Scapulimancist (Seven Forbidden Arts Book 7)

by Charmaine Pauls

  Son of a bitch. “If you lay one finger on her…”

  “Just checkin’ that we’re on the same page. Get a grip. Go home, have a couple of drinks, and fuck a whore. I’ll call you when I need you back here.”

  If he didn’t leave now, Clive was going to end up with a broken nose, and Sara would pay the price. Wayne swallowed his words and exited via the backdoor. The farm ranger had fetched the dead Kudu before the vultures could get to her and was lifting the carcass with the help of the gardener off the back of the truck. It wasn’t only the deer and her orphaned calf that hurt him so deeply. He thought about the dead body of Mariana, and the babe she’d carried inside her when he’d killed her. His baby.

  * * * *

  That night, Clive had a liberal hand with the alcohol. He knew how to change a party mood. The next two days, the men didn’t go hunting. They decided to go on a game drive instead. Wayne got the feeling Manfred didn’t have the stomach to go home with his lion trophy, any longer. His buddies did. Manfred had hinted to Clive that he didn’t want Wayne to drive the open Safari vehicle, and Clive was cruel, but he wasn’t a fool. He understood that Manfred’s pride wouldn’t let him face Wayne as yet, and arranged for one of the black rangers to take charge of the excursion. Clive told Wayne to be on standby, in case they decided to go for the lion. The ranger was too inexperienced to handle the feline. One thing was for sure. It was going to happen. There was no getting around it. Clive wanted the money, and the men had already paid.

  At his cabin, Wayne sat on the porch, overlooking the valley and nursing a cold coffee. There was plenty to keep him busy. The wood needed chopping, and the vegetable patch had to be weeded, but he couldn’t motivate himself to do either. A dark cloud hung over him, a kind of a bad feeling, like an omen. The killing had shaken him, but what had shaken him more was Clive threatening Sara. Every fiber of his being pulled toward her. He wanted to be with her. He needed her. He understood her mission. She cared about the elephants like he cared about his lions. They deserved a free and safe forest, but God knew he didn’t want to give up his land. He was torn in two. With the way his current mood tilted between fury and worry, it was probably better to avoid her and just give her a call and see how she was doing.

  It was also time to face Dumile. There was no putting it off, any longer. If he could get Dumile to agree to his terms, there may be a way to give Sara her wish, save the elephants, and keep his land.

  Just before lunch, Christian pulled up in a trail of dust.

  Wayne got to his feet and walked out to meet him. “I thought you were working.”

  Christian jumped from the truck. “It’s Sara. She’s gone.”

  The blood drained from his body. He went into attack mode, fight mode, saving mode. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

  “I’ve just been to Woodcutters. Johannes said he saw her park and enter the woods on the northwest border four days ago.”

  “Fuck. Fucking fuck.” He kicked at a stone. “I told her to wait.”

  “That’s not why I’m here. I’m sure she can handle herself out there. It’s Nelis. I think he overheard us. He left just before me.”

  “You wasted time driving here? Why the hell didn’t you call?”

  “Battery’s dead.”

  “Do you have your gun?”

  “In the truck.”

  “Good.” Wayne headed back to the cabin for his. “Wait here,” he said over his shoulder. “You drive.”

  * * * *

  Sara exited the humidity of the forest into the welcome sunshine. She hadn’t showered in four days and her muscles were sore from the hike. Her feet ached, and her back was stiff from the uncomfortable sleeping position. With no trees to offer protection, the light-sensitive fern on the edge of the forest was dead. The border had already regressed several miles. She spotted the men the minute she stepped onto the path.

  “For the love of God,” she mumbled under her breath, stopping to drop the heavy backpack from her shoulders. How many times did she have to fight off the Theron cousins?

  “If you walk away now, I won’t hurt you,” she said.

  Nelis looked at Thinus and laughed. “You’re a brave woman. Gotta give you that.”

  Thinus hooked his thumbs into his belt. “We’ve got unfinished business. Ain’t no West around to save you, today.”

  “I thought we were even,” she said.

  “I don’t care for getting’ even,” Thinus said. “I only care for teachin’ you your place.” He pointed at his toes. “It’s here, at my feet.”

  She rolled her shoulders. “Are we back to that, again? Don’t you guys have girlfriends? You seem to always have one thing on your minds.”

  “Get her bag,” Thinus said to Nelis. “Make sure she’s got no weapons.”

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she said.

  Nelis ignored her, snatching up the bag and carrying it a safe distance away. He started unclipping the clasps.

  There were no wasps this time, but there were red ants. The ant heap wasn’t far behind Thinus.

  “This is your last warning,” she said.

  It was Thinus’s turn to laugh. “Or else?”

  She commanded the ants as he spoke. They exited their underground tunnels and formed a thick red line over the soil, advancing on Thinus. Nelis had the bag open. The minute he lifted the flap, Kojak reared his head and spat. With a bone-chilling scream, Nelis dropped the bag and clutched his face.

  Thinus flung around. “What the fuck?”

  He, too, jumped as the cobra slithered from the bag and headed straight at him. Before he could make a move, the ants attacked from behind, scurrying over his shoes and climbing up under his trouser legs. When the pinching started, his face contorted in surprise, followed by shock. He hopped up and down, stamping his feet fruitlessly while tearing at his clothes. Nelis rolled around on the ground, screaming. The burn in his eyes would be excruciating.

  Shaking her head, she gathered her bag. “You’d think by now you would’ve learned.”

  Leaving them yelling and swearing, she made her way to the parking and got into her Jeep. There wasn’t time to wait for Kojak. Anyway, he’d slept long enough in her oven drawer. It was time to set him free. Sending thanks to the snake and the ants, she released them and started the engine.

  A little way up the road, a truck headed straight at her with daring speed. The vehicle came to a halt with screeching tires. Wayne and Christian jumped out, each with a rifle.

  “Sara!” Wayne ran to the Jeep. “Are you all right?”

  She rolled down the window and coughed from the dust. “What are you guys doing here, armed with guns?”

  “Johannes said he spotted your vehicle here four days ago. Christian thought Nelis might have come after you.”

  She gave a wry smile. “He did. So did Thinus. They’re back there.” She threw her thumb in the direction of the trail. “Thinus was attacked by red ants, and a snake spat Nelis in the eyes.”

  Wayne and Christian exchanged a look.

  “Do I get them?” Christian asked.

  “Let them suffer,” Wayne said, his eyes cold. “This time, they can save their own asses.” He turned a fuming gaze on Sara. “We’ll talk back at your place. Move over.”

  “No way. This is my car, so I’ll be driving, and I’m not sure you’re going to my place.”

  Wayne’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Don’t push me, Sara. Not now.” He strode around the Jeep with long strides.

  Christian shrugged. “He was worried, that’s all.”

  “Thanks for coming. I appreciate the concern.”

  Christian scratched his head. “Looks like it was unnecessary.”

  “Are you driving, or not?” Wayne said, getting into the passenger side and slamming the door.

  “Good luck,” Christian said, making big eyes.

  They drove all the way to her cabin in silence, Wayne looking through the window with a brooding expression, his mind clearly not on
the scenery.

  At her place, Wayne took her backpack from the Jeep. “Get your ass in that house.”

  Her patience finally snapped. “Like you said, I’m not your girlfriend or family. You don’t get to tell me what to do. Even if I were your girlfriend, I wouldn’t take orders from you.”

  “Clearly not.” He took her arm and all but dragged her down the path. “Stubborn, hard-headed, annoying woman.”

  Of all the insults he’d already piled on her, these seemed worse. Maybe because they’d been intimate since the first insult and now, or maybe because she’d started to care. She had a good mind to send him away, but her emotions aside, they did have to talk. Once he knew the elephants were alive, and a big herd at that, he might be more easily persuaded to see reason.

  She freed herself from Wayne’s hold and let them inside. He dumped her bag on the floor by the door and turned on her.

  “I told you to wait,” he said, “for a very good reason.”

  She lifted a brow. “Such as?”

  “Keeping you safe.”

  “As you can see, I’m capable of keeping myself safe.”

  “You don’t know these people, Sara, or what they’re willing to do.”

  She sat down to remove her boots. “I have a good inclination.”

  “You’re more brave than intelligent.”

  She let one hiking boot drop to the floor. “Stop calling me stupid.”

  “Stop acting it, then.”

  She glared at him. “Fuck you.”

  His jaw clenched. “Watch that mouth.”

  “If you can’t say anything positive to me or about me, don’t say anything.” She pulled off the other boot and got to her feet. “I’m tired and dirty. I need a shower. Anything else you want to add before you go?”

  “Yes,” he said through clenched teeth. “I was worried out of my mind.”

  Wayne had a crazy effect on her. She could be fuming mad at him in one instant and melt in the next.

  She smiled, expelling some of the tension. “I appreciate your concern, really I do, but you have to accept that I can take care of myself.”

  “I can’t let anything happen to you. Do you understand that?”

  She laid her hand on his cheek. His stubble was rough under her palm, his sun-bronzed skin warm. “Nothing happened.”

  “Not this time,” he said darkly.

  “Wayne… Let it go.”

  “After Mariana…” He swallowed and looked away.

  He felt responsible for her. The revelation hit her with sudden insight. What was she supposed to make of that? Did he feel something, after all, something more than the lust that raged between them?

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest, holding him close to her, feeling his heart thump under the rough fabric of his shirt. After a second his arms came around her, his embrace tender and secure. It would’ve been good to stay like that forever, but when he rubbed his chin over her hair she pulled away, painfully aware of her filthy state.

  “How did it go?” he said, more gently this time.

  The information of the elephants wasn’t something she was supposed to share with anyone other than Odier, but she trusted Wayne, and she wanted him to understand that SAN was making the right decision, that they now had the proof of the life they tried to protect.

  She took his hands, staring up into his dark eyes. “I found them, Wayne.” She squeezed his fingers, letting the joy bubble up from inside her. “The elephants. They’re alive. Fourteen of them.”

  He blinked. For a second his lips tilted, but then they thinned. “Then your mission’s complete. That means you can go home.”

  Her bubble of happiness popped. “That’s really what you want?”

  He pulled his hands from hers. “What else did you expect?”

  “After the other night…” She glanced at the sofa, a flush heating her cheeks.

  The curve of his lips couldn’t be a smile. It seemed too cruel. “You thought I cared? You believed because I ate your pussy and you sucked my cock something changed?”

  An ache spread through her limbs like the searing stab of bee stings. Her answer was a soft, uncertain whisper. “Yes.”

  “You’re a fool, little girl.”

  Her heart slowed. All the sounds around her faded until there was only the sluggish hammering of her pulse in her ears. She wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t, because he was right. She was the biggest fool on the face of the earth. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, but she’d be damned before she’d shed them.

  “Yes,” she said, lifting her chin a fraction. “I was a fool for wanting to share the moment with you. I don’t know what I was thinking back there in the forest, believing you could think of something other than your land for one second.”

  His gaze was pitiful. “I never promised you anything, Sara. I didn’t force you to give me anything. You took what you wanted and gave out of your own free will.”

  She straightened her spine. “Don’t spoil it for me. I was going to celebrate.”

  “I won’t dampen your mood. Just make sure you’re out of this town by tomorrow morning.” He made for the door.

  That was it? That was how he was going to leave? “Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” she asked, faked pride masking her pain.

  He gave her a startled look, as if the question surprised him, and then his eyes went flat. “It was good knowing you. Don’t burn down any more kitchens.”

  He turned on his heel and left her alone with her punctured joy and pride.

  She swallowed back her tears. It was only a silly, irrational infatuation. She’d get over him. No. There was nothing to get over. Nothing at all. The fact that her world had just fallen flat didn’t count. It aggravated her that her sentiment of wanting to share the discovery in the forest had been wasted on him. It infuriated her that he had that effect on her when she had none on him. She plugged her dead phone into the charger and called the only person in town who didn’t think her stupid, naïve, annoying, or a fool. In the back of her mind, she felt bad that it was a friend of Wayne’s, but she had no one else to turn to.

  “Hey,” she said when Bella picked up. “I have something to celebrate, and I don’t feel like doing it alone. Are you free tonight?”

  There was a small hesitation. “What about W—”

  “Don’t say his name.”

  “Ah. I see. In that case, I better go with you so someone can keep watch while you drown your sorrows.”

  “I assure you, it’s nothing like that,” Sara said, not even convincing herself.

  “Just one thing. Are you sure you want to be seen with me?”

  “I told you already, I don’t care what you do for a living, as long as you don’t hurt people or animals.”

  “I probably do,” Bella said. “Hurt people, I mean. Not all of the men I see are single.”

  Tonight, she was willing to turn a blind eye to something she’d normally find immoral and unacceptable. Not being paid for sex, but sleeping with someone else’s husband. She needed a friend who wouldn’t cast judgment. She reckoned she could do the same.

  “Where shall we meet?” Sara asked.

  “I know just the place.”

  Bella gave her the name of a bar and insisted on picking her up.

  After a shower, she called Odier to share the news with him.

  “You have to keep your discovery confidential,” he said, “until we have the fences in place. We can’t risk word getting out and hunters going after the elephants before we have the security sorted.”

  “Can I tell the Xhosa chief? It may help sway him to accept our offer.”

  “Can you trust him?”

  “I believe so. They are protective of the forest. The forest is their livelihood as well as their home.”

  “Then do it, but swear him to secrecy. How are the talks going with Mr. West?”

  She sighed. “They’re not going. He refused to see reason. I’m afraid
he’ll fight us to the bitter end.”

  “He’s wasting his energy. There’s nothing he can do. The decision has been validated by the land reclaim court.”

  A pang of sadness invaded her heart for Wayne who’d lose something he loved dearly. “We considered all options, didn’t we? Did we overlook another, possible solution?”

  “You know the answer,” he replied sternly. “It’s not your fault. I know it’s your first case, and it’ll be hard, but you promised me you can handle it.”

  “I can,” she said quickly. “I just want to…” Not hurt Wayne.

  “Be fair,” he filled in for her. “I know, babes. In our line of work, fair doesn’t always apply.”

  “If I have more time—”

  “We both know time isn’t going to change anything. Now that we know the elephants are alive and well, I’m implementing the law on Monday.”

  She swallowed. “How will it happen?”

  “Our security will remove the Xhosas by force if needed, and I’ll place armed guards on the reclaimed land until the tribe has reestablished themselves.”

  “This could lead to violence. What if the farmers attack the Xhosas or us? What if a war breaks out?”

  “It won’t be the first. For that reason, I prefer to pull you back, first.”

  “Odier, please. Just give me a few more days to talk things over with the Xhosas and Wayne. I’m sure I can find a way of making the transition go peacefully.”

  “Sara, I’m not willing to risk your—”

  “I said I’d found the elephants, and I did. You owe me at least this much. Just a few more days. Please.”

  He gave a drawn-out sigh. “You have one more week, but that’s it. If one or both parties still disagree, I’m applying the law by force.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “You won’t be sorry.”

  “Make sure I’m not. Good work, gorgeous. I’m proud of you.” He hung up after some more words of praise and caution.

  One more week to work a miracle. What would it take to change Wayne’s mind? How could she convince the Xhosas that relocating was in everyone’s best interest?