Jericho almost chuckled when he saw Catherine burst from a large white tent ahead of him. She staggered towards him and flung her arms around his neck. He didn’t mind she struck the back of his head with the butt of the revolver she carried as she did so. He could feel her chest heaving, and her body trembled against his for a moment.
“Fancy seeing your good self here,” Jericho laughed, returning the hug.
“You really are a sight for sore eyes,” Catherine said, wiping away the tears that welled in her eyes and threatened to stream down her cheeks.
“Not that it isn’t nice to see you, but I think we’d best be off,” Jericho suggested, looking around.
Jericho grabbed Catherine’s hand and led her straight into the trees, not looking back at the shouts and screams that still came from the camp. Catherine did though. She saw the old woman who had examined her emerge from a tent, a look of wild panic on her face. She also saw the crouched form in front of the woman, its tail thrashing the ground either side of its coiled hind legs. For a brief moment, Catherine’s gaze met the frantic searching eyes of the woman. Then she was gone, engulfed by the dark, shadowy silhouette of the leopard. Catherine turned away in silence, her eyes fixed to the ground as Jericho led her back to the car.
Jericho threw the guns and his pack into the back of the truck before checking on Catherine. She was shivering from the cold, still only dressed in the shirt and trousers she had put on that morning. Jericho pulled his jacket from behind the seats and placed it over her shoulders.
“I’d normally get you back to camp and safety as soon as possible,” Jericho sighed. “But I think your man might be in a spot of bother. Truth is, I wasn’t expecting to find you here. We thought Sultan had taken you. We had to split up, and Thomas is heading for his camp. I think he might need a bit of backup, what d’ya say?”
“Sultan means to kill us, or at least disappear us, that much I know,” Catherine nodded.
“Thought as much. Are you okay?”
Catherine’s face suddenly hardened. Jericho thought he saw a flash of anger, or maybe it was resolve, ignite in her eyes for a moment. It was replaced almost instantly by a steely coldness that took him aback a little.
“Let’s finish these bastards,” Catherine stated.
“Catherine,” Jericho said with a smile, “Thomas is my greatest friend, but I think I’m beginning to downright adore you.”
As Jericho started the engine, he heard a crackle from the radio that was mounted to the dashboard. He grabbed the receiver.
“This is Anga ya Amani calling Warthog, come in, over,” came Kelly’s hurried voice.
“Warthog receiving, was just about to give you folks a call,” Jericho replied, “I’ve found Catherine. Is Thomas there?”
“No, he left. Only I and a few others have just made it back to camp. Musa is in hysterics though. He’s been screaming about some monster in camp. There are big lion tracks leading straight through and I can’t find the dogs.”
“See, I go away for one afternoon and the whole place goes to hell,” Jericho said with a feigned sigh. “Don’t worry about the dogs, they can look after themselves. Do you know where Thomas was headed?”
“Musa told us Kanu’s camp is somewhere in the Galana marshlands, possibly an abandoned wildlife conservancy near Kilalinda.”
“I know it,” Jericho replied. “Any word on Mason?”
“No, again we only just heard. We’re trying to assemble some help, then we’re going after Thomas,” Kelly told them.
“We are too. I can cut across country from here. We’ll probably get there before you do, so just make sure you bring the cavalry.”
“Will do my best. Out.”
Catherine looked at Jericho questioningly.
“A monster? And what happened to Mason?” Catherine asked.
“Probably just that big female Thomas was talking about,” Jericho replied as he reversed the truck back out onto the road. “You know all this voodoo crap they’ve been throwing around, it’s all buffalo shit. Pay it no attention, although it does probably mean the lions are on Thomas’s trail too,” Jericho sighed. “Mason was mauled quite badly by a lioness back at the crater, but I’m sure Jelani already has him at a hospital.”
Jericho stamped on the accelerator and tore off down the road, passing the now quiet and deserted poachers camp at speed.
“Do you think it will be the lions or Kanu Sultan that will get to Thomas first?” Catherine asked.
“Knowing his luck, it’ll probably be a photo finish,” Jericho sighed, changing down gear and straining the engine as much as he dared as they left the cover of the trees altogether, and made it back out onto the savannah.
He saw something up ahead and hit the brakes, careering to a violent stop in a cloud of red dust. He reached for the glove box, opening it and pulling out a pair of binoculars. As he brought them up to his eyes, he quickly spun the focus ring, bringing the large moving objects into sudden clarity. The remnants of the elephant herd shifted to and fro nervously having already heard the car’s engine, and no doubt spotting the bright headlights that shone in their direction.
He panned to the left, spotting a small group of lights in the far distance, which he knew to be the reportedly abandoned wildlife conservancy on the Galana River. He rested the binoculars in his lap, smiling at Catherine.
“You know, some ideas are so good you can have them twice in the same day. You’ve heard of the charge of the light brigade? Now it’s the heavies turn,” Jericho grinned.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Thomas twisted the throttle as he cut through the swathes of scrub. As he neared the river, the vegetation began to thicken. Acacia bushes and fever trees became more frequent, slowing him down and tearing at his clothing as he passed. He brought the bike to a stop as he surveyed the way ahead. The last rays of tangerine sunlight touched the sharp volcanic pillars on either side of him. As the sun disappeared, the terracotta landscape changed to one seemingly bathed in ultraviolet light, with deep blues and mauves now replacing the vibrant reds, pinks and orange. The moon was still finding its place in the sky as the stars began to appear.
That wasn’t the only change he felt. With the light went the warmth. A cold breeze touched his cheek and the back of his neck, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine. He narrowed his eyes as he looked for a clearer path. Straight ahead seemed to only promise more of the same rocky outcrops and unwelcoming thorns. His gaze shifted to the right. As his eyes grew accustomed to the growing darkness, he spotted a narrow gully that led into a sharp descent. He blipped the throttle again and rolled the bike into it, following the path over precarious rocks and small drops. The scrambler coped with the punishment, and as he turned a sharp bend, he realised he had chosen well. The trail descended into the wide, flowing Kilalinda marshlands. He could see the reed grass swaying in the gentle caress of the wind like waves on an ocean.
Beyond to the north and east, he could pick out the pinprick glow of lights in the centre of the adjoining Galana marshes. It could only be Kanu’s camp. He turned off the scrambler’s headlamp and descended into the long grass.
~
The distance she had travelled was beginning to wear her down. She loped along, her breath releasing in grunting gasps with each heavy impact of her paws. The big dog was easy to follow and wasn’t far ahead now. It left a visible trail where its cumbersome girth ploughed through the brush, and its stink and slobber tainted the air. She could afford to rest for a moment. She stopped, padding into the long grass and lying down. She lifted her nose high into the air, comforted by the familiar smells of the marshland that came to her on the breeze. She filled her lungs with deep draws of air through her nostrils, closing her eyes as she allowed her taught muscles to relax and refuel. She lay there in the gathering darkness still and alert, aware of her surroundings but confident in them too. As a hyena greeted the fall of night with a ripple of laughter, she stood and made her way further into the marsh. She
slipped down a bank to a stream that was lined with tall reeds, offering her seclusion as she drank. Satiated, she crossed the water with an effortless bound, and headed for a tower of rock, in the centre of the meadow on the other side of the stream. She rippled over the crumbling sandstone slabs, the cracks and crevices of which housed the searching roots of acacia bushes clinging to the outcrop. They offered her cover until she edged out onto the ledge, which allowed her to overlook the marsh more fully. She stood tall, carefully changing her footing until the wind was behind her. She allowed her lungs to fill again and then lifted her head, roaring with a savagery that punctured the night. Deep within the kopje, amongst dry and dusty root systems and the dark walls of rock, a hyrax family trembled in the echo. Out on the marsh, a group of whistling ducks took to panicked flight and a pair of waterbuck raced and jumped for the darkness of the trees. The roar carried far, igniting a primal fear in every animal that heard it. It told them to run and hide. Death was afoot.
~
Nearly two miles to the east, Thomas heard the roar and stopped the bike. He turned his head, quickly gauging the direction and distance. It was undoubtedly the queen of the pride. She was behind him and closing. He knew that the marshland was at the centre of the pride’s territory. Perhaps that was why Kanu had chosen it as a base, as well as its logistical and tactical advantages. He guided the scrambler into a narrow ditch, and kept the revs low as he splashed his way upstream. He banked left when the ditch widened and he started to catch glimpses of the Galana River through the reeds to his right.
The abandoned wildlife conservancy was directly ahead now and he decided he couldn’t risk going further on the bike without giving away his approach. He still didn’t know what he was letting himself in for, or what to expect other than a bristling camp of armed mercenaries. Stealth and surprise were the only allies he had for the moment. As he turned off the bike’s engine, he froze as he caught the unmistakable sound of the brush parting behind him. Still straddling the bike, he was completely vulnerable. He carefully and slowly reached inside his shooting vest for the Anaconda revolver, hesitating for a split second before snapping around and shoving the gun underneath his left arm to bear down on his would-be attacker.
Rhodes met his gaze with the forlorn and disapproving look of a true mastiff. The big dog lowered his head and trotted past Thomas, whose heart was still racing as Saka too slipped from the shadows and joined the fawn coloured boerboel.
“You two nearly gave me a heart attack,” Thomas whispered, holstering the gun, and panting for breath as he recovered from the fright.
He got off the bike and crouched beside the dogs. Rhodes let out a soft growl of contentment as Thomas rubbed his back comfortingly. He was glad to have their company and knew he could rely on their training to keep quiet. He could see by their alertness, and the way they observed the lights of the camp up ahead, that they already saw this as a hunt. He began to creep forward, staying low and keeping the dogs behind him.
~
The others began to converge on her immediately. They had been made skittish by her absence during the day, but her roar had signified her return to the territory and the start of a hunt. Now fewer in number, they were more cautious as a collective and less inclined to separate. But she gave them confidence, and they came to her willingly. They stuck to tunnels, long forged through the reeds, that hid their approach. Occasionally, a pale flash of fur or a careless brush of the foliage in passing would hint at their passage, but otherwise they paced their yet unseen quarry from the refuge of the reed bed.
~
Thomas viewed the buildings that made up what had been the Kilalinda Wildlife Conservancy and now served as Kanu Sultan’s base. It reminded him a little of how Wild West forts were depicted in movies. A large courtyard was surrounded on all four sides by high stone walls with towers at each corner. They had probably originally been intended to allow guests to view the wildlife of the surrounding marshlands. The network of wetlands and savannah would have attracted many animals from miles around. Now they afforded Kanu Sultan a prime view of the surrounding territory. Thomas hoped the wildlife had learnt quickly that their new neighbour had less than friendly intentions towards them. He knew a remote outpost like this would have to be as self-sufficient as possible, and that meant a reliance on bush meat. The eerie quiet and absence of life made him feel on edge and confirmed his fears.
As they had told Thomas themselves, the government’s limited resources couldn’t deal with more than one threat at a time as it was, and the terrorists in the North were a much higher priority than a pillaged ecosystem. But just like the ecosystem, the terrorists and Kanu Sultan were all linked and reliant on the status-quo. If you removed a keystone predator from a thriving system, it would soon crumble and fail. Thomas could only hope it would be the same with Kanu.
From what he knew of the wildlife conservancy, a large headquarters building, an open garage and a game lodge were all housed inside the courtyard. He was approaching the back wall of the camp, still hidden by the high reeds and sloping banks of the waterway. Ahead of him, he could see a jetty roughly hacked out of the river clay and reinforced with rock-lined sloping walls. It extended out to a quiet stretch of water, fed by the river itself and lined with the same tall reeds that were helping him stay hidden. They served the same purpose here. Although he couldn’t see it, he guessed there would be a boat, or even a few, moored on the other side. They, and even possibly the camp itself, would be well hidden from the main waterway.
Both the jetty and rear of the camp seemed quiet. He had remained motionless for some time, waiting for a movement or sound to give away the presence of any unseen patrol, but none came. He decided there was nothing for it but to move out of the reeds and take a closer look at the camp. He moved quickly, darting from the bank of reeds and into the shadow of the nearby boundary wall that loomed above him. As he did so, he came face to face with a thin young guard as he turned the corner. Both were startled, but it was Thomas who acted first, swinging his rifle from his shoulder and up in a fast sweeping movement. The heavy wooden stock connected powerfully with the young patrol man’s chin, and Thomas followed up with another blow to the side of the dazed guard’s head, knocking him to the ground unconscious. Thomas glanced around him before rolling the guard down the bank and into the cover of the reeds. He then peered around the corner the young man had come from.
There was a large arched entrance into the courtyard about twenty yards away. It looked like it had possibly once contained a set of gates, but now it was empty and opened out onto a low walkway that led to the jetty. Thomas edged towards it, his back against the wall. His mouth was dry, and his heart was still pounding in his chest as he checked the handle of the Anaconda with his fingertips. He steadied himself before risking a peek through the archway.
The first thing he noticed were the two huge spotted hyenas that lay in the centre of the courtyard, both secured by steel chains attached to spiked collars. They snarled with lazy malcontent at the men wearing tan coloured military fatigues who passed them by. Thomas was surprised by the seemingly small number. There were about six altogether in the courtyard itself, standing in pairs as they talked and smoked together. They appeared relaxed. His gaze wandered to the wooden staircase in the far corner, that led to a walkway around the perimeter wall, and linked the towers at each corner. He scanned them, only finding one occupied; the tower to the north that looked in the direction of the savannah, the nearest roads, and civilisation.
Two of the guards stood either side of the mahogany double doors that marked the main entrance to what had been the game lodge. Their AK47s rested against the wooden slats of the building. Thomas wondered if Kanu was perhaps using it as his personal quarters. His eyes shifted to a stairway to his left that led down, perhaps to cellars or a storage area. His gaze then flitted to the barn like structure that served as a garage. He could see the same Range Rovers that had formed Kanu’s convoy on the day he had laced Anga ya A
mani with lion pheromones, and a few battered Toyota trucks. A simple plan formed in his head. He realised that the most likely places to find Catherine, if she was here at all, was either down the stairs or in Kanu’s adopted residence. He’d find her, make for the vehicles, and get out of there as quickly as possible. If she wasn’t there, he’d slip back out and escape on the bike.
The stairs were nearest. He watched the patrols as they crossed back and forth over the courtyard, waiting for an opportunity to slip past unnoticed. He nearly yelled in fright when something wet and soft touched his elbow, but he spun quickly on his heels to find an inquisitive Saka at his side. He held up the flat palm of his hand to indicate she needed to stop. She turned and trotted back to where Rhodes stood. The mastiff glanced out over the reeds then back to Thomas. The dogs were uneasy about something.
As he turned back to the courtyard, he noticed the two hyenas were lying with their backs to each other. He didn’t see any food or water bowls nearby, and their position meant they had probably been in the sun for the best part of the day. It was perhaps one of the ways Kanu kept them irritable and bad tempered, but he hoped he might be able to use it to his advantage. He looked to the ground and soon found what he was looking for; a smooth flat stone. He waited until he was sure the backs of the guards were turned and then threw the stone in a wide looping arc. His aim was good and it hit the nearest hyena in the ribs, making an audible impact as it did so. Just as he’d hoped, the hyena immediately jumped up and turned on its unsuspecting partner.
The hyenas tumbled back and forth, snarling and yikkering as they scrabbled for purchase. The one Thomas had hit with the stone managed to clamp its jaws onto the ruff of raised fur along the other’s neck, forcing it to the ground. Already the guards in the courtyard were all running towards the squabbling animals, just as he’d hoped. As the men formed two gangs of three and picked up the chains to pull the hyenas apart, Thomas dashed through the open archway and made it to the stairs, hurrying down the steps quickly. They turned to the right at the bottom.
The Daughters of the Darkness Page 33
