“Oh dear God, what have they done to you?” Pat cried into the silence, not looking at Sara or Suzanne.
A bloated caricature was advancing on him slowly, her tail wagging uncertainly, the flowers woven into it waving in the wind. Mot’s entire body was covered in flowers, all woven into her hair. She could barely move, her stomach was so distended. Pat fell to his knees beside her and she collapsed happily to the ground.
Sara’s cheeks were flaming as the men all gathered around him and started asking questions she didn’t want to hear, let alone the answers. Pat was gruffly answering, mainly in the negative, and getting quite upset. Serve him right, she thought furiously. Beside her she could feel Suzanne equally angry, but didn’t dare look at her.
“Well Pat, when you have quite recovered,” Suzanne’s icy tone cut through the voices, “we have a task for you and Grey Fox.”
Pat looked up guiltily, panicking at the severe angry expressions.
“We need to survey the island for metals. The dwarves say you know what to look for.”
He nodded eagerly. “No problem. I will go as it gets cooler this evening, it’s very hot in the middle of the day. I have seen quite a bit of the island, will take me a few days.”
The soldiers were milling around, clearly itching to continue the questions, while both Suzanne and Sara groped for some reason to take Pat off alone to talk.
Hinatea came running from her hut, followed by her troupe which had expanded to a good dozen girls. She was clutching something in her hand, and as she came closer, Pat could see it was some sawblade root. Everyone fell silent as she took his hand affectionately and spoke in her broken Belada.
“Words, learn?” She looked at him expectantly, her girls around her, all traces of injury gone, all with their eyes like pinpricks, a clear sign the drug was working.
“Belada?” Pat asked, unable to resist a plea for help.
“No. You words.” Pat looked puzzled.
“She wants to learn Harrhein,” explained Mactravis, oblivious of the feelings of his superior officers and greatly enjoying the drama. “I think it is probably a good idea. Poema says she can come with us, along with a few of the other girls, to replace the missing crew. Some of them haven’t recovered from the spell and apparently these ones are too wild to stay on the island. I can believe that!”
Suzanne desperately searched for something to say and found nothing. Sara beside her had gone wooden, and when she reached tentatively for her hand, she grasped it instantly and squeezed, both girls feeling better for the contact, joining forces against the common enemy. Sara wondered if she could ban Hinatea from coming with them. Suzanne was determined not to let her on board. Suzanne pulled gently and both girls walked away, down the path towards the bathing pool in the stream, unused at this time of day. They didn’t speak until they reached the pool, standing in the deep shade of a fig tree.
“All men are bastards,” said Suzanne bitterly, and both girls were crying, holding each other.
A few days later, Suzanne was conducting her daily report session under the shade of the palm trees, when Pat and Grey Fox came up the beach with Hinatea and Silmatea. Mot followed them, back to her usual shape. They came up to the group, and joined it, the others moving slightly to let them in. Suzanne felt her breath catch at the sight of him while Sara went still.
Pat nodded to them, apparently oblivious of any feelings, Hinatea holding his hand in a way he had never permitted Sara. “We’ve been right over the island, no metals of any sort. Quite certain of it. Lots of the sand called yellow flowers, though, up on the craters. Whole pool of smelly water you can’t drink.”
“Is it any use?” Suzanne looked at Sara, who shrugged, her face unreadable.
“You can use it a few ways,” said Pat. “It helps things to grow, if you use a little of it, and for some illnesses. And you can use it to start fires easily.”
Perryn nodded at this. “Walters will be interested. We don’t use it much in Harrhein, but it certainly has some usage.”
“How is it sold and how is it packed?”
“Well, it’s quite expensive. I’m not sure how much, there isn’t a lot available. I have only seen it in small quantities.”
“If we took a few barrels back, would they sell?”
“Oh yes. I wouldn’t take too many though; there is no market for lots of it. Check with the dwarves, they may want some.”
“Good thinking. Pat, do that later. Perryn, carry on.” Both girls ignored Pat pointedly though he didn’t notice.
“Sure. I think we can sail when you are ready. The Captain will slowly improve over the next few weeks, as will Brian and Walters. Everyone else is about recovered. The spell was concentrated on the poop deck, which is why it has a deeper effect on the men there, especially the three older ones. I have learnt a lot about it and the religion here. The Gods do talk to them, they have spoken to me.” He looked troubled and infinitely sad. “My own God has never done that.”
“Really? What did they say?”
“They told me to go away. They said Moea was not to go with me, but she would have my child. They wanted my magic, but said in me it was tainted by my own God. They said their magic was not for the people of Harrhein, but they were not against us, they approve of us.” He looked at Sara. “They like you, and they thank you. They are gentle Gods and they say this is their last refuge. They are under attack from other gods, especially those of the Umayyads and those of Hind. They ask for protection from other gods, including ours.” He looked down at his feet.
Sara was sitting next to him and touched his arm. “It’s all right Perryn, I understand. I will do as they ask.”
There was silence around the group, broken by Lieutenant Mactravis, who let out a long sigh.
“Not sure what I think about gods who talk to you. At least as soldiers we don’t have to worry about that, usually. I hope to the nine pits of hell Little doesn’t upset them.”
Hinatea answered him, surprising everyone with her Harrhein. “The Gods like him. They understand him, and how he thinks. They have asked the girls who are staying to have children by him and the others like him. They want his soldier blood to protect the island.” She looked around the group, smiling quietly. “All the girls who stay are already pregnant. The Gods say we need the men, and the new blood.”
Suzanne took a breath angrily. “The girls who stay? And how many are coming with us? And why do you think you will come?”
“The Gods have told us we can go. You will need us, and some of your men will not be happy to leave us behind. We are not pregnant.”
Lieutenant Mactravis cleared his throat. “I am afraid this true. If some of the girls do not come, some of the men will not leave. They will take to the hills.”
Before Suzanne could reply, Perryn spoke. “Some of the men need to stay. They won’t be able to leave.”
“Well, it’s not too bad. We need to leave some men here, some soldiers and some sailors, to build an outpost. So let’s consider who stays and we’ll take the girls to replace them.” Lieutenant Mactravis spoke as if it were already decided, but before Suzanne or Sara could think of a suitable reason to object, the Bosun spoke up. “Better to leave the third mate, Taylor, and his wife. They’re not right for working, and they’ve taken to island life. Also gets you promotion to second, Suzanne. Got maybe a dozen others who can stay.”
“Walters should and wants to stay, but I am not sure he should,” contributed Perryn contradicting himself.
“Indeed,” agreed Suzanne, giving in to the inevitable, “Brian and the Captain ought to stay, but we shall take them and see if they recover on the journey. It’s all the older people. We’ll leave the non-essentials.”
“I am not happy about leaving any soldiers,” said Mactravis. “I doubt any of them actually want to stay, and they could be a bad influence. Bloody Little, I caught him, ah, having sex with a girl in the middle of a crowd of people! They were all watching and telling him what to do!”
Hinatea looked at him in puzzlement. “Why is wrong? We often do, is nice to get compliments from others, and it helps people to learn. If we learn more, we get more pleasure.”
Suzanne looked at her incredulously. “You often do it? Really? In the open?”
“Oh yes. I think I understand from talking to Pat you have competitions in Harrhein? Archery? Running? Riding on animals? Kicking a ball? We do too. Sometimes it is fishing, but usually it is sex. We all know who the best are, they are popular. I am one of the best!” She answered smugly. “Very popular!” Both Pat and Grey Fox looked embarrassed, the first time any of them had seen an expression on Grey Fox’s face.
Sergeant Russell broke in suspiciously. “How can you have competitions when you have no men?” Clearly he was worried about hordes of men coming out of hiding.
“It is difficult,” replied Hinatea seriously. “We share the seven men on the island, they move around the villages, plus we use the old men and soon the first boys will be old enough. But also we go with two girls. That is fun!” She smiled brilliantly and looked around, projecting an invitation at Sara, who looked shocked. Hinatea’s smile grew wider and wicked. “I have special stick I carved. You want to see?”
“No!” Suzanne said, trying to take back control despite the thought of Grey Fox taking part in these competitions. She really didn’t want Sara to work out what the stick would be. “Bosun, make a list for me of those who want to stay. We’ll aim to sail in two days. Pat, speak to the dwarves and work out how many barrels of yellow flowers to take with us. It’s a powder, right?”
“Powder and crystals. The crystals are more expensive. I will pack the crystals in the powder so we have both.”
Later, Suzanne took a walk by herself in the heat of the day down to the bathing pool. She needed to be alone with her thoughts. She sat on the bank, her feet trailing in the water, idly kicking at the little fish that came to nibble, and allowed her desolation to flow out. The sight of Pat brought a huge up-welling feeling of love for him but it felt odd. Letting it flow over her, she felt it was tainted, adulterated by the magic, and she felt used, for it felt like the love she had experienced as a young girl, before life took the complicated turns which left her in a brothel. She realised it wasn’t Pat with whom she was angry, or even Hinatea and the Pahippians, but simply with the way the magic had not only taken away her control, but tried to impose feelings on her. She sighed, thinking she needed to have this conversation with Sara and wondered if she would be allowed.
A fish nibbled her toes, tickling, and she giggled slightly, welcoming the interruption to her thoughts. She felt a presence and jumped to her feet, to find Pat watching her from a few yards away.
“Damn it Pat, don’t do that! Creeping up like that. What do you want anyway?” She asked crossly, clamping down on her heart which raced at the sight of him.
Pat hung his head and looked at his feet. “Don’t know,” he mumbled. Pat was in considerable turmoil himself. His had sorted out his feelings for Sara, which had fizzled out in the revelations after the attack, but the sight of Suzanne had wakened others. While he didn’t love Suzanne, the night with her had been sensual and physically rewarding and he wanted a repeat, but had no idea how to say it. The running and the Pahippian girls had worn the magic out of his system and he was becoming very fond of Hinatea, a rewarding partner on many different levels. Hinatea and her friends were off to talk with their families and friends, exchanging stories and catching up, so he had responded to the emotional turmoil he felt at the sight of Suzanne by slipping away and following her. Now he took a step towards her.
“Stop!” Suzanne cried, alarmed at how closer proximity made her feel. “Pat, you’ve made your choice, now go to your girls and leave me alone. I am trying to plan.”
Pat had learnt a surprising amount about the magic from talking with the girls, and now hatched his cunning plan with immense subtlety. “I was worried about you, Suzanne, and how the magic was affecting you. You haven’t had much opportunity to exercise, it must still be coursing in you, and so I thought I would help you get rid of it.” He smiled hopefully at her, pleased with how delicately he had spoken.
Suzanne’s eyes narrowed. “You filthy little boy,” she hissed. “You didn’t come here to make me feel better; you just wanted to rattle me. Well think again, farm boy! You will never, ever, touch me again. In fact, I’ll make sure you don’t touch anyone!” With that she started to spin towards him.
Pat fled, the memory of her kick to Fourth Lieutenant Reilly running through his brain, and felt the waft of air as she missed him, barely. Suzanne watched him leave, fuming. As her anger dropped she realised it had blown away the last of the magic within her and her mood turned. She laughed, thinking Pat was just like every other seventeen year old boy who had discovered sex.
In the evening Suzanne discussed trade with Poema, while Sara listening in without much interest. It was difficult, as the main traders were the Captain and Brian, laid up by the magic, but the girls understood the importance. The only valuable trade products seemed to be copra, pearls, and trepang. Sara couldn’t understand why Suzanne was so happy and cheerful. She had even winked at her.
Trade talk did cause the Captain to perk up a little and come and listen, but although he saw the value in pearls, none of them knew what copra and trepang were. No, Rereau and Poema didn’t know what they were used for, but they planned to trade them to the next island along, one day.