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believe in God. Not like you and Jim do anyway.” Lou brushed the thought off, not wanting to scare Staci, but thinking about it, the scenario fitted perfectly.
    “So, Jim, where’s this air force base, then?” Staci asked, changing the subject again.
    Jim got out the map and showed them. “It’s here. It’s marked abandoned, but hopefully they left radio equipment behind.”
    “And if they didn’t?”
    “We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it.”
    “We’ll have to pass the volcano to get there,” Staci said worriedly.
    “That’s not a problem,” Jim said. He looked at Ailsa. “Is it?”
    Ailsa looked at him. “The volcano is taboo. It’s forbidden territory. It’s the one place the natives really fear. They won’t go anywhere near it. Especially with all these tremors.”
    “That’s due to normal seismic activity—nothing worse.”
    “There haven’t been tremors for two years. The volcano hasn’t erupted since I’ve been here and from what I gathered from the natives, not for at least fifty years before that.”
    “Knowing our luck—” Staci began.
    Jim cut her off sharply. “Don’t say it, kiddo.”
    Lou looked up, the memory of her dream coming back to her, along with an overwhelming desire to get as far away from here as possible. “The other statue—the one in the temple. There were three in the inner chamber, in the place of honor. Each with their own altar. Oneki and Xantic I told you about. The other is the reason for the circular pattern to everything. The amulet and why the village is built around a central point. Jim, we have to get away from here.”
    “What are you talking about? Ailsa, do you know?”
    “I had as little to do with their religion as possible, but she does make sense. They respected my beliefs and didn’t make me go to any of the ceremonies.”
    Lou looked at Jim. “We have to get further away from here, from the village.”
    “Why?”
    “Kuriarikan.”
    “Who?”
    ”Kuriarikan. The cushions and covers we used were taken from his altar.”
    Jim shook his head. “So....?”
    “Kuriarikan is the god of fire and brimstone.”
    “Satan, then? The fallen angel of hell?”
    “The volcano god?” Staci asked.
    Ailsa nodded. “Annual sacrifices are made to appease him and keep him sweet, that sort of thing. He was personified in the volcano. If the temple was violated, a blood sacrifice had to be made or he would bring a great disaster on the village and surrounding land.”
    “They don’t seriously think that the volcano would erupt?” Jim laughed.
    Ailsa and Lou exchanged looks. “I don’t know,” Ailsa replied. “They haven’t risked it since I’ve been there. There are other obscure laws concerning the volcano. Mainly about women and what they can and can’t do. Being seen and not heard, for example. I may have made things worse by speaking to Amio the way I did.”
    Jim rolled his eyes. “Oops.”
    “Yeah, oops. Lou’s right. We need to get further away—at least a day’s journey. They won’t follow us further than that.”
    The ground shook slightly beneath their feet.
    Staci looked scared. “Jim…”
    “Easy, kiddo,” he said, reaching out for her. “Nothing to worry about.”
    “Jim, the tremors will make them come after us. We have to go now,” Ailsa said.
    “But it’s getting dark,” Staci objected.
    “We can’t stay here,” Ailsa insisted. She covered over the remains of the fire.
    Jim gathered up all their things.
    “Do we follow the river?” he asked her.
    Ailsa shook her head emphatically. “No, they’ll expect that. Our best bet is to head for the volcano. We should be safe there.”
    Staci looked at Lou. “From the unfriendly natives perhaps. Don’t tremors precede a volcanic eruption?”
    “Not always. Only harmonic ones, not ordinary ones.” She held out a hand. “Can you help me up please?”
    Staci pulled Lou up and then shouldered her rucksack. “How do you tell the difference?”
    “With a lot