by Bob Nailor
“What a bloody night,” Neville said, “No pun intended. Where were you, Dr. Carvalho?”
“I should ask that of you,” Ana replied. “I didn’t see any of you at the ceremony.”
“What ceremony?” Nancy and Aaron asked in unison.
Ana sat down with her back against the wall in a spot where little morning light shone, her arms around her raised knees. She squinted and rubbed her eyes, somehow more sensitive than usual.
“The Eye of Knowledge,” she replied. “And it was nothing like you described, Moema. The two virgins were quite nicely deflowered while we watched.”
Wayne sat up, finally interested. “Who’s we?” he asked.
“We heard drums and chanting,” Aaron added. “You were there?”
“Itotia pulled me out of the crowd and led me to a balcony to watch,” Ana replied.
“A white balcony,” Aaron said.
“Over a crystal blue lake,” Nancy added.
“Yes, the one from our dreams,” Ana said. “But, everything was a little bit different.”
“Did you find Barbara and Marshall?” Neville asked. “Were they at the ceremony?”
Ana’s face fell. The lost students had been the farthest thing from her mind. “No, I was hoping they would have found their way to you,” she lied.
“Back to the deflowering. Who got to do the nasty?” Neville asked and smiled lecherously.
“Ejup,” Ana answered. “And, then, their chosen males.”
“Cool,” Wayne said. “A gangbang. I wish I’d been there!” He was suddenly on his feet.
Ana frowned and swallowed a growl. No, you don’t, she thought. “It’s an ancient ritual for them,” she said. “The right of passage for female warriors. Tinga and Janiza are well on their way to womanhood.”
“Sounds like they’re already there,” Wayne quipped, rubbing his hands together. He walked toward the door and yanked on the circular door pull. “I gotta take a leak.” He tugged nervously at the solid wooden slab. When it didn’t cooperate, he uttered a curse and stomped back to his grass mat.
Aaron rolled his eyes and shook his head. “It turns out he’s Mr. Modesty,” he said and nodded toward a large ceramic pot in one corner. “We’ve been locked in here since just after that marathon of a hike. I took a dart in the neck and woke up here. The door was shut tight and everybody’s been sharing that disgusting latrine all night, except for him.”
“Hey,” Wayne griped. “I like my privacy to take care of personal business.”
“You mean, like in those orgies you’re always talking about?” Nancy snapped back, disgustedly. “You’re a pig.”
The door creaked open as if on cue to admit two burly natives carrying trays of food. Wayne leaped to his feet and before they could stop him, dashed out the door mumbling, “Gang way, I gotta piss!” The group enjoyed a long-overdue giggle. Moema arranged the bowls of bread, rice, meat, fruit, and fried manioc in the center of the room where everyone could sit on the floor in a big circle.
Ana reached instantly for a bowl of barely-cooked sliced meat swimming in its juice and blood. “Wow, am I’m famished,” she said, grabbed a slice and let it slide down her throat without even chewing. She closed her eyes in pleasure. “This is fabulous,” she murmured. When she looked up, her team stared back, their eyes as round as saucers.
She grabbed a second piece, even juicier. “What?” she asked.
“I thought you didn’t like rare meat,” Aaron said, quietly.
“I usually don’t,” Ana replied. “But this morning, it’s just what the doctor ordered.”
Wayne stormed back in through the door, zipping up his pants while he walked. “Well, I’m starved, too,” he commented. “It’s a good thing it’s early and no one was under that balcony.” They all ignored his rudeness. “Those guys refused to talk to me. It was like somebody had cut out their tongues.”
Ana quickly finished the meat and slurped down the liquid in the bowl. She couldn’t remember anything tasting so good. “The men in this tribe are servants,” she started. “They live for the women, and have no role in the society other than reproduction.”
“Sounds fine to me,” Nancy commented. “Most of them aren’t good for much more than that, anyway.” She glared at Wayne who chowed down on avocado and acaí.
“Certainly that can’t be true,” Aaron said. “Even in matriarchal societies, the men are respected as hunters and fighters.”
Ana looked over the spread of tropical food and found nothing else appealing. “Not this one,” she replied. “In the ceremony last night, Janiza’s mate died after the ritual.” Silence fell on the room as they somberly chewed their breakfast.
“You mean like the fake virgin of the other night?” Wayne finally asked. “When they puked and croaked?”
Ana let the question stew for a few seconds. A panic was sure to ensue if she blurted out what really had happened on that little island. “Something like that,” she finally replied with a cocked head and grimace. “He simply had fulfilled his purpose and died.”
“You mean Janiza got pregnant?” Nancy asked. “How could she know that so soon?”
“Itotia told me it almost never fails,” Ana continued. “The combination of the cycles of the moon and the passion of the ceremony always leaves the virgins pregnant.”
“This is more usual than you might think,” Neville added. “The most common comment in abortion clinics is, ‘But it was my first time.’”
“Tell me about it,” Wayne said, rolling his eyes. They all just shook their heads again.
Aaron offered a few slices of pineapple to Ana. “You have to eat this,” he insisted. “It’s like pure sugar. We never have fruit like this back home.”
Ana wrinkled up her face and shook her head. “No, thanks,” she said. “I’m not hungry.” She winced in pain and grabbed her stomach. “This isn’t good,” she murmured and slowly massaged her abdomen before turning and dashing for the corner. She heaved her breakfast then wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “Sorry. Guess I shouldn’t have eaten that meat.”
Aaron noted how white she appeared then tapped on the serving tray with the edge of a bowl. They both shone with the unmistakable patina of gold. “I’ve never seen gold plating in a stone-age culture,” he commented. “The Greeks and Romans hammered thin leaf for coatings but this is too smooth to be hand-applied.”
Wayne walked over, a slice of watermelon dripping from his hand. “It’s the real McCoy,” he said off-handedly. “Put the edge of that bowl in your mouth and bite down.” Aaron followed instructions and continued to stare at the pieces.
“Did you feel your teeth sink in, just a little bit,” he asked. Aaron nodded. “It’s as pure as the stuff gets. Twenty-four carat. No plate in this place.”
Suddenly a wave of surprise swept over everyone’s eyes. “There must be twenty pounds of the stuff here,” Neville commented.
“One hundred and fifty thousand clams,” Wayne said with a wink. “I already did the math.” They fell into silence in front of the small fortune in breakfast dishes.
Ana pushed her empty dish back toward the center. “Look, everybody, pay attention” she called out. The memory of her conversation with Itotia burned in her head. “They have asked us to become members of their tribe.” Everyone else seemed less animated than she had expected.
Wayne dove into another slice of watermelon. “No, thanks,” he said. “I’m not going to be anybody’s servant, especially to a bunch of illiterate savages.” The three professors glared at him for the ignorant comment.
Neville shook his head in disbelief. “If that’s how you feel about indigenous people, how did you ever become part of this expedition?” he asked.
“Don’t ask me,” he replied. “One of my father’s foremen in the mine in South Africa called me. Said it was a great opportunity. What a crock of shit!” Aaron nodded his head slightly to Ana with a look that said, ‘I told you so.’
“I hate to agre
e with our young bigot,” Aaron said. “But I’d have to go along with what he said. I don’t expect a Ph.D. is a valuable asset here in the rain forest. I try to be modern, but serving red-eyed women is not my style.”
“Nor mine,” Neville said quietly. The room fell into a silence as the last scraps of food disappeared, the only sound being a stifled belch from Wayne.
“From what I could tell,” Ana finally said, “It wasn’t exactly an invitation.” She stopped, unsure about how to go on.
“Dr. Ana,” Aaron said in a sarcastic tone. “Could it be that there’s something you’re not telling us?”
She stared at the ceramic tile floor, still tongue-tied. Five pairs of eyes drilled holes in her skull.
“Ah,” she stuttered, “It would appear that Ejup has not taken kindly to our invasion of his territory.”
“Well, piss on him and his territory,” Wayne snapped and jumped to his feet. “I’m getting out of here.” He stormed to the door and bashed for all he was worth, while the others stared at Ana.
“Sit down, Wayne,” Aaron commanded. “You’re just making a fool of yourself.”
“Fuck you, Dr. Aaron,” he barked and walked to the windows. Thick iron bars set into the walls every few inches blocked any possibility of escape. “Hey!” he called in English. “Let me out of here.” He continued to wail on the impenetrable grid work.
“Windows with iron bars,” Nancy said in a low tone almost to herself. “The dream.”
“And if we agreed,” Aaron asked, “Would we be free to leave?”
Ana didn’t reply right away. “Wayne, sit down and be quiet!” she barked to the student. “You’re in this with the rest of us, whether you like it or not.”
He kicked the door and yipped a “Fuck you” before he propped himself up against the wall.
“I don’t know, Aaron,” Ana said. “I told Itotia I would stick with you, no matter what.” She self-consciously rubbed the two tiny pricks on her throat.
“All the peoples of the Amazon have heard about this tribe,” Moema said in a serious, frightened tone. “They are like a hive of bees. If a stranger enters, he never leaves. It has been this way since before the Portuguese missionaries came.” She huddled next to Neville, appearing even smaller than usual.
Nancy picked at the scraps of fruit on her plate. “What would we have to do?” she asked, her eyes fixed downward.
“We would have to pass through these two rituals,” Ana replied. “Just like Tinga and Janiza.”
“I can’t,” Nancy said. “I haven’t been a virgin since I was thirteen.” She ignored Wayne’s giggles.
“Well, I could,” Ana added and fell into silence again. The three men’s eyes shot her way.
“You’re a virgin?” Aaron asked, almost innocently.
Ana nodded her head. “Itotia said she knew it from my smell.”
“Well, that’s all well and good for you, Dr. Ana,” Nancy snapped. “But, I have no intention of barfing my guts out and then being kicked to death. No, thank you.”
“I am also not a virgin,” Moema said. “I have four children, one as old as you, Dr. Ana.”
Ana raised her eyes to the two distressed women. “Well, maybe it’s not as bad as we think,” she said. “Remember, Itotia said the girl died for her lies and the shame she brought on the tribe. Neither of you has ever claimed to be a virgin. Perhaps it wouldn’t be an issue.”
“A big maybe,” Nancy murmured and returned to sullen silence.
“I know who would be my chosen,” Moema said softly. She turned to Neville and laid her hand on his knee.”
Aaron’s eyes burned into Ana’s, asking the question for which he already knew the answer. She smiled slightly then returned to gray-faced gravity.
“I don’t like where this is going,” Nancy snapped. “No way.” She slammed a melon rind into her plate, jumped to her feet, and paced across the room.
Wayne grinned like a small boy with a coin in a candy store. “You’ll never regret it, baby,” he said with a wink. “None of them ever do.”
“Oh, shut up, you pervert,” she snapped back. “I’d rather die than let you touch me.” No one pointed out the obvious reaction to what she had said.
The silence was shattered when the door flew open. Two of Itotia’s attendants strode in, followed by Itotia. The other two remained outside the door as guards, their arms crossed in front of their chests.
Wayne dashed to the opening and lowered his shoulders to strike the two natives in their chests. They didn’t move an inch from his attack but grabbed his arms. He flailed and cursed like a cartoon character until they flung him back into the room. He landed on his back and his head slammed into the putrid latrine.
Itotia looked at the scene with an expression of disgust. She stood tall in a golden uluri with her hair interlaced with fine gold filaments on top of her head. Ana stood in front of her with a look of anticipation. The queen looked straight ahead, her eyes glowing in anger.
“As you asked,” she began, “I have interceded with our lord and master. The offense which you have thrown in his face is more than he can overlook. No one has ever invaded our territories and assaulted our way of life as you have, Dr. Ana Carvalho.” The tenderness of the previous night had been replaced by rigid antagonism. Ana thought she saw a purple bruise on her left cheek.”
“This obscene display of brazen male impudence shows that you are not worthy of the honor of oneness with our people.”
“But, Itotia,” Aaron called out. “He is just a—"
Ana’s eye shot toward Aaron. “Silence,” she barked. Her glare flamed in anger.
“But, I was only—”
Ana slapped him across the face, much harder than she had thought possible. “I said silence, impertinent child,” she growled. The blow knocked him to his knees where he stayed, nursing the rapid swelling along the side of his face. Her strength surprised even herself.
Itotia let a tiny grin take hold of the corners of her mouth. “It’s your good fortune I pleaded with my master to spare you. I guaranteed your lives with my own.” Her eyes darted toward Ana’s, then back toward the group.
“He granted my wish on two conditions,” she continued. “First, you complete the rituals of membership through which every Vamazon must pass. Secondly, you renounce your former lives and submit yourselves to the sovereign will of Ejup, our lord and our god.”
Moema stepped forward and dropped to one knee, her head bowed. “May I speak, Queen Itotia, favored of the lord of the Vamazons?”
Again, Itotia smiled and nodded her head toward the wise Indian. “You may, daughter of the Araras,” she replied.
“I am a mother and a grandmother,” Moema said with her head still bowed. “Surely the wise Itotia can understand I cannot return to my youth and become a virgin.”
“You have spoken well, daughter of the Araras,” Itotia replied. “But, such decisions are beyond my control. Only our god can decide your fate.”
“I’m not a virgin, either,” Nancy blurted out.
Itotia frowned. “Are you a grandmother?” she asked.
“No,” Nancy said with a chuckle.
“Are you a mother?”
“No,” Nancy replied.
“Where is your mate?” Itotia asked with a slight tone of curiosity.
“I have no – uh – mate,” Nancy said with a look of disgust. “I’m single.”
Itotia returned a scowl of judgment. “Then you are a whore,” she snapped. “I cannot promise you anything. This is between you and our god.” Nancy tried to return her own glare but quickly shriveled into subservience.
Itotia turned back to face Ana. “The ceremony shall be tonight when the moon is high. We will combine both rituals into one. You shall choose your mates now.”
The women’s eyes opened in surprise. “Certainly, you can give us a little time,” Ana pleaded. “No decision can be more important than this one.” Itotia’s eyes narrowed and glared at Ana, whose head drop
ped in humiliation.
Moema was still on one knee, her gaze directed at Itotia’s feet. “Queen Itotia, favored of the lord of the Vamazons, I choose Dr. Neville,” she said quietly.
“You have chosen well, daughter of the Araras,” Itotia replied with a smile.
“I choose Aaron Theodouros, my queen,” Ana said. The sincerity of her tone drew a cautious stare from everyone.”
“And I choose no one,” Nancy snapped in defiance.
Itotia stared at her without any indication of surprise. “As you wish,” she said. “You will have until the ceremony to change your mind.” She nodded to the two attendants in the room. They walked to Wayne, grasped him by the arms, and dragged him toward the door. He struggled and kicked with no effect against the strength of the two powerful natives. “Where are you taking me, you sons of bitches?” he screamed.
“We have no use for men who are rejected by our women,” she barked. They heard cursing and struggling as they dragged him down the corridor outside. A second later one of the attendants returned with a small gold serving bowl in his hand. He handed it to his queen and said, “This was in his clothing.”
Itotia tossed the piece to the ground with a look of disgust on her face. “Zreia will return to prepare you for tonight,” she said. “Ejup has spoken. May he be worshiped.” She turned and left in long, commanding strides. The door slammed shut and the room returned to silence.
“Question—Anyone know what a Vamazon is?” Nancy asked.
Chapter Thirty
CEREMONY PREPARATION
Ana kneeled next to Aaron, the nasty red outline of her fingers imprinted as a welt on his cheek. Her slap had injured more than his face. “Aaron, I am so sorry,” she began. “But, you have been warned and warned about male behavior. You, of all people, should know the importance of honoring the customs of the people we study.”