by Marx, J. A.
Lord Vétis couldn’t have timed his house call any better. En route to the bungalow, he had spotted Riki and the Asian occupied on the beach. Now spying through the deck door into the kitchen, he saw Goatee. Alone. His head in the refrigerator.
Butcher knife raised, Vétis slid open the screen door and entered.
Sabio reached inside the appliance. “We were about to eat without you guys.”
How inconsiderate. Vétis pressed the blade against Goatee’s middle back, targeting his organs. “A closed mouth will spare you liver damage. Kiko’s survival depends on your cooperation.”
Sabio stood upright and froze.
Should Isaac make an unwanted appearance, Vétis had the advantage in hostage negotiations. He gripped the mongrel’s shoulder and kicked the fridge door closed. Prodding Sabio along, he hustled his hostage toward the stony beach and stopped at the fork in the trail.
Vétis rammed his numb foot into the back of Goatee’s leg, making the half-breed kneel.
“Where are Kiko and Chiara?” Sabio’s plucky tone vexed the ears. His knees were bent. His will was not.
“Information comes on a need-to-know basis. Use your logic.”
Vétis slit Sabio’s lower back, only enough to break the skin. He needed his hostage mobile, not incapacitated. Standing behind him, Vétis pressed the bloodstained blade under Goatee’s chin, forcing his mouth shut. He applied the pre-cut strip of duct tape, preventing further questions.
“Hands behind you.”
Sabio kept them in front. Contemptible mortal.
If Goatee didn’t belong to the enemy’s camp, Vétis might have recruited him on account of his moxie. “Your life for Kiko’s. Remember?” He lifted Sabio’s shirt and splashed power on the bleeding cut. “Hands behind you.”
Goatee complied, twitching, grunting. A delicious foretaste of future discomfort.
Vétis bound his wrists and hauled him to his feet. He steered Sabio up the steep trail. They ascended the mountain and approached the edge of the cliff where Vétis prostrated the mongrel.
Vengeance had renewed his strength.
That morning, he had brought up the heavy backpack from the bungalow’s storage room. He had climbed along one of the kapok tree’s grand limbs and lodged a metal bar in the joint where the limb branched above the stone beach. Lapping the climbing rope over the bar, he assembled a pulley system. He anchored one end of the rope around the trunk. On the other end, he had knotted a carabiner and left it on the ground. Ingenious.
“She has duped you.” Taking the harness from the backpack, he started to slip it over Sabio’s feet.
Goatee spread his legs. A futile protest to fate.
Vétis sliced his lower back a second time and set the insecticide container within view. As the legs crept back together, he loaded them into the harness and tightened the straps. He then rolled Sabio over. Picking up the knotted end of the rope dangling from the pulley, he hooked the carabiner onto the harness D-ring.
“Any attraction to Chiara is fatal. She is a poison. A scourge. Blood is her obsession.”
He dragged Goatee to the edge of the cliff.
The anchored end of the rope, rigged with the auto-locking belay device, waited at the kapok’s trunk. Vétis simply had to hoist Goatee into the air, let go, and allow the belay device to do its duty.
He took up the rope from the far side of the device and bore it against his shoulder. With his back to the hostage, he trudged toward the mountain.
Deadweight went airborne.
Steady, man. You are the Hercules of the kingdom. Vétis paused to ensure a secure grip. Feeling a jerk on the line, he looked over his shoulder.
Sabio had flipped upside down, likely by accident. To anchor himself, he’d adeptly interlaced his legs with the rope.
Sharp thinking, lad. Vétis hoisted his sacrifice as high as he could manage then let go and watched.
Sabio dropped half a meter before the belay device caught. Suspended upside down with his mouth taped shut and his hands bound, he waited to drop headfirst onto the bay’s rocky shore.
The whimpering grunt of panic gratified revenge.
Vétis strode to the cliff and examined the harness and knot. Both held up well.
He leered straight across at Sabio’s upside-down face. “You’re not alone. Someone suffers below you. Do you hear singing?” Cupping his hand near his ear, he nodded to an imaginary beat. “We’ll soon have the four of you positioned for judgment.”
According to her tutors’ summary, Riki possessed one tragic flaw, a deranged ambition. In Master Ammani’s words: She industriously attempts to save the villagers, her twisted version of rebellion against Max’s ruthless authority.
This rebellion had forced her tutors to continually counter her freedom-fighter habits. Lies. Torture. Slayings. They employed every tactic imaginable to malign her reputation so the superstitious Omeàlans would not trust her but fear her. All abuse came from Riki’s wrath.
It worked on Omeàla. It would work on the Cay. Once Vétis had Riki’s self-appointed guardians divided and conquered, she would submit to her unearthly authority to spare the Americans harm.
For now, her tragic flaw worked to his advantage. Later, he must sift it out of her.
Before descending the mountain, Vétis gave the ocean a solemn inspection. No vessel. “You will be severely disciplined for your lateness, Captain Carreau.”
Isaac enjoyed unexpected rest while on the toilet. Reading up on shark attacks, he stayed longer than planned. He emerged from the bathroom a couple pounds lighter and a bit wiser.
“Hello?”
The bungalow was too quiet. Maybe they were on the deck.
Rounding the peninsula, he frowned at the wasted sunflower seeds dotting the floor. Jase didn’t like seeds, so Sabio or Akiko had to have spilled them. Or Chiara.
The porch door slid open and Isaac turned.
Akiko, sporting a goofy grin, extended his arms to block the entrance. “You saved some lunch for us, right?”
Chiara pushed him over the doorsill. “Move it, pokey. I’m hungry.”
Isaac looked down the hallway into the bunkroom. “Where’s Jase and Sabio?”
“Dunno.” Akiko skirted the counter into the kitchen. The seeds crackled under his shoes.
“I’ll clean that.” Chiara trotted to the storage room.
Akiko and Sabio would have picked up their own mess. That left Chiara.
Birds alighting on the deck stole Isaac’s attention. They pecked at the floor then flew off. As he approached the glass door, a squirrel scampered away with stuffed cheeks.
Seeds. Isaac pivoted on one heel and lifted a blocking hand toward Chiara. “Wait a minute. Did you spill those?”
Squatting with the dustpan and brush, she looked up at him. “Negative.”
“Where’s Jase?” Isaac aimed the question at Akiko who was removing a platter of food from the fridge.
“He left awhile ago.” Akiko set the dish on the table. “Maybe he’s with Sabio.”
“Yeah.” Shedding his unease, Isaac stepped over the trail of seeds and went to check the bunkroom for Jase’s guitar.
Still there.
Akiko and Chiara were already seated at the table when he returned. The seeds were swept up.
“Can we sing Happy Birthday again?” The birthday girl’s childlike joy quenched his apprehension.
They’ll be back. “Plug your ears.” Isaac sang way out of tune and loud enough to drown out both Akiko and Chiara.
Chapter 54
This isn’t like you, Sabio. Isaac vowed not to rest until he found their missing friends. In all the fuss to guard Chiara, he never imagined Dr. Psycho attacking the Foursome. What other explanation was there for his friends’ disappearance?
Contrary to the anxious mood regarding the no-shows, the birthday girl seemed clueless, or indifferent. She assigned herself to cleaning up lunch dishes. Humming merrily, she swished water and clattered tableware.
; Akiko, his forehead glazed with sweat, drew Isaac aside. “If I had told you about Caedis from the start, our friends wouldn’t be … missing.” His voice shook. “I hate my planet-size flaws. I hate being the weakest link.”
“Get over the past. Lessoned learned.” Isaac felt for him but had no time to play therapist. “Keep her distracted while I think up a plan.”
Isaac paced from the porch to the deck and back, mentally collecting resources. The Cay housed no firearms, which wouldn’t help anyway since Sabio, who hunted with his father, was the only person adept at using a gun. Crude weapons and ingenuity would have to do.
He stopped to search the cutlery drawer. Both butcher knives were gone. Not good. Isaac attached a two-way unit to his shorts and placed the other unit in plain sight on the peninsula.
He signaled Akiko who was teaching Chiara to play hacky sack. “Hey, birthday girl. We’ll be right back. Use the radio if you need us.” He didn’t like leaving her, but he couldn’t take her. She still knew nothing about her stalker.
Juggling the beanbag, she grinned as if she had a secret. “I’ll perfect hacking the sack.”
As much as he wanted to, Isaac didn’t waste time questioning her happiness. He felt through his shorts for his pocketknife before hurrying onto the deck.
Akiko followed him down the steps, still working his way into footgear. “Why this way? Caedis’s camp is that way.”
“Sabio left a trail.” Isaac strode ahead, wishing he had a remote to lock the bungalow doors. He would’ve left Akiko to guard Chiara, except something in his spirit said to bring an assistant.
“Would you slow down!” Akiko whacked him with a shoe. “What trail?”
Halting abruptly, Isaac absorbed the shock as his friend ran into him. “The seed trail. Sabio’s not sloppy. It had to be purposeful.” He grunted his impatience, waiting for Akiko to tie his second sneaker.
“Could’ve been Jase.”
“Think, Kiko.” Isaac marched on, sweeping his gaze back and forth across the path. “Jase doesn’t like sunflower seeds. Somebody ate them while you and Chiara were out.”
Sabio had been missing for over an hour-and-a-half. Isaac didn’t know exactly how long because he’d spent at least twenty minutes on the toilet. Jase had been gone even longer.
Isaac wished his smart-nosed Golden Retriever were with him. “Keep your eyes open for signs.”
“What makes you think he’s at the cave?”
“What else is in this direction?” A glint of light brought Isaac to a stop.
Lowering to one knee where the trail split, Isaac scooped up Sabio’s dull Swiss Army knife. He eyed the main trail ahead then the path to the left that led everywhere on Mt. Merhamet. Had Sabio dropped the blade to signal a direction change or was it a random toss? Or had Caedis knocked it out of his hand?
“Jase.” The name escaped Isaac’s lips on a wave of horror. His best friend was a Quixote, not a Spartacus. Sabio, the shrewd lieutenant, could hold his own. But not Jase Simon.
“Which way?” Akiko butted in on his fitful thoughts.
Growing scared over having left Chiara defenseless, Isaac made a quick decision and prayed it was the right one. “The cave first.”
He ran to the trail’s end. Ducking under the vine drooping across the path, he then traversed the stony beach. Scouting for signs.
Akiko stayed close. “If Caedis is in there, what’s our plan?”
Stab first. Question later. Clenching the hilt of his pocketknife, Isaac surveyed the cave entrance fifty yards ahead.
“Oh, man! Tell me I’m trippin’ out.”
Jolted by the terror in the Asian’s voice, he stopped and spun around.
Akiko pointed up.
Shooting his gaze skyward, Isaac gasped at the body dangling from the kapok branch. Motionless.
9-1-1! Isaac took less than a second to explore every possible mode of rescue. “Keep up with me, Kiko.”
Snapping shut and pocketing his blade, Isaac flew across the beach and back toward the path leading to Turtle’s Head. The scholar had indeed dropped his knife as a directional clue. A hike that should have taken fifteen minutes, he managed in under ten. He summited the head and coasted to the edge of the cliff, catching his breath.
The sight of Sabio bound, and the fear flooding his sedate eyes, maimed Isaac where it counted.
“Swing him,” Akiko cried.
The scholar vigorously shook his head no, his face red from pooling blood.
Scrutinizing the makeshift pulley system, Isaac realized Sabio’s legs were his only anchor, and likely overtaxed. Who knew how much longer the knot on the D-ring would hold out? Swinging would risk dislodging him from the harness.
Anger toward Caedis seared through Isaac’s bones. “Trust me, Sabio.”
His friend nodded. As if he had options.
Isaac contemplated the belay device on the anchored rope. They couldn’t simply release it or Sabio would drop. They might not be able to catch him in time. Plus, he was hanging too far off the edge, out of reach. A sudden jerk could detach their friend completely, irretrievably.
Isaac called Akiko over to the kapok. “You be the belayer. Use your body weight to manage the tension and let him down slowly. I’ll bring him in.” He removed his shirt for the Asian to use as hand-armor against rope burn.
Akiko pulled the looped end of the rope away from the tree and took up all slack. He dug his heels into the ground. Leaned back. Gripped tightly.
If Isaac had time to find a suitable rock to weigh the belayer down, he would. Sabio was a good fifteen pounds heavier.
Lord, give Kiko strength. Holding his best friend’s life in his hands should be adequate incentive to endure.
Isaac dislodged a dead ten-foot bamboo shoot from the grove a few yards away and hurried it to the edge of the cliff. He shoved the end of the shoot onto Sabio’s armpit and had him wedge it in place. Isaac would use it as a hook to bring him toward the cliff. He’d have roughly six feet of workspace before Sabio’s head dropped below cliff level.
The scholar’s chest swelled and shrank. Strained breathing. His legs shifted.
“I’ve got you. Trust me. Trust God.” Isaac thumped his breast with his fist, the Foursome gesture of bonded hearts.
Laying his end of the bamboo pole on the ground, he hurried over to the kapok and locked open the automatic tension on the belay device. Akiko started skidding toward the tree, and Isaac flew back to the cliff.
Sabio descended.
Gripping the pole, Isaac drew him in. Fast, but steady.
“I can’t slow down!” Akiko cried.
Almost there. Isaac seized the harness and tossed away the obstructing pole. With both hands, he heaved until Sabio’s head cleared the edge. Bear hugging his friend’s thighs, Isaac leaned back and let gravity pull them to the ground, one on top the other.
“Got him!” Isaac slackened the rope Sabio had anchored around his knees and ankles.
Akiko rushed over and began loosening straps.
Worming out from under the scholar’s shivering, sweaty frame, Isaac stripped the tape off his mouth. “Talk to me.”
“He said Jase … was somewhere … below me.” Sabio’s voice trembled along with the rest of him.
“The cave.” Isaac unhooked the carabiner from the D-ring.
“He said Chiara worked with him to do this.”
His gut sprang into his throat, and Isaac gritted his teeth. “He’s lying.”
Sabio wiggled his legs out of the harness. “He knows Chiara.”
“He’s lying!”
Akiko threw the harness toward the backpack. “What’s blinding you, Ize?”
Now was not the time for a debate. Isaac held his tongue. “Jase needs us.”
Chapter 55
Leaving Chiara alone just became the toughest decision of Isaac’s life. He couldn’t send his friends to the bungalow in case he needed a hand with Jase. Sabio looked ready to keel over anyway and might have to be carried back
.
I know You wired me to handle emergencies, Lord. But I’m scared. Thoughts of Dr. Psycho harming Chiara flayed Isaac’s nerves.
Charged up on adrenaline, he rushed across the stony beach. He stepped inside the mouth of the cave and worked his gaze from wall to wall.
Empty.
Please don’t be unconscious. He clutched his pocketknife. “Jase?”
A sad, muffled voice croaked from the far back, his mouth obviously taped.
Searching every shadow, Isaac advanced. He pleaded with his eyes to adjust faster to the dimness. “You alone?”
An affirmative grunt lured him forward. Flanked by his two friends, he stooped with the sloping roof and cautiously stepped into dark unknown. Dank air chilled his skin. His ears and nose covered for his blindness.
Frantic screeching gunned his pulse and halted his steps. Jase sounded close enough to touch, but Isaac restrained an impulse to extend a testing foot toward his friend.
“We need a flashlight,” Akiko whispered.
“No time.” Isaac then remembered the matchbook he’d left in his pocket after defecating earlier.
Akiko tapped his shoulder. “Sabio’s not good. He says Caedis cut him and poured insecticide on him.”
Poisoned. Just what Isaac needed. He knew the scholar was ailing, but he hadn’t wanted to contend with it yet. He sighed out a prayer for wisdom. “We’ve got to make it back to the bungalow. Together.”
Fishing the invaluable light source out of his pocket, he crouched, in case he accidentally dropped it. He struck a match—
And lurched back.
Squirmy scorpions floated within a yard from his nose. Inches behind them, Jase was taped to a stalagmite. No psycho in sight.
Caedis belongs in an institution. Fingertips burning, Isaac let go of the match and lit another. “Sabio. Can you give us steady light?”
“Yeah.” Hunched over, the scholar groaned and took the matchbook.
Isaac pressed a wrist to his forehead. Dry, feverish. “Symptoms?”
“Dizzy. Nausea. My head’s killing.” The insecticide canister wedged under Sabio’s arm had been near the backpack they’d left on Turtle’s Head. It didn’t surprise Isaac that this first-rate Eagle Scout had the forethought to bring along the directions for treatment.
