by A. W. Exley
He scanned the space containing her. It looked exactly like any other cell he had ever inspected from the inside. One wall of metal bars held the door. Sides of bars divided off the individual cells. The rear wall was made of rough-hewn stone. Whoever had built the barracks knew enough not to have a wooden cell. A small, high window allowed light and fresh air to enter but was too narrow for a person to squirm through.
They had plenty of options to free Paniha, from blowing the rear wall if they wanted to be loud and obvious, to picking the lock for a silent entry. Getting the woman out of the cell didn’t bother him. It was the soldiers swirling around the barracks that presented the bigger challenge. Scared men with rifles were unpredictable.
“Hone will free me.” She moved her hand up his arm to wrap around his forearm.
“I suspect that is what he plans. But we need to make sure everyone remains in one piece. I—” Loki swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. “I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”
The first tentative smile graced Paniha’s face. “Are you worried about us, Kahu? How unlike the selfish pakeha.”
A gentle tease, but it cut him deep. A cold sweat broke out over his back at the thought of either Paniha or Hone being injured. Is this how Nate felt when Cara walked in the face of danger? How did he bear it? The mere idea of seeing either of the people he cared about bloodied and broken made him want to vomit in a corner.
“I promise I will keep you both safe.” Loki had never been serious before. He was now.
Paniha kissed his fingers. “Go to Hone. Stop him from doing anything foolish.”
Colonel Austin strode into the room. “Time is up, Captain Hawke.”
Loki pulled Paniha’s hand to the bars and kissed her palm as best he could. Then he let her go and rose. “When do you propose to have your farce of a trial?”
“Tomorrow, I think. No need to let Lady Justice wait too long. The settlers have been scared long enough. It is time to bring their concerns to a satisfactory conclusion.” He rubbed his hands together.
Miguel could keep silent no longer. He stepped toward the colonel. “I’m surprised you don’t want longer to fabricate your evidence. The doctor will surely testify that a hoe could not have inflicted the fatal wounds. Let alone the fact there is nothing to tie Paniha to the scenes where any of the men died.”
Austin narrowed his gaze at Miguel. “So you say. But this one has worked against us for years. You’re new, but we have long memories. I have many men who can testify about the lengths she will go to, to sabotage our work here.”
20
Loki glanced at Paniha, who had returned to huddle against the wall. She sat with her arms wrapped around her knees and her eyes downcast. Cold rage filtered through him. He didn’t care what events had transpired in her past; he cared about her future, and he vowed to set her free.
He jabbed a finger at Austin’s nose. “I don’t know what you’re up to here, but I’m going to stop you.”
Colonel Austin laughed. “You and your ragtag company of petty criminals? You can’t do anything. Either turn up tomorrow morning to play the world’s most ineffective lawyer, or you can wait for a front row seat at the hanging.”
“Touch her and you’ll never see your Gatling guns.” The officer seemed to have forgotten about his request for better armaments.
Austin huffed. “Your master is one potential supplier, but not the only one. Why exactly are you so concerned about one native woman? Remember your origins.”
Remember your origins. Oh, he remembered. Not in the way Austin thought to remind him though. He remembered how his mother’s love for his father had destroyed her. How she’d scrimped and saved every penny to make sure Loki didn’t go without. Meanwhile his father had spent every guinea he could lay his hands on, wasting it all on courtesans, brandy, and slow racehorses.
Loki grew up knowing only that love could destroy you. Then he’d watched the relationship Nate and Cara built, which made them both stronger. Even the ugly Jackson had found love with a woman who was his perfect foil. In the quiet evenings of Aotearoa with nothing to do except think, he’d experienced an epiphany.
Love didn’t always destroy.
Love could fill the cold void at your centre. It could make you something better.
Hone and Paniha belonged together. The young couple were guardians of Matanui, and Loki finally found something he would stand for—the lovers. This land and people might never be his, but he could damn well make sure its guardians were safe.
Loki reminded himself that it wouldn’t do to show his hand too early. He was engaged in a game with Austin and needed to keep his cards close to his chest and maintain his poker face. Regaining control over his flare of anger, he smiled at the colonel and executed a small bow.
“Until tomorrow, then. Now if you don’t mind, my counsel and I must prepare our legal arguments.” He grabbed Miguel by the upper arm and hauled him out the door. It tore at him to leave Paniha there, but no harm would come to her before morning. Austin needed his show, which meant he needed his star exhibit.
Outside the barracks, Loki set off for the pa. Miguel trotted beside him. “I thought we were preparing a legal defence?”
Loki snorted and kept heading out of town. “Don’t be daft, lad. Only scholars say the pen is mightier than the sword. I fully intend to prove the opposite, but using my sword to ram home my point with Austin.”
Miguel cast Loki a sly glance, a smile on his face. “Good. I was worried you’d gone soft in the head, with all the moping around and sighing you’ve been doing.”
Loki barked in laughter and slapped Miguel’s back. “I’ve learned a few things, but I’m still a pirate at heart. I won’t be writing a letter when several inches of cold steel will make my point more elegantly.”
They stepped over the white line and left England to return to Aotearoa. But Matanui was now a very different place to the vibrant and welcoming community to which Loki had become accustomed. On the gentle incline, none of the women worked to weed or harvest the vegetables; the terraced gardens were empty and abandoned to the birds. No children played on the slope, tumbling and chasing each other. Hone’s warriors now walked the wall of the pa and the gate was locked.
Loki waved to the men above him and hoped that in the full light of day they would recognise him, and wouldn’t throw down their spears and turn him into a pincushion. “Open up, I need to talk to Hone.”
Commands were shouted and the gate creaked as the bar was raised and one side pushed open.
Hone emerged from the marae and walked across the bustling yard to Loki. His hand reached out to cup Loki’s nape as he pressed their foreheads together. In a short space of time, the greeting had become not just normal, but expected. The gentle brush of intimacy from the large man was as welcome as a warm ember on a cold night as it settled within Loki.
“Is Paniha unharmed?” Concern simmered in the chief’s eyes and his hand clenched on the back of Loki’s neck.
At least Loki could allay that fear. “Yes. Austin plans to make a spectacle of her tomorrow. Let’s discuss how we’re going to ruin his plans and get your lovely bride back.”
A slow smile spread over Hone’s face. “I knew you would not let us down, Kahu. Come.”
They walked back to the meeting house, now the place for the war council. In the cool, quiet interior, they sat cross-legged on woven mats. Hone’s warriors fanned out behind him, the elders at his side.
“You certainly seem to have made an enemy in Austin,” Loki said as he made himself comfortable.
Hone huffed a silent laugh. “He has always chafed against our rule. My father thought to make him a friend and ally when the army outpost was established. Instead he has grumbled and complained like a tired tamariki.”
It seemed the petulant child had grown up and decided the time had finally come to make his move. “I believe Austin took Paniha to goad you into starting a war. He has the demented idea that Engla
nd can reclaim this land as an obedient colony. If you attack, he then has the right to retaliate.”
An elder chuckled. “Fool. We have beaten the pakeha once, they cannot subdue us again.”
The Maori had defeated the English by using tactics they were unused to, lightning strikes under cover of darkness. Their warriors had disappeared among the trees and shrubbery as they utilised camouflage to evade detection. But this time it wouldn’t be as simple.
Austin had simply moved his first chess piece. At least he didn’t have the Gatling guns he sought, but what other weapons had he quietly gathered over his time here? Resentment could have simmered for years while he waited for the right opportunity to strike. “He doesn’t plan to subdue you; he intends to wipe you out.”
“We cannot let the trial proceed. It will be a farce,” Miguel spoke up. “I believe he will attempt to carry out his sentence as soon as possible.”
“Let him proceed with his trial tomorrow. Paniha will not spend a night apart from us.” Hone stared at Loki as he said the words. Us. Not me. Did Hone see Loki as a fixture in their marriage? That one tiny syllable blew warm air over the embers in Loki’s gut.
“I was rather hoping that was your plan.” Loki pulled a large sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. Smooth rocks were used to stretch out the parchment and hold it taunt. With a pencil that Miguel handed him, Loki drew a quick outline of the town, the location of the pa and the barracks. He placed a large cross where soldiers had stood inside the building. Within the barracks he noted where Austin held Paniha, rather frivolously drawing a small heart instead of an X.
He tapped the last notation. “He has her here. This part of the barracks has stone walls. The bars are anchored in the stone. We could blow the wall from outside which would be messy, will alert everyone to our presence, and runs the risk of harming Paniha with falling masonry.”
Hone studied the map. “We do not risk hurting Paniha. And noisy is not the Maori way. What quiet ways do you have?”
“We pick the lock to open the cell door. But that means we need to be inside the barracks.” The quiet way posed less risk to Paniha, but a far greater risk to the men. They had to get in and out, past the sleeping soldiers and Austin’s office.
Hone conferred with his elders and warriors. It was a low, unhurried conversation in which all voices were heard as they discussed the merits and drawbacks of various options for rescuing the maiden. Some still thought taking out the wall posed the least risk to the men, but Hone would not contemplate any danger to his new wife. The warriors reached an agreement that they would take the more dangerous path.
Then Hone turned back to Loki. “My warriors and I will clear the way inside, if you can open the cell.”
“That will be my task. I can open it,” Miguel said. The youth had fallen into the company of pirates after he was found in a crate. After that, he’d learned the skills to ensure no one ever locked him in a box again.
Hone met the gaze of each man in turn, as if weighing their determination and commitment. Then he nodded to himself. “We leave after full dark.”
The men stood and left the building. The warriors scattered to round up the other men and relay the discussion. Marika appeared in a shadow, waiting for Miguel.
Loki waved him away. “You have a couple of hours to wait, you may as well enjoy them.”
Then he walked with Hone as they headed to his favourite spot, the lookout tower.
“What happens after this, when Paniha is returned to you? What will you do with Austin?” Loki asked as they climbed the ladder to the top of the wall, and then the next one to the upper platform.
“The British soldiers are no longer welcome here. The army post will be dismantled. The men can either stay in Matanui under my mantle or leave.” Hone leaned on the top of the wall and surveyed his domain. Off to the east, the ocean was a dark blue strip against the paler sky.
Loki stood next to Hone, shoulder to shoulder. He drew a deep breath. There was something about this spot, close to the clouds with the valley laid out before them. It felt as much like a home to him as the bridge of an airship.
Hone gazed off to the distant horizon. “What of you, Kahu? What will you do after this?”
A quiet question but one loaded with meaning. Loki thought of the future in terms of things he had to do and tasks to complete, as though he had a long list and was working his way through, crossing things off. Was Hone offering him more? He had referred to Paniha not spending a night away from us, as though Loki was included in whatever the couple’s future held.
Loki picked his words with care. “I load up my airship and fly back to England. You and I have made a promise and I will fetch your personal kereru.”
Hone’s gaze narrowed. “And then you will return to us?”
“Yes. Then I will return to you. I will teach your men how to fly her.” He said the words, and the warmth spread through his torso and the voice in the back of his mind sighed. He didn’t know what he would return to or how events would unfold, but he would find out. Part of him would always be here, now. The hawk had found its place to nest.
“Good.” Hone wrapped an arm around Loki’s shoulders and pulled him close.
THEY ASSEMBLED AN HOUR AFTER SUNSET. They were a small band compared to the numbers they would encounter, but Hone wanted to slip in and out unnoticed. The chief was confident of his men’s abilities to take on a larger English force. The Maori wore their short flax skirts, with their chests bare but faces and skin smeared with mud. They were difficult to see as it was; now they became shadows among shadows. A flitter of shape with nothing to give them away. Rifles nestled against their backs and in their hands they clutched taiaha. Patu were tucked into their belts.
They looked primal, raw and powerful.
Loki and Miguel were dressed in dark colours, and neither went anywhere unarmed. Both carried blades at their backs and another in a boot, suitable for any hand-to-hand fighting that occurred. As he cast an eye over his men, Hone thrust a spare taiaha into Loki’s hand and shook his shoulder. The chief was a man of few words but his actions spoke volumes. When a few of the other Maori widened their eyes and whispered among themselves, being handed the traditional weapon was a great compliment and showed their chief's belief in Loki's abilities.
Night dropped over the land. Even the moon cooperated with the rescue mission and hid behind a cloud, leaving just a sprinkling of stars to twinkle far above. Loki hoped the Maori could see in the dark like cats, because this was darker than a broom closet in the middle of winter, hidden at the bottom of a well.
“There’s one small detail we have overlooked,” Miguel whispered as they headed under the main gate.
“What’s that?” Loki cast over his shoulder. The young man was easier to spot, since his auburn hair meant he was fair-skinned. Even without the aid of moonlight, he seemed to glow like an ethereal creature. They should have slapped mud all over his face so he didn’t look like a floating head.
Miguel trotted closer. “We have three dead men and we still don’t know by whom.”
Loki hadn’t forgotten the dead men, but they couldn’t help them now or change their fate, whereas Paniha could be saved. “I have a theory about that, and I suspect we will see that particular question answered tonight.”
Miguel paused as he thought through the comment and then had to run a few paces to reply. “You think Colonel Austin killed them?”
That was exactly what Loki thought. It fitted with the man’s attempt to spark a war. “If not by his hand, then by his command.”
Miguel let out a low breath. “Three lives lost, all good honest men who had no argument with the Maori and who all left bereft families. It doesn’t make sense.”
Unfortunately to Loki it made perfect sense, especially when you deal in war and bloodshed. “It’s entirely logical when you want to create divisions, spread fear, and start a war.”
21
The men flowed through the forest and
it seemed only Loki and Miguel made a noise. The warriors didn’t disturb a single leaf or twig as they walked. The Maori guided the pakeha with a touch here or a prod there to ensure they stayed on track and didn’t get lost in the dark. Loki trusted himself to Hone in the velvet embrace of evening. His mind was at ease that his body would be looked after by the chief, as he led them through the night.
The chief held out a hand and they halted behind him. The line of trees stopped at the edge of the field. Beyond was the grouping of buildings that made Austin’s base. At least the barracks was easy to see, with its whitewashed walls. Between the trees and the barracks, the painted line crossed the grass. A stray shaft of moonlight lit the imaginary barrier and it became a silver rivulet gliding over the lawn.
Two soldiers stood next to a brazier, out on their own in the dim evening. The flames danced in the metal cage and lit their faces from below. They warmed their hands against the chill of the night and chatted. They paid little heed to the surrounding forest or the calls of nocturnal animals and birds.
Hone pointed to two of his men and then gestured toward the soldiers. The Maori warriors crept from the forest and moved across the grass. They crouched down, moving slowly toward their targets. They were faintly lit by the gentle light from the brazier, making them appear shadow puppets putting on a show to a captive audience. The Maori drew the short, fat patu and then they split up. Each man circled behind his chosen enemy. The soldiers remained oblivious to movement in the dark, their night vision ruined by standing next to the fire.
The warriors raised their arms and struck at the same time. The murmured conversation between the two soldiers fell silent and then they both toppled to the side. Another reason why Loki liked the Maori: They were sneaky, just like pirates. One man waved his arm and then they all took off at a low run, across the field. At last Loki could vaguely see where he was going and he and Miguel weren’t relying on the Maori taking them by the hand as though they were both blind.