Chapter 28Hawklan watched in horror as the creature came straight and purposefully towards him.
In an instant he saw that it was thin and weak and old, but he saw also that under its long fur rippled muscles and sinews more than powerful enough to dispatch him and the others with little or no effort. And its age too seemed only to have heightened the malevolence that shone red and bloody in its eyes.
In the same instant he saw also that the bridge was too narrow and crowded for him to side-step and that in any event it was too late — the creature was too near and moving too fast.
Suddenly, without breaking its headlong charge, the creature stood up fully on its hind legs and raised a terrible clawed hand. It was a head taller than Hawklan.
Gavor leapt off Hawklan’s shoulder powerfully.
