Page 18 of Quinn

“Why did she hate you?”

“She said she knew my father was white and my mother National. When I was older she used to say I was the product of a slut who spread her legs for whoever asked. I found out at the age of nine, that wasn’t the only reason she hated me with a vengeance.”

Quinn cocked an eyebrow, waiting for me to explain.

“I was…” I looked down at my fingers and watched as they twisted in each other.

“You were?”

“At the age of six, apparently Tchokai told Sirizo to take good care of me as I was to be his wife. We married on my twelfth birthday.”

Quinn shook his head. “No…Tell me you weren’t fucked by the arsehole while you were still a kid.”

Tears streamed over my cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

Quinn gathered me in his arms, holding me close, and kissed the top of my head. I wanted to crawl inside his chest, where it was safe, and stay there.

After I sobbed for a few minutes, he sat me back against the pillows. “Don’t you dare apologise for anything that fucking bastard did to you.”

I swallowed hard and continued. “Sirizo had been born in the village to one of the women who’d been forced upon by one of the men. She was convinced Tchokai would make her one of his wives once she was old enough. When I was brought to the village, she was fourteen and he still hadn’t asked her to marry him. She refused all other offers until a year later when she was forced to marry a lowly tribesman. Sirizo was convinced it was because he’d set his sights on me that she was passed over.”

“Sounds like he had plenty of opportunity to make her his wife before you arrived. You sound well-educated but I can’t imagine they allowed you to attend school.”

“Oh, no. I was not permitted to go beyond the confines of the village. A white missionary, one of Tchokai wives, taught the children. She was very intelligent and most of the time she was kind.”

“Why the fuck did she accept what was being done to the children?”

“She accepted it was their culture I suppose.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“How far back do you remember?”

“Clearly?”

Quinn nodded.

“I remember my ninth birthday when Tchokai publicly declared I was to be his wife and he needed to make sure I was acceptable. The men gathered around the fire and I was brought to them. They all…”

“Oh, sweetheart, you don’t have to tell me. I can see how much it hurts.”

I gazed at Quinn through tear soaked eyes. “I want to tell you. I need someone to know how the girls are treated. It’s why I tried for years to escape. It wasn’t because I was abused, it was because someone needed to try and put a stop to it all.” I wiped at my eyes with a tissue I accepted. “I realise now, they’ll never be stopped, but I couldn’t spend another birthday there. I was willing to die if it meant I’d be free.”

“Why did you dread your birthday, Bella? That’s a few times you’ve referred to the day.”

“I was married in a ceremony at the age of twelve as was their custom. That was when I was given the tattoo on my neck. It was also the day I became one of his sixteen wives but Tchokai only ever took one of us at a time into his bed.”

On our birthdays, we were taken by Tchokai and his five senior men. If we fought them, we were whipped and beaten then starved for thirty days. The punishment was the same whenever we disobeyed them.”

“From the state of your body, I’d say you fought back a lot.”

“I did; for me and the other children. When I was particularly unruly, they used voodoo and incense to control my behaviour. The spells they cast caused me to lose my memory. I couldn’t feel my hands and feet. It was like I was outside my body. The incense kept my brain fuzzy and I couldn’t think.”

“Tell me about the voodoo.”

“They wear masks, paint funny symbols on their bodies and dress in arse grass. Incense is arranged in a circle and set alight; inside the circle is where the victim is placed tied up in ropes. Then, Tchokai and his five senior men prick the skin all over with the tips of their spears. The rest of the villagers have to remain outside the circle while they watch. There’s lots of chanting, whipping, spearing, and victims who are captured enemies have their throats cut. I can’t remember a lot after the spells are cast because my head would get really fuzzy and I couldn’t move.”

“Spells my arse. That pricking they did with spears? The tips were most likely full of drugs.”

I tilted my head to the side. “Tchokai said it was powerful voodoo and would kill anyone who tried to infiltrate their village. You don’t think it’s true?”