Chapter 1
Deep in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil, a group of thirteen men gathered in a circle. All were Caucasian, wearing tattered remnants of old uniforms.
The leader of the white men withdrew a pistol. One of his members shrank back.
“What?” the commandant asked.
“Do you need a weapon to cast a spell?”
“I can use yours, if you prefer…”
The leader’s cold blue eyes concerned him. The man shook his head, not trusting some of his companions as far as a blind panther could see.
“Good. Then I’ll use this,” the commandant said. He raised his Luger P08 pistol in the air and tucked his free hand behind his back. Stepping smartly around the outside of the circle, he spoke in his native language. “May the ancient and powerful gods hear us! May our ancestors who worked tirelessly to become gods hear us! We need you to punish a—”
“No, Commandant! You must not use the word ‘punish.’ That is considered black magic.”
“Horseshit!” he cried. Then he took a few deep breaths and resumed walking. “I meant to say, we need justice!” Glaring at the one who’d had the audacity to interrupt his spell casting, the leader continued.
The man watched with great concern. Would the spell backfire because he’d asked for the ancient gods’ help to cause harm? Or did the leader of the white men, who’d been hiding here for three generations, know what he was doing? The lives of his entire group plus the women and children in the compound could be affected. Would their gods punish the innocents among them?
“Perhaps we should do this another time… After we’ve had a chance to discuss—”
“There is no other time! The stars have aligned to favor this spell. It is the first of May, a sacred holiday. If you want to scare off the developer, this is the time. Or do you want our community discovered? Do you want to be made to answer for the actions of your ancestors? It won’t even be legal. We’ll be tried and found guilty in the court of popular opinion. Remember how one of our direct ancestors never made it to court? He was assassinated!”
The man hesitated, then nodded for him to continue.
The commandant completed the circle and made a sharp quarter-turn to retake his spot. “There is an unreasonable man calling himself the developer,” the commandant yelled loudly, pointing with his pistol in the direction of the Amazon River. “He wants to destroy this peaceful place. He plans to bring many tourists here. He will ruin our way of life—if you do not stop him!
“Stop him!” the commandant cried, and the others echoed. “Stop him! Stop him!”
“This is not his home! Send him back where he belongs!” All the voices took up the chant. “Send him back, send him back, send him back…”
Where had the man who called himself the developer come from? Surely it must be far away. And how would the gods and spirits of their ancestors make him go back there?
Just then, the leader withdrew a poppet—a small, stuffed effigy of a man—held the Luger against its head, and yelled, “Go home!”
Before he could pull the trigger, a spider monkey fell from an overhanging tree and landed smack in the middle of their circle.
“Eep!” The monkey grabbed the doll out of the leader’s hand, then scurried away as the stunned men watched.
“Fuck! That damned monkey broke the circle!” the commandant yelled in frustration. Then he bent over and shook his head. “I’m not doing it again.”
“But did it work?” one of the men asked.
He shrugged. “Probably.” He gazed in the direction in which the monkey had fled. “If the gods don’t make him leave, at least the monkey took him away.”
They all laughed—except the concerned member.
* * *
Mallory Summers was trying to chat with a nice young man about the weather, but couldn’t help being distracted by two old biddies sitting on the bus bench, peeking at her from under their umbrellas.
One old woman leaned toward the other and whispered loudly, “Tsk. Tsk. Such a sweet young thing…”
“It’s a shame,” said the other one.
Shame? Should I be ashamed for chatting up a nice-looking guy and offering to share my umbrella?Just to make sure the gossips knew how unashamed she was, she turned back to the young man and spoke louder. “Yeah, I saw the weather report this morning. It’s supposed to rain until about noon.”
