Chapter Three

Amos was visibly shaking. His forehead rested on the floor; his arms outstretched in front of him. “Maheetek.” He chanted over and over.

Cory stared at him, her mouth open. She was gasping for breath. “What is wrong with you,” she growled which seemed to make him chant louder.

She telepathically called to her mother, “Where are you? Are you OK?” No answer. “I need you!” She wobbled; her legs felt like jelly. “Dad! Help me. Matt?” She repeatedly called to her family but no one replied.  Staring at Amos who had not changed his posture, she roared. “If anyone can hear this…please help me!” Perspiration exploded out every pore, even in the sub-zero temperature.

Amos continued to chant.

Cory had never felt so alone, so helpless. She reached up to her fur covered face, glimpsing the long claws that had replaced her fingernails then looked back at Amos. Her eyes stretched open, painfully wide. He thinks I’m Maheetek; a misconception that she decided to use to her benefit. She gathered what little courage she could muster and closed her eyes, concentrating only on her mouth and nose. If she could transform only those into her human form, she could talk to him in a language he would understand.

“Get up,” she said firmly, replacing her growl with her normal voice.

He looked up sheepishly, pausing before pushing up to rest on his knees. He stared straight ahead but not at her. “The Tuurnagait have come.”

Cory swung around to see what he was looking at. She didn’t see anything. “The what?” she asked, looking back at the delusional little man.

Amos hadn’t moved, still staring straight ahead. “The Tuurnagait. They always follow you. And they were here…again!” He sobbed.

Cory’s jaw clenched. She honed in on his thoughts again, but couldn’t untangle the mess of words that were jumping around in his mind. “What are you talking about?”

Amos shut his eyes tightly and leaned over to hug his knees, curling himself into a tight ball.

Cory was trembling, her breathing coming in gulps. She knew Amos was frightened too, maybe of her, maybe of the Tuurnawhatsits, maybe of them both. Once again, she forced her thoughts into his head, “Tell me what you saw.”

His gaze darted around the room. “You are supposed to protect us from them.”

Cory swallowed hard. She wanted to scream at him but kept her voice calm. “What did you see?”

Amos squinted at her. His expression became stormy. “They can’t be seen, least not by humans. But you can see ’em… if you’re really Maheetek.”

Cory willed her body to be still, reminding herself that she still had long claws and deadly horns. Instantly she turned her eyes ruby red.

“I am Maheetek and you will help me!” She commanded in her deepest voice.

Amos buried his face in his hands. “They took that woman…”

He doesn’t even remember that she is my mother? Could he even help her?

“I know they did,” he said through sobs. He looked up with pitiful eyes.

“Mum! You’ve got to help me!” Her mother didn’t answer.

“Last time the Tuurnagait was here, you was a great white bear.” A single tear escaped Amos’s eye and dribbled down a crevasse on his cheek.

Cory’s mother had told her the story of Maheetek so many times that it was etched in her mind. The god was connected to her own Athenite ancestry. He could take the form of an animal and in many versions had been a polar bear. It was said that to see Maheetek would mean a good hunt, the birth of a healthy child or victory over an enemy. She searched her memory, wading through the various versions of the story, but there was nothing about an evil spirit that she could recall.

Amos looked sorrowfully at Cory. “They must’ve taken her just like they took my wife.”

“Your wife?” Cory tried to keep her voice level.

He nodded with no further explanation and Cory didn’t ask for one.

“Do you know where the Tuurna…,” she stumbled on the word, not wanting to mispronounce it. “Where were they taken?”

Argyle’s gaze darted around the cabin “I don’t know,” he said hastily.

Cory caught a glimpse of his thought that, for the first time, was making sense. He was wondering, after the misery that followed Maheetek’s visits, why he should trust her.

“You can tell me,” she said soothingly. “I will help you. But you have to help me.”

Amos looked at her with an innocent expression that seemed surreal on the face of the crusty old man. “You will help me find Lucy?”

“Lucy?”

His face scrunch up in anger. “My wife!” He barked.

Trembling almost uncontrollably, Cory took a deep, steadying breath. “Of course, your wife.” She wondered what kind a woman would marry such a strange little man. A strange little woman she thought. “I will do everything in my power to help you find her if you help me find my…ah…the other woman,” she said with a slight stammer that she hoped he wouldn’t notice.

Amos struggled to his feet and hurried over to his bed, looking back at Cory as if he might change his mind. He bent down and rummaged underneath finally pulling out a cardboard box.

“Ever since Lucy disappeared, I’ve been collecting stuff.” He opened the box and proudly looked at its contents. “This,” he said, holding up a long thin bone, “is from that walrus you killed after I saw you the first time.” He continued to sort through his collection which included sticks, stones, dirt, a dead bird, assorted feathers, a fish skeleton and a tiny foot that looked like it might have belonged to an arctic hare at one time. “All these things I saved ‘cause I knew they would bring me good luck,” he said, giving her a toothy grin.

Cory stared with a mix of fascination and horror.

“Here it is,” he whooped as he brought out a rolled-up piece of furry animal skin tied with twine. “After Lucy disappeared, I went near crazy. I looked high and low for her. Then one day I found this!”

Cory waited for him to explain but he just stared at the thing in his hand. “What is it?”

“It took me a long time to make heads or tails of it.” He undid the twine and unrolled the skin. It was smooth on the other side. He then handed it to Cory. “It’s a map.”

Cory’s eyes bulged. It was just a piece of animal hide; there was nothing that made it look like a map.

“See here,” he said, jabbing a finger in the centre of the smooth leather, “This is the sea to the east of Ellesmere and that is the island where I bet, they live.”

“Who?”

Amos frowned. “The Tuurnagait,” he snapped.  “I’m bettin’ Lucy’s probably been held there as prisoner for all these years—I can feel it in my bones. That other woman’s probably there now too.  I’ve been waitin’ for the right time to go. I didn’t want to go in the summer ‘cause they’d see me comin’, and I was afraid to cross the sea at this time of year, especially by myself, but you’re here now. With your powers on our side, them Tuurngait’ll think twice before attacking us.”

Sweat beaded on Cory’s upper lip. She had no intention of sailing across a sea in total darkness with Amos Argyle. She glanced over at the radio, willing it to come alive so that she could contact anyone who could send help. She again tried to telepathically connect with her family. Still no reply. Her trembling increased. She was on the verge of total panic when a faint voice surfaced in her mind. “Come find me.”

“Mum?”

“Yes darling.”

“Where are you?” Cory called back but her mother didn’t answer. She squared her shoulders and looked at Amos who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“Are there people living here now who have a boat?” Her voice quaked.

“Then you’ll go with me…to the island?”

There was no way she was going to do that but her had to think she was.  “Is there someone living here now who owns a boat,” she repeated in a stern voice.

Amos nodded like a bobblehead. “Ellesmere boat hire isn’t too far away. They rent boats to summer tourists but there’s always somebody there even at this time of year. My truck’s broken down but we can walk there in a few hours.”

“Do they have a radio, like yours? One that works?”

Amos narrowed his eyes. “Why do you need a radio?”

 “DO THEY HAVE A RADIO?” Her booming voice rattled the shutters.

Amos cowed, holding up his hands in a defensive posture. “Yeah, they have one.”

If I can get to a radio, I can call someone for help. She looked at the little man who she would have to trust to navigate through the artic wilderness, giving her second thoughts. “Mum! What should I do?”

“Trust Amos to help you.”

Cory’s pulse raced. “Are you sure?”

“Trust in yourself.”

Seconds seemed like minutes then hours with the only sound that of their breathing. She looked at Amos. “Take me to the boat hire.”