Dreams and Shadows (The Aylosian Chronicles Book 1) (14 page)

A head rose above the water, whipping back and forth, tearing at the creature in its mouth. The waves of water continued to surge, now mingled with red, pushing Michael and Aneh finally to the edge of the far shore, where they were able to crawl from the water.

Michael’s ankle throbbed with pain as he knelt on the grass and turned back to face the river’s other side in time to see a creature even larger than the Chet’tu climb from the water. Its long silver fur was bedraggled with the river having soaked it, the heavy coat almost touching the ground beneath it with the added weight of the water. The Chet’tu it had attacked was nowhere to be seen, a swirl of red covering the water’s surface where the two of them had entered. But the Chet’tu’s two companions had spread apart from each other, giving themselves the greatest chance to defeat the animal that had already taken their pack leader.

“Ippi!” cried Aneh, apparently to the new animal, the panic still in her voice. “Run!”

Their saviour ignored her cries though, its growls and hissing heard from where they knelt at shore’s edge.

“Good grief, that’s the biggest cat I’ve ever seen!” Michael said. Where the head of one of the Chet’tu would have come to Michael’s chest, the top of this creature’s head would be almost eye level.

Aneh rose to her feet, her call becoming desperate, “You cannot defeat two, Ippi! Run! Run!”

The remaining Chet’tu seemed to agree with Aneh’s assessment, now appearing confident that working together they would be able to kill the intruder. First, one sprung at it from the front, and as the silver-furred animal set itself to repel the attack the second Chet’tu leapt from the side. The speed with which they all moved was frightening, a blur of fur as two and then three giant animals whirled and writhed. Feline screeches and canine yelps littered the air, mixed with continued growls, as the ferocity of the battle took place on the far bank.

The creatures broke from each other after twenty or thirty seconds, and it was clear that Aneh’s prediction was correct. The two Chet’tu both had bite and scratch marks and would leave the fight wounded, but the larger feline was already limping, its right hind leg now dripping blood. It would not survive many more exchanges. Then the creatures would cross the river and Michael and Aneh would be dead. It was inevitable.

The feline’s injury briefly reminded Michael of the pain in his own leg, and the nausea that had continued to grow, but he couldn’t pull his eyes from the contest on the far bank. His head began to spin.

The Chet’tu were now looking more casual as they circled their attacker, knowing that it would soon be dead. But the creature Aneh had called Ippi suddenly increased its own intensity again, hunching down as if ready to leap back into the fight. The Chet’tu instantly readied themselves, intensifying the focus on their victim.

That was when Michael realised the feline’s aggressive pose had been a ruse to distract them, as a second cat leapt from the forest, its jaws closing around the neck of one of the Chet’tu in the blink of an eye. It was killed instantly, and the newly-arrived creature readied itself quickly to defend itself should the remaining Chet’tu decide to avenge its now lost companion.

Seeing that its advantage had now been reversed, however, the final Chet’tu turned and ran in a single motion, the recently arrived cat racing after it. They were both out of sight in no more than a couple of seconds, and the only subsequent sounds from the forest shortly after were the yelps of the huge dog in pain. They quickly died away, and as Michael realised the battle was over, his dizziness overcame him, his head finally succumbing to the spinning world around him.

As he fell back on the grass, he saw Aneh peer over him, worry on her face. He saw her close her eyes, just before he closed his own. The throb in his leg intensified, a spike of pain now shooting from his ankle through to his shoulder causing him to cry out briefly, and then the world around him went dark.

***

When he awoke, he was again lying on the rock on which he and Aneh had been resting before the arrival of the pack of Chet’tu. He soon realised that his ankle still hurt, but the pain had lessened considerably. He didn’t know how much time had elapsed, but his clothes seemed mostly dry, and the sun was now hidden behind a solid layer of white clouds.

He slowly sat up, scanning the area around him. The carcass of the dead Chet’tu lay in the distance, but he didn’t linger on it; his eyes quickly finding Aneh closer, sitting in the long grass. She appeared to be tending to the creature she had called Ippi, its huge companion also nearby. Michael’s ankle had been bandaged by what looked like a strip from his shirt, and he carefully climbed down from the rock, and limped towards her. As he came closer, he saw that the bleeding on the animal’s rear leg had stopped, the wound largely having closed. Although the creature was lying on its side, allowing Aneh to tend it, it was awake, its eyes slowly opening and closing in what appeared to be peaceful rest.

Its companion rescuer sat a dozen or so feet away, its eyes scanning the horizon. The image reminded Michael of the pictures of African lions sitting as if owning the landscape around them: kings of the natural world. The cat’s silver fur was as long as a lion’s mane, and as Michael drew closer he was again reminded of just how
huge
they were. He also realised as he got within a score feet of it, that its fur was scattered with faint dark patterns – jagged lines appearing across the soft coat.
Like lightning
, Michael thought.

He continued towards Aneh, noticing that Ippi also had dark lines through the silver fur, but that these formed more circular shapes.

“Is it going to be alright?” he asked as he drew to Aneh’s side.

Aneh seemed startled to hear Michael’s voice, and her head turned quickly to face him, standing as she did so, “Oh, I am so sorry Michael. I was so occupied by Ippi that I had not noticed your injury.” She looked genuinely apologetic.

“Don’t worry about me,” he responded. “It will heal. See, I can walk on it already.”

“It is fortunate that I noticed in time, or it may not have healed,” she said very seriously. “The bite or scratch from a Chet’tu is venomous, and it was already spreading through your body. If the fight had gone any longer, I may not have seen, and it may have been too late to save you.”

At the mention of venom, he remembered the dizziness he had felt, suddenly grateful for whatever she had done for him after he had passed out. But he also remembered that she hadn’t known much about the animals that had hunted them, “How did you know what to do? I thought you hadn’t come across Chet’tu before.”
 

“It is my Weaving,” she responded, now a small smile threatening to cross her face, “I am a Healing Weaver, and I was able to understand and remove the poison. I am sorry that I did not have sufficient strength to fully mend the tear in your ankle though. I am still young and have much to learn of my Weaving.” The smile had gone, and she looked almost distraught, as if she had failed him. “I also needed to retain some of my strength for Ippi. He had been badly bitten, and although the Shosa are mighty and heal quickly he too may have died had I not been able to tend him.”

Her look to Michael was now pleading as she asked, “I hope you will forgive my inadequacy.”

“You’re a healer?” Michael was astonished and paused for a handful of seconds. “You saved me?” Again, he hesitated; his mind digesting what she had said. “Don’t apologise. That’s amazing. You’re amazing! Thank you.”

He looked down at the recovering cat, “And you saved… what did you call him? Ippi… you saved Ippi too. Saving a man and a beautiful cat in one morning. That’s pretty good going I’d say.” He smiled at her now, hoping that she would sense that his feelings were genuine and was pleased that his grin was returned, Aneh relaxing a little.

He looked again down at the injured animal, stared at the wound on its leg. Even from the distance of the far side of the river, he had seen that the tear had been large, but now it appeared to have been healing for several days at least. The blood flow had completely stanched, and scar tissue was already beginning to form.

“That’s amazing,” he said again, to himself more than anyone. “You did that with your Weaving?” he asked more deliberately.

She again sounded apologetic as she replied, as if her efforts had been paltry, “Had it merely been the wound of a dagger or sharp stone, I could have healed it completely, but the Chet’tu…” she paused as if not wanting to speak of them, “They are evil creatures. Their poison is powerful.”

It was a lot to take in, but he wanted to remain calm for Aneh, “Well, he looks comfortable now.” Michael tried to sound reassuring to this woman who had apparently saved him. He owed her so much already for being kind to him in this strange land, and now she had added to his debt by saving his life. “You called Ippi a… Shosa? They’re sure beautiful animals. Majestic.”

“That is a good term,” answered Aneh, now smiling, “They are pure creatures, and true to that which is good in the forests of Aylosia. I am honoured that Ippi claimed me.”

There appeared to be some kind of a bond between Aneh and this animal, and Michael wondered whether that was what she referred to. He felt more confident now to ask of the new strange phrase, though, rather than simply add it to the pile of mysteries in his head. “Claimed you? What does that mean?”

“When I was younger – I had seen only eleven springs – I found him one day while wandering the forest.” She sounded happy now as she recalled the memory, “He had been injured. I do not know how. He was just a kitten himself, although already he rose to my waist. Somehow he had broken one of his front legs, and he lay on the forest floor. With my Weaving, I could sense instantly that he was in pain, and my heart reached out to him. I was able to heal his injury.”

Aneh had sat again on the ground next to Ippi as she related the tale, and now stroked his front leg as if in sympathy with the memory of a long past injury. Ippi himself appeared to remember too, and was nuzzling his giant face in Aneh’s long hair.

“When I had done what I could, I turned to leave him, but he quickly blocked my path. I did not fear, for as I said these are pure creatures and I knew he would not harm me. It was then that he claimed me.” Her hands had now moved to the animal’s head and neck, running her fingers through its fur.

“He bowed his head as he took a step toward me. I sensed what was happening and so I knelt on the ground, allowing the top of his head to rest on my chest. That is what they do when they claim you.”

Michael could see how much Aneh loved the creature, her eyes now closed as she concluded her recollection. “And then I was his.”

“What does it mean?” he asked, “For one to claim you?”

After a pleasant sigh, she replied, “It means that he has bound himself to you, chosen to protect you. They will only ever claim one person, and usually within a Waylet only the Hafashal will be claimed. Before me, only Arevu had been claimed by a Shosa within our Waylet.”

He looked at his female friend again. She had said so little to him about herself in their first couple of days together. And he had asked little, too absorbed in his own questions of this strange world. But in the last few minutes, she had revealed things of herself that made her magnificent in his eyes. She was a healer able to repair life-threatening wounds with nothing but her will, and she had received an honour that only the Waylet’s leader usually would be given by one of these regal creatures.

“Wow,” he finally said. “You really are amazing, Aneh.” He was immediately embarrassed for allowing his thoughts to escape his mouth, and his cheeks burned as Aneh opened her eyes at his words, smiling in return.

Her eyes widened briefly. “And now there are three people in our Waylet who have been claimed by a Shosa,” she said, her smile broadening.

“Who’s the third?” he asked.

A small laugh came from her mouth, as she replied with a giggle, “You are, Michael.”

He stood frozen for a second, not understanding her words, before he realised that the second large cat was standing at his left. He turned to face it, their eyes connecting briefly before it bowed its giant head and gently pressed it against his chest.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
 

Revelations

The most difficult lesson a woman must learn is that for succour to be given, her suffering must first be revealed.

From the Wisdom of Ashael

***

The Shosa that had claimed him now lay just close enough to touch him, insisting that he rub his hands through the long, soft coat of its body. The closest Michael had come to cats were those that lived in the alleys of the city where he grew up, and he found it unusual, though pleasant, to feel its fur, to see it close its eyes in contentment.

Aneh insisted that he choose a name for the Shosa, and thinking of the patterns on its coat that resembled lightning initially decided on Perun – the Slavic god of thunder. When Aneh explained that it was a female Shosa that had claimed him, however, he re-evaluated and amended the name to Peran. No-one in this world would know the difference, of course, but it felt wrong to him to use a name that
he
knew was male. Aneh explained that she had decided on Ippi as a name when she had been chosen, after the kitten-like sounds that came from him when she had rubbed his fur.

They spent probably hours lying in the long grasses alongside Ippi and Peran, talking. The fact that they both now held the highly unusual honour of being claimed by Shosa was a bond they would share, and Michael was enthralled by the tales Aneh told of her journeys with Ippi as she would ride its back across the forests.

They broke their rest only briefly in mid-afternoon as Aneh pointed out some fruits and berries from nearby plants that were edible, collecting enough to keep their stomachs from complaining.

All too soon Aneh declared that the sun would shortly begin to set and insisted they return to the camp. Michael’s ankle still gave him cause to limp, but Peran knelt, inviting him to climb easily onto her back. Despite his injury, Ippi did the same for Aneh and together they trotted back through the forest. They continued their companionable chat as they went, laughing from time to time. Though their friendship was mere days old, Michael felt comfortable with this young woman, as if he had known her all of his life. Aneh eventually asked Michael how he had thought of the name for Peran.