Chapter 10

Morning came slowly, as it will in a cave facing westward, and Sylviana stirred to find her companions long since wakened. The wolf remained on his guard by the door, while Kalus continued work on a spear. He had labored far into the night preparing the shaft, the narrowest and straightest of the poles he had brought. He was just fitting his stone knife into the etched groove at the top, to serve as a spearhead, when he became aware of her.

‘Did you sleep well?’ he asked without sarcasm.

‘Yes.’ She rose from the fur, pushed back her hair and took a long drink from the steel flask, which Kalus had filled. She felt safe and rested as she brought it down again, no longer oppressed by the curving, serrated walls and close proximity of her friends. A deeper, and more necessary sleep she had not known for days uncounted. ‘Thank you.’ She screwed back the cap, set down the flask and went outside.

Kalus held the long point in his hand, adjusted it several times in the slot. When he had marked the best fitting in his mind, he withdrew it and placed one edge against a flat rock on the floor, then drew out his round hammer-stone and carefully chipped away at either side of the base. It was delicate work. One mistake, one overzealous stroke, would render it useless as a spearhead. He did it well, refitted the point in the groove.

Lastly he took the long strand that had dangled for weeks from his wrist, the hide of a buffalo, poured water over it, and wrapped it as tightly about the shaft as his strength and its thickness would allow. When he had done and undone this several times, he finally found the best pattern, and with a grunt of exertion took the remaining length and forced it down between wood and stone, sealing the tie. Sylviana returned with the wolf as he held it up and studied it with tired satisfaction.

‘What will you do today?’ she asked, though the spear (and her stomach’s emptiness) should have told her.

‘We hunt bigger game, if the wolf is willing. Rabbit is good for the short hunger, but we need tools and clothing for the winter ... And meat.’ Was there a trace of fierce lust in his voice as he said the word? Or was it hers in the hearing? She didn’t like the implications.

‘If you were going to hunt, shouldn’t you have done it earlier in the day?’

‘If I had gone out earlier, I think I would have been the hunted and not the hunter. Let the big cats make their kill. Let hyenas strip the carcass. Let them all stay contented within their boundaries and only threaten to kill me. I am patient.’

‘Oh.’ She stood rebuked. ‘When will you go?’

‘As soon as I am finished with this.’ He took the spear to the center of the enclosure, held it firmly in his hand. He checked it for balance, found the best grips, tested the grain and strength of the wood by leaning it heavily against the ground. ‘Good.’ He faced the wolf. Shall we hunt together?’

Akar raised up and gestured toward the entrance. Sylviana, on an impulse:

‘Can I go with you? This place is beginning to get to me.’ Sometimes it was better to confront ones fears...

His answer surprised her. ‘Yes, if you want to. Three bodies are better than two. But bring the knife and stay very close. I don’t want to lose you.’

With the sun a hand’s breadth shy of noon, they set out.