Fires of Change (The Fire Blossom Saga) by Sarah Lark

Author:Sarah Lark [Lark, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2020-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 40

“Voelkner is a spy!” Kereopa proclaimed. “It’s obvious. Look how his mission is flourishing. What it must have cost to build the church and this school . . .”

Kereopa, Patara, and Eru had arrived that afternoon at the marae of the Te Whakatohea and had been welcomed kindly. Now, over a rather meager meal, the villagers were pouring out their hearts to them. The primary subject was Carl Voelkner. What was he doing in Auckland? Had he turned against the Maori? And how much responsibility did he have for all the deaths? And now, thanks to Kereopa, what if he was reporting to the governor?

“We built the church and the school ourselves,” an old man said. “Not much money was needed. And even if Voelkner had been a spy from the very beginning, what sense would it have made for him to spend his earnings for the good of those he was spying on? What would he have gotten out of it?”

“Your souls,” Patara said darkly. “Look at yourselves. You’re all wearing pakeha clothing. You’re learning their language. You’re reading their books. You’re attending their church. Voelkner made sure that you’d always have to be grateful to the English.”

“We aren’t grateful to the English,” a woman said indignantly. “They burned our fields! We hardly have anything to eat. If Voelkner hadn’t—”

“There you have it!” Kereopa declared. “You’re beholden to Voelkner again. He made you poor and helpless. He only gives you enough to survive. He’s pakeha, people! He’s one of them, doing their dirty work! He has the same goals, except he’s trickier about it. So far not a single shot has been fired in this region, but half of your people are dead, while not a single pakeha has died. Doesn’t that make you suspicious?”

The people looked at one another.

“You think he brought us typhoid and measles?” one of the tribal elders asked, toying with the cross that hung around his neck. “A curse?”

“That’s entirely possible,” Patara said. “Just like our belief can make us invulnerable, a wicked thought can be poison.” The idea seemed to inspire him. “And now we’re here to break the curse!”

“Rire rire!” Kereopa said encouragingly.

“Hau hau!” Eru added.

“Listen to the prophet’s words. Accept that you took the wrong path when you followed Voelkner on the road through the darkness!” Kereopa stood up, and the people thronged around him by the fire. He spoke of the whites’ evil deeds in Taranaki and Waikato, and also about the power of the Hauhau and their prophet. “General Cameron has destroyed every marae with his murderers and thieves—but none of his men even dare to come close to Weraroa! Just the presence of the prophet makes his fortress invisible and invincible. The power of the belief of thousands of men has created a ring of fire around the pa.”

Eru smiled at the contradiction between invisibility and a glowing ring of fire. He’d long since stopped taking Kereopa’s speeches literally. He had great respect for his leader, but the man was certainly not a prophet himself, even though he called himself one.

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