Shadowcat

After the two finished eating the rabbit, Gary buried the remaining bones on the spot to keep the smell of meat from attracting wild beasts.

They sat resting around the campfire. Wrapped in a blanket, Arya tilted her head and asked, "Luke, are you going to Riverrun?"

"No."

The Riverlands, where they were now, were ruled by House Tully, and Riverrun was House Tully's ancestral castle. It was just like the relationship between the North, House Stark, and Winterfell.

Gary wasn't really out sightseeing, so why would he go to Riverrun? Besides, House Tully was Catelyn's family. If he went there, wouldn't he just be waiting to get caught?

"Then will we go to the Eyrie in the Vale?" Arya asked again.

Gary shook his head again. "No."

"Then Casterly Rock in the Westerlands? The Lannisters who rule there are the richest family on this continent. I heard even the floors in their castle are made of gold."

Arya spoke at length. She had prepared extremely thoroughly; clearly, she had been planning this for a long time.

Gary leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes to rest. "None of those. We're going straight to King's Landing. King Robert and your father are close friends. I'll hand you over to him and have him send someone to take you back to Winterfell."

He had originally planned to bypass King's Landing and head straight for the Reach farther south. The Reach lay in the southwestern corner of Westeros, and Oldtown lay at the southwesternmost tip of the Reach.

Gary's destination—the Citadel—was in Oldtown.

Now that he had Arya with him, he could only go to King's Landing first, then head to the Citadel to attend to his business.

Hearing Gary's plan, Arya grew petulant again. "No, I already said I'm not going back. How about I go back on my own after you travel through the Seven Kingdoms with me?"

The corners of Gary's mouth lifted slightly. "In your dreams."

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

A strange sound suddenly came from the woods, as though something was approaching them.

Gary immediately opened his eyes. He drew Dark Sister from his waist and shielded Arya behind him.

The two horses tethered to the trees began neighing uneasily. They tossed their heads, trying to break free of their reins.

Danger descended without warning. A large, pitch-black predator emerged from the darkness with a low growl.

Gary recognized the creature. Quite surprised, he murmured to himself, "A Shadowcat? What's something like this doing south of the Wall?"

Although it was called a Shadowcat, the animal looked nothing like a cat. It looked more like a huge tiger with black-and-white stripes.

This Shadowcat was probably over ten years old, in its prime, and a full size larger than most of its kind. But its kind usually roamed north of the Wall. Why was it in the Riverlands?

Arya's legs went weak with fright, and her face turned deathly pale. "Luke, that's such a big tiger..."

Gary said quietly, "Stay here and don't move. I'll kill it."

Just as he was about to strike first, the Shadowcat suddenly spoke!

"Luke, leave Westeros."

Gary froze in astonishment. "Wind Spirit? How... did you know where I was?"

Can the Three-Eyed Crow see me again?

The Shadowcat did not answer his question, continuing on its own. "Keep heading south. Don't turn back. Find a city where you can board a ship and leave this continent. Until then, I will keep hunting you. If you stop again, I will tear out your throat."

Its gaze was utterly resolute. It did not look remotely as though it was joking.

Gary's heart grew heavy. "Is this the Three-Eyed Crow's will?"

It seemed the Three-Eyed Crow still could not forget Gary, a White Walker, and had decided to eliminate him as a "potential threat."

The Shadowcat still did not answer. It turned to leave. "Luke, you have only one night. Once day breaks, I'll kill you."

Gary called it back. "I won't leave Westeros. At least, not now."

The Shadowcat looked back, its eyes full of murderous intent. It thought Gary was simply asking for a beating and needed to be taught a proper lesson before he would obey.

"Then I'll swat you dead right now!"

It drove off its hind legs, extended dagger-sized claws from its forepaws, and lunged at Gary nearby.

Gary hurriedly grabbed Arya behind him and dodged. They rolled awkwardly across the ground, only just escaping the Shadowcat's claw.

The Shadowcat struck the large tree they had just been leaning against, instantly gouging off a huge strip of bark.

"I'll lure it away. Get on your horse and go!"

Gary put Arya down, turned, and ran deeper into the woods.

But Arya did not want to abandon Gary at all. She stumbled over to her little mare and took down the wooden spear...

The wood was not hard enough. It could not possibly pierce the Shadowcat's skin or inflict a fatal wound.

Arya did not want to fight with the wooden spear either, but she was too weak to lift the greatsword Ice or wield the Ice Spear Gary had specially made for her.

This wooden spear was the only weapon she could use.

The Shadowcat was about to pursue Gary, but it stopped after only a few strides. Looking back at Arya, it said, "Human cub, Luke seems to care a great deal about you. If I take you captive, perhaps I can force him to comply."

"In your dreams!"

Arya was truly terrified, but she still shouted loudly, trying to bolster her courage.

Gary ran some distance. Seeing that the Shadowcat had not followed him, he immediately realized Arya might be in danger and swiftly turned and ran back.

Arya thrust the wooden spear wildly. Overwhelming fear left her mind blank, and she completely forgot her martial arts forms, knowing only to keep stabbing blindly.

Shadowcats were extremely swift, fierce animals. Arya's wooden spear could not hit it at all.

After dodging a few times, it impatiently snapped Arya's wooden spear with a swipe.

"Human cub, stop moving about. I don't want to hurt you."

Looking at the sharp teeth in the Shadowcat's mouth, Arya could hardly believe it. She threw away the half of the wooden spear in her hand and ran back to her little mare to get another weapon.

"Roar!"

The Shadowcat let out a thunderous tiger's roar. Arya's little mare immediately collapsed to the ground, whinnying helplessly.

The black warhorse beside it was battle-hardened. It had not been frightened into collapsing, but it was still trembling.

The little mare had pinned Ice beneath her, so Arya had to reach for the Ice Spear on the other side.

She opened the wooden box, gripped the Ice Spear's shaft with both hands, and finally managed to lift it with every last ounce of her strength.

Arya's little face flushed red. Her two short arms shook constantly with the tremendous effort.

She rested the butt of the spear on the ground, raising only its tip to point at the Shadowcat.

The Shadowcat sniffed at Arya. Suddenly, its fur stood on end. "The White Walkers' ice magic? Are you a little White Walker?! How did you get past the Wall?"

Arya knew about White Walkers. They were the murderous demons in bedtime stories. She shook her head and explained, "I'm not a White Walker! And this isn't the White Walkers' ice magic! This is Luke's..."

Gary rushed out just in time to witness this scene.

The Shadowcat turned to look at him. "Luke, the Greenseer was right. There really is something wrong with you! Did you make a deal with the White Walkers? Was Bingling the sacrifice?"

It considered the evidence conclusive and would not listen to Gary's explanation.

"Luke, you betrayed your own race and chose to stand with the White Walkers, the embodiment of death. Damn you!"

The Shadowcat opened its bloody maw and lunged at Gary. This time, it truly wanted to kill him.

Gary still did not know that the Children of the Forest would not die when the creatures they possessed died. Afraid that Wind Spirit would die just like Bingling, he dared not hurt the Shadowcat and could only dodge.

"Wind Spirit, listen to my explanation first..."

"Say no more. I will never let a White Walker remain south of the Wall!"

The Shadowcat was very clever. It knew ordinary physical attacks could not harm White Walkers. So it kept trying to seize Dark Sister from Gary's hand, intending to kill him with the Valyrian steel sword.

Gary failed to see what the Shadowcat intended. When he was a moment too slow to dodge, the lunging Shadowcat clamped its teeth firmly around the blade.

Although Valyrian steel was extremely hard, it was not some divine weapon that could slice through iron like mud. With the Shadowcat gripping the blade in its teeth, Gary truly could not pull it free.

His only option was to apply force sideways and slice off the Shadowcat's entire head before he could retrieve the sword.

Seizing its chance, the Shadowcat swept its sharp claws toward Gary's arm.

Unwilling to hurt the Shadowcat, Gary had no choice but to abandon his sword. "Wind Spirit, I'm not a White Walker. Although I bear responsibility for Bingling's death, I didn't offer her to the White Walkers as a sacrifice."

Holding Dark Sister in its teeth, the Shadowcat said indistinctly, "So Bingling's death really was connected to you. The Greenseer foresaw everything long ago. How laughable that I ever doubted him. Luke, I will follow the Greenseer's orders and execute you!"

Gary could not help growing angry. He had yielded again and again, and his patience was nearly at its limit.

"Wind Spirit, don't force me to kill you."

The Shadowcat snorted coldly. "Kill me? Even if you kill this creature I'm possessing, what will that accomplish? I'll still possess another animal and find you again."

Gary paused in surprise. So he had misunderstood all along. Skinchangers did not die when the creatures they possessed died.

He opened the waterskin at his waist. "In that case, I'll draw my blade."

He spread his legs and slowly lowered into a crouch. Patches of white frost formed on the leather glove on his left hand.

The Shadowcat's pupils abruptly contracted. Sensing that Gary was using the White Walkers' ice magic, it hurriedly lunged at the motionless Gary with Dark Sister in its mouth.

A clear stream of water surged from the waterskin at Gary's waist. After circling his arm several times, it rapidly gathered in his left hand.

He slowly placed his right hand above his left, taking the stance to draw a blade.

A long blade of ice shaped like Falling Plum suddenly formed in his left hand...

"White Tassel: Iai Slash."