Four of them were on Brin in a flash, knocking him to the floor and ripping through his hide jacket. Another two went directly at Eselwol, one knocking him down whilst the others snapped at his arms and legs.

Rial turned in a panic to see Shaleigh and Rei encircled by another group of the animals, standing back to back and wildly swinging heavy branches.

Beside him Rial heard a cry of pain and he turned to see Gryrne falling beneath the claws of a single khiladri. It tore livid red lines down his cheeks, jaws clamping onto an arm thrown up in defence.

The sound of the attack was horrific, far louder than Rial could ever have credited, a tearing, roaring noise that seemed to emanate not from the animals but from the ground itself, resounding over and around the peaks.

Two of the beasts stood in front of him, hackles risen and backs arched as they stared at him. In the moment of frozen time that followed Rial saw in great detail the steam that rose from their mouths with each breath, the droplets of saliva that fell from bared fangs. As their muscles flexed and they leapt, curving through the air towards him, part of him admired the sleekness of their form.

Some other part of him, a part he had not known he possessed, must have been paying attention. The first khiladri squealed at the rock that smashed into the side of its head, hitting the ground hard and scrabbling to maintain balance. The second animal hit, crashing into Rial's chest with outstretched paws but instantly knocked aside as the same rock swung back around to crack it under the eye.

Rial did not give the creature time to recover but drew his sword from its sheath, jabbing it into the khiladri's side and forcing out a howl of pain. He pulled the sword back and held it ready.

Rial stood there panting as the two animals jumped away and reassembled a few steps back, heads low and snarling. The jagged rock he had held in his hand now lay at his feet, red at the tip. Rial did not remember picking it up. His sword, too, was coated in blood.

Even through his fear Rial felt a sense of surprise that he was still standing. He had held his own, but, breathing heavily and hands trembling, he knew it would not be enough. He would go down at the next attack.

"What are you doing? Run!"

Gryrne's voice beside him snapped him out of the moment. His friend was bleeding profusely from the deep scratches in his face and he was carrying his arm at a strange angle, but he had somehow rolled free of his attacker. That one too stood at a distance, growling and preparing to pounce.

Gryrne did not give it a chance, instead grabbing Rial's arm and pulling him away, sprinting towards the edge of the clearing and heading for the trees beyond.

They were blocked by two more khiladri that sprang as if from nowhere, leaping in snarling to block their escape. Without a moment's hesitation Gryrne turned, dragging Rial with him.

For a second Rial saw the rest of the group.

Shaleigh and Rei were divided now, Shaleigh brought to the floor under the weight of three or four of the animals. Rei was swinging wildly with two knives in her hands, and several crimson stains in silver fur showed where her swings had struck home. She seemed to be growling herself.

Eselwol was still standing, using his sword to keep the creatures at bay but blocked by a number of the animals from reaching Brin, who was on the floor where he had fallen at the start. Brin was not moving.

That brief second was all Rial got to see of the group. A khiladri, the largest he had yet seen, stepped in front of him. It moved calmly, with far more purpose than the others of its kind, and stopped dead in front of him. Rial could see the muscles bunching under its fur.

Gryrne swore, another word Rial did not know.

The animals were all around, stood ready to leap, merely waiting for some particular level of readiness, of tension, to be reached before the final attack. Gryrne and Rial were surrounded on all sides except one by the snarling creatures.

They were standing at the edge of the drop to the stream below.

Gryrne grabbed Rial's arm, and jumped.