Wilbur Smith - Assegai

Somehow Eva understood what Lusima had said. ‘Have you been given a glimpse beyond the curtain, Mama?’ she demanded eagerly.

Lusima nodded, so she went on, ‘Will you tell us what you have seen?’

‘It is not much, and little of it is what you want to hear, my flower.’

‘I will hear it nonetheless. You may have something to tell us that will be our salvation.’

Lusima sighed. ‘As you wish, but I have warned you.’ She clapped her hands and her girls came running to kneel before her. Lusima gave them their orders and they scampered away to her hut. By the time they returned, carrying the paraphernalia Lusima used for divination, the sun had set and the brief twilight was fading into night. The girls laid her tools close to Lusima’s hand, then built up the small fire. She opened one of the small leather bags and scooped from it a handful of dried herbs. Muttering an incantation, she threw it into the fire, and it burned up in a puff of acrid smoke. One of the girls brought a clay pot and placed it on the fire in front of her. It was filled to the brim with a liquid that reflected the flames like a mirror.

‘Come and sit beside me.’ She motioned to Eva and Leon. They formed a circle with her around the pot. Lusima dipped a horn cup into the liquid and offered it to each in turn. They swallowed a mouthful of the bitter brew, and Lusima drank what was left.

‘Look into the mirror,’ she ordered, and they stared into the pot. Their own images wavered on the surface, but neither saw anything beyond that. The liquid began to bubble and boil as Lusima chanted softly, and her eyes glazed as she stared into the rising clouds of steam. When at last she spoke her voice was harsh and strained: ‘There are two enemies, a man and a woman. They seek to sever the chain of love that binds you to each other.’

Eva gave a small cry of pain, but then was silent.

‘I see that the woman has a silver flag on her head.’

‘Mrs Ryan in London,’ Eva whispered, when Leon translated this to her. ‘She has a streak of silver in the front of her hair.’

‘The man has only one hand.’

They looked across the pot at each other, but Leon shook his head. ‘I don’t know who that might be. Tell us, Mama, will these two enemies succeed in their designs?’

Lusima moaned as though in pain. ‘I can see no further. The sky is filled with smoke and flame. The whole world is burning. It is obscure, but I see a great silver fish above the flames that brings hope of love and fortune.’

‘What fish is this, Mama?’ Leon asked.

‘Please explain your vision to us,’ Eva pleaded, but Lusima’s eyes had cleared and focused again.

‘There is no more,’ she said regretfully. ‘I warned you that little of it is what you wanted to hear, my flower.’ She reached forward and overturned the clay pot, spilling its contents on to the fire, extinguishing it in a cloud of hissing steam. ‘Go to your rest now. This may be your last night on Lonsonyo Mountain for a long, long while.’

Before they went to their hut Leon issued instructions to the two Masai and Ishmael to have the horses saddled and make all preparations for departure at dawn on the morrow.

The night was quiet and still but they slept only fitfully. When they started awake they reached out for each other instinctively, seized by a formless sense of dread. When the birds in the surrounding forest began their symphonic chorus of greeting to the dawn, and first light showed through the chinks in the walls, they made love with a desperate abandon they had never known before; a passion storm that, when it passed its climax, left them trembling in each other’s arms, their naked bodies drenched with sweat, their hearts racing wildly. At last they drew apart and Leon whispered, ‘Time to go, my beloved. Get dressed.’

He rose and threw on his clothes before he went to the door and pulled it open. He stooped through the opening and stood upright. The forest around him was black. The morning star was still aloft, and pricked the dark velvet sky. The light was leaden and dull. Eva came through the doorway behind him and he placed his arm around her. He was about to speak when he saw the men. For a moment he thought they must be his own, for they were leading horses.

They had been waiting in the darkness at the edge of the forest, but now they came towards them, and as they drew closer, Leon saw that there were seven. Five askaris and two officers. They all wore slouch hats and khaki campaign uniform. The askaris carried rifles slung over their shoulders, the officers only sidearms. The senior man stopped in front of them, but he ignored Leon and saluted Eva.

‘How did you find us, Uncle Penrod? Did you have somebody watching Percy’s Camp who followed Ishmael here?’

Penrod nodded. ‘Of course.’ He turned back to Eva. ‘Good morning, Eva, my dear. I have a message for you from Mrs Ryan and Mr Brown in London.’

Eva recoiled. ‘No!’ she said. ‘Otto is dead and it’s all over.’

‘Graf Otto von Meerbach is not dead. I grant you, it was a close call. The doctor had to amputate his left arm, which was rotten with gas gangrene, and sew the rest of him together. The Graf was completely non compos mentis for a long time – in fact, until very recently. But he is as hard as granite and as tough as elephant hide. He is still very weak but he is asking for you, and I had to make up a cock-and-bull story to explain your absence. I think he truly loves you, and I have come to take you back to him so that you can finish the job you were sent to do.’

Leon stepped between them. ‘She is not going back. We love each other and we are going to marry as soon as we can get back to civilization.’

‘Lieutenant Courtney, may I remind you that I am your commanding officer and the correct form of address is either “sir” or “General”? Now, step aside at once.’

‘I can’t do that, sir. I can’t let you take her back.’ Leon hunched his shoulders stubbornly.

‘Captain!’ Penrod snapped, over his shoulder, and the younger officer stepped forward smartly.

‘Sir?’ he said. Leon recognized his voice, but in his distress it was a moment before he grasped that it was Eddy Roberts, Froggy Snell’s toady.

‘Arrest this man.’ Penrod’s expression was grim. ‘If he resists, shoot him in the kneecap.’

‘Sir! Yes, sir!’ Eddy sang out jubilantly. He drew his Webley revolver from its holster and Leon started towards him. Eddy stepped back, cocked the hammer and raised the weapon, but before he could level it Eva jumped between them and spread her arms. Now the pistol was aimed at her breast.

‘Hold your fire, man!’ Penrod shouted. ‘For God’s sake, don’t harm the woman.’ Eddy lowered the weapon uncertainly.

Immediately Eva switched her attention from Eddy to Penrod. ‘What do you want of me, General?’ She was very pale but her voice was cold and calm.

‘Just a few minutes of your time, my dear.’ Penrod took her arm to lead her away, but Leon intervened again.

‘Don’t go with him, Eva. He’ll talk you around.’

She glanced back at him, and he saw that her eyes were veiled and the spark had been extinguished. His guts shrank: she had gone back to that place where nobody could follow her, not even the man who loved her. ‘Eva!’ he pleaded. ‘Stay with me, my darling.’

She gave no indication that she had heard him, and allowed Penrod to walk her away. He led her to the edge of the cliff so that Leon could not hear a single word of their conversation. Penrod towered over her, head and shoulders. He was twice her bulk. Eva looked like a child beside him as she gazed up solemnly into his face and listened to what he was saying. He placed both hands on her shoulders and shook her gently, his expression grave. Leon could barely restrain himself. He wanted to protect and defend her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and cherish her for ever.