Red Spell

Chapter Six

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I froze. Stepping into the bright moonlight was a mistake. My eyes were no longer adjusted to the darkness under the trees and I couldn't see a thing outside of the clearing. I could hear its footsteps as it circled around me. I held the bow tightly waiting for something in the dark to move so I could shoot it. The black eyes flashed through my mind and I felt myself growing dizzy. I was a fool! What had I been thinking? This was the most foolish thing I'd ever done! How could I think I could take on a wolf that no one else had been able to capture or kill?

I turned slowly with the footsteps, but still I couldn't catch a glimpse of the beast in the shadows. All it had to do was leap straight at me. It would take me down easily because there was no way to be ready for it. My heart hammered in my head and my vision grew blurry with the intensity of my staring. Then I caught a quick movement and I shot at it.

"Now then!" someone cried. "What's the matter with you?"

I screamed. I had a terrible vision of someone from the village laying prostrate with my arrow in their heart before a figure stepped out from behind the tree. He moved into the moonlight with my arrow in his hand.

"You really got that tree there," he said. I shrank back. He was from the wood clan. It was clear by his clothing and darker hair. He was wearing thick clothing made of a patchwork of animal skins and he looked a lot warmer than I was. A hatchet hung from his belt and a bow from his shoulder and he had a knife peeking out of one of his furry boots. I felt a little pathetic in all my badly armed, scrawny, wet glory before this beast of the woods. I snatched at an arrow from my quiver, but I missed and probably looked quite mad as I raised the bow to swing it at him in desperation.

"Stop that! I'm not going to hurt you," he said, immediately backing away. "What are you doing out here?"

"Hunting." I squeezed tighter on the end of my bow so he wouldn't see my hands trembling. I didn't want to show him fear.

"I see. I'm hunting too," he said. He straightened up and smiled. I couldn't hide my look of fright. He was probably hunting me. He could kill me with one blow or drag me off to his friends to roast up and eat for some barbaric wood clan ritual.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said after a pause.

"How do I know that?"

"Why would I want to hurt you?"

"I don't know! But—

"I'm from the wood clan?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I felt a little embarrassed on top of my fear. Then again, he could be trying to get my defenses down.

"I-I'm afraid I don't know much about you that's all. There are a lot of stories," I

muttered.

"I know." he said. "It's understandable." He didn't take his eyes off me. "What are you hunting?"

"A wolf," I said slowly. "What are you hunting?" Then I was annoyed. I shouldn't have told him that. He didn't look entirely pleased.

"You are? Alone?"

"I'm not alone," I said quickly. "I just wandered away from my party."

He glanced around, but there was no sign of anyone else.