wasn’t scared but he was thinking intensively. “That is impossible to win with him. But I must!”

He pounced suddenly, unexpectedly even for himself. In some moment his muscles outran command of brain and before prince understood it, he was floating in the air in Dhalimu’s direction. He didn’t even try to hit. He just bounced with paws on raised block of enemy, hoping that extended claws would do some damage. He had right – one of the claws plunged in the fur of brown-maned. But he didn’t continue that attack – ling at moves of heavy adversary. “Almost as fast as I.”

But there was no time to panic. Taka landed by the Niva’s funeral stone and started to withdraw to the boulder. That time ruler wasn’t waiting for claimant’s move – he just jumped again with stretched paws. Guided by war-instinct, or just by a spark of luck, Pridelander fell down on the ground and rolled aside. Dhalimu hit with paws in funeral boulder, but with easily absorbed that hit and rebounded from it, landing next to Taka. But that doge of adversary drove him mad.

“And that is the plan.” Thought black-maned, shunning next charge. “Let him lose his temper and get closer to the edge...” Avoiding the incoming blows, he was carefully trying to make dodges in south direction, closer to the nearest edge. But in the same time he was aware for not to show king his trap. “I must attack too, although it is useless. And there is some chance I would wound him and slow him down... And thanks to that he would got even more furious.” From the east blew a stronger blow of wind, forcing Taka to make a solid correction. “Or maybe lady Zira is supporting me in that way?” he thought.

He pounced one more time, trying again to rebound on blocking enemy’s paws. But this time it went wrong, because he succeeded – unprepared Dhalimu hadn’t raised his paws to shield from charge and black-maned’s claw plunged into fur on king’s neck. Amazed prince cowed his rear paws and hit with them too – he hit the raising limbs of Dhalimu and cut his shoulders. Then he fell on right side and rolled few meters more to southern edge.

Surprised king roared with fury and even didn’t let the prince to stood up. He pounced on lying Taka and flew over him, hitting his back with all his paws. Shocked Pridelander nestled to the ground, but knowing that inertia meant death, he rolled aside. Right, closer to the edge. “How much more? Fifty meters?”

That time Dhalimu happened to be closer to the bluff, so Taka jumped on him, even without aiming. He missed horribly and that was his luck – Dhalimu was ready to intercept enemy and only with amaze watched on lion when he landed over a meter next to him. Black-maned passed his adversary, jumped ahead, then turned to the king. Brown-maned was not there – lion was jumping on Taka with opened jaw and ready paws. Prince wouldn’t manage to shun him, but attack missed. Dhalimu’s charge hit just rock two meters further and Taka hit king’s side. He snapped with teethes on ruler’s shoulder, but he had enough cold blood to get loose enemy after that fast bite. Dhalimu automatically answered with swing of paw, missing Taka’s muzzle by centimetres.

“Wind!” thought arbiter. “Wind blew him away. Zira has to help me...”

He was still withdrawing to the bluff, less and less keeping the pretences of normal duel. That because Dhalimu was more and more furious. He stopped to aim his charges, just jumps in pounce when he landed after previous one. Suddenly black-maned didn’t manage to shun it, so with desperate try he intercepted mass of king with raised paws. Dhalimu was a heavy lion, so Taka failed to push him aside. Prince just a slightly corrected a flight of enemy, so ruler landed few meters behind him. “Two meters closer to the edge!” thought arbiter almost triumphantly.

He ran several steps aside, that he started on south once again, that time also in enemy’s direction. Simultaneousla’s funeral stone and started to withdraw to the boulder. That time ruler wasn’t waiting for claimant’s move – he just jumped again with stretched paws. Guided by war-instinct, or just by a spark of luck, Pridelander fell down on the ground and rolled aside. Dhalimu hit with paws in funeral boulder, but with easily absorbed that hit and rebounded from it, landing next to Taka. But that doge of adversary drove him mad.

“And that is the plan.” Thought black-maned, shunning next charge. “Let him lose his temper and get closer to the edge...” Avoiding the incoming blows, he was carefully trying to make dodges in south direction, closer to the nearest edge. But in the same time he was aware for not to show king his trap. “I must attack too, although it is useless. And there is some chance I would wound him and slow him down... And thanks to that he would got even more furious.” From the east blew a stronger blow of wind, forcing Taka to make a solid correction. “Or maybe lady Zira is supporting me in that way?” he thought.

He pounced one more time, trying again to rebound on blocking enemy’s paws. But this time it went wrong, because he succeeded – unprepared Dhalimu hadn’t raised his paws to shield from charge and black-maned’s claw plunged into fur on king’s neck. Amazed prince cowed his rear paws and hit with them too – he hit the raising limbs of Dhalimu and cut his shoulders. Then he fell on right side and rolled few meters more to southern edge.

Surprised king roared with fury and even didn’t let the prince to stood up. He pounced on lying Taka and flew over him, hitting his back with all his paws. Shocked Pridelander nestled to the ground, but knowing that inertia meant death, he rolled aside. Right, closer to the edge. “How much more? Fifty meters?”

That time Dhalimu happened to be closer to the bluff, so Taka jumped on him, even without aiming. He missed horribly and that was his luck – Dhalimu was ready to intercept enemy and only with amaze watched on lion when he landed over a meter next to him. Black-maned passed his adversary, jumped ahead, then turned to the king. Brown-maned was not there – lion was jumping on Taka with opened jaw and ready paws. Prince wouldn’t manage to shun him, but attack missed. Dhalimu’s charge hit just rock two meters further and Taka hit king’s side. He snapped with teethes on ruler’s shoulder, but he had enough cold blood to get loose enemy after that fast bite. Dhalimu automatically answered with swing of paw, missing Taka’s muzzle by centimetres.

“Wind!” thought arbiter. “Wind blew him away. Zira has to help me...”

He was still withdrawing to the bluff, less and less keeping the pretences of normal duel. That because Dhalimu was more and more furious. He stopped to aim his charges, just jumps in pounce when he landed after previous one. Suddenly black-maned didn’t manage to shun it, so with desperate try he intercepted mass of king with raised paws. Dhalimu was a heavy lion, so Taka failed to push him aside. Prince just a slightly corrected a flight of enemy, so ruler landed few meters behind him. “Two meters y he felt a bolt of pain in paw. Dhalimu had had to cut him in previous charge. Wound wasn’t too deep, but it made his moves harder. Black-maned clenched his jaws and pounced on the king. “Further!”

He landed with heavy effort. The growing wind pushed him aside from intended route and brutally threw on the ground. In that moment he was far from Dhalimu, and what was worse, brown-maned left a tactic of pounces, hard to aim in the wind and started to march into prince’s direction, stomping firmly on the ground.

“Not here!” gasped Taka in mind, seeing as enemy set off to north-east, almost against the wind. That was easier for monarch – although he had to fight with element, he wasn’t endangered with directions disorientation. Black-maned decided to stop adversary from that.

He started to run to the bluff, hoping that Dhalimu won’t pounce against the strong wind. And he was right, although it didn’t helped him too much. Because Taka lost his balance and pushed by some stronger blow fell on the ground. Seeing that king was running to him, he rolled aside in enemy’s direction. With his body he tripped amazed ruler, to instantly feel all his mass on his back. “Ow, that’s the end!” yelled Taka in mind. “I got trapped in point-blank!”

Dhalimu triumphantly roared and raised his paw. Then he swung it with crushing strength. But instead of yell of price, sounded yell of king. Brown-maned missed terribly, hitting the rock with claws. Thanks to surprise, Taka pushed enemy from his back and jumped on open space. He wanted to pounce on south, but actually he flew on south-west. Heavy wind, a gale in fact, sidetracked jumper’s body. Taka landed hard, then turned to expecting attack. And froze.

The wind wasn’t helping him. The wind was bringing death.

Due to almost perfect darkness arbiter didn’t see everything. But the wall of sand closing with dreadful speed was unable to ignore. Hit of sandstorm was speeding from east and wandered knew that he wasn’t able to stand it. The same as few hour earlier he had imagined own body, tore apart by grains of sand and being throw like antelope’s carcass by merciless blow. Instinctively he closed his eyes, although he knew that eyelids are useless against that fury. The last picture he saw was a capture of pouncing Dhalimu and a sand-wall swallowing Golden Massif. “A draw!” thought lion, preparing to die. He managed to hear a yell of brown-maned and nauseating sound of crackling bone in awkward, forced by blow landing.

And then the pain exploded.

*

“NO!” screamed Kota and Raia.

Lionesses were standing in Acacia Alley, looking up with terror. They had been so busy with staring at dead edge of bluff, that they had been completely ignoring symptoms of growing storm. Fortunately for them the heart-shape of Golden Massif and cover of trees shielded them from the