Chapter 21 — Teeth in the Dark

I hadn't been idle after finding the tracks. I'd made a club then — a forearm-thick branch stripped clean, the end worked over a stone until it sat heavy and blunt. Not a weapon of finesse. A tool that would swing true when it had to. I'd tucked it beside the shelter, fingers worrying the grain to keep from thinking too much.

Night fell like a blanket. I dozed upright, hand on Merlin's side. He breathed shallow and ragged. The stream whispered. The ravine held its breath with us.

The sound came: claws on wet stone, a ripple in the dark. Merlin lifted his head, low rumble. He tried to rise and flinched; the glow in his chest sputtered and died. He collapsed back, eyes fixed on the gap.

The shape moved into the moon-slit water: long, lean, scaled like patches of coal, three claws digging the mud. Yellow eyes picked us out. It sniffed once and issued a low, wet sound. Not quite a growl. Not quite a hiss.

I stood, club already in my hands where I'd left it. No thinking. Old training took over — roots in my feet, breath timed, hips driving. It lunged.

I met it with the first swing and the club answered. Wood struck flank, dust and wet spray flew, and the creature twisted. I used its momentum, shoved with my shoulder, forced it toward the ravine wall. Claws raked my ribs; pain flared hot, but I kept balance. I struck the head with the knob again and again until the yellow dimmed. It collapsed with a final shudder.

Silence crashed down. My breaths came loud in my ears. Merlin whined and nosed my hand. I dragged the carcass close, hands raw and slick, and worked the hide until I found meat. Tough, strange, but meat.

I fed Merlin first — small strips pressed to his muzzle. He ate, tail thumping once, exhausted but focused. I chewed after him, raw at first, then cooked near the little fire I coaxed from dry roots and sparks. Smoke. Grease. The taste of something that kept you alive.

The club lay across my knees, ugly and honest. I washed the cuts as best I could, and hoped they closed clean. I had nothing to bind them and my shirt was slashed open. I listened to Merlin breathe. For the first time in days the hunger in my bones eased. We were bloodied, bruised, and breathing. That would have to be enough.