"Stop!" shouted Gregorio, as the stepped into the clearing. It sounded as if he tried to mimic Miguel, but lacked the force of his voice.
The Mule paused, but it’s flames still pointed at Oludara.
"Stop," he said again, this time softer. What his voice dropped in volume, it gained in surety.
The mule spun away from the priest and tightened its muscles for a gallop.
"Wait," he said, in a quiet voice which asked more than it commanded.
The embers in the mule’s neck died down, and it turned to face him. Gregorio, shaking, paced toward the mule, which tensed up. Gently, he rested a hand on its shoulder.
"We’re here to help," he said.
At that, the Headless Mule relaxed and lowered its neck. Gregorio bent down and recovered the fallen rosary. He hung it around the creature’s neck. The mule shuddered, dropped to its knees, then fell over completely. In a grotesque transformation, digits sprouted from its hooves and splotched skin replaced its coat. Gerard started forward, but Gregorio waved him back. After more agonizing thrashing, the form settled into that of a woman.
The woman looked to be around forty, with the light skin of a Portuguese but the straight black hair of a native. Gregorio removed his cassock, revealing white linen undergarments beneath, and covered the woman’s nakedness. She sobbed and he laid a comforting hand upon her shoulder.
She cried for a several minutes before composing herself. "So long, so terrible," she said.
"You need say nothing," said Gregorio.
"No," she said, grabbing his undershirt but then thinking better of it and pulling her hand back. "I must confess."
"Very well." He made the sign of the cross and said, "In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."
"My sins are terrible. I seduced a priest, and became his concubine."
Oludara heard Gerard suck in a breath.
"I sinned with him many, many times. When he told me he could no longer bear his conscience, I mocked him. His heart gave way and he died, and shortly after, I..."
Father Gregorio nodded and said many words in Latin which Oludara could not understand, ending with, "Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."
The woman made the sign of the cross.
"For your penance," said Gregorio, "would you not take the cloth, and be a nun for the rest of your days? Much good can still be done."
She sobbed and fell at his feet.
"Yes, Father. Thank you."
#
Gerard, packed and ready, awaited Oludara on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Father Gregorio walked out to meet him.
"Your face is heavy and it saddens me," said Gregorio. "You are not the same confident man who came here just days ago."
"These last days have been trying," said Gerard. "I need to rest and contemplate."
"Then do not be so quick to leave. There are few better places to rest."
"I would put this place and its memories behind me," said Gerard. "My conscience is heavy."
"Why? Because you came, a woman’s soul was freed. And if you had not been present, would we have followed Diogo and Tinga to the children?"
"If we had not been present, would Father Miguel have died?"
"That was his choice. With his blood, Father Miguel bought the freedom of the children, perhaps the entire tribe. Antonio will not dare return here."
Gerard could only shake his head. To his relief, Oludara joined them.
"Are you sure you don’t want to stay longer?" asked Gregorio. "There is much you could do here."
"Diogo and Tinga told us they’ll stay on until all is ready here," replied Gerard. "The two of us would just be more mouths to feed."
"And it is time for me to return to my wife," said Oludara. "It has been months since I’ve seen her."
"Whatever you do, don’t lose faith. Allow God’s divine grace to guide you along extraordinary and miraculous paths."
"Even if that faith is Protestant?" asked Gerard.
"Yes, even then."
With a tip of the hat, Gerard turned and headed out.
"Funny," he said to Oludara, "Father Miguel saw my faith as a disease, but Gregorio doesn’t seem to mind so much."
"Cannot a priest have his own opinion?"
Gerard grimaced. "Not usually."
"Travel this Earth from one side to the other, you will find no two people alike," said Oludara.
"Is that one of your sayings?"
"No, just an observation."
They hiked in silence for some time, until Gerard said, "You remember what Antonio said? That Brazil can’t be sustained without slaves?"
"I remember."
"There are many who share his views. If they can no longer make slaves of the natives, don’t you worry they’ll look even more to Africa?"
"Perhaps, Gerard. But those are two different battles. Here, we fight for the Tupi tribes. When I return to Africa, I will fight slavery there as well."
"Is that the only way to stop it, fighting?"
"You think you can turn men like Antonio and Grilo from their paths? I do have a saying for that: ‘He who waits for a crab to wink will tarry long upon the shore.’"
Gerard opened his mouth to reply, but a rustling from the bushes alerted him.
"Dear God, another ambush!" he said, raising his harquebus.
Sacy-Taperey stepped onto the path before them.
"Please put that thing down," he said. "I like the smell of gunpowder even less than tobacco smoke."
"Sacy-Taperey," said Oludara, "you protected me from the gunfire that day. Why?"
Sacy-Taperey hopped toward them, grinning. "You two make me laugh, the way you’re always getting into trouble. If you got killed, what would I do with my time?"
"You mean you’ve been following us?" said Gerard.
"Oh yes! I saw you almost get killed by the Headless Mule again. Shame she won’t be here to make you two bumble around anymore."
Gerard had a thought. "Well, if you want to follow us, we’re heading north."
"North? Don’t do that! There’s nothing worth visiting there."
"Funny," said Gerard, "someone like you said there’s nothing good down here."
"Like me?" squealed the demon. "There is no one like me!"
"Really? Because Sacy-Perey left us a message: that he is the only true Sacy."
"You are friends with that...that!"
Sacy-Taperey screamed and turned into a powerful whirlwind, which knocked Gerard and Oludara to the ground before spinning away into the woods.
As the two stood and dusted themselves off, Gerard commented, "If only they could all be that easy to get rid of."
For the first time in days, they both found reason to smile.
#
A potoo sat on his favorite tree, ready for his nighttime song. That night, only darkness and moonlight engulfed him; gone from the forest were the flames of men and mules.
He opened his beak to sing his same descending tune, but at the last moment, his song changed. That one night, when he sang, his song did not sound mournful. Instead, it sounded almost like the children’s kyrielles.
END
Gentle Reader,
I hope you enjoyed “A Minacious Appearance”, the eighth novelette in The Elephant and Macaw Banner series and the story that leaves Gerard and Oludara well aware that even after all the monsters they've faced, the greatest danger still lies in the hearts of humankind.
In book #9, Gerard and Oludara have some enormous surprises on the way, that will change their lives and their friendship forever.
As always, please consider leaving a review of this book on Amazon. Without a large number of reviews, e-books tend to get lost in the Amazon jungle (blame late nights of writing for the bad pun). Also, consider mentioning The Elephant and Macaw Banner to your friends. Word-of-mouth is what moves sales for independent authors (like me!).
If you haven’t already, please consider signing u
p for my bimonthly newsletter, which is the best way to keep up with the series. You can also keep up with the series in real time at EAMB.org, Facebook, or Twitter.
Regards,
Christopher
Interested in further tales of Gerard and Oludara? There are several other titles available in this series, action-packed fantasy adventures that can be read in one sitting. Just $0.99 each or FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
Acknowledgements:
I'm proud to announce that, on the same day this book is coming out (World Book Day, April 23rd), Spanish publisher Sportula is launching The Elephant and Macaw Banner worldwide in Spanish. My enormous thanks to Rodolfo Martinez, owner of Sportula, for believing in the series and for choosing this wonderful day to launch, one which marks the death of one of the world's great writers, Spain's own Cervantes (and, coincidentally, William Shakespeare).
I'd also like to thank Elias Combarro, who played no small part in bringing this series to a Spanish audience.
The books are now out in English, Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish, and I hope we have some more down the line!
About the author:
If Christopher could do it all over again, he would add a twist of lime.
A Minacious Appearance (The Elephant and Macaw Banner - Novelette Series Book 8) Page 4