The Choice of Magic - Michael G. Manning Page 0,95
their slaughter had changed something in him. Losing his aunt and little Dougie had shocked and hurt him, but it had also created a newfound determination. Without the old man around to learn from, he had no reason to stay. His main concern was finding a way to ensure that his mother and Sammy would be safe.
Aislinn’s promise was reassuring, but he still worried. Food might not be an absolute problem, since there were plenty of vegetables, but he didn’t like the thought of them spending the entire winter trying to subsist on just those things.
Unfortunately, other than the ability to sneak and hide, he had few practical woodland skills. He knew enough to make simple snares for small game like rabbits and squirrels, but those were unlikely to catch anything in the winter. He didn’t have a bow, but even if he did, he didn’t know how to use one, much less stalk deer or other large game. He could make a fire with simple tools, find edible plants, and move quietly. That was the extent of his usefulness.
Oh, and I can make funny shapes out of turyn that no one can see, he reminded himself. He knew the runes of power, but he hadn’t the faintest idea how to use them. He couldn’t even create a light. I’m just another mouth to feed.
He couldn’t justify leaving them based on that, though. He needed to do something, and joining the army seemed to be the only way he could do anyone any good. But he couldn’t leave unless he knew they would be safe.
His thoughts twisted back and forth along those paths for a long time before he finally gave in to sleep, but even his dreams were troubled.
Chapter 31
Will woke just as the sun was beginning to crest the horizon and went out to see if he might get lucky and find an egg. The hens hadn’t produced many over the past week, but there was always the chance that they might lay one more before they closed up shop for the winter. He stopped when he stepped onto the porch, taking in a view that was unexpected for more than one reason.
The first snow had come, blanketing the world in a sheet of white—a blanket that was stained with crimson streaks. On the ground in front of the house was a large doe, a very dead doe. Arrogan would have been thrilled, was the first thought that came to him when he got over the shock.
There were claw marks along the doe’s flanks, but that hadn’t been what killed her. Something had bitten through the back of her neck, close to her skull, killing her almost instantly. Will jumped three feet backward when something brushed up against his leg.
It was the goddamn cat, his paws and muzzle stained dark with drying blood. Will stared at the feline with undisguised horror. “Did you do this?” he asked aloud.
There’s no way this cat could have done this, he told himself silently.
The goddamn cat coughed and began to retch. After a moment he coughed up what Will thought might be a hairball, but on closer inspection turned out to be a piece of bone. The cat looked up at Will and bared his teeth in what might have been a smile, or a warning. Either way, with the blood all over his face the expression was terrifying. Then the cat walked around him, rubbing against his leg once more before walking over to sit beside the deer carcass.
“Is this for us?” asked Will. I’ve gone mad, he thought immediately after. Now I’m talking to the cat too.
The grey tom stared at him for a long moment, then blinked slowly before walking away, heading back into the wilderness. “This is unbelievable,” Will muttered to himself before turning to the door and yelling, “Mom!”
Erisa took the news more pragmatically than he expected. Rather than ask questions, she instructed him to gut the beast quickly and then showed him how to hang it so she could bleed the body. “She’s still warm,” said his mother. “We want to do it before the meat freezes.”
Will had never cleaned anything larger than a rabbit or chicken, but his mother had apparently had some experience and she walked him through the process. The gutting was essentially the same, but skinning the animal afterward was considerably more work. It turned out that hanging the deer was essential for that as well.