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"We should split up. Have the children and the bard take the horses back to the road and carry on south that way. The three of us," she nodded toward Kerina, "should continue with stealth."
Aisha opened her mouth to argue, but was silenced with a glance from her mother.
"I'll go with the horses," Erin said. "We will draw them away."
Wesley looked sulky, but nodded. "Better than listening to Bain sing in another tavern."
Kerina barked a muffled laugh. "They certainly were quick to tell him to shut up and let you sing again."
I grimaced ruefully. "Ididsay I couldn't sing. You all insisted I try."
"I didn't," Kerina pointed out. "I said better you than me. I also said the crowd was restless."
"Wesley needed a break," I said.
"My mother was ready to—" Aisha started.
"Quiet," Latika hissed.
The camp immediately fell silent but for the stamp of a hoof.
"I hear nothing," I said eventually.
My words were followed immediately by a snarl and the scream of a terrified horse. A shadow leapt out of the night and latched onto the neck of the closest animal.
The horse screamed again. A wet tearing sound was followed by silence, then a sickening thud.
At once, all of the horses panicked. They tore at the ropes which secured them to trees. Two or three snapped and the animals bolted into the night.
I swore under my breath. I picked up a stick, thrust it into the fire until it caught and stepped carefully toward the fallen horse.
The poor animal was missing a large chunk of its neck. Huge teeth marks raked across skin, leaving gaping holes bigger than anything I ever saw, except a sand dragon.
I remembered what Dex said about garden dragons. This might be a forest dragon, but I doubted it. No one had even proven they exist, but rumours of big cats in these mountains were rife. Once in a while a hunter would bring back a skin the size of two or three people. I would bet my last gold coin that was what killed the horse. And it was still out there and hungry.
The remaining horses danced on the ends of their ropes, eyes wide with terror of the cat at the fire.
"Black tiger," Latika breathed. "The second most dangerous creature in the forest."
"What is the most dangerous?" Kerina whispered.
Latika's teeth flashed and she had a blade in her hand she hadn't held a heartbeat before. "We are."
"You're suggesting we hunt this beast?" I wasn't scared, but to find a black cat at night was like chasing shadows. Exceptmostshadows don't bite you.
Latika looked scornful. "Gods no. We need to move from here. The tiger won't be deterred for long. She will come back to eat her kill, and may bring her cubs."
"You seem to know a lot about them," I dropped the stick into the fire and picked up another one.
Latika put her knife away and picked her bag up from beside the tree she'd been leaning against.
"My father hunted them," she said simply. "He told me many stories. One day he left to hunt again and didn't return. I don't want to end the same way."
"Wise," I muttered. I swung my own bag onto my back and glanced up. Most of the stars were hidden by forest canopy, but I saw enough to figure out which way was south. Traveling at night was not my first choice, especially through mountains, but if we could put a few hundred metres between us and the dead horse, that would be good.
I untied the remaining three horses and handed their reins to Wesley and Kerina. I kept hold of one myself. The animals had instincts which would compliment mine. I would keep my senses open for the tiger and the other horses, and this animal would hopefully stop me from stepping off an unseen cliff. That seemed like a fair trade to me.
I reached out and found the tiger on the edge of my senses. She was hungry. The need to eat was slowly overcoming her fear of people and fire. The need to provide food for her young was greater still. I felt no cubs, they must be out of range. With Hades's blessing, we wouldn't trip over them in the dark. Even if they didn't bite, a big cat with a grudge would.
