When Darkness Falls Read Free Page B

inflicting such a wound. This was the reason the old man had refrained from dancing and throwing his spear. He didn’t want to jeopardise his chance with a miscalculated throw.
    â€œOld man, be warned. If by some accidental mishap, a slip of your old fingers, a lack of strength in your old bones, you misplace your thrust and the boy dies, then you yourself will not walk away from here, nor live long enough to see the sunset.”
    â€œYou threaten me? Me? Your Elder, soon to become your older brother?”
    â€œI warn you,” the younger brother said. “If you see it as a threat, so be it. You are not marrying me, and you are not yet married to my sister. If I were you I would walk very carefully, and speak carefully too.”
    â€œAim cautiously, Old Man” said the elder brother, “or else his might not be the only spear you feel, and Danaranni might not be the only one sung to the Spirits this night. As far as I am concerned, the boy has proved himself to be a man worthy of my sister.—Come, it is time.”
    Dani stood out in the open ground, legs slightly apart, arms dangling loosely at his sides. The spears began to fly. They came so close to his body he could feel the wind of their passage. They landed between his legs and all around him, but none so much as touched him. As the brothers came to retrieve their spears to cast again and again, he faced them squarely and looked them in the eyes. No fear lurked in him. But he noted, that not once had the old man cast a spear, and he wondered at it, for when the argument between the Old Man and the brothers had broken out, he understood the peril his life was in.
    Without warning a spear hissed and buried itself into the heavy muscle of his upper leg. The impact spun him around and dumped him on the ground. It wasn’t until he bounced that he realised he had been hit. There had been no pain, just a ripping, tearing sensation as the blade had buried itself and protruded out the other side. He lay as he had fallen, and waited for the inevitable ... the old man’s thrust.
    The old man took his time. Gathering the attention of the crowd to himself, he glorified in his moment of fame. He stood poised above Dani in the dirt, then kicked the wounded leg to humble the man and hear him scream as he lay.
    But Dani stifled his scream, and waited for the end as the old man walked around, prodding him with his spear tip, but never hard enough to penetrate the skin; to draw blood would have qualified as satisfactory retribution.
    Dani watched the broad blade of the hunting spear and steeled himself each time the torment began. The brothers had used slim pointed hunting spears, but it was evident the old man wanted to inflict as much damage as his one legal stroke could provide. With each prod, each kick, Dani smiled up at his tormentor, hiding his pain. He would show this stupid old one no fear. While he lay in the sun waiting forthe old man to finish his game he thought with smug satisfaction of the ridicule that could await the Old Man, that would be a living sore until his death; he wished fervently that the love-making between himself and Nunjupuni had produced a child, and that the child should have his likeness.
    The old man could feel the mood of the people changing; he had nearly overplayed his part, he would have to do something drastic to redirect their interest and regain their attention. A quick jab to the place that ran close to the skin near the groin ... an accident ... the blood would jet and squirt then pump and pump in spasms until the life-blood ceased to flow and this animal would be no more.
    He looked around ... He wanted to see the faces, to watch the fascination and horror as the onlookers realised there was nothing they could do to save this dog who had beaten him to his bone. He wasn’t afraid of the brothers ... to spear him down without just cause would be murder, and they could die for the act. One last look, and he