Rigante Series 04 - Stormrider Read Online Free PDF Page B

mass of broken stones, and several boulders had tumbled into the cave. Kaelin glanced at the wood store. He had spent the best part of a day last autumn bringing wood to the cave, and stacking it by the east wall. There was enough now to last through the night and tomorrow, if necessary.
    It would still be a tough journey home, but if they travelled with care they would make it.
    Feargol lay down on the floor. Kaelin folded the now empty pack and made a pillow for the child.
    'I've never been that fast in the sled,' said Feargol, sleepily. 'Daddy never let us go down the long slope.'
    'A wise man, your daddy,' said Kaelin, ruffling the boy's red hair. 'Sleep now. It will be a tiring day tomorrow.'

    Feargol closed his eyes. Kaelin covered him with his own topcoat then sat by the fire. He dozed for a while, and dreamt of Finbarr Ustal. When first Kaelin had arrived at Ironlatch Farm Finbarr had been hostile. They had since become friends, and Kaelin had come to respect the highlander. To be honest he had never liked his wife. Strong though she was she had a harsh tongue, and was mean-spirited. Kaelin had never understood how Finbarr could have loved her. He noted that even the child had talked about Daddy, but not his mother. Still, mean-spirited or not, no-one deserved a death like that.
    He woke several times during the night, and kept the fire going. It was good, dry wood, and there was little smoke. Even so his eyes felt gritty. In the firelight he gazed at the sleeping boy. He had his thumb in his mouth. Kaelin smiled. He would forever be Uncle Kaelin now. The thought was a sobering one. He wondered if this was how Jaim had felt about him, when he was the orphan child.
    'Ah, Jaim, but I do miss you,' he said aloud.
    Then came a crunching sound, followed by a roar. Kaelin rolled to his feet and ran to the cave entrance. Ten feet below the bear was tearing at the sled, his teeth crunching down on the wood.
    Rearing up, he flung the ruined pieces to the snow. Kaelin drew both pistols from his belt, cocked them, and called out: 'Eat this, you scum-sucking bastard!' He shot the right-hand pistol first, aiming at the bear's throat. The ball tore into the beast's shoulder. Hang-lip let out a fearsome roar, dropped to all fours and ran for the trees. Kaelin sent a second shot into him.
    Little Feargol was sitting up, eyes wide and fearful. Kaelin moved back to the fire and sat down to clean his pistols before reloading them. Feargol was looking at him, but Kaelin could think of nothing to say.
    'Did he break Basson's sled?' asked Feargol.
    'Aye. With a vengeance. I put two shots into him though. Bet he's not happy now.'
    'What are we going to do, Uncle Kaelin?'
    'Tomorrow I'll sit in the cave mouth, lure him out, and keep shooting him until he is dead.'
    'He wants to kill me,' said Feargol.
    'Not just you, my friend. He just wants to feed.'
    'No, he wants to kill me. He told me. I told Daddy. Daddy didn't believe me either. Can you see his face, Uncle Kaelin?'
    'Whose face?'
    'The bear's.'
    'Yes. His lip was torn in a fight when he was young.'
    'No. His other face,' said the boy. 'The one with scales like a snake. The one with red eyes.'
    'No,' said Kaelin, carefully. 'I can't see that face.'
    'Not even with your magic eye?'
    'I think you've had a bad dream, Feargol. Do you trust me?'
    'Yes, Uncle Kaelin.'
    'Then trust that I will kill the beast. If necessary I'll put shots into both its damned faces.'

    The Wyrd of Wishing Tree woods watched as the three clansmen climbed the tree to retrieve the frozen body of Basson Ustal. She felt sick at heart. Of all the sad sights her eyes had witnessed during her long life she knew this one would stay with her to her dying day. A dead child in a thin nightshirt, clinging to a tree branch. Even in death his face was still contorted with terror. She glanced back at the cabin. The boy had seen the bodies of his parents dragged out, and then the bear had come for him, clawing furiously at the