Shamanka Part 28

TUHAB.

The flight to Australia is far too long. Kitty keeps sighing and thumping her chest, telling anyone who'll listen, "I've got terrible indignation."

Indigestion is a plausible excuse: the meals on the plane are awful. They're flying economy cla.s.s and eating economy food, with their knees tucked under their chins in economy seats.

Lola doesn't mind. Knees-under-the-chin is a comfortable position for an ape, and it would have suited Aunt Candy, who as we speak is folded in half in her rum barrel. But Kitty isn't a contortionist and she's struggling to breathe. Let's land before she expires and take the train to Katoomba, the home of Tuhab, the Elder.

It's late afternoon when Sam, Kitty and Lola arrive. Tired as they are, it's impossible not to feel uplifted by the scenery. The Blue Mountains are veiled in a sapphire haze caused by the vapour from the gum trees. Even so, after half an hour, Kitty is starting to get impatient.

"It's all very bleautiful," she grunts, "but I'm bored now. Where's Tuhab?"

The sadhu had said that Tuhab would be waiting for them in the shadow of the Three Sisters, which is the name of the giant rock formation in front of them. Sam studies the map again. "Maybe we're standing in the wrong part of the shadow."

"Well, don't expect me to wander round the bush looking for him."

Kitty's very tetchy today and as much as Sam wants to keep the peace, she's determined to find the mysterious Elder.

"There are too many people about here, Kitty. Maybe he's shy."

"But we don't even know what he looks like."

"Yes, we do. There's a portrait of him in this notebook. He has dark, curly hair..."

But that description hardly distinguishes him from half the population of Australia.

Kitty sits down and refuses to move, so Sam takes Lola by the hand and starts walking away. "And he has a spider tattoo, Kitty."

Sam marches off down the path. Kitty groans and gets to her feet.

"d.a.m.n you, Yafer Tabuh. Sam? Lola! Wait for me, you nuisances."

They walk into the evening and see no one. Soon it's hard to see anything, it's got so dark. They have no idea where they are, but that's not quite the same as being lost.

"Yes it is," mutters Kitty.

Sam begs to differ. "No it isn't. If we don't know our true destination, we might be in exactly the right spot."

"If that's the case," says Kitty, "I'm going to stop here and go to sleep behind this rock. If your theory is correct, what's the point in taking another step?"

Sam can't argue with that. She takes off her rucksack, props herself against the rock next to Kitty, and closes her eyes. The rock has absorbed the baking sun all day its red warmth soothes their aching backs and they drift off to sleep. Nearby, Lola has made a nest in a gum tree, which she is sharing with a bright green gecko. It sits on her chest like a brooch.

Around three in the morning, Sam is woken by flying foxes. There are so many bats, they blot out the moon. A wallaby bounces over Sam's feet, kicking up a spray of dead leaves. She needs to stretch her legs. Her right foot has gone dead. She stamps it on the ground. Mid-stamp, she freezes, sensing that something, someone, is watching her.

Tuhab slips out of the shadows, illuminated only by the starlight. He gazes at her, looking deeply concerned.

"You should not be here," he murmurs. "This is a sacred rock. You should not touch it." He refuses to look Sam in the eye, and speaks so softly she can barely hear him. "Everywhere you walk, you leave echoes in the earth. This land, its rocks, its rivers, everything is shaped by the footprints of my ancestors."

Sam apologizes profusely. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'd never intrude deliberately do you want us to leave?"

Tuhab nods his head slowly and points to Lola in her gum tree.

"You want us to sit over there?"

Again, he nods, but still he won't look Sam in the eye. Is it shyness? She isn't sure. How can an elder be shy and hold such a position of power? She nudges Kitty, who wakes with a start. She sees Tuhab and gives a m.u.f.fled squeak.

"Argh ... am I dreaming?"

Tuhab scoops up a handful of dust and lets it trickle through his fingers. "The history of this place is called the Dreaming. Dream time is here."

"Oh good. I'll go back to sleep then," mumbles Kitty.

But Sam won't let her. "We're on sacred ground," she explains. "We're trespa.s.sing. We have to go and sit over there with Lola."

They follow Tuhab over to the gum tree. Kitty giggles as he tweaks the back of his shorts which have bunched themselves up into an uncomfortable wedge.

"He's not what I expected," she whispers. "He doesn't look very mystical, does he?"

It is true that he doesn't from the back. But maybe it is a double bluff. He gestures to the s.p.a.ce under the gum tree and waits for them both to sit down. Kitty pats the earth next to her and, in a somewhat patronizing way, suggests that he sits next to her and makes himself comfortable. Tuhab remains standing and in the manner of an earnest schoolboy performing in a.s.sembly for his parents, he points to the triangle of darkly dominant boulders in the distance and began to relate the legend of the Three Sisters.

"They were once three beautiful sisters. A witch doctor turned them into rocks."

"And...?" wonders Kitty.

Tuhab refuses to expand on the story, despite Sam's best efforts to get him to do so.

"A witch doctor? What was his name, Mr Tuhab? He must have been very powerful."

Tuhab, who has been looking sideways at Kitty's mask, quickly averts his gaze. "Not as powerful as me. I could turn three sisters into rocks..."

"Sure you could," laughs Kitty.

The composure of his face changes for a split second, but it's long enough to give Sam a terrifying glimpse into the real nature of this seemingly gentle soul. A s.h.i.+ver runs down her spine. She gives Kitty a warning dig in the ribs, but all subtlety is lost on her.

"Ouch! What did you do that for, Sam?"

He's hiding it well, but Tuhab is painfuly aware that Kitty isn't taking him seriously. Sam suspects this is a grave mistake. Lola, who has woken up and is dangling upside down from a branch can sense the ominous atmosphere and recoils quietly back into the leaves. In an attempt to smooth things over, Sam finds herself apologizing to Tuhab again.

"You mustn't mind Kitty. She's not herself, you know."

Tuhab blinks slowly. "She is not. But who she is, you do not know. That is why she wears a mask."

Now it's Kitty's turn to feel uncomfortable. "What's he on about?" she mutters. "Can we go now, Sam? I'm not sure this is the person we should be speaking to at all."

"Shh he's on the list," whispers Sam. "He's one of Grandpa's Very Important People."

Tuhab's expression remains fixed, but his ears are twitching and his eyes glitter with emotion. It's hard to read if it is anger or sorrow. Perhaps it's a bit of both.

"People are sceptical," he mouths to no one in particular. "Even my one and only son doesn't believe in my magic."

"You sound just like my grandpa," says Sam in what she hopes is a cheerful way.

He stares solemnly at his feet. "Yafer Tabuh knows how I feel. In dream time he came to me. He also has a son who lost faith in his father. Your grandfather instructed me to work Big Magic on John Tabuh if he came my way..."

"And did he?" asks Sam. "Did you meet my father?"

Tuhab holds up his hand.

"I met him on" he counts on his fingers, as if to work out the date "Friday."

Today is Sunday! Sam has almost caught up with her father. She can hardly contain herself. Was he well? Was he happy? How was her mother?

Tuhab ignores all her questions. "No, it was Thursday." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "I tried to help him, but he was sceptical."

"In what way?"

"In every way."

It seemed that John had taken one look at Tuhab and, because he didn't fit his strict template of how a magician should present himself, he made the foolish a.s.sumption that he was powerless.

Tuhab produces a long, low growl in the back of his throat that makes the earth vibrate. Is it a growl of contempt? Disappointment? Or is he merely clearing his throat?

"He was polite," admits Tuhab. "But he only feigned respect. When I wouldn't give him the answer to 'What is magic?' he a.s.sumed I was a fool and didn't know." He allows himself a brief chuckle. "I could have given him the answer on a plate, but that would have taught him nothing. So I performed my magic on his wife. It will be the making or breaking of him."

Kitty confronts him nervously now. "You haven't hurt Christa, have you?"

Tuhab's eyes grow steely cold, making a mockery of his mellow features. "Why? Who is she to you?"

Kitty stamps her foot. "She is this child's mother!"

Tuhab fixes her with a long stare. There is not a trace of malice in his gaze, which makes it all the more malignant. He is exuding the most calculated kind of calm, the most poisonous peace.

Sam pleads with him. "Where is my mother? Please tell me. I know you know."

Christa is in the big brick hospital St Vincent's but only one person can save her. Someone on the witch doctor's list but which one?

"Which one? The missing one, of course." Tuhab flips back his head and laughs like a kookaburra.

Sam and Kitty back away slowly. Lola fixes Tuhab with a wounded gaze and he speaks to her in a language Sam can't understand; is it orang-utan-ese or is it his native language? She isn't sure, but this is what she thinks she heard him say.

"It has to be like this, Freya. We agreed."

There's a mosquito in her ear; she might have misheard.

HOW TO BREAK A CURSE.

You need: a black candle, water, a black bowl.

1. Fix the candle upright in the black bowl using wax drippings.

2. Fill the bowl to the rim with fresh water without wetting the wick.

3. Breathe deeply and meditate until your mind is clear.

4. Light the candle. Visualize the power of the curse cast against you living within the flame.

5. As the candle burns, it will splutter and go out as it touches the water the curse is broken.

6. Dig a hole in the ground, pour the water in it and bury the candle.

GONE WALKABOUT.

Sam, Kitty and Lola catch an early morning train back to Sydney. n.o.body sleeps, they're all too worried about Christa.

"Why did Tuhab have to hurt my mother, Kitty?"

"Maybe he didn't."

But if not, why did she have to go to the hospital? When they arrive at St Vincent's, there's some confusion at reception. Kitty asks if they have a patient registered in the name of Christa Khaan, but she's not on their books. Is this the wrong hospital, perhaps? They're about to leave when Sam realizes her mother would have used her married name and marches back up to the desk.

"Do you have a Mrs Tabuh?"

"Ah ... yes."

The receptionist puts her head to one side in the manner employed by medical staff who know something dreadful has happened but are not obliged to tell.