Skylark went to the window. The seashags were hovering over the sea. “How are we going to be able to leave here?” she asked. “If we cross the sea we’ll be at their mercy.”
“You’ve got to complete your task,” Joe answered, “no matter what.”
“We’ll just have to wait for nightfall,” Arnie said.
“But we’ll lose a third day,” Skylark answered.
“It can’t be helped. We’ll have to drive by night. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to make the ferry sailing from Wellington tomorrow morning. Agreed?”
Even though she didn’t want to accept it, Skylark nodded. She started to rock and moan, and Joe recognised the symptoms. Delayed shock. “I’m putting you to bed,” she said. “You too, Corporal. You’ve both got to get some sleep, and that’s an order. I’ll wake you when it’s dusk.”
Skylark and Arnie put up only token resistance, and when Joe went to check on them ten minutes later, they were both asleep.
At mid-afternoon the telephone rang.
“Is that you, Joe?” Hoki asked. “I’ve been trying to get you all day. Are Skylark and Arnie with you? They must be warned. Kawanatanga is after them.”
“He’s already attacked,” Joe answered, “don’t worry, the kids are safe, but the seashags are still out there. They’ve got us pinned down. We’ve decided to wait for nightfall.”
“Good,” Hoki said. “So Skylark and Arnie will be on their way home?”
“No, they’re going to Deedee’s.”
“Deedee’s? What for!”
“Deedee’s the only one who knows about the Time Portal.”
Hoki became silent. “I didn’t realise all this would be so dangerous,” she said at last. “Had I known, I would have accompanied Skylark myself.”
“Arnie’s doing a good job,” Joe answered.
“Tell them I love them,” Hoki said. “I will pray that they have safe passage to Deedee’s.”
Joe put the telephone down and began preparing provisions for Skylark and Arnie’s journey. For the rest of the afternoon she sat looking out at Kawanatanga and his seashag squad. She thought of his threat to her kaka colony.
“You think I’m scared?” she muttered. “If it comes to a fight, let it be to the death.”
The dusk finally fell. With screams of fury, Kawanatanga searched for a place to settle for the night. Clouds broiled from the east, cutting off the light.
Joe woke Skylark and Arnie. “It’s time to go,” she said.
She led the way to the dinghy and was just about to start the motor when a grey and red shape came fluttering from the trees: Flash Harry. He circled the dinghy and landed on the seat next to Skylark. He pecked at her hands, forcing her to open them.
“What’s he doing?” Skylark laughed.
“He’s brought you a present,” Joe answered.
Flash Harry regurgitated some berries into Skylark’s hands.
Go well, Skylark. Fly well.
“You must have really made an impression on him,” Joe said. “They’re a gift. Some food for your journey.” She started the motor. The dinghy headed away from the island.
At the same time as Skylark and Arnie were leaving Joe’s island, Mitch Mahana and his son Francis, acting on Hoki’s summons, arrived in Manu Valley. The sun was setting when Mitch stepped out of the truck. He looked up at the ripped sky and the seabirds hovering around it, and gaped like a stunned mullet. Francis’s reaction was simpler.
“Holy shit,” he said.
“That’s our problem, our nemesis,” Hoki said. “Sunup to sundown the seabirds try to get through to the other side. They only break off their attacks when night comes.”
“The other side?” Mitch asked, his face wan with horror. “In God’s name, what’s on the other side?”
“The past,” Bella answered enigmatically, “and the future —”
“I don’t think I want to know,” Mitch shuddered. “It sounds like one of those movies Arnie likes. I watched Aliens with him once and I couldn’t sleep for weeks.”
“Dad only likes westerns,” Francis confided to Bella.
“Well, where do you want us to put our gear?” Mitch continued. “What time do you want me and Francis up there to do our job?” He had always been a straightforward man, preferring to live without knowing of life’s complexities.
“Could you move into the bach?” Bella asked. “You brought your rifles? If you two could take the first shift tomorrow that would give me and Hoki a chance to have a break. We’re really glad you’re here. With you two with us, the task of guarding the sky will be easier.”
Bella cooked dinner — a lovely piece of cod which Mitch and Francis had netted that very day. Soon after dinner, both men excused themselves. They had brought a portable television set with them and wanted to watch the All Blacks playing South Africa.
“I’ll do the dishes,” Hoki told Bella. “Why don’t you go with the men? It’ll do you good.”
When Bella returned a couple of hours later, she was very grumpy. Not only that, but some pretty interesting fumes, somewhere in the vicinity of vodka and whisky, were coming off of her.
“The All Blacks lost,” Bella said. “Me and Mitch placed some bets on them, but Francis won and cleaned us out.”
“Oh no,” Hoki answered. “How much did you lose?”
“Fifty matchsticks. It’s put me off my sleep.”
“You big spender,” Hoki said. “Well, you’ll just have to make the fire tomorrow by rubbing two sticks together.”
That night, however, Bella wasn’t the only one to toss and turn. Hoki knelt by her bed and said her prayers — she thought that her karakia would calm her, but it took a long time for her to get to sleep. Even when sleep finally came, somewhere in the dark morning hours, it brought with it a disturbing dream.
In her dream, Hoki seemed to be way above the earth. She was frightened at first but, when she began to float down, she was relieved. Gradually, she was able to touch the mountain tops with her toes and that made her feel much better. But what was that? Far ahead, two lights were piercing the darkness. She decided to take a closer look. She swooped down and saw that the lights were the headlights of a ute. She looked inside and, with delight, saw Skylark and Arnie.
Hello, you two, Hoki said. She tapped on the windows and then flew around to the windscreen. Arnie was driving. She yelled out a greeting but he didn’t seem to hear her, so she poked her tongue at him. Couldn’t he see her? She noticed he had bruises and stitches on his face.
Suddenly, Hoki heard the sounds of loud and menacing twittering. She stood on the bonnet of the ute, balancing herself on her walking sticks to see where the noise was coming from. Uh oh, the dawn had come up and, in the distance, she could see black shapes against the sky. They reminded her of the nasty flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz.
I’d better take a look. Hoki braced and launched herself into the air. Over the ute’s roof she went, soaring up to the flying monkeys. As she got closer, the monkeys transformed themselves into black seashags. Kawanatanga was leading them, his eyes as red as a devil’s. With a scream, she went to attack him, but something strange happened. He didn’t seem to know she was there. Instead, Kawanatanga and his fleet flew straight through her as if she were a ghost. It was a weird feeling, and Hoki examined her body, looking for holes in herself.