The Dark Amulet Collection

Chapter 14

Sasha ran through the scrub, furious and distressed all at once. Underlying it all was a sense of panic. He had thought he knew at least something about who he was and where he was from, but Jayhan had taken it all away with a few thoughtless words. He had treated the meagre clues to Sasha’s life as an interesting puzzle, casually challenging the scraps of knowledge that Sasha had woven together to create his past. For Jayhan a casual pastime; for Sasha, his whole identity.

As he rounded a corner, a stick rolled under his right foot. He fell heavily, his left leg folding under him. When he tried to rise, his left knee felt jarred but held him. He stood quietly for a moment, his forward impetus broken by his fall. He looked back the way he had come and realised he could no longer see the forest’s edge.

Better go back before I get lost, he thought.

Better go back before I get lost, But as he moved his right leg forward, his jarred left knee buckled.

“Ow!” he yelped as he just managed to save himself from falling. He stood with his weight distributed carefully between both feet, feeling unable to move.

“I need a stick,” he said firmly. He hopped a few steps to a partly fallen dead tree and dragged a dry branch towards him. The bark held it to the tree by a determined thread. He pulled hard and as the bark gave way, he lost his balance and toppled backwards, banging his head on a raised patch of hard earth.

“OW! Again!” He sat up rubbing the back of his head, tears starting to his eyes. For a moment he felt woebegone, but with the determination bred from a hard life, he clamped down on his feelings, gave a defiant sniff and climbed gingerly to his feet.

He grasped the stick in his right hand to give him support as he put his weight on his left leg. After a few practice steps, he nodded his approval and set off back the way he had come. Long shadows striped the ground and he used them to keep his direction as constantly north-west as he could, given that he had to wind between trees, logs and the odd boulder. After twenty minutes, he could just see the last glimmer of evening shining through distant gaps in the trees, showing him the edge of the forest. But even as he watched, the light faded. With his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could still see, but he knew he didn’t have long before it would be too dark to keep going.

Sasha tried to hurry but didn’t want to risk falling again so his speed barely increased. Even so, he caught his right foot on a root that had grown under his path, making pain flare in his knee. From then on he stepped carefully, using his stick to feel out indistinct variations in the ground’s surface. There were no longer any shadows to help him and this area of bush was dry, no moss on the south side of the trees to guide him.

In the distance he heard a dingo howl. He stopped to listen, guessing it was in the opposite direction from habitation. According to his own calculations that was almost right. A dark shape loomed and he realised it was a large boulder he has passed on his way in. Good. He was still heading towards home.

Home? Was it home? It was the closest he had to a home. Maybe after tonight, it wouldn’t be any more. His stomach clenched. Oh no! What had he done? He had to get back and explain.

.He stopped dead in his tracks. Explain what? That Jayhan had upset him? Would they even understand? And even if they did, would they then turn their anger on Jayhan? He didn’t want that. And what would it do to their friendship if he got Jayhan into trouble? Jayhan may be an insensitive i***t, but Sasha still liked him… and he was the only friend Sasha had.

Suddenly a deep throaty howl sounded up ahead.

Sasha’s face split with a grin. “Maud! Maud! I’m over here,” he yelled. He started to hobble-run and promptly fell over a log and landed in a heap on the ground. “Oh, not again.” He pulled a stick away that was jabbing into to his arm, raised himself on one elbow and yelled again. “Maud, over here.”

Moments later, an enormous bloodhound bounded up and thumped him back to the ground with huge paws on his chest. Sasha beamed up at her and flung his hands around her neck. “Oh Maud, I’m so glad to see you. I was trying to get back as fast as I could, but my knee is sore and it’s dark and…” He sniffed, then before he could stop himself, he was sobbing into the soft warm fur of her neck.

It was not long before Sasha heard voices and saw lights bobbing up and down as the rest of the search party approached. Maud gave a couple of ear-splitting howls, which guided the search party to them.

Sasha drew in a few shuddering breaths, trying to pull himself together before the others arrived, but the streaks from his tears shone on his cheeks in the lamp light. He looked up at them, his arms still round Maud’s neck, his hands fondling her long ears.

“I’m sorry. I hurt my knee and couldn’t get back fast. I tried. I really did.” He sniffed and threatened to dissolve into tears again, scared of what would happen to him. He didn’t seem to connect that he was drawing comfort from the mistress of the house while fearing the retribution of her staff.

They all stared at him, speechless.

Finally, Jayhan said, “You do realise that’s my mother you’re holding?”

Sasha gave a little smile and nodded. “Yes, I know. Maud found me.”

Beth frowned. “How did you know it was Maud?”

Sasha looked puzzled. “What wouldn’t I? Maud is Maud. You are you. It doesn’t matter what shape you are. You’re still the same person.”

“Did you know Maud was a shapeshifter? I didn’t tell you.” Beth turned to Jayhan. “Did you?”

“No one told me,” interrupted Sasha, before Jayhan could reply. “I didn’t know until I heard Maud howling for me.”

“Huh. Well, that’s very odd. We only knew it was Maud because we don’t have a bloodhound, so it had to be her.” Beth gave herself a little mental shake and became businesslike, “Now that you’ve found him Maud, we can give you some privacy if you want to concentrate on changing back.”

WeIn answer, Maud shook her heavy head, flapping her long ears in Sasha’ face before nuzzling him under the chin. Sasha chortled. “Stop it. You’re tickling me.”

Jayhan watched, feeling a twinge of jealousy. His mother had never been so warm with him.

Finally, Maud heaved herself off Sasha and rose to her feet. Leon, a hefty, broad-backed man, put his hands under Sasha’s armpits and lifted him easily to his feet.

“There you are, young fella, me lad,” said Leon gruffly. “Do you need a hand walking?”

Beth and Jayhan exchanged looks. Never had they heard Leon say more than a few grudging words.

“Thanks,” said Sasha, as Leon handed him his stick. “I think I can manage.” He set off, stick in one hand, his other arm draped across Maud’s shoulders. Beth held the lantern to light their way. Sasha hobbled along as quickly as he could, not wanting to hold everyone up.

Jayhan came up beside him. “Don’t feel you have to rush. It’s not far to the horses. You can ride from the forest’s edge,” he said, eager to be helpful.

Sasha glanced at him, saw the worry in his face and let the residue of his anger melt away. Just an i***t, not malicious, he thought.

Just an i***t, not malicious,“Thanks,” he said. “I’m glad you came.”

Jayhan shrugged, a bit embarrassed, and said in a low voice, meant only for Sasha’s ears. “I’m sorry I was unkind. I didn’t realise…” He grimaced. “Beth explained to me what I did.”

Sasha gave a little chuckle. “Burnt ears, huh?”

For a moment, Jayhan looked confused then realised what Sasha had meant and laughed. “Very burnt ears… most of the way from the house.”

“Well, I’m glad you told her what happened. It saved me having to come up with a story to explain why I ran off.”

Jayhan frowned across at the great bloodhound padding next to Sasha. “You realise my mother is listening to all of this?” he whispered.

Sasha grinned and patted Maud’s back. “Doesn’t matter. Whatever I did when I got back would be wrong. Either I would have to lie to cover up for you, or dob on you for being mean… even if you hadn’t meant to be.” He added hastily seeing Jayhan about to protest. “So, obviously, I would have had to lie.”

Suddenly Maud gave a howl, making the boys jump. When they looked at her, they saw she was wagging her tail, although whether it was in appreciation of Sasha’s frankness or his choice to shield her son was unclear.