“The tribe has fled back to the encampment. I don’t believe they’re particularly happy with us at the moment,” Luno said.
“Where did you take her?” Kilani asked.
“Back to Harbor Town,” said James.
“What now, Capin’?” asked Roger, looking at James.
“I’ll take us back to the Queen Mary. Who first?” James asked.
Without waiting for a response, James put his arm around Kilani and they were gone. A moment later, they were standing on the deck of the Queen Mary. Their faces were less than an inch apart and in that instant, James wanted nothing more than to feel her soft lips against his. She quickly withdrew and James disappeared, leaving Kilani standing alone. Seconds later he returned with Roger, then William, and finally Luno. The group relaxed when Luno and James arrived. Before he could explain or the group had a chance to object, James disappeared again.
He transported to the spot where he had healed Meloc, beside the tampere’s head. Several tribesmen, who were running about with their weapons, jumped back as he appeared. James sent light orbs overhead, lighting up the entire encampment. A dozen orange flashes immediately brought more tribe warriors to the scene.
“Where is Peroc?” James demanded.
“You disgraced our tribe and damned us all,” said one of the armed tribesmen, pointing his spear at James.
“You disgrace yourselves with your murderous ways. You will not go unpunished for your years of brutality. Now tell me where I may find Peroc before I get angry.”
The ground trembled beneath their feet. Immediately they dropped their spears. Two of them turned and ran toward their tents. The others huddled in a tight group.
“For the last time, were is Peroc?”
“The ring of fire,” one of them shouted.
James immediately transported just outside the ring. Twodozen tribesmen looked on as the moon shone its deadly rays onto the platform. Inside, Peroc stood against the far wall in the rubble of the stone table. The circle of light was inches from reaching him.
On the Queen Mary Luno, Kilani, Roger, and William paced nervously on deck. No one had said much after James disappeared without announcing where he was going. In a flash, James returned, accompanied by a man none of them knew. He was shorter than James-most men were-with broad shoulders and matching golden hair and beard. He looked drawn, thin, and weak. The man collapsed on deck. Kilani and Luno ran to help him up and ask what was going on, but before they could get in a word, James was gone again.
The man muttered something before falling unconscious. Luno and Kilani exchanged looks of confusion. There was another flash and James was back. Beside him stood Peroc. James held an ornately carved tree stump under his arm. He set the stump on the deck and removed his arm from around Peroc’s shoulder. Peroc stayed close while eyeing the others as if expecting them to attack.
Exhausted, James sat on the stump and looked up at the group.
“Speak up plain, Capin’ what in t’ bloody ’ell is going on?” Roger asked.
“I knew they’d turn on Peroc, so I returned for him. He told me about the prisoner-the other screaming voice we could hear-and we rescued him as well. He is the woman’s brother. They are the last survivors of the village Kilani and Roger discovered on our first day here. The others, sixteen in all, were killed in a ceremony just like the one we witnessed tonight.”
“Murdering savages. C’est des conneries!” said William.
“Peroc, tell us about the ceremony. When did it begin?” James asked.
James translated as Peroc told the tale. “He says that as far back as our stories go, there has always been mention of the twentysecond ceremony. Every twenty-two days, the island requests a sacrifice. His tribe was required to provide it. Throughout their history, it’s usually been one of their own who would go on the stone table. They would hold games to decide who among them would go. Legends were born from these games.”
“Within the last generation, others began to arrive on this island. At first they came in small numbers, one every several years. Eventually larger groups began arriving.”
“Rather than capture and hold them, they would simply watch the newcomers until one was needed. Then, one at a time, they would take from the group. This man and his sister are the last of a very large group that arrived roughly ten years ago. The group built their own camp by One Tree Hill and appeared to thrive. Peroc’s people taught them rudimentary magic. They taught the group their words. They showed them where to find water and how to avoid being preyed upon by the tampere. They encouraged them to breed, but no visitors have ever been with child in this place. Essentially they raised them like beasts to slaughter. The newcomers trusted Peroc’s clan. When one went missing, there was always an explanation for their disappearance.”
“Finally they stopped coming. As their numbers dwindled, Peroc’s people realized it would soon come time for one of their own to go back on the table. The games were set to be held on the day we arrived. One of their tribe spotted our ship. The games were cancelled, and Peroc was sent to bring us to their camp. Everything changed when Perocheard me speak their language. He knew then that the legend of the outsider coming to lead his people to a better place was true.”
“What of the children? Why weren’t there any children at the camp?” asked Kilani.
James translated the question. “He said that they do not take the children to that cursed place. The children stay at another camp, one that is equally protected but not infested with the stench of death and murder. When the children are old enough, they make the journey to Peroc’s camp.”
“Your tone implies that you do not agree with the sacrificing. Please explain,” said James.
“He says that as long as he has lived, they have never missed a ceremony. The elders spoke of a time when the tribe decided not to sacrifice someone for the island. They said before that day, their people, the Belator, were the deadliest hunters on the island. The day the sacrifice was not made the elders say the land shook in anger. The ground parted and released terrible creatures from the underworld. The tampere. Peroc has always lived under the shadow of the tampere, so he cannot confirm whether there was once a time they did not exist.”
“When he passed the test and became a warrior, he made the journey to the new camp. He was the first of four to arrive from the children’s camp. The last to arrive-the slowest and weakest-was immediately taken to the stone table. He was Peroc’s brother. Since then, Peroc has always had disdain for the ceremony and all it represents.”
The group sat in silence for some time. Each of them digesting what Peroc had told them. Finally, William spoke up.
“What is under ze stump, Capitan?” he asked.
James had forgotten entirely about the stump upon which he’d been sitting for the duration of Peroc’s story. He stood, removed the dagger from his belt, and pried open the lid.
The group craned their necks to see what was inside. James thrust his hand into the barrel and lifted a handful of orange powder and let it spill through his fingers back into the barrel.
“Transporting powder!” Kilani said, her eyes fixed on the powder. “What is it made of?” she asked, looking at Peroc.
“It comes from the root of the tree on One Tree Hill. It is ground to powder and cured in the ring of fire for ninety days. It can only be harvested once a year, which is why the Belator have such a vast supply,” James translated.
“I think ‘had’ would be more appropriate,” said Luno.
“What are the transporting laws of this place?” Kilani asked.
“One must have physically been there in order to transport there,” James translated. “They’re just like our laws of transporting.”
“What the bleedin‘ ’ell is happenin?” said Roger, looking over the side rail at the island.
The island was shaking in the water. James had heard stories of how earthquakes appeared from the water, but he had never witnessed one first hand. It was an eerie sight. Several large chunks of rock slid from the side of the nearby cliffs into the water, sending waves that rocked the Queen Mary from side to side. Monstrous roars erupted from the jungle, causing the hairs on the back of James’s neck to stand. He wondered now whether the legend Peroc’s ancestors told him about the tampere were true, and if they were, what monstrosity had the island unleashed this time.
