'I've been thinking,' Maria said. 'We may not have to stay out here for very long. Dhamballa, what is the best- known landmark in this area? A village, a mountain, a river. Anything.'
'We are about two miles from Wraith's Point,' he told her.
'It's a dried geyser that whistles when the sun and temperature go down.'
Maria asked for the phone, and Aideen gave it to her. While the Spanish woman placed a call, Father Bradbury moved behind the wheel of the Jeep. He made sure he knew where all the controls were located.
Aideen stood behind the vehicle, watching the sky. The smell of the gasoline made Aideen dizzy. She breathed through her mouth to minimize the impact. The lights she had noticed before had doubled in size. The patting sound had grown louder. Aideen looked anxiously at Maria. She could not imagine what the woman was planning. Whatever it was, she hoped it happened very soon.
Suddenly, Maria shut the phone and strode over. She took the can of gasoline from Dhamballa and poured fuel onto her palm.
'We'd better get going,' Maria said as she rubbed the gas on. 'Those are definitely helicopters.'
'Who did you call?' Aideen asked.
'The cavalry,' she replied. 'Let's go.'
In Spain, Aideen had learned that it did not pay to try to pull information from Maria. Aideen would go along with this because they had no choice. Battat seemed too tired to argue. Nor was there time. They had to get away from the Jeep.
Aideen turned to Dhamballa. 'Which way do we go?' she asked.
'To the southwest,' the Vodun leader said. 'I will leave you with this,' he added and handed her the flashlight.
'Leave us?' Aideen said. 'Aren't you coming?'
'No,' he replied. 'I go a different way.'
'Where?' Maria asked.
'To a new beginning,' he replied.
'You need not do this,' Maria said. 'I will tell them you did not kill the bishop.'
'The bones have told me that someone betrayed us,' Dhamballa said. 'I must find out who that is. And you must go!'
'We will,' Maria said. 'Be careful.'
Dhamballa thanked her. Then he walked overdo Father
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Bradbury. Aideen listened to the exchange as she, Maria, and Battat walked off.
'I am sorry for all that has happened,' Dhamballa said.
'The truly repentant are forgiven,' Father Bradbury replied.
'I do not require forgiveness from you or anyone,' Dhamballa answered confidently. 'But I will do things differently the next time.'
'I hope you will,' the priest replied. 'There is room for your faith and mine to coexist.'
'Not here,' Dhamballa replied. 'Not in Africa.'
That was the last thing Dhamballa said before walking off in the blackness.
Aideen heard the Jeep as Father Bradbury started the engine. She turned back as the headlights came on and the priest sped into the night. Soon, the Jeep engine was a faint buzz, its lights lost in the distance.
The choppers sounded louder. They were nearly as loud as the locusts. Battat was looking toward the east as they walked.
'We may have dodged a bullet,' Battat said. 'The helicopters seem to be veering off.'
Aideen looked over. Battat was right. She took a long, slow breath. Aideen had not realized how tense she was. Not until she felt the relief of seeing the helicopters following the Jeep.
It was strange. The three of them had accomplished far more than they set out to do. Yet Aideen could not help but feel a sense of defeat.
It was not just the blood that had been spilled. She could not shake the idea that something pure and fragile had been corrupted during these past few days. A vision. An idea. An ideal. Perhaps it was too old or too young to bear the weight that had been placed upon it. Maybe it had been polluted by politics and finance and having an army.
She did not know. All she knew was that this was not a victory.
For anyone.
SKTY-THREE
Makgadikgadi Pan, Botswana Saturday, 3:19 A.M.
Light.
Throughout this long and troubling night, the danger had all been about light. The searchlights of the
