Page 55 of Moonless

I follow his back through the pines, watching where he puts his feet.

By the river he dumps the sack on a fallen log with a bundle of thick arrows and a coil of cord, then sits with the bow across his knees and looks at the water.

I stop at the edge of the gravel.

The river’s shallow here, wide and stony at the bend. A dark back breaks the water farther out, then another right behind it, then a third turns and I can see the spots on its side. Salmon, running upstream, and close enough in that I can see their tails going.

Rauk turns the bow in his hand.

“Brought the wrong one. Too small for me.”

I look at him. His voice is rough, and he rubs his thumb along the grip while I wait for more.

He holds it out.

“Make yourself useful.”

I start to reach for it and stop.

Useful.

I used to follow the hunters out every morning, and they’d send me back with a rabbit before they’d reached the trees.

Rauk’s still holding out the bow.

I take it and let the end of it rest on my foot.

“I don’t know how to use this.”

“I’ll show you.”

“I’ve never needed one.”

I always hunted with my wolf.

He picks up an arrow. “The run won’t last. I need fish to dry.”

I look down at the grip. His hand covered the whole thing, and mine barely fills the worn bit in the middle.

He points at a patch of firm gravel by the water, and I go and stand on it. He comes up on my right and lays the arrow across the bow.

“Left hand here. Keep the sleeve clear.”

I push the rolled cuff farther up my arm. He notches the arrow onto the string and shows me where my fingers go, his claws held up off mine and only the blunt tips touching the string. His hands are warm.

“Draw toward your cheek. Only this far.”

He moves his hand away, leaving me to pull.

The bow bends more easily than I expect. My left shoulder tugs when I lift it, so I lower the point toward the water. At that angle I can hold it. Not for long.

“Let it forward. Slowly.”

I let it down while he crouches beside me. There’s a thin cord tied to the arrow, and he lays it out loose on the gravel in front of my feet and pushes a stake into the bank for the other end.

“Keep clear of that. When you’ve shot, put the bow down and bring the arrow back with the line.”

He nods at the last loop until I step behind it, then straightens.