Free Canyon Song by Gwyneth Atlee Page B

retrieve the dead rabbit, her knife still held in her right hand . Barely had her back bent when something huge and tawny flashed above her head. Two screams rent the air, one like that of a furious woman, the other of the horse.
    Anna’s legs loosened with the unexpected sound, and she dropped, knees-first, onto the hard ground . Twisting her head, she saw a cougar atop the gelding, which plunged and bucked against his clawing rider.
    The mountain lion screamed frustration, once again sounding more like a human female than a beast . But the horse stumbled in its panic, and within moments, the big cat brought it down. Anna stared in fascinated horror as the cougar fitted its jaws around the larger horse’s throat and held on tight.
    The gelding’s legs flailed violently, and Anna gripped her small knife tightly . The cougar’s green-eyed gaze caught hers and held it. Despite its full mouth, it managed a deep growl.
    The big cat might easily weigh one hundred fifty pounds, and its every claw outmatched her puny weapon . Yet how could she sit here and watch it kill her only horse?
    Anna forced herself to stop staring and grabbed up sticks, then hurled them . One bounced off the gelding’s haunch. Another struck the cougar’s back, but it barely flinched, intent only on its prey.
    Gradually, the spasmodic thrashing of Canto’s legs slowed to a stop . Anna watched the life fade from the old gelding’s eyes.
    She scrambled for more sticks, but let them drop without bothering to throw them . The big cat had clearly won its prize, so she would be foolish to risk an injury. Still watching the beast cautiously, she retrieved her hat, which had fallen into the wet snow. Cold rain continued to patter through the pine boughs, onto her head, and into her neckline. Yet Anna felt flushed with the sudden warmth that fear brought, an unexpected boon.
    And she would need it, she decided, for the long, cold walk back home.
    *     *     *
    Just ahead of Ned, Pete whipped his bay horse in an attempt to force it to jump a fallen tree that blocked the trail . It tried to drop its head to buck, but Pete yanked the reins up hard. Finally, the animal had had enough. After an awkward lurch forward, it leapt the three-foot barrier.
    As it landed, its front hooves struck earth glazed with ice . The horse’s forelegs slid, and its body twisted. With an audible grunt, it fell onto its side.
    Pete’s scream followed. “Christ – oh, Christ ! My God, my God!”
    With a terrified whinny, the bay scrambled to its feet and trampled its fallen rider before galloping down the trail . Black Eagle and Hop, who were riding just ahead, both tried to catch the horse’s reins, but it charged past them, deeper into the rocky canyon. Both spurred their own mounts after the runaway.
    Ned dismounted and then squatted down beside Pete, who lay screaming on the cold ground, clutching a contorted upper leg . Blood soaked his jeans at thigh level, and Ned could easily see the white splinters of bone.
    Icy raindrops chased the snow, turning the rocky surfaces steadily slicker . They were hours away from either riding or climbing to any sort of decent shelter, even the damned caves. It would take forever with a man this badly wounded. Ned swore at both the weather and Pete’s ear-splitting shrieks and howls.
    “Shut your damned mouth,” Ned warned the downed man . He didn’t want to stand around freezing his balls off and babysitting this belly-acher. All he really wanted was to get back to a warm cabin and maybe some coffee if they had any left from their last raid. He glanced once more at Pete’s ruined leg and then made his decision.
    Pete’s eyes appeared to focus, and something he saw in Ned’s expression made his screams stop abruptly . No sooner had he stopped wailing than his teeth began to chatter with the cold, or maybe fear. His gaze flicked to his gun, which had been flung just a few feet out of reach.
    Ned scooped up the revolver and stuck