Ready for Anything, Anywhere!

by Beverly Barton

  Sebak nodded. Dr. Arnell smiled faintly and sighed, as if greatly relieved that Will had given Sebak the correct answer. Another red warning flag popped up in Will’s mind.

  “Come along. We will prepare a place for you,” Sebak said. “If you wish to stay with Emery until his woman’s earthly life ends, you may do so. I will send someone with food and water.” He then spoke to The Professor. “I will make preparations for your woman’s farewell.”

  “Thank you,” Dr. Arnell said.

  After Sebak left them, Gwen stopped her father before he returned to the guarded hut. “What was that all about, that business of my being Will’s woman?”

  “Apparently, it is the custom with these people,” Jordan Elders said, as he and Cheryl approached. “A woman’s identity and status is based upon the man to whom she belongs.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “No, he’s not kidding,” Cheryl said. “We found out pretty quickly that around here, if a woman doesn’t already belong to a man, they will give her to someone. Otherwise she has no identity and quickly becomes an outcast.”

  “Don’t go all Women’s Lib on me,” Dr. Arnell told Gwen. “Please don’t judge these people until we get to know them and understand them.”

  “I don’t want to get to know them much more,” Cheryl said. “They’ve been nice enough, but I swear, they creep me out.”

  “You’re Cheryl Kress,” Will said.

  “Yes, I am. How did you know?”

  “I’m Will Pierce, a private detective. Your father hired my agency to track you down and bring you home.”

  Cheryl’s eyes widened. She smiled warmly, and fresh tears sprang into her eyes.

  “You can’t imagine how ready I am to go home.” She glanced from Gwen to Will and back again. “How did you two hook up?”

  “We met in Puerto Nuevo and quickly realized we were on the same quest,” Will told her. “Once we found out that both the girl I’d been sent to find and Gwen’s father were connected to Jordan Elders, we simply followed Mr. Elders’s path.”

  “I wish you’d found us sooner,” Jordan said. “I’m afraid we got ourselves hooked up with a criminal and then hit a freak storm and wound up on Dr. Arnell’s island.”

  “I assume you came by boat,” Dr. Arnell said. “Dare I hope it survived the storm?”

  “It survived,” Will replied. “But unfortunately the engines aren’t working and neither is the radio or anything else.”

  Dr. Arnell waved his hand, as if brushing off any worry. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sure Sebak will provide us with a boat when the time comes for us to leave.”

  Will noticed Cheryl rolling her eyes heavenward. Apparently, the young woman was as skeptical as he was about this island being some kind of magical paradise. On the other hand, Gwen and Jordan Elders were probably so devoted to Emery Arnell that, despite any misgivings they might have, they both wanted to share his enthusiasm over finally rediscovering his Utopia.

  Utopia by any other name.

  Umi. An Egyptian word meaning life. Isn’t that what The Professor had said?

  The Egyptian connection puzzled Will as much as anything else, adding to his list of questions. Questions that Sebak seemed very reluctant to answer.

  Gwen had stayed with her father in the hut where an unconscious Molly Esteban had been cared for by a healer. In those quiet, somber hours before Molly died, Gwen’s father had explained not only how Molly had been shot saving his life, but also about the abilities of the man he referred to as the adom, meaning one who receives help from God.

  “The people of Umi are never sick, and all live to at least two hundred,” her father had told her. “But they are not completely immune to accidents, to bodily injuries, and therefore they require a healer. The adom is somewhat like one of our doctors, only these men have a combination of medical and spiritual knowledge.”

  “Witch doctors,” Gwen had said before thinking. “Sorry, Father.”

  “No, no. It’s quite all right. In a way, that’s what the adom is. But unfortunately, since Molly had never been given the Eshe plant before, giving it to her now would do little to help her. One dose doesn’t heal. Only repeated doses over several years achieves the desired effect.”

  “The Eshe plant? Is that the youth-serum plant?”

  Emery nodded. “Just as umi means life in Egyptian, so does eshe. The island provides life for the people and the plant prolongs that life.”

  Molly Esteban died shortly after nightfall and was taken by the natives out of the hut and through the village. When Gwen questioned her father, he shook his head, requesting her silence. Then he walked away from her and went with Sebak, the two men walking slowly behind the small procession carrying Molly’s body away from the village.

  How at home her father seemed here, how easily and quickly he had adapted to these people and their customs. Had he, all those years ago, learned more about them than he’d ever told anyone?

  A young native woman came up beside Gwen, touched her arm and motioned to her. When she spoke, Gwen did not understand a word she said, but followed the girl to a small hut on the far side of the village. When she drew closer, she saw Will, Jordan, Cheryl and another man standing outside near an open fire pit that gave off heat and light. Odd how soon after sunset the temperature had begun dropping. Not that it was cold by any means, but with each passing hour, it became chillier.

  “Where’s Dr. Arnell?” Jordan asked.

  “Molly Esteban is dead.” Gwen went straight to Will, who slipped his arm around her waist.

  “Molly’s dead?” the scraggly middle-aged man asked.

  “Yes, and you killed her,” Cheryl told him.

  “He’s Mick McGuire.” Gwen spoke her thoughts aloud.

  “And you’re The Professor’s little girl, huh?” Mick moved in closer to the others and gave Gwen a once-over. “You’re not so little, are you? You’re all grown-up and filled out pretty good.”

  Mick McGuire made her skin crawl. Not only did he look sleazy and dirty, his attitude gave away his white-trash background.

  Will stepped between Gwen and Mick. She thought she heard Will growl, a sound deep and low in his throat.

  “Don’t get bent out of shape, buddy,” Mick said. “I get it that she’s yours. Besides, I’ve got my eye on one of the native girls. One of the young ones. You know, one with a firm little ass and a pair of big tits.”

  “Why don’t you shut up, McGuire. You’re disgusting,” Cheryl said.

  “You’ll be sleeping out under the stars on a pallet again tonight,” Jordan told Mick. “You’re not sharing a hut with either of us.” He hitched his thumb toward himself, then toward Will. “Only couples have their own huts. Single men who have been ostracized are expected to sleep outside, and since Dr. Arnell explained to Sebak that Molly’s injuries were caused by McGuire here, he’s persona non grata.”

  Mick glared at Jordan. “I’ll find a corner for myself, but you just remember that when it comes time to go for the gold, I expect to get my share.” Mick turned around and walked off.

  “What’s he talking about, what gold?” Gwen asked.

  “He’s talking about the Eshe plant,” Jordan said. “It seems there is a special plant that grows on this island, the one The Professor told us about, and Mick wants his share of the money when we take the plant back to the rest of the world.”

  A tight knot of apprehension formed in Will’s gut. “Does Sebak know about Dr. Arnell’s plans to take the plant off the island and share it with the world?” Will asked.

  Jordan shook his head. “We’ve been on the island about twenty-four hours, and in that time Dr. Arnell’s main concern has been saving Molly. He thought certain the Eshe plant could be used to heal her.”

  “What have you found out about this place, this island? And about Sebak and these people?” Will asked.

  “Not a great deal.” Jordan nodded to Cheryl. “As you already know, a woman has no status unless she belongs to a m
an. First to her father or eldest male relative and then to her mate. Every woman is placed with a man as quickly as possible. That’s the reason I claimed Cheryl.”

  “I understand,” Will told him.

  “As far as I know, only Sebak and a couple of other men in the village speak English. The others speak some ancient tongue that not even The Professor is familiar with.”

  “Have you been able to figure out exactly where we are and why this island has never been charted, why it’s not located on any map?”

  “We’re in the Atlantic Ocean, inside the Bermuda Triangle. This island has never been charted and isn’t on any map because—” Jordan paused “—because it isn’t visible to the outside world.”

  Will squinted as he glared at Jordan. “Run that one by me again. If it’s not visible, how come Gwen and I were able to see it? Why were you—”

  “I’m not sure, but I believe that Dr. Arnell’s theory that the island is only visible once every so many years, maybe every fifty years, might be correct. And that means people can land on the island and depart only during a specific time frame.”

  “Which would be how long?” Will asked.

  “When he was twenty, The Professor stayed here three weeks, then he was sent away. My guess is that the window of opportunity to arrive and depart is connected to that three-week time frame.”

  “If Dr. Arnell’s theory is correct, that means if we don’t leave this island within a specific time frame, be it three weeks or four, then we’ll be trapped here for years, maybe for the rest of our lives.”

  Chapter 14

  Gwen had wanted to speak to her father again tonight, but Sebak had forbidden it. When a loved one dies on Umi, the deceased person’s mate is expected to stay with the body that night, until at midnight, when the body is cremated. Then at dawn the mate takes the ashes and distributes them over a place called the Fields of Eshe.

  “Isn’t Eshe the name of the plant that keeps everyone healthy and gives you a long life span?” Gwen had asked Sebak.

  Sebak had nodded, but said nothing, then departed hurriedly with a group of men that Will had said he believed to be Sebak’s guards. Although the natives had carried no weapons, all six of the men with Sebak had been very young, quite tall and muscular.

  Since watches didn’t work here on Umi, there was no way to tell the exact time. But not long after Sebak departed, natives went around and extinguished all the central outdoor fires. Two men motioned for Gwen, Will, Jordan and Cheryl to enter their huts.

  “Let’s do as we’re told, for now,” Will said. “No need to create a problem until we figure out what’s what around here.”

  Although she and Will dreaded the thought of telling Cheryl about her friend Tori’s death, they felt she had a right to know, so they invited the other couple to join them in their hut.

  “Tori’s dead? How … ? I don’t understand.” Cheryl’s eyes filled with tears.

  “She was strangled and left on the beach in Puerto Nuevo,” Will told her. “There’s a good possibility that Mick McGuire murdered her.”

  While Jordan held a weeping Cheryl, he looked directly at Will. “What can we do? We can’t let the guy get away with killing Tori and Molly Esteban, too.”

  “There’s nothing we can do now,” Will said. “But once we get off this island, we’ll turn him over to the proper authorities.”

  Jordan took a grieving Cheryl back to their hut, leaving Will and Gwen alone to settle in for the night. For the first time since entering the hut, Gwen took a really good look. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but definitely not the neat, well-maintained contents that, although certainly not modern, were not crudely constructed. There was a wooden table and four chairs in an area near a fireplace in which a roaring fire blazed. A large black kettle hung over the fire, its contents smelling of stew. A bowl of fresh fruit and a large, oval loaf of bread, surrounded by thick, fat, glowing candles, graced the center of the smooth, polished tabletop. On the other side of the room was a glossy wooden bed framed by sheer fabric that created a canopy. The bed itself boasted a thick cotton mattress and was covered with creamy white bed linens, in a cloth similar to the clothing the natives wore, and topped with a thick white quilt. The walls were a mellow cream, as if once white and now yellowed slightly by age. There was no indoor bathroom. Cheryl and Jordan had explained that the natives bathed in the nearby lagoon and that four centrally located outhouses were spread about the village.

  “You’re awfully quiet.” Gwen placed her hand on Will’s shoulder.

  Sitting in front of the fireplace, his chair sideways to give him a view of the door, he glanced up at her. “There’s something not right about this place.”

  She smiled. “You mean other than the fact that its very existence is an incredible mystery and that if the Eshe plant really can prolong life, my father will become very famous.”

  “And very rich.”

  “I don’t think the money matters to him.”

  “Probably not,” Will said. “But it will matter to others.”

  “You mean once we’re off the island and my father takes the plant back to the world.”

  “Yeah, if that ever happens.”

  “What are you trying to tell me?”

  Will’s shoulders heaved, then relaxed as he took a deep breath. “There is no logical explanation for why this island even exists, yet here we are. And for all intents and purposes, we’re trapped here, with no way to leave.”

  “Don’t you think Sebak will help us leave, just as someone once helped my father leave all those years ago?”

  “Possibly. We can hope they will. But something tells me that they’re not going to be too keen on the idea of your father taking samples of the Eshe plant with him.”

  “But why would they object?” Gwen knew the answer the moment she asked the question. “Oh. They don’t really want anyone else to know about the existence of Umi, do they?”

  “Which doesn’t make sense if your father’s theory is correct that this island is visible only every fifty years.” Will rose to his feet, rubbed the back of his neck and cursed under his breath. “Do you realize how crazy that sounds? An island the size of Umi going undetected just isn’t possible.”

  “We’re like Alice Through the Looking Glass, aren’t we? We’ve entered another world.”

  “You said it, honey. That and then some.” Will paced back and forth, then paused and looked right at her. “If this island is invisible, then these natives or maybe the scholars of Umi that Sebak mentioned know a way of cloaking the island or it happens naturally somehow. Then for some reason, every so often, maybe every fifty years, or twenty or whatever, it becomes visible to the outside world. If it’s every five or ten years, then once this place is known to the world, and the Eshe plant is proven to provide longevity—”

  “The world will come calling and the island will be overrun by outsiders.”

  “Exactly.”

  “My father won’t leave here without the Eshe plant,” Gwen said.

  “We need to talk to Sebak tomorrow and get some things settled.” Will grasped her shoulders. “You have to convince your father that our only chance of leaving this place alive may depend upon him.”

  Gwen glowered at Will. “How can you ask me to persuade my father to give up his lifetime dream of bringing back this miracle plant to the world?”

  Will tightened his hold on her shoulders. “What’s more important, your father trying to take the Eshe plant with him or our living long enough to leave this island?”

  Gwen jerked away from him. “What makes you so sure that it’s an either-or situation?”

  “Gut instinct,” he told her. “And if you’ll think with your head instead of your heart, you’ll know I’m right.”

  Dr. Emery Arnell observed the beautiful sight as dawn light shimmered pale-gold over the Fields of Eshe, a valley located four miles from the village of Oseye. Emery and Sebak had been taken from the crematorium to the f
ields by a rickshaw-type conveyance pulled by two strong young men from Sebak’s village.

  Emery stood on a knoll overlooking the endless fields where the tall, willowy Eshe plants grew in profusion. Their yellow-green leaves glistened with dewdrops in the faint illumination. The early morning air was crisp and clean.

  “Come,” Sebak said. “I will walk with you as you distribute your woman’s ashes.”

  Emery held the silver urn in which Molly’s ashes had been placed. He had known her for such a short time, but had come to adore her, perhaps only in a way a doddering old fool can love a beautiful, young woman. Even knowing that she had played him for a fool did not lessen his fondness for her. After all, in the end, she had given her life to save his.

  As they entered the fields where the knee-high plants grew, Sebak pointed to the urn. “Turn the cap and it will open partially, enough to allow a small amount of ashes to come out, a little at a time.”

  Emery nodded, turned the urn’s round cap and then followed Sebak as he led him along the narrow paths, up and down the rows of Eshe plants. It took no more than five minutes to empty the urn, which Sebak took from him, laid on the ground and stomped on it with his foot. The silver urn, apparently made of some porous and easily broken material, smashed into tiny shards no bigger than a child’s fingernails.

  Sebak then turned to Emery and said, “We will walk to the end of this row and then offer our prayers for the afterlife of your woman before we return to Oseye.”

  Sebak’s prayers were in his native tongue, one Emery suspected was unknown anywhere else on earth, perhaps a dialect spoken thousands of years ago.

  They were taken to within a mile of Oseye by the rickshaw-type buggies, then were put on foot to continue their journey.

  “I have many questions,” Emery said.

  Sebak nodded.

  “I told you that I washed ashore on this island fifty years ago, when I was only twenty. I have been searching for Umi all these years without any success. Why was I never able to find this island again?”

  “I recall when I was a youth of forty, a young boy from the outside world arrived on Umi, in the nearby village of Niut. I have a cousin who lives there who told me about this boy.” Sebak walked slowly, keeping in step with Emery. “You were helped by the people of his village, and once you were recovered, you were sent back to your world.”