like a force of nature.
Slowly men and women began emerging from the huts, eyeing him and the Yanomami mistrustfully. Most of them seemed to relax when they saw Ines step forward, but one man remained suspicious.
He walked toward Jason, his manner arrogant, his movements wary. Nearly as tall as Jason, he presented a threatening demeanor with his muscular frame and uncompromising glare.
"My name is Jason Sinclair," Jason said in Portuguese. "I believe my wife is here."
The black man gazed at Ines, who nodded almost imperceptibly. When his eyes returned to Jason, they had lost most of their fire. He appeared suddenly weary, almost vulnerable. "I am Pocedo. Follow me."
They walked toward the thatched building at the far end of the village. Jason became aware of things he hadn't noticed before—the lack of activity in the village, the sound of coughing and moaning. He could smell the sickness, and his stomach churned to think of Caroline here so close to death and disease.
There was no door, only an animal skin covering the opening. The large black man pushed it aside and allowed Jason to enter first. What met his gaze chilled him to the bone. Hammocks had been strung throughout the cavernous room, hammocks filled with suffering humanity, some so still they might have been dead.
She stood beside a hammock, whispering soothingly to its inhabitant. Her soft voice pierced his heart and set the blood pounding through his veins. Part of him wanted to shake her, to berate her for disobeying him. Another part of him wanted to rush to her, to take her in his arms and tell her how empty he'd felt inside when he'd thought he'd lost her.
Sensing their presence, she turned to stare at them with wide-eyed surprise, the signs of fatigue showing plainly on her face.
"Jason! What are you doing here? Who are these... these..."
Fear and fury and a wild joy coursed through him, causing his body to shudder with the effort to control the bombardment of emotions, to keep them from showing in his eyes lest she realize the depth of his concern, and use it against him.
This fragile woman presented a greater danger to him than any raging torrent or pestilence. The jungle could destroy his body, while Caroline and only Caroline could destroy his soul if he gave her the power to do so. It terrified him as nothing else in his life ever had.
So intent was he on his wife, Jason had forgotten the Yanomami were with him until Caroline averted her gaze from the naked men who had crowded into the building. Their bodies, like his, were painted with red and black dots and geometric designs.
What a shock they must present to her. He didn't know how many Indians Caroline had encountered on her trip to the fazenda, but he knew she would not have had any contact with the Yanomami. They were far too cautious for that. They stayed deep in the jungle, far from the white man. The sight of half a dozen naked, painted savages should have terrified her, but he read no fear in her expression, only embarrassment and surprise.
"Natives," he said, "Yanomami. And they've come with me to find my runaway wife."
He stepped closer, and Caroline's face registered further shock when she got a good look at him. He'd also forgotten the red dots that covered his own face and body. He knew they stood out much more strikingly against his white skin.
An uncertain laugh escaped her lips and she stifled it immediately. "I'm sorry. It's just that... What happened?"
"What are you doing here?" He cut straight to the matter at hand.
"Whoever they are, they shouldn't be here," Caroline warned, indicating the short, brown Indians with a nod of her head.
"Why? What's wrong with these people?" Jason asked with an instinctive dread.
"Measles."
The word sent a tremor through his body. Diseases had decimated some of the largest tribes in the Amazon. Because of their isolation, the Yanomami had been spared so far, but neither had they been exposed to European diseases enough to develop any measure of resistance.
Wheeling around, he spoke to Socrates in his native language. "These people have a disease that could be deadly to your people. Get your men out of here immediately and return to the yano. Thank you for your help."
Socrates nodded, smiling, "She is very plain, Man from Somewhere Else. If you decide to send her away again, remember I have many sisters."
Jason smiled at his friend's offer and his inaccurate