Chapter Twenty Nine – Aminhir-Muonith-Amur

He knew that their best chance of evading capture was to keep moving and put distance between themselves and the two men. But it was easier to stay still, more tempting to hide, more satisfying to curl into a ball and hope they went away. The scared child in him told him to do that. But while his heart needed to, his mind fought the urge. Every direction was the same, trees, undergrowth. The two men were somewhere to the left of the middle of the clearing working their way closer. He and she were near the top end, forest behind them. It pained him to leave the aircraft, everything was in it, absolutely all they had except the revolver and the poncho. He told her to take it off, they would move faster without it. He checked in his pocket but all the bullets had fallen out, except one. While they must have been looping the loop. All they had now was a gun, seven bullets and the clothes they stood up in.

They had no choice, they went. Sheeta, as usual, went on ahead, Pazu followed looking behind, watching for pursuit.

It never occurred to him for them to split up, getting lost together was bad enough, separated it would have been hopeless. So he was surprised when the two soldiers split up. He thought later that they had their pilots above them somewhere and could signal to them. But he didn't consider these things at the time.

They had been working their way up a gentle slope, leaf strewn and with open ground under the oak and birch trees. He'd stopped to look back and seen the movement, the flicker of a grey-blue coat. He glanced round. Sheeta was a half dozen tree trunks ahead of him, watching him. He gestured to her to keep still, stay low.

Down the slope the soldier moved again, working his way up towards them. Not far now. Pazu looked for the second man but could see nothing. The soldier broke cover and came slantwise up the slope only twenty or thirty yards away. He ducked behind a tree bole. Pazu gripped the revolver, hammer back, safety off. The man moved again and Pazu raised the gun, gripped tight with both hands, aimed and fired. He let fly two shots and the beastly thing kicked like a horse almost knocking him over. There was a crash as the soldier either dived or fell. Pazu ran forwards gun out. The man lay behind a fallen log, rolling on the ground. One of Pazu's shots had gone through the fleshy part of his leg. The man looked up, clutching his thigh. The boy stood over him, pointing the gun at his face. He thought of a shed, of an untidy pile of bodies, of a small pathetic tangle of blonde curls. He hated this soldier but he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. He moved, kicking the rifle away from the man and then running to pick it up. He moved away towards Sheeta.

Pazu ducked down low and ran after her, she had gone left around two large trees into a small clearing that he could just see up the slope. It never ceased to amaze him how quick she was. As he ran to the left he heard the shot, a loud dull report, much deeper in tone than the small popping of the pistols that had been fired at him before. He saw both of them at once, Sheeta had come to a stop on this side of the clear space and beyond her, not twenty feet away was the blue coated soldier.

The two soldiers had split up, one had come up this side of the clearing, the other had come up the far side. When Sheeta had reached the top she had run straight into him. The man held his rifle at the hip and smoke twisted lazily up from the muzzle, he shifted his right hand and pulled the breech bolt back and down and the shiny brass cartridge ejected, smoking and spinning lazily end over end. It seemed to take for ever to reach the ground, leaving a spiral of powder smoke as it turned. Sheeta didn't move. Upright, hands at her sides, she watched the soldier, his warning shot had gone over her head. Pazu never stopped to think, not for a second. All he knew was the raging voice in his head

not again, not again, never again, you won't take her

Bent double, he moved around a low bush on Sheeta's left, went down on one knee, dropped the rifle, lifted the revolver in both hands and fired. Pazu saw the soldiers face, he was young, very young, not much older than himself. The boy soldier only had a second to notice Pazu but Pazu saw the expression on the boy's face clearly. That expression stayed in Pazu's memory for ever. The boy looked scared, and shocked, as though he had done something awful, that he regretted. Terrible regret filled his eyes.

Kneeling and being down slope the bullet from Pazu's gun traveled upwards. It struck the soldier in the throat and passing through his windpipe and spine, it exited at the base of his skull. The boy probably never even noticed Pazu had fired and he was dead before his body had come to rest crumpled backwards in the undergrowth.

Pazu, shaking, stood and went forward, looking around. He glanced up through the trees but the two pilots in their flaptors were nowhere to be seen. He listened for them. The forest was silent.

"That was close. Come on, we need to move, get away from here."

He turned to her and saw the look on her face, mild surprise was there, puzzlement. Then her knees bent and she gracefully folded down and sank to the forest floor, almost as though tired and needing to rest. From a kneeling position she lay back and the fact that she didn't use her arms to lower herself but hit the ground with a bump sent a burning taste of worry through Pazu's heart.

"What is it? Sheeta?"

He ran to her. She lay on the damp leaves staring at the trees overhead.

"Thank you. Pazu, thank you for saving me."

Then he saw the circle, a small dot no bigger than the tip of his finger just to the left of her centre, below her breast, near her heart. As he looked at it, at the slightly burned cloth at the edge of the hole in her shirt, he saw red spread around the hole, a perfect circle of red growing larger. For a moment he didn't understand what it meant.

"Pazu? Are you there?"

shot. she had been shot. no. how could she be shot? she was so fast, so quick, so sure. she couldn't be shot. she was too perfect. there was too much life in this beautiful body for it to be shot.

"I'm here. Sit up, let me look at it."
"I'm sorry Pazu. I ran on ahead, I should have stayed with you."

you always run on ahead, and I always follow.

"Don't talk, let me see the wound."
"It's alright Pazu, I'll be fine soon. It doesn't hurt."
"Shush, let me look."

He tore the shirt, tore the vest beneath and opened them. The bullet wound was small and just below where her baby would one day feed, but from it blood pumped out at a rate that made Pazu feel ill, too fast, much too fast. Then he saw the ground beneath her, the stain of blood spreading there, a sheet of it, a river, it ran and soaked the leaves. A tiny entry wound but where the bullet had come out… for the blood to flow like that Pazu knew it must be a big wound. He knew then. He knew she was dying.

"You'll be alright. It's fine. Let me hold you."

He bent over her and lifted her in his arms, her head rolled back and he moved his arm up behind her head to raise it.

"I want to hold you, but I can't move my arms. Why can't I move my arms?"
"Shush, quiet now, I'm here."

don't die. you can't die. you're taking me home. to my home, our home. sheeta, how can you die? how can I follow you? I want to follow you

"Pazu, you saved me. In the end you saved me."
"Sheeta I don't think I did."
"Yes you did, the day we met. That very first day, on your house roof. Feeding the doves. That was when you saved me. I knew then that you had come back. I had heard about you, but never thought you would be the one to save me."
"Shush, what are you saying?"
"It was you, Paetsu, Paetsu Fuhmonhir, the Forgotten Prince."
"You're not making sense."
"And I even kissed you. I never thought it would be me. You are so beautiful when you kiss."

Pazu began to cry. He knew he shouldn't, he'd not paid the price to do so, crying now wasn't manly and he had no right. But this time he couldn't help it and the tears fell from his face onto hers.

"But I never said... I wanted to but never did. I wanted to tell you. How much…"

Weeping he lifted her against him and pressed his face to her chest.

you can't go. how can I follow when you're not in front? where will I go?

"Sheeta, please don't go. Don't leave me."
"I'm not leaving Paetsu. Don't fret, I'm just going on ahead a little way. You'll catch up with me soon. And we'll go home together. We'll take in the harvest."
"Stop it! Sheeta! Please don't!"

She coughed and a bubble of blood came out of her mouth. He kissed it away, in his mind her blood tasted like strawberries, reustaub stimmer, he loved the taste of her.

"The stone…"
"What?"
"The stone Paetsu. Take it. Take it and say this. Aminhir Muonith Amur."
"I can't use the stone."
"You have to, I'm too weak. I'm going on ahead. You have to say it. It's not right for me to use it on myself. But be quick. Maerth-dhu is coming. In the forest, I can feel him. Don't let him find me."
"Sheeta."
"Be quick Paetsu Fuhmonhir, for the doves need feeding. Feed the doves Paetsu, and take care of them, like you did with me."

A moment's silence and then,

"Yau he-ayerth al om-e tuh."

He didn't want to let her go, he couldn't bear to let her out of his arms, his sobs coming in great heaving gasps, he lay her down on the wet ground. She coughed again and a trickle of blood flowed from her lips. He untied the blue stone from its leather string and held it. It was warm, the blood that pumped in her body had warmed it, the blood that flowed on the forest floor.

She spoke one last time, her voice was weak, very faint.

"I'm glad it was you, but I'm sorry I never said it. But you know Paetsu, you know I felt it. Always."

Her eyes closed.

you can't go. how can you go? don't go.

Here in the forest she would die. Here among the flowers and trees and growing things, surrounded by life she would die. Here where Lucita the Earth Mother was near and strong. She wouldn't have far to go to return to her arms. Just a short walk for you, Sheeta, and a big warm cuddle would be waiting for you.

Her chest rose, one last big breath she drew in trying to suck in life a moment longer. Then she exhaled, it was a sound like her speaking, like that time she'd breathed on him and her breath had lit a candle in his heart. He looked at the stone. He didn't understand why she'd done this. How could he do anything, a stupid clumsy miners boy? He gripped it tightly feeling its warmth, its round shape. What had she said?

Aminhir Muonith Amur

Through his sobs he spoke the words.

"Aminhir Muonith Amur."

He spoke them hesitantly, unsure, full of doubt. Nothing happened. Somewhere in the tree above a bird sang. How could this work? But it was all he had now, the only thing he had. He couldn't follow where she was going, so all he could do was hope. He sniffed loudly, wiped his eyes and gripping the stone in one hand and placing the other on her heart, he drew a deep breath. It would be better if he had faith.

"Aminhir Muonith Amur."

Louder

"Aminhir Muonith Amur!"

Again

"AMINHIR MUONITH AMUR!"

He spoke the words over and over, repeating like a litany, he carried on, a minute, two minutes, it wasn't working. It had to work, she had said it would work. It must work!

"AMINHIR MUONITH AMUR!"

It was no good. The light was changing, evening was here, the day was ended. Pazu hung his head, closed his eyes and let the tears flow. The sunset came into the clearing and he felt it warm on his face, the warm breeze of day's end blew against his closed eyelids, the brightness of the sun felt right, it was a good time to die, in the evening, with the sun, go home and rest Sheeta. I will come. Some day I will come. Wait for me. Pazu collapsed onto the still warm body beneath him, and his sobbing, the sound of a broken heart, sang through the forest.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

19 – 22 March 2007

For author notes about Chapter Twenty Nine, please see my forum (click on my pen name)