Page 14 of Keeper of the Word

Up her gaze went once more, but this time, not to the tree to which she clung, but to a gap in the canopy where she discerned a small cluster of stars.

“You did not bring me here to let me die. Help me!” Her limbs began to go numb. Her eyes glossed over. She was going to black out. She was already too weak.

Another disturbance nearby.

Elanna kept her eyes fixed on the stars. If she was about to perish, they would be the last sight she beheld.

“Pray, help,” her voice barely uttered the words. Her eyes closed.

Elanna, Daughter of Light. Open your eyes and show your strength.

She obeyed the voice from overhead and found that not only had the feeling returned to her limbs, but they felt renewed.

Whatever stalked out there drew nearer.

Elanna gripped the first branch, hauled herself up, and began climbing. She gave no thought to where she placed her hands and feet. For she had Seen that she’d made it to the top. Through her Sight, hand over hand, Elanna found herself in the topmost branches, clinging to the trunk, and gazing down. A black beast, half the size of Rasa, stared up at her. Its yellow eyes in the darkness seemed to glow.

It gave a roar this time, and had she not been clasping tight to the tree, Elanna would have covered her ears. She gulped down her breath. In the distance, two other roars echoed.

“Oh stars.”

Shadow cats could climb trees. Why had the stars directed her up here? The angry thought made her glance at the sky again, where, from this vantage, the whole of it was revealed to her.

She peered down. The shadow cat prowled back and forth at the bottom of the tree. Even from this height, Elanna could detect a limp in its gait. This animal was injured. And could not climb most likely. Hopefully.

It roared again, and this time, its distant companions’ replies were unquestionably closer.

Large movements crashed through the forest. Elanna had no plan, no Sight of what would happen next. She simply tightened her eyes shut and held onto the trunk.

Her ears were the only means to detect that the beasts, their movements becoming more distinct, grew closer and closer.

There must be four of them, at least.

A noise came, not from the ground, but from high in the trees. Elanna sensed the presence of something nearby. She dared open one eye.

With the same demonic yellow eyes, a shadow cat crept toward her, three trees away. Her grip tightened as the animal bounded effortlessly from tree to tree.

She screamed.

The large cat halted briefly, its eyes pinning her. On the opposite side, at her back, Elanna discerned the same vaulting din. Another. The cat in front of her gave a low growl. Its tail swished back and forth. Behind her, a large branch broke and there came ascrapefollowed by a snarl.

In the background, the racket of others’ approach was unmistakable.

The shadow cat in front of her leapt to the tree beside hers. It shifted onto its hind legs in preparation for the attack. A faint whimper escaped Elanna.

The cat pounced, and in midair, an arrow pierced its belly. The animal shrieked, missed its mark on Elanna’s branch, and tumbled to the ground.

Whiz.

Behind her, other arrows flew through the air. The beast behind her gave a similar shriek. But no tumblingcrashfollowed. She dared a backward glance. With two arrows sticking out of its side, the massive cat crouched on her tree, lurking on a branch opposite hers.

She screamed again, and a third arrow pierced its hide. The cat slipped but held its perch. She risked not a glance but heard men below.

“Climb down, blast it!” a voice commanded her.

Elanna did not move. Her only focus was on the yellow eyes devouring her.

Another arrow whistled by but missed. The shadow cat gazed down as if bored.