– And what about the Fireplace? Kuhn asked. – What does it look like?
«Just like the one-eyed guy said. On the horizon, I found a beam of light, and it was still moving so strangely, now to the left, then to the right – Varnus did not warn about this, but it was definitely the Totem of Flame. I give you the fang of Razavra! the shaman fiddled with the earring. – But this star that you noticed is not simple … – And Vall told the detachment about what he saw on the crowns last night: about the strange crowding of the stars, about the flash in the sky, about the birth of the phenomenon, and about his disturbing foreboding. «I didn’t tell you, so that your spirit would not be inclined to evil thoughts, and the hunt would be completed calmly,» the shaman concluded.
The tribesmen were silent for a while, and then they whispered, talking about the sign of the red star.
«Ah, here’s something else!» Val said. «Maybe I’m imagining all this, but what’s with Salas’s eyes… And his unity in such turmoil… Also, these Longnecks are in harmony… All this happened after the flash and the appearance of the star. What do you think? the shaman turned to the hunters. – Kuhn?
Kindred nodded, supporting the leader’s reasoning.
You are correct, Val. The long-necked ones walk alone – everyone knows, – the shaggy man confirmed. – And unity has never happened without silence and peace. And the eye of the boy is definitely not the eye of Zavrini! Kuhn thought for a moment. – With a star, you say, is this all connected? How only?.. – the elderly tracker turned in the direction of Salas. – Tyrant, come on, lift his eyelids!
Salas, covered with the skin of a reptile, lay on a bedding near the wall of the tent near the sacks of fresh meat, and the Tyrant, leaning on a pile, sat beside the teenager. As soon as the thin youth reached for the face of Salas, he instantly woke up.
«Ah,» moaned the beater, barely opening his eyes.
The tribesmen were alarmed, and the young man leaned back and wanted to scream, but the Tyrant managed to cover his mouth.
Salas’s eyes were still in a strange incarnation. The youngster still did not understand what was happening to him, and the same vision appeared in his eyes as on the day after the persecution of the Long-necked: all the relatives he saw then, again appeared before the ghost without skin – with bare flesh, with with bloody skulls and bulging eyes, in robes and armor, staring at him as if they wanted to eat – such a terrible look they had. And in the youth’s head, the beating of human hearts sounded with dull blows. He could hear indistinct tapping, like the deep, distorted sounds of a bongo. Now simultaneous, now out of place, they either accelerated, or pounded measuredly. Overnight, over the ugly silhouettes, Salas noticed strange torches tied to the chimney: the lights of the lanterns brightly illuminated the building, and the elements of the flame that blazed at the ends of the handles looked like clots of rotating and luminous particles. To all this spectacle, suddenly, through the rumble of heartbeats, a strange distant chirping of nocturnal insects and a rustle, similar to wind gusts, began to seem. From such a performance at once, the teenager was stunned again!
«Hush, hush,» the Tyrant said and removed his hand from the lips of his relative. «You want the lizards to come for our souls?»
The Tyrant’s voice echoed in Salas’s ears, and the young beater stared at his Clanmate in bewilderment.
Tyrant, is that you? What happened to you? What’s happening?
«Ahhh, I found out! The Tyrant smiled. – I am good. But what happened to you is not entirely clear…
«Hey, screamer, are you okay?» Wall said. We thought you’d never wake up! Do your eyes hurt? Well, look at me!
– Wall? Salas stared in disbelief at the silhouette of the leader of the Great Hunt.
«Wall, Wall,» the shaman confirmed. «It’s like you’re seeing me for the first time,» the leader grinned and reached out to the beater to examine his eyes closer. – You, my young friend, have almost no pupils. Yes, you can’t do without the elders and Inga…
The hunters surrounded Salas – some sat down, some stood behind – and all as one began to look at the strange embodiment of eyes. They stared intently at the youngster, and this alarmed him. Someone standing behind him waved his hand to the young man, and if the skull with a bloody mouth and yellow fangs had not begun to spew speech, then Salas would never have understood who it was that greeted him.
«Do you even recognize me, herbivore lover?» After these words, all the tribesmen quietly giggled.
– Taro? Yes, I know. Only now you all look terrible and your voices seem to be heard from a cave, «Salas said slowly and cautiously. «Varnus taught that such visions…» the teenager did not have time to explain himself, when suddenly something plopped onto the tent outside – a small, but obviously weighty, stirred up the leather fabric of the building.
Then an incomprehensible rustle was heard both behind the tent and to the right of the entrance to it. The tribesmen were worried.
«I hear…» Salas was about to say something again, but Vall stopped him:
– Shh!
The strange rustle continued, and its repetitions began to appear around the halabud from all sides. The relatives looked at each other and froze.
«Weapons at the ready now!» Wall whispered. – No noise. No sound.
The hunters grabbed spears, knives, clubs and bows, and those who had bone helmets began to put them on.
– Let’s make a circle! Salas, hide among the bags. Fast! the shaman continued to whisper commands, pulling a helmet from the skull of Razavr over his head. «Rylan, cover him with skin and needles!»
Salas nodded and immediately buried himself among the slaughter, and the young hunter threw a bedding and stocked branches of odorous trees on him.
– Rustle of wings, Val! one of the trackers whispered. – Pterosaurs?!
– Yah! They sleep at night! the leader objected. Razorwings, maybe?
«Yes, it looks like it, Val,» Iris agreed. – There are palm trees everywhere and ferns – almost a jungle. Razorwings, apparently, flocked.
Suddenly, the curtain at the entrance to the tent moved, and from below the head of a flying lizard appeared from under the curtain. The relatives started up, and the reptile, frightened by the people, made a disgusting squeak and disappeared on the other side of the lodging for the night. The tribesmen breathed a sigh of relief and lowered their guns.
– Paw-covered?! Wall was surprised.
What do they need in the field? said the grey-haired hunter. – They are without trees – easy prey for any predator. Really Lazuny exhausted in the liana forests?!
Small lizards – the size of an elbow – instead of forelimbs had paws with wide membranes. Underwings, as the first people called them, allowed Pawwings to cover short distances, flying from branch to branch. Out in the open, Pawwings never showed up unless they intended to be eaten. Flying reptiles hunted mainly on the same small ones as they are – Lazunov, Piskunov and Nyrkov. And the most important thing is that Pawwings ran with difficulty on the ground, and of course, their appearance in the bennettite expanses caused bewilderment among all hunters.
«Very strange, indeed,» agreed Kuhn. «And judging by the rustle, there are dozens of them outside. I suggest you don’t even bother!
«Do you think they’ll attack us?» Iris turned to the shaggy tracker.
– There’s a whole bunch of them! Who knows what’s on their minds? And they are unlikely to climb here, «Kun reasoned.
«You will, don’t panic,» Vall whispered. «It’s just Pawwings. Maybe they decided