The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel) (41 page)

“Why, are you going to miss me?” Nathan smiled mischievously.

Embarrassed, Susannah looked away. Nathan came to her aid immediately, saying, “The
Rendezvous
should be back soon to take me and my shipment of sea slugs back to Levuka.”

“Then where will you go?”

“Then I sail to China.”

“I see.”

Nathan noted that Susannah was suddenly quiet. He looked into her eyes. “You know, this really is no place for a woman. What kind of a future can you expect in a place like this?”

Nathan had touched a raw nerve.

Susannah rounded on him. “Do you think this is what I want?” she challenged. “This is the last place on earth I want to be!” Nathan was taken aback by the emotional outburst. Susannah continued, “But sometimes God’s will comes first. This is what he has chosen for me.”

Nathan raised his eyes to the heavens. “And you really believe that drivel?”

Susannah looked away for a moment, angry. “You don’t believe in anything do you, Nathan?” Her tone was accusing. At the same time, she felt ashamed. Nathan had unwittingly forced her to confront her own misgivings over her suitability to carry out God’s work. Her anger was partially directed at herself, but of course Nathan couldn’t know that.

The American reached beneath his shirt and pulled his pistol from his belt. “I believe in this,” he said, waving the weapon under her nose.

Susannah looked at the pistol and shook her head. “I thought you were different. I thought maybe, just maybe, somewhere beneath your hard exterior, you were compassionate.”

“This is a savage land, Susannah. Lofty ideals like compassion will only get a man killed.” Susannah appeared deeply offended. Pointing back down the beach, Nathan said, “Just look around you. These people, or people just like them, are eating one another, for Christ’s sake!”

Susannah was disappointed with Nathan. “I should be getting back,” she said turning to go.

Aware he’d spoiled the mood, Nathan said, “Wait.” Susannah composed herself and looked back at him. Nathan lost himself for a moment as he looked into her shimmering, hazel eyes. He wanted to tell her he had feelings for her, but the words refused to come. It was as if his tongue had frozen.

Susannah looked back at him defiantly. She was feeling confused, unsure whether to love or hate the man standing before him. The only thing she was certain of was he affected her like no man ever had.

Does he want me like I want him?

Nathan thought he saw something in her eyes. He desperately wanted to kiss her, but found himself rooted to the spot, suddenly paralyzed.

Do something, man!

Unsure exactly what he should do or say next, Nathan was saved from further embarrassment by a little girl who ran up to them. Stopping in front of the couple, she proudly displayed a handful of colorful pebbles. “Bula,” she said shyly.

Susannah and Nathan looked at the girl and laughed. Their laughter was somewhat forced. The little girl joined in the laughter. Taking her by one hand each, they began walking back along the beach to rejoin the crowd. Still they didn’t notice Selaima tracking them.

As they neared the assembled Fijians, the Shark Caller’s chants grew louder. The girl ran off to play with friends, leaving the young couple alone. The Shark Caller hadn’t moved since wading out into the sea. Still up to his neck in water, he continued his high-pitched chanting.

Ever skeptical, Nathan turned to Susannah. “How long is this meant to take?”

Susannah frowned at him. “Be patient.”

The chanting continued for so long Nathan was ready to return to the village. Then it suddenly stopped. The onlookers collectively gasped as a huge fin sliced through the water toward the Shark Caller.

Pointing the fin out to Nathan, Susannah whispered, “That will be the Great White.”

Nathan couldn’t take his eyes off the drama unfolding out in the bay. The fin veered away only yards short of the Shark Caller. The old man resumed chanting as the shark began circling him. More fins appeared, smaller than the Great White’s. They, too, circled the Shark Caller, who appeared oblivious to the danger. Wild cheering broke out among the onlookers. Nathan could hardly believe his eyes.

Susannah, shouting to be heard, said, “The Great White answers the call of the Shark Caller. It brings other sharks with it.”

Men waiting aboard canoes in the shallows began paddling furiously out from the
beach to intercept the sharks. In the lead canoe, Joeli and Waisale reached down and hauled the still-chanting Shark Caller from the water. The crews of the other canoes set about killing as many sharks as they could. They used nets to snare the sharks and then they speared them, but they were careful not to harm the Great White. The sea in the immediate vicinity quickly turned red with blood. A feeding frenzy followed as sharks turned on one another.

One of the men in Joeli’s canoe fell overboard. Willing hands hauled him back on board just before the sharks could reach him.

On the beach, the onlookers were cheering and sea shell horns blared out as the men aboard the canoes began towing their catches back to shore. Despite the danger still posed by live sharks, villagers waded out to greet them. They helped pull the captured sharks up onto the beach, taking care to avoid their gnashing teeth.

Before long, the carcasses of thirty or more sharks had been lined up in rows on the sand. Smiling villagers used hunting knives to carve strips of flesh from them while others cut off the highly valued fins. Slaves carried the spoils back up to the village.

A beaming Joeli surveyed the scene proudly. He announced, “Tonight, my people eat well!”

His warriors cheered and performed a joyous dance. Young boys emulated them. Joeli noticed Nathan and Susannah looking on. He nodded toward them.

Susannah suddenly saw her father. Drake Senior was staring directly at her and Nathan. He seemed displeased to see her with the American. “I must go now,” she said, hurrying away to join her father.

Nathan wanted to call out,
When can I see you?
But he was once again momentarily struck dumb. As Susannah and her father were swallowed up by the crowd, he found he was missing her already.

The American’s body language and demeanor were easily read by Selaima, who was
still observing him from the cover of the palm trees. It was clear to her that Nathan was obsessed with Susannah. Her animosity toward the Englishwoman intensified. Feelings of jealousy were rapidly turning to hate.

Nathan turned his attention back to the scene on the beach. Beyond the villagers he saw the Shark Caller. The old man was now further down the beach, away from the others. He was kneeling beside a lone shark carcass.

Nathan approached the Shark Caller. As he neared, he heard the old man chanting softly while looking into the eye of the dead shark.

“Great hunter of the sea, you have lived a noble life,” the Shark Caller intoned in his native tongue. “You have served your purpose. Now you will perform one last act. You will give me your eye so that I can see all things as you do.”

Although the words were foreign to him, Nathan felt he understood what the Shark Caller was saying. He looked on as the old man used a shell to cut out the shark’s eye. The Shark Caller held it up, offered another chant, then popped the eye into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

15

A
s dusk fell, the Qopa enjoyed the day’s spoils. Cooking pots brimmed full of the prized shark fin soup and shark flesh was grilled over cooking fires or baked in lovos throughout the village.

Nathan had been invited to dine with Joeli and his extended family in their bure. He arrived as the young ratu was about to share shark fin soup with family and friends around an open fire. Children were among the happy group, and there was much laughter and gaiety.

The American was welcomed and invited to sit on Joeli’s right. Waisale was already seated on his left. Nathan noticed a number of fetching young maidens were present, and they seemed to be paying a lot of attention to Joeli. To his knowledge, Joeli wasn’t married, but he guessed it would only be a matter of time before the young ratu took the first of many wives—as was the tradition.

After he’d had his fill of soup, Nathan watched as Selaima and other slave girls served portions of baked shark covered in coconut cream. As they carried out their tasks, he couldn’t help but notice that Selaima was making eye contact with him at every opportunity—as she had been since their first meeting. For a moment he was seriously tempted to give her some clue that he was interested in whatever it was she had in mind. There was no denying she was a seductive and beautiful young woman. Only the thought of Susannah prevented him from giving into temptation.

The realization that his feelings for a missionary were preventing him from having his way with the temptress now before him was a watershed moment for Nathan. He knew he’d changed. The Nathan of old would never have let a relationship with one woman stand in the way of a relationship with another. Not that he could claim to have a real relationship with Susannah. If he were honest, it was more a longing on his part than a relationship. And he didn’t even know how Susannah felt about him.

You must be getting old, Johnson.

As always, the ratu was served first and, as a mark of respect, everyone waited for him to begin eating. Holding a steaming slither of shark flesh, Joeli mischievously waited for several drawn-out moments. The younger children became restless, and their parents had to physically restrain them from eating before Joeli had his first mouthful. Chuckling to himself, he pretended to put the slither into his mouth. His stalling tactics attracted groans from family members. Finally, he stuffed it into his mouth. Laughing, the others gratefully followed suit.

An elderly woman shook her head as if to reprimand Joeli for his teasing.

The laughter and conversation faded as the food was devoured. Nathan ate heartily like the others.

Joeli noted the
American’s liking for the shark’s flesh and nodded with satisfaction. “Nathan Johnson,” he said, “it is good you healthy now. Healthy good.”

Nathan smiled and kept chewing.

Waisale leaned over to Joeli. Speaking Fijian, he said, “What is this thing between Nathan Johnson and the white woman?”

Joeli looked at Nathan mischievously. Speaking English, he said, “Waisale ask, what happen between you and missionary woman?”

Nathan feigned innocence. By now all eyes were on him. “What do you mean?”

Joeli turned to the others. Speaking in Fijian again, he said,
              “Nathan Johnson claims there is nothing between him and the woman.”

Waisale chuckled and said, “And I am the ratu of all of Viti Levu!”

This provoked widespread laughter from all except Selaima. Nathan looked to Joeli for an explanation.

Reverting to English, Joeli said, “Waisale say Nathan Johnson love white woman.”

Nathan raised his hands in mock surrender. “All right! I do like her a little.”

Lapsing back into Fijian, Joeli told the others, “He loves her . . . a lot.”

This provoked more laughter. Waisale asked Joeli, “What does Nathan Johnson plan to do next with the white woman?”

Translating, accurately this time for Nathan’s benefit, Joeli said, “Waisale ask what next move with white woman?”

“I thought perhaps I’d take her a bunch of flowers.”

When Joeli relayed this to the others, they shook with laughter, demonstrating their ignorance of this European courting custom.

Waisale told Joeli, “Tell Nathan Johnson no woman will open her legs for someone as ugly as him if that is all he gives her.”

Joeli turned to Nathan and said, “Waisale say you have no chance. Better to send him in your place.”

Nathan looked at Waisale and shook his head good-naturedly, provoking yet more mirth. Waisale slapped Nathan on the back, prompting him to join in the laughter.

Sitting there, laughing and drinking kava with his newfound Fijian friends, Nathan was coming to the realization that the prejudices and feelings of superiority he’d harbored toward native peoples in the past were vanishing as quickly as the level of kava in his drinking bowl was dropping. Despite the external and cultural differences, their warmth and humor had melted his icy heart and he’d become very fond of them. He now recognized they were not so different to him. Less sophisticated in European terms perhaps, but they shared many of the same likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams, fears and passions that he did.

The American now understood that all the beliefs he once held were just that: beliefs. He’d judged the Fijians—and probably all native peoples—before giving them a chance.

Nathan suddenly felt ashamed for his previous attitudes yet he sensed these Fijians
were totally forgiving. They now accepted Nathan almost as if he were a member of their clan.

This only served to make him feel more ashamed than ever. He vowed then and there, he’d at least try to treat all people of all creeds and colors as equals.

# 

After the meal, Nathan accompanied Joeli as he did the rounds of the village. This was a routine the young ratu followed every night. They stopped every so often to check the rebuilt fortifications and talk to the lookouts.

As they walked, Nathan commented, “You have a good friend in Waisale.”

Joeli nodded. “He is a brother to me.”

“He has a zest for life.” The ratu looked at him blankly, not understanding. They walked a few more paces in silence. Nathan said, “But I sense an inner sadness in Waisale.”

Joeli stopped by a rock and indicated they should sit down. When they were seated, he said, “Waisale once . . . love my cousin Sina. She so beautiful I would have her myself if not related.”

Joeli could remember the day Sina and Waisale became a couple as if it were only yesterday. Waisale had been pursuing Sina, unsuccessfully, for weeks. Finally, she’d relented and allowed him to make love to her on the beach, in full view of the village and of fishermen out in the bay. The villagers had smiled at the sight of two of their own consummating their love for each other. From that day on, until her abduction by Rambuka, the couple had rarely been apart. The families of each were delighted by the union and had planned a wedding feast to formalize the love match.

“What happened?” Nathan asked, bringing Joeli back to the present.

“Rambuka take her. It happen one moon before wedding feast take place. Children see the Outcast take her. That was early in dry season. No see her since.” Joeli got to his feet and resumed walking.

Nathan followed. He asked, “Has anyone looked for her?”

“Trackers search for days,” Joeli responded defensively, “but Rambuka cunning dog. He hide tracks well.”

“Where’s his hideout?”

Joeli shrugged. “In mountains somewhere.” He added, “Waisale still search for her to this day, but Viti Levu is big island.”

The pair stopped outside Nathan’s bure. They bade each other good night and Nathan retired. Inside, he lay down and reviewed the day’s events. As always, his thoughts turned to Susannah. He wondered what she was doing right now.

As sleep approached, a faint noise in the doorway alerted Nathan to the arrival of someone. He looked up and saw it was Selaima. To his surprise, the seductive slave girl smiled and began disrobing.

Nathan shook his head. Getting to his feet he said, “No.” By now, Selaima had slipped out of her grass skirt and was standing before him naked. “No,” Nathan repeated. The girl looked confused. Nathan picked up her skirt and handed it to her. “I’m sorry.”

Selaima nodded to indicate she understood. Nathan’s actions confirmed what she’d suspected: the American had given his heart to the white woman. Dressing quickly, she smiled to hide her disappointment and departed.

Nathan lay down and stared at the ceiling.

What the hell’s come over you?

He knew it wasn’t like him to turn away an available woman—especially not a seductive one like Selaima. Deep down though, he understood. He was consumed by Susannah. There was no room in his life for anyone else. He drifted off to sleep thinking about the Englishwoman, subconsciously caressing the whalebone pendant resting on his
chest.

# 

On her bed mat in the female slaves’ quarters on the other side of the village, Selaima couldn’t sleep. After her rejection by the American earlier that evening, sleep was the last thing on her mind.

She wanted revenge—not against Nathan, but against the woman who was keeping him from her.

Rolling lithely to her feet, she crept out of the hut she shared with a dozen other slaves and walked quickly toward the rainforest beyond the village outskirts, taking care as she went not to stumble into any of the Qopa lookouts she knew would be in the vicinity. As she walked, she checked the contents of a small flax bag she carried.

Reaching the edge of the forest, she skirted around it until she found a track, which she then followed for half a mile or so inland. The track led her to a well-concealed cave entrance, which she crawled through. Inside, the cave opened up into a large cavern. A small opening in its roof allowed moonlight through, giving the cavern a cathedral-like quality. This suited Selaima for what she had in mind.

Using two sticks and some dry grass she’d collected outside the cave, she proceeded to rub the sticks together and, in the tradition of her forefathers, made a fire. Then, retrieving special herbs and potions from her bag, she sprinkled them over the flames. The fire erupted into life, its flames leaping skyward as if propelled by gas or some other fuel. Selaima breathed in the resulting aromas, soon falling into a trance.

In her trance-like state, she then began chanting, summoning the darker spirits to fill the void she believed existed around her. Although her eyes were closed, she could see the spirits. They appeared as bat-like creatures, always moving too fast to see clearly.

Selaima was working herself into a state. Her chanting quickly degenerated into grunts and she began frothing at the mouth. A feeling of faintness descended on her. She knew from experience she’d soon lose consciousness and so had to hurry if she were to achieve what she’d set out to do.

Screaming at the spirits, she shouted, “Keep the missionary woman and Nathan Johnson apart!” She imagined she saw the spirits react violently at the mention of
missionary woman,
but couldn’t be sure. Nearly out of it, she added, “Remove her out of the way of temptation so that Nathan Johnson has eyes only for me.”

With that, Selaima lost consciousness and fell forward into the fire, its heat scorching the flesh from her face, neck, and arms. She would wake when sunlight replaced the moonlight that presently shone through the opening in the cavern roof above her. When she did, the skin on her face, neck, and arms would be unmarked, completely free of even the tiniest blemish.

Selaima didn’t understand
the gift,
but she trusted it. It gave her magical powers and those powers protected her just as she knew they would protect Nathan.