Goddesses and Gremlins - Part 3
By Beaten Man   Replies to humbled@abeatenman.com 
Part 3 -  The Wandering


Chapter 14

The room was filled with luring scent. Waves of it escaped Shatiluaan as she
wildly thrust her hips and gyrated with the slave Benjamin locked in her
embrace. The muscles within the forbidden place pulled at his seeds, as one
would an udder, as they undulated together on the straw mat.

As the men entered the room they too, each in turn, became overcome with lust.
They pulled and beat at Benjamin in an attempt to get to the amazon beneath
him. They pushed him from her body as they clawed to get to her.

The scent of seed in the room was overpowering to her. She lay writhing and
chanting and moaning on the straw mat, thrusting her hips and grabbing at the
slaves and overseers who were now fighting one another to get to her body.
Shatiluaan rose from the mat and attempted to tear Benjamin from the grasp of
the others.. She was struck repeatedly by the passion dazed males as they
fought each other blindly. As the blows rained down from all sides she
gradually lost conciousness and fell beneath the melee. The waves of her
essence ceased pulsing from her as the blackness engulfed her and she slowly
collapsed.

The men who could still stand in the tiny enclosure became disoriented and
began milling about as lost sheep, Dazed ,and still aroused, they were each
oblivious to any others presense.

Five stood as though in a trance as one lay dead and two lay unconcious
beneath them..

Chapter 15

The scene that greeted Niles Foote as he arrived at the tiny shed can only be
described as pandemonium. There were eight people crammed into a room barely
large enough for two.

One of his overseers lay on the floor with blood dripping from the holes where
two brown eyes had been that morning. The amazon slave was laying naked face
down on the floor. The slave Benjamin, wearing only a shirt, was cowering in
the corner. He was beaten and bleeding.

Joshua, one of his men, and four slaves stood above the three on the ground
with stunned looks on their faces and bulges in their pants. They too were
bruised and bleeding. They moved aimlessly, jostling one another as they did.
For a split second he was convinced he had intruded on someones nightmare.

Foote was not a man of indecision, With a pistol in one hand and his whip in
the other he entered the shed. Using the hard handle of the whip as a club he
struck the slave nearest to him on the head as yelled for order. He fired his
pistol overhead one time as he did..

Instantly all motion stopped and the men stared at him blankly. For a moment
Foote thought he was looking at five versions of Lucas. What in the name of
God is going on in here he demand.

The four slaves were far to fearful of him to speak. His overseer Joshua
volunteered that they had heard screams and found Benjamin raping the slave
girl.

And what happened to Micah, Foote asked. The men looked at Peddersons Corpse.
It was the first time any of them had noticed him.

Not wanting Foote to think him a fool Joshua made up the best lie he could
think of. That was the first thing I noticed, Benjamin must have done it, he
said. To him that was the only obvious explanantion

Considering the four slaves to be little more than furniture and of no further
use Foote ordered them to return to their quarters. He sent Joshua to the main
house to report that the screams they had heard were a slave problem and that
he had everything under control.

No sooner had the men left when Martin arrived, his rifle in his hands and a
sleepy expression on his face. He was treated to the vision of a dead white
man, a cowering black man and an unconcious black woman all lying on the floor
in various stages of undress. In the middle of it all stood Foote with a
pistol in one hand and a whip in the other.

Unlike Foote, he was a man of indecision. He stood in the doorway staring
dumbly at the scene.

Chapter 16

Shatiluaan slowly shook off the blackness. The fires in the forbidden place
had cooled. She offered silent apologies to Rasha Shaluaan for her failure to
concieve as she rose naked from the floor. She looked from Foote to Martin and
then to the cowering Benjamin.

The black seed bearer had entered the forbidden place and left no seed. He had
commited mortal sin and mortal sin was the province of the Nai Oben Sha, She
was Shatiluaan, the Nai Oben Sha, No man could possess her. It was forbidden.

She reached passed Foote and grabbed the terrified Benjamin by the throat. Her
powerful hands began strangling the life from him as a stunned Martin and a
bemused Foote looked on.

Martin was to confused to act. As for Foote, he liked a spirited woman.
Watching her wreak vengeance on the slave for her percieved rape at his hands
excitied him. He also was not at all convinced that Benjamin was responsible
for Micahs death. He had noticed the blood on her hand.

He knew Micah had a key and the slave would have been to fearful to act on his
own. Micah must have gotten to her first he thought. He made a silent note to
himself to bind her when it was his turn to rape her.

Benjamin thrashed about and struggled against the hands that were keeping the
breath from his body. He pounded futily at her arms and chest as the life
drained from him. Slowly his struggles subsided. When they stopped she
continued to squeeze until the gurgling sounds from his throat could no longer
be heard.

Shatiluaan pulled her hands from the lifeless slave and chanted her wishes
that Rasha accept the balancing of his ledger and forgive him now his sins The
naked first daughter then stood and pulled herself proudly erect. She stared
off beyond the pale seed bearers to the Natulei homeland and awaited the
guidance of Rasha Shaluaan.

Martin spoke first. What the hell was all he could manage.

Chapter 17

Charleston was getting a late afternoon summer thunder storm by the time
Gabriel's carriage arrived at the waterfront. He had made up his mind that the
best place to start looking was the harbor masters offices. The harbor master
would know the origins of any ships in port. Gabriel had reasoned that a ship
from Africa must have someone who spoke the language of Africans. To Gabriel
there was no distinction. of region or country or tribe. He didn't conceive of
slaves being anything other than slaves.

Despite his young years he knew the power of the Ward name in Charleston.
Government and trade officials would be only to happy to assist Nathanial
Wards grandson in any way they could. Regardless of how silly or inane a Ward
request might seem to them it would be handled as though it was a matter of
urgency.

Knowing that Lucas's presense made people who did not know him nervous he
ordered the giant slave to stand in the street by the carriage with the
driver. He ordered that he remain there until he instructed him otherwise. He
entered the harbor masters offices as the giant stood silently, staring
blankly at the building.

The few officials present in the office did not disappoint Gabriel. Once he
identified himself all business ceased as the three men on duty fell all over
themselves to assist him. They were extremely sorry, but none of them or any
of the dock workers spoke any African dialects. Their suggestion was that he
seek out one of the slave ships. They explained that some of the slavers were
African themselves and could communicate with their cargo in their native
tongue.

The Windlass had been the only slave ship in the port and she had sailed in
the early morning darkness. They suggested that Gabriel inquire across the
street at a boarding house that catered to seamen that were awaiting berths on
the ships constantly entering and leaving the busy harbor. Perhaps one of the
seamen awaiting passage was conversant in the language of the slaves.

Thanking them and declining their offer of an escort Gabriel set out for the
two story wooden boarding house across the broad avenue. Lucas turned as
Gabriel passed, staring blankly after him, now towards the other side of the
street.

Next to the boarding house was a tavern. On its second story balcony Gabriel
could see several woman in revealing dress leaning over the railing . They
waved and smiled at the handsome young man as he crossed the street. Here were
the prostitudes he had heard of. The women who for a price could teach a boy
to be a man. Gabriel stopped in the middle of the street and checked to make
sure he had sufficient currency for his tuition. The women hooted
appreciatively as he counted. He intended a visit when his business next door
was complete.

Gabriel climbed the stairs leading to the entrance of the narrow rooming
house. At the top of the stairs two of its itinerant seamen occupants were
lounging about. He would inquire of them if they or any of the other residents
could assist him.

Unlike the officials at the harbor masters office, to these men the Ward name
meant nothing. Gabriel was just some young pup with a wad of money asking
foolish questions. The larger of the two volunteered that he spoke fluently
the language of the slaves. A well placed kick or the lash of the whip were
always understood he said. He requested then that Gabrial pay him for this
information, Gabriel angrily declined and turned to leave. When he did the
other seaman grabbed him from behind as the first attempted to rifle his
pockets.

A huge hand closed around the neck of the seaman whose hands were in Gabriels
pocket. He was lifted as one would a kitten, by the scruff of the neck, and
shook. The second released Gabriel and attempted to run passed Lucas to the
street. He was grabbed by the throat as he did and also lifted from his feet.
Both men kicked and punched at the giant as they thrashed about in his grasp.
Lucas stared blankly at the building as he squeezed his great hands. If he
felt the kicks and punches he showed no sign.

At first Gabriel was grateful for Lucas's intervention. Now he watched in
horror as it became evident that Lucas intended to crush the lives from both
of them. He yelled for him to release the men.

Instantly both were dropped to the ground. The seaman who had been grasped
from behind lay on the ground twitching, his neck had been broken. The other
lay coughing and clutching his throat, blood rushing from his mouth.

In a panic he ordered the giant back to the carriage and instructed the driver
to make for The Pines with all possible dispatch, his grandfathers mission and
his enrollment in the prostitutes school of manhood forgotten.

The carriage sped from Charleston with a drooling giant upon its roof. Inside
the carriage its lone occupant, Gabriel, gave silent thanks that his companion
preferred flying to the relative comfort of the compartment.

Chapter 18

Shatiluaan was the 133rd Nai Oben Sha. Each first daughter in the unbroken
line serves until her grand daughter is old enough to assume the role. Her
reign is more or less forty years.

The Natulie were an ancient people with much history. The Nai Oben Sha is the
repository of that information. She is taught by her mother and grandmother
the recounting of the legends and tales that are the Natulie history. She in
turn passes that history on to her own daughters and grand daughters.

To say that Shatiluaan was unaware of the activities around her would be
incorrect. It was only that the activity was of little interest to her. It did
not concern her. She saw the one called Mar teen, using the end of his fire
stick, crush the skull of the dead slave that had violated her. She saw him
kicking at the eyeless corpse of the pale seed bearer. She was aware of the
sharp faced pale mans attempt to restrain him. She watched as the pink faced
old one whose seed had dripped on his own hand entered her hut. She saw all
this and ignored it. Their activities had no bearing or meaning in her life or
the discharge of her duties. They were of no consequence to her.

Only the needs of the Natulie and the whims of Rasha Shaluaan were of concern
to her. Her day to day life and the lives of the Natulie were governed by
Rasha's wisdom. Where she lived, where she was taken, the conditions of her
life and the lives of the Natulie were all as the Mother of all Daughters
provided. The Mothers plans were accepted by her daughters without question or
thought.

Slavery was new to Shatiluaan, but not so its concept. Many Nai Oben Sha had
lived with the shackles of servitude binding them. Their plight was part of
the history she had been taught. As Rasha Shaluaan led them first from the
fertile valley of the birth of their existence, and then on the long odyssey
to the promised green hills, she had placed the Natulie in slavery many times
and by many peoples. But the Mother always provided for them. Sometimes it was
a hut such as she occupied now. Sometimes it was the hold of a slave ship. At
other times it might be a tent on an arid desert or a cave in a mountains
side. Whatever and wherever it was, it was as Rasha Shaluaan wished it to be.
The activities of others was inconsequential.

Shatiluaan had not yet spawned the mother of the next Nai Oben Sha. She had
not yet become the mother of her pupil and had no one to whom she could
recount the Natulie history to. In the idle years as she awaited the coming of
her time she must recount to herself these tales. They must be remembered and
told and retold. Even if that retelling was to herself.

This day, as the pale faced seed bearers went about their pecular pagan
rituals, Shatiluaan was engrossed in the history of her peoples migration to
the promised green hills. With the time of the Wandering.

She began at the creation of the first Shati Luaan. The first first daughter.
How she was the image of and the issue of Rasha Shaluaan herself. She
recounted to herself the telling of the creation of the first seed bearer from
the breast of the first daughter and how they were commanded to multiply in a
valley of plenty provided by Rasha. She thought of how the thirteen clans had
been cast from the fertile valley of their origin by an angry Rasha Shaluaan.
Of how they had foolishly been led astray by he who wished to lead. She
remembered as though it were yesterday the seperation of the clans during
their 1000 years of captivity in the land of the great tombs and of how twelve
of the clans betrayed their heritage. She remebered too how Rasha had visited
cruel destinies, in the form of terrible plagues, upon the slave masters of
that land and then led the enslaved to their freedom. And she recalled the
1000 years of wandering by the thirteenth clan that followed their captivity.
The travels of Rashas chosen ones, the Natulie.

All this occupied Shatiluaan as the pale men went about the meaningless
activities of their lives.

She was Nai Oben Sha, She was the first Luaan, She was the Natulie.

Chapter 19

Martin was speechless but Niles Foote was not. She's been raped by Benjamin.
Micah must have been in on it too. I guess they fought over the woman and
Benjamin won. Coverering the Negress with a blanket as he spoke, he filled
Martin in on the details as he wished Martin to believe them, If her
complicity in Micahs death was suspected she would be destroyed. And Foote had
still not satisfied his own lust..

News of her rape by the slave and the overseer snapped Martin out of his
shocked state. When angered he was not a man of indecision. He would strike
out immediately at those that angered him. Her rape was not what angered
Martin. The timerity of the slave and of Pedderson in daring to use what he
saw as his property did. Especially as he had not yet used it himself.

His reaction was rushng to the body of the dead slave. Then, cursing him as he
did so, Martin began pounding at his skull with the butt of his rifle. He
continued smashing at his head until Foote pulled him away. As Foote dragged
the cursing Martin towards the door Martin began kicking at the eyeless
Pedderson for his part in this affront to Martins dignity.

At that point the nightgown clad figure of Nathanial Ward appeared in the
doorway. His presence brought Martins tantrum to an end as Foote released him.
Both men stood silently as the master of The Pines inspected the scene. He was
appraised of the situation by Foote.

After a few minutes deliberation Nathanial Ward made his decisions and passed
his instructions on to his son and his slave master.

Chapter 20

The Pines was actually more than just a plantation. It was a small state.
Beyond the two thousand acres that comprised the Plantation compound and it's
fields was another nearly thirty thousand acres of cultivated lands.
Interspersed throughout the property were several other compounds, or mini
plantations,with fields of their own. All were connected by a series of paths
that ran through the fields and back to the main plantation. Some were run by
tenants and others by the Ward family directly. The nearest of these compounds
contained the home of Martin Ward. Martins compound served as a satellite to
the main plantation. It was in this compound that Nathanial Ward ordered
Shatiluaan be quartered.

Nathanial was not concerned with the circumstances of the deaths of the
overseer and the slave. He regretted the loss of a useful employee and of a
valuable piece of property, these sorts of losses had monetary consequences,
but who was responsible was not of interest to him.

He was not concerned with his sons angry outburst that he'd witnessed as he
approached the shed. From Martin he would expect nothing less. He was not, as
Foote thought, unaware of his shortcomings. He knew that he was ill tempered
and spoled. Shortcomings that he held the mother of his son responsible for.

He was concerned, however, with the recounting of the mens behavior as
described to him by Foote. He was already alarmed at the effect Shatiluaan had
had on himself and the other men she had come in contact with. The news of the
mens confusion and apparent arousal deepened further his alarm and his
suspicion that there was something strange about her.

He probably would not have been so terribly worried if it were not for Lucas
Lucas had not acted on his own in nearly twenty years. Standing in front of a
shed might not seem like a cause for alarm to most people but it was to
Nathanial. Lucas could be extremely dangerous if left to his own devices. The
only person, other than himself, he trusted with Lucas was his grandson. Like
any other man that owned a weapon, Nathanial Ward was aware of the danger of
his. Lucas's strength coupled with his lack of reasoning ability and
conscience was a potentialy explosive combination.

In the past he had never shown any inclination that he was capable of deciding
that he would just go somewhere. He simply never had. He was capable of
speech, yet he had not articulated a thought in twenty years. He had never
displayed the ability to think and now he had. He had decided to go to her
shed. Why?

He thought of simply destroying her but quickly discarded that idea.. She had
been purchased as breeding stock and she represented an investment. He had not
become one of the young nations wealthiest men by squandering his money. To
Nathanial there was no such thing as an insignificant amount. Whatever there
was about her that so aroused him and the other men must surely have a simple
explanation. Until he could solve the mystery he would just keep her isolated
from all men.

He ordered that Martin and Gabriel were to temporarily move into the main
house. Martins wife, Lucille, was to be left running Martins household. The
male slave that Martin kept at the house was to sent to the fields to work and
replaced by two female slaves. That would leave four females in the household
including Martins slave maid. Shatiluaan was to be restrained and kept in the
basement.

None of the slaves, field hands or overseers were quartered there. The only
other structures on the compound were either storage or stables. Other than
stable hands and nearby field workers during the day there would be no males
within a mile of the Amazon slave woman.

Martin, of course, put up a brief argument. He did so for Footes benefit. He
would not want him thinking that at thirty eight years of age his father was
deciding where he would live. He didn't want Foote to think him weak.
Regardless of his objections he and his son would be staying at his fathers
home, he knew that. He just had to put up a fight for appearances.

Within ten minutes of his arrival at the shed Nathanial Wards instructions
were being acted on. Martin needn't have worried about keeping up appearances
in front of Foote. Foote knew that Nathanial could not be argued with. And
besides, he couldn't possibly have thought less of Martin than he already did.

Chapter 21

Gabriel's carriage arrived at Nathaniels house well after midnight. It was
greeted by the unusual scene of late night activity. Foote, his father and
Joshua were all downstairs when he entered the house. Several slaves were
moving items of clothing and bedding up and down the great staircase.

His grandfather, from his room, was hollering instructions to the slaves as
they scurried about.

He barely spoke with any of them as he hurried up to Nathanials room. His
grandfather would need to know of Lucas's behaviour and of the injured seamen.

He was surprised that Nathanial showd so little interest in the plight of the
two would be muggers. He displayed no interest in either them or the possible
legal consequences of Lucas's action if either were to die. The dock scum had
gotten what they deserved was how Nathanial had put it. No one would care of
their fate and certainly no one would bother the Wards regarding it. Gabriel
was not to give the matter another thought. The elder Ward was only concerned
with whether his grandson had been in any way injured. And was gratified that
he had come to no harm.

He did express interest in Lucas's behaviour. When Gabriel described his
actions, how he had come to his assistance so quickly and how he only released
them when ordered, the knowledge actually seemed to have a calming effect on
Nathanial. He appeared quite happy that the slave had followed his
instructions without thinking and protected his grandson as ordered. He
reminded Gabriel that he had released the men as he had commanded and was
simply doing his job when he attacked them. Nathanials arguments relieved
Gabriels worries over being held responsible for the fate of the seamen. They
did nothing for his new found fear of his grandfathers personal slave.

Chapter 22

By 2:00 AM. quiet and normalcy had returned to The Pines. Niles Foote lay in
his quarters trying to figure out what in the world was motivating his
employer. Foote saw nothing unusual in the attraction of men to the black
beauty. He himself could hardly wait for the opportunity to feel her body
beneath him. He had barely thought of anything else for two days. For
Nathanial Ward to express concern or interest in a slave was beyond
comprehension to him. For Ward to displace his family and move slaves around
to accomodate her was completely bizare behaviour and totally unexplainable.
If his boss was motivated by fear that she would retaliate for being raped,
such as she had with Benjamin, he would simply have her sold or perhaps
killed. And besides Foote knew the best way to break a spirited mare was to
saddle up and ride her. He was an expert at breaking mares himself.

Money must be making the fat old bastard nuts Foote thought as he drifted off
to sleep.

In his new room at his fathers home Martin Ward thrashed angrily about his bed
unable to calm himself enough for sleep. He was angry at his father for
displacing him, for a slave no less. He was angry at him for behaving so
strangely in the matter. What concern of it was his if the men used her. He
was angry at the slave woman for not only being in his home when he couldn't
be, but also for allowing herself to be used by the likes of Benjamin and
Micah. And he was mad that he'd had an unrelieved erection for two days.
Something else he blamed on his father and the woman equally.

His father had no idea how to handle a a problem slave nor a problem female he
thought. Well he certainly did. You beat her until she's tame and then you
screw her until she drops. And he would, first chance he got. Nathanial Ward
could be damned.

Benjamin slept fitfully in his first floor room. As far away from his
grandfathers room, and Lucas as he could get. He dreamt of headless seamen.

Upstairs his Grandfather also slept. Peaceful in the knowledge he had the
situation well in hand. Outside his door a drooling giant sat and stared in
the direction of the tiny hut everyone refered to as Flo's shed. Every few
minutes he would inhale deeply through his nose. As though searching for a
scent.

And a mile or so to the north, in the basement of Martin Wards residence, a
beautiful black Amazon with a body men's dreams are made from thanked the
Mother of all Daughters for the comfort of her new surroundings. She thanked
her for only having her hands bound as retribution for her failure to
conceive.

Her time would be ten years. She promised the Mother of All ten Natulie
daughters. She did so knowing full well Rasha Shaluaan, in her wisdom, was
already aware of this.

To be Continued in Part 4

The Odyssey of the Chameleones