Page 103 of The Moon Sister
‘No!’ I screamed into the silence. The figure was behind the stag, his gun aimed and ready to fire. ‘Stop! Run, Pegasus!’
The stag turned round and saw the danger, but then, rather than bolting away to safety, he began to run towards me. A shot rang out, then two more, and I felt a sudden sharp pain in my side. My heart gave a strange jolt and began to pound so fast that dizziness engulfed me. My knees turned to jelly and I sank onto the snowy blanket beneath me.
There was silence again. I tried to hold on to consciousness, but I couldn’t fight the dark any longer, not even for him.
Some time later, I opened my eyes and saw a beloved, familiar face above me.
‘Tiggy, sweetheart, you’re going to be all right. Stay with me now, won’t you?’
‘Yes, Pa, of course I will,’ I whispered, as he stroked my hair just as he used to when I was sick as a little girl. I closed my eyes once more, knowing that I was safe in his arms.
When I woke up again, I felt someone lifting me from the ground. I searched around for Pa, but all I saw above me were Cal’s panicked features as he struggled to carry me to safety. As I turned my head back towards the cluster of trees, I saw the prone body of a white stag, blood-red drops spattering the snow around him.
And I knew he had gone.
20
‘Morning, Tiggy, how are you feeling?’
I forced my eyes open to see who was speaking to me, because the voice wasn’t one I recognised.
‘Hello.’ A nurse smiled down at me. With huge effort, I dredged up fleeting memories of . . .
‘Pegasus,’ I whispered, my bottom lip quivering as tears appeared in my eyes.
‘Try not tae upset yourself, dear.’ The nurse, who had bright red hair and a kind face covered in freckles, put her plump hand on mine. ‘You’ve had a shock and that’s for sure, but at least you came out of it in one piece. Now, the registrar will be here to see you shortly. I’ll just take your temperature and blood pressure, but I’m afraid I can’t offer you any solid food until the registrar says it’s allowed.’
‘That’s fine, I’m not hungry anyway,’ I replied as more memories of last night began to download in my brain.
‘Then how about a nice cup of tea?’
‘Thank you.’
‘I’ll get one of the health assistants to bring it to you. Open, please,’ she added before placing the thermometer under my tongue, then tightening the armband around my upper arm. ‘Your temperature’s fine, but your blood pressure’s still a wee bit high, though it’s down from last night. Sure tae be all the drama.’ She comforted me with a smile. ‘Now then, your friend Cal is waiting outside. Can I send him in?’
‘Yes.’ The thought of Cal and the way he’d cared for me yet again last night brought further tears to my eyes.
‘Morning, Tig,’ he said as he strode in a few minutes later. ‘It’s good tae see you awake. How are yae feelin’?’
‘Distraught. Is Pegasus . . .’ I bit my lip. ‘Gone?’
‘He is, Tig, he is. I’m so sorry, I know what he meant tae you. Maybe you’ve just got tae imagine him like the mythical Pegasus; growin’ wings and flyin’ up tae the heavens.’
‘I’ll try,’ I said, giving him a weak smile. It wasn’t Cal’s way to indulge in flights of fancy, so I was grateful for the effort he was making. ‘I like that thought, but I just feel responsible. He trusted me, Cal, came out to see me like he normally does and got shot because of it.’
‘Tig, you couldnae have done more – none o’ us could.’
‘You don’t understand! I shouted at him to run away, but instead he rantowardsme. If he hadn’t been between me and the poacher, it reallywouldbe me who’s dead now. He saved my life, Cal. Really, he did.’
‘Then I for one am grateful tae him. Even though it’s a terrible loss for us, as well as the natural world, I’d rather him than you. Has the doc been in tae see you yet?’
‘No. But the nurse says he’s on his way. I hope he’ll remove all these’ – I indicated the tubes and the beeping machine I was wired up to – ‘so I can come home.’
‘There are some who say our health service isn’t up tae much, but that helicopter was there in the glen with the paramedics within half an hour of me making the call.’
‘That explains all the whirring and clanking,’ I said. ‘I thought I’d dreamt it.’
‘You didn’t. I followed by road and I’d doubt there was a bit o’ yae that wasn’t scanned, X-rayed, or tested last night. The doc said he’d have the results this morning.’
