This chapter is dedicated to Tristam James for his votes and comments. 'A Country Life' and 'Aveline and the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse' are two that I can highly recommend. 'Comet' is one to read if you like a bit of good old fashioned 'Boys Own' excitement. Check out 'Contact Report' of you're after some Sci-fi humour, and 'Tyne' if you just want some stunningly well written prose.

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Ten seconds passed before Mistress Lau's arm fell and the karabok horn sounded again. Out in the grass, the Madriel-mistresses each let out a shout and turned their steeds to face the two fleeing figures.

At that signal the hunt began.

Lithe shapes broke suddenly from the grass, which hissed and parted to let them pass. This was not the normal hunting of the Pride. There was no subtle stalking through the grass' cover, no clever flanking and sudden ambush. The prey knew they were the hunted and so the hunters simply charged, converging on their targets like twin flights of arrows.

Harl was the first to die. As Mistress Lau had promised, it was the youngsters that reached him, and his death was not quick, though it was briefer than the one Sir Unsaethel had warned of. A young female caught his leg and he tumbled into the grass, issuing a scream that rose in terror and pain as the other youngsters fell on him.

"A pity," said the old knight as the scream was cut off.

Sir Kralaford watched the young animals leaping and fighting over the body, which was invisible beneath the press of tawny forms.

"A pity that he did not speak up sooner."

"Your men should have interrogated him more thoroughly when they had the chance. Now, where did that other thief go?"

"He is hiding in that patch of tanglebrush," said Sir Kralaford and pointed to a shallow gulley, filled with twisted branches. The older females of Hakansa's Pride had halted in their pursuit to sniff about its edge and along its length.

"So," said Sir Unsaethel speculatively, as he watched them. "The Free-clans are still stirring the bandits to cause us trouble, despite their protestations of innocence."

"Are you surprised?"

"No," said Sir Unsaethel bitterly. "Damn Solridge! If I had known how troublesome the place would become, I would have urged Lord Morath to its immediate recapture after Wessvall."

"We both know it would have been impossible. The past is done and we can only hope that the next Grand-commander has better powers of foresight."

Sir Unsaethel merely grunted.

"Can they not find the man?" he said, turning his attention back to the frantic activity of the madriel females that still prowled up and down the length of the tanglebrush filled gulley .

"They do seem a little uncertain of his location."

"Well the fool cannot stay there all day. Once these youngsters have finished with our dead friend here, they will soon be in there to roust him out."

And indeed some of the youngest females, unable to penetrate the writhing press about Harl's body, had already turned their attention to his accomplice's hiding place. They bounded into the tangle of branches, squeezing their smaller bodies through the snarl of dry wood, but Sacachwa did not wait to be rousted out. Suddenly, the Clansman broke cover at the far end of the gulley and began his flight towards the refuge marker.

"Clever," said Sir Unsaethel, for the man had removed his light shoes and his tunic, leaving them and their scent behind, in the depths of the brush.

He had gained a hundred metres on the closest female by his subterfuge, but the marker still lay more than two hundred metres distant, and as soon as he broke from cover the Pride was after him, spreading out to prevent any retreat. Retreat, though, was the last thing on Sacachwa's mind, and he ran straight and fast, favouring the places where bedrock broke the earth's surface. The soil there was thin, the grass short and scrubby, and he moved on his bare feet as though oblivious of the uneven ground.

"By Fortak, the man is fast!" exclaimed Sir Unsaethel.

Sacachwa had covered half the distance to the marker by the time the Pride had spread out in their line of pursuit, and were still themselves a little less than a hundred metres short of him. He had fifty metres left to the marker when he glanced over his shoulder, perhaps wondering how he had reached such a distance and still remained alive. Seeing that the pursuing madriel had seemingly been unable to close on him, he turned back in a final sprint that would push him over the last small distance to freedom. Even from five hundred metres away, his shout of victory could be heard as his hand reached out to touch the marker.

From his position on the rock, Sir Kralaford saw the first movement of Sacachwa's death as a shifting murmur in the grasses to the Clansman's right. A brief second later, Kless leapt. Her paw caught him in the chest to halt his forward momentum, her jaws clamped about his head, she gave a turn of her powerful neck, and Sacachwa was dead. His cry of victory ended and the plains were quiet again.

"She left that a little late," said Sir Unsaethel.

"My wife's steed has a vindictive side," explained Sir Kralaford.

"Record the times," said Sir Unsaethel to the Clerk, who had already crossed to consult with Mistress Lau.

The rest of the Pride's females had closed about Sacachwa, but kept their respectful distance as Kless worked on the body.

Sir Kralaford urged Hakansa down from the outcrop, and Sir Unsaethel followed him onto the grasslands of the great-bailey, while the distant Madriel-mistresses gathered and rode away towards the open plain. There they would help the Herd-masters round up some karabok so the females could finally be fed after their fasting.

"I think Falsch is in luck today," said Sir Kralaford as he watched the graceful form of his wife's steed approach them, through the throng of hungry females. Sacachwa's body was now surrounded by the senior females, eager to take their share since Kless had finished her work. Hakansa's mate approached the two knights, her jaws filled with two ripped hunks of meat that she dropped on the floor before them, one in front of Hakansa and the other in front of Falsch.

"A most gracious creature," said Sir Unsaethel.

Their two steeds snatched up the gifted meat and Hakansa gave Kless an affectionate swipe with his dark horns. In return, she pushed her head up against his great black face, smearing blood into his fur.

"And it is high past time for the breaking of my own fast, I think. Will you join me, Commander Kralaford?"

"I will join you, Commander, and you two!" Sir Kralaford gestured to the two younger knights who still stood some way behind. Their steed's heads were lowered while they sniffed with expectation, as the two Pride-alphas bolted down Sacachwa's remains. "Come with us. I need to talk further with you. My compliments, Mistress Lau."

Sir Kralaford inclined his head to the two Madriel-mistresses, before turning his steed back towards the fortress. Sir Unsaethel gave a similar curt farewell, and followed.

"You can share my breakfast, but I do not want to hear any more talk of Solridge, or the Free-clans, or of your intentions for the coming Tourney," said the old knight. "I would like the chance to enjoy my meal."

"That is a pity, Commander. They are things that need to be discussed."

Sir Unsaethel looked back at the two groups of madriel that were still pulling at the remnants of the prisoners. The youngsters that had killed Harl were beginning to disperse, some larger individuals stalking away, triumphantly bearing flesh-scrapped bones, while the rest still crowded about his remains, gnawing on those that could not be so easily freed from the carcass.

Sir Unsaethel sighed, though Sir Kralaford doubted his sign of emotion was caused by the fate of the man from Grasshallow.

"I imagine life was easier when the Predation threatened," said the old knight, in confirmation. "At least then we knew who our enemy was."

"Now we face more challenging days," replied Sir Kralaford. "And our Order must set itself to face them."

With a word of command, he urged Hakansa on around the edge of the basin in the plains, with its high outcrop of rock and its cool shady pool.