doing.”
So did Evelyn.
Bright Rainbow anxiously regarded the wall of vegetation. “Why did the Devil Cat go after your horse and not us?”
“Who can say?” Evelyn said.
“One thing I know. We are next,” Bright Rainbow said.
