First Fall: The Canoe Thief by Bishop Zaide

Author:Bishop, Zaide [Bishop, Zaide]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2017-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

The Elikai village was on the shore of a sandy beach, looking east into the long channels and clusters of islands that made up the archipelago. There were about a dozen structures, all made from stones and wood, with hide or bamboo for roofing and hides strung across the doorways. Most were for sleeping, but there was also a smokehouse, weapon shed and food hut, which were shared communally.

Lean, black dogs slunk around the camp, sleeping under bushes and scavenging for meat scraps around the communal fire pit. Much of the land around the Elikai camp was cleared of trees, allowing them to spread out and construct more, or mend nets and hang up meats or hides to dry. Despite this, most of their hens had been taken by snakes, and there was little livestock around but for the dogs. Occasionally they would kill wild sows and catch their piglets, keeping them penned for a month or two until they were large enough to make a decent meal, but with the dry season ending, the pens were empty. Their piglets were all butchered and smoked already, hanging in the food hut, waiting for the wet.

“Here.” Romeo sat down beside Sugar, offering him a banana leaf stacked with roasted yams, baked fish and caramelized fruits, still steaming from the coals.

“Oh. Thank you,” Sugar said, distracted. He picked at the food absently while Romeo made himself comfortable on the sand beside him. Sugar’s mind kept drifting back to the exchange with the Varekai on the sandbank.

Charlie’s grin, the way he dared Sugar to measure more of his body. It was like the Varekai had some kind of magic that overwhelmed Sugar and left him intoxicated and unable to resist. Charlie flustered him, left him tongue-tied and unable to think of a good reason not to give him exactly what he wanted. The Varekai was making him look like a fool. Though perhaps less of a fool than Love, who he was going to have to ban from leaving the camp at this rate.

If Charlie hadn’t been at the exchange, if it had just been Tango, or even the frightening little witchdoctor India, Sugar was sure he would negotiate much more successfully. He would be firm; he would haggle them down and perhaps intimidate them a little.

If he tried that with Charlie, the Varekai would just grin or grab his breasts or sidle up too close, and Sugar would be lost again.

Romeo nudged him. “Are you listening?”

He wasn’t. At all.

“Sorry, Romeo.”

“Come to my hut.”

“Your hut?” Such blatant propositions were normal in the Elikai village, but Sugar was still momentarily confused, because it was so unusual for Romeo to be asking. Sugar had never slept with Romeo before. In fact, few Elikai had ever had sexual contact with him. Romeo was notorious for rejecting any advances. Sugar had always assumed it was because he didn’t want to be mocked.

In Eden, Romeo had been a Varekai. It was only when the world was born that he joined the Elikai, and he had Varekai parts still.

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