The Cavalier by Jason McWhirter Page B

tears, Jonas silently wished that his mother could have lived long enough to see him walk and hunt and bring home the meat of his first deer.  
    He would make things right, he promised to himself. He would take his new gift and do something good. Jonas unsheathed the beautiful hunting knife that he had taken from the dead cavalier. The blade was always bright and razor sharp and much lighter than it should be for a knife that was as long as his forearm. It was the most magnificent weapon he had ever seen.
    Wiping away the last of his tears he took the knife and began to skin the deer as Fil had taught him. There was no way he could carry it all back, so he took the best pieces with the idea that he would come back for the rest if the mountain animals didn’t scavenge the carcass. He wrapped the meat in the leather skin and stuffed it in his backpack.
    Looking down at the dead animal he felt like he needed to say something. After all it was the first animal he had ever killed and Fil had explained to him that a good hunter should always thank the animal for its bounty.
    “Thank you. Thank you for giving me your life, and your energy, so that I may grow strong to fight against the evil in the world.” It sounded good, and Jonas smiled, walking away through the snow.
    The walk back to the cave was peaceful. The snow was falling lightly and the forest was quiet and calm. Jonas was nearing the lake when he suddenly got a burning sensation on his chest, the skin erupting with a fiery pain, causing him to fall to his knees. His mind was assaulted by several flashing images as his chest throbbed.
    In his mind’s eye he saw the cave entrance, and nearing it was a large form, probably twice as tall as a big man. It was wearing dirty furs that covered a strong hairy body. In its right hand it carried a huge knotted club that was more a log than anything else. The image came and went leaving Jonas holding himself steady next to a tall pine, one hand rubbing his chest where the brief pain had erupted.
    Then it came to him; it was a warning! “Fil,” Jonas whispered with fear. He quickly dropped his pack, picking up his bow he ran as fast as his snowshoes could carry him towards the cave entrance.
    He was panting with exertion as he neared the cave, but he was right. Lumbering towards the cave mouth was a huge ogre. The beast was walking slowly, sniffing the air with its grotesque nose as if it were tracking something. Jonas knew that it must have detected the scent of Fil, the fire, or something that grabbed its attention. Jonas had to warn Fil or he would be trapped inside the cave with no escape route. He had never seen an ogre before, but he had heard from others that they were big and strong and they loved human flesh. They were not often seen but they were known to inhabit the Tundren Mountains. According to the stories he had heard they were not very bright and Jonas was hoping that would work to their advantage.
    Jonas quickly and quietly dashed from tree to tree closing the gap between them. He was frightened and his heart pounded in his chest. The monster was huge, but Jonas willed himself to calm down, taking slow deep breaths as he came within bow range of the beast.
    Suddenly the ogre turned and sniffed the air behind him. Jonas knew that the breeze was blowing towards him so there was no way the ogre would smell him. Unfortunately the wind direction made it so Jonas could clearly smell the ogre, and it was a strong scent of animalistic musk mixed with the odor of wet and dirty fur, probably from the skins the thing wore over most of its powerful body. Jonas ducked behind a large tree and pulled back tighter on the nocked arrow, ready to fire if need be. Jonas slowly peeked around the tree and saw the ugly beast sniff the air. Large gaping nostrils flared in hopes of detecting a potential meal. Its cave-like mouth was slightly agape, exposing large yellow fangs. Small beady eyes were buried deep in a thick bony brow and