The Farther Shore - Christie Golden [3]
She cursed. She was wasting precious water on these stupid tears. Torres gulped and wiped at her eyes, then cursed again as the motion got dirt in them and they stung.
It was only then that she heard the grikshak.
Its growl was low, soft, and as menacing as anything she had ever heard. Her thoughts focused to laser-sharp clarity. All distracting images of husband and child fled before the more urgent need to be alert and stay alive.
She froze, remembering just in time that movement antagonized the creature. Only her eyes darted rapidly about, trying to locate it. There—in the tall blue grasses. Its azure coat was the perfect camouflage, but its constant low growl revealed where it had hidden itself.
She had only been permitted a few hours to read up on the flora and fauna of Boreth, but one thing had stuck in her mind. The grikshak was the most dangerous predator on the planet. It had little fear of humanoids, it had more teeth than any self-respecting creature ought to, and it was really, really big.
They faced each other, the animal and the [9] half-Klingon. Torres mentally kicked herself. She knew there were grikshaks on this continent. She ought to have fabricated weapons on day one. Instead, she’d almost been killed because she’d succumbed to maudlin recollection. At once, she amended that thought. She might yet be killed.
She had caught a break in that this grikshak was a juvenile. Its coat was still bright blue, not the silver-blue of a mature female, and it was barely the size of Earth’s grizzly. Its teeth, bared in challenge, were only as large as her hand. A black, wet nose moved as it snuffled the air. It seemed confused that it couldn’t scent her. Torres figured that her lack of smell was the only reason she was still alive; the thing was still trying to determine what she was.
Her gaze flickered to the earth. By her foot were stones a little bigger than her hand. They would make pathetic weapons, but they were the only ones she had. She’d have to time it just right. Torres fixed in her mind the exact position of each stone, even as she returned her gaze to meet that of the creature.
It crooned and cocked its head, still trying to figure out what this scentless, still thing in its path was.
At that moment, Torres squatted, grabbed three stones, and dove for a nearby tree. She scrambled up the rough trunk as fast as her feet and hands would take her. Her movement broke the spell that had kept the grikshak immobile and it charged, its roar nearly shattering her eardrums. Long blue-black claws tore the earth where she had been standing a fraction of a second earlier, and it whirled with shocking speed to charge the tree.
[10] Hanging on determinedly to the shaking branches, Torres took aim and threw the first stone. It was a perfect blow, catching the creature between its large eyes. She heard a crunch. The animal staggered, but did not fall. Torres saw a welt begin to rise and knew she’d managed to fracture the skull. Again she threw with all her strength, willing the stone to strike home. This one struck the grikshak’s right eye. It shrieked in agony, bringing a forepaw up to its face in a very human gesture.
She had only one stone left. She had to make it count. The animal was bellowing, its sharp-toothed mouth wide open. Torres summoned all her courage, dropped from the branches to the earth, and ran toward the creature. She shoved the stone deep into its open gullet and snatched her hand back before those dreadful teeth could clamp down and sever her arm.
She wasn’t quick enough to avoid a glancing blow from the grikshak’s huge forepaw, though, and cried out as she felt the white-hot pain of claws scraping her back. She began to run as fast as her legs would carry her through the tall grass, feeling blood trickle down her back and legs, knowing that the scent was enraging the beast.
It gave chase, but in silence. The only sound was the crashing of the vegetation