"They can have it," Aideen said. She looked behind her. She thought she saw three stars moving slightly. They might be satellites. Or small planes.
Or they could be helicopters.
"You'll have to find some other way out of the salt pan," Rodgers said. "We'll see what we can do from this end."
"We'll figure something out," Aideen said. "I'll let you know what we're doing."
"Good luck," Rodgers said.
Aideen hung up. She tapped Battat on the shoulder and told him to stop at once. He did. He also killed the engine and the lights. The world grew dark. The sound of the nocturnal insects was strangely threatening. Aideen looked behind her. The movement of the lights were the same as the single helicopter had been earlier. She listened.
"What's wrong?" Battat asked.
"Do you hear that?" Aideen asked.
"Cicadas," Battat said.
"No, from the sky," Aideen said.
The woman heard a faint drumming sound droning far, far away. It had to be coming from the lights. They had to be helicopters. They were about twenty minutes away.
Quickly, Aideen explained the situation to the others. When she was done, she looked at Father Bradbury.
"Will you do it?" she pressed. "Will you leave us and take the Jeep?"
The priest looked at Dhamballa. "Will you swear to me on your gods that you had nothing to do with the death of my deacons?" Father Bradbury asked.
"Killing is against my beliefs. It is contrary to the white arts," Dhamballa replied. "I would never authorize such a thing."
"Then I will do what you ask," Father Bradbury said, looking at Aideen.
Aideen thanked him and got out of the Jeep. Dhamballa followed the woman out.
"How are we going to make sure we aren't killed ourselves?" Bat tat asked. "I was looking around as I drove. There were big eyes glowing behind foliage. A lot of them."
"I'll make sure you are all right," Dhamballa said.
"How?" Battat asked.
"Do you have a flashlight?" Dhamballa asked.
"Yes," Battat said.
He pulled one from the glove compartment, switched it on, and handed it to Dhamballa.
"We will use petrol," the Vodun leader said.
"For what?" Battat asked.
While the others climbed from the Jeep, Dhamballa went to the back. He reached into the open storage compartment behind the full-size spare tire. He removed the three-gallon tank of gasoline and unscrewed the top.
"Predators do not like the scent," Dhamballa informed him. "It resembles rotting meat. If you put some under your arms and along the front of your thighs, all but the carrion feeders will move on. And they are cowardly. You will be able to scare them off."
Aideen came over. "By shouting and that sort of thing?" she asked.
"Just so," Dhamballa said. He went over to Battat. "You will only need a little under the arms and inside the thighs."
Battat pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He wadded it then allowed Dhamballa to splash on gasoline. He dabbed some where the Vodun leader had instructed. Aideen was next. She looked over at Maria, who was standing at the side of the Jeep.
"Maria?" Aideen said.
"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 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.
Chapter Sixty-Three
Light.
Throughout this long and troubling night, the danger had all been about light. The searchlights of the helicopters in the sky. The hungry eyes of predators behind the scrub. Finally, after a long trek, Maria and her group were endangered by the failure of light.
The flashlight died nearly a half hour before Maria and the others reached the extinct geyser. Fortunately, Wraith's Point was appropriately named. The group was still able to locate it. The site howled deep and hollow. It reminded Maria of a strong canyon wind in the Pyrenees. The sound came intermittently, every minute or so. It was caused as gases baked underground throughout the day rose through the channels just below the surface. The group simply followed the sound. With nothing to create an echo, it was relatively easy to track the howling. They stumbled here and there over rocks and into gullies. But if there were any predators, Dhamballa's solution kept them away.