CHAPTER 36

The Weight of the Great Bear

I KNOW THAT IT MUST have taken no more than the space of a few heartbeats for me to reach the bottom of that slope, but it seemed much longer. Sometimes things happen that way, such as when you are swooping down on a nice fat rabbit and you suddenly find yourself noticing every little detail—that the bush it has just crept out of is one of those that has yellow flowers, that there are three tall blades of grass next to the rabbit’s front paws, that the rabbit is acting as if it is frozen.

But I was not swooping toward a rabbit, my wings holding me perfectly in control for the strike of my claws. The only control I had was on my gaze and the direction I pointed the sharp end of my fire stick. The great bear’s paws were held wide, its own terrible claws were extended. Its gaping mouth showed yellow-stained teeth.

Yet the menace of that monster was not the only thing I noted in the brief moment that seemed to go on and on and on. What I saw made me feel pity for the creature that now intended to crush my bones and tear my flesh. Though the great creature’s muscles still rippled with power, it was gaunt and had been wounded many times. There was dead flesh around its wounds. There were burn marks all over its body. One of its eyes was missing. Its wounds were too many to heal, the rot of its body too far advanced. It was living as it died. That was why the smell of burning and rotted flesh was part of its scent.

“AHHHHWRURRR!”

Its low, rumbling roar seemed to go on forever. All that kept the great bear going was its desire to hurt other things as it had been hurt, to strike blindly against its own pain.

I knew this, for as with the wolves and the Oldold Woman, I could sense its deeper thoughts. There was an undercurrent of memory—of the beginning of its own agony when it had been captured. I felt the great bear’s memories of its pain as it had struggled to break the bonds that held it while the evil Oldold Woman tortured it for no reason other than her own amusement. Then, one night, it had torn itself free and fled. It had made its way across the swamp, through the forest and up the mountain, coming into this valley to escape. However, although it had escaped, it was not free. Its body was on fire with a pain that never left. Its mind had been broken. It was mad.

This great bear, which was now so close that I could feel the heat of its breath, was not like those other monsters I had fought. Only its size made it different from other bears. Before it had been caught and tortured, its only wish had been to live as a bear lives. Now the only thing that would heal its tortured spirit would be to release it from its body. To kill the bear would be an act not just of battle, but also of mercy.

That is what I thought and saw as I slid toward that giant animal that had become death walking. Then I hit the bottom of the slope. Things no longer moved as slowly as a dream. The creature loomed over me like a great black cloud in the sky. It lunged down at me as I managed to raise the long fire stick, bracing it against the rock beneath me, pointing it at the wide, fire-scarred chest.

Although that stick was not as sharp as an owl’s claws, it was sharp enough. The weight of the great bear, the speed of its thrust toward me, drove the fire-hardened tip deep into its chest.

“AHWROOOO!”

It roared again then, not just in pain, but also in anger and frustration. It was being killed by my rough spear, but it was determined not to die alone. It thrust down, driving the spear deeper into its own body to reach me.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP-THUMP.

The sound came from the cliff above us. I turned my head to look. I had been wrong about Dojihla’s determination. That final stone had not been too large for her to move. It was rolling down toward the great bear and myself. We were both about to be crushed by its inexorable weight.

I felt sharp teeth sink into my shoulder and pull, just before the boulder completed its descent.

THUMP-THUMP, THUD!

Then the Great Darkness opened its wings around me. I saw and felt and heard nothing else.