The Last Oracle Read Free Page A

they could suddenly charge at up to 18 mph and snap anything from canoes to people in half, without missing a step in their lope toward the safety of the river.
    But Valeria justified that the guides wouldn’t take her to see them if it was truly dangerous. Besides, other guests had gone down to the river and all had been fine.
    The trail of dust on the road behind them climbed higher, no doubt with Toma’s increased speed. She was certain that Toma wouldn’t hesitate to physically stop her if he had the opportunity.  Alan threw a rifle over his arm as they headed toward the brush that surrounded the river. Suddenly, she glanced down and froze as she lowered her brows.
    “Alan, umm, I have a question.”
    “Yes?”
    She pointed to a paw print, in the tan dust, that was larger than her hand. Based on the sharp ridges, it was very recent.
    “Isn’t that a lion? That’s huge. It must be a male,” she said.
    Alan glanced down. “Yes,” he said as he grasped her elbow, rapidly moving her back toward the vehicle.
    Toma was now fifty feet from them. He was typically expressionless, but even from this distance, she could see that he was angry. She saw Caleb’s sudden awareness that he had left his post of protecting her in a dangerous environment, and then guilt for having been so distracted.
    “Caleb, it’s fine.” She smiled at him.
    Just then, a loud roar sounded from not so far away.
    Alan turned his head toward the source of the sound as he lifted Valeria back into her seat.
    “Let’s go!”
       Picking up the radio, Alan alerted the others to the location of the lions. Lion sightings always thrilled their guests.
    They drove off in the direction of the roar. Down a trail, they spotted a family of hyenas. That was always a good indicator that lions were near. In Kruger, the hyenas scavenged the lion’s leftovers—bones; due to that, their droppings were white. Their guide had told them that in other parts of Africa, the hyenas did the killing and the lions were the scavengers.
    The family of hyenas turned slowly to mosey on, leaving one lone baby hyena that was half the size of its parents. As they drew near the creature, Valeria was stunned to realize that the “small baby” was the size of a giant Labrador retriever. This suggested that the parents easily stood at least four feet tall and were possibly two hundred pounds or more. Caleb, sitting in the front passenger side, was thrilled as he looked at the hyena with great affection. Immediately, the hyena hung its tongue out of its mouth and panted, as if anxious for a belly scratch.
    Caleb glanced back at Valeria and she responded instantly, “No! We cannot take him home!” Alan and the Smythes broke into laughter.
    Toma pulled up directly behind them as they turned to cross a deep ravine, and then drove alongside the savannah of tall golden grass.
    The peacefulness was suddenly purged by a lioness that burst through the grass no more than five feet away from them. She let out a deafening roar, which was not the least bit suppressed by the bloody shank of an animal that hung from her mouth. The lioness shook her head violently from side to side.
    “She’s telling the others in the pride that the rest of the kill is hers. It’s a sign of dominance. The others must be near,” the guide said, excitedly.
    As they pulled forward, there were four giant cats sprawled around a bloody spot in the middle where the kill had been. Valeria was staggered to see how close they were to them. Toma’s Land Rover almost bumped up against theirs.
    “Looks like they got a bok,” Alan said. She had already heard that “bok” was Africaans for antelope. She had seen them in all sizes, from the enormous wildebeest, which were considered an antelope, to the tiny twenty-pound dik-diks.
    “The females do the hunting at night. If that kill had been large enough, they would have taken it back to the pride. The females need this bit of food so that they have the energy