Free David Ascendant (Chronicles of the Nephilim Book 7) by Brian Godawa Page A

give him an advantage of a sort. There was another difference that empowered his experience: men were evil, animals were not. Animals killed to eat and survive, men killed to destroy and subjugate so they could be as gods, enslaving other men. Facing evil men was far worse than facing hungry animals.
    He found the origin of the disturbance. A chill went down his spine. He crouched and planted his feet in readiness. It was a predator he had not encountered before. It was a lion. It crouched thirty feet from him. It held the body of a broken, bloody lamb in its paws. It had taken its first bite of flesh, smearing its jaws with the blood of the little creature. When it saw David, it growled, and kept its teeth bared.
    David said a quick prayer to Yahweh for help. He glanced around swiftly. No companions to the lion prowled about. That was a blessing. Otherwise, he might find himself as the next meal served.
    He faced the monster with his staff pointed at it like a spear. The shepherd staff was deceptively simple, not merely used to keep sheep in line. In the hands of a skilled fighter like David, it was an efficient weapon that could pierce and pummel a victim. David also had a dagger in his belt, for closer attack.
    He set his staff down slowly to the ground, ready to pick it up if needed.
    He pulled out his sling, two three-foot-long leather straps with a pouch in the middle. He used it as both a hunting and fighting weapon. He reached in his stone bag and pulled out a rock the size of an egg. He set it in the sling and gathered both ends of the straps in his right hand as the rock dangled in its pouch. All the while, he kept his eyes on the beast that watched him.
    He only had one chance to hit the lion’s skull and stun it. Then he would have to jump it and plunge his dagger into its brain. If he missed his target, the monster would probably rush him and cut him to pieces. He was only thirty feet from the predator. He had practiced at greater distances.
    The lion stayed in its position, guarding its prize. Its large mane and beard spread out with regal display. Bears were bulky brutes, wolves were self-protective and stayed in packs. But lions were vicious and cunning. They seemed to have a sense of vindictive hatred for humans in Judah, probably because so few of them were left since the advance of Israelite settlement.
    David slung the straps back and forth to build up momentum and keep the lion from reacting to sudden movement. Then he increased the spin and swung the sling in an arc over his head.
    The lion stood with a predatory glare. It was large. It could look David straight in the eyes, standing up. It crouched, ready to leap.
    David released.
    But he was off his mark. Terribly off. The stone did not even hit the monster at all. It grazed past its mane and onto the ground far behind it.
    He had missed. It was an easy target, and he had missed.
    He had no time to even consider frustration. The lion bounded toward him, ready to rip open its new victim with jaws of iron.
    David reached down and grabbed the staff. He raised it up just as the lion pounced. The staff jammed spear-like into the roaring gullet of the unsuspecting carnivore. It lodged deep in the animal’s throat. The lion became disoriented and choking. It tried to paw the large stick out of its mouth.
    David rolled backward on the ground from the force of the encounter. He used the lion’s moment of confusion to draw his dagger and jump onto the back of the monster. He grabbed its mane and held on. The creature circled wildly around, trying to loose itself.
    It was too much for the lion. David reached around with one hand in the mane and the other gripping his dagger. He jammed the blade into the eye of the beast. It roared in pain.
    David thrust again, this time finding the ear and going deep into the brain.
    The creature shuddered from the lethal blow. It took a few more moments before the gigantic feline fell to the ground in seizures.
    David stayed