Trifecta (90 page)

To keep his professional detachment Vincent shifted his
gaze to the man who had been working on the preparations.  He was big as a bear
and almost as hairy.  At least he was wearing a sort of loincloth.  In fact, now
that he was used to the sight, Vincent noticed that the five men in the circle all
had on some kind of undergarment.  Evidently Omar had not picked them for physical
beauty, as he seemed to have done with the women.  Vincent supposed it was harder
to coax men into his religion.  But if he used his beautiful witches to entice them
he could be quite successful.  Of course, maybe Omar did not want other men competing
with his status and had only procured the more pitiful male specimens.

Ginger was motioning to him, inviting him into the circle.
She turned around several times right in front of him and beckoned, smiling right
into his eyes.  Vincent shook his head and smiled back.  She really was very graceful. 

Ginger must have given up, Vincent thought, as the little
white-haired witch took her place.  Her dance was even more suggestive and Vincent
tried not to watch.  Getting aroused was a bad idea right now.  The white-haired
witch was replaced with one with long dark hair, flashing her limbs at him.  Then
another witch took her place.

When Vincent finally looked down at his cup he saw to his
dismay that it was empty.  He must have been drinking unconsciously and hadn't even
noticed.  Vincent felt a flash of fear.  Omar had staged the witch dances to make
him forget what he was doing.  This was not paranoia.  He was in danger.  When Vincent
tried to get up he found he could not move.  All of his limbs were paralyzed.

The sudden electrical storm took everyone by surprise
at Henry's party.  Most ducked in out of the rain and went to sit on the lanai to
watch the splendid electrical displays over the ocean.  Many people left.  Some
used the storm as an excuse to go inside to get more liquid refreshment from the
open bar Henry had provided for his guests.  Tom Mitsuto had taken a little rest
on the couch in the living room, peacefully snoring off the excess spirits he had
imbibed.  The guitarists moved into the living room and resumed playing.

Nora ran down to the beach to make sure all the children
were safely out of the ocean.  Water is an excellent electrical conductor and these
storms could be dangerous.  Michelle went with her.  By that time it was late and
the party was winding down.  They both got drenched as they shouted at three teens,
in a rubber life raft, to come out of the water.

The teenagers, two girls and a boy, lanky and giggling,
were whispering as they pulled the rubber boat out of the water.  Nora smiled and
asked if they had been in the punch bowl.  One girl said no, rather breathlessly,
pointing down the beach and relating that there were a bunch of naked people, just
down there, dancing inside a circle.  They had paddled over to see.

"Damn witches," Nora said, when she and Michelle
were alone, after the teens scampered to put the boat away.  "Terrible influence
for the children.  Henry and I walked down one night to see what the fire was on
the beach.  They have this big witch's cauldron boiling, just like in the movies,
and they perform some kind of rituals.  They were fornicating, right out in the
open."  Nora had her lips compressed, eyes wide and indignant.  "Luckily
they do it in the middle of the night, so the little ones don't know about it. 
You can bet the older ones will be waiting impatiently to watch next time."

Nora went inside, shaking her head, and Michelle stood
on the lanai to wring her hair out over porch railing so it wouldn't drip all over
the floor when she went inside.  She probably looked like a witch herself, with
her hair dripping wet.  Still, she thought, she might take a walk down there.  Couldn't
get any wetter if she tried.  Maybe it was Omar and his sisters.  But she didn't
want to go alone.

"There you are."  Nakamura came out on the lanai. 
He leaned against the railing beside her, "I love the smell of the rain.  The
air here is so pure and clean.  I'm sorry to say that isn't true of Tokyo."

"Would you mind getting wet?"

"Not terribly.  Why?"

"I want to walk down the beach.  Some kids said there
was a witch's circle.  You can see the light of their fire from here." She
pointed through the rain at a distant smudge of firelight on the beach.  "Maybe
we can see what Omar and his witches are up to.  It probably isn't them, but I'm
curious."

"Okay.  Sure," he said nodding

"I'll go get Heather," Michelle said.

Nakamura stood there, disappointed for a moment, watching
her go inside.  A romantic walk along the beach in the rain.  Just what he needed
with his new assistant.  Right.  He had to admit he was a little too attracted for
strictly business.  He hadn't thought of that as a possibility when he had come
to Hawaii, ready to hire Michelle because of the quality of her work, sight unseen,
because he needed someone who spoke English as a first language and who understood
Western ways.  Now the attraction was making him uncomfortable.  Unprofessional
to be feeling that way about an employee.  But they would probably get in the swing
of things once they were in Tokyo, seeing altogether too much of each other. 

Hawaii was such a romantic place he was getting in the
mood of the islands.  The tropical weather, the full moon and balmy air, not to
mention the lush vegetation and the beautiful volcanic mountain and sea vistas were
enough to make anyone romantic.  Also, the islands were isolated, which contributed
to the vacation feeling he found here.  They'd probably fight over different aspects
of the business and become good friends in Tokyo, after a while.  Still, he thought
wistfully, she looked like a mermaid with that long wet hair and her big yellow
eyes with those thick dark lashes.  He thought her tiny freckles were cute.  She
must hide them with makeup when she was working.

He watched through the window as Michelle went over and
whispered to Heather, who was sitting on the floor, listening to the guitarists. 
He saw Heather nod and grin mischievously.  They both came outside.

The three slipped quietly out into the rain, which was
steady now and not so hard driven, but they bowed their heads because the wind blew
the rain directly at them.  They were soaked in seconds.  Nakamura mentioned that
they had better stay way back, on the off chance it really was Omar.  He might not
take being spied upon too happily.

"Especially since they're all naked," Michelle
said, nodding at him.

"What?"  He looked at her, surprised.

"That's what the kids said.  They were dancing in
the nude."

"No shit!" Heather said, obviously delighted
to be sneaking up naughtily upon a group of naked people.

Michelle nodded.  "Yeah.  They even have a witch's
cauldron, with stuff brewing inside."

"Hey, now," Nakamura said.  "If it is Omar,
this could be dangerous.  Maybe Heather should stay way back.  We know his witches
were trying to hurt her just this evening."

Heather stuck a tiny tongue out at him.  "No way. 
You're not leaving me behind."

"Probably isn't him anyway," Michelle muttered. 
Maybe it wasn't such a cool idea to sneak up on them.

When they got close, they moved away from the ocean, across
the beach and walked crouched over under the palm trees, through weeds, thick wild
banana trees with wide leaves, and the beautiful ferns that grew lush in the tropical
weather.  Water dripped from the trees, but other than that the foliage above was
so thick that they were drier here, although it was hard to tell how close they
were getting because of the dense undergrowth. 

Nakamura was leading and Michelle bumped into him when
he stopped abruptly.  Their cover had suddenly grown sparse.  They were directly
opposite the magic circle, only a few dozen feet away.  The bubbling cauldron was
on their right.  The hot stones beneath the pot hissed continuously as the rain
pelted them.  Thick steam rose from the pot, standing unattended in the rain.

A lightening bolt seemed to come from nowhere and landed
in a banana tree to their left, which burst into wild flames.  It was very close. 
The lightening above the ocean came every few seconds, like living silver streaks
with many wide branches.  The booming thunder was almost simultaneous with each
separate display.

"Sit down," Nakamura whispered, pushing Michelle
into a sitting position.  He hoped they wouldn't be noticed if they peeked from
above the weeds.  He had blindly brought them much too close.  He looked at Heather,
but she was already crouched on hands and knees, sliding into a sitting position. 
They might have to sit here until the ceremony was over unless they could back up
very quietly.  He was glad it was raining for it had covered the sounds of their
approach.

Nakamura had been too preoccupied with hiding to really
perceive what was happening in the circle.  Now, when he looked, he was shocked
and suddenly embarrassed.  He felt the skin on his face burning.  It was like a
live porno show.  He wished he had come alone.  Not with two women whom he liked
very much.  He glanced quickly at Michelle.  She had absolutely no expression on
her face.  Her eyes were wide. 

There were about twenty people inside a circle delineated
clearly in the sand.  There was some sort of wooden alter in the center with several
candles lit atop it, throwing light on all inside the circle.  Torches guttered
around the circle, also highlighting those inside.  They must have been lit electrically
because they burned brightly in the rain.  Only one rather small chubby man sat
outside both circles, drinking from a large cup he was holding.  A woman was dancing
in front of him, obviously dancing for him.  Her movements were sensual and sexually
explicit.  The small chubby man had his back to Nakamura so he couldn't see him
clearly, except to notice the man did not move except to occasionally take sips
from the cup.

There was a gigantic man on the other side of the
circle who began having intercourse with one of the women.  It happened so
abruptly Nakamura felt that the grotesquely large man might be raping her. 
Nakamura could see his hips and back moving rhythmically, but he could not see
the woman underneath.  The big man obscured most of her body and a few people
were in the way. 

There was no doubt that Omar was the master of the circle. 
Nakamura recognized him immediately.  He was wearing a flowing black robe and was
holding a long sword.  Omar was not joining in the festivities, but he seemed to
be watching in satisfaction with dark predatory and greedy eyes.

Nakamura had a feeling that he was seeing pure evil in
its most illusory form as he watched Omar.  He could tell by the frenzied movements
that the people in the circle were not in their right minds.  As he watched, two
more of the men had disrobed and were preparing to copulate with the naked women. 
It was group sex.  An orgy in the rain.  But it was ugly and degenerate.  The whole
scene was horribly and unwholesomely obscene.

Another lighting bolt slashed low across the sky and he
could hear it land with a popping sound, lighting another fire, this time in a small
bush not far away.  He felt like he was in hell, with the lightening and the thunder
booming, watching the demons.

The man who had been sitting outside the circle dropped
his cup and then very slowly, like a sawed off tree, rolled silently to the ground
in a fetal position.  He did not move.

Nakamura glanced at Michelle, whispering that they should
try to leave.  She didn't seem to hear him.  Her eyes were opened wide and he thought
tears were rolling down her cheeks, but it was hard to tell in the rain.  He leaned
toward her to ask her if she was all right.  Before he could stop her she stood
up and started running directly toward the circle.  She moved so fast he didn't
even have time to try and hold her back.  She stopped at the edge of the circle.

Heather stood up and yelled, "No."  Then she
took off after Michelle.  Nakamura stood up and saw Omar looking at all three of
them.  If looks could kill, they would all have been dead, Nakamura thought to himself
as he hurried after Michelle and Heather.

Michelle had run right into the circle.  She stood in front
of Omar yelling, "It was you.  All the time it was you," over and over
again.  She was obviously furious at him.

Omar shook his head, frowning at Michelle. "You are
interrupting a religious ceremony, Michelle."

"You call this religion?" Michelle asked, looking
around at the couples writhing in the sand around her.

"You've obviously remembered," Omar said, gesturing
on high with his sword.  "I promise you wealth beyond your comprehension. 
More power than any woman on earth."

"I don't want it," Michelle muttered, looking
around at the couples humping on the sand.  "Just leave me alone."

Omar gave her an awful smile, "Afraid I can't do that,
my dear.  Your position with me is preordained."

Heather had almost reached the circle.  She was hurrying
forward. 

Nakamura saw Omar move his arm up toward the sky.  He was
pointing up with his sword, then suddenly he slashed his arm down, pointing directly
at Heather.  Michelle had seen his movement and turned around to see what Omar was
gesturing at.

Omar did not move his arm, just kept aiming the sword at
Heather as she rushed nearer.  She had reached the outer rim of the circle and was
starting to step inside carefully, so she wouldn't step on the bodies lying in the
sand, when a lightening bolt came out of the sky and hit her directly in the chest. 
Heather slammed to the ground as though she had been shot by a bullet, her shirt
on fire.

Nakamura wasn't even thinking as he ran and leaped on top
of Heather, trying to put out the fire, rolling her in the sand. 

It was like a freeze frame inside the circle, everyone
watching.  Nakamura put his head on Heather's chest, trying to hear her heart beat. 
He heard nothing and started beating on her rib cage.  He might break a rib but
he had to get her heart started.  Luckily he'd had some medical training and knew
what he was doing.  Michelle was suddenly kneeling beside him and he instructed
her in mouth to mouth resuscitation.  She did exactly what he what he told her to
do.  Michelle was blowing into Heather's mouth for a specified number of times,
then he resumed thumping her chest, above her heart.