Breed to Come (2 page)

If such a pack were coming into the woods, thenFurtig's warning would carry a double impact.

Hemust back trail on those he had seen for a space.

For a time he kept to the trees, where he left notrail to be sniffed out even though, unlike the Barkersand the Tusked Ones, his people had no strong bodyodor. They hunted by sight and hearing and not byscent as did their enemies.

As a final precaution Furtig opened a small skinpouch made fast to his belt. Within was a wad of greasy stuff; its musky smell made his nose wrinkle indisgust. But he resolutely rubbed it on his feet and hands. Let a Barker sniff that and he would get anoseful as would send him off again, for it was the fatof the deadly snake.

Down again on the ground, Furtig sped along. Ashe went he listened, tested the air, watched for anysign that the home woods had been invaded in force.But he could not find anything save traces of the small party he had seen.

Then— His head jerked around, his nose pointed toa tree at his left. Warily he moved toward it.

Barkersign left there as a guide, but under it—

In spite of his disgust at the rankness of the caninescent, Furtig made himself hold his head close, sniffdeeper. Yes, beneath that road sign of the enemy wasanother, a boundary scent—of the People, but not ofhis own clan.

He straightened to his full height, held his armsoverhead as far as he could reach. Scratches, patterned scratches, and higher than those he couldmake with his own claws. So the stranger who had so arrogantly left his hunting mark there had been larger, taller!

Furtig snarled aloud this time. Leaping, he slashedwith his claws, managing to reach and dig into theother's sign, scouring out that marking, leaving thedeeper grooves he had made. Let the stranger see that! Those deep marks crossing the first ought to be a warnoff to be heeded.

But the forest was getting far too crowded. First ahunting party of the Barkers, now a territory markingleft by a stranger, as if Five Caves and its clans didnot exist at all! Furtig abandoned his back trailing.The sooner the People learned of these two happenings, the better.

However, he did not throw away caution but muddled his trail as he went. If any scout tried to sniff outthe reptile scent, he would be disheartened by thesefurther precautions. But this took time, and Furtighad to make a wider circle to approach the caves from a different direction.

It was dusk and then night. Furtig was hungry. He rasped his rough-surfaced tongue in and out of hismouth when he thought of food. But he did not allow himself to hurry.

A sudden hiss out of the night did not startle him.He gave a low recognition note in return. Had he notsounded that he might well have had his throatclawed open by the guard. The People did not survive through lack of caution.

Twice he swung off the open trail to avoid the hidden traps. Not that the People were as dependent ontraps as the Rattons, who were commonly known tohave raised that defense to a high art in the lairs. For, unlike the People, who distrusted and mainly keptaway from the Demon places, the Rattons had chosenalways to lurk there.

The Five Caves were ably defended by nature aswell as by their inhabitants. None of them opened atground level. High up, they cut back from two ledgeswith a straight drop below. There were tree-trunkladders rigged to give access to the ledges. But thesecould be hauled up, to lie along ledge edge, anotherbarrier to attack. Twice the caves had been besiegedby packs of Barkers. Both times their defenses hadbeen unbreakable, and the attackers had lost morepack members then they had slain in return. It wasduring the last such attack that Furtig's father hadfallen.

Within, the caves cut deeply, and one of them hada way down to where water flowed in the ever-dark.Thus the besieged did not suffer from thirst, and theykept always a store of dried meat handy.

Furtig's people were not naturally gregarious.Younglings and their mothers made close family units, of course. But the males, except in the Monthsof Mating, were not very welcome in the innermost caves. Unmated males roved widely and made up thescouts and the outer defenses. They had, through theyears, increased in numbers. But seldom, save at theTrials of Skill, were they ever assembled together.

They had a truce with another tribe-clan to thewest, and met for trials with them that they might exchange bloodlines by intennating. But normally theyhad no contact with any but their own five families, one based in each of the caves.

Furtig's cave was at the top and north, and he swung up to-it quickly, his nose already sorting andclassifying odors. Fresh meat—ribs of wild cow. Alsoduck. His hunger increased with every sniff.

But as he entered the cave, he did not hurry towhere the'females were portioning out the food but slipped along the wall to that niche where the seniormember of the clan sat sharpening his hunting claws with the satisfaction of one who had recently putthem to good use. So apparent was that satisfaction, Furtig knew Fal-Kan had been responsible for thecow ribs.

Though his people's sight adjusted well to partialdarkness, there was light in the cave, a dull glow froma small box which was another of Gammage's gifts. Itdid not need any tending. When the first daylightstruck into the mouth of the cave it vanished, comingalive again in the dusk of evening.

Gammage's bounty, too, were the squares of wovenstuff that padded the sleeping ledges along the walls.In summer these were stowed away, and the femalesbrought in sweet-scented grasses in their places. Butin the cold, when one curled up on them, a gentle heatwas generated to keep one warm through the worst ofwinter storms.

"Fal-Kan has hunted well." Furtig squatted severalpaces away from his mother's eldest brother, now sitting on his own sleep ledge. Thus Furtig was the prescribed respectful distance below him.

"A fat cow," Fal-Kan replied as one who bringshome such riches each morning before the full heat ofthe sun. "But you came in haste, wearing trail destroyer—" He sniffed heavily. "So what danger haveyour eyes fastened on?"

Furtig spoke—first of the Barkers and then of thestrange boundary sign. With a gesture Fal-Kan dismissed the Barkers, They were what one could expectfrom time to time, and scouts would be sent to makesure the Barkers were not pack forerunners. But atthe story of the slash marks Fal-Kan set aside hisclaws and listened intently. When Furtig told of hiscounter-marking, the Elder nodded.

"That was well done. And you say that theseslashes were not deep. Perhaps no more deeply set than these could do?" He held out his hand, extending his natural claws.

"So it looked." Furtig had long ago learned thatcaution was the best tone to take with Elders.

Theywere apt to consider the opinions of the young asmisled and misleading.

"Then this one did not know Gammage."

Furtig's open astonishment brought him to the discourtesy of actually interrupting an Elder.

"Know Gammage! But he is a stranger—not of theFive Caves—or of the western People.

Gammagewould not know him."

Fal-Kan growled softly, and Furtig, in confusion,recognized his error. But his surprise remained.

"It is time," Fal-Kan said in the throat-rumblingvoice used for pronouncements against offenders ofcave custom, "that one speak clearly about the Ancestor. Have you not wondered why we have not been favored by his attention lately, during this time of yourgrowing—though it would seem by your actions thatyou have not in truth progressed far beyond a youngling?"Fal-Kan waited for no answer but continued without a pause.

"The fact is that our Ancestor"—and he did notsay Honored Ancestor or use any title of respect—"isso engrossed by this fear of returning Demons whichhas settled in his head that he raises voice to unite allPeople—as if they were of one family or clan! All People brought together!" Fal-Kan's whiskers bristled.

"All warriors know that the Demons are gone. Thatthey slew each other, and that they could not maketheir kind any more, so they became fewer and fewerand finally there were none. Whence then would anycome? Do old bones put on flesh and fur and comealive again? But the Ancestor has this fear, and itleads him in ways no prudent one would travel. It waslearned the last time his messenger came that he wasgiving other People the same things he had sent hereto the caves.

"And—with greater folly—he even spoke of tryingto make truce with the Barkers for a plan of commondefense, lest when the Demons returned we be tooscattered and weak to stand against them.

When thiswas known, the Elders refused the gifts of Gammageand told his messenger not to come again, for we nolonger held them clan brothers."

Furtig swallowed. That Gammage would do this!There must be some other part of the story not known.For none of the People would be so sunk in folly as toshare with enemies the weapons they had.

Yet neitherwould Fal-Kan say this if he did not believe it thetruth.

"And Gammage must have heard our words andunderstood." Fal-Kan's tail twitched. "We have not seen his messengers since. But we have heard fromour truce mates in the west that there were truce flagsset before the lairs in the north and strangers gathered there. Though we do not know who those were,"Fal-Kan was fair enough to add. "But it may well bethat, having turned his face from his own kin whenthey would not support his madness, Gammage nowgives to others the fruits of his hunting. And this is ashameful thing, so we do not speak of it, even amongourselves, unless there is great need.

"But of the hunting sign on the tree, that we mustspeak of—all warriors together. For we are not so richin game that we can allow others to take our countryfor their own. And we shall also tell this to the western kin. They come soon for the Trials. Go and eat,warrior. I shall take your words to the other cave Elders."

The visitors had been in sight of the cave scouts sincemidaftemoon, but their party did not file into theirusual campsite until after nightfall. This was the alternate season when the western clans came to the caves. Next season Furtig's people would cross country for the Trials.

All the young unmated warriors who were to takepart in the coming contests scattered along the inroad (unless their Elders managed to restrain themwith other duties). Though it was ill mannered tostare openly at their guests, there was naught to prevent their watching the travelers from cover, making comparisons between their champions and thosemarching in the protect circle about the females and younglings, or, better still, catching glimpses of theirChoosers.

But to Furtig none of those were as attractive asFas-Tan of the cave of Former. And his interest wasmore for probable rivals than for the prizes of battle the other tribe could display. Not, he reflected

.ruefully, that he had much chance of aspiring to Fas-Tan.

Through some trick of heredity which ran in herfamily, she had odd fur coloring which was esteemed,along with the length of that fur, as beauty. The softfur about her head and shoulders was nearly threetimes the length of that sprouting from Furtig's owntougher hide, and it was of two colors—not spotted orpatched as was often the case but a dark brown shading evenly to cream. Her tail, always groomed to asilken flow, was also dark. Many were the fish-bonecombs patiently wrought and laid at the message rockto the fore of Former's cave, intended by the hopefulto catch the eye of Fas-Tan.

And to know that sheused the work of one's clumsy hands was enough tomake a warrior strut for a day.

Fas-Tan would certainly have first choice, and withher pride, her selection of mate would be he whoproved himself best. Furtig had not the least chanceof catching her golden eyes. But a warrior could dream, and he had dreamed.

Now another thought plagued him. Fal-Kan's revelations concerning the folly, almost the treachery ofGammage, hung in his mind. He found himself looking not at the females of the westerners, but at thefringe of warriors. Most had hunting claws swingingat their belts. However, Furtig's eyes marked at leastthree who did not wear those emblems of manhood,yet marched with the defenders. A warrior could gainhis claws in two ways, since they no longer came fromGammage. He could put on those which had been hisfather's if his sire had gone into the Last Dark, or hecould challenge a claw wearer and strive for a victorythat would make them his.

Furtig's claws had been his father's. He had had towork patiently and long to hammer their fasteningsto fit his own hands. If he were challenged tomorrowby one of the clawless and lost— He dropped his handprotectingly over the weapons at his belt. To losethose—

However, when he thought of Fas-Tan there was aheat in him, a need to yowl a challenge straight intothe whiskered face of the nearest warrior. And heknew that no male could resist the Trials when theChoosers walked provocatively, tails switching, seeming to see no one, yet well aware of all who watched.

And he was the only contender from the cave ofGammage this year. Also, since his brother Fughanhad brought home no mate, he was doubly held tochallenge. He wriggled back into the brush and headed for the caves.

As he pulled up into his own place, he gave a smallsigh. Trials were never to the death; the People weretoo few to risk the loss of even one warrior. But a contender could be badly mauled, even maimed, if theAncestors turned their power from him.

Only Gammage, Furtig's most notable Ancestor,was not here, even in spirit. And it seemed, after hehad listened to Fal-Kan, that Gammage had fallenfrom favor with his own kind. Furtig squatted by the lamp box and lapped a mouthful or two of water fromhis bowl as he thought about Gammage.

Why did the Ancestor fear the return of the Demons? It had been so long since the last one had beenseen. Unless—Furtig's spine hair raised at the thought—deep in the lairs they still existed. And Gammage, creeping secret ways there, had learnedmore of their devilish evil than he had shared. But if that were true—no, he was certain Gammage wouldhave sent a plain message, one which might even havewon some of the People to join in his wild plans.

Elders sometimes took to living in the past. Theyspoke to those who had gone into the Last Dark as ifsuch still stood at their sides. It came to them, thisother sight, when they were very old. Though few lived so long, for when a warrior grew less swift ofthought, less supple of body, he often died suddenly and bloodily by the horns and hoofs of hunted prey,from the coughing sickness which came with the cold, of a hundred other perils which always ringed thecaves.