B008IFNJZM EBOK (23 page)

             
“It will be just me and Crosley.”

             
“You are not going to take one of the girls?”

             
“The last thing I want to do is spook this guy and have him take off on us.  We will leave in a few minutes and try to get there and talk to his daytime protector before Khu awakes.  If we get lucky, maybe this shaman might give us an audience.  It is our only chance.”

             
Nathan and Elizabeth and Jerrick watched from the vehicle monitoring the lap top as Crosley Pittman passed a spray bottle to Tom at the front of the boat the second the craft was in the water. 

             
“Here spray this on.  It has vanilla, mint and rose in it.  It will keep the insects off of you.  This is the worst time for the critters.”

             
Crosley looked up at the sun that now touched the top of the trees.  Sundown would be upon them soon and they had to reach Khu’s campsite before it dropped out of sight.  Their goal was to reach the shaman before he woke for the evening and his evening feeding of blood.  Crosley put on the headset and did a voice check with Jerrick as he pulled out into the middle of the channel.

             
“You remember old Willie?”

             
“Yes, what about old Willie?”

             
“When we were at his funeral do you remember what you said?”

             
“I said a lot of things.”

             
“Well one of the things you told me then was that only a fool would ride out into the middle of a swamp at night.  You said at the time, that you can’t tell a branch from a snake or a rock from a croc… remember?”

             
“Yes, I remember.  There are times in your life where you just have to roll the dice.”

             
Just then, a croc came up to the boat and opened its mouth.  Tom looked at it and it turned away.  Crosley smiled.

             
“Not to worry my dear friend Jerrick.  It seems Tom is able to scare the animals just by staring at them.”

             
“You aren’t doing this just to impress Chelsea with your bravery are you?”

             
“That never crossed my mind.”

             
Nathan came over the headset.

             
“The next opportunity to turn to your right take it.”

             
“How are our trail markers working?”

             
“Good.  Tom and I do not need the spot light to see them.  There is still enough light coming through the forest canopy to find the fresh cut limbs… Found a channel to the right… now entering this side path.”

             
A few minutes later, Nathan came over the headset.

             
“You should be getting close.”

             
Crosley scanned the banks ahead.

             
“Aye, I can see the light of their fire.”

             
Crosley cut the engine and continued to coast down the narrow water.  Some of the land areas were so close that Tom and the crocs were only a few feet away.  Whenever Tom looked them they would jump back.  His curse was actually helping.  The smell of burning wood became stronger.  As they passed a tall section of grass, Tom pointed to Crosley and Crosley could see a man putting more wood on the fire.  He stood up and called to the man in an Aborigines dialect.  The man immediately turned and viewed the craft as it coasted toward their base camp.

             
“We have come to give a gift to the great Shaman Khu.  All we ask is to plead with him to share a moment of his wisdom and then we will be gone.”

             
Tom had no idea what was being said, but Jerrick understood the language.

             
“Crosley, tell him that you only wish to honor the protector of his people.”

             
Crosley formulated a translation and added it to his remarks as the young man waved their boat to shore and he opened the gate for the strangers.  They found out that Khu’s guardian was a distant relation to the shaman.  Tom looked at the chained croc as he removed a metal chest and followed Crosley ashore.  The croc began to yank and fight his chains trying to flee but it couldn’t.  Its snout was chained shut and the legs and tail were all bound in the heavy iron shackles.

             
“I speak your language.  My master still sleeps.  You should leave before he awakes.  He will be awake any minute now.  You have no idea what danger you have put yourself in.”

             
Crosley opened the container and removed a pint of Ab negative.  He handed it to the offspring of the shaman.

             
“We travel with three women who suffer the same curse.  These three have never attacked a ‘warm blood’ for nourishment.  We believe the same is true of your master.  Here, please give him this when he awakes.  We ask only for an audience and then we and those we travel with will leave and never return.”

             
The young lad took the plastic blood pouch and realized that these men were aware of his master’s curse.

             
“It is true.  Khu has never drawn blood from a human.  He stays here only to protect his people and watch over them. “

             
The stranger looked up at the sky as the final rays of sunlight began to diminish behind the trees.

             
“I will try.”

             
The young man took the plastic container up the stairs as Crosley threw the metal container over the fence and back in the boat.  He clicked on his mouth piece.

             
“So far so good.  His young friend will deliver our message and the pint of blood.”
             
Jerrick responded.

             
“Copy that.”

             
Crosley and Tom took seats by the fire and waited for the shaman to wake.  Tom watched the croc to continually fight his bonds as the young man came down the steps from the hut.

             
“He will see you as soon as he finishes your gift.”

             
The three men sat at the fire and Tom watched the sparks off the damp wood ascend almost straight up.  There was no wind.  The shaman emerged wrapped tightly in a sheet like garment and came down the steps.  He looked at the two strangers and Tom could see blood on the corner of his mouth.

             
“No one was harmed?”

             
“No the blood came from donations and it was paid for.  Our friends are like you, they have never attacked anyone and they never will take blood by force.”

             
“They were here last night in this area.”

             
“Yes and only to help my friend here...  That is what has driven us to find you and get an audience with you.”

             
The shaman sat on a rock and looked into the fire.

             
“Both of you have found eternal true love… The third female will also find true love the next time she hears a rifle shot…  Your lives will not be easy…”

             
Khu continued to stare into the fire.

             
“Is that all you want?”

             
“We actually wanted to ask you about a few of your life’s experiences…”

             
The croc again fought hard against his chains and the shaman turned to him and then turned back to Tom with his eyes opened.

             
“You my friend are cursed!”

             
The shaman could sense the pentagram on Tom’s chest and knew the danger.

             
“My only hope is the Meeratt and you.  We believe that the Meeratt might be able to remove this curse.”

             
“Of course he can!  But you cannot see him or sneak up on him.  Every creature on four legs can tell him when any person in near him.  He would flee and you would never be able to ask him for help.”

             
“We have heard that.”

             
“Then you should know your friend cannot see him or ask him for help.  The Meeratts are smarter than all humans.  It is said that the great wizard Merlin was part Meeratt and that is why he had all his magical powers.”

             
“Yes we have been told that.  That is why we feel that we must go to him in his caves and beg for help.”

             
“No one has ever found the entrance or claimed over all the years to actually talk to one of their kind.”

             
“Yes, no one has except you.  That is why we came.”

             
“I cannot arrange such an audience.”

             
“How were you able to make contact with such a creature?”

             
“My contact as you call it, was an accident and it happened many years ago.  A Meeratt was captured by a croc.  His leg was caught in its jaws when I came across the creature in pain.  The croc was shaking his leg and trying to tear it off.”

             
“But I thought he can communicate with any creature with four legs?”

             
“He can, but this croc was sick and dying.  He could not talk to it.  I came upon them as the creature was screaming.  I killed the croc and freed the Meeratt.  That is the only reason I was able to be in its presence.  I was able to wrap his leg and nursed him back to health.  He gave me this when he became well enough to return to his tribe.”

             
From a little pouch around his neck, the shaman removed a strange object.  It was a blood red ruby mounted on the end of a short stick.

             
“He told me that if I ever needed his help, I could use this to find him.”

             
The dialect kept bouncing back and forth between broken King’s English and the native tongue of the Aborigines.  He said nothing as Crosley and the great shaman continued to speak.

             
“So this Meeratt feels he owes you a favor?”

             
“Yes but that was years ago and I am sure he feels that over that time, he has repaid me.”

             
The shaman then told him the story of a vampire, a stranger from a faraway land.  The Meeratt did cure him of his affliction and in the shaman’s eyes, he believes that it was payment for his act of saving it.

             
“So you see my friends, that if you tried to see one of his kind, they would have really no reason to allow that to happen or help you.”

             
Tom caught that part of conversation.

             
“I have to try.  If I turn I will come after the ones I love first.  I cannot be allowed to live without a cure.”

             
The shaman studied Tom’s face.

             
“Remember when we first sat here.  I told you that you and your friend have both found true love?  At that moment, I did not sense your curse.  I believe that might be a sign that you will succeed in finding this cure.  Here, take this and I will help you to enter his world.  In his world all living things will try to stop you from seeing him or reaching the Meeratt village.  If you can make it to the village, hold this up and then you will know….”

             
“Know what?”

             
“If you stay alive, you will be helped.  The problem is to be alive when you reach the village.”

             
The shaman now looked at Crosley.

             
“Have you ever heard of a creature called the Bunyips (pronounced Boon ips)?

             
“Of course, but that is only a legend.”

             
“It is no legend my friend.  Hundreds of them will stand in your way between you and the Meeratts.”

             
Jerrick could hear over the headset the entire conversation and Nathan and Elizabeth could see the fear on his face at the chance that such a creature exists.  Jerrick looked at the others.

             
“If this is true, we are going to need an army!”

             
Elizabeth and Nathan had no idea what was said and looked at each other.