The Man in the Myth

Chapter 7

Cu's arms wrapped around her.

It wasn't until then that Cassie registered the danger. She had been reliving the day in her mind. But when Cu pulled her closer, Cassie was pulled back to the present, and she, too, could hear the pounding on the ground.

"Get behind me, Cassandra. Now." Cu's voice was low but forceful. "Left side."

Cassie didn't need to ask why, she knew he needed to be able to draw his bow.

The sun had just started to go down; the shadows had grown long making it difficult for Cu to make out what was charging toward them.

Cu took an arrow and immediately notched it, but didn't pull the string tight. The bow required a hundred and fifty pounds to pull. Cu was better off not attempting to hold that pressure while he waited for the danger to show. The arrow was notched, he would be able to pull, aim, and release in a matter of seconds.

The pack of vicious hounds crested the incline in front of them. Cu took a lot in during the first few seconds. Each of the hounds was easily as large as he was if they were standing on their hind legs. They easily weighed a hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds. But the thing he took the most notice of was that they were intently focused on the two teeangers and were coming right towards them.

The hounds raced across the plain, their snarls and growls louder as they came closer and closer.

Cu could feel Cassie tense up against him. Cu waited. He lifted his bow. He didn't want to kill the hounds, but he would protect Cassie first. The pack leader was at least fifteen yards in front of the pack.

Cu felt the arrow notched on his string, but he still didn't take aim. He waited. He didn't want to kill the animal, but the hound was still coming towards them. Still Cu waited. The snarling from the hound got louder. Cu waited.

Then the hound sprang at them. Cu lifted the bow, pulled the string tight, took aim, and released the arrow. His aim was true and the arrow lodged itself in the throat of the snarling animal. The impact of the arrow had the animal halting in midair, almost as if the arrow was pinning the animal to the sky. But it was only suspended for a moment, before it let out a dying whimper and fell to the ground.

Cu didn't wait to take stock of his first kill. He snatched another arrow and quickly notching it he took aim at a second hound still charging at them. The second arrow flew hitting Cu's second target. Cu notched another arrow and shot a third hound before the second one had even hit the ground. Those two hounds yelped and whined as they fell to the ground already dying. Cu once more ignored them; he notched and released a fourth arrow, killing a fourth hound.

Taking a fifth arrow, Cu notched it but didn't release it. The rest of the pack stopped the charge and stared at Cu and his arrow, sensing that the stick in his hand was dangerous to them. The last six of the pack, paced around the three dead hounds, knowing that their target was only a number of yards in front of them, but aware that they couldn't get to them.

"Cassie, start for town," Cu ordered, not taking his eyes off the hounds.

"I don't want to," she whispered.

"I'm not giving you a choice, go--" Cu stopped in mid-sentence as he saw the riders cresting the hill from the same directions the hounds had come.

Cu counted ten men.

And he only had seven arrows left and one of those was already notched in his bow.

The hounds raced back and forth between the dead hounds and the men on the horses, their barking and snarling increasing and decreasing as they came and went.