The Jewelled Jaguar by Sharon Tregenza

Author:Sharon Tregenza
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 111-1-11-111111-1
Publisher: Firefly
Published: 2017-09-20T00:00:00+00:00

16

SCOOTER

I had another nightmare that night, but this time it wasn’t about the hole. It was about the Jewelled Jaguar – the Aztec knife my mum found.

In my dream, I found it. I swam down through bright blue water to where it lay on the yellow sand of the seabed. I held it up and stared into the emerald eyes of the Jaguar face.

A green liquid swirled out of the eyes, darkening the water and turning it icy cold. I heard drums and male voices chanting. The cold chilled my bones. The water changed from dark green to black and all I could see was the glittering knife. I was frightened. I wanted to get away – but couldn’t take my eyes off the Jewelled Jaguar. It held me fast. The jaws snapped open with a massive roar. All I could see were blood-soaked fangs. I flung the knife away from me with a terrified scream.

I don’t know if I screamed out loud, but I jerked awake. It was morning.

#

After breakfast, Rhodri said. ‘Come on.’ He handed me a crash helmet. ‘We’re going to Blyth’s place. He’s asked us over for a chat.’

The helmet was uncomfortably heavy. It felt like my head might wobble off my neck with the weight.

The scooter ride wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be either. I didn’t know what to do with my feet. I held tight to Rhodri’s waist and tried to stay upright. We chugged along, bouncing and juddering over lumps and potholes.

In Pembrokeshire, we’re always close to the sea. It pops out from behind trees or gives us sneaky glimpses between buildings. When we reached the end of the lane, the high hedgerow disappeared and the sea stretched out: a bright, glittering blue in front of us. I felt the sea breeze and smelled the salt.

We stopped in front of a building perched high on the cliff. It looked like a big stone manor that had been turned into apartments.

‘Here we are,’ Rhodri said.

Blyth’s flat was full of huge, brightly coloured paintings hung on white walls. They were mostly circles with animal heads mixed into the pattern – monkeys, insects and birds – weird and a bit scary.

An arched window looked out over the sea. Waves crashed at the bottom of the cliffs, and seagulls hovered and wheeled in the bright air.

‘Blyth offered to explain a bit more about what’s happening with your mum,’ Rhodri said.

‘Sit down, Griffin.’ Blyth sounded friendly, but very doctor-like. ‘As you know your mother is in a coma. We think you should be aware that her condition can last for weeks, months or even…’

He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to. My heart banged in my throat.

He coughed. ‘There’s really no way of knowing.’

‘What can I do to help her?’

‘Keep talking to her in your usual voice. Tell her you love her. Sometimes when patients come out of a coma they remember conversations. Music can help too.’

I nodded.

‘Sit down a minute and take a look at this.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.