Magnus pinned to the ground, with its large,
hooked claws pressed to his throat.
Magnus bared his teeth threateningly. He
snapped at the foe’s foreleg, but was met with
a powerful swipe across the face.
I looked around frantically for absolutely
anything that might help save Magnus when
I observed, through a clearing in the trees, a
place where the ground abruptly dropped off.
I slipped out unnoticed from behind the tree
and swiftly made my way in that direction.
Sure enough, there was a steep descent where
a shallow rapids glittered in the pale moon-
light about a hundred feet below.
Another dreadful howl rang out, and I
knew I had better act fast.
Summoning up all my courage, I planted
myself about fifteen feet from the edge,
and raising two fingers to my lips, whistled
sharply.
The werecat reeled around, and when it
saw me, instantly relinquished its grasp on
Magnus. It stalked forward a few steps, its
ears pressed flat against its head, and its
hateful eyes and fangs yellow and glowing.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” I mocked through
my teeth.
Boy, that sure did it.
It lurched straight for me. When it
was about ten feet away, I lunged left, and
wheeled around just in time to witness that
horrible creature plunging into the void.
Magnus staggered to his feet and looked
at me, confused. I guessed he was still dazed
by the blow he’d taken. After a few minutes,
however, he shook the debris from his great,