Piram was anxious to look for the cat. If the big cats were back, the bode should know what territory they were taking over, both for the protection of Flat Rocks and to take advantage of scavenging the remains of the cats' kills.

Piram wanted to take Grilu with him and asked Dagan to join them. Piram was more at ease with Dagan's amiable, quiet ways than some of the other younger adults, who often challenged his opinions.

They got up early the next day, before sunrise. Esri rose with them. Before they started off, Esri pulled Dagan aside. "Watch over Grilu. I worry that Piram will push him to do something dangerous."

"It will be all right, Esri. Piram is a good tracker, and Grilu is anxious to learn the ways of the big cats. You know I'll be careful."

Esri helped them pack extra water and bundles of smoked meat. Magenta clouds illuminated the morning sky as they walked away. She stood for a long time on top of the cave, watching them clear the next ridge.

It took them until nearly midday to locate big cat tracks. Sometimes the tracks disappeared for long stretches. Whenever they did, Piram and Dagan conferred over the most likely direction the cats would go. Grilu paid rapt attention to these conversations. He still had his little boy spark and enthusiasm, but since the Naming, he restrained his exuberance and was eager to prove himself as a great hunter.

While Piram no longer had the vitality of a young man, he had years of experience studying the wily ways of the big cats. He and Dagan usually agreed about which direction to take when the tracks disappeared. Whenever they didn't agree, they followed Piram's instincts.

That night they built a small shelter out of branches and grasses and rationed their supply of smoked meat and water. Grilu slept soundly, with a child's confidence that the adults would keep him safe. Piram and Dagan took turns staying alert throughout the night to any potentially threatening noises. The next morning, Dagan rose first and noticed several vultures circling in the distance. He pointed them out to Piram and they quickly broke camp and set out in that direction.

It might be a recent big cat kill that they could scavenge, with care. They needed to move cautiously, determine the location of any big cats, and time their attempts at scavenging until after the big cats took their share. There would be other animals who would want to scavenge the kill but if there weren't too many, they could hold them off until they carved off some portions to take back to Flat Rocks. Maybe the kill would provide a good haul of meat and offer Grilu a lesson on how tracking big cats could yield easy food.

When they came close to the circling vultures, they saw a large eland lying on the ground, half of its side torn away. Piram and Dagan split up circling around the kill in opposite directions. Grilu went with Piram. The men used bird whistles to signal if they sighted any big cats or other animals. Piram said to Grilu, "Look, the vultures are starting to feed on the eland. That means the big cats are probably not close anymore."

Piram had Grilu climb a tree until Piram was certain there were no powerful predators nearby. Grilu was light enough that he could reach the higher, smaller branches that would keep him safe. Piram proceeded alone. Grilu watched from high in the tree, eager to be taking part in the scavenging.

Piram continued walking, scanning the area for signs of big cats. He moved a distance from where he left Grilu and saw Dagan on the opposite side of the kill. Dagan looked over toward Piram and began shouting and waving his arms and running. Piram spun around in the direction Dagan was gesturing and saw Grilu racing toward the kill, his small flint spear held high, yelling at the vultures, intent on claiming a piece of the eland for himself. Grilu didn't realize that one small boy would do little to scare away the vultures and he was putting himself in danger. Piram also began running and yelling and waving his arms.

One of the vultures attacked Grilu. At the same time a huge white cat came charging out of the underbrush. Grilu screamed and fell behind the eland. Piram and Dagan lost sight of him. The cat pounced where Grilu went down and the vulture flew off. The men knew that the big cat could easily kill the boy before they could reach him. When Dagan and Piram got to Grilu, the cat had one large paw on the boy's chest with her face inches away from Grilu's. She looked up at the two men, turned, and vanished into the bush as quickly as she appeared.

The two men were horrified when they looked at the little boy. Piram said, "Oh, no, his face. Is he dead?"

Grilu began crying and screaming, "I can't see. I can't see."

The side of Grilu's face was horribly slashed either by the vulture's beak or the cat's claws or both. Grilu's right eye was bleeding badly and his right cheek was in ribbons. Dagan knelt down and cradled Grilu, trying to calm him and determine where he was hurt.

Piram said, "I need to find the big cat and make sure she doesn't attack us again. Carry Grilu far enough away from the kill that he is safe."

"I think she is a Ghost Cat. She's so large and all white with strange eyes. I don't know if you will find her."

"I must try," Piram took several steps toward where the big cat ran off and stopped. "These tracks are like none we have seen. They're very large. This is not the cat that made this kill. Maybe you are right, but what is a Ghost Cat doing here?"

"We must get Grilu back to Flat Rocks. Zura can do more for him than we can. We'll talk to the Elders about the Ghost Cat."

They moved Grilu away from the kill and took care of him as best as they could. His left eye was clogged with blood from the other wounds but not damaged otherwise. Once the blood was cleaned off, he could see again from that eye. This helped to calm him. Dagan used a small piece of hide and two pieces of sinew as a sort of bandage around Grilu's cheek to close up the lacerations. He covered the damaged right eye with moss he had brought. They began walking and walked through the night, arriving at Flat Rocks early the next morning.

Esri spotted them first and went running out to them. Piram carried Grilu. Dagan pulled Esri aside and said, "Don't get angry at Piram right now." He and Piram were exhausted. By now, everyone at Flat Rocks was up.

Esri helped Zura tend to Grilu. Zura asked that it only be Esri. Zura knew that it was critical to keep Grilu quiet while he healed, and it would be difficult if people were constantly coming around.

Esri quickly made up a soft bed for Grilu. Zura examined him from top to bottom for injuries and determined he was not hurt beyond his face. She delicately undid the bandage Dagan had wrapped around Grilu's check and removed the moss from his right eye. She was horrified by what she saw but kept her face calm and spoke soothingly to him. The less he was upset about what happened to him, the better he would heal. She spoke to him, "I know you're scared and in much pain. You're safe now and we'll help you heal. It's important that you lie quietly. I'm going to make a drink that will help you sleep. Close your eyes. I'll be back soon. Esri is also here. We will take care of you."

Zura did not want Esri to look at Grilu until she had spoken to her. When Zura was sure Grilu could not overhear, she said, "He is badly hurt. His face will always be scarred and he lost one eye."

Esri gasped, "Will he die?"

"No, he won't if he heals well. We need to remove the poisons from the attack. This will be painful. And if he does not lie still for many days, the skin will not bind together well. But as important as the healing is what he believes inside. If Grilu feels he cannot overcome what happened to him, he could die. I have seen this happen. You need to prepare yourself. When you look at his face, you will feel a huge sadness. You must not let him see this."

"But if he is changed, others will say something."

"Yes, but in a few days he will not look as bad as he does now. And we will talk to him about being different. I wanted to prepare you for when you first looked at his face."

Zura went back to Grilu with a strong brew of tea. His injuries made it difficult for him to drink but he managed to swallow enough to feel drowsy.

Zura said, "Grilu, Esri and I are going to clean away the poisons from the attack. We'll do this with warm water and move softly. You'll feel pain at times but it will help you to heal. Every day going forward, you will have less pain."

Though she was warned, Esri was barely able to stop herself from crying out when she first saw Grilu's damaged face. The beautiful little boy was gone.

Esri did what she frequently did when she was overwhelmed or at a loss of what to do. She started to sing. It was the little song she taught Grilu that first night she, Zura, and Dagan sat around the bodefire at Flat Rocks and Grilu came over and tapped her arm and tried to sing with her. Grilu opened his one good eye and managed a small smile when he heard Esri singing.

Zura and Esri took turns cleaning away the blood and dirt. Zura believed that when animals attacked, they left their poisons behind and if you didn't wash them away, they would kill you. It was heartbreaking work hovering over his little face. There was nothing to be done for the right eye. The beak of the vulture pierced too deeply.

Kai came and told them, "We're meeting to talk about what happened on the hunt. Can you come?"

Zura said, "Esri, you go. You can tell them how Grilu is doing. I know you're angry with Piram, but listen to what he and Dagan have to say before you speak."

"Esri," Grilu called faintly.

Esri leaned down close to him. "Grilu, I'm here. Don't talk now. Lie quietly."

"The big cat saved me. Don't let them hunt the big cat."

"The big cat saved you?"

"Yes, she hit the vulture away from me. Then I felt her paw on my chest. Her claws were inside. She did not hurt me. She did nothing to me. She saved me."

Esri looked again at his chest and there were indeed no claw marks from a big cat.

He went on, "I disobeyed Piram. Don't be mad at him."

Esri smiled down at Grilu. "Don't worry. I will take your words to the meeting. Promise me that you will lie quietly. You need to not speak for a few days so that your cheek can heal. I promise not to get angry, if you promise to be quiet. All right?"

"Yes. But remember, don't hunt the big cat," and he closed his eyes.

Esri and Kai went up to the bodefire. Everyone was gathered and wanted to hear how Grilu was, how badly he was hurt. No one spoke to Piram and Dagan, who sat glumly to the side. Tars asked everyone to be quiet and let Piram and Dagan describe what happened. Piram went first, and to Esri's surprise, did not blame Grilu for disobeying him as she thought he would. The tone of the group changed when they heard how Piram took care to make sure Grilu was safe. Then Dagan spoke, confirming everything Piram said. He spoke at greater length about the mysterious big cat.

Tars said, "We can't be sure it's a Ghost Cat. If she's not, we need to kill her for what she did to Grilu."

Esri spoke, "Grilu told me the big cat saved him. That she hit the vulture so it flew away and then sat with her paw on his chest and did nothing. She didn't bring out her claws. He has no marks at all on him from the big cat."

Piram said, "We thought Grilu was hurt by the cat. When we reached him, she was standing with one paw on his chest. Her face was this close to his," and he demonstrated with his hand an inch away from his face. "But it's true. We did not see the cat harm Grilu. She ran off as soon as we came near without making any threatening sounds or movement toward us."

"She looked at us before disappearing and had eyes like this," and Dagan crossed his eyes. Several people gasped.

"Her tracks were like none we have yet seen. There were this big," said Piram and used both of his hands to show the size of the tracks.

Esri said, "If she saved Grilu, we should not hunt her."

Nagar said, "And if she is a Ghost Cat, we probably can't find her anyway."

The discussion about what had happened and whether or not to hunt the big cat went on for some time. Esri described Grilu's injuries and what Zura was doing to help him heal, why it was important to keep Grilu quiet and not talking until the skin started to bind together again.

They decided to have a few of them go and follow the tracks of the Ghost Cat. If they did find her, they would not harm her but watch and see where she was living and hunting and how many others were in her family. Big cats never lived alone.

Many volunteered to go. Finally, it was decided that it would be Piram, Dagan, Grayla, and Jolim. They might be gone for some time, depending on how far the tracks led them. And, if they did find the big cat family, they would stay and watch them for a while. They left the next day. Before they left, Dagan talked to Grilu, told him what they were doing, and reassured him that they would not harm the big cat.