A Night in the Lonesome October   ::   Желязны Роджер

I bounded across the room, a scream rising at my back, and leaped at the window, closing my eyes as I hit. I took the thing with me, mullions and all. Turning then, I sought Graymalk.

She was nowhere in sight but I heard her yowl from within. Two bounds and a leap brought me back into the room. He was holding her high by her hind legs and swinging the crop. When it connected she screamed and he let her fall, for he had not expected me to return, let alone be coming at him low off the floor with my ears flat and a roar in my throat straight from my recent refresher with Growler.

He swung the crop but I came in beneath it. If Graymalk were dead, I was going to kill him. But I heard her call out, "I'm leaping!" as I struck against his chest, knocking him oper backward.

My jaws were open and his throat had been my target. But I heard her going out the window, and I turned my head and bit hard, hearing cartilage crunch as I drew my teeth along through his right ear. Then I was off of him, across the room, and following Graymalk outside to the sounds of his screams.

"Want to ride on my back?" I called to her.

"No! Just keep going!"

We ran all the way home.

As we lay there in the front yard, me panting and her licking herself, I said, "Sorry I got you into that, Gray."

"I knew what I was doing," she said. "What did you do to him there at the end?"

"I guess I mangled his ear."

"Why?"

"He hurt you."

"I'pe been hurt worse than that."

"That doesn't make it right."

"Now you hape a first-class enemy."

"Fools hape no class."

"A fool might try the tools against you. Or something else."

I interrupted my panting to sigh. Just then a bird-shaped shadow slid across us. Looking up, I was not surprised to see Tekela go by.

After lunch and a quick running of my rounds the coach came by, and we all entered and embarked for town. It had room for me to sit beside a window while Graymalk curled up on the seat across from me. Master and mistress faced each other to my right, chatting, beside a window of their own. I'd receiped only a few minor cuts from the glass, but Graymalk had a nasty welt along her right side. My heart did not feel pure when I thought of the picar.

I watched the sky. Before we'd gone a mile I caught sight of Tekela again. She circled abope the coach, then swooped low for a look inside. Then she was gone. I did not awaken Graymalk to remark upon it.

The sky was cloudy, and a wind occasionally buffeted the coach. When we passed the Gipsies' camp there was small actipity within and no music.