Lying across the top ofa large dog-like creature and holding it down with its jaws clampedon its throat was a black jungle cat with its eyes reflecting backat him like large golden orbs. The haggard brown hound gave a finalreflexive jerk and stopped struggling. The cat held onto the throatof its victim for another half minute looking directly at Aquitain,then released its prey. Ignoring him, it ripped open the chestcavity of its victim and began eating the liver and heart of thedead beast while he watched. After it finished, it sat licking itslips and began cleaning off any blood on its claws while watchinghim watch it.
‘I guess you wonder whyI’m here. I thought you’d still be around here somewhere. I wasthinking about you this afternoon while sitting on the beach.
I was wondering why youwere waiting around up here. It wasn’t to meet us, so I guessed youwere waiting for someone or something else, and since it’s your jobto look after animals it must have been an animal. That dog-likecreature I suspect. It must have been very hungry to attack me andI dare say it got quite a surprise when it found out my exteriorwas made of metal. Do you always eat your kills?’
The cat just sat therelooking at him and he began to feel a little uncomfortable. Perhapsthis wasn’t Miranda the druid girl after all. Maybe it was anotherwild jungle cat having a meal.
‘All right, if youdon’t want to talk I’ll leave.’ He had turned to go when he heard afemale voice behind him.
‘Aren’t you scared ofwalking around in the jungle at night? Most newmans are.’
He turned back to seeMiranda the druid woman from earlier in the afternoon, standingwhere the cat had been.
‘No. My speciesoriginated in fetid swamps on a faraway world. They hunted at nightand the other creatures feared them.’
‘Are you hungry?’ sheasked. ‘You can share some of my kill.’
‘It does smell rathernice,’ he ventured, and then couldn’t believe what he had said. Ifhe were still Rob he would probably have been sick at the thought,but he wasn’t. He was now Aquitain the Logicon, and they ate allsorts of things, especially putrid, rotten, stinking and smellythings. That’s why the fresh offal of the animal smelt soappetising.
‘Help yourself!’ sheoffered, so he did. He ripped out the strong-smelling intestinesand stuffed them into his body case mouth opening. It had adelicious, wild and exotic flavour. His body inside the shell hadno mouth but simply wrapped around the still writhing warmintestinal tract and absorbed it internally into a bubble, where itwould be digested over the next few hours.
‘Do you eat newmans?’she asked.
‘Not generally,’ hesaid. ‘They wouldn’t like it. Do you eat them?’
She smiled. ‘No, it’sgenerally against the rules, and besides there’s no need. There’splenty of food out here if you know where to look and how to catchit.’
‘Were you hunting thatdog creature for food?’
‘No, it was a favourfor druid friend who’s busy on another job. It’s an Elendarihunting hound used by illegal hunters. They left it behind in ahurry to get away and it doesn’t belong in the jungle around here.It attacked one of the farmer’s domestic animals three days ago andI thought that it would return either tonight or tomorrownight.’
‘What is it like tochange into a big cat?’
‘I guess it must seemstrange to you, but I’ve been doing it for so long now that it’sjust another part of me. If I need to hunt or fight I become a cat.If I need to travel any distance, I become an eagle. That’s whatdruids do.’
‘Can you talk to theanimals?’ Aquitain inquired with interest.
‘Yes but not in thenormal way, for that we use magic given to us by the Lady. We singa prayer and can talk into their minds and then read theirresponse, partly from their mental attitude and partly from theirbodily response. It takes a lot of practice to do it well.’
‘Who is the Lady?’
Miranda chuckled. ‘TheLady of the Jungle is the mother of all things. She is the Goddessof Nature. The Supreme Being that cares for and nurtures allcreatures great and small. Our abilities to shape change, talk tothe animals, heal and care for them are all derived from her. Don’tyou have gods where you come from?’
‘Yes but I’ve nevertaken much of an interest in them,’ replied Aquitain. ‘The ones Iknow about don’t seem that benevolent.’
‘Are you a wizard?’
‘I guess the light onme is a bit of a giveaway isn’t it? Yes I’m a sort of a wizard, butmore of an artisan and merchant.’
‘So why are you here?This can be a dangerous place, even for powerful wizards.’
‘To visit High WizardFeatherdown and talk to the druid Alin Amber.’
‘Hmm ... well I hopeyou enjoy your visit. I’ll have to go. I’ve done my job here. Ihave to return to my home range.’
‘Where’s that?’ heasked.
‘A very long way fromhere.’
‘Are you really afemale or are you a male pretending to be one?’ asked Aquitaincuriously.
‘That’s a very personalquestion,’ she replied. ‘You may have heard some strange thingsabout druids, but I can assure you we are very ethical people. Nodruid that I know will willingly deceive people as to their genderunless it is for a very important reason. I am truly a femalenewman and proud of it!’
“I’m also quitesurprised that a metal box would be interested in my gender. Ican’t even imagine a concept of male and female metal boxes.’
‘Well I’m a creaturethat lives in a metal shell and uses it for protection in a similarfashion to a tortoise. I am a male, and do appreciate thedifference between male and female newmans. You are by anystandards an exceptionally beautiful example of a female newman,but I am more interested in your shape changing ability at
