‘My great-great-grandfather allowed your whole clan to be slaughtered?’ Zoe cried, shocked and sickened.
Arika nodded, empathetic to Zoe’s difficulty in understanding the rude truth about her ancestors. ‘They didn’t bother burying the bodies, however. They just weighted them all with stones and threw them in our sacred billabong.’
‘They’re in the pool?’ That was it; Zoe was running for a place where she could throw up in private.
‘Zoe?’ Kyle stood to go after her.
‘Stay away,’ she ordered. ‘I’ll be back in a —’
Kyle took the hint and sat back down. ‘But if Barnett was so pissed at you … pardon the language.’ Kyle had never before bothered reining in his swearing.
‘I’ve heard far worse,’ she assured him with a smile. ‘Why did Nivok grant me this land?’ She pre-empted his question, pleased that he was so interested. She held up a finger to indicate that she was just coming to that. ‘Obviously the bloodshed cursed the billabong. The guardian of the mountain was also cursed, for he had indirectly caused the massacre of the people who protected and tended to his mountain’s needs. Turramulli had never killed for any reason other than food, and in Baiame’s eyes killing to revenge the trees was killing for one’s own gratification, so the creature’s otherworldly powers were removed. Its immortality, ability to shape-shift, its glamour, super-strength and ability to move freely between dimensions all ceased to be, and Turramulli was rendered mortal, condemned to live in the material world.’
I was very angry and frustrated. Kyron joined the conversation. I needed someone to blame for my undoing.
‘Barnett,’ Kyle guessed and he didn’t need confirmation. The mournful look on Kyron’s face said it all. ‘You killed him, too?’
It wasn’t until several years after I’d killed his son, that I had the opportunity to unleash my frustration on Barnett. He was out walking the property alone when I attacked. The old man managed to aim and fire at me during the clash and the sound of the shot brought people to the old man’s rescue. I was forced to flee but I left a trail of blood that was easy to track, even for a white man. Barnett’s son, Parker, hunted me down, captured me and after much torture, he had me drawn and quartered.
‘Hence your fear of human beings and their realm,’ Kyle figured.
Upon my mortal death, the Great One took pity on me and returned my powers — except for my courage and strength — and confined me to his ethereal realms. To the victim in this affair, Arika, he granted otherworldly skills. We were promised that there would come a day when I would be given the chance to appease the Great Spirits, and Arika, to regain the guardianship of my beloved mountain. That opportunity came the night you were born.
Kyron was by now looking and sounding rather distressed, so Arika took over the telling of the tale. ‘Barnett and everyone now knew that I’d been telling the truth all along, and that my entire family had been slaughtered unjustly. Barnett only lived for little more than a day after the attack, but that was long enough to change his final will and testament. To me he left this piece of land for the duration of my days and let me know where to find the child I’d lost. For, as mad as Barnett had been about my association with his son, he still hadn’t been able to bring himself to lose track of his first granddaughter, and in his will he made provision for her. Barnett left everything else to his son, Parker. However, in a separate document Barnett decreed that Turrammelin mountain was never to be disturbed by any descendant of his family, lest they be cursed.’
‘What!’ Zoe came rushing back to the gathering. ‘That’s why my father was reluctant to allow my uncle to develop this land. He must have known about their great-grandfather’s dying wish.’
‘And do you know what else?’ Kyle posed to Zoe. ‘We’re distantly related.’
‘That’s right,’ Arika smiled. ‘Kyle is from Lance’s line and you, Zoe, are from Parker’s side of the family.’
‘So you’re like my second cousin, twice removed, or something?’ Kyle was ecstatic; he was suddenly related to everyone — even James Nivok!
Zoe’s smile had broadened too, having always been a little short on relatives herself. ‘And you, Arika, must be like my great-great-aunt!’ They all had a bit of a chuckle at this. ‘So even I am related to the Turrammelin clan by marriage.’
‘My people have a saying.’ Arika took hold of Zoe’s hand, as the girl sat down beside Kyle once more. ‘We are all black, we are all white. If you’re white now, you were black in your last life, or will be in your next. In the beginning and the end we are all one and we are all the creation of the Great Spirits of the Dreamtime, who await our return to their midst.’
They were all teary now, Zoe most of all. ‘I have always believed that,’ she told Arika in all sincerity, ‘and whatever I must do to save this mountain, you may rest assured that I shall see it done.’
‘I know.’ Arika stroked Zoe’s face and then gave her a hug. ‘I don’t doubt your ability to take on your uncle and win. You have a far stronger will than he will ever have in this life.’
Arika smelt like the Australian bush at Christmas time and this scent immediately calmed Zoe’s erratic emotions and filled her with childlike happiness. One of Arika’s little creatures, a half-marsupial, half-gnome that walked erect, approached Zoe and offered her a drink of water in a wooden handbowl and she accepted it gratefully. Knowing something of the lower orders of the otherworld’s nature kingdom, when she had drunk her fill and felt much improved, she removed one of her bracelets and gave it to the elemental, who was most delighted by the gift. He held up a finger to Zoe as if to say, ‘You shall be rewarded for this delight,’ which, from an earth elemental, would usually mean financial reward of some kind.
‘The first thing we must do is to get the guardian of the mountain reinstated.’ Arika looked at Kyle. ‘You have passed my initiation; therefore, the males of your clan will agree to a corroboree to witness Baiame’s judgement of you and your guardian. May he be pleased by your efforts and extend his otherworldly protection to the resting place of all our families.’
As Kyron stood up, Kyle assumed it was time to go. ‘Do you have any advice for when I face Baiame?’ he thought to ask before rising.
Arika smiled and shook her head. ‘You have accomplished much as a spiritual warrior of late. Your soul is very beautiful and that will speak for itself.’ She urged Kyle hither with her hands and then hugged him close with her free arm, the other being wrapped around Zoe. ‘Your ancestors are very proud of all you have endured for their cause during your short life. Know that you have their support, and the gratitude and admiration of the Book of Dreams and its minions.’
The wee beasts mobbed the three seated humans like a pack of domestic animals seeking their owner’s affection, and the moment was a perfect joy.
Kyle’s emotions were all over the place when he staggered along with Zoe towards the tunnel that led back to the real world. Zoe, too, was an emotional wreck. He could literally feel the tremors of awareness rushing through her petite body in intermittent trembling. At the exit, Kyle looked back once to see that age had again beset his great-grandmother’s form, which had returned to its serene, still pose. Don’t go dying on me yet, Matong Bargi.
I am the least of your worries, her age-old voice replied in his mind. This book needs a conclusion and I’m not going anywhere until I get it.
CHAPTER TEN
THE LAW OF THE LAND
The world beyond the sacred grove seemed a harsh place in comparison, and Kyle felt strangely drained and stimulated by all the information that he was processing.
‘That was the most abstruse, intense experience of my entire life!’ Zoe had the half-horrified, half-delighted smile of someone who had just disembarked from a roller coaster.
Kyle swung Zoe around and into his arms. ‘Marry me?’ Zoe’s eyes boggled. The question was too much to handle at a moment’s notice. Kyle knew it would be, but it made his next suggestion seem mild by
comparison. ‘Or at least have sex with me at your earliest possible convenience?’
Zoe burst out laughing. ‘You read my mind.’ She hugged his muscle-bound body close and kissed him.
Something changed in that moment; their relationship sank to a deeper level and they both realised it was love.
‘I will marry you.’ She let him know she intended to take him up on the proposal. She knew he was what she wanted; how could any other man compete after today?
It was not Kyle’s idea of a serious marriage proposal, but it was good to learn that she was all for it. ‘No rush,’ he teased. ‘So long as we both understand where this is headed.’ He tried to sound possessive.
Zoe was growing rather fond of his games. ‘I’ll get you to the altar sooner or later, Kyle Burke, don’t you worry.’ The name just slipped out. ‘I mean … well, what is my second name to be?’
Kyle had a think about this. ‘Well, I’m a Burke now.’ He liked it better than Norton, which he’d inherited from a brief adoption period.
Zoe approved of his decision. Tim was approaching them and she saw by his smile that he’d heard the comment too.
‘Kyle.’ Tim called ahead for his attention. ‘You have to come with us now.’ Tim referred to Rex and himself. ‘If Zoe could give Kimba a lift back to town, that would be great.’
Zoe knew they were off to do secret men’s business and she knew they wouldn’t let her come along. ‘You be careful now, you hear.’
‘I’ve been through worse, believe me.’ Kyle backed away, reluctantly letting her hands go as he followed Tim back to the car.
Kyron waved to her as he pursued his charge. Don’t be sad … if we’re successful tonight, I’ll give you special permission to enter into Turrammelin’s sacred place, and I’ll assure you safe passage.
Kyle could see that the promise satisfied Zoe by the broad smile on her face. ‘Could I interest you in a date tomorrow?’ he asked.
Zoe laughed out loud. Here they were, talking about marriage, and they hadn’t even dated. ‘Sure. If you’re up for it?’
Kyle looked at Tim for his professional opinion.
Tim looked at Rex and they both appeared to be amused by the question. ‘He’ll be good to go by the afternoon,’ he declared, and climbed into the car.
‘It’s a date then,’ Zoe confirmed. ‘I’ll see you after.’
‘A reward at the end of my quest … I’ll look forward to it.’ Kyle waved and joined his father and Rex in the car.
Kimba wandered over to where Zoe stood watching the vehicle depart; she was eager to know Zoe’s mind on her visit with Arika. ‘You’ve got more insight and balls than I first gave you credit for. I thought Arika’s tale would send you packing for sure, but it is clear it has got you thinking.’
‘Yes, indeed,’ Zoe replied, pleased to have proven herself to her new kinswoman. ‘And I’m thinking I need a good solicitor.’
‘For marital advice?’ Kimba jested.
‘Heavens, no.’ Zoe was amused but kind of delighted by the question. ‘I need to know more about land law.’
Kimba smiled broadly and fished in her pocket. ‘How fortunate that that’s what I have a degree in.’ She handed Zoe her card and after reading Kimba’s qualifications, Zoe laughed at the synchronicity.
‘You’re hired.’ She slapped a hand down on the older girl’s shoulder. ‘And while they’re off with the boy’s club, let’s see if we girls can figure out a way to save this place.’
Kimba liked Zoe’s attitude, ignorant though it was. ‘What the men are doing will prove every bit as beneficial to our cause as anything we might come up with. Higher forces decide the outcome of everything in this world. Without the support of the Great Spirits our efforts will come to naught.’
‘God, I believe that!’ Zoe wanted to kick herself. ‘I’m so sorry, I —’
Kimba laughed. ‘I know you do. Matong Bargi told me all about you … and my lost cousin,’ she teased with a grin, heading back to the car.
‘What did she say?’ Zoe could hardly contain her excitement, as she galloped after Kimba.
‘What do you want to know?’ Kimba asked, as if she couldn’t guess.
‘Well, you know …’ Zoe shrugged coyly. ‘Will Kyle and I end up together?’
Kimba laughed, as the girl had proven predictable. ‘I think you already know the answer to that.’
Zoe’s smile was making her face ache. ‘But did Arika predict whether it would be a lasting relationship?’ She wanted Kimba to be more specific.
‘You’re not ready to know the answer to that question,’ Kimba said, strolling around the car to the passenger door and hopping in. ‘The truth is too deep for a relationship so new.’
Now Zoe was doubly interested. ‘Look, I know I haven’t known Kyle long.’ She quickly climbed into the driver’s seat to appeal to Kimba to spill the beans. ‘Ours has been a short intense friendship and yet it is the most meaningful relationship of my life! Nothing you could tell me is going to scare me away from your cousin.’
Kimba still wasn’t entirely convinced.
‘I’ve been shot at, chased by police, confronted by a yowie, and introduced to an oracle, who informs me that my ancestors murdered her entire clan. If I was going to abandon you all, I think I would have done it already.’
‘You can see the yowie now?’ Kimba queried, as this was not the case in the morning.
‘Kyron granted me leave to see him on the way down here, just so that I’d know Kyle wasn’t conning me,’ Zoe explained. ‘Not that I ever thought he was.’ She gazed fondly into space, recalling all the otherworldly incidents that had inspired their romance. ‘I’d never met anyone as psychically gifted as Kyle, until today, when I met his great-grandmother.’ She started up the car.
‘I guess I’ve been a little hard on him,’ Kimba admitted. ‘I just hadn’t expected the lost one, the saviour of our ancestral lands, to be so white. Racist, I know, but there you have it.’ Kimba realised an apology was in order.
‘I wouldn’t worry. Kyle does have a tendency to rub people the wrong way upon first impression … me included,’ Zoe admitted, wanting to get back to their original subject. ‘Now, are you going to tell me what Arika said about my future with Kyle or not?’
Kimba shook her head. ‘Just know that it’s all good and as it should be.’
As the Aboriginal population in this, as in every area of Australia, had dwindled, the members of different neighbouring clans had been ordered, persuaded and bullied into a few small settlements in each district.
So it was that Kyle found himself at an Aboriginal community to meet the male elders of the local clan. This was the same settlement that Arika had been taken to to see out her pregnancy. All the members of this community had been done out of their ancestral lands long ago — Mount Turrammelin had been one of the last bastions where they had been allowed access to a sacred site. Since the systematic slaughter of the Turrammelin clan in the 1920s, the locals visited their sites to perform rites at great risk of arrest, a beating, or worse.
Kyle met many relatives this afternoon: uncles and aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws. He bore the brunt of many jokes, half of which he didn’t understand as he didn’t speak the language. He was very pleased to have his father there to speak for him, though, because Tim brought an end to their mockery and disbelief quite a few times with a few well-chosen words; everyone would just suddenly stop laughing and look Kyle’s way, wearing the same awed stare Rex and Kimba had worn after speaking with Arika about him.
‘We cannot delay,’ Tim concluded in English for his son’s benefit. ‘We must make this happen tonight.’
‘Aw.’ The younger males threw down or placed aside their beers and bottles of drink. ‘There goes Saturday night,’ whined one.
Although a drink and a smoke had been offered to Kyle, he’d declined. He felt on a high and he knew his old vices would drag him back down if he went anywhere near them. As far as his old demons knew, Kyl
e was dead and he had no desire to attract them into his life again.
Still, most of the men here gathered seemed well disposed towards the idea of an impromptu sacred rite. The elders had much preparation and planning to do beforehand, so Tim offered to brief Kyle about the forthcoming event and invited him to take a walk.
‘I suppose Arika has already prepared you for tonight,’ Tim asked, unsure of how in-depth this discourse had to be.
‘Book did, yeah,’ Kyle confirmed with a casual shrug and a nod, not really too worried about it.
Tim found Kyle’s easygoing attitude amusing. ‘I was far more nervous than you are about my audience with Baiame,’ he admitted. ‘You’re about to meet a mighty architect of the universe. Don’t you find that daunting?’
Kyle stopped, disconcerted. ‘Well, I didn’t until you put it that way.’
Tim laughed out loud. ‘It will not be at all as you expect, and you shall remember only that which the Great Spirit deems essential to your quest.’
‘Are we going to Mount Turrammelin to perform the rite?’
‘We are going into the mountain,’ Tim replied.
Goody, goody, goody, goody, goody, goody, goody!
Kyle looked behind him to see Kyron doing a happy dance. ‘Ron seems very keen on that idea.’
‘The secret cave was once his home and Turramulli has been banished from there a long time. I’m sure tonight has seemed an eternity in coming for your guide.’ Tim let Kyle know that he believed in the yowie, just as Kyle believed in the bunyip.
‘So what did Baiame tell you?’ Kyle probed, hoping to learn a little more about the great entity he was to meet.
Tim’s smile was a little strained as he thought long and hard on the question. ‘I was told about you.’
‘What about me?’ Kyle pursued the topic, although Tim clearly didn’t want to.
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