Curse of the Condor (14 page)

Chapter 18

Conrado had tossed and turned most the night, and awakened and left the hut before dawn. The natives were already up and around, cooking at the fires and starting their morning chores. The sun's first rays were just poking out from beyond the canopy of the rain forest, streaking down like light from heaven. He’d spent the night making love with an angel, and awaking with her in his arms. It was all too perfect, too beautiful. And he didn’t deserve any of it.

He leaned his back against the hut where Jetta still lay sleeping inside. He'd found his own pack with supplies inside the hut when he awoke, laying right next to Jetta’s purse.

He lit his last cigarette and placed it between his lips. Chatter swung down out of a tree and landed on his shoulder. The monkey's ringed eyes stared into his in a haunting manner.

Conrado exhaled smoke. The monkey, as if offended, scurried down his arm and disappeared into the hut. Conrado watched the native women bustling about, the first time in years he’d ever really noticed their bare breasts. It had all seemed so natural before. Now when he thought of Jetta and the way she exposed herself before the entire tribe, he felt as if the natives should cover up as well.

"Conrado?" Just the sound of Jetta's sleepy voice calling to him from the hut had his loins aching for her. He longed to take her in his arms and kiss her, fondle her, make sweet love to her like he'd done last night. But he wouldn't. He'd made a mistake and it wouldn’t happen again. Today was the day he'd tell her the truth about her brother. Today she would know just who Conrado Nievez really was.

"Conrado, are you out there?"

She came to the door of the hut, shorts unbuttoned, holding her tank top in front of her naked breasts. He could see the partial outline of the rose he’d so boldly painted on her, claiming her as his own. If only he
could
claim her. But she was meant for someone other than himself.

"Get dressed before you come out here, Jetta." He looked away purposely, not wanting to entertain the ideas occupying his head of taking her back into the hut and continuing what they'd started last night.

"But - "

"I said, get dressed."

He took a deep drag from the cigarette and looked up toward the sky, only wishing he hadn’t. Circling high above the trees of the clearing of the Yagua camp was the condor. Floating in lazy circles, the bird seemed to be looking for a place to land.

"Damn. Why today?" He threw down his cigarette and smashed it into the soft dirt with the tough skin of his bare foot, immune to the feeling.

"What's the matter?" Jetta came out of the hut, pulling her top in place. Conrado could see a quick flash of skin and wondered if she’d done it on purpose. She busied herself with zipping her pants carefully, and Conrado found himself remembering the way her soft skin felt against his toughened hands last night.

"Find that child that you traded your panties to and get them back before we leave."

"But I traded fairly," she said. "I can't do that."

"Either you do it, or I will." He pushed past her into the hut. "But if I go out searching for panties, it isn't going to be a pretty sight."

He dug through the supplies the Yagua had offered from the hut, picking out things he thought Jetta might need later. A flashlight, a hair brush, a bottle of whisky, and a few packs of cigarettes, and a lighter.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting supplies you may need later."

"I don't drink! Or smoke."

"No, but you may start after today. And if
you
won't need them - I will." He found a blanket and started to load the things inside.

"What's the matter with you today?" she asked. "You seem so jumpy or upset."

"I'm fine." He continued what he was doing, not bothering to look at her, not wanting her to see the anguish in his eyes.

"Maybe you just need a little back rub."

He felt her soft, warm hands on his bare shoulders, and the erotic lazy circles she made with her fingers upon his skin. He closed his eyes and held his breath. Oh yes, he wanted this so badly. It was all he could do to deny her.

He stood abruptly, pulling away from her. "Go find your panties. I'll get some food from the Yagua and we'll be on our way."

"What's the hurry, Conrado?" She got to her feet and faced him. "It's almost as if you're running from something."

He had been running, but now that would all end. Today he would face his past and come clean with his secrets. Yes, today he would lay to rest the memories of his best friend. He bundled up the pack and threw it over his shoulder.

"I'll meet you out by the fire. Don't take too long. It's going to rain soon."

Jetta watched Conrado leave the hut. Something was wrong, and now she knew what was bothering him. He’d never wanted to make love to her, and was regretting the fact he did. He didn’t have feelings for her. He wasn’t in love with her the way she was with him. She fought back the tears, telling herself it didn’t matter. Today she’d meet up with Ryder and by tonight they’d be on their way back to the States. When she finally stepped on that airplane, she’d forget all about Conrado Nievez. And when she left the jungle, she’d leave her feelings for him behind, forever.

She heard a small noise from the back of the hut and turned to see Chatter sitting atop the pile of traded goods, a hat on his head and sunglasses in his hand.

"Come here, Chatter. You are such a goofy monkey. You can always make me laugh."

Chatter threw down the goods, scurried over the pile and picked up something from the stack on his way over to her. He then scurried up her arm, tickling her in the process. The monkey's long tail hung over her back, swishing back and forth.

"What does he mean it's going to rain?" she asked the monkey. "I don't see a cloud in the sky." She looked up into the canopy of trees to the blue sky that was being lit by the rising Amazon sun.

That's when she noticed the condor flying in circles above the camp.

"That's a condor," she commented to the monkey, "isn't it?"

Chatter showed his teeth and squealed, and Jetta took it as a yes.

She thought of Conrado’s story of his childhood and felt a lump in her throat. He’d said the condor appearing always meant trouble. She already knew it was true because her heart had been broken today, and she was sure it would never mend.

The monkey played with something and Jetta grabbed it before he broke it. She felt her heart lurch when she saw what it was. The wooden cross looked awfully familiar. It was the cross of a missionary. She turned it over and gasped when she saw Ryder’s name burned into the wood. What would this be doing here at the Yagua camp? She knew how much it meant to Ryder. He would never trade it for native goods.

She put it down and hurriedly dug inside her purse, pulling out the photo of her family, glancing down at Ryder. Then she fumbled inside and brought out his letter, pulling it carefully from the envelope to read it once again.

The word that leaped from the page was
danger.
He’d been trying to tell her something, and she hadn’t understood. Something was wrong. She was sure of it. She fished in her jean pocket and took the crystal condor from her pocket. She held it to her heart, praying that her brother was unharmed.

"You ready to go?"

Conrado stepped into the hut and startled her. She tried to hide the necklace, but Conrado was quicker and grabbed for it.

"What have you got here?"

She jumped to her feet, sending the photo and letter sprawling to the ground. He didn’t seem to notice, as his eyes were transfixed on the crystal condor in his hand.

“Where did you get this?” His voice was low, and he didn’t look up when he spoke. His body was rigid and he didn’t move.

“It was a gift.” She tried to take it back, but he wouldn’t let her.

He stooped and picked up the letter and scanned the contents quickly.

“Ryder sent this to you, didn’t he?”

“Would it matter if he did?”

He crunched the letter in his hand, condor grasped tightly in the other, and grabbed her by the shoulders. His grip was strong, his voice even stronger.

“You don’t know what danger you’re in by having this.”

“It’s my necklace, now give it back,” she matched him boldly.

“No!” he said releasing her shoulders so quickly she almost fell. “It is not yours, neither was is Ryder’s to give away in the first place.”

“He hinted he was in danger,” she told him. “Is this true?”

When he didn’t answer, she picked up the wooden cross, handing it to him. He looked at it with Ryder’s name emblazoned on it, and she thought she saw a tear in his eye.

“You’re keeping something from me,” she told him. “You’ve been keeping secrets ever since I met you. Now I demand you take me to Ryder, and I mean right now!”

He placed the cross gently on the table next to the letter, and shoved the condor necklace into the front pocket of his shorts.

“All right,” he said with a slight nod of his head. “Let's go.”

Chapter 19

Conrado picked up his machete, fastened his knife to his waist, and watched as Jetta said her final good byes to the Yagua. They'd bestowed her with not only food for travel, but gifts of necklaces and hand made small dolls.

"Let’s go,” shouted Conrado, glancing at the darkening sky. The gravesite wasn’t far from there, but if they didn’t hurry they’d be traveling in the rain.

Eloy approached Conrado, a smile on his face.

“Your woman screams loudly in the throes of making love.”

“I’m sorry if it disturbed you. It won’t happen again.”

“And why not?” he asked, his brow raised.

Conrado pulled the necklace from his pocket, but when Eloy went to touch it, he pulled it away. “Ryder was in the Cave of the Condor,” he said.

Eloy’s eyes opened wide. “So that’s why he’s dead. Because of the curse.”

“I’d like to think so, but I’m still not convinced. Too many things don’t add up.”

“Like what?” he asked.

“Like how he mailed this to Jetta for one. He died the morning after I stupidly showed him the cave. We were in the middle of the jungle. He had no way to mail that letter and this trinket to Jetta.”

“Then there’s someone else involved.”

“My thoughts exactly. And I’ll find my answer as soon as I find those fake missionaries who’ve been following me.”

“You don’t think Jetta is in any danger, do you?”

“I’m not taking any chances. As soon as I show her the gravesite, I’m bringing her back here while I go out and find my answers.”

“Maybe we’ll dance around the fire again,” Eloy said with a grin.

Conrado looked over to Jetta who smiled and laughed as she finished up her good-byes.

“There won’t be any celebration feast tonight,” he told him, and went to hurry Jetta along.

* * *

They walked in silence most the day, then as Conrado had predicted, it started to rain. It was a gentle, soothing rain, and Jetta thought it was beautiful and that she was so lucky to be a part of it. The vegetation smelled green and fresh. The sun shone through the canopy every so often, and she could feel the hot sun beating upon her head.

Conrado hurried so quickly, that she found it hard to keep up. He still hadn’t given back her condor necklace, and she wondered what it all meant. She had a bad feeling about all this, especially since she’d found Ryder’s cross, and it wasn’t around his neck. The sooner they get there the better, she told herself. Maybe Ryder could clear this all up for her.

"Can we stop?" she called out to him, really needing to rest. "I have a rock in my shoe."

He stopped chopping at the vines with his machete, and came back to her side.

"I guess it'd be a good time to stop for lunch." He threw down his pack and stuck the machete in the stump next to her. "I'd catch some meat for you, but I forgot my blowgun back at the Yagua camp, and we don't have time to set up snares. So I guess we'll just have to eat the roots and berries the Yagua sent with.”

"No you didn’t," she said, and pulled her own pack from her shoulders. She threw the loaded blanket to the ground and untied it. "You can hunt if you want. I found your blowgun lying behind a hut and brought it with. I knew you would want it."

Damn her, thought Conrado. He'd purposely left the blowgun behind. He couldn't bear to have it with him when he told her about her brother. He should have rid himself of the weapon long before now, but the sentiments of the day his Jivaro father had given it to him had made him keep it.

Toco, the chief of the Jivaro tribe, had presented it to him when he claimed him as his son. He’d always had it at his side when he hunted with Toco, or joined in as the warriors prepared their catches. It had held sentiments, making him feel like part of a family. Now, the gun was just a reminder of how he'd lost his best friend.

He never should have let Ryder convince him to show him the Cave of the Condor. But they’d been drinking, and Conrado had opened up to Ryder about his past. He should have known it would only lead to trouble.

He turned away from the blowgun, angry. This was only going to make his confession harder.

"Why the hell couldn’t you just leave it alone?"

"What?" she asked. "I thought you'd be thankful I picked up your precious blowgun."

"Who said it was precious? I don't need it. You should have just left it behind."

"Well," she said, picking up a dart and sticking it into the end of the blowgun, "If you don't want to hunt for our food, than I will. I watched the chief use his blowgun. I know how to do this." She raised it to her mouth.

"No!" cried Conrado, his voice startling her. She let out her breath and the dart went flying into the trees. Chatter scampered out of the way just as the dart landed in the bark of the limb.

"Put that thing down before you kill someone!" he told her. "You just about shot my monkey."

He grabbed the gun from her and stuffed it as well as the darts into his own pack.

"I'm sorry." He noticed her body tremble slightly. "I didn't mean to do that. I never would forgive myself if I killed your monkey. How can you ever forgive me?"

Forgive her? How could she ever forgive him?

He finished packing up his gun and placed food out for both of them. He then walked over and put his arms around her shoulders. She laid her head on his chest, and he could feel the wetness of her tears.

"You don't have to ask for forgiveness," he said. "You didn't hurt anyone, and even if you would have hit Chatter - so what? He's just a monkey. Monkeys get eaten every day in the jungle. He's just lucky to be around this long."

Chatter called out in protest, and dropped a breadfruit on Conrado's head from the tree above.

"Ow." Conrado looked up and shook his fist, surprised he wasn’t knocked out from the huge fruit. "You stop that," he told the monkey, "or I just may take up that blowgun myself and aim at you."

Jetta laughed. "Oh, Conrado, I know you'd never hurt anyone with a blowgun. You are an expert with it. Mistakes like this would never happen to you."

She sat down to eat her lunch, and Conrado suddenly no longer felt hungry. He
was
an expert with the blowgun. Mistakes shouldn't happen to him, she was right. So why in heaven's name had they? How the hell had he killed Ryder Fitzgerald?

* * *

The time came all too soon for Conrado. The gravesite was just up ahead, and he knew the time to confess to Jetta was at hand. He stopped making his way through the forest and stuck his machete into a log.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Jetta innocently. "Are we near to where Ryder is staying with the rest of the missionaries?"

"He's not with the rest of the missionaries," he told her solemnly.

"Then who is he with? The Jivaro?"

"No." Conrado’s answer was clipped and harsh. They weren't far from the Jivaro camp, but even she would know no man would be out in these dense parts of the jungle alone.

"Jetta, before I bring you to your brother, I have something I want to tell you."

"What?" she asked.

He pulled her closer in his arms and kissed the top of her head. He knew this would be the last time he ever held her. The last time she would let him touch her.  He kissed her fully, and ran his hands down the back of her body.

"I'll never forget you, Jetta."

"I'll never forget you, either, Conrado."

"The time I've spent with you lately is something I will never be able to put a price on. It's been the best time of my life, and I only wish it would never end."

"Maybe it won't." She laughed and kissed him again.

"Nothing good lasts forever," he told her. "And sooner or later, something always comes between me and those I love."

"Oh, Conrado,” she said with tears in her eyes. I had no idea. Are you saying . . . are you saying you love me?"

"To admit it would be like sending you to your doom," he replied. "I will never say I love you, for fear the condor will take you from me as it has everyone else I've ever gotten close to."

"You're exaggerating," she told him. "I know it was hard losing your parents. I understand, really. But you have to realize you don't lose everyone you love."

"How can you say that?" he asked. "Especially when it's a lie."

"Stop it!" she commanded. "You are close to a lot of people who haven't died."

"Like who?" he challenged her.

"Well - Ryder for one.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and released a breath. He knew the time had come to prove her wrong. Oh, if only things could be different.

He grabbed her arm then and pulled her through the thicket. He had to do this quickly before he lost his nerve. The brush swept past her, pulling at her clothes and hair, but he couldn’t stop. Not now. Not any more.

"Stop this. What are you trying to prove?" she yelled.

"That you're wrong, Jetta. Dead wrong. And this should prove my point." He stopped quickly and she banged into him.

Jetta looked up at a little hill with a huge wooden hand-made cross entwined with vines stuck into the ground. The condor sat atop the cross, glaring its beady eyes straight at them. It then opened its beak and hissed, spreading its wings out straight into what must have been at least a twelve foot wingspan.

It sent shivers up her spine, and she huddled closer to Conrado. It looked just like her crystal condor necklace. It also reminded her of her bad dream.

Then she realized just what he was showing her, and her hand slipped from his arm. It was a gravesite. A gravesite with a homemade cross for its headstone. An eerie sight with the bird of the dead perched atop.

She had that feeling in her stomach again, and her legs trembled. She reached for her necklace to comfort her, but it wasn’t there. She felt her skin crawl, and a chill sweep up her spine. Something was wrong. Really wrong. And somehow she knew what it was even before she asked.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, unable to keep her eyes off the condor. “I thought we were going to see Ryder.” She spun around and her eyes met his. That fear and despair she’d seen in his eyes the day she’d first met him was back. His eyes glassed over, and a muscle twitched in his jaw as his body stood rigid before her.

“Where is Ryder?” she asked cautiously, panic setting in the longer it took him to answer. His eyes settled upon the gravesite, and he swallowed deeply.

“No,” she said, clutching her hand over her mouth and turning back toward the condor, feeling the shadow of death creeping across the land. “No!” she screamed out, and turned back toward him, grasping his arms in hers. He didn’t move.

“Tell me that’s not Ryder buried under the ground. Tell me he’s not dead!”

“Jetta,” he said, reaching out for her, but she moved away. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“No!” She shook her head furiously not wanting to believe it, and then fell to the ground, pushing her tearstained face into the dirt. “This isn’t true. It can’t be.”

“It is, Jetta. Ryder is dead.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? You knew and you didn’t tell me? How could you have done this to me?” She couldn’t believe her brother was gone. Or that Conrado had kept it a secret.

“I wanted to, Jetta.” He hunkered down next to her. “I wanted to tell you the first day I met you, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”

“Why not?” she screamed. “I don’t understand this at all.”

Conrado held her tightly, wishing he didn’t have to take this further. But the condor was still sitting atop the grave marker watching eerily, and he knew it wouldn’t leave until he’d finished his confession.

“I didn’t tell you,” he said softly into her hair as he pulled her against him. “I didn’t tell you because I was scared.”

“Scared?” she asked, looking up to him with her clear blue eyes. “Why were you scared to tell me he’d died?”

“Because,” he answered, taking one last memorable deep breath of her essence before he lost her forever. “Because, Jetta. I’m the one who killed him.”