The Greystoke Legacy (14 page)

Jane cowered behind the plane's tail and watched the struggle. There was a glint of steel as Tarzan drew his knife and slashed the big cat across the flank. It was a vicious wound but fair retaliation for the fours claw marks that raked his back. Tarzan circled the lioness, who hunched, poised to spring. Farther away Kerchak was swinging powerful blows into his yowling opponent.

Then Jane saw movement. A small body was crawling back to its injured mother—Karnath! The young ape was oblivious to the danger he was edging toward.

Without thinking, Jane ran from cover—stumbling on a section of the aircraft's broken stabilizer hidden under the grass—and scooped Karnath into her arms. She felt the fluffy damp fur press against her face, and could hear the youngster's heart pounding in fear. Karnath hooked his long arms around Jane as she cradled him.

Tarzan swung the knife again, but his opponent deftly avoided the blade and went for his arm. With lightning reflexes, Tarzan gripped the cat's powerful jaw with his free hand, pulling it back before she could sever his limb. But then he lost his balance and the lioness pinned him down.

Jane felt helpless. Maybe there was something she could use as a weapon? She turned—and froze.

Sabor crouched in Jane's path, recognizing the scent of the prey she had been hunting.

The cat was only half her height, but outrunning her would be impossible. Jane's fear suddenly evaporated. Her mind felt sharper than ever as she assessed the situation. Every sound was amplified; every movement obvious. The muscles in Sabor's hindquarters twitched with anticipation and Jane knew the beast was about to pounce. Through her bare feet, Jane could feel every stone and blade of grass . . . and something else.

With reflexes she never knew she possessed, Jane dropped to her knees and tore the shattered aluminium tail stabiliser from the ground. With Karnath still hanging from her neck, she swung the wing fragment at the leaping cat with as much force as she could muster.

The metal panel buckled as it struck Sabor across the head. The cat soared over Jane and landed awkwardly on her side. Jane didn't look back at her handiwork as she bolted for the safety of the plane.

Tarzan used both feet to kick the lioness from him. The big cat was catapulted into a tree trunk with bone-breaking force. Tarzan was on his feet in an instant. With one sweep of the battlefield he processed the multiple threats: The lioness had recovered from striking the tree but was now limping as she ran toward him with a snarl; Kerchak's foe had escaped him and was also bearing down on Tarzan.

The third lioness, Sabor, was stalking Jane.

Jane held Karnath tightly as she ran for the aircraft. She heard Tarzan give an extraordinary warbling cry before two lions pounced on him simultaneously.

The warble was answered by a fierce roar from every gorilla in a unified battle cry. And then a new voice answered from the jungle—the unmistakable sound of another wild cat.

As Jane ducked into her refuge, she began to wonder if Tarzan could really speak with the animals. She unhooked Karnath from her neck and gently placed him at the back of the plane. Then she looked around for anything she could use to block the way in, but the gap was too big.

A paw suddenly shattered a window and swatted her. Sabor's claws grazed her scalp but failed to draw blood. Jane screamed and rolled aside. Karnath shrieked with alarm as Sabor's silhouette blocked the entrance, and gave a throaty growl of victory.

Tarzan had known pain all his life. The stabbing of claws into his leg and arms would have stopped anybody else, but for Tarzan, the lioness that had latched on to him was simply a means to an end. It enabled him to keep a grip on the beast as he twisted around—and used her body as a weapon to bat the second cat aside.

Both animals howled in anger. The swatted lioness skittered across the plateau and a mob of angry gorillas descended on her in unified force. With a yowl of defeat, the cat sprinted for the trees as powerful fists hammered her.

Tarzan pushed the remaining cat off him. She wasn't going to give in without a fight now she had tasted his blood. Tarzan glanced over at the plane—Sabor was stepping inside! Then he caught a glimpse of a sleek shadow leaping from the trees in her pursuit.

He turned back to his immediate foe—too late. The lioness was already airborne. He went for his knife but it clattered to the ground out of his reach as she slammed into him. They both tumbled dangerously close the edge of the plateau.

•••

Jane picked up a thin branch from her bed and swished it at Sabor. The slender limb whipped across the feline's snout and forced her to hesitate.

Sabor roared. The cat's breath was rank. Karnath screeched and clambered for safety into a broken overhead luggage compartment.

Jane used the only weapon she had left. She stamped her foot and yelled as loud as she could.

Unbelievably, Sabor was dragged backward through the entrance. Any notion Jane had that she was the cause was extinguished when she saw a lithe black shape straddling Sabor's back. It had pulled the lioness out of the plane and was wrestling her to the ground. Jane raced toward the door for a better view.

A slightly smaller black cat sank its jaws into Sabor's back, pinning the lioness to the floor. It was a leopard, but rather than the yellowish fur and distinctive clusters of black rosettes Jane had seen on other leopards, this panther was different. Moonlight reflected from powerful muscles flexing under fur as black as midnight. It had scored a powerful blow against Sabor. Blood discolored the back of the lioness's neck.

Sabor shucked the leopard off and swiped both forepaws in a desperate bid to strike back. Although smaller than Sabor, the panther was much more agile. It pounced on the side of the aircraft, claws attaching it to the covering undergrowth, from where it cuffed Sabor across the muzzle.

Sabor retreated from the panther and saw that Jane had inadvertently exposed herself as a fresh target. Before Jane could move, the panther leapt between her and Sabor as if it were protecting her.

The panther gave a raspy bellow and Sabor retreated. The lioness looked around for the support of her hunting pride but saw only the enraged gorillas trampling toward her, and her remaining sister wrestling Tarzan on the edge of the cliff. With a defiant roar, she fled into the jungle. Some of the apes gave a half-hearted pursuit, throwing rocks and branches at her. The panther snorted at Jane, then turned its attention to Tarzan.

•••

Tarzan wrestled the lioness to the floor. The big cat used its weight to roll on top of him—but didn't stop. Focused only on the life-or-death fight, the lioness continued rolling straight off the edge of the precipice, pulling Tarzan with her. Tarzan's fingers raked mud and grass as he was hauled over the edge.

“TARZAN!” Jane began running—but there was no way she could reach him in time.

Tarzan plummeted.

“NO!”

Tarzan and the lioness fell seven feet until they slammed into a rocky ledge that dislodged the grip the beast had on him. The ledge crumbled from the impact and they dropped again—but Tarzan's hand was already moving to his waist . . .

Jane stopped in her tracks as a vine lasso shot over the rim of the plateau and caught on a broken tree limb. The rope pulled taut and she ran to the cliff edge as Tarzan heaved himself up, back to safety. He was breathing hard and was covered in blood from multiple wounds, but he was smiling as he stood—then he bellowed triumphantly.

Jane ran to Tarzan's aid but didn't get too close because the panther was rubbing itself against his leg and purring. Tarzan scratched the cat between the ears.

“Good Sheeta.”

Jane surprised herself by hesitantly extending her hand to the panther, but had second thoughts when Sheeta turned to her. Tarzan gave her an encouraging nod and Jane gently stroked Sheeta's velvet fur.

“Thank you, Sheeta,” she whispered.

The cat purred louder, then set about cleaning itself. Jane examined Tarzan's wounds, but his attention lay over her shoulder. She turned to see the gorillas were circling something. She followed Tarzan, her fear of the apes dispelled as she pushed through their ranks.

Tana lay at the center. The lions had inflicted terrible wounds and caused her to lose a lot of blood. It was clear from a single glance that Tana's wounds were beyond Tarzan's healing. Her breaths came in shallow rasps and she feebly laid a hand on Karnath, who sat on her chest. The little ape's eyes were wide. He didn't understand why his mother wouldn't stand.

Tears stung Jane's eyes and she was flooded with intense sorrow. The gentle ape had taken it upon herself to watch over Jane. Now she lay dying because she had protected her only child.

Tana gave a soft grumble, as if to assure Karnath that everything would be all right. Jane felt a soft leathery hand suddenly press against hers and she looked into Tana's brown eyes only to see the life drain out of them.

Karnath cried in alarm as his mother's chest grew still.

Tarzan bowed his head in silent grief at the loss of another of his family. Kerchak sat by Tana's head, tenderly stroking her face in the hope it might resurrect her. The compassionate gesture touched Jane and she finally shook with sobs, Tana's lifeless hand in hers.

Something warm and soft hugged her. She didn't need to open her eyes to know that Karnath had wrapped his tiny arms around her and was holding her tight.

N
ews of Anil's death dropped morale further when the exhausted search party returned to Karibu Mji in the early hours of the morning. Esmée organized hot food and blankets as everybody gathered to listen to their story. The clash with Tafari's men was greeted with dark looks between the loggers. Getting any further mixed up with the insurgents was something none of them relished.

Any thoughts of heading to the town for help were quashed when Esmée told them that the jeep had stopped working. This time sabotage wasn't suspected, just the humid conditions the machinery was expected to endure. The supplies needed for the repair had all been damaged in the fire and none of the men possessed the same engineering proficiency as Robbie.

Robbie tried to press the matter of the mysterious third party holding Jane to Clark and Archie but, in their tired condition, they didn't want to speculate as to who that could be. They just hoped that Jane was alive, somewhere.

Sleep was sporadic, and Robbie kept tossing from side to side in the hammock in his tiny shack. With no air-conditioning, the room was cloyingly warm. After two hours of restless sleep, Robbie sat up and splashed bottled water over his face, but the warm water did little to refresh him. He glanced around his hut, which was empty aside from a few changes of clothes. He had no possessions, not even a photograph of his sister, as he'd never had the time or opportunity to print one and now her face was consigned only to memory; in particular the image of her lying pale and dead. Try as he might, Robbie couldn't focus on Sophie's smiling, lively face. He was left with only a nightmare for a companion.

Instead he thought of Jane. She rarely smiled, her lips usually downturned, forehead furrowed as she vented her disgust with the jungle. On the few occasions she did smile, or even more infrequently, laughed, her eyes had lit up and Robbie had seen a blonde version of his sister.

He couldn't just sit and do nothing. Running blindly into the jungle had proved to be a stupid mistake that had cost a man his life. Several times now, Archie had assured him that it wasn't his fault, but Robbie wasn't convinced by the reassurances.

Robbie gave up trying to sleep and decided to walk around the camp. It was still morning, and everybody was taking the opportunity to rest. After being in the heart of the jungle, he had grown used to the constant chitter of birds, insects, and monkeys. Here, there was nothing, not even the dull thump of the generator, which had been shut down to conserve the little fuel that hadn't been consumed by the fire.

Robbie crossed to the operations hut, a small open-sided building that looked more like a beach hut, with a counter running along one side. It was from here Clark and Archie would pay the men or assign rotations for the next few days' logging. A weather-beaten map hung on the wall, covered in black marker that highlighted their path of destruction through the rainforest.

He traced a finger from their current location, picking out Tafari's rebel base on the other side of the mountains. He frowned, wondering where their mysterious third party could be lurking. A dirt track led part of the way through a valley and from there it was a hike to the rebels' base. Multiple rivers were marked on the map, but due to the lack of detail Robbie couldn't be sure which one he had followed. He had failed to believe there could be cartographic black holes in an age of satellite mapping, but detailed maps of the region simply didn't exist.

Robbie rubbed his eyes. The area he had highlighted was vast and it was pure speculation that Jane's kidnappers were located there. He crossed over to the burnt supply hut and examined the wreckage for the first time. Three walls stood, the fourth blown outward in the same explosion that had knocked Esmée down. The roof had collapsed and it looked like the slightest breeze would topple the charred structure over. Nobody had bothered trying to salvage the contents as the remains of the crates inside were clearly burnt to a crisp.

He circled the building, looking for any clues to what had happened. The hut was at the edge of the camp; there was nothing but stumps forming a buffer zone from the jungle beyond.

Then he noticed the lantern at the foot of the supply hut. Robbie kneeled to examine it. The lanterns were powered by paraffin, which was much cheaper than batteries. They hung from poles along the periphery of the camp and gave those within some sense of the boundary; too many times had an intoxicated logger staggered into the dark fold of the jungle never to be seen again. This lantern didn't belong here, and now that Robbie was searching for it, he spotted the pole it had been removed from. It had been thrown here deliberately. Not a particularly strategic point if somebody had intended to burn the building down. Throwing it through the window would have had more immediate results. But the lantern's broken glass cover clearly indicated that it had been thrown with some force.