Free Kaya Stormchild by Lael Whitehead Page B

that grew at the edge of the forest,
leaning them thickly against the driftwood. She stacked green
boughs against the inside of the shelter as well, so that soon the
little house was snug against the wind. Kaya smoothed the dry sand
on the floor with an improvised broom, and went to fetch her
friends.
    First she
untied the tourniquet on the Duchess’s arm. The blood gushed from
the wound once more, although less freely than it had earlier. Kaya
waited for a couple of minutes before she retied the tourniquet.
Then she helped the Duchess to her feet and led her to the shelter.
Tike followed close at their heels.
    “ The basket
–“ said the old woman. “It must still be on the beach. I took it
out of the canoe. I think I put it behind a rock somewhere
–“
    Kaya
brightened. “I thought we’d lost it with the boat!! I’ll go find
it.”
    This was the
first good thing that had happened since the fight on the beach.
The girl searched along the rocky edge of the little bay until she
spotted the handle of the wicker basket protruding from behind a
sandstone boulder. She retrieved it just in time. The rising tide
had almost reached it and would soon have floated it out to sea.
Returning to the shelter with the basket, Kaya found the red
checkered cloth and wrapped it around the Duchess. She found the
bottled water and helped the woman take a long drink.
    “ Now I’m
going to go try and get Josh in here,” said Kaya. “He won’t be able
to walk. I hope he can haul himself this far!”
    It was
difficult, but with Kaya’s help Josh at last managed to heave
himself up the beach. Kaya steered him backwards by the shoulders,
and he used his arms and his one good leg to propel himself.
Finally, he slithered in through the small door and flopped onto
his back, groaning with pain. Once he was inside, Kaya stacked some
fir boughs across the doorway from the outside.
    “ Look after
them, Tike,” called Kaya from outside the shelter. “I’m going to
find some medicine.”
    Kaya raced
along the edge of the forest, hoping desperately that she would
find what she needed. She had seen some growing on the other island
where they had stopped for lunch. There must be some here
too.
    “ Please,” she
begged aloud as she searched, “please grow here. We need
you!”
    At last she
saw a clump of the plants she sought: yarrow -- tall stalks with
clusters of small white flowers. They were growing just beyond the
high tide mark, in a grassy meadow at the edge of the forest of
cedar and fir trees. Kaya cried out with relief when she saw the
plants.
    “ Thank you,”
she whispered.
    She stooped
and picked an armful and then hurried back to the shelter. She
retrieved the water bottle from inside and placed it next to her
feet outside. Squatting, she began to pick apart the flowers and
leaves, placing them on a dish-shaped piece of driftwood she had
found nearby. Using a smooth round stone as a pestle, Kaya ground
the plants, adding a little water now and then from the bottle
until at last she had made a bright green paste. When she was
satisfied with the consistency, she carried the wooden dish to the
doorway of the shelter and removed the boughs blocking the
entrance.
    Once inside,
there was just enough light coming through the open door for her to
see what she was doing. She knelt beside the Duchess. Removing the
tourniquet once more, Kaya gently ripped away the sleeve of the
Duchess’s dress, exposing the wound in the old woman’s arm. Kaya’s
breath caught in surprise. The wound was deep, and still seeping
blood. It would easily get infected. Kaya would have to do her
best.
    She pressed
the paste she had made against the wound, covering it entirely.
Then, ripping a narrow strip from the red checkered picnic cloth,
she gently bound the wound with a tight bandage.
    “ Lie down, my
dear,” said Kaya soothingly. She moved the picnic basket next to
the old woman and gently placed the wounded arm across it. “Here,”
said Kaya,