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same, and Jack saw her take on the shadowy shimmer that marked the word. It didn’t seem to make any difference to the bear, though Jack guessed that, between the beast’s sense of smel and the tracks the pair of them were leaving in the snow, it probably didn’t need to see them to hunt them.
    The bear was just steps away now, and Kat chose that moment to stumble, sprawling in the snow as it reared up above her.
    “ Emulate !” Jack yel ed the ruler word, and half a dozen extra Kats appeared. The bear’s claws swept through one and it disappeared. It would buy them a second or two, but Jack knew it would take more than that to help Kat. The moment she tried to move away, it would be obvious which one she was.
    In what he hoped was an intrepid move and not simply a stupid one, Jack threw himself at the bear. It shouldn’t have worked. Even with the extra bulk and strength he had gained in the last couple of months, the bear should have been stronger. In what turned out to be a fortuitous moment though, Jack brought his fist around sharply, punching the bear squarely on the nose. The bear blinked and sat back on its haunches, as though in disbelief that some human boy would have the temerity to try something like that on him.
    “Run!” Jack yel ed to Kat, and thankful y she did. They set off together at a frenetic pace, weaving trails through the snow as they headed for a series of ice boulders that looked like they might provide at least some cover. Perhaps if the bear lost sight of them, they might be able to slip away. Speed wouldn’t get them anywhere, but maybe a little guile would.
    Thoughts of escape fled Jack’s mind as a deep growl came from ahead of them.

    “Another bear?” Kat asked. Jack skidded to a halt.
    “That can’t be right,” he said. “Polar bears are mostly solitary hunters when they don’t have young, and-”
    “And there’s the Jack we know and love,” Kat interrupted. “Look, is this real y the moment for discursive thoughts on the habits of bears? Unless you’re about to tel me that they real y only eat either honey or marmalade sandwiches rather than people, we need to find another way to run.”
    Jack nodded, he turned, looking for a good route across the snow. He’d barely started forward when another growl came from the direction that he had picked. Turning round, he tried again, only for the same thing to happen.
    “They’ve surrounded us,” Kat said. Jack nodded.
    “Which is strange. Bears really don’t do this.” As he said it, Jack scanned the area around them for anything that might help. A way out, something that might deter the bears. Anything.
    There was nothing but the snow, and the ice, and four huge, furry forms pacing towards them with the four huge, furry forms pacing towards them with the kind of languid menace that made it clear the bears knew they had their prey trapped.
    “I suppose we could throw snowbal s at them until they get bored,” Kat suggested, though Jack could sense the edge of panic to it.
    “If I use the asylum ruler word, it might keep them off for a while.”
    “Do it,” Kat replied.
    Jack did. A shimmering dome closed over the pair of them, translucent enough to see the advancing bears through. They paused a little way away, apparently trying to figure out what was happening. Jack doubted that would last.
    “How long do you think this shield wil last?” Kat asked. Jack shrugged.
    “I don’t know. Any ideas how we’re going to get out of this?”
    Kat shook her head.
    “At least we have time to think of something, though,” she pointed out.
    Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be that simple.
    One of the bears, Jack thought it was the one that had original y chased them, padded forward to sniff at the dome. It pul ed back, as though sniffing at something odious , but then reared up onto its hind legs. It seemed clear that it intended to smash down in an effort to crush their tiny bubble of safety, and with the protective