Claw [antikvár]

"Tiger, tiger burning bright, "The tiger drew back, instinctively aware that his movement had been detected. A splatter of blood-soaked meat lay in the open not twenty feet in front of him. But he ignored it. The meal he hungered for was perched on the ledge. A moment passed. The prey remained still. Unafraid. Unaware.The cat crouched, hind quarters slightly spread. It was time. The muscles in his huge, sleek body tightened. Restrained force mounted. Time to strike. Tingling nerve endings set off small reflex spasms. Thick "hide rippled, fur bristled. Time.The cat released his fury in one explosive sprint to the wall. Muscles uncoiled, the beast sprang into the air, teeth bared, limbs surging, reaching out with his claws.PROLOGUEl he great cat slunk low in the dark, limbs tensed in a stalking crouch. Its head, extended forward from a thick and powerful neck, was more than twice the size of that of an average human. The whitish face had a pointed, streamlined look: jaw clenched, whiskers and darkly tipped ears swept back against the head. The large round eyes, made sensitive to light by a transparent layer of guanine, penetrated the blackness with ease. It was this invisible membrane that caused the eyes to glow dimly, like two green crystals floating in the dark.The cat raised his massive head; not to see beyond the bamboo cover around him, but to gather in more of the faint, familiar smells drifting over his territory. The steady stream of scent impulses was quickly received, processed, and identified by the highly developed brain. One huge paw lifted and froze, cocked at the wrist. The huge body was still, all its energies focused, much as a hunting hound points at concealed prey. There was no motion now, save for one imperceptible twitch of the black-tufted tail.