Sister of the Sun Read Online Free Page B

her father took Natunatu as his wife, were now on the verge of erupting again.  
    Tepua gazed out across the lagoon, in the direction of far-off Tahiti. What if she took a canoe now and slipped away before the trouble here grew worse? What a pleasant prospect! But she would not get far before Kohekapu sent a fleet to bring her back.  
    Even so, a brief escape was still possible. She waded out from shore, feeling the fine sand between her toes and warm water swirling about her knees. Here the underwater reef flat sloped gently, reaching at last a sudden drop-off. She plunged in, swimming angrily, taking out her frustration on the water. She barely noticed the sting of saltwater against the coral cuts that still marked her legs.  
    In the far distance she saw her little islet, the one called Ata-ruru or "Dense-shade," after a legendary dwelling. If she swam to the place, she thought, then perhaps no one would know where she had gone. Without a canoe missing, they might not even think to look for her there!  
    The water slid by, helping her forget her turmoil. Vaguely she thought of sharks, but she did not consider them a threat to her now. The dangerous ones usually stayed near the pass to the sea.  
    The motions of swimming became as repetitive as the game of string figures had been. Once more she felt herself slipping into a daze. Lulled by the rhythm of stroking and the feel of the water sliding past, she grew less and less aware of her surroundings.  
    Then she seemed to hear a distant murmur of voices. She glimpsed a circle of human figures, men wearing tall feathers in their hair. They were priests squatting together in the sacred precincts of the marae .  
    The men were all staring at something, arguing, moving their hands. Tepua tried to see what they were looking at, but it lay deep in shadow. She strained to make out their words but all she could hear now was a rhythmic splash, splash, splash.  
    Something was poking her shoulder. She tried to pull away. "Tepua!" a voice shouted, and this time the sound was unmistakable. Her eyes opened. She stopped swimming and looked up to see Maukiri and Roki in an outrigger."We are going to our motu ," said Maukiri. "Come in the vaka. It is too far for you to swim."  
    Tepua frowned, wishing her cousin would be quiet for a moment. She wanted to remember the vision, but it had faded. Below her, in the water, a long dark shape was circling.  
    "I am coming," said Tepua, glancing nervously at the shark. "I want to stay at Ata-ruru awhile." She took a place in the middle of the boat and picked up a paddle.  
    "We cannot stay long," said Maukiri. "Kohekapu wants to see you. Mother sent us out here only to clean up after yesterday's visit."  
    With three paddlers, the canoe reached the motu quickly. Maukiri led the way to the shady spot where she and Tepua had been sitting the previous day. The broken remains of the coconuts they had eaten lay in a heap beneath a spiky fara palm. Inedible parts of the orange-hued fara fruit were strewn with the rest.  
    From the canoe, Roki brought a shovel, a short pole lashed to part of a sea turtle's belly plate. She began to dig a hole in the sandy soil. When sweat ran down her back, she dropped the shovel and told Maukiri to finish the job.  
    Tepua watched grimly as the two sisters buried the refuse, then smoothed sand over the hole. She wondered if Ehi was taking her precautions too far. It would be bad, of course, for leavings from Tepua's meal to fall into the hands of an enemy. Natunatu might be able to fashion a powerful spell if she obtained something that had touched Tepua's lips.  
    Feeling downhearted over the trouble that she was causing, Tepua made no protest when Maukiri and Roki prepared to leave Ata-ruru. She had thought earlier that she might try living alone on this motu awhile, pulling up clams from the nearby shallows and drinking from coconuts. Now she wondered if she could be safe