by Lance Morcan
Father Montrose couldn’t have answered even if he’d wanted to. He was now only moments from death. As yet another stone was forced down his throat, he convulsed once then died, his face forever frozen in fear, his eyes wide open.
#
Oblivious to the priest’s demise, Susannah and Sina discussed his visit while resting in the company of three other women in one of several huts that had been designated for female slaves.
Leaning over to Sina, Susannah whispered, “The priest will get word out about our situation. We will be rescued soon, I am sure.” Sina looked doubtful. Susannah continued, “The Lord has answered our prayers. Have faith, it is only a matter of time now.”
The two stretched out as they prepared to have an afternoon nap. The bure wasn’t conducive to sleeping in. Water dripped down from the roof onto the bure’s occupants whenever it was raining—as it was now. Despite this, Sina quickly fell asleep. Susannah marveled at her companion’s ability to accept their dire situation so easily. Looking around, she saw the other women were now sleeping, too.
Noises outside alerted Susannah to the return of Serevi’s party from upriver. Standing up, she hurried to investigate. From the open doorway, she saw Rambuka and Serevi in deep discussion.
Susannah wondered what they were talking about. The feelings of dread she’d experienced earlier returned.
9
West of Tomanivi, on the Nadrau Plateau, Joeli’s raiding party skirted around the edge of a small lake. The surrounding hills were reflected in the lake’s still waters. So, too, was a flock of doves flying overhead, albeit fleetingly.
Nathan was growing impatient. To him, it felt like they’d been on the trail for three weeks, not three days.
Following just behind him, Jack could sense his companion’s frustration. “We’ll soon be there,” Jack assured him.
“How do you know?”
“Trust me, mate. I know this area.” Rain began falling as they ventured into the hills bordering the eastern edge of the plateau. “This proves me point,” Jack added. “It always rains around Tomanivi.”
Since Jack had joined Joeli’s party, an uneasy truce had evolved between the warriors and the Cockney whom they suspected of having slept with half the women in their village. Even so, Nathan had had to intervene more than once to defuse potentially explosive situations that had arisen as certain warriors had been reminded of Jack’s indiscretions with women who, one way or another, were close to them.
For his part, Jack was just pleased to be alive. He knew he’d come close to dying the previous day, so he considered every breath he drew as a bonus. As the trackers led the way through a valley, Jack pointed to a nearby hill. “You can see Tomanivi from up there,” he said.
“You sure?” Nathan asked.
“Do chickens have lips?”
Not bothering to respond to Jack’s attempt at humor, Nathan ran forward to alert Joeli. Reaching the ratu’s side, he said, “Jack says you can see Tomanivi from up there.”
Joeli looked up at the hill Nathan was referring to. After conferring with his trackers, he began climbing the hill. The others followed.
#
After a hard climb, the men found themselves on the summit. Looking eastward, they were relieved to see Tomanivi. The four-thousand-odd-foot-high mountain was partially concealed by rain clouds.
Standing away from the others, studying the rain-shrouded Tomanivi, Nathan experienced inexplicable feelings of dread. The sacred mountain seemed forbidding. Nathan felt like it was telling him that Man should not venture there. As always, his thoughts turned to Susannah.
Are you still alive?
Looking over at Waisale, he wondered if he was having similar thoughts.
Joeli noticed Nathan standing alone and wandered over to join him. Nodding toward Tomanivi, he said, “That . . .Land of Red Rain.” Still Nathan didn’t understand the meaning behind the ratu’s words. Then, as if he’d been reading Nathan’s mind, Joeli said, “We find your woman.”
Turning back to his warriors, Joeli rallied them for one final push then began striding down the hill. The others followed, slipping and sliding in the mud. The pace was noticeably more urgent now.
At the foot of the hill, they ran along a shallow stream for some distance before clambering out of it and following a track through a rainforest. Faced with fording a swollen river or finding a safer crossing, they forded it, holding their muskets above their heads. All the while, Tomanivi drew ever closer.
As they neared their destination, Jack wondered what he was getting himself into. Nathan had explained to him what they were planning to do. Jack had told him even if they managed to find the two women and uplift the golden tabua, he doubted they could outrun the outcasts and survive the return journey to Momi Bay. After all, they were now in Rambuka’s territory and badly outnumbered.
Nathan hadn’t commented, but Jack knew deep down he agreed with him. The fool’s in love, Jack decided. He knew better than to try to dissuade a man in love.
#
It was late afternoon and still raining when Joeli’s party reached Tomanivi. Although their enemies couldn’t be seen from the present position, smoke could be seen rising from the floor of a valley below them. It merged with the mist that clung to the treetops.
Joeli ordered Rewa, the tracker, up a tree. From its upper branches, Rewa flashed a signal, confirming he could see the outcasts’ encampment.
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. There had always been a suspicion that the outcast they’d interrogated back at Momi Bay had lied regarding the whereabouts of Rambuka’s hideout. Now the location had been confirmed, he and the others could give their full attention to the task of recovering the golden tabua and, more important, the two women.
Joeli turned to his men. “We are here,” he said simply. “Tonight we make our move.”
Meanwhile, up in the tree, Rewa’s keen eyes took in everything in the encampment below as the outcasts went about their everyday business. He took special notice of the armed lookouts patrolling the camp perimeter. Climbing down, he immediately reported to Joeli. “All is quiet,” he said. “Rambuka’s men suspect nothing.”
Joeli grunted his satisfaction at hearing this. “Did you see the two women?”
“No.”
Joeli turned to see both Nathan and Waisale looking at him inquiringly. He shook his head, indicating the tracker hadn’t seen either Susannah or Sina. The two young men looked at each other. Each knew what the other was thinking and how the other felt.
Keen to find a vantage point from where they could all observe their enemies, Joeli led the others along a ridge, which his trackers indicated should take them to a point directly above the encampment.
10
While his enemies were positioning themselves on the hillside above, Rambuka was having his way with a shapely slave girl on a flax mat in the corner of his bure. Almost satiated after an afternoon of near nonstop coupling with his favorite maidens, the Outcast treated this particular girl roughly and satisfied himself quickly.
Nearby, two fellow outcasts lay snoring in the arms of three women. All the women had seen better days. The biggest of them snored even louder than did her male companions, her open mouth revealing several missing teeth.
Looking at the women, Rambuka reminded himself to replace them with more attractive maidens as soon as he could. Before drifting off to sleep, he looked at the golden tabua hanging from the wall. Despite the bure’s gloomy interior, its golden aura seemed brighter than ever.
#
Nearby, in the slaves’ quarters, Susannah woke Sina to advise her she had a premonition something bad had happened to the French priest. She was interrupted by the arrival of the pockmarked outcast. He was accompanied by the shapely slave girl Rambuka had just had his way with.
The outcast threw the girl down onto the floor beside Susannah. Then he looked around at the other maidens. His eyes rested on Susannah longingly but, knowing she was off limits until Rambuka h
ad his way with her, he settled on Sina. Grabbing her by her wrists, he pulled her toward the doorway.
Susannah cried, “Sina!”
Sina didn’t struggle. Having been through this many times before, she stoically allowed herself to be led away.
Susannah wondered how she’d be when her turn came. She knew it was only a matter of time. Her thoughts turned to Nathan. Something told her that he was her only hope. Yet she seriously doubted he would risk his life for her.
As the doubts resurfaced in her mind, she began to think of suicide once more. If it was a choice between being Rambuka’s sexual slave for the rest of her life and joining her papa in heaven, she would willingly choose death, she decided.
#
With the approach of dusk, the rain eased and finally disappeared altogether. In a forest clearing high above the outcasts’ hideout, Joeli and his men studied the encampment below. It was a hive of activity as female slaves tended cooking fires and helped the other women prepare evening meals while the outcasts themselves sat around drinking kava.
By now, Nathan and Waisale were becoming increasingly worried. Neither had seen any sign of the women they’d come for.
Nathan was currently studying the encampment through a telescope he’d brought in his backpack.
Where are you?
He hoped Susannah had survived the journey from Momi Bay.
Noting Nathan’s concern, Jack sidled up to him. “I’m sure she’s here,” he said. “She’ll be in one of the bures.”
“Maybe,” Nathan replied non-committedly.
“If she’s anywhere near as beautiful as you say she is, then Rambuka will keep her alive so he can . . .” Jack’s voice trailed off when he noticed Nathan seemed to be growing agitated.
Watching the two whites together, Joeli realized their pale skin would stand out like lanterns at night, especially if there was a moon. Approaching the pair, he scooped up a handful of mud and held it out to them. “For you,” he said, motioning to them to use mud to darken their skin.
Nathan and Jack immediately rubbed mud over their faces and over the back of their hands until there was no white skin visible.
Satisfied, Joeli turned away. Addressing several nearby warriors in Fijian, he whispered, “The White-Faces try to look like us.” The warriors chuckled.
Nathan and Jack suspected the Qopa considered them a source of amusement. Ignoring the others, Nathan returned his attention to the encampment below.
Just along from him, Waisale suddenly tensed. Turning around to Nathan, the handsome young warrior extended his hand. Nathan guessed he wanted his telescope so handed it to him. Raising the scope to his eye, Waisale focused it on what it was that had caught his attention.
Suddenly, through the lens, he saw the magnified form of Sina. She was walking from one bure to another.
Waisale whispered aloud, “Sina!” A hundred intimate memories flashed through his mind as he watched her. Something else caught his eye. He handed the scope to Nathan and pointed.
The American raised the scope in the direction Waisale had indicated. Through the lens a blurred image came into view.
Let it be her.
As he focused the lenses, the blurred image evolved into Susannah.
She’s alive!
Nathan felt like whooping for joy, but he contained himself.
Studying Susannah, he noted how dirty and unkempt she looked. He watched as she walked, zombie-like, to a campfire where an elderly woman handed her a morsel of food. Susannah stuffed the food into her mouth and reached out for more. The elderly woman hit her with a stick and sent her away.
Susannah retired to the large bure that served as her quarters. As she entered it, Rambuka emerged. He leered at her and stroked her hair as they passed each other in the doorway.
As soon as Susannah disappeared from sight, Nathan focused the scope on Rambuka. His hatred for the Outcast was matched only by the relief he felt knowing Susannah was alive. Returning the scope to his backpack, he could hardly contain his excitement.
Looking at Waisale, he saw the young warrior was experiencing similar feelings. Nathan fingered the whale bone pendant around his neck as he pondered their chances of freeing the two women they’d come for.
11
Night couldn’t come quick enough for Nathan. When it finally arrived, it was accompanied by a starry sky and a full moon, which, he knew, would not assist what he and his companions were planning to do.
Waiting in a forest clearing on the hillside above the outcasts’ encampment, Nathan and Jack looked on as the Qopa warriors stood in a circle around their ratu. Listening to Joeli issue whispered instructions to his men, the two whites could feel the tension in the still night air.
Joeli looked at the one-eyed Babitu. “Take three men and silence the lookouts,” he whispered. Babitu nodded and quietly selected three seasoned warriors. Joeli added, “Do it quietly.” He pointed to his club, making it clear to the men they must not fire their muskets. The warriors nodded and melted into the surrounding trees.
Joeli walked over to Nathan. Addressing him in English, he whispered, “You and Waisale stay with me. We rescue the two women.”
“What about him?” Nathan asked, looking at Jack.
Joeli looked at Jack disdainfully. “He look out for our backs.” The ratu then began making his way silently down the hill. His warriors followed with Nathan and Jack bringing up the rear.
Near the valley floor, the two whites found Joeli and Waisale waiting for them. The other warriors had vanished.
Approaching the two Fijians, Nathan asked, “What now?”
“Now we sleep,” Joeli said.
Nathan thought he was hearing things until Joeli and Waisale sat down, their backs against a tree, and closed their eyes. He looked at Jack, who just shrugged.
“These people have their own way of doing things,” Jack whispered. The Cockney added, “I best be getting into position.”
Before Jack could depart, Nathan handed him his spare musket. “You’ll have more use for two muskets than me,” he said, knowing—or hoping—he’d soon have his hands full looking after Susannah.
Jack took the spare musket from him. The two looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Nathan whispered, “Thanks, Jack.”
“For what?”
“For sticking around.”
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world, me ol’ china.” Jack grinned before disappearing into the darkness.
As Jack made his way down the hillside, his thoughts once more turned to his own survival. Weighing up what Nathan and the others were planning, the Cockney knew the odds were very much stacked against them. Even if they managed to snatch the two women, they would then have to get back to Momi Bay before the outcasts could catch them.
Very unlikely.
Jack’s thoughts turned to the village he and his doomed guide had based themselves at while mapping the kauri forests around Tomanivi. He knew it was only a day’s trek at most from Tomanivi and his latest concubine would be there anxiously awaiting his return. Images of her, and of his wife and children waiting for him back on the Coral Coast, sprang to mind, overriding feelings of loyalty he had for Nathan.
I hardly even know the guy.
In an instant, his mind was made up. He’d worry about his own well-being from here on in. I owe the wife and kids that much, he reasoned.
Shaking off any feelings of guilt, Jack veered off the path he’d been following, determined to put as much distance between himself and the outcasts’ encampment as possible. He avoided forest trails so as not to bump into any of Joeli’s warriors or, worse, any of Rambuka’s lookouts.
#
Later, as the moon moved around the night sky, Nathan wondered whether he should wake Joeli and Waisale. Just then, almost as if they’d read his mind, they woke up. Refreshed after their nap, they jumped to their feet and immediately began making their way down to the valley floor.
Following close behind, Nathan regrett
ed he hadn’t slept. He knew he was operating on adrenalin and nervous energy, and was already feeling strung out. Creeping down the hillside, he wondered where Jack was hiding. Just knowing he was somewhere out there in the darkness gave him comfort. He had a feeling the Cockney would prove a handy ally in what was to come.
Walking through a patch of mud, Joeli caught Nathan’s eye and looked pointedly at the ground. Nathan knew exactly what he was suggesting. He immediately bent down, scooped up a handful of mud and applied it to his face and hands—as he had earlier. Satisfied Nathan’s white skin was covered once more, Joeli continued on.
When they’d ventured as close as they dared to the outcasts’ encampment, the three studied the bures from within the trees. Aside from the glow from the embers of cooking fires that still smoldered in and around some of the dwellings, the encampment was in darkness.
Picking his moment, Joeli mimicked the squawk of a masked parrot. An answering squawk came from the trees nearby. The ratu looked at Waisale and nodded then, turning to Nathan, whispered, “We go.”
Tomahawk in hand, Joeli led Nathan and Waisale out of the cover of the trees. The American was holding his Bowie knife and Waisale his club. Their muskets were slung over their shoulders.
The three were unchallenged as they slunk into the encampment. Their target was the same bure they’d observed Susannah and Sina coming and going from earlier.
12
Approaching the slaves’ quarters, the trio froze when a scar-faced outcast emerged from a nearby bure. Half-asleep, the man walked behind his dwelling and urinated against its outer wall. He seemed to take an eternity. While urinating, he sang softly to himself. Finally, he finished his business and retired to his bure.
The three intruders resumed moving forward.
Nearing the slaves’ bure, Joeli suddenly nodded to Waisale and ran off alone into the darkness. Nathan knew the ratu would be looking for the golden tabua. Joeli had been obsessed with recovering the sacred whale’s tooth ever since Rambuka had taken it. The American guessed, correctly, Joeli would willingly sacrifice the two women they’d come to save if it meant recovering the golden tabua.