Love's Golden Spell

by William Maltese

  The morning became more wondrous once they had sighted Melissa and Suzy in a distant patch of underbrush. Each day that those rhinos survived in the wild was an occasion for celebration.

  They spotted giraffes, buffalo, and zebras. Some species were holding on, no matter how fragile the thread.

  “Without something to do, I would spend my days mooning around, waiting for you to return from your daily jaunts to save the animals in the bush,” Christopher said with a smile. “I’d be miserably bored.”

  That was his rationalization for his daily treks in search of gold, but Janet wanted none of it. “I’m sure we could find you something more worthwhile with the research team,” she said. “Working with animals would give you a better understanding of what some very concerned people are trying to achieve.”

  “Touché!” he said, his golden eyes flashing sunlight, his grin warm with amusement. She wanted him to volunteer his services. She wasn’t above that daydream. She knew, though, that reality was a different ballgame. She was content—for the moment—to leave things as they were. If Christopher gave her half a chance, she would win him over to her side. There was more chance of that now than there had been only twenty-four hours earlier. That was enough triumph to savor at the moment. Any journey was made one small step at a time.

  The Land Rovers stopped. Dr. Nhari got out and came back to them. He had shining black eyes set in a charcoal-colored face. “The helicopter pilot has spotted the herd among the trees up ahead,” he said. Janet saw no sign of elephants, but she heard the distant drone of helicopter rotors. “He’s singling out an elephant now for darting,” Dr. Nhari continued. A special hypodermic would be shot from the helicopter once the animal was sufficiently isolated from the herd. The team would move in as soon as the drug took effect.

  “Dr. Nhari,” one of the doctor’s associates called from the front vehicle, “it’s about to clear the tree cover!”

  “We’ll be moving out shortly,” Dr. Nhari informed them, heading back to take the binoculars held by his assistant.

  “That’s my signal to leave you, I guess,” Janet said, sliding out of her seat. She didn’t want to leave Christopher. She didn’t want him to leave her. Their drive had been so enjoyable; she hated to see it end.

  “Why not skip this tagging?” Christopher suggested. “Your crew can handle it on its own. They’re professionals. They know what to do.”

  “And what would I do in the meantime? Help you look for gold?” she asked, shaking her head in amusement, not anger.

  “I could take the day off, too,” Christopher said. “My people are happiest when the boss sticks his nose elsewhere. You and I could spend the day together, just the two of us.”

  Janet was tempted. He didn’t know how tempted.

  “Elephant at the tree line!” someone shouted. Everyone scanned the edge of the clearing, except Christopher and Janet, who were looking at each other.

  “Let’s not move too fast,” Janet said. She cherished their morning together, but she was afraid of any attempts to extend it. The fates were jealous of too much happiness.

  “Elephant down, Janet!” Roger called. The front two Land Rovers immediately headed for the elephant collapsed a few meters into the clearing. If the crew was going to get the shots wanted, it had to move, too. Dr. Nhari couldn’t wait. Once the animal was down, it had to be tagged as quickly as possible. Elephant herds were social groups and were known to rush to the defense of one downed member. That offered fewer complications to poachers with guns at the ready than it did to Dr. Nhari’s team, which was out to save life. There was another possible complication. The drug used was a powerful relaxant; a downed elephant could suffocate under its own massive weight if it was too long without an antidote.

  Janet was torn between joining the rush and telling her team to go on without her.

  “Janet!” Roger persisted. He was all cameramen now, and he knew good shots were a matter of good timing. Time was running out.

  “Maybe you’re right about not moving too fast,” Christopher said, reading the conflict on her face. “Things are going so well, I don’t want to spoil them, either. Besides, you were right when you said I wouldn’t respect you for dumping your convictions just because I asked.”

  “Janet!” Roger yelled. Dr. Nhari was almost at the elephant, and Roger was tempted to head after him without Janet along.

  “You go with your team, Janet,” Christopher said, smiling. “We’ll talk later. If I’ve started falling in love with a lady do-gooder, I wouldn’t want that lady changing horse midstream. I might not know how to handle it.” He drove away.

  She turned and ran to her crew. “About time, boss lady!” Roger said, peeling rubber as soon as Janet was on board.

  Christopher was right. Part of her reason for coming to Africa was a need to save the animals. She wouldn’t forgive herself or him if she threw it aside for purely selfish satisfaction.

  He had said he was falling in love with her, and Janet was shaken by that revelation. Her legs had hardly gotten her to the Land Rover before the vehicle began racing with bone-jarring speed over the rough ground. Janet was filled with wonder at Christopher’s admission, not knowing how to deal with it. It was too impossibly wonderful to be true. It was what she wanted more than anything. It was the fulfillment of her dream of sixteen long years. But dreams didn’t really come true. This was no different. She needed time to think. Things were moving too fast, whether she wanted them to or not.

  Janet couldn’t tell Roger, Tim, or Jill that Christopher had admitted beginning to love her. She couldn’t admit it to herself. It was a possibility savored in secret. If it were to be a dream, never fulfilled, the fewer people she told the better. Even if it was true, there was rough sailing ahead. Christopher didn’t know she was a ghost from his past.

  Roger concentrated on making up for lost time. His passengers held on for dear life as he brought the Land Rover to a screeching halt. He and Tim scrambled for their equipment. Jill set to work, making Janet look presentable for the cameras.

  The next few minutes were a dream. Janet was a professional, operating on remote control. She performed everything with her mind elsewhere—on Christopher. She checked her face in the mirror Jill held for her. She knew what additional makeup she needed, and Jill applied those finishing touches. Janet stepped out of the Land Rover and went to work. All the time she marveled at the unbelievable wonder of Christopher saying he loved her. He hadn’t said it before. He wouldn’t say it unless he meant it, would he? He sounded so sincere. But because he sounded sincere didn’t necessarily mean he was.

  Dr. Nhari and his associates were skilled at performing within a minimum time limit. While the specially designed collar was attached to the downed animal’s thick neck, the rest of the group took the elephant’s physical measurements for future identification. Roger busied himself with close-ups. Janet commandeered Tim for her on-the-spot commentary. The two soldiers took up guard positions as a precaution against possible trouble from poachers out to take advantage of the vulnerable elephant.

  “Are we done?” Dr. Nhari asked, verifying once more that the collar and its transmitter were securely in place. Janet told the shooting camera that the elephant would be revived by an injection of the antidote into one of the large veins latticing the pachyderm’s ear. “Everybody back, then!” Dr. Nhari instructed, hypodermic in hand.

  Tim joined Roger in recording the injection. Janet stepped back to avoid the groggy elephant’s complete return to consciousness.

  What happened next wasn’t clear in Janet’s mind. Nor was it clear to anyone else.

  The antidote apparently just worked faster than expected. The elephant began struggling to its feet before Dr. Nhari pulled the needle from the vein. The man scrambled nervously but dexterously to avoid the kicking legs and whip-like trunk. Well-trained assistants gave him a hand.

  The two soldiers bolted in fear of the thrashing beast. Watching from the Land Rover, Jill remained rive
ted to her seat. Tim panicked for one short second until he realized Roger, the more experienced of the two, was coolly recording the whole thing. Tim turned his camera back on the elephant’s unsteady return to its feet. Fascinated, Janet watched. She wasn’t feeling particularly threatened. Dr. Nhari’s laughter—albeit nervous—assured them the danger was over.

  It wasn’t!

  There was an explosion among the nearby trees. Two tall acacias tumbled in a mushroom of fire and smoke. When her ears quit ringing, Janet found she was still standing on vibrating ground.

  The revived elephant trumpeted its fright, stumbled on legs too wobbly to support it and dropped heavily to its front knees.

  “Stampede!” somebody yelled. Not Janet. She was speechless as fast-moving elephants materialized from among the trees.

  It was a dream—that was her first impression. It was inconceivable that she was in Zimbabwe, about to become a victim of stampeding elephants. When the truth hit her, she was left with no choice but to get out of the way. Easier thought than done. The elephants were in a wide and cluttered line that made it useless for her to go left or right. She couldn’t reach the Land Rovers, because the collared elephant, visibly panicking, was blocking that route. The poor beast’s eyes were wide, its ears flared, its trunk thrashing wildly. Anyway there was little chance of Janet reaching the Land Rovers before the elephants reached her. She had but one alternative. She turned and started running.

  There was a distant outcropping of rocks that offered sanctuary. It seemed too far distant, but that didn’t stop her from trying.

  She heard the elephants behind her. Their trumpeting got louder and louder. The ground shook more noticeably beneath her—a veritable earthquake caused by elephants run amok. It was difficult to keep her footing. She moved in staggering slow motion across a plain seemingly of Jell-O.

  An elephant thundered by on her right. The dust stirred up in its wake clogged her aching lungs, making it even harder to breathe. The tremendous size of the animal was unreal! How could something so big move so fast? She was slower—much slower. Her brain admitted escape was impossible. The outcrop of rocks was closer, but not close enough. An elephant rushed by on her left. The wind of its passing buffeted her with dust. It was only a matter of seconds before one of them would take her down with ease, perhaps not even noticing that small obstacle in its path.

  She was going to die. Her mind was amazingly clear. She saw the irony of being killed by the animals she had come to save. She saw the irony of dying when Christopher’s words of love made her less willing to die now than at any time during the past sixteen years. Her thoughts of Christopher, her realization of lost possibilities for happiness, kept her on her feet long after she was exhausted.

  Thoughts of her love conjured him up before her. She was in no condition to believe he was actually among those rocks. It was disappointing that her last vision of him was with a rifle in his hands.

  She didn’t hear the shot; she heard the horrible scream of the elephant behind her. There was the hardness of vibrating earth coming up unexpectedly to meet her. The collapse of the elephant caused further reverberations that made Janet’s ungainly sprawl more painful.

  She had died and gone to hell; there was no question about it. The smoke of eternal fires surrounded her, filling her lungs with burning dryness. Her eyes stung even though she kept them tightly shut. Her mouth was stuffed with nettles. Her head ached from the banshee cries of lost souls committed, like she, to everlasting damnation. It was her punishment for hoping for happiness in Christopher’s arms. She wasn’t surprised at her fate. It was always this way. There were no happy-ever-after endings.

  The screaming faded. The rumbling decreased. There were other sounds: distant trumpets, her breathing, running feet. She wasn’t running. She was down and out for the count of ten. How cruel life was. It dangled possibilities of happiness before her eyes and then snatched them away.

  Christopher, Oh, Christopher. Life is so unfair!

  “Janet? Janet!” His voice. She opened her eyes. Hell was a blur. She shut her eyes. “Janet? Janet!” The illusion was too much to bear. She started crying. Bitter sobs racked her body, tearing her insides. Something wrapped around her tightly. She was lifted. There was a comforting hardness hugging her. “Tell me you’re all right!” he commanded. “Tell me!”

  How could she be all right? She had lost him. She had lost the one thing she wanted most in the world. Or had she? Maybe she wasn’t dead. Maybe she had survived, Christopher to the rescue.

  “Christopher?” she asked. She opened eyes glued with tears and dust. “Oh, Christopher, is it really you?” She locked her arms around his neck. He was there, an illusion that might slip away if she didn’t hold on to him with all her might.

  “It’s all right, Janet,” he soothed, rocking her in strong arms. She was like a frightened child. She buried her face against his chest, resting her cheek against the vee of smooth skin revealed by his open shirt. The smell and the feel of him excited and comforted her at the same time.

  “I thought I was dead,” she cried, shuddering at how close she had come. A miracle had saved her—but at what cost?

  “It was close,” Christopher admitted. “It was too close for comfort, but you’re safe now. That’s all that counts.”

  Was it, though? She shut her eyes: an ostrich, sticking her head in the sand. She wasn’t making the truth go away by refusing to face it. An act of violence had saved her.

  She pulled her face away from the comfort of his neck. Still holding on to him, she twisted to see dust everywhere. The sun was liquid gold within the haze. She saw a dream-like, landscape.

  The elephant was dead, its bloody eye socket already attracting flies. Vultures, likewise, had caught the scent of death and coasted nearer on the wind. How lucky the birds were to have so many men anxious to set food before them.

  Just as there had been irony in the possibility of her death, there was irony in her salvation. Because of her an elephant had died. The man she loved had pulled the trigger.

  The implications were too much to face at the moment. Her mind relieved her of the burden. She fainted.

  * * * * * * *

  THE NEXT THING she knew, she was in her bed at the hotel. For a wishful moment she thought it was all a bad dream—except there was someone standing by the window.

  “Christopher?”

  “Shall I get him?” It was Roger. He sat on the edge of the bed, his handsome face etched with concern. “He was here until a few minutes ago. I told him to get some rest. He’s been awake since it happened.”

  “How long have I been out?” Janet asked. It didn’t seem long.

  “Last night. All today.” He put a cool hand on her forehead. “The doctor gave you a shot. He was concerned about the terrible fright you had. We’ve all been worried.”

  Suddenly the memory of what had happened came back full force, and a shudder passed through her. She shook it off. “Tim and Jill are all right, aren’t they?” she asked. She didn’t know what she would do or say if they weren’t.

  “They’re fine,” Roger assured her. “Jill is naturally shaken. She stayed in the Land Rover, rooted to the spot throughout. It turned out to be a good place. Out of all the vehicles, only one got damaged. Tim’s a little frayed around the edges. He insists he’s more upset about losing his camera than about almost getting squashed by the same elephant that smashed it.” Janet smiled at Tim’s masculine posturing in the aftermath of disaster.

  “Did any of the others get hurt?” Janet asked. There was a dead elephant. Christopher had killed it to save her.

  “One of the soldiers was badly injured. They rushed him to the hospital in Fort Victoria. We’re still waiting to hear, but it doesn’t look good. Aside from him, everyone came through with minor cuts and bruises. We’re extremely lucky,” Roger said, “considering what could have happened.”

  “What was it all about?” Janet asked, remembering the explosion, the mushroom of smoke
and fire, the two toppling acacias, the line of elephants emerging from the trees.

  “Captain Sylo says it was the work of poachers,” Roger said. “They booby-trapped the place, knowing the elephants were there and we were coming to tag one.”

  “They wanted to kill us?” Janet asked, shivering at how close they had come to succeeding.

  “It looks that way,” Roger admitted. “Captain Sylo figures they wanted to kill us, scare us, or both. They hate us roaming around. Although they somehow have no trouble finding where we are and when, it’s easier for them when we’re not here at all. Captain Sylo, by the way, is anxious to see you. But right now I suppose you’d prefer seeing the man who saved your pretty neck, yes?”

  Somehow she felt she couldn’t bear to face Christopher just then. The thought of the elephant that had died, instead of her, preyed on her mind. “Didn’t you say Christopher was tired?” Janet said. “Maybe we’d better let him rest.”

  “He won’t be pleased when he finds out,” Roger said. “I only got him to leave by promising I’d wake him at the first sign of your revival.”

  “I’ll take the responsibility,” Janet said. It sounded as if she was thinking of Christopher’s needs. It wasn’t that at all. She needed time to think.

  “Damn, Janet, it was exciting to see!” Roger said, his eyes lighting up at the memory. “I got it all down, too, and it’s going to make fantastic footage to show your kids and grandchildren someday. Your television audience is going to love it, too.” She found it a bit cold-blooded that he had been able to shoot her race with death so calmly, but let him continue. “I couldn’t believe what was happening,” he explained. “I went running after you, camera in hand, hardly realizing I was getting it all.”