by Helen Brain
How will I go on without her? Her love has stayed constant no matter what I do. And she died trying to protect me.
Aunty Figgy brings towels and tries to get me to dry myself. Letti makes tea, but I can’t move. I close my eyes and lie next to her. I want to die too.
But I feel a warm lick on my hand. My eyes are blurred with tears, but I think I see her blinking.
“She’s alive!” I shriek.
“Ebba,” Letti says gently. “She’s not alive. Look, if you let her go, you’ll see.”
“But she’s getting up. She’s walking!” I jump up and grab Letti’s hands, dancing with her around the kitchen. “She’s alive, she’s alive!”
Isi follows us, barking and wagging her tail.
Letti pulls away. “Ebba,” she says gently, “she’s still in her basket.”
And it’s true. She is in her basket. Her body is lying there unmoving, her blood staining the blanket.
But she’s also with me, her fur clean, eyes bright, tail thumping the table leg.
Somehow I understand then that she’s my ancestor dog. She’s immortal. She may die here in the ordinary world, but she’s still alive. I will never lose her. I stop in front of the statue of Theia on the window sill and offer up a silent prayer of thanks.
Shorty comes in then, and pats my shoulder awkwardly. His eyes are wet as he says, “I’m so sorry about your dog, Miss Ebba. She was a lovely, gentle animal. I can bury her for you – we can put her grave in the forest next to the holy well.”
“Thank you, Shorty. I’m not sad. She’s still alive. I can see her …”
He and Letti exchange worried glances.
“Ebba nearly drowned in the dam,” Shorty explains to Aunty Figgy. “I think she’s confused. If it hadn’t been for Micah …”
Aunty Figgy goes into frantic mode then, insisting I change out of my wet clothes and dry my hair. “Help her, Letti. I’ll bring you a chest tincture,” she calls, throwing open the doors of the medicine cabinet. “The Goddess alone knows what impurities you have in your lungs – I can hear you wheezing already.”
“Where’s Micah?” I ask Shorty, rubbing my arms. I’m suddenly freezing.
“He’s left, Miss Ebba. For Boat Bay. He’s running late. It was luck he came back earlier because he’d forgotten something and he saw you climbing the tower.”
My heart plunges.
When the general hears about the two dead guards, he’s going to tear this place apart. I’ll probably be tried for treason – and Micah’s gone?
Aunty Figgy pushes me out of the kitchen. “Go get changed this instant. You’ll get pneumonia.”
Shorty is about to leave when he stops, pulling something out of his pocket. “Oh, and Miss Ebba, Micah told me to give you this. You dropped it when you came out of the water.”
Suddenly Sophie is in the room, her hair wet around her freckled face. We must do that again, she grins. But next time, I’ll teach you to swim first.
Aunty Figgy’s eyes widen and she grabs the small muddy object from Shorty’s hand. She kisses it again and again. “An amulet!” she exclaims. “It’s an amulet.” She undoes the clasp and clips it into place on my necklace. “Thank the Goddess. We have two amulets at last.”
“How long until the solstice?” Letti asks. “Till the second Calamity?”
“Just two weeks. Now come on, Ebba. You need to stay healthy so you can find the last two amulets. Let’s find you some dry clothes.”
Isi pads after me down the passage, but when I reach out to stroke her, there’s nothing there.
CHAPTER 20
There’s more drama that afternoon. Letti is picking vegetables in the kitchen garden when she faints. Aunty Figgy sees her fall and yells to me to bring a cup of water. Shorty is there in an instant, flapping around her, panicking.
“What’s wrong with her?” he gasps as Aunty Figgy lifts her head and tries to get her to sip some water.
“I’m not sure. Help me get her inside.”
We half carry her into her room and she sinks onto the bed, deadly pale. Shorty paces the room, running his hands through his hair. “Give her some medicine, Aunty Figgy. Help her. She was sick again this morning. Do you think she’s eaten something bad? Letti, my darling.” He rushes back to the bed as she sits up. “Don’t get up. I’ll bring you anything you want.”
“I really feel like olives,” she murmurs.
“Olives?” I ask.
Aunty Figgy shoos us out of the room and closes the door. Shorty rushes to the pantry and digs at the back of shelves for the crock of olives Aunty Figgy stored earlier in the year. He hurries back just as Aunty Figgy opens the door.
“Ebba,” she says, “please help me finish picking the vegetables.”
I follow her reluctantly. “What’s up with Letti? It’s the second time she’s fainted.”
“I’m going to make her liquorice-root tea. Oh, Ebba,” she says, beaming. “There’s nothing to worry about. Letti’s expecting.”
“A baby?”
“Yes. A baby.”
“Oh, that’s the best news! I’m going to be an aunt. Sort of. And you’ll be a granny.” I try to imagine a baby Shorty and burst out laughing.
Isi wags her tail and barks, looking like she’s laughing too.
Aunty Figgy goes about making the tea, humming under her breath, and I grab the secateurs and go off to the kitchen garden. A few minutes later I’m filling the basket with onions when the farm wagon comes hurtling down the driveway. The horses are wet with perspiration, and are almost dropping in their harnesses.
Jasmine jumps down from the driver’s seat, her eyes wild. “They’ve taken Leonid!” she shrieks. “They searched us at the border post and they took him.”
I grab her shoulders and try and steady her, to calm my pounding heart. So the general has retaliated. He’s hitting me where he knows it will hurt most.
“We’ll get him back,” I say with confidence I don’t feel. “I’m on the council. I’ll go and talk to the general. Don’t worry, Jas. I’ll bring him home.”
I hug her, and she feels like a child in my arms. Tears are shining in the corners of her eyes.
“I’m so scared, Ebba. I’m so scared.”
This is feisty Jasmine, who always knows what to do. But now she needs me, and I’m the only one who can help her.
“I’ll go right now,” I assure her. “Shorty, can you fetch the carriage?” I call.
He comes running out of the house, still beaming. He sees Jasmine’s face and takes in the situation at a glance. “Fez has it, miss. He won’t be back till nightfall.”
“I have to talk to the general. I’ll have to take the wagon.”
“The horses are tired, Miss Ebba. I honestly don’t think they’ll be able to go that far. Not in this state.”
“You could ride Ponto,” Jasmine points to the big black stallion grazing in the meadow.
“I … I … barely know how to ride …”
“I’ll ride Ponto, and you can sit behind me,” Shorty says. “Don’t worry, miss. I’ve been riding since I was born. Back on the farm we rode all the time. You’ll be safe with me, I promise. I never fall off … and if you hold my waist –”
“Just hurry,” Jasmine interrupts his flow. “Please, Shorty. Just hurry.”
A few minutes later, Ponto is ready. Shorty swings into the saddle and walks the huge horse up to the house where I’m waiting, gnawing at my thumbnail.
Ponto tosses his mane and looks at me sideways, the whites of his eyes showing. I take a step back.
“Come along, miss,” Shorty says firmly. “Jasmine, give Miss Ebba a leg up.”
My body is frozen and I can’t bring myself to put my foot into her linked hands.
Then suddenly Dr Iris and Sophie are there.
Time is of the essence, Dr Iris snaps.
And it’ll be fun, Sophie says with a grin.
“Yeah, right,” I snap. “Like climbing the wind pump was fun?”
&
nbsp; “Miss Ebba?” Shorty reaches down and pats my shoulder. “Perhaps you need more time to rest after the accident?”
“Please!” Jasmine is hopping up and down. “Please, just go.”
So I let her help me onto the saddle, behind Shorty.
It’s so high up here, and as soon as Ponto starts moving, I know I’m going to fall off.
I grab Shorty around the waist and cling to him as we canter down the driveway.
IT’S NEARLY EVENING when we reach the shrine offices.
Shorty has chatted the whole way, about Letti, and how exciting it is that he’s going to be a father, about the horses he rode when he was a child on the farm, about everything that crosses his mind even briefly. I let him babble on, finding the rumble of his voice soothing. But then he says, “You’re very quiet back there, Miss Ebba. Are you alright? It’s very odd of Micah to just leave you so soon after you nearly drowned. If it had been Letti, I wouldn’t have let her out of my sight, not even for a moment.”
I’ve been thinking the same thing all the way. How could Micah have just gone off to Boat Bay without waiting to see how Major Zungu was going to react? He could have sent Samantha-Lee on her own, and stayed with me.
For the first time, I’m really angry with him.
But we’ve arrived at the gate to the shrine. Shorty dismounts and helps me down. My legs are shaking from clinging to the horse, and they ache so much I can hardly walk. I hobble over to the guard box.
The guard looks at me with lazy eyes.
I try to sound authoritative. “I need to see the general.”
“General de Groot is not here.”
“It’s urgent. Council business.”
He’s looking at me as if I’m dirt.
My confidence shrinks even more.
“General de Groot is not here,” the guard repeats, his voice disinterested.
I look up towards the colonnade. Can I make a dash for it? But there are guards at the doors. It’s no use.
The general is paying me back for giving the transport contract to the Syndicate. There’s only one thing to do – I need to go back to Mr Mavimbela and tell him that the deal is off.
IT TAKES AN HOUR to reach Pamza’s house. My mind keeps imagining worse and worse scenarios. I see Leonid beaten and shut in a dungeon. I see him thrown off the side of the mountain, like Shameema and Jaco. I imagine him lying dead somewhere, with a single bullet hole through his chest, like my mother. It’s my fault. I should never have signed that contract.
The meeting starts well. Pamza’s mother answers the door and invites me in. She’s friendly and kind, and I start to feel encouraged that they’ll understand my predicament, that they’ll be supportive.
But when I’m sitting in Mr Mavimbela’s study and he’s looking at me from under his eyebrows as I explain the problem, I see that I underestimated him.
“You want to cancel our agreement?” he says, shaking his head in disbelief. “You want to break the contract we’ve all signed?”
“Yes … please.”
He leans forward over the desk. “You don’t seem to understand, my girl. A contract is legally binding. You can’t just cancel it willy-nilly.”
“But the general –”
“I understand the general is upset. But that’s business. You make measured, well thought-out decisions. There are consequences, and you see those consequences out. You decide what will be most advantageous to you before you sign anything, and you follow through.”
“But –”
“I can’t simply explain away your change of heart to my colleagues. They won’t accept that. You’ve made your bed, my girl, and now you must lie in it.” He pushes back his chair and gets up. “I’ll show you out,” he says, shaking my hand. “You have a long way to ride and it’s almost dark.”
Outside, Shorty can see by my face that it hasn’t gone well, and he is uncharacteristically silent. We ride home along the rapidly darkening road, and I’m dreading facing Jasmine. There’s nothing more I can do. If only Micah were here, or even that stupid Samantha-Lee. They’d think up a plan, but my mind is empty. And Leonid is about to die.
CHAPTER 21
The next morning, it’s still dark when Jasmine runs into my room.
“Wake up!” she shouts, tugging the duvet off the bed. “Ebba, wake up!”
I bolt upright, my heart racing. “What? What?”
“Micah sent a man with a message. They’re going to … hang him.” Her voice cracks on the word “hang”. “They’re putting up a gallows – the whole of Boat Bay is overrun with soldiers.” She seizes my shoulders and shakes me. “Ebba, stop them. You have to stop them!”
“Tell Shorty to go and fetch Mr Frye,” I say, already putting on my clothes.
Everyone is awake by now. Shorty has saddled Ponto and sets off almost immediately. He’s back in the kitchen less than ten minutes later.
“The gates to Greenhaven are blocked by soldiers with guns. No one can go in or out.”
“I am going to talk to them,” I say, trying to sound brave, though I’m quaking.
Aunty Figgy grabs my arm. “No, Ebba!”
I see the fear in her eyes and I know she’s thinking about my mother, killed by the army outside the same gates.
“I have to. But I won’t step outside of the gate.” I pat the necklace to make sure the two amulets are safe.
But Isi won’t let me pass. She blocks me as I approach the front door, and barks a sharp warning bark. Dr Iris tap-taps out of the sitting room, burning cigarette in her hand. Don’t be foolish, my girl. Don’t play into their hands.
The messenger is still standing in the kitchen, turning his beanie in his hands. “Excuse me, miss, but what must I tell Micah?” he asks.
Jasmine’s face lights up briefly. “Your boat, how many can it carry?”
“Four people. I can take three of you.”
“I’m going,” I say. “I have to speak to the general. He’ll be there for sure.”
“Me too,” Jasmine says quickly.
“I can go –” Fez says, but Shorty interrupts him.
“No offense, Fezile, but you’re not strong enough to row. I’ve been rowing since I was a child. I’ll handle the other pair of oars.”
LUCAS IS STANDING at the culvert, his thin face pinched and drawn. His skinny frame is hunched against the grey wall and I have a flashback to his family lined up and blindfolded. I don’t stop to wonder how he knows what’s happening, but I register that Isi jumps up against him and licks his face as he lifts the grid, and we crawl through and run down the beach. Shorty and the messenger pull the boat into the water.
Before long, we’re skimming over the waves. Jasmine’s knuckles are white as she grips the sides of the boat. She’s dead quiet, her jaw clenched.
“Please, Theia,” I pray, “get us there before it’s too late.”
The wind is behind us, pushing the boat around the curve of the Muizenberg mountains and into the Sound of Silvermine. Despite the morning chill, sweat pours down the men’s faces.
“Tide’s with us,” the messenger grunts. “That’s some luck.”
Thank you, Goddess.
Isi sits in the prow of the boat, her tongue hanging out and the wind blowing her ears back. I reach out to stroke her, but she’s like a cloud and my hand only touches air.
The sun has risen by the time the messenger steers the boat through the harbour and ties it to the jetty. We run onto the island. It’s packed – everyone from Boat Bay is here, it seems – and the mood is chilling. People are angry, and the guards are clench-jawed and on hyper alert.
Standing on a platform, at the end, where the fjord meets the sea, is the gallows. Two soldiers are hammering the frame together. My throat constricts as I see a third soldier tying rope to form a noose. The scaffolding has been elevated so nobody can miss it. They want everyone to see Leonid swing by the neck so they’ll know what happens to people who rebel against the general.
Jasmine gri
ps my hand. “Do something, Ebba.” Her fingers are shaking.
“I’ll do my best, I promise.” I squeeze her hand, trying to give her the confidence I wish I had. Where is Micah? I search the crowd, looking for his straight black hair. I can’t see him. I see the general, though. He’s standing with Major Zungu and Captain Atherton to one side of the platform, flanked by soldiers with rifles.
“I’m going to talk to him,” I say to Jasmine, keeping my voice level. We cross the island, pushing through the angry crowd. The soldiers turn their guns on us as we approach and I falter.
But Dr Iris is next to me, cigarette in hand, tapping her foot. Back straight, chin up, girl.
I never thought I’d be glad to see her, but I am. Sophie’s here too. Laughing, fearless Sophie – and Isi too. Four of us standing together. I’m not alone.
I let go of Jasmine, pull my shoulders back, put my hands on my hips and announce, “I wish to speak to General de Groot.”
Two soldiers move to stand in front of me.
Go on, Dr Iris instructs. Speak up, girl.
“I wish to speak to General de Groot.” I step forward, looking the soldier in the eye. “Get out of my way.”
The soldier flicks his eyes towards the general, who’s been watching us. He gives a curt nod, and the soldier gestures to me with his rifle.
Jasmine follows as I march over to where the general is standing.
“This is an outrage!” I announce, looking him straight in the face.
His eyes are cold. I feel myself shrink, but Sophie digs me in the ribs so I straighten my back and speak loudly so everyone can hear me. “I insist on knowing why you have arrested a member of my staff. What is the meaning of this?” I point to the gallows on the general’s right.
“Your staff member has being transporting illegal weapons in your wagon.”
“Weapons?”
“Do not toy with me, Miss den Eeden. You know perfectly well what I am talking about. Your employee is fomenting revolution. He is guilty of treason.” He turns his back on me and inspects the gallows, shaking the uprights to see if they are sturdy enough. The conversation is clearly over.
