be. The upper half of her body shifted, leaving her head, torso and arms exposed. The yellow eyes flared. The nose crinkled into a snarl as he drew back lips to expose his stained teeth.
Ania flung a rock into his face. She snapped it, very hard, using her leopard’s strength. The rock hit him right on his nose and the animal slipped backward. He howled in rage as he dug his claws into the trunk to keep from falling.
Ania wanted to move, to follow his descent with more rocks, but she held steady to her place. He could possibly get to her if she went to the lower branches. They were stronger and would hold his weight. Not their combined weights, but definitely his if he stood on them and reached for her.
He climbed again, his eyes twin pinpoints of hatred in the sea of spots. The wind blew, and she caught his foul scent. The breeze felt good on her hot body, but it brought with it the promise of more mist. She wanted to see clearly. She needed to see clearly. More than anything else, she had to stall, to keep Jewel and herself alive until Dymka could get to them. The rock was in her fist, up by the tree trunk. Her eyes met the horrid leopard’s and then she saw the man staring at her. He was just as evil as his leopard; more so, because he was the one driving the animal.
She didn’t wait for his reaction. She sent the rock pelting into his face, smashing into his open mouth with enough force she hoped to break teeth. Her second throw hit his left eye dead center and the animal slid a second time, barely catching himself, hooking his claws in the tree trunk to keep himself from falling to the ground.
Enraged, the animal roared over and over, calling out his hatred and need for revenge. For retaliation. The sound rolled out over the hills, the wind building to take it out even further. Ania, shivering in cold and fear, shifted so that Jewel faced the maddened male. When he looked up again, he saw only the face of the female.
She let out another call, the need in her voice very real. The wind caught her scent and scattered it through the trees, carrying it far. For a moment the male seemed disoriented, as if he didn’t know exactly what he was doing. He hesitated and then began to climb toward the female again.
Ania wasn’t certain what his human counterpart thought he was going to do. Reach for Jewel and yank her out of the tree? Climb up with her? Was there a plan? She waited, counting the seconds, watching for an opening. Jewel stayed very still, the bait to lure in a dangerous predator.
A gust of wind caught the tree and sent it swaying. Jewel had to dig her claws into the branch and hold on until the wind subsided. Another gust nearly sent the upper canopy of the tree into another one. She hadn’t counted on the weather turning against her. The red leopard was in a much better position. His part of the tree was solid. Stable. Not swaying the way the top of the tree was. It was as if the tree were trying to throw Jewel out of it.
* * *
• • •
STILETTO claws pierced Dymka’s hindquarters and yanked at him, dragging him backward off Kronya. As Taras hauled him off the other leopard, Kronya leapt to his feet and sprang at Dymka in a clearly coordinated move he had used numerous times with the other leopard. Dymka did the unexpected. Rather than face Kronya, he leapt into the air and, using his flexible spine, twisted in midflight to land on Taras’s back with his full weight.
He slammed into Taras so hard he drove the other leopard to the ground. All four legs sprawled out sideways. There was an audible snap and the leopard screamed and screamed. He tried to rise repeatedly but was unable to move. He even tried crawling, using his legs to pull him forward, but it was impossible.
Knowing the cat couldn’t help Kronya, Dymka backed away, circled the fallen cat and, all the while watching the dark-tipped leopard, darted in to deliver the suffocating bite to Taras. Immediately, just as Dymka knew he would, Kronya attacked. Dymka whirled around to catch the underbelly of the cat as Kronya hurdled over the top of him. He eviscerated