EMANE WOKE TO SOMETHING tugging at his neck. Groaning, he swatted—and hit something fuzzy. Shoving himself backwards with a grunt, Emane blinked furiously. A ball of grey fur was tugging and growling at the amulet hanging from his neck.
When Aleric gifted Emane with the amulet, he said it would glow amber for a friend but red for an enemy. It was amber, which meant this little guy wasn’t trying to eat him. “What are you?” he mumbled, rubbing his burning eyes.
The creature was the size of a cantaloupe. A small nose protruded from its face, surrounded by whiskers and large blue eyes. Its ears were enormous and hung nearly to the ground.
Emane sat up on his elbow. “Hey,” he whispered, trying not to wake the others as he reached for his amulet. The creature jerked again and the cord snapped. With the amulet clenched in its teeth the creature scampered off, giving a happy squawk as it left the magical barrier and headed into the forest.
“No, no, no!” Emane jumped up, leaping over a sleeping Drustan before stopping at the edge of the barrier. He growled, leaping back over Drustan to grab his sword before taking off after the creature. He could not lose the amulet. It was the closest he would ever get to feeling threads, and he was already at a disadvantage in this world.
The fur ball scampered just ahead of him, the amber light bobbing up and down, the leather cord dragging behind it. Further and further into the forest Emane chased it, until the furry thief stopped suddenly in front of a wide pine and turned to regard him with large eyes.
Emane skidded to a stop, not wanting to spook the little guy into running again. Cautiously he crouched down, laying his sword beside him before stretching out his hand. “Come on,” he cooed. “Just—hold still.” He inched closer, his hand out in front of him. “Just a little closer,” he murmured, carefully placing his foot to avoid snapping any fallen twigs. The creature just blinked, its nose wiggling. After taking one more step, Emane sprang forward. The fur ball nimbly scooted out of the way at the last second, and Emane found himself with a face full of dirt and pine needles. Turning his head to the side he spat, eyeing the animal that sat just out of reach—happily nibbling on his amulet.
“No,” Emane groaned. “You’re going to break it.” He pushed up to his hands and knees and launched himself forward. Just as before, the animal moved out of his way, leaving Emane with another face full of dirt. Spitting out what he could, he tried again.
The two played this game for several minutes before Emane leaned back on his knees and stared at the furball. As usual, it sat just out of reach, rolling the amulet around in its paws.
“I don’t suppose it would work if I just said please?” Emane sighed, wiping his arm across his mouth. The animal gave one large blink before turning his attention, and his teeth, back to the amulet. Emane had an idea. He slowly began unbuttoning his shirt, trying not to startle his prey. The blue eyes looked up from the amulet to evaluate, then went back to nibbling. Pulling his arms out of the sleeves, Emane held his shirt out in front of him like a net.
“Does that taste good little guy?” Emane murmured. “That’s right, you little thief, just keep on nibbling . . .” Emane threw the shirt over the animal and jumped on top of it. The glittering magical snake wrapped around his arm shone in the moonlight.
The animal twisted and turned, grunting as Emane gingerly placed his knees on either side of it. Using one hand to pin it down, Emane’s free hand peeled back the top corner of the shirt. The furball’s eyes were wide as it tossed its head back and forth, the amulet still firmly clasped between its teeth.
Emane reached down, but jerked his fingers back when the animal growled. Carefully, Emane reached down again, grabbing the end of the leather cord and tugging on it to avoid being bitten. It didn’t budge.
Wrapping the leather around his hand, he gave it one more good pull and the amulet popped out with a squeak of protest. Emane’s head dropped forward in relief. “Thank you,” he breathed.