Islands of Fire Read online

  Kina finds herself sweating, wondering if she might be able to escape or if To`o is capable of striking her dead with a thought.

  “HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT WHAT I SEEK. LONG HAVE I DWELLED HERE ON THIS MOUNTAIN, LOOKING DOWN ON MY DOMAIN WITH PLEASURE. AND YET I MUST SUFFER THE INTRUSION OF A DEVIL WHICH CIRCLES MY ISLAND, FOREVER ATTEMPTING TO CORRUPT THESE SHORES.”

  “You speak of Mokolo?” Kina asks. “Kuanatuku, the ali`i of the village down by the sea, spoke of that devil. I felt it studying me late at night from somewhere offshore.”

  “IT STAINS MY TERRITORY WITH ITS PRESENCE, STAYING FOREVER JUST OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF MY POWER. BUT ONE WITH KOTA`IANAPAHU’S BLADE MAY SLAY THE DEVIL AND LIFT ITS PALL. I COMMAND YOU TO SEEK OUT MOKOLO AND SLAY IT.”

  Mokolo Must Die

  Nothing more is forthcoming from To`o. He falls silent, leaving Nakali, Kina and Hekalo to look at one another in shock.

  “Great lord To`o,” Nakali says, “Surely you don’t expect us to kill Mokolo! When this slave killed the other devil, it was only because she got lucky, and because she had the help of one hundred of my finest warriors.”

  But the God in the Stone stays quiet. Kina can sense him retreating back into the stone, as if falling dormant or asleep.

  “Come on,” she says, rising to her feet. “Let’s not waste any time. Kuanatuku and his men will be here any minute, and I don’t intend to still be around when they arrive.”

  Nakali looks bitter. She remains in front of To`o’s impassive face for a while, unwilling to move. “This has to be some kind of a test,” she says.

  “It’s no test,” Kina says. “Come on, unless you want to face Kuanatuku alone. Hekalo, is there another way down from here?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” the sorcerer replies. “I’ve only been up here along the cliff road.”

  “Then we’ll make our own way down. Come.”

  Nakali, realizing she will soon be alone, takes up her spear and follows.

  The three of them cross the rocky waste of the ancient caldera, leaving the path behind to approach a different part of the crater rim. They stay as low as possible, threading between mounds of stones. Before long, they arrive at the steep embankment where the crater begins to curve upward.

  Kina goes first, carefully selecting handholds as the slope becomes a vertical wall. It isn’t easy with the pahi in one hand. Hekalo waits to make sure Kina is safe before beginning up right behind her.

  It takes a minute to realize Nakali isn’t coming. Kina looks over her shoulder and sees the high priestess standing apart from the cliff wall, spear cocked back for a throw.

  “Drop the pahi, slave,” Nakali says. “Drop it or I’ll kill you now.”

  “What are you doing?” Kina asks. “Don’t you want To`o to give you the answers you seek?”

  “You’re no longer important,” Nakali says. “All I need is the pahi.”

  “Then do it. Throw the spear, and kill me. And then work your way down from this mountain and kill Mokolo all by yourself, so you can get To`o to answer your questions. Can you do that? Kill a devil alone?”

  Nakali raises her chin imperiously but lets the spear drop. “I don’t need to kill Mokolo at all. You’ll do the fighting for me.”

  “That’s more like it,” Kina says, acid in her tone. “Now come on up, Your Highness. Unless you need my help for that, too.”

  Nakali begins up the slope, grumbling at the debris knocked down by Kina and Hekalo. Kina can tell the high priestess can’t decide if her status should place her in the lead, or whether she should be letting the lesser servants clear a path.

  About halfway up the slope, Kina hears a distant shout. She turns to look. Kuanatuku and a huge squad of warriors, easily twenty or more, have spotted them and are racing across the broad crater floor.

  “We better speed this up,” Kina says.

  By the time the three of them are near the top of the escarpment, Kuanatuku’s warriors have reached the base. A couple of them have slings and proceed to hurl stones up at the escapees. Kina is first over the top. As soon as she clears it, she turns to help the others up. Hekalo takes her hand and scrambles up the slope. To Nakali, Kina shouts, “Lift your spear!”

  Taking hold of one end of the spear, Kina and Hekalo pull, hoisting Nakali up the rest of the way as rocks clatter around them. Kuanatuku orders his warriors to follow.

  “Quick,” Nakali says, moving over to some head-sized rocks. “Let’s drop these down on some of them.”

  Kina and Nakali each pick up the heaviest rocks they can find, hurling them over the brink. Nakali’s stone slams into one of the warriors’ heads, killing him instantly and sending his body back down on the others. The rest dodge Kina’s rock.

  “Stand aside,” Hekalo says. He walks to the edge and gazes down at Kuanatuku.

  “Traitor!” Kuanatuku bellows. “I’ll eat your soul first!”

  Hekalo shouts, “This man is a liar! It is To`o who eats the souls. Kuanatuku takes only a small boon from To`o as a reward. Don’t listen to him!”

  But the warriors pay no attention. They step back from the cliff to send more sling stones up at their targets. Kuanatuku glares at Hekalo, an expression quite clear even from this distance.

  “He’s been lying to them?” Kina asks.

  Hekalo nods. “That’s how he keeps them in check. They think he is made immortal by eating souls. They call him ‘Life-Eater.’ But I saw what happens, and it is To`o who receives the power.”

  “Why would a god need to eat mortal souls for power?”

  “Why do any gods demand sacrifice?” Nakali asks. “And who are you to question it?”

  “It just seems strange, that’s all.”

  Hekalo looks back down at Kuanatuku. “Step back,” he says. “I think I have something that might slow them down.”

  Hekalo raises both hands in the air. Between them, the air begins to shimmer.

  Kuanatuku shouts at his men to scatter, but it is too late. Hekalo lowers his hands, clapping them together, and a pulse arcs toward the ground. To Kina it looks like the wavering air over a hot fire, though moving as fast as a bird.

  There is a thunderclap, and men go flying in all directions, screaming and crying out to To`o.

  Hekalo sags to his knees.

  “Get up,” Kina says.

  “Wait,” Hekalo says. “Let me catch my breath.”

  “No time,” Kina says. She gestures to Nakali. “Help me get him up.”

  The high priestess opens her mouth to protest, but then evidently thinks better of it and steps up to Hekalo. Wrapping one arm around each of their shoulders, he is able to rise. With their weapons in one hand and Hekalo in the other, Kina and Nakali begin across the grassy lip of the crater wall.

  The far side angles down at a gradual pace, eventually disappearing into the rolling tops of the mountains. Only a few trees grow on the windswept slopes. From up here, Kina can see all around the island. The sea is so distant it looks unmoving.

  For hours, they work their way downslope. Before long they return to the upper reaches of the forest, and there along a narrow river they find some small caves in a rocky slope. Kina leaves Nakali and Hekalo in one of the caves and seeks out more food, finally returning with a lizard and some fruit. They start up a fire and cook the lizard, sure to douse the fire as soon as the lizard is cooked well enough to eat. By the time night falls, they have eaten enough to stave off their gnawing bellies, so they crawl back into the black recesses of the shallow cave to sleep.

  Kina lies awake long into the night, consumed by her distrust of Nakali. Several times she has seen the high priestess shifting her grip on that spear, clearly thinking about how she could easily kill Kina with a quick and mortal thrust of the spear. In the cave, darkness is absolute, but all sounds are magnified. As her companions shift in their sleep, Kina tenses up, sure it is Nakali getting ready to murder Kina in the night.

  But the
killing blow never arrives. To be safe, she sleeps with the pahi under part of her body. It’s perpetual warmth is pleasing against the cool, hard rock, though Kina finds she has to keep the glowing markings tucked under her arm to keep them invisible.

  Morning comes, and Kina wakes up to find Nakali already awake. The high priestess is watching her. Hekalo is gone.

  “Where’s the sorcerer?” Kina asks, sitting up.

  “He left in the night, I guess,” Nakali replies. “It looks like it’s just you and me, now. I always knew we couldn’t trust him.”

  Kina gets to her feet, muscles stiff. “Lighten up. After all, he didn’t kill us in our sleep. Someone who steals the power of the gods themselves could have finished us before we even realized what was happening.”

  “I would have killed him before he could try.”

  Kina sighs. “I’m sure you would have. So where do you think he went?”

  Nakali shrugs. “Perhaps he went slinking back to Kuanatuku with word of our plan.”

  “It’s not much of a plan,” Kina says. She goes over to the cave mouth and looks out into the trees at the river. “Find a devil—or have him find us—and kill him. Most likely it’s impossible. Kuanatuku is probably laughing at us. Maybe that’s why he didn’t catch us in the middle of the night. He figures he’ll let us kill ourselves and save him the trouble.”

  “When we’re finished, he’s next,” Nakali grumbles.

  “One thing at a time, please,” Kina says. “We still have to work on Mokolo. Let’s get something to drink.”

  They climb down from the cave and stop at the river bank. Kina and Nakali kneel at the cool water and sip handfuls. It is refreshing, though Kina’s belly is beginning to rumble again.

  There is a sound in the nearby brush, a crack of sticks.

  Kina and Nakali are up instantly, weapons out. “Who goes there?” Nakali asks.

  Hekalo emerges, several dead fish in his hands. “I found some `o`oko,” he says. “There’s a pool just downstream.”

  Kina relaxes and thanks the sorcerer. Not bothering with a fire, the three of them cut open the fish and eat them rapidly, tossing the bones back into the babbling stream.

  Sated, they head off down the river, keeping close to the bank. Kina knows that somewhere, down at the bottom of these hills, this river will descend into the ocean. And it is there that they will find Mokolo.

  It is long into the afternoon before they reach the flatlands along the coast, the muffled sound of crumpling waves greeting them long before they finally see the water. Clouds cover most of the sky, dropping a thin rain over Makoahiva. Dripping with rain water, the trio emerge onto the windy beach and gaze either direction along the sand.

  “And how do we plan to do this, again?” Hekalo asks.

  Kina isn’t sure. “I felt Mokolo searching for me when I was captured in the village. It was like he swept across me with his mind. Presumably he’ll find us.”

  “And how long will that take?” Nakali asks. “I don’t think we can afford to wait. I grow tired of this miserable island.”

  “You have a better idea?”

  “Devils are drawn to bloodshed and violence,” she replies. She points to Hekalo. “I say we kill this one here, and let Mokolo come toward the smell of death.”

  “If I hear you discuss killing someone one more time,” Hekalo says, “I’ll feed you to the sharks myself. Who is this person, anyway, and why do you travel with her?”

  Kina replies, “It’s only out of necessity, believe me. Once we get some answers from To`o, this mutual arrangement is over.”

  “This arrangement is the only thing that has kept you alive, slave. You would do well to keep that in mind.”

  “Wait,” Hekalo says, stepping a few paces away from them, hands raised for silence. “Do you feel that?”

  Kina looks at him, confused. “I feel nothing.”

  But then she notices it—that same, subtle sensation that she is being examined. The feeling is similar to being watched. She looks out toward the water.

  “That’s it! That’s Mokolo,” she says. “This is the same thing that happened a couple of nights ago.”

  Nakali whispers, “It’s in our minds.”

  “Yes,” Kina says. “Now how do we get it to come to us?”

  “We know it’s name. Can we call it?” Hekalo asks.

  “We can try.” Kina closes her eyes and tries to focus on the presence, repeating the name Mokolo in her mind.

  For several minutes they stand there, looking out on the horizon. The thing is close, and getting closer.

  Hekalo walks down to the waterline, letting the surf rush over his ankles. “Didn’t To`o say it can’t come ashore? Will we have to fight it in the water?”

  Kina and Nakali stride down the sand to join Hekalo in the water. “We might,” Kina says.

  She can see something, now, moving out beyond some submerged rocks a ways out from shore. She nudges Hekalo and points toward it.

  I can smell you. Interlopers. You have come for death.

  It takes Kina a moment to realize the voice she heard came from within her own mind. She steps back, startled. The others do the same. In shock, the three of them glance at one another. Kina tightens her grip on the pahi.

  “Mokolo!” she shouts. “We are here for you.”

  I can smell you.

  “We have come to put an end to your miserable existence. Come and meet your death!”

  You dare to challenge me? the voice asks. All I smell are three mortals. I can rip your souls away with a thought. How dare you challenge a god?

  Kina looks at Nakali, then back to the water. “You are no god, vile trickster. You have no power other than what you can take. I have killed your kind before. I’ll do the same for you.”

  Your mouth will be your downfall, human. The voice has grown louder, and Kina can feel the presence sliding through the water not far offshore. You are in my domain, now, and I decide who lives and dies here. But what is it you hold in your hand? There is something here… something strange.

  Kina holds the pahi in front of her, as if ready to strike. Waves break strong across her knees. “I hold one of the Kota`ianapahu,” she says, thinking of the word To`o had used. “It has slain a devil before, and will do so again this day.”

  I think not, the voice says. You have been deceived.

  “We know all about your guile, Mokolo,” Nakali says. “You cannot trick us.”

  Do you, now? And how do you know so much about me?

  “To`o told us about you,” Hekalo says. “He told us how you have been a curse on this island for a long time, attempting to blemish To`o’s kingdom with your evilness. The time has come for that to end. Do you dare face us?”

  Is that what To`o told you?

  “It is,” Kina says. “But are you a coward? Why do you cringe and stay away? Are you afraid of the pahi?”

  You don’t know what you hold in your hands. That artifact is dangerous. It will kill you.

  “On the contrary,” Kina replies. “It has served me well.”

  I had thought all the Kota`ianapahu had been long since destroyed. They should have been. Such darkness in them! But lower your weapon. There will be no battle here today. To`o has lied to you. He has once more twisted the minds of humans against me, as he has long done. He is a master of deception, a devil that hides his true identity. For, you see, I am the god Mokolo. And Makoahiva is my domain!

  A Voice From the Sea

  “You lie!” Nakali shouts. “To`o told us all about you and your trickery. Now come face us!”

  “Wait,” Hekalo says, gesturing for her to be quiet. “How do we know Mokolo isn’t telling the truth? Why are we so quick to trust one voice and not the other?”

  Nakali says, “It’s manipulating you. Stay strong. Do you have a spell that can draw it from the water?”

  Kina says, “Mokolo, how can a devil push a god from its own domai
n?”

  It cannot.

  “You see?” Nakali says. “Gods are far too strong. They are the children of Father Sky and Mother Ocean, and possess part of the progenitors’ divinity. You can’t kill them, and you can’t trick them. No human can. The gods created humanity. We are their children. And devils are born of nothing but evil and debauchery. How can such frail and imperfect beings kill a god? Or do anything to a god at all?”

  You are wrong, human woman, the voice says. Without humans, we are nothing.

  “I know that isn’t true,” Nakali says. “Gods live on islands where humans never tread. There are gods who live, yet are unknown to any man.”

  And how strong are those gods?

  Kina considers this. She has never thought much of it, but now she sees a pattern. When she has heard of gods dwelling in places where there are no people, they tend to be weak, not much more than frail ghosts. And there are some places that have lost their gods, like Lohoke`a, a place where people haven’t lived in centuries.

  “Why would gods need humans?” Kina asks.

  Perhaps you know less than you think.

  Nakali spits. “This is nonsense. More tricks! The goddess Puahiki lives alone on Howe`a, an island that has always been an active, erupting volcano, where no humans have ever lived. And yet she is strong. She is one of the strongest gods in all of Mokukai. Enough with your lies! Come face us, Mokolo!”

  Perhaps Puahiki is not a goddess at all, Mokolo says.

  What does he mean by this? Kina glances at Nakali; the high priestess seems deeply offended by this remark.

  “Now you expose yourself for what you really are, devil. And you underestimate our wisdom.”

  “Wait,” Hekalo says. “What are you talking about, Mokolo?”

  It is forbidden to speak of it, Mokolo replies. But I feel the time for secrets might be drawing to an end.

  “What do you mean?” Kina asks. “Forbidden by whom?”

  By Mother Ocean herself. But I have already spoken too much on this. It will not be I who betrays our Mother.