- TMK -

The snow came more like a tsunami than a gale. Streams that cut the mountain gullies had frozen solid. Puddles of water from the summer melt glassed over in sheets.

           

And always, the artic cyclone howled, whipping blades of frost into their faces. Katakos did the best he could to shield his eyes. He had a makeshift balaclava made from spare rags wrapped over his chin and forehead. A balaclava that had turned solid too, the cloth fusing along to his cheeks.

           

Gondir fared better. With a shaggy mane and downy fur between his toes, baliyon’s were made to weather such winds. However, Katakos knew the very real possibility even Gondir could succumb to a storm this violent.

           

“Come on, Gond.” Katakos patted the baliyon’s neck as Gondir forged through knee-deep snow. “Just a few more miles.”

           

Another whipping howl blew in from the east as Katakos spoke, deafening the hunter. Only, it did not ebb and flow like the typical artic gust. This howl grew louder. And soon, Katakos realized it was not a howl at all. A gunshot ahead of them managed to pierce through the gale. Katakos grasped for the rifle on his back. More gunshots broke through the haze, followed by a high-pitched call only greathorn could make.

           

Gondir’s mane grew stiff and the creature began a low growl.

           

Katakos pulled back the hammer on the rifle and lined his eye with the iron sight. “Slowly Gond.”

           

The gunshots ceased, replaced by the step of rapid hooves through snow. An earthquake roar erupted over the mountain. Then a panicked greathorn burst though the snow, rakes of red over its sides.

           

A greathorn that Sedryc rode.

           

Moments later, a hulking gray beast leapt behind them. With tree trunk arms, it dug into the greathorn with clawed, simian hands. The greathorn squealed, instinctually flipping its head to gouge the creature with long antlers. Bone tore meat and fur as the antler sliced into the beast’s shoulders. The beast, however, did not seem to care. It ripped away the greathorn’s hind leg just as Sedryc fired another futile round at the beast.

           

The monster hurled the greathorn over Gondir. Sedryc, tied to the elk by his saddle, flew with the greathorn. Katakos meanwhile jumped from Gondir as to not get hit. On landing, the greathorn’s head twisted backward. Red sprayed from its severed leg.

           

Before Katakos could stand, that quaking roar bellowed again. Just a few meters in front of the pair, was a heaving bear-sized creature. It lurched its triangular face to them, staring down Gondir with dark amber eyes.

           

And at the end of the beast’s nose was a horn of ridged, glossy metal.

           

The silverhorn’s jaw opened and the beast ripped through the frost on arched feet and flat knuckles.

           

Gondir reared, bringing his legs against his body like a mantis.

           

The two collided in an orgy of blood and claws. Gondir ripped at rocky hide and muscle, the silverhorn digging teeth and claws into any part of the baliyon it could catch. They rolled down the slope, kicking and screeching through the powder.

           

A tree broke their brawl, the silverhorn slipping past Gondir as the wounded baliyon leaned on the pine to steady himself. As if unscathed, the silverhorn immediately flipped itself upright. It paused as it searched for Gondir once more. When it found the panting baliyon, it dug knuckles into powder and scrunched its back legs in preparation to pounce.

           

That’s when Katakos’ bullet struck. The first round melted into the silverhorn’s neck blubber, enraging the beast. It flipped its head to Katakos’ position. Before it let out a toothy snarl, the second bullet exploded at the beast’s right mandibular joint. A third bullet glanced off thick, flat skull above the horn. The fourth and fifth rounds found only more blubber. The silverhorn groaned as its jaw swung to the right as if the creature suffered a stroke. Crimson dribbled on the snow while the silverhorn, despite its injury, lunged for Katakos.

           

Only, it was Gondir that caught the beast. With renewed vigor, Gondir leapt at the silverhorn, pinning the beast with tooth and claw. As he did, Katakos charged down the incline. He dodged flailing limbs, jamming the rifle in the open grimace of the silverhorn. Only when Katakos felt soft pallet against the barrel, did he pull the trigger.

           

A flash of light lit the silverhorn’s maw and suddenly the beast fell still. Gondir continued to snarl at the lifeless hunk of flesh, rolling over when he was finally convinced of the silverhorn’s demise.

           

Katakos slowly pulled off his hide cap. His hands shook. Somehow, his fingers found the long knife at his side.

           

Mind muddled and body overcome by adrenaline, he split the skin by the carcass’ horn. Steel sparked against organic tungsten as Katakos dug under hide and fat to find the horn base. At last, the blade made a notch in damp bone. Pushing deeper, Katakos wedged his long knife where tungsten connected to the horn matrix. He brought his foot down on the blade and the hundred-pound horn fell from the corpse with a wet crunch.

           

With two hands, Katakos lifted the horn, marveling at the pristine metal. But the storm grew worse, hoarfrost forming on the tungsten in seconds. So Katakos went to Gondir, tying the heavy metal to the ruined pelts on the baliyon’s back.

           

When he did, his heart fell into his stomach. For Sedryc’s unmistakable squeal reverberated across the snow. The squeal was followed by a revolver blast, Sedryc’s last attempt to get Katakos’ attention.

           

Katakos rushed to the slope’s edge. “Mercy, no.”

           

At the top, Katakos found a pair of small hands grasping from underneath the greathorn’s corpse. Then Katakos saw Sedryc’s mangled legs under the elk’s torso, the foot nearly twisted clean off.

           

“Katakos!” the desperation filled Sedryc’s words. “I can’t.”

           

“God–fuck!” Katakos rushed to the boy’s side. Using all his strength, he pushed against the greathorn. After what felt like an eon, the corpse rolled off the child, banging into trees and rock as it plummeted off the mountainside. Sedryc screamed as the weight rolled away.

           

“Oh–ah it hurts,” the tears froze to his cheeks as the boy cried.

           

Katakos scooped the broken child in his arms. “Come on.”

           

“Please,” Sedryc begged, clutching Katakos’ woolly coat with ripped gloves.

           

“What are you doing here, Sedryc?” Katakos shouted. “What in the fuck are you doing out here?”

           

“F-followed you,” his voice shivered. “I-I thought…”

           

The boy’s grip grew limp, his eyes closing. Katakos held his hand to the boy’s chin, encouraged that the boy continued to shiver. He took the revolver from Sedryc’s hand, a single bullet left in the cylinder. Quickly, Katakos stuffed the gun in his coat and shouted.

           

“Gond!”

           

A moment later, the bleeding baliyon trudged through the powder. His shoulders were marked violet with frozen blood. Rakes from the silverhorn’s claws left trenches along his neck. Yet the creature stood firm as Katakos hoisted the boy on its back.

           

Katakos grabbed Gondir’s reins, stepping in front of the beast. Slowly he led his companions through the storm. A trail of purple and red followed them with every step.