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.With an awkward hobble, he started moving away from the creature, determined to find a location that would provide him with his trap.His foot continued to throb, but the pain had become a fact of life, and he no longer took special note of it.He hopped for several steps, then leaned against a tree as he suddenly grew dizzy.And then the monster made its first audible footfall, directly behind the Calishite.Daryth whirled in shock, dropping his crutch and transferring Cat's-Claw into his right hand.The creature had bounded a hundred feet or more in mere seconds! Now it snarled savagely, only a few paces away.Daryth firmly anchored his back against the tree, feeling the rotten bark peel away under his weight.He hefted the scimitar in both of his hands and stared the creature full in the face.He felt no fear of the thing, just a cold anger that, like his pain, seemed more a fact of life than a raging emotion.The cat-beast came closer, creeping a pace at a time.The shiny black body crouched as if it prepared to spring after each slithering step.With repugnance, Daryth saw the suction cups lining the leathery tentacles.The moist lips of each flexed and pursed as if seeking contact with the flesh of their victim.The Calishite took no notice of the sun, which at last broke through the morning haze as it crested the ridge across the valley.Though the woods remained shrouded in fog, the small area on top of the cliff stood outlined clearly in yellow sunshine.A deep, heart-stopping growl rumbled from the creature's cavernous chest, but even this awful sound could no longer bring a tremor to Daryth's hand.He carefully studied the approach of the monster, marshaling his strength, planning his blow.Staring at the center of the monster's forehead, he concentrated on the placement of his weapon.He doubted that he would have a second chance, but if his first blow could somehow puncture the bone there, driving into that wicked brain…Smoothly he raised the scimitar, but not so high that the creature could slash in under his guard.The cat came on with no apparent fear, creeping almost to within his range without springing.Each breath the beast took now was a prolonged and rumbling growl.Suddenly Daryth struck.The silver blade sliced downward faster than a mortal eye could follow, straight and true toward its target.All the muscle in the Calishite's shoulders and arms, and all of the skill in his heart and mind, poured into that one blow.The blade fell true, striking exactly at the point of aim, but it passed straight through the point, and the air beneath it, to crash harmlessly into the ground.His already precarious balance gone, Daryth pitched forward and fell on top of the blade.There was nothing there! He whirled into a sitting position and reached out to touch the image of the monster, squatting beside him and glaring balefully.His hand passed right through the sleek black side, and he knew the creature there was nothing but air!Then the monster snarled again, and the sound brought a chill of horror to Daryth's spine.The snarl came from behind him! In an instant, Daryth understood the nature of the beast.This was a creature that appeared to be in one place but was actually somewhere else! Daryth's blow had been strong and true, at the image of the beast, while the beast itself crouched behind his unprotected back!An electric surge of alarm propelled Daryth into a crablike scramble to the side.Even as he moved, he felt the thump of a great body landing beside him, smelled the pungent scent suggestive of a great panther, somehow corrupted.The Calishite whirled on the ground, ignoring the pain from his wound.His hand came up, Cat's-Claw gleaming, and then the blade bit into something fleshy and muscular.The monster shrieked, an exaggerated feline cry of pain and rage.Its image, now beside Darylh, recoiled several feet at the same time as the man heard the beast retreat before him.The jolt of energy gave him strength to stand, and once more Cat's-Claw darted forward.The blade whistled through the air, striking nothing, but on its lightning backstroke, Daryth again found blood.His frenzy continued unabated as he pressed the battle against the ungodly beast, shrewdly estimating its true location before each silver slash.The monster recoiled, stunned by the savage attacks, but it quickly recovered.A lashing tentacle wrapped both Daryth's legs in a snake-like embrace, pulling him to the side as it twirled around him again and again.He raised Cat's-Claw, taking aim at the thing from feel since he could not see the tentacle that imprisoned him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]