The Call of Crows

Chapter 7: Trial by Fire

Shahla couldn't get a wink of sleep during the week-long voyage. It wasn't as though she was accustomed to luxury. She'd lived most of her life out in the deserts with her Bedouin tribe. But the roiling waves rocked the boat as if trying to constantly shake her awake.

She didn't know how the others could do it. Moreover, she was amazed at how Vai had spent every moment awake, with his eyes glued to the sky in silent concentration and didn't seem the slightest bit tired.

Shahla's eyelids felt as heavy as lead, but she could never keep them closed for more than a few seconds.

Just as she felt tired enough to maybe keep her eyes closed, Vai shouted through the night, "Land!"

Shahla jerked up from her position slumping against the mast, "What? Where?"

"We're about to hit land, sand lovers." Vai grinned.

Shahla looked behind her out into the darkness ahead of the boat. The dim moonlight revealed no land, "How can you tell?"

"The stars are in the correct positions." Vai said.

"So you don't even know?" Najeem groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

"Of course I know. I'm a wayfinder, not a shaman." Vai scoffed.

Vai tied up his rope and clambered up the mast once again and shouted into the darkness in his native language.

"What the hell was that?" Najeem asked.

Vai shushed him, causing silence to fall on the boat, save for the creaking mast trying to support a man's weight. His gaze was stuck to the ocean out in front of the boat.

"Nau mai ki te kainga, teina!" a distant voice cried.

Vai slid down the mast, "I called us a welcoming party."

Then the echoes of rapid drum beats started as the soft orange glow of an island alight with torches and fires appeared out of the darkness.

The voice of men in concert with the percussion made them sound like war drums.

"This doesn't sound very welcoming." Shahla said.

Vai smiled, saying nothing. How was she supposed to take that?

The drums quickly died down for a bit as they drew closer to land. Close enough for Shahla to see the rows upon rows of men and women who stood on the beach.

Then the music started again. It started with heavy, slow drum beats that could be heard as the torches lit for them and trails of orange left by men spinning flaming sticks came into view.

Then, the quick, rhythmic beat of wooden clap drums joined them. And as the people on the shore could be made out in detail, the stomps of feet and slamming of chests matched the drums.

Najeem asked, "Are they attacking?"

"No!" Vai exclaimed, "They're dancing!"

Two lines of men on the beach whooped and hissed as Hokule'a breached coastal waters. The dance's leader started to chant, followed by the men's reverberating voices.

"Are you sure?" Shakti asked, turning towards Vai. Hell, if even Shakti was confused, there was bound to be some merit to that assumption.

"Well, it's a war dance, but it's for more than just that." Vai shrugged, "Just enjoy the performance!"

Shahla turned back to the island, her hand palming the pommel of her dagger. She glanced to see Najeem gripping the hilt of his scimitar.

The dancers went quiet, digging their fists in the sand as Hokule'a slid onto the shore. As the boat came to a stop, the clap drums started up a rapid and overwhelming rhythm, signaling a line of female dancers sitting on their knees in front of the men to start their dance.