Hamra and the Jungle of Memories by Hanna Alkaf

Author:Hanna Alkaf
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

17

IT SEEMED TO Hamra that the tiger ran for hours, even though his breath ran ragged, even though his feet stumbled and they almost fell off his broad back, even though blood still flowed from the wound that she tried feverishly to clamp shut with her fingers, trickling between them and soaking into the sleeves of her T-shirt.

When he finally stopped, he was barely able to let them off his back before he collapsed onto the ground, panting hard, eyes shut. Quickly, Ilyas reached into his backpack and pulled out a T-shirt, which he began to tear into strips.

“It is not that deep,” Pak Belang said, eyes still closed. “My powers are such that it shall be healed in an hour or two, with enough rest. Just bind it to stop the bleeding.”

“I’m working on it,” Ilyas said. Hamra knew that T-shirt well. It was one of his favorites, soft and worn from so many washes; it was dark gray and printed with all the birds of Langkawi. As she watched, he tore right through the sharp profile of a brahminy kite, and she felt the inexplicable prickling of tears in her throat.

Not now, Hamra, don’t be such a baby. She knelt down by Pak Belang’s shaggy head and smoothed the fur between his eyes. “Don’t worry,” she said softly as Ilyas began to wrap the makeshift bandages around the tiger’s wound. Pak Belang winced. “You’ll be okay.”

The tiger’s eyes met hers, and among the hurt she saw a spark of familiar regret. “I should have heard them,” Pak Belang said hoarsely. “They should not have been able to sneak up on us like that. I should have known they were coming from miles away. I should have protected us better.” He closed his eyes again, as if he couldn’t bear to think of it anymore.

Hamra swallowed hard. “It wasn’t your fault,” she told him. “You don’t have that ability anymore. You can’t beat yourself up about something you can’t even do.”

Somehow, she didn’t think he was convinced. “If I had heard them, we would be safe right now and well on our way. As it is, now we must move as the hunted do—always one step ahead, always one eye behind.”

“Hunted?” Ilyas looked up, suddenly alert. “What do you mean?”

“You think the Bunian will leave us alone?” Pak Belang got to his feet and began to pace up and down the clearing. “We have hurt their pride. They may lay low to lick their wounds for a little while, but now more than ever, they will want to harvest my teeth, and probably torture all three of us in the doing, just to prove a point. Bring us back to their king and make us dance to their enchanted rhythm as entertainment for the fine Bunian folk.”

Hamra remembered the spark in one of the Bunian’s eyes, the malicious glee in the crook of his grin. “We can’t let that happen.”

The tiger nodded. “Then the only thing we can do is outrun them.

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.