The Birthmark (22 page)

‘I need help,' she said.

twenty-six

Anbwido
July 1943

Each night Tepu ventured out to call the ancestor bird. Now he knew Egirow's secret place he could execute his plan. He would surprise Egirow one morning. But Tepu was weak from hunger and Egirow was armed. How could he overpower the marine? It would involve the black stone, the only magic he had. He trusted that the bird would show him how to use the stone to defeat Egirow.

Once he'd communed with his ancestor he walked south, skirting patrols, to spend the nights in Anbwido.

Sometimes he met Edouwe near the leper colony. If the bombers came they huddled in the pinnacles. He covered her as each blast shook the ground but they dared not leave their hiding place for fear of being caught. She never stayed with him long, however, because her grandparents would be alarmed by her absence. Once the raid was over she ran off, hidden by the night to slip back to the leper colony.

Tepu then walked through the forest and slept beside the Witch Track. He knew he had to watch Egirow's movements to know precisely when the Lieutenant would come to his secret place. Usually it was early morning, pre-dawn. The sound of his quick footsteps roused Tepu from his dreams.

The Lieutenant spent half an hour or more in his secret place. Tepu listened each time. Egirow would mutter a litany and then there was silence. Was it some kind of spiritual ritual? Tepu could only guess, but it struck him that Egirow was calling on his own Japanese ancestor gods.

They have no power here, Tepu thought. My magic will defeat them.

During the day Tepu laboured with a strength that astonished the other men. He had only two thoughts: what it felt like to be with Edouwe and what it
would
feel like to kill Egirow. Both thoughts burned into his mind and drove him to go on regardless of the heat, the pain and the gnawing hunger.

Anbwido
Friday 2 July 2004

Lily was trapped like a little fish in a rock pool. There was nowhere to go and nothing to stop them coming in after her. She'd pushed the bolt across but knew it wouldn't hold. She felt the door bow when they pushed on it. Even the barricade she'd set up wouldn't keep Lorelei back. She leant against the clothes chest, straining to keep it against the door.

In the dim light she saw the sword glint. She lunged across the room for it. Then came the rip of wood splitting and Lily knew the lock had broken. The clothes chest scraped across the floor. Lily dived back to strengthen the barricade and crushed something underfoot. The sword fell to the floor beside her. She fumbled about for it but felt instead her little wooden box, squashed and splintered—her box of hands. Why her box of treasures? Everything was ruined, they wrecked everything! Rage seethed inside her. Everything she loved had been smashed or spoilt by her family.

A shadow curled around the door, attempting to push the barricade away. Furious, Lily grabbed the sword off the floor and struck at it. There was a thud like a Chinaman cleaving meat and she knew she'd hit her clothes chest.

‘Fucken!' Eldon roared from behind the door.

‘Get away!' she screamed. She wrenched the sword free from the wood and raised it ready to strike again, expecting a second attempt, but the door was still and a kind of wailing had begun. ‘My hand, my hand! Look at my hand!' she heard Eldon cry.

She climbed onto the clothes chest and peeked into the lounge room. Lorelei was fumbling with Eldon's T-shirt, pushing him backwards while he howled like an injured dog, stumbling away from her.

Lily slipped out of the house and fled down the path to the beach, still clutching the sword. I've hurt him, I've hurt the bastard. He deserves it though, the way he hurt me. She hoped she'd cut him badly too, hoped she'd chopped his hand off. Those hands that had mauled her wouldn't touch her now. He wouldn't dare. She was strong and fierce and no one would hurt her again. No one would push her around anymore. Not Eldon, not Lorelei, not anyone.

She clenched her fists but her left hand felt strangely numb and heavy, her fingers stiff. The sensation flowed up her arm, making her shudder. It's just a reaction to what happened, she reasoned, just a build up of tension.

How would Eldon and Lorelei react to her now? They probably wouldn't let her back in the house. That would be fine. She never wanted to live there again.

But where would she stay? Decima was still in Australia. There was nowhere to go. She couldn't stay at Hector's. That would be against custom and anyway, Hector had infuriated her today: followed her, spied on her, mucked up her plans.

She remembered Christina's words. ‘You're welcome here, anytime…when you need to escape…' Anytime—did that mean midnight when you're running away from trouble? Not likely.

She ran along the beach in the moonlight and headed for the only sanctuary she knew: the pillbox. Those fat arseholes couldn't fit in, so she knew she would be safe. And she had the sword with her; no one was going to scare her anymore. The pillbox would do for now. In the daylight she'd make her way up to Christina's house. away into the night somewhere. He hadn't stuck around. He wasn't here for her now. He wasn't any different from all the others. He had wanted her to follow him to Leper Beach. What would have happened if Hector hadn't interrupted? Would he have forced her just like Eldon? Maybe he really was like Eldon and she just couldn't see it. No, he wasn't like the others. But then he
was
drunk, drunk and stupid, wanting her to go down to the beach. To do what? Just kiss, or something more? Stupid shit, why did he have to get drunk?

And Jonah; where was he now? Drunk and running

She saw someone climb onto the pillbox in front of her; for an instant she thought it was Jonah and her doubts about him faded. He had come back for her. Then she recognised the shape; it was Hector.

Something inside her was relieved to see him. The knot of resentment vanished. Hector wouldn't desert her. She knew he would help. She called out to him.

‘Are you sure this is the best thing to do?' Lily whispered to Hector.

Together they peered over the terrace wall. The security light wasn't on. The house was completely blacked out. Lily could barely make out the wash house on the far side of the terrace.

‘No Tevuans will look for it here, and if Christina or her dad find it, they can take it back to Australia with them. No more ghosts, no more problems. Anyway, you're the one who doesn't want to let go of it. At least it's safe here.' He sprang onto the wall and helped Lily over.

‘Let go, I can manage myself,' she growled, pushing him away.

‘Quick then!' he urged as he crept over to the wash house.

Lily ran along the terrace as lightly as she could, but her thongs click clacked on the pavings. She followed Hector through the door and pushed it shut. It was so dark inside that she fumbled about like a blind person, prodding Hector in the back.

‘
Suh!
Watch it.'

‘I can't see!'

He grabbed her free hand and guided it towards the bench. ‘Here, put the sword under here so it sits on the pipes. They won't see it.'

‘I don't want to leave it.'

‘You have to! Don't you understand, it's a weapon. If he's hurt bad then the police will want it. You can't keep it.'

He didn't add that she might have killed Eldon with it. He'd said that earlier, when he tried to convince her to throw it into the sea. She'd washed the blood off but she couldn't part with it. She couldn't even bear to let go of it. Hector then said they should take it to Riki, but she knew Lorelei would look for her there. Christina's wash house was the compromise. She'd leave the sword here and they'd go and wake up Riki and ask his advice.

That was the plan but Lily sensed that it wouldn't work. The desire to keep the sword with her was overwhelming. Her stained hand clenched the hilt so tightly that all sensation had drained from her fist. Her arm was numb with cold, a ghostly cold that chilled her veins.

She bent down to put the sword under the bench but a sudden noise and burst of light startled her. She turned to see the glare of a flashlight.

‘What the hell's going on?' said Christina.

twenty-seven

Anbwido
5 July 1943

Tepu heard the marines approaching. He sank low, his face inches from the forest floor. He expected to see a band of men marching, but what he saw shocked him. They had a girl with them. It was Edouwe.

They pulled her along by her hair like a horse. Her hands were bound and one of the marines had a bayonet at her back. Her face was spattered with mud and one of her knees was grazed; a trickle of blood outlined her shin. What had they done to her?

Tepu saw the leer in the marines' eyes. He knew what they intended. Tepu's chest tightened with horror. His girl would be spoilt before his eyes. He had to stop their attack, but they would beat or kill him if he tried. He forced himself not to move, though every muscle in his body was ready.

Government Settlement
Anbwido
Saturday 3 July 2004

Christina couldn't sleep. The power had gone off for the third time during her stay and the overhead fan that normally clunked away was silent. The heat was so oppressive that she imagined being in a toaster. An overpowering smell of mould grew in the still air. Sweat pooled beneath her, the bed sheets clung to her skin. She turned from side to side in an effort to get comfortable but it was no use. Hot and irritable, she lurched out of bed to get a drink of water.

She crept past her father's room, feeling her way down the hall to the kitchen. He wouldn't wake up no matter how hot it was. He was used to the tropical climate, and he'd drunk a few too many beers after dinner. They'd sat up and talked but the conversation turned to her mother and his tone grew bitter. Christina had gone to bed and left him to his drinking.

Now it was after midnight and the moon cast a pale light on the terrace outside the kitchen window. Christina saw two figures scampering over to the laundry. She blinked hard. Was she dreaming? She couldn't be certain but the second silhouette, a female, was thickset and ran just like Lily. But if it was Lily, what was she doing here, at this time of night? Unless there'd been trouble. Christina grabbed the torch off the top of the fridge and sneaked outside.

She tiptoed across the terrace. She heard whispering inside the wash house. What if it were two people she didn't know at all? She took a deep breath, pushed the door open and switched on the torch. Hector and Lily were crouched on the ground. It looked as if they were tampering with the plumbing.

‘What the hell's going on?'

‘
Ngaitirre!
Put that torch away,' Hector hissed.

‘No, I won't! What are you doing?'

Lily and Hector exchanged worried glances before Hector finally said: ‘We're hiding something.'

Christina saw the pain on Lily's face and wondered if her friend was about to burst into tears. She clutched the same sword she had on the day they first met. There were small dark spots on her T-shirt. It looked like blood. ‘You can tell me…I can help,' Christina said.

Lily hurriedly related the night's events. Hector interjected about his stolen bike and how Lily's brother had sworn to ring the police. Now they both assumed that Rongo had mistaken the fleeing boy for Hector.

‘I think you need to tell the police the truth and give them the sword,' Christina said.

They both looked at her as if she'd turned into an octopus. ‘I can't go to the police, they've been after me for months,' Hector said.

‘And I can't let go of the sword,' Lily said flatly. ‘It's stuck to my hand.'

Christina didn't believe her. ‘It's probably just shock,' she said. ‘Let me look.' She clasped Lily's arm and was surprised at how icy it felt. The cold seemed to spread to her own fingertips. ‘Eerr!' she said, pulling back in fright.