Nausea dropped into the pit of Trent’s stomach. Someone had obviously been hurt. What if they had come too late? Had RyAnne suffered injury just minutes before they could rescue her? If only he could hear what was being said!
But from this distance the words were spoken too quietly to be understood. It was only a moment before the one who was apparently Jabir ducked back into his tent and then emerged with a bag in his grasp and ran in the direction the first man had pointed him.
The first man moved more sedately now, but still with quick steps, to a second tent and paused outside it to say a few quiet words.
Trent pressed a fist to his mouth and watched intently. What he wouldn’t give right now to have his field glasses. But they had burned along with all his other belongings in the hut he’d been bunking in back at the village.
He didn’t need his field glasses, however, to recognize the man who barreled out of the second tent spewing invectives. Khalifa didn’t even take time to grab his kofia before he snatched up a rifle from just inside the door of his tent, shoved the messenger of apparent ill tidings out of his way, and dashed off in the direction in which the man named Jabir had gone.
Trent batted Kako with the back of one hand and tipped his head to indicate they should circle around and see if they could discover what had sent Khalifa off in such a dither. Maybe he’d even be able to catch Khalifa all alone. He squinted his eyes at the pleasant thought. He would like that very much.
They slipped quietly away from the lip of the hill and then skirted the perimeter of the encampment at a run. Trent willed his still-weakened lungs to do their duty and not fail him, but he was nonetheless panting for breath when he and Kako pulled up behind a large jacaranda tree and peered around it to see if they could catch a glimpse of whatever Khalifa had rushed off to manage.
It was probably a good thing that Trent was struggling for breath, otherwise the moment his gaze landed on RyAnne kneeling in the dirt, with Moyo clutched to her, he might have done something rash. As it was, the sight of her alive, safe, and whole took the last of the strength from his legs, and he dropped to his knees behind the tree. Whoever was injured, it wasn’t her. Thank you, Father. Thank you. He knew it was a selfish prayer the minute it entered his thoughts.
The healer, Jabir, was leaning over a woman who writhed and moaned and clutched handfuls of her hair in agony. Through the long grass, Trent couldn’t quite make out the extent of her injuries.
But he was close enough to clearly hear Khalifa when he snapped, “Well? Did it kill her, man?”
Jabir offered no response other than to shake his head.
Khalifa cursed and stomped a few paces away, scanning the horizon as though searching for something.
Trent ducked lower and pressed his face closer to the tree.
Khalifa, however, did not look in his direction. Instead he raised his rifle above his head and yelled across the plains, “I’m coming for you, beast! You aren’t going to remain the terror of the savannah for long if I have anything to say about it!” He cursed the lion soundly, stomping and waving his hands in a tirade that could only have been called a temper tantrum in more genteel circles.
Everything in Trent wanted to rush in and get RyAnne and Moyo immediately, but he forced himself to take a breath and wait. He would do no one any good by barreling in and getting shot by the man a second time.
Presently, the injured man who had run to fetch Khalifa returned to the scene. He stopped near RyAnne. And the moment she noticed him, she set Moyo to one side and stood to her feet. The sound of chains rattling around her ankles was like a knife to Trent’s heart. Would she ever be able to forgive him for failing her so utterly?
She spoke softly. “Asha, you must let me look at you.”
If he hadn’t been so distraught at seeing her in chains, Trent might have smiled. The girl’s caring heart ran as deep as her marrow. Captive though she was, she remained a nurturer. A healer. A kind person. The sound of her voice was like a soothing balm to dry and brittle skin. Trent’s eyes dropped closed at the sweet melody of it. But only for a moment because he could hardly bring himself to remove his gaze from her.
The man, Asha, brushed her away. “Later. For now, we must hunt the lion and finish it. For injured as it is, it will be even more dangerous than before.”
Khalifa overheard the words and nodded. “Yes, Asha. Fetch three guards. We are going after this predator and will kill it here and now. I can’t afford to lose any more profits to the beast!”
Trent’s teeth ground together. Unbelievable.
But this was good. Khalifa and three guards. And a fourth who was already injured and, if RyAnne’s reaction to him could be read, might be a trustworthy fellow. Those odds weren’t great, but if he and Kako could take out Khalifa first, the guards might capitulate to their wishes more easily.
At any rate, taking them while they were away from the camp would be better than trying to take them here. The added worry out there on the plains would be the lion, which had apparently been wounded, likely by the injured guard. But with Bagamoyo only a day or two farther down the trail, it was act now or perhaps lose the chance to rescue RyAnne forever.
Asha was not long in returning with the guards. And Khalifa delineated strict instructions on how he wanted the hunt handled, and then he led his men in the direction Asha indicated the lion had gone.
Trent and Kako crept back from the women who remained under the watchful eye of the healer, until Trent felt sure they were hidden by the still-lengthy shadows of the dawn, and then followed the party at a distance as they set off to hunt the injured lion.
The hardest thing he had ever done was to walk away and leave RyAnne in chains, especially without letting her know he was here. But he prayed this would be the last time he would ever have to walk away from her again.
Trent nudged Kako and pressed his mouth close to his ear. “If they split up, we move in. If we can take out Khalifa, I think the others will surrender. But I need him alive. Do not kill him.” Khalifa was still the only one who knew the identity of whomever he was working with.
Kako nodded, and quietly they followed the hunting party.
Khalifa stalked along at the front, his rifle slung over one arm, his boots thudding loudly into the dust of the game trail.
Kako shook his head, and Trent knew he was thinking the party would never catch the lion unawares, with Khalifa walking so loudly.
The injured guard, Asha, was sent out in front of the party to be the tracker. But the animal’s path was not hard to follow. Even trailing far back as he and Kako were and seeing the sign after the hunting party had trampled over it, Trent could tell that the creature was bleeding rather badly and wasn’t moving any too fast.
The guard Asha suddenly came to a stop.
Trent and Kako crept a little closer through the grass.
Khalifa cursed. “Are you sure it went in there?”
Asha shrugged. “The trail stops here.”
Ahead of the hunting party lay the mouth of cave. The opening was low to the ground, and the craggy knoll into which the opening led wasn’t much larger than a good-sized beaver dam might have been back in the Americas. To proceed, the hunting party would have to crawl into the cave one person at a time through the narrow opening.
Khalifa shoved one of the guards. “Skirt around and make sure the trail doesn’t continue on the other side. This could be its den, but before we go in, I want to be sure.”
The guard departed, and Kako looked to Trent with lifted brow.
Trent shook his head and held up a hand, urging him to wait. There were still four men there. He’d rather hold off for a few minutes to see if their odds improved.
Only a moment later, the guard returned to report that the trail did not continue on the other side.
“Is there another exit where the beast could escape us?”
The guard nodded with a shrug. “There are many places the lion could get out. These caves probably extend be
neath the land, Master.” He tamped the end of the spear he carried into the dust at his feet to emphasize his point.
Khalifa propped his hands on his hips. It was obvious he had no desire to go into the cave after the beast, but at the same time was reluctant to leave before killing it. After a long moment he pointed to the three additional guards. “You three station yourselves around the perimeter in case upon going in we chase the lion out an opening somewhere. Asha will go in first. He is already injured and will be less of a loss to me if the lion is waiting to attack the moment we get inside.”
The men trotted off, spears in hand, and Trent gave Kako a nod. Now was as good of an opportunity as they were likely to get to mount their attack. The guards would not be far enough away for his liking, but the element of surprise might provide the benefit they needed.
As he and Kako silently made their way forward, he heard Khalifa say, “Well? What are you waiting for? Get going.”
Asha’s lips pressed together thinly, but he did lower himself to his stomach and crawl forward into the mouth of the cave.
Khalifa had his back to them as he faced the cave and watched Asha scoot inside.
Trent motioned for Kako to take the flank, and then stood. He cocked his pistol and extended it. “Good morning, Khalifa.”
Khalifa jolted and started to spin around to bring his rifle up to bear, but Kako leapt out from beside him and slammed his club down on Khalifa’s wrist, sending the rifle clattering to the ground.
Khalifa cursed and gripped his likely-broken wrist, bending over it. He moaned, “Dawson, what are you doing here? I thought I killed you!”
Trent couldn’t help the smirk that tipped up one side of his lips. “You tried.”
Asha thrust his head back out the entry of the cave, obviously having heard the commotion.
But Kako had by that time appropriated Khalifa’s rifle, a knife, and a machete for his own use. He leveled the rifle at the guard.
Asha, still on his belly in the dirt, immediately thrust his hands above his head.
Kicking the knives out of reach, Kako motioned with the gun for him to exit the cave completely, and Asha crawled forward until he could gain his feet, but kept his hands visible at all times.
Kako finished patting Khalifa down for weapons and, finding no others, gave Trent a nod.
Trent kept his distance, afraid of what he might do to the man if he went any nearer. “On your knees, Khalifa. I have some questions for you. And then I’m going to haul you in for the authorities. But first we are going to march back to the encampment and release all those poor wretches.”
Glowering with great fervor, Khalifa dropped to his knees. “We could make a lot of money together, you and I. Why not join me instead of fighting me?”
Trent scoffed. “You don’t know me at all if you even think that would be a temptation for me.”
At that moment a movement from the top of the knoll caught Trent’s gaze.
The lion! The beast had not gone into the cave as they’d suspected but had instead jumped from the ground to the peak, likely to lick its wounds in the morning sun.
Khalifa must have seen the look of surprise cross Trent’s face, for he partially turned to see what had caught his attention. But the lion had already launched itself at the man kneeling just in front of its den. Khalifa’s shriek split the air, but he only had enough time to raise one arm before the creature’s enormous fanged teeth sank deeply into his shoulder, and they tumbled together into the grass.
Khalifa screamed and grappled with the animal. Trent tried to set his aim on the lion, but with the two of them tumbling about as they were, he was afraid he would shoot Khalifa. The man had too much information in his head that Trent couldn’t afford to lose if he was going to, once and for all, put an end to this smuggling ring.
In addition to that, he wasn’t even sure the .36 caliber would faze the beast, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch a man get mauled to death by a lion—not even if it was Khalifa.
Maybe if he could get closer. Trent approached cautiously, not wanting the lion to transfer its attention in his direction.
The lion still had its teeth clamped around Khalifa’s shoulder, in a grip meant to strangle. Khalifa was also pinned down by the weight of the beast, but he was still fighting. A spear, obviously from the earlier fight back at the encampment, protruded from the lion’s side, and blood coated the tawny hide. Even if they could let it live after it had apparently been killing people, the creature would never recover from such an injury. It was mercy to put it out of its misery.
“Help me!” Khalifa screamed.
Trent stepped closer, took careful aim at the lion’s head, and squeezed off a shot.
It flinched and loosed its hold on Khalifa, then yowled most piteously.
Trent shot it again.
And this time it went down in a heap on the ground next to the whimpering man.
With his good arm, Khalifa dragged himself away from the carcass, but his shoulder was a mangled mess and badly dislocated. His back also appeared to be broken, because his legs dragged uselessly in the dust behind him.
Trent suddenly realized that Khalifa was desperately trying to reach the knives that Kako had earlier kicked out of reach.
Asha stepped forward and planted one foot on the hilt of the machete Khalifa was closest to. So…Trent had been right to think that the guards might not rush to Khalifa’s aid.
Seeing the betrayal of his guard, Khalifa moaned in despair. “Asha!” His fingers scrabbled to try and lift the large blade, but Asha kept it firmly pinned to the ground, and after only a moment Khalifa gave up and collapsed onto his back in the dirt with a growl of pain.
Without a word, Asha snatched up the machete as well as the knife that lay just past it and walked away. He headed around the side of the knoll, presumably to tell the other guards the news of the attack. But Trent didn’t think they needed to fear any retaliation.
Trent looked at Kako and tipped a nod in the direction Asha had just gone. “Send one of them to fetch the healer, though I’m not certain there’s much he will be able to do.”
With that, Trent approached Khalifa and squatted by his side. Seeing blood spurting from a vein in the man’s shoulder, he bent closer and pressed the heel of his hand to it.
Khalifa cried out from the pain of it and then squinted one eye open and scowled at him. “I would have s-sworn I k-killed you.”
“As said, you nearly succeeded.”
A garbled sound that could only be interpreted as disappointment rattled at the back of Khalifa’s throat. The sun was baking down with fervent heat now, and Khalifa licked his lips. “Water.”
“I’m sorry. I have none.” He really was sorry too. No man deserved to die this way. “You’ve lived a mean and miserable existence, Khalifa. There’s not much in your life to be proud of, I’m thinking.”
Khalifa sputtered a derisive laugh. “You might say that.”
“Well, here’s your chance to do something good with your last minutes. Tell me who your partner is on Zanzibar. I know you are smuggling some of these slaves off the island. Who’s helping you?”
Blood coated Khalifa’s teeth when he smiled. “W-wouldn’t you l-like to know.” Pain must have seized him then, for he convulsed, and his eyes widened. A breath wheezed from his throat, and for a moment Trent feared that he had lost the man, but in the next instant Khalifa met his gaze again. “You’ll never f-find it.”
They were his last words.
The light of life left his gaze, and his head slumped to one side.
Defeat weighted Trent’s shoulders. To be this close to learning the identity of the man at the top…and to have failed…
But he couldn’t think of that now. Slowly, he wiped Khalifa’s blood off his hand onto the man’s kanzu.
He lifted his gaze to see Asha standing quietly to one side with two of the other guards. Just to be safe, Trent trained his pistol on the men. A moment later, when the encampment
’s healer rushed up with the other guard, he included them under the pistol’s threat.
Jabir’s eyes widened when he took note of the gun trained on him by a stranger and saw Khalifa on the ground next to the dead lion. Flies already crawled over both corpses.
“It is too late for him. But please”—Trent nudged the air with the point of his pistol, directing the man toward Asha—“see to this man’s wounds, right away.”
With a grateful nod of his head, Asha sank down onto a rock, and the healer set to cleaning the gashes on his chest.
Trent squatted before the men, careful to keep his Colt before him. “My name is Trent Dawson. I need to know how much resistance I might face from the other guards if I go back into the encampment with the intent of setting all those people free.”
Asha and Jabir exchanged glances, first with one another and then with the other guards, but it was hard for Trent to assess the emotions contained in the looks.
Finally after a long moment, Asha spoke. “Truly you would set them—us—all free?”
“Indeed. All of you.”
The man licked his lips as though savoring the taste of potential freedom, which had likely seemed out of his reach for many years. “There are a few guards who will protest. Those who might want to step in and take Khalifa’s place now that he is gone. But most will not fight.”
“Do you think we can quietly take these guards? The ones who might fight?”
Asha nodded. “Jabir and I will help you. We can gather all the guards together as though to tell them of Khalifa’s death.”
Trent looked to Kako. Doubt still lingered at the back of his mind. Should they trust these men?
Kako shrugged, but after a moment dipped his head. What did they have to lose?
Trent concurred. Still…one could never be too cautious. RyAnne had at least seemed to trust Asha to some extent. Had maintained enough compassion for the man to have wanted to help him back there, before Khalifa made him come on the hunt.
The Trail of Chains: A serialized historical Christian romance. (Sonnets of the Spice Isle Book 5) Page 7
