Islands of Fire Read online

  Nakali harrumphs. “Convenient.”

  However, I do know of one who has no such compunctions. He lives… far away. If you aid me in retaking my domain, I’ll guide you to him. I’m sure he will be happy to provide the answers you seek. But first, heed me.

  “We’re listening. Speak,” Hekalo says.

  When To`o arrived, there were five villages on this island, and the people were happy. I walked among them, their god, the creator and steward of this island, and I took care of them. But To`o came among them as an unseen cloud, and began to turn them against me with his silver tongue. Before long, they began to fight amongst themselves in disagreement about whether I was truly great, or a fraud impersonating a god. I tried to show them my true power by summoning forth a hurricane, and a flood, and a lightning storm, yet To`o encouraged his followers to attribute these things to devils and curses. Before long, the people of my land were fighting and killing one another. The last among them who properly venerated me fell prey to the traitors. My people were brought to a cave deep in my body and there they were sacrificed in a dark ritual that ejected me from the island. In my rage, I brought forth the last of my power and flooded the tunnel and trapped the traitors. It is there that they died. But between their sorcerous ritual and my own actions, this island had been depleted of mana. Without it I could not resist the power and was forced out into the sea. For decades I have dwelt here, taking the forms of creatures who give their bodies to me. To`o hides from me high at the top of my domain, in what was once my own throne. He has no body and must manifest himself in other ways. He believes killing me will finally free him to fully control Makoahiva. You must not let this happen.

  When Mokolo falls silent, Kina realizes Nakali has walked back out of the water and is sitting in the sand. She looks confused, and in the time Kina has known her, has never looked less sure of herself.

  Hekalo is still beside Kina. “What do we do?”

  Only a trick will defeat a trickster, Mokolo says. You were told to bring him my teeth as proof of my death, but even this is a lie. If I were to die, To`o would know. I must leave this island and go deep into the sea so that he can no longer sense me. Then he will think I am dead. I will give you my teeth, so that he won’t suspect you. But there is one more thing you must do. In order for me to return ashore and reclaim my land, you must sanctify the tomb of the traitors. To`o’s lies have trapped their souls in our world and they are unable to pass to the Lands Beyond. Only when their power no longer feeds him will the spell end.

  “You want us to bring peace to the dead?” Kina asks.

  Yes. This must be done. If you return to To`o without my assistance, he will surely kill you and eat your spirits.

  “How do we do this?” Hekalo asks.

  You are a thief, Mokolo replies, and for a moment Kina thinks he is talking about her past as a criminal in the desperate, muddy back streets of Huka`i. Then she sees Hekalo turn white and begin stammering, and she realizes Mokolo is referring to Hekalo’s ability to steal mana directly from the gods.

  Mokolo continues, Since your arrival, you have stolen much mana from me, mana this land can scarcely afford. And yet the reason I do not strike you dead where you stand is that you can be of great service to me. Your knowledge will help me end the blight on this island. You must conduct the spell that will free the souls of the dead.

  “Will that leave you with any mana?” Hekalo asks.

  Most will be gone, Mokolo says, but enough should remain. If not, I will cease to be, and I shall never know of my fate.

  “So be it,” Kina says. “We’ll help you, great Mokolo.”

  Nakali stands up. “You can’t be serious? How do you know you’re not being fooled now?”

  Kina looks at her. “I don’t. But think of the God in the Stone, and how he dwells in that place where no life grows. Wouldn’t a true god of this island live at peace with the plants and birds who live here?”

  Nakali doesn’t answer.

  “Mokolo, please try and forgive my ally. She has much anger in her heart. Her people enslave and sacrifice many people to their dark customs.”

  It is not my place to judge the actions of my brothers and sisters, Mokolo says. Your ally knows only that she is obeying her goddess, and that makes her faithful. It is all one can ask of humanity.

  There is a roiling of the water, and something huge moves toward the beach. At a spot where the water finally becomes shallow enough to stand, Kina sees a huge, silvery-white shark gliding across the sand. It forces its way up into the shallows until it is nearly beached, tail kicking and thrashing in the surf. Its eyes roll back into its head as the mouth goes wide, revealing row upon row of jagged teeth.

  Take them, Mokolo says.

  Though she is terrified, Kina walks deeper into the surf until she is right in front of the shark. She uses the pahi to hack at its jaws, gathering the bloody teeth as they drop into the water.

  When at last the shark is almost toothless, it seems to come to its senses and renews its thrashing, twisting and turning and flailing its tail. Kina rushes back, hands full of the sharp teeth. The shark eyes her for a moment, then slips once more into the deeper water.

  Keep them safe. To`o will want to see them all.

  Kina takes off her tapa skirt, retying the versatile cloth so that it is shorter and covers less of her legs, but has a fold along the waistline. She fills this fold with the shark teeth, and ties the skirt tight once more.

  “We should go,” Hekalo says. “To`o is surely monitoring our progress.”

  “Where is this cave?” Kina asks.

  You will find it near the sea on the far side of the village. Follow the coastline until you find it.

  “But what about the life-eaters?” Nakali asks. “They’ll capture us once again, and I’m sure they won’t let us go so easily the next time.”

  They won’t bother you anymore. This morning their village was attacked and conquered. The survivors have now turned their attention toward regaining their home.

  Kina feels her jaw drop at this news. Nakali gasps. “Conquered?” the high priestess asks. “By whom?”

  By your Burning Warriors, Mokolo replies. Their war canoes arrived during the night.

  For a long time, neither she nor Nakali respond, though Kina feels like her legs might give way beneath her. How can it be? The last time she had seen that fleet, they had been under savage attack by the devil `Imu`imu, and it didn’t look like there would be any survivors. The ferocity of that devil had claimed the lives of her own friends, Motua and Pupo, and it was only luck that let Kina escape as she had.

  Nakali begins to smile. “So that means my kupuna, Meke`u, is still alive. He survived the attack!”

  Yes, Mokolo says. One with that name was among them. They passed over me. With them was a large kaku, one of the `aumakua. It was leading him here.

  “That was Meke`u’s ancestor spirit, yes, the barracuda. He has a close relationship with it.”

  Kina blinks. “That’s how you found us!”

  “You are correct, slave,” Nakali says. “Meke`u asked his `aumakua to help find you. It was there, following you, all the way across the ocean to Lohoke`a. Kaku would return with information on where you were.”

  Kina raises the pahi, her vision red with sudden rage. Nakali sees this and raises her spear, but it is too late. Kina swings the pahi and brings it down on Nakali’s upstretched arm.

  There is a scream, and Nakali staggers back. Blood is everywhere.

  Kina raises the pahi once more and starts after her, but Hekalo grabs her from behind and grabs her arm tightly.

  “What are you doing? You can’t kill her! We need her, remember?”

  “You couldn’t let us go, could you? Your pride wouldn’t permit you to lose two slaves, is that it?” Kina is roaring between her teeth. She pulls at Hekalo, trying to free her weapon arm. “Or was it the pahi? Was it just this damned thing?”

  Nakali h
as dropped the spear and is holding her left arm. Kina sees that it now ends in a clean stump, Nakali’s left hand completely gone. It has rolled several feet away, beach sand clinging to the wet incision.

  “Mokolo?” Kina shouts, hoping to ask him more questions. How many Burning Warriors were there? How many canoes remained? How strong was the force? Where were they now? But she can tell the old god has slipped away. She no longer feels his presence. Just as he had said, it is as though he has died. The island feels empty, shunned, fallen.

  “My hand!” Nakali shrieks. She falls onto her back, kicking up sand. She lets out a long, horrified wail. “My hand!”

  “Your head is next,” Kina says. She is still wrestling with Hekalo “Let go of me!”

  “No,” the sorcerer says. “You can’t kill her! To`o will know!”

  “I don’t care!”

  “To`o will know you killed her,” Hekalo says. “The plan will be ruined. I won’t get my answers. You won’t get them, either! Use your head.”

  Kina stops, panting. She is still in a rage, but Hekalo’s words are getting in and nesting in her conscious. He’s right. She can’t let her bloodthirsty desire for vengeance ruin things now. If To`o remains blind to the plan, Mokolo might be able to vanquish him, and it is obvious the god knows much more than the God in the Stone. He will have better answers. And, most likely, To`o will lie about them anyway.

  “Fine,” she says. “I’ll let her live. You can let go.”

  Hekalo tentatively releases Kina’s hand. True to her word, Kina doesn’t turn to finish Nakali. But she does stand over the whimpering high priestess and spit down at her.

  “If I ever see you again, or your foul kupuna, or any of your Burning Warriors, you’ll die. Do you understand me?”

  Nakali doesn’t answer. She curls up, tucking her severed arm close to her stomach. Blood is all over the sand, all over Nakali’s tapa clothing.

  Hekalo says, “Come on,” and leads Kina away. They walk up the dune and away from Nakali. Kina takes one last look back before they vanish from sight. The high priestess hasn’t moved except to roll partially to her knees.

  If it were anyone else, Kina would be racked with guilt and want to return to give aid. But she sees Motua, injured and defeated and dropped to the deck. She sees Pupo, a man who was innocent of any connection to the Cult of the Ebon Flame until Kina arrived, also captured and marked for death. She sees the drums, the pits, the prisoners, the bloody altar. She hears the screams of the dying, the cries of the hungry, and the pounding of the enchanted drums. All of this keeps her from feeling anything but righteous satisfaction. She hopes Nakali bleeds out the last of her life on the beach, or passes out and is consumed by creatures of the sea when the tide washes over her. Death would be too good for her. High Priestess Nakali has earned far worse. Mokukai will be better without her.

  And yet, Kina feels a twinge of uncertainty. She is sure someone with the luck of a devil itself won’t simply die on an abandoned beach. Kina knows she will be seeing Nakali again.

  Cavern of the Dead

  Long before they arrive at the village, Kina and Hekalo can see the smoke. It rises in a thin plume over the tops of the palm trees, moving inland in the afternoon onshore breeze.

  “Do we dare get any closer?” Kina asks.

  Hekalo shakes his head. “I don’t think we should. But I don’t know how to get around. Mokolo said the cave where the traitors were entombed is on the other side.” He gestures up to the tall mountain. “This island is far too big to just walk around. It would take us days, certainly at least a week.”

  Kina considers this. “You’re right, of course. But I think we need to get a better look. Maybe the village is empty by now.”

  They stay close to the line of trees, where tiny gnats congregate in the shade. It is a long walk.

  As they work their way across a patch of rocky ground near a small finger of land that juts into the water, Hekalo taps Kina’s shoulder and ducks down. “Get low!” he hisses. Kina follows his lead, looking in the direction of his gaze. A war canoe is rounding the tip of the tiny peninsula. In it are seven Burning Warriors, gourd helmets over their heads. They remain low, spears in hand, while their navigator paddles them silently along the waterline.

  “Looking for enemies?” Hekalo whispers.

  “It appears so. Stay hidden.”

  The canoe slips by, eventually vanishing where the beach rounds a bend. Kina nods to the depths of the trees.

  “Maybe we should go deeper in there, just to be safe.”

  An hour later, as the sun is banking toward the horizon, they begin to smell the smoke, and then they can finally see vestiges of the settlement through the trees. Most of it has burned, though many of the huts, including Kuanatuku’s own house, remain.

  “See anything?”

  “Yes,” Hekalo says. “Look. There’s someone hiding there.”

  Sure enough, Kina can spot a lookout behind some brush. The warrior is gazing the other way, but gradually his eyes sweep around through the trees and past where Kina and Hekalo are hidden.

  “If he’s there,” Kina says, “there must be something to guard.”

  “Agreed. I’m thinking the invaders have occupied the village. It’s the most defensible place down here near the water.”

  “I wish we could see their canoes.”

  “Why?”

  “I’d like to know how many there are,” Kina says. “From that, maybe I could determine our opposition.”

  “They aren’t our opposition,” Hekalo says. “Remember? They’re at war with those insane cannibals. I say we let them fight each other, and we stay out of it.”

  “I agree completely.”

  “Good. Then we’ll need to cut inland and circle around. It’s the only way.”

  They wait until the guard is once more looking another direction, and they steal away through the dense bushes. Both Hekalo and Kina agree that other guards or patrols might be out here, so they slow down and take their time. Kina is hungry, but now is not the time to try and find food, so she just ignores her stomach and focuses on maintaining stealth.

  Up ahead, they become aware of motion.

  “Down,” Kina says. The two of them duck behind a fallen koa log.

  What at first appears to be several men moving quietly through the trees soon turns into an entire army. They pad through the dense undergrowth, keeping far apart and minimizing their noise. Some of them grow close enough that Kina and Hekalo are forced to wedge themselves nearly under the log to avoid being seen.

  These aren’t Burning Warriors. They are the Life Eaters, and Kina can tell they are creeping toward the village, presumably to launch an offensive.

  One of them hops up onto the log, moving quietly down its length. He passes Kina and Hekalo by a mere arm’s length. Kina stops breathing, terrified that even the slightest sound might give them away. She can see terror in Hekalo’s eyes as he looks up at the passing warrior.

  And then they are once more alone. Without saying a word, they both agree to stay put and make sure things are clear. Minutes later, they hear shouts and battle cries, and then the din of combat downslope.

  “Now’s our time to move,” Kina says.

  The two rise and begin running through the woods, keeping the battle far to their left. They pass the base of the towering stone steps that lead up toward the God in the Stone, and then they are at the river gorge. Here the cliffs aren’t as dramatic, but Kina and Hekalo must still slide down a steep embankment and splash across a fast-moving river to reach the other side.

  The river empties out at the village. Stopping in the middle of the stream, Kina can see the charred remnants of several buildings. A dozen men, nearly too distant to see, are racing back and forth across the sandy flat where the village was built. Kina can’t hear the shouts over the sound of the river, but she can tell they are fighting. It won’t be long before there is a clear victor.

&nbs
p; She isn’t sure which side would be better.

  “Keep going!” Hekalo says. He is at the far side of the river, waving her on. Kina slogs through the water to his side, and they are once more in the forest.

  From here, they need only to get out of earshot of the river, then head toward the beach. As they draw close enough to see the ocean through the trees, they hear a deep, resounding blast from a conch.

  “What’s that?” Hekalo asks, freezing in his tracks.

  “It’s the Burning Warriors,” she says. “They’ve won.”

  Kina decides she isn’t going to worry about that problem until later. For now, she needs to focus on the task at hand: finding the cave and putting Mokolo’s plan into motion. She wonders what will happen if Nakali manages to find her way back to her followers and tells them about the cave, about the God in the Stone, and about Kina’s whereabouts, and she mentally scolds herself for not killing the high priestess right there. Perhaps Hekalo was right, and it would have alerted To`o, but that won’t mean anything if both of them are captured by the Burning Warriors before they are able to get very far.

  Once they get to the shore, they once more cleave to the treeline and follow the water, looking for a cave. Here, the shore starts to get more rocky, the thundering waves foaming over tidepools.

  Then they spot the cave. It is tucked into the elbow of a bay, cutting right into the flank of the seaside hills. Waves plunge partway into it before breaking on a jagged barrier of rocks at the mouth. Kina and Hekalo pick carefully down the rocks until they are nearly level with the cave mouth.

  There is motion out at sea.

  “Quickly, hide!” Kina says, and she and Hekalo drop down behind the boulders into knee-deep water.

  “What is it?” Hekalo asks.

  “Patrol.”

  They peer from the safety of their hiding spot as three canoes bearing victorious warriors cross the mouth of the bay. Apparently, they spot the cave, as the canoes immediately cut inward toward the rocks. Kina and Hekalo stay low, each wave sending a weak surge of warm water over their legs, while the warriors weave back and forth in the shallow bay, examining the cave. At one point, they grow close enough that Kina can make out some of what they say. The warriors are discussing the odds that fleeing survivors might have hidden in the cave, before finally deciding it was too treacherous and that any survivors couldn’t have made it this far without being spotted.