A Gypsy Curse by D.A. McGrath

Author:D.A. McGrath
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: action adventure fantasy shape shifter kids
Publisher: D.A. McGrath
Published: 2014-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Clara quickly realised she had been caught by an owl, and if she didn’t do something soon, she was going to be the owl’s dinner. Mouse Clara wriggled and squealed in fear, struggling against the owl’s talons to loosen its grasp on her. She felt one of the claws lose its grip, but then realised she was dangling in mid-air. If the owl let her go, the fall to the ground would kill her.

Clara clung as tightly as she could to the remaining claw, while she tried to think what to do. Her mind, however, had frozen with fear, and she could do nothing but hang onto the owl as it soared over the treetops, the ground passing in a blur, way below. Knowing she needed to calm down, Clara took three deep breaths, which slowed her heart and thawed her brain.

Gathering her wits, Clara closed her eyes and tried to link with the owl’s mind. After a few moments, Clara found the owl’s thought stream, and willed the owl to land. The owl initially fought Clara but, even though she was frightened, Clara’s power was strong, and the owl eventually started to glide back down towards the earth. Relieved they were going in the right direction, Clara thought frantically about what she could do to save herself. Whilst it was coming in to land, the owl was still clearly hungry and thinking of nothing but eating its prey.

There’s nothing for it, Clara thought. I’ll have to shape-shift before we hit the ground – into an animal the owl won’t eat. The earth was approaching fast. Clara closed her eyes and imagined herself back into her sheepdog form. She knew it had worked before she opened her eyes, as the owl gave a screech of surprise and abruptly released her. She dropped through the air like a rock before slamming into the hard ground.

Off balance, Clara’s jaw hit the ground hard enough to stun her. Lights flashed before her eyes, and the ground swayed beneath her, making her feel sick. Clara closed her eyes and stood very still, waiting for the dizziness and nausea to pass.

When the ground steadied beneath her, she opened her eyes and was relieved to find her sight had returned to normal. She checked herself out, noting that, while her jaw was throbbing, she didn’t appear to have broken any bones. She looked around. The owl had dropped her into a field. Turning, she limped over to the gate and into the lane that would take her home.

After what seemed like an age, Clara arrived back at her log, transformed into her human form, dressed gingerly, and took the last few steps home. Crawling gratefully into bed, she immediately fell into an exhausted, thankfully dreamless, sleep.

***

Clara might have fallen asleep quickly, but she woke up the following morning, slowly and painfully. Pushing the covers back she examined her body for injuries. She found grazes and bruises on various parts of her body, including several gashes across her midriff that resembled claw marks.

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