He found himself in a long narrow corridor. There was a light switch on the wall to his left and he flicked it on. An old yellowed lantern spluttered into life at the end of the passageway, producing just enough light to illuminate the three cells along the right-hand side. As Thomas took a step forward he was immediately hit by the stink that came from their interiors. He peered in through the rust spotted grills that covered the entrance to each one, noticing the dark stains on the straw-coloured floor. Blood and excrement in the most part he guessed. He was at once relieved and frightened to find all the cells empty. Catherine wasn’t there. He presumed a prison block was something Kanu had installed on moving in. It was hard to imagine a wildlife conservancy had need of them.
He made his way back up the stairs and peered out across the courtyard. His view was blocked by a pair of shiny black military boots that faced him. He slowly lifted his head.
“Kind of you to join us Mr. Walker,” Kanu Sultan said, smiling down at him.
~
She froze, half emerged from the reeds and a paw extended and reaching for the ground. The others behind her came to a halt too, their senses on edge as they crouched in the cover. A soft murmur came from a patch of scrubby reeds and buffelgrass nearby. She pushed her nose through the soft stalks and blades. They parted at her touch. There she found the man, prostrate and still. She paused as she caught the slight movement of his arm. The sounds he made were strained. He was in pain, possibly injured. She took another silent step closer. And then she sensed it. The lingering taint of her prey. She surged forwards without hesitating, opening her jaws and sinking her fangs into the man’s temples. Disorientated and only just coming around, his world went black again, permanently and painlessly. She squatted over the body, urinating onto the man’s chest and heaping dirt over the corpse with scrapes of her hind feet.
The pride moved off. When a few of the others paused at the man’s body and sniffed at the fresh scent of blood, she growled a low and menacing warning. They instantly turned away and followed her out of the grass and reeds.
~
Thomas was led into the game lodge. As he had suspected, Kanu had made himself at home there. The towering pot plants, palms of some kind, appeared to have gone uncared for during his occupancy, but the rest of the decor was clearly to his liking. They stopped in the lobby as a guard stripped him of his weapons and threw them onto one of the chairs.
“I see you treat yourself well,” Thomas said quietly, eyeing Kanu with disdain.
“What can I say Mr. Walker. My customers have deep pockets and bad intentions. In Africa that is what we call a business opportunity.”
Kanu smiled. He crossed the lobby towards and open room to the left.
“Perhaps you would be interested in some of my pets Mr. Walker,” he suggested, as a guard pushed Thomas forward with the butt of a rifle.
As Thomas entered the room he noticed it was lined almost wall to wall with glass tanks of multiple shapes and sizes. Inside each were long serpentine forms that slithered to and fro, searching the perimeters and tasting the air with their forked tongues. Even inside, the snakes could sense the coming of night and were becoming more active. Thomas remembered the puff adder that Musa had brought to the camp. Now he realised it had been given to him, not just caught. Kanu clearly revelled in perpetrating the myth as a shaman who controlled his ‘critters of the bush’. Having them handily caged and captive was no doubt useful.
The glass tanks housed several venomous species that he recognised. Green and black mambas, gaboon vipers, puff adders and several species of cobra called the room home. In the largest tank, positioned at the bottom and closest to the floor, was an enormous and coiled rock python. Thomas peered through the glass at the reptiles. He noticed they all seemed in excellent condition and were well fed. Each of the enclosures were fitted with arrays of sun lamps and moisture pads, and provided plenty of space for the animals.
“You take very good care of them,” Thomas acknowledged.
“They demand a higher level of attention than some of my other charges,” Kanu replied, smiling.
“Like those hyenas out there, left without food or water?”
“Oh they’ll be fed soon enough Mr. Walker. A concerned conservationist like yourself is the perfect man to see to that I’d say,” Kanu replied, laughing.
Thomas didn’t need to ponder too long on his meaning. He ignored the threat.
“Or a pride of lions that have found their territory stripped of natural prey?” Thomas probed further.
“One of the reasons I’ve brought the hyenas inside the walls of the compound Mr. Walker,” Kanu exclaimed. “But on the contrary, human beings are perfectly natural prey. We have simply forgotten,” Kanu explained. “The oldest caves of this continent are testament to that. The bones of man and beast locked in eternal conflict. Whilst the wolf lay down beside us around ancient fires, something unable to shirk its primal intentions stayed in the darkness. And there they have remained.”
Thomas didn’t answer. He knew Kanu was right. A six-million-year-old Kenyan fossil skull from a human ancestor had been found heavily damaged, not by erosion or disturbance, but from blunt force trauma. Something had pierced the bone several times. It was only when an inquisitive geologist happened to match the wounds to another fossil, the teeth of a leopard discovered in the same cave, that the identity of the killer was revealed. Other fossils in Tanzania, a mere 1.8 million years old, depicted a similar tale of human predation. In Uganda, it was estimated from leopard faeces that up to five percent of the chimp and gorilla population were taken by leopards. Cats and primates had been a part of natural predator and prey relationships for millions of years. It was they more than anything else that humans feared were creeping silently towards them in the darkness.
It made him think of the Zhoukoudian cave in China. A macabre collection of skulls nearly two million years old had been discovered there, and at first had been thought to be evidence of early humans practicing cannibalism. Further scrutiny suggested a predator such as a leopard was in fact the culprit. In the end, however, it was discovered that death had come in the form of the giant hyena, Pachycrocuta brevirostris. It was then he had something of an epiphany. Although they resembled dogs, hyenas were feliforms. They were in the same family as mongooses, civets, and most importantly, cats. Some twenty million years ago, hyenas and cats had separated on the evolutionary tree. Both had appeared in eastern Asia, but it was hyenas that had reached Africa first. Most species of hyena, just like cats, were solitary. Only the spotted hyena exhibited complex social behaviour. They hunted in groups and the females were in charge. What if lions were following the same evolutionary path as their distant cousins, but were just a million years or so behind? It might explain abnormalities like the lionesses of the Okavango exhibiting manes, or the matriarchal led pride they were dealing with here in Tsavo.
“I can see I am no longer amusing you Mr. Walker,” Kanu stated dryly. “I can assure you the feeling is mutual. I hear you have killed eight of my pets...”
“Sixteen actually,” Thomas stated.
Kanu seemed taken back for a moment.
“That’s over two thirds of the pride,” one of the guards behind Kanu said, seemingly to himself.
Kanu whipped around instantly, drawing a large, gold coloured pistol from his belt. It sported garish tiger stripes over the metalwork and Thomas recognised it as a Desert Eagle. Kanu seemed to shrug apologetically at Thomas as he pointed it behind him without looking and pulled the trigger. The resulting boom sounded like the blast of a canon and the guard was thrown backwards against the wall. The hole in his chest the size of a dinner plate showed the blast had hit him square on.
“I can’t abide interruption Mr. Walker,” Kanu said.
“Is it only your conversation you’re concerned about, or have I cut in on your plans too?” Thomas challenged.
“They’re intact enough to still be of major concern to you Mr. Walker, I can assure
you,” Kanu replied with a sneer.
He nodded at the guard behind Thomas, who prodded Thomas in the back with his rifle and began to usher him back outside. Thomas reluctantly followed Kanu and his entourage, left to his thoughts again. It was just a shame he had nobody to share them with in what might be his last few moments.
~
She lay crouched, coiled tight against the ground. The earthen bank hid her well enough as she viewed the wooden and stone structure. Her tail lashed the ground with pent frustration. The others were spread behind her in a narrow fan, all focused on an opening ahead of them. She raised her head slightly as she sensed movement. The two dogs had slipped through. The breeze came from behind and had taken the pride’s scent to them. With a singular guttural grunt, she rose to her feet and padded past the opening, heading to the other side of the structure and downwind.
~
Thomas couldn’t help feeling nauseous as he was led across the courtyard towards the hyenas. After hearing the accounts from Musa and others, he had a good idea of what was about to happen. Although related to cats, hyenas didn’t share their table manners. A cat would kill you swiftly and efficiently, but not a hyena. Just like a bear, they were happy to consume you whilst you were still warm and alive. They stopped a few yards from the nearest of the two spotted fleabags. It inquisitively got up and approached, straining at the taught end of its chain, head slightly cocked as it surveyed them with hungry interest. It was not the way he would choose to go. He reacted instinctively as he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.
He moved like lightning and slammed his elbow into the nose of the guard behind him on his left, sending the man wheeling backwards, a heavy stream of blood gushing from his burst nose. Before the guard toppled over completely, Thomas grabbed him by the lapels on his fatigues, wheeling round in a move that saved him from a spray of bullets from the other guard’s AK47. Thomas let go of his human shield, depositing the body within reach of the salivating hyena. He braced himself for the impact that would follow the next squeeze of the trigger, almost thankful for the comparatively painless alternative it offered him to the bone crushing jaws, but it never came.
Rhodes moved with a speed and agility that seemed unfitting for his size and bulk. He let out a deep and booming howl that bounced off the stone walls. As the big tan boerboel leapt at the second guard with more of a roar than a bark, Saka dashed in to torment and distract the other hyena. Rhodes floored the guard, grabbing him by the throat and dragging his squirming body through the dust. Thomas leapt forward and grabbed the AK47. He dropped to one knee and looked around. Saka was doing a good job, keeping the hyena at the end of its chain but staying safely out of reach of its jaws. He spotted the guard in the north tower taking aim in their general direction and sent a volley of bullets in his direction. He saw the guard spin backwards, clutching at his shoulder and tumbling out of sight.
Kanu seemed to have disappeared, but just as Thomas stood, he sensed the sudden presence of someone behind him. Something broad and heavy hit him in the back of the neck and he slumped to his knees again, dazed and only just on the brink of consciousness. Kanu slipped back into his field of vision. Thomas’s head was spinning, but he saw Saka sprinting back towards the archway through which they had entered the camp. Thomas winced as a deep bark from Rhodes was met with a casual blast from Kanu’s pistol. He heard what sounded like a heavy wet sack hit the ground behind him, and knew the big dog was down.
“You have quite the knack for causing me trouble Mr. Walker,” Kanu grumbled, his charm and humour now gone.
“You think I’m bad, wait till the guy whose dog you just shot catches up with you,” Thomas replied, still a little dazed.
“I have friends in low places too Mr Walker,” Kanu replied, grinning. “At the moment they are entertaining your fiancée, but I’m sure the Irishman can be added to their to-do list.”
Thomas didn’t reply. He wondered if Jericho had found Kruger. If so, had he found Catherine? He knew Jericho would have raised hell if so, of that he was certain. Everything else less so, including their fate and his.
“It’s a pity I can’t extend your visit any longer, it’s been quite entertaining,” Kanu said with a sigh.
“I’ve been bored half way to hell myself,” Thomas jibed, not even looking at Kanu.
“Then allow me to speed you on the rest of the way,” Kanu quipped, raising the big pistol and aiming it at Thomas’s head.
Kanu paused, distracted by something. Thomas heard it too, a deep and heavy rumble like the approach of thunder. He didn’t know what it was, but it brought him back to his senses. He sprang forward from the ground. His days of playing rugby and Australian football were long over, but he could still put some heft into a tackle. He shoulder-barged Kanu in the chest, sending the African flying backwards. The pistol flew out of Kanu’s hand, landing in the dust beside the nearest hyena. It eagerly took it within its jaws and began to gnaw on the barrel. It held the gun between its paws, enjoying its new toy.
Kanu pushed Thomas off with a powerful shove. Thomas rolled, quickly jumping to his feet. Kanu did the same, reaching behind his head. A hint of blood coated his fingertips from where his skull had met the ground. He stared menacingly at Thomas as they began to circle each other. Thomas could see from his stare that the games were over. The African spun on a heel, delivering a devastating spin kick that landed just below Thomas’s right ear. He was knocked to the ground instantly. Instinct told him to get up, but it was like gravity had tripled in the last few seconds. It felt like his brain was being sucked into his body.
A second kick to his ribs sent him rolling through the dirt but at least seemed to restore gravity. He managed to scrabble to his feet just in time before Kanu’s boot crashed down where his head had lain just moments before. Thomas was quick enough to block an elbow slam by raising his arms, but was then too slow to meet the straight counter punch to his exposed stomach that followed. He doubled over and staggered backwards, Kanu rushing in too quick for him. Another spin kick sent Thomas face down into the ground again. He stayed there, only vaguely aware of the wet sensation on his face. He was bleeding. Thomas pushed his hands underneath his chest and pushed up, spluttering for breath. Kanu’s boot met the small of his back and applied enough resistance to make his struggling pointless. Thomas slumped, knowing he was beaten.
“Don’t beat yourself up Mr Walker, let me do it for you,” Kanu taunted him. “I’m afraid you didn’t stand much of a chance. I survived the streets of Mombasa only because my brother had taught me to fight. Vita Saana is an ancient martial art I adopted in later life. It has an especially aggressive technique known as the lion system. It fitted into my propaganda rather well, and it has practical applications as you just found out.”
“Didn’t do your brother much good though if the stories are true,” Thomas sneered, remembering some of the background information Jelani had given him prior to his arrival.
“They are true. I killed him,” Kanu replied quietly. “I did it to prove my loyalty to the drug lord who had killed our father. I had to show him that I wasn’t going to carry out my revenge. That came years later. Best served cold as they say, just as your corpse will be to the lions.”
“Is that them now?” Thomas asked casually, looking past Kanu.
Kanu spun around as he heard one of the guards open fire. Others were running towards the entrance. As Kanu peered into the darkness, he realised what Thomas meant. The night air was filled with noise. Savage roars and bellows penetrated and echoed along the stone walls of the compound. Three lionesses suddenly appeared, sprinting into the courtyard. They were on edge, moving with purpose and with no attempt to conceal their presence. One took a swipe at a guard who was too close, cutting him down without stopping. With a thunderous scream, their pursuer crashed through the entrance after them. The elephant came after them like a freight train, splintering the wooden panelling of the nearby garage wall and flipping a flat-bed Toyota truck neatly
onto one of the Range Rovers. Thomas couldn’t help but smile.
Over the uproar and chaos, Thomas heard a shot ring out. The tower guard he had previously wounded toppled over backwards and crashed to the floor. Another scream sounded in the darkness as the lions found themselves cornered, and turned on Kanu’s men as they too found themselves trapped. A thud and a crack sounded from the front wall before it exploded in an avalanche of rock and earth. Five more elephants stampeded into the compound, acting faster and more efficiently than any wrecking ball. Through the rubble and dust, Thomas caught a glimpse of a car with blazing headlights and a spotlight rig coming straight towards the compound. As the vehicle approached, he heard the engine and recognised it. It was the Warthog.
Thomas rolled and jumped to his feet. There was only one place that might offer him cover, and that was the stairway at the edge of the compound that led to Kanu’s makeshift prison block. He was half way there when Kanu caught up with him, knocking him to the ground again with a slam from the side. Thomas flipped onto his back and rose up on his elbows as Kanu towered over him. The African was smiling. They both knew it was over. Thomas was no match for Kanu.
The Warthog roared over the debris of the demolished wall and landed with a thump, skidding to a halt in the centre of the half-destroyed camp. Jericho jumped from the jeep, firing his shotgun into the air with one hand and turning the elephants away from the car and back towards the open entrance. His other hand held the rhino pistol as he covered the swarming compound. Thomas glanced over as Catherine swung out from the passenger seat, her pistol drawn and pointed at Kanu. Nothing mattered anymore. She was safe, and she was here. He felt euphoric and lay on his back, smiling contentedly at her as she approached. His elation seemed matched in intensity by Kanu’s disappointment. The African lowered his raised, tensed forearms and knotted fists.
The Daughters of the Darkness Page 34
