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But he was blinded by his love for her He didn’t allow hi, he was far too aware of the consequences It caused the old rity, his ability to perforirl co of the clan Did he still merit their trust? Was he still worthy of Ursus? Could he still justifiably continue as Mog-ur?
Creb took the blame for her actions on himself He should have questioned her; he should not have let her roam so freely; he should have disciplined her uish over what he should have done didn’t change in the least what he still had to do The decision was Brun’s, but it was his function to carry it out, his duty to kill the child he loved
“It’s only a guess that she’s the one who has been killing the animals,” Brun said “We need to question her, but she did kill the hyena and she had a sling She had to practice on soained such skill She’s better than Zoug with that weapon, Mog-ur, and she’s female! How did she ever learn? I’ve wondered before if there isn’t some male in her, and I’m not the only one She’s as tall as a man and not even a woman yet Do you think there’s any truth in the idea that she may never become one?”
“Ayla’s a girl, Brun, and soirl—or she would have She’s a feician’s jaas set; he would not allow hirasp at false illusions
“Well, I still want to kno long she’s been hunting But it can wait untiljourney Tell Ayla we’ll question her tomorrow”
Creb li enough to signal Iza to tell the girl she would be questioned in theon to his sht
The wo into the woods with Ayla trailing behind They were at a loss, filled with mixed emotions Ayla was confused herself She had always known it rong to hunt, if not how serious the crime was I wonder if it would have made any difference if I had known? she asked herself No I wanted to hunt I would have hunted anyway But I don’t want the evil ones to chase ht
The girl feared the invisible, n entities as much as she believed in the power of protective totems Not even the Spirit of the Cave Lion could protect her froht My tote I’d die for it He probably leftShe didn’t like thinking about it
The s and boulders on either side of Brun, while Ayla sluround at his feet Brun tapped her shoulder to allow her to look up at hian without preliminaries
“Were you the one who killed the , Ayla?”
“Yes,” she nodded There was no point in trying to hide anything now Her secret was out and they would have known if she tried to evade their questions She could no more lie than any other member of the clan could
“How did you learn to use a sling?”
“I learned fro,” she replied
“Zoug!” Brun echoed All heads turned accusingly toward the old man
“I never taught the girl to use a sling,” he gestured defensively
“Zoug didn’t knoas learning fro-hunter’s defense “I watched hi Vorn”
“How long have you been hunting?” Brun asked next
“Two summers, now And the summer before that I just practiced, but I didn’t hunt”
“That’s as long as Vorn has been training,” Zoug commented
“I know,” Ayla said “I started the same day he did”
“How do you know exactly when Vorn started, Ayla?” Brun asked, curious how she could be so sure
“I was there, I watched him”
“What do you mean, you were there? Where?”
“At the practice field Iza sent ot there, you were all there,” she explained “Iza needed the cherry bark, and I didn’t kno long you were going to stay, so I waited and watched Zoug was giving Vorn his first lesson”