Nganakati

For the first time I had a chance to look around me. Off to one side was the carcass of an impala and around it were numerous vultures. Some were dead. Others with panting bills, still desperately tried to flap paralysed wings.

I heard Cathy coming and looked up to see her carrying a burlap sack. She was crying loudly and almost stumbled as she got close. Her intent was obvious so I grabbed the sack from her and after waving it at some braver vultures we bent down and manhandled the impala into it. Once their possible meal had disappeared, the vultures simply stood around, eyeing the burlap sack. They knew it was in there but it had changed shape and until such time as they figured out a way of safely getting at it, we had them stumped.

With a curt "Wait here," I started searching for the panga and eventually found it while Cathy kept the birds at bay. It was a vicious thing. Sharpened almost into the shape of a double edged sword but with sharp gaps cut into it. It was designed to inflict awful wounds and I dropped it into the sack with the impala as I picked it up, swinging it over my shoulder and started walking back to the vehicles. I looked around and saw Cathy following me, carrying two dead vultures.

I dumped the sack onto Mike's pickup and helped Cathy load the two birds as well. I hugged her briefly before pulling the panga from the sack again and we walked back to the scene. I sent her away to the truck with two more dead birds while I went about the grizzly task of putting the dying birds out of their misery.

She met me halfway. I had four birds hanging by their feet from my bleeding hands. She looked at me and we shared a moment of pain before she nodded and walked past me gently swiping my arm with her hand. There was gentle comfort in it. We had nineteen dead birds in the back of the pickup by the time we had rounded them all up. I had to kill four more we found flapping around on the ground nearby and by then Cathy was a mess.

Walking back to the site for a final clean-up I noticed a few broken twigs hanging from a tree. "Hold up!" I said sharply and Cathy stopped as if she had run into a wall. "I want to go and see something over there."

It took a while of searching but inside a green thicket I found a place where someone had spent a lot of time. The grass was trampled and quite a number of cigarette butts lay around. I also found a packet containing granules that looked like poppy seed and a length of rope which I rolled and hung over my shoulder.

"Your assailant seems to have waited there for quite some time. He also left this." I showed her the packet.

"Temic," Cathy said softly and I nodded.

"Why?"

There was no answer and we both stood there shaking our heads and then slowly walked back to the vehicles. I threw the panga down on the floor of the Landy and after checking all the doors I gave Cathy a quick kiss and stood back as she climbed into the cab.

"See you in camp," I greeted and waved at her as she set off. I followed her and wondered at Mike's powers. Had he known? How could he?

I dug out my phone and called him. His voice was strange when he answered. "Is Nganakati okay?"

I sighed heavily. "She is."

"What happened?"

I told him. I heard him grunt when I told him about the man attacking her and the situation surrounding it.

"Jacob must phone me when you get to camp. The danger is still there."

I immediately closed the distance between Cathy and me. Once at the camp she made for a chalet and I pulled in next to her. Once again the bush telegraph showed what it was worth. Within minutes we were surrounded by just about every employee of the lodge. There was excited chatter and more than enough heads shaken in disbelief at the signs of carnage on the pickup.

I looked around and asked an onlooker. "Where can I find Jacob?" He shrugged and walked away. I asked another and got a similar reaction. I got angry and walked up to a man that had helped us quite a bit during the refurbishment.

"Where can I find Jacob?" I asked and he looked at me with an empty stare. I whipped my phone from my pocket and dialled Mike. I explained the situation to him and he asked to speak to the man standing in front of me. I saw his indifferent look change to surprise and then terror. Mike must have ended the call and I received my phone from a trembling hand.

"We will bring Jacob Mnumzaan," he said with a shaky voice and I stood there looking around me. The attitude of every person on the yard had suddenly changed from baleful to highly tense. Nobody left us but neither did anybody approach us either. Cathy and I went into her chalet and washed our arms of the blood and grime.

"Go have a shower," I said softly as I took her into a soft embrace. "It will help relieve the tension."

She laughed softly. "You smell strange."

"Testosterone," I grinned. "Men do that when there is danger and is possibly the reason these guys refuse to speak to me. They possibly feel threatened and don't like it."

She nodded against me and went to the bathroom. I walked to the front door and leaned against the jamb, looking out over the immense yard. Cathy was done with her shower and already dressed in a fresh summer dress, standing next to me in the door when all eyes turned toward the main gate.

A very agitated group came walking up. In the middle was a man dressed in a blue shirt and I knew. Cathy's attacker had been caught.

As they came closer I felt Cathy coming to stand just behind me. "Elephasi," she breathed and I nodded. The guy with the yellow T-shirt and taunting smile from our first day. Nobody held him but he was carefully surrounded by enough men to make escape impossible. Jacob said something in a language I did not really understand but the cavalcade came to a stop and he alone approached us.

With his hands clasped together he greeted us and we returned the honour.

"I am deeply sorry that this has happened to you Nganakati," he said looking directly at Cathy. "Hosana Ritshuri has given orders to be carried out." He looked at me and I could see loathing lie shallow in his eyes. "You must leave immediately. Hosana Ritshuri will speak to you. His car with the dead must stay here. I ask for the knife."

"It is in Nganakati's car," I said softly and with that Jacob turned his back on us without another word. He opened the door and when he came upright with the knife the guy in the blue shirt started screaming and tried to run away. Many hands gripped him and I heard him plead as he fell to his knees. Jacob looked over his shoulder at us and jerked his head in the direction of the gate. I needed no further prodding. Cathy grabbed her suitcase, stuffed whatever had been taken from it back in and we almost ran to her Landy. I grabbed my suitcase from the pickup and then we were out of there. Something made me want to urge her to drive fast but I resisted it.

Only when we hit the main road did Cathy turn to me. Those beautiful eyes were dark with fear and I saw her lip tremble. "What happened there Kevin? They called Mike 'Hosana'? When you phoned him the first time I heard them mutter 'Dzwavi'. Is he a witch doctor?"

"No. The term witch doctor is something we Europeans came up with to name those of them who had these strange powers. The name most commonly known is 'Sangoma' and is the same as Dzwavi but what we usually see are these people who sit somewhere and throw pebbles, bones and other artefacts on the ground and then supposedly reads it, something like the Gypsies, Druids or Soothsayers of old. Mike is on another level entirely. As I understand it, he speaks to their spirits directly and powerful sangomas fear him. He knew you were going to need me but he sounded surprised at what had happened. What he said to those guys back at the lodge I have no idea but as you smelled it on me, I could smell the fear on those at the lodge. Be glad we are not back there now."

Cathy pulled off the road, got out and walked around the vehicle. As I got out she grabbed at me and I could feel her tremble as I hugged her to me. She didn't cry but the odd sniffle indicated her distress. I kissed the top of her head and a chuckle escaped. She jerked and looked up at me with a question.

"So much for the romantic evening I had hoped for."

She smiled. It was not a happy smile but at least she smiled. "Will you drive please Kevin? My nerves are all in a ball."

We had been driving for about an hour when my phone rang and I gave it to her to answer. I saw her look at the display and her hand trembled as she swiped the screen to answer. Her voice cracked.

"Hello Mike."

She listened a bit and then agitatedly showed me to stop. Once the Landy rolled to a stop she put the phone down between us and went to speaker.

"We are listening Mike," she said in a voice that had just that tingle of a quiver.

"Nkulumba. You were on time. I congratulate you. Nganakati's life was in grave danger. That offspring of a rat had planned to lure her to his hiding by using the birds. He says he hates her because of her beauty and because she disliked him. He would have raped her and then had plans to use the knife to mutilate and disembowel her."

I looked at Cathy. She sat there staring at the phone with her face as white as a sheet. She was shaking terribly and then she opened the door of the Landy. She fell out and I heard her retching painfully while I ran around to her side. I heard Mike's voice on the phone and yelled at him.

"Mike, please, I will phone you back. Cathy is in shock!" I think he acknowledged but I was not sure.

Cathy eventually sat down in the grass with her head between her knees. I could only think she was playing out in her head, the horrors she escaped as she would sometimes gasp for air and at others she would start shaking terribly. It was quite hot but she sat there shivering and I held her to me for warmth. The sun was just past its zenith when she sighed and rolled out of my grasp and on to her side, looking at the grass near her face.

"How did he know Kevin?"

"Who?"

"Mike."

"I don't know but we owe him your life."

She nodded and put up her hand so that I could pull her up. She stood on shaky legs but leaned inside to get the phone. The moment Mike answered she almost wept. "Mike?"

"Nganakati?"

"How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"What he was planning to do?"

He was silent for a while before he chuckled. "I did not know that my Queen. Jacob told me after they caught him and he told them. I could only sense that you were in danger. I didn't know you were at the lodge. Steven told me."

Cathy took a deep breath and groped for my hand. I felt it shake. "I love you Mike," she said in almost a whisper. "You are my Tatana of Africa."

"Thank you my Queen," I heard him grumble and I knew. That giant of a man had tears in his eyes.

"What now Mike? Do we go back to the lodge?" I asked and got a hiss from him.

"You go to your house Nkulumba. I can protect you at your house. At other places it is difficult." He was silent for a while. "I am sorry for your birds Nganakati but you can never go to Wasubi again."

Cathy's head jerked around at me. "Never?"

He blew a loud breath. "Never. And neither can you Nkulumba. It is too dangerous. There are many bad spirits there."

I caught Cathy's eyes on me and I shrugged. "What happened to Elephasi?" she asked and I saw her tremble again at the mention of his name.

Mike coughed softly. "He was a bad one. He was warned and told to leave the lodge and never return but disregarded an order from those who came before. He also planned to kill one favoured by the spirits. Never ask me that again. Do not try to find out. It is forbidden knowledge." He sighed. "I need your oath."

I looked at Cathy and she gave me a wan smile but reached her hand to me. I took it and we softly swore never to enquire about Elephasi again. Mike seemed happy with that and simply went on to tell me about the day's happenings on site.

***

We arrived home with the sun low on the horizon and I took Cathy's bags to the guest room. She avoided my eyes as she went inside and I left to have a shower. I stood under the rain of hot water until I found my shoulders lose their stiffness. It had been one hell of a day and more than once I found myself shaking my head at the absurdity of it all. Somewhere I wondered what I could do to show Mike our gratitude but I knew the answer to that. It was as forbidden as asking about Elephasi. To us these people had strange ways and whether or not you believed in it, there were some rules not to be ignored. Cathy is a favourite? It explained the way our teams reacted to her. Elephasi's transgression must have been regarded as unforgivable. Not for a single moment did I doubt that he paid for it with his life but never will I say that to Cathy. I had been warned....

I found her in the lounge. Her hair was wet and hung in cute curls all over the place. "Another shower?" I grinned as I sat down next to her.

"I needed to. I needed to wash Wasubi from me and anyway, I was dusty from that spell next to the road back there."

"Feeling better?"

She smiled at me. "I need coffee and then I want us to go outside, light a fire and just sit there staring at the flames."

"Hungry?"

"I don't know. I should be but right now I cannot think of eating anything."

I chuckled at her and pulled her to me. "We make fire. We make eat. We make...." My tongue went lame.

"What?" she asked with a giggle when I kept quiet and I grinned at her. "I ran out of things to say there."

"Hmmm," was her teasing reply and we went to the kitchen to make the coffee. The sun had set by the time we walked outside with our coffee and we made our way to my modest but pleasant Boma. At one side was a decent stockpile of lovely Camel Thorn wood and while she sat staring at the stars that were just beginning to blink at us, I got a fire going. I intentionally caused some smoke to limit the mosquitoes and then sat down next to her, watching small flames licking at the logs.

Her hand came to rest on my upper leg and she squeezed it gently. "Thanks."

"Err, it was a pleasure. Whatever it was."

She leaned to my shoulder and put her head against mine. "For so many things Kevin. If I start naming them all we will sit here all night but allow me to start at what had happened at Wasubi so many months ago and corral all the others together into a bag to end it here tonight."

"You leaving again?" I asked as a painful fear rattled in my chest but she smiled that beautiful smile and took my hand.

"I will never leave you again Kevin."

Maureen was cremated. When I walked out of the chapel after the small ceremony, I was surrounded by a large number of people. My parents and most of my siblings. Maureen's family as well. Every one of my colleagues. All of whom loved me in their own way and yet when I walked out into the sunshine that day I felt utterly alone. It got better over time but the loneliness never left me. It was always there. All that was needed to cause an ache in me was a few moments of being left with my own thoughts. Maureen will never leave me but when I heard Cathy say that, I felt the last of that loneliness evaporate.

"Kevin?"

I laughed softly. "Sorry. That took the wind from my sails."

"I was concerned that you would be blown away so I held your hand," she giggled and I felt her lips on my cheek. "This is not how I planned to tell you but I have decided."

"You staying?"

"If I am still welcome."

"You always were."

I had played out this scene in my head numerous times and yet, when it happened, everything I had pictured as happening, simply did not. The day had been a disaster as far as romance was concerned. It also left me without a clue about what to do right then. Should I jump up, grab her and kiss her into oblivion? Should we talk about our possible future together?

"I was stupid," she said softly and I felt her squeeze my hand a tad tighter.

All I could do was chuckle. "We all are. What did you do? Step on another snake?"

"I mean about Gustav."

"Oh?"

She gave a mirthless chuckle. "I fought for him. Here..., in my head. While I was at home in Scotland you were in my thoughts all the time. William told me to phone Gustav and send him packing after finding me daydreaming of you for the umpteenth time. He never had a problem with Gustav but from what I told them he started calling you his brother from Africa. Sharing an experience with a leopard under a tree gave you so many brownie points it will never run out."

"Smart kid."

Cathy laughed loudly. "He would love to have heard that."

"Why?"

"A kid he definitely is not. Twenty four years old and easily as big as Mike if not bigger with a shock of curly red hair he wears to his shoulders. Sometimes he grows a beard and then he looks like some medieval Scottish clansman on the warpath."

I grinned at her. "I retract that. Make that 'smart man'. You were saying?"

"So many times I started calling the Lodge to speak to you but then my nerve would break. When I got back I felt guilty. Gustav seemed so incredibly happy to see me and I forced you into the back of my mind but you refused to stay there. When I came down here to get my belongings from the Lodge they had packed everything except my tent and mattress into a large cardboard box. I opened it at home and on top of it all they had placed your business card in an envelope. I stood there looking at it and beautiful memories came back. I kissed the card and some of my lipstick clung to it. That made it precious and impossible to throw away so I shoved it into the sheath of my mobile phone."

She sighed and got up to move an errant log in the fire. With her back to me she put her hands together behind her head. "I came down here to do a small project and install some of the new trap cameras in various locations. When I arrived at Shandon you started to haunt me. I simply had to see you and that is why I went to your workshops the next day."

She turned to me. The Boma had dim lighting but I could see her eyes searching mine as she came to sit on her haunches in front of me and put her elbows on my knees. "Another thing I want to thank you for Kevin. At Shandon we experienced a passion that made me tingle with life and I felt all woman. It was wonderful but you were the perfect gentleman and stood back when I asked. You could have forced the issue and I would have gladly given myself to you. I wanted you so badly but you honoured my wish to stand back. You have no idea how much that said about you."

"It wasn't easy."

She giggled. "Do you think it was easy for me?

"I hope not. It was torture!"

She got up and leaned to me for a kiss. Once again it was just a kiss but brimful with meaning and promises. "I think I need a glass of wine. Got some?"

I pushed at her to get up and with hands entwined we walked into the house. I showed her my collection of wines and while she looked through it I went to the refrigerator to find something to eat. There was none of course. I had been gone from home for nearly two weeks so I had to rummage around in the freezer. Amongst others I dug up some vacuum packed Ostrich steaks.

"You eat this?"

She grinned and held out a glass of a deep red to me. "You are involved with a full blooded carnivore Mister Faull. At first I baulked at it but not anymore. I love it!"

Leaving the meat to fast defrost in a bowl of water I dived into the pantry. "Mind if you smell tomorrow?"

She grinned. "Garlic?"

I held two onions aloft. "I take out a bit of the core and drop a hefty clove in there with some butter, salt and black pepper and just a minute sliver of chilli. Wrapped in foil and put into coals it turns into food from heaven. Sweet potatoes in foil will have to do as a filler."