The Sun Is God by Adrian McKinty

Author:Adrian McKinty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 2014-08-07T16:00:00+00:00

13

LEAVING THE GARDEN

T he Night Witches came on ramshackle brooms on which perched crows, magpies, ravens, and other more exotic creatures from the infernal aviary. Their robes were vermillion lianas weaved from their hair. Under their death hoods Will could see the white of a pure skull glinting in the light of the crescent moon. He was running naked on the beach, he had no weapon or hope of escape . . .

“Aaauhhh,” Will gasped and woke, staring into the dull face of one of the blacks who had helped carry their luggage from the beach on that first day.

“Aaauhhh!” he screamed again and the poor fellow jumped back. “Sorry,” Will said. “Bad dream. Duk Duk men. Night Witches . . . you know. Nonsense.”

The servant attempted to tell him something but his mouth was crammed full of betel and he was speaking in pidgin German. Will only got one word in three—apparently Harry wanted to see him.

“Run along now,” Will said and dismissed the man with a wave of his hand. “I need something to drink. Is there any coffee?” he asked, but Klaus was not in the hut.

He lay for a while examining his fresh bites until Harry von Cadolzburg and Christian Weber came into the hut. Both, naturally, were quite naked, although Harry was wearing blue tinted glasses which gave him either a comic or demonic air . . . Will couldn’t decide which.

“Good morning, Will,” Harry said.

“Good morning,” Will replied. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“What do you have planned to do today?” Harry asked.

“I haven’t planned anything,” Will said.

“We thought perhaps we could take you on a little tour of the island and the plantations this morning. Would that suit you?” Christian said brightly.

“Is the weather clement?”

“The rain has finally stopped,” Harry said in English, enunciating each of his words as if they were individually wrapped birthday presents.

Will looked dubiously through the window. The sky was grey and a small cassowary wandering across the piazza looked wet and depressed. “Well, it’s kind of you gents to offer, but I don’t know—I have not even breakfasted yet.”

“We will have some refreshment first, of course,” Christian added.

Will yawned and swung out of the hammock. To his horror the floor was alive with tiny scarlet crabs that had been washed down from the plantations in last night’s downpour. It must have been a common occurrence, for Harry and Christian apparently hadn’t even noticed them. “You couldn’t possibly pass me my shoes, could you, old chap?” Will asked, keeping his feet an inch above the floor and examining his fresh harvest of mosquito bites.

They gave him his plimsolls, and tip toeing through the crabs he grabbed his kit bag and looked through it to see if Siwa had packed his quinine pills. She had not.

“Where’s Klaus?” Will asked.

“He went off somewhere, I think,” Harry said.

“What time is it?” Will asked after another momentous yawn.

Christian and Harry looked at one another. They had no watches and no longer had much notion of the clock.

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