TirzahsAllure (12 page)

Pulling up before a set of marble steps leading to a huge verandah, its roof supported by white pillars, Tirzah gasped. “Cain, look!”

He followed the direction of her pointing finger and grinned. She was gazing at the three-tiered swimming pool with fountains at both ends graced by entwined couples. It looked more than inviting.

“It’s fed by the ocean. The ocean is just a short walk from the main house,” Terry told them.

One could hardly call it a house. It was fit for a king to live in, with its hand painted murals, gilded fireplaces, ornate statues, sheer curtains and heavy velvet drapes. It could become their clubhouse. The mansion on its own could probably house everyone, but he was sure Tirzah’s people would give anything to have their own space.

Every room was beautiful—the floors were all highly polished hardwood, the bathrooms luxurious. After inspecting the house, Terry drove them to view several cottages. They all had three or four bedrooms and were just as luxurious as the main house. He hadn’t realized the main house and the cabins would come fully furnished. Another bonus.

Finally, they walked to the beach. Cain took off his shoes and felt the warm pristine silver sand between his toes as his feet sank into it. He walked to the water, followed by Tirzah, and let the waves roll over his feet. A sensuous breeze blew in from the ocean, caressing their faces and bodies.

“It’s perfect,” he told her and grabbed her hand. “What do you think?”

“Yes, oh, yes, Cain.” She bent and scooped a handful of water.

He was too late to stop her from taking a sip, and burst out laughing at her face. “The water’s salty. It’s sea water, darling.”

“But good for swimming?”

“Yes, very good for swimming, but there are probably sharks in these waters.”

“Sharks?”

“Big fish that eat humans.” He watched her pull a face.

“At home we have the big scaled monsters and now sharks?”

“Yes, I think so. Let’s go back. I’ll need to talk to Henke and Opek and see what they think.”

“They like it.”

“Right. I forgot about your mind talk. I wish—”

“It will come, Cain. You already hear a little.”

“Terry, we’ve made up our mind. When can we start the paperwork and how long will it all take?”

“We can start the paperwork tomorrow. It’ll take a few months for something like this to complete. Their government will have to approve everyone.”

Great, that gives me time to get their fake identification sorted out
. “Fantastic. It’s a deal. You can take it off the market. How much down payment do I need?”

“At least ten percent. And for a mortgage—”

“That won’t be necessary,” Cain interrupted him. “I’ll be paying cash.”

He grinned as Terry’s eyebrows shot up. “It will go into the corporation’s name. Alishur Incorporated.”

“Before you sign anything, I must warn you. Living on an island can be very isolated. There are no stores, restaurants, movie theatres, or grocery shops within walking distance like on the mainland. You’re reliant on a boat to buy supplies and if a storm blows in, you could be stuck for days. It’s a major adjustment. There is also the problem of medical treatment if any is needed. I know it all seems very romantic and like paradise, but it does have its pitfalls.”

My God, you have no idea
. “We’re very well aware and we’re prepared, but thank you for the warning.”

Chapter Twelve

The first thing Cain did was buy a helicopter. He paid for a few months of parking, long enough, he figured, for them to get all the red tape out of the way.

By going to some sleazy bars and asking questions, he found out where to get fake identification and passports. But he needed photos of each person and child so he taught Henke how to use his camera, gave him the example picture the man had given him, and flew him and Tirzah to their compound. He also dropped several parcels of clothing. Tirzah had shopped for the group, and bought clothes and shoes for each man, woman and child. “I’ll pick you both up in a couple of hours, Henke. Tirzah, make sure the women do something different with their hair. Braid it. Ponytail, pin it up and put on a bit of makeup. Same for the female children. I’m sure you included brushes, combs, pins and hair bands in your shopping spree.” He turned to Tirzah who was getting ready to go down to the compound with Henke.

“Yes, I did.”

“Okay, off you go.” He turned and watched Henke descend the very long rope ladder he’d had specially made. Below, he could see their people gazing up at the helicopter.

“You okay going down the ladder, Tirzah?”

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t look down and hold on tight. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“I wish you could stay.”

“Baby, there’s nowhere to land. Don’t worry. You should be able to get it all done in a few hours. Remember to ask Calira to swap the translators around. It’s important they learn to speak as much English as possible before they have to go through customs and move to the island.”

After he was sure both were on the ground, he pushed a button and the ladder whizzed back onto its roll. He flew to the nearest plain he’d spotted and landed. Closing his eyes, he thought about all the recent events. It still seemed so unbelievable, but it was so real. Very real.

The thought that he could have people of his own somewhere in the world, maybe in the USA, excited him. He was determined to try to find them with Henke and Opek’s help, but first they had to have everything in order.

He woke with a start. “Damn,” he muttered while glancing at his watch. “It’s been three hours. I’d best get back there.”

Hovering above the compound as low as he dared, he dropped the ladder and waited. Tirzah was first, then a bit later Henke climbed aboard.

“Everyone is very excited,” Tirzah said as she sat beside him.

”That’s good. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. Did the clothes all fit?”

“Yes. The hair took the longest. Especially the men.”

“We’ve already chosen names for everyone so when we get back I’ll take the memory card and the list of names, ages, supposed birth dates and places, to the people who are doing the fake papers.”

“Will those papers pass, Cain?”

“I hope so. This man is supposed to be the best. He makes many, but he’s never had to make so many all at once.”

“He asked for a lot of money.”

“Yes, but we can get more money. Before I lift everyone out of your village, we will get more of the stones—enough for several life times. If necessary, we can sell more stones. For now, we have plenty of money. Henke, you’re very quiet back there.”

“I miss Calira and the children. The visit was too brief.”

“I understand. It won’t be long and we’ll all be together on our island.”

* * * *

It took the man, who preferred to remain nameless, four weeks to make all the passports, birth certificates, social insurance cards and driver’s licenses. When Cain looked at them all, he couldn’t tell they were forged. The man was happy with his five million and said he’d be more than happy to do business with Cain if he ever needed him again.

Cain wasted no time in setting up Alishur Inc. now that he had ID for all the principals. He ran into another problem—the name for the island. The foreign government was not in favor of changing the name. It took a lot of phone calls, a hefty price to pay, and they finally agreed. Alishura Island was born.

All in all, it took almost five months before everything was settled and paid for. Cain flew Henke or Opek to the village several times to prepare their people, and he also left Tirzah there for several days so she could teach them to write their name using the English alphabet. Signatures were needed for the fake paperwork, and on the applications to the foreign government. He was glad they were such fast learners and that they’d kept up teaching their children. Everyone could write and read, just not yet the complete English language.

He’d also bought two offshore cruisers and had Opek and Henke take a course in how to operate the boats and safety regulations. Before they could settle on the island, everyone would go through customs so they had to have their stories straight in case the officers asked questions, yet another task for Tirzah.

The time had almost arrived to start transporting them to their island. He looked at Tirzah, who was busy making up a list of supplies they needed to buy. That was their task for the next few days, buying sufficient clothing to make do for a while until they could take each family shopping, and to buy food, medical supplies—basically everything they needed. Frozen foods they bought on the last day. The massive freezers situated in the main house would soon be filled.

The boats were loaded and Tirzah would travel on a boat with Henke and he would go alone to start transporting their people. It couldn’t be done in a day, not with each family first having to go through customs. In a few days, everyone would be together again.

Opek stepped onto the boat. “Safe sailing, Opek. See you soon.”

“Wait. Should I let the others know to demolish the village?”

“The jungle will reclaim it. Just leave it as it is. Or maybe some savage tribe people will claim it in the future and learn something from living there. Let them know to pack any personal effects, instruments. But nothing left over from your ship should remain there. It’s a remote part of the Amazon where no man has ever set foot, but who knows what will happen in the future. We don’t want anyone to find anything that could point toward alien visitors.”

“That’s why it would be best demolished. I’ll contact them.”

He closed his eyes and Cain knew he was sending telepathic messages. If he could do that from this distance, then shouldn’t he be able to pick up any of his people if they were really in the USA?

“Opek, you can communicate with your people from here. Couldn’t you pick up communications from my people if it’s indeed true that I do have people in America?”

Opek sighed. “Cain, I’m sorry. I’ve tried, but had no luck so far. I will continue once we’re settled. If there are any of your people alive on this planet, we’ll find them. Like us, they are able to block communication. It could also be that through generations and not using it, like you, they don’t realize they have the ability and their elders don’t bother. That makes it very hard.”

“Thank you. I can hope. It would be nice to have a family of my own, although Tirzah and I are now a family.”

“I understand. It must have been very hard for you growing up all alone. But we must be off. And you have work to do.”

Cain took Tirzah into his arms and kissed her long and hard. Tearing his lips away, he gazed into her eyes. “Soon we’ll always be together, sweetheart.” He licked a tear off her cheek. “No need to cry. The separation will be short.”

“This is my first time on the big sea.”

“I know. You’ll be fine. Before you realize, the sea will be your friend. Now go. They’re waiting for you.”

He stood on the wharf and watched them sail away until the boats were mere specks on the horizon. He hurried back to his car and drove back to the rental place, then took a taxi to the airport.

The helicopter, too, was loaded with supplies. After taking off, he had time to ponder. Suddenly a voice entered his mind, loud and clear.

Cain, wish I could tell you, I love the sea. I love the boat.

I can hear you.

Oh, you can hear me?

Yes, loud and clear.

Now I’m crying.

Happy tears, I hope?

Yes, happy tears. Now you can concentrate yourself and find your family.

We’ll see, babe. Too much to do yet, before I can relax. And this is very new for me. You and I are one
—
we’re so close, that’s probably why I can hear you now. I’m glad you like the sea and the boat.

They talked back and forth during his flight to their village. It hardly seemed as if they were apart.

As he arrived above the village and hovered low while waiting for the first ones to climb up, he noticed down below how they were busy demolishing everything. They’d wasted no time.

The first eight were aboard, three adults and six children. The children were young, so their weight together was equal to three adults. He had to make at least six trips to transport them all to the island. Two of the children screamed, terrified of the ladder to start with then of the noisy helicopter. It took a while for the adults to calm them down.

They finally fell asleep from exhaustion.

Cain?

I’ve got eight aboard, Tirzah. Two of the children were very afraid.

It’s all very strange for them.

The adults are excited. Sorry, I can’t remember everyone’s names yet.

You will learn. You also need to learn to block your communication so you can talk to me privately. Right now, Opek, Henke, and the ones with you can hear everything you say in your mind.

Hell. That’s not good. I’d better watch what I say. I should be able to pick up another load this afternoon. I might be able to transport everyone in three days. Some of the young ones are just babies. I can have ten of them aboard.

You will be on the island before us?

I don’t know. Probably. The copter travels faster than the boats.

Their conversation was interrupted by one of the men traveling with him. “How far is the island, Cain?”

“What is your name? I’m sorry, I haven’t learned all your names yet.”

“I’m Torzo and this is my wife, Hanaka and my oldest daughter Zieta. Three of the six children are Zieta’s and the other three are our grandchildren. Zieta will take care of them until you pick up their parents.”

“I’ll try and remember your names. It will take a while,” Cain said. “We’ll be flying about four hours. If all goes well with customs, I should be able to pick up more people this afternoon.”

“We are so excited. It’s been many years since we saw an ocean, a beach. So long, the memories have faded.”