Path of the Tiger

million of them, observing our every move.’
‘We haven’t seen any signs of beastwalkers out here, and we have been looking,’ Higgins said calmly. ‘You know that every man in this unit has been selected from the ranks of the Huntsmen because of his skill and experience … and, of course, because that man is extremely effective at exterminating beastwalker scum. And have you not forgotten about the one in our midst?’ He jerked his head towards the woman in the black robe and chains, who was standing, as ever, apart from everyone else. ‘If the abominations were out there, she would have sensed their presence.’
‘You’re calling it a “she” now, are you?’ Vasilevsky scoffed icily, a sneer of contempt smeared across his visage. ‘Be careful, Higgins, be very careful. You know what the official policy is on those things.’ His voice dropped to a low register as he continued, and he flashed a suspicious glance at the woman. ‘Don’t get too close to it,’ he cautioned, and there was a threat as well as a warning in that utterance. ‘Remember what our orders are. Once it has served its purpose, we exterminate it. Immediately.’
Higgins smiled sourly at his compatriot, but his eyes were granite-hard in their sockets.
‘Do not presume to make assumptions about my feelings regarding the beastwalker, Vasilevsky,’ he replied coolly. ‘Do not. And do not question my loyalty to our Huntsmen masters either.’
The officers stared coldly at each other for a few tense moments before Higgins’ lips curved into a tight smile.
‘Come, Vasilevsky, let us break this foolish impasse,’ he said. ‘We must be united in our purpose, must we not? I implore you, shake off your worries and paranoia. Such sentiments serve only to divide us, and God help us if such things infect the ranks of our men. Let me make this as clear to you as I possibly can: this forest does not have eyes, and we are not being watched.” He paused here to chuckle and broaden his grin before continuing. ‘Relax, my friend! We are on one of the most important missions in the long history of our esteemed organisation, and when we return, triumphantly, with the creature imprisoned and bound in chains, great will be our glory. Great and vast will our glory indeed be, and the echoes of our splendid victory will ring through the hallowed chambers of every Huntsmen stronghold in every nation on the planet! We are about to change the course of history, Vasilevsky. We are about to change the course of history itself, man! Do not allow doubt to worm its way into your head. No, keep your eyes fixed on the prize – only on the prize – and we shall overcome any obstacles that may stand in our way.’
Before Vasilevsky could respond, the interpreter jogged over to them.
‘He says we’re almost here,’ the man announced to the officers, nearly breathless from both excitement and the exertion of the trek. ‘Just over this ridge.’
‘In the thick of those cursed shadows ahead,’ Vasilevsky muttered.
Higgins gave the interpreter a curt nod and then called a halt. When everyone had stopped moving, he beckoned to one of the scientists to come over to him. The man, a rail-thin old Arab with a shock of white hair, and an emaciated-looking face that was dominated by two protruding eyes and a hooked beak of a nose, hobbled up the slope from the back of the group, while the powerfully-built Central African soldier who was carrying the scientist’s equipment in his rucksack followed him, scowling and grumbling about the weight of the pack.
‘Do a reading here, Dr Khan,’ Higgins ordered.
The willowy Dr Khan – who, in his oversized military greatcoat and combat boots, resembled an adolescent boy dressed up for a pantomime, wearing an adult’s clothes and a mask of an old man’s face – eagerly snatched his rucksack from the soldier. With frantic, liver-spotted hands that were trembling with anticipation he retrieved a wooden box and flipped it open. He then rummaged around in the pack and took out a number of different antennae, which he attached to the wooden apparatus, inside which there were clocks and dials. With breathless keenness he wound up the device via a crank on the side, but soon as the instrument began to run the needles on the dials started spinning madly. A sharp crack resounded through the chilly air as one of the dials broke.
‘Unbelievable,’ Dr Khan gasped, his large eyes growing even wider with astonishment and awe. ‘I’ve, I’ve never seen anything like this! This is impossible, this is amazing, this is, it’s, it’s unbelievable! This is, this is … this is simply unearthly. It seems that all the laws of physics, of the universe are, are being overturned here!’
Higgins seized this opportunity to flash a smug grin at Vasilevsky.
‘What did I just say to you, my good sir?’
Vasilevsky simply growled wordlessly as he unslung and readied his rifle, his expression stony as he ordered the troops to do the same. Ao, meanwhile, watched all of this unfolding with a rapidly increasing sense of alarm. He did not understand what the leaders of the expedition and the scientists were doing or saying, but their body language and facial expressions were easy enough to decipher, as were the actions of the soldiers as they readied their rifles with grim scowls on their faces.
In addition to all of this, an eerie sensation was rippling across his skin, scuttling beneath his furs and burrowing like a swarm of ten thousand microscopic beetles with carnivorous intent. Indeed, so intense was this uncanny feeling that his flesh and bones themselves felt as if they were absorbing the invisible energy, humming like charged transistors within the deepest core of his being. An unseen hand gripped his skull and swivelled his head upon his neck, until he found himself staring at the prisoner – whose face he had still not seen – and it suddenly seemed that her eyes, like