Page 72 of Phoenix's Fire

Considering she'd saved herself with little more than a fork, I couldn't wait to see what she could do once she mastered the bow.

Twenty-Two

Ayla

After a few hours in the woods, Zasen had managed to down a bird, but that was all we'd harvested tonight. With the cookout coming up, we both wanted to make sure we brought something back, so decided to keep going. After all, we'd seen the two deer earlier.

Yet the forest was unnaturally empty, which made Zasen tense and overly vigilant. I kept catching him looking around, often behind us, but when I asked, he said it was nothing. But as twilight took over, we found out why the animals had vanished. I was trailing behind Zasen, trying to be silent, when he turned around a collection of trees - and we came face-to-face with the largest thing I had ever seen.

Big.

Brown.

Massive.

All three of us froze for a moment, then the bear reared up on its haunches and roared.Huge.That was the only word I had to describe it. I'd thought the deer were big, but this thing may as well have been a walking mountain!

Its dark brown fur looked almost silvery in the fading light, but I could see every one of its sharp white teeth. It felt like the world paused as I tried to take in what was happening, and every hard, intense beat of my heart in my chest felt like I was being hit with a sledgehammer.

"Run," Zasen hissed, pushing me back the way we'd come.

I obeyed, my feet digging into the decaying leaves, crunching sticks without care. I ran, the sounds of pursuit right behind me. Jerking to the side, I changed directions around a rock, and saw Zasen go the other way.

The bear chose to follow me.

Zasen yelled and raced after us. I changed direction again, my lungs starting to burn, but I couldn't stop. I grabbed a tree, my grip spinning me around it, but thebear was gaining ground. Reaching over my shoulder, I managed to pull out an arrow and nock it to my bow without slowing my feet. When I turned again, I took a shot, and the shaft actually hit the animal's shoulder.

From the side, Zasen rushed it. His krael were in his hands, and his tail was up. As soon as he cut its skin, the bear spun to face him, so I grabbed another arrow, screaming in some vain attempt to get the animal's attention. Zasen cut again, but his weapons could barely slice through the thick hide. His tail, however, hit it hard. Every chance he got, he stung, and the bear was getting angry.

But as soon as Zasen was out of the way, I loosed. The targets I'd practiced on were no bigger than this creature's head, so hitting its side was very easy. The arrow slammed into the beast with a wet sound, and the bear was back on me, but the wound made it slower. I grabbed for another arrow as I scrambled backwards, while Zasen moved in again.

The bear swatted at him, its paws larger than Zasen's head. He fell, rolling over the leaves just to jump up and sting it again. Unfortunately, that put him in my way, making it impossible to shoot.

"Move!" I screamed.

Zasen moved, but I wasn't sure he'd heard me. Thankfully, he still shifted around, likely trying to get behind it. Once he was out of my way, I shot the beast. That made it turn to roar at me. Zasen rushed in to sting it yet again, and the bear lunged at him.

Each time it turned its attention on him, I shot it. Every time it went for me, Zasen moved in to sting it. Back and forth, we attacked it, scrambling over the uneven ground as we tried to stay out of its reach. My heart was pounding and I felt like I couldn't catch my breath, but I refused to leave him to face this thing alone.

This bear was so much bigger than any pictures I'd ever seen. When it stood up, Zasen only reached midway up its torso. It had to be over fifteen feet tall! Then it roared and rushed at Zasen, its shoulders rippling with each thunderous step, so I shot it again, screaming as loud as I could in the hopes my voice would get its attention. The arrow hit its neck.

The bear snapped his head around and charged at me. I ran, dodging around another tree, but I was too slow. I turned right into its arm, and a paw slapped my shoulder and back, knocking me to the ground. Rolling, I tried hard not to stop my forward momentum, which was when Zasen jumped on its back. Over and over, he stung with his tail and stabbed with his krael, the sharpened end of those blades doing little more than making it mad.

"Ayla!" he yelled.

"Move," I screamed, finding another arrow.

He jumped away from the thing, seeking a little distance, and I loosed. By sheer chance, the bear turned towards me and roared - and the arrow impacted right into its open mouth. The beast tried to roar again, but began to whine in pain instead while Zasen and I hurried to back away.

Shaking its head, the bear staggered, but it still managed to claw its mouth,frantic to dislodge the arrow in its tongue and jaw. The creature stumbled again and groaned, then tried to take a step. Before our eyes, it was shutting down, the Dragon venom finally doing its job.

Zasen grabbed me and guided me further back, looking between both me and the bear. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I think it just got my shoulder."

The bear tried to move again, but could barely shift its leg. When Zasen spun me around, I saw the beast groan and flop down, limp. Each breath was a grunt of suffering, but Zasen's attention was locked on me. He pulled at my leathers, inspecting the skin behind my arm.

"It's not deep," he said thankfully, letting out a heavy breath that sounded like it was filled with leftover fear. "Can you move your arm?"

---