Page 85 of Wings Above the Mallee

Amelia was whiter than the blaze on the magpie’s chest, her shoulders hunched as she cradled the animal close to her face, whispering imploringly. Again the bird’s beak opened and closed as it gasped what had to be its last breaths.

It took only seconds to reach the surgery. Matt had the car door open before Heath turned the ignition off. The vet dropped to his haunches, leaving the magpie in Amelia’s embrace as he assessed it. As he stretched out one of her wings, Dusty’s eyes flickered open, and she let out a sad cry of pain or protest.

‘Okay, little one,’ Matt murmured. ‘Let me have a look at the other side. What have you done to yourself?’

Gradually, as Amelia petted her and Matt manipulated joints, Dusty seemed to become more alert.

‘She’s a mess, all right,’ Matt said, and a harsh sob erupted from Amelia. ‘Hey, she’s a mess, Amelia, but I don’t think anything’s broken. Did you find her on the road?’

Amelia shook her head, her lips pressed together, so obviously trying to control her emotions that Heath’s heart ached.

‘She just flew in over the back fence,’ he said. ‘She’s been missing for several days.’

‘Flewin?’ Matt said disbelievingly. ‘If she managed to fly with all this damage, she was sure determined to get home.’

‘D-damage?’ Horror widened Amelia’s eyes.

‘She’s lost all her flight feathers on the right side and most of her tail feathers. She shouldn’t be able to fly at all, so I don’t know how she’s managed to get back to you.Sheer determination, I guess. Just relax your hold on her a bit, Amelia, see if she wants to move around.’

Amelia followed the vet’s instruction and Dusty gathered her feet beneath her and fluffed herself up, again causing a miniature explosion of downy feathers.

Amelia’s breathing was audible, jagged breaths choked by tears. ‘What would rip out her feathers?’

Matt lifted a shoulder. ‘Potentially a cat, but my money would be on another magpie. Even though she’s a young female, magpies are territorial. Particularly in spring. Dusty just needs to cross the wrong boundary and she’s fair game because she wasn’t bred around here. I don’t think you need to bring her into the clinic.’

Amelia gasped.

Matt placed a reassuring hand over hers, closing her fingers around Dusty. ‘Usually, the biggest problem with a bird is that they go into shock. But, seeing as Dusty flew home at night, the attack most likely hasn’t just happened. There’s a little blood on her feet, but I’d say that’s from doing an unusual amount of walking—they just need bathing. She’s probably been nursing this injury for a few days, trying to make her way home.’

Amelia’s face crumpled. Heath put an arm around her shoulders, the gesture made awkward by their position in the car.

‘But because Dusty is unusual, in that she’s so tame, I’m confident she won’t go into shock,’ Matt continued. ‘She just needs a quiet, familiar place and some TLC for a couple of days.’

‘Then she’ll be okay?’ Amelia begged.

Matt screwed up his face. ‘Flight feathers are tricky. If the shaft isn’t damaged, there’s a chance they might grow back, but it can take six months. If the shaft is damaged—’he lifted the wing again, peering closely ‘—there’s nothing that can be done. She won’t fly.’

Amelia sagged back against the seat, her eyes closed, the bird nestled between her thighs.

With his free hand, Heath reached for his wallet. ‘Okay, we’ll get her home and comfortable. What’s the damage, Matt?’

The vet waved him off. ‘Don’t worry about it, mate.’

He drove back to Amelia’s more slowly, parking smoothly and turning off the motor. ‘Dusty’s going to be okay, Amelia. Look, she’s already got her eyes open, having a nosey.’

‘She won’t fly again,’ Amelia whispered. ‘How can she be robbed of that? How will she live if she can’t fly?’

‘She’ll live, Amelia. Dusty will live just fine, because you love her.’

Amelia shook her head, the tears falling unchecked now. ‘My love doesn’t do a damn thing! I want to … I want to fix and nurture and protect everything, but instead, this is what happens.’

Like the most fragile exotic bird, Amelia was broken, and Heath wanted to cradle her against him, take away her pain. ‘Amelia, these animals you rescue … I know you’re sad that they may have a short life. But they don’t know it was abrupt. As far as they’re concerned, they’ve lived a full life, always surrounded by your love.’

Amelia shook her head angrily, but Heath caught her hand. He had to make her understand. ‘Dusty wouldn’t have survived without you. Nor would Karmaa, Kismet and Biggles.’ The deep breath he took threatened to choke him, but he knew he had to get the words out, no matter how much they tore him up. ‘And there’s a bloody good chance that Charlee wouldn’t be alive, either. I’m awed by your strength, Amelia.’

‘You don’t know me. I’m not strong. I’mresilient,’ she said. Then she covered her face with her free hand. ‘And I’m so damn tired of fighting.’

He knew that she meant fighting life: fighting for it and fighting against it. His fingers tightened around hers. She had a right to fly, both emotionally and physically. ‘Then find someone to fight with you, Amelia.’

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