(Published in the January 28, 2012, issue of Philippines Free Press)
“Your friend got it all wrong,” Ikang told Badong inside the dugout. “Gaston does not want you to be killed. In fact, he has chosen you over me. He needs your amulet more than he needs mine. He has asked me to leave.”
“Leave?” Badong asked. “Why?”
“He knows this camp would be too cramped for the three of us. He said when you return tomorrow morning, he no longer wants to see me here . . . It’s not true that he’s suicidal. He’s not afraid to die, yes, but it does not mean he will take chances with his life. Gaston clearly knows what he wants. He wants his troop to be bigger than what he has now, bigger than what Higante has. He even wants to be the supreme leader of the movement.”
“How could he do that if most of us will be killed tonight?”
“Your companions who will be killed are mere sacrifices,” Ikang answered. “When Gaston comes back victorious, it will not be difficult for him to recruit new men. The war has barely begun, Badong. More Christians will hate Muslims. More civilians will become vigilantes . . . Gaston cannot make you share all the oil in your amulet to his men. You need it yourself. There’s also not enough time for you to create new amulets. So what he’ll do is select only a few warriors and share to them the oil he has taken from you. Those fighters, along with you and Gaston, are the only ones who will survive tonight’s battle. From that small band, he will start to create an army—with the help of the amulets you will create.”
“Did he say all that to you?”
“No. But I’m his lover, Badong, and I’m a babaylan too, in case you forgot. I know not only his body but also his mind.”
“You’ve been together for quite some time. Why is he ditching you just like this?”
“I’m just a kept woman, Badong.”
“I don’t understand. I thought he loves you.”
Ikang laughed without a sound. “Indeed, you’re still young, Badong. You know nothing about love.”
He said, “I love you.”
She stared at him, smiling bitterly, and shook her head.
Pain showed in his face.
“But I’ll be honest, Badong,” she said. “I need you. I want you to be part of my plans. You’re the only one who can defeat Higante. And . . . I will be yours if you help me.”
“I will help you, Ikang,” he said. “But I’m not after your body. I truly care for you.”
She touched his thigh, and he nearly jumped. She moved her hand, up and down. “It doesn’t matter to me what you are after. I want to pay you the way I can.”
He stiffened.
“Don’t you want it, Badong?”
He swallowed. “I . . . I’ll take whatever you can give me, then.” He leaned close to her, yearning to kiss her mouth. But before his lips touched hers, she turned away.
“You can have me anytime, Badong,” she said, removing her hand from him. “But not today. Never on days like this. You wouldn’t want your amulet to lose its effect.”
Badong stared at her, confused, and then he understood. “It’s Friday,” he said.
“It’s Friday,” Ikang repeated. “Tomorrow, when you come back, carrying the head of Datu Unsay, you will have your reward.”
“But how could that happen? You’re leaving tonight . . .”
“Who told you I’m leaving?” Ikang said. “Gaston has to kill me first. I’m staying here. I have no one to go home to. My husband and daughter are gone.”
“You had a child?”
“Yes, a pretty little girl. We were in the evacuation center when she died, just a little younger than the boy you saved. I was already a babaylan then, but I wasn’t able to cure her. It was not evil spirits that made her sick. She did not need my amulet. She needed medicine . . . The night she was taken away from me, she had a very high fever. The black of her eyes disappeared. That’s why I lost control of myself when the same thing happened to the boy you saved.”
“Let’s run away from here, Ikang. Let’s find a place where we can live in peace.”
Ikang shook her head. “I can only live in peace when Higante’s gone. And it’s not just him who should pay for my husband’s death. The killers are still out there.”
“But you don’t know them.”
“It doesn’t matter. Their brothers will have to pay for them. I will stay here and fight—in my own way.”
“When Kumander Gaston comes back tomorrow, what are you going to do?”
“He’s not coming back.”
“What do you mean?”
“He will die in the battle tonight.”
“But I haven’t had a vision of him getting killed.”
“That’s because his fate is not yet sealed. There’s still something I need to do. When it’s done, no amulet could ever save him.”
Badong stared at Ikang, puzzled.
“I told you, Badong,” Ikang said, “I know Gaston. I know his mind and his body. I know what he can’t resist doing—even on a Friday.”
Slowly Badong realized what she was planning to do. “I can’t let you do that,” he said. “I can’t let him use you again.”
“It’s the only way.”
“No. I will kill him instead. Right now.”
“You can’t do that. He is now as powerful as you. Remember, you’ve given him half of the oil in your amulet.”
“I am still more powerful. It is my amulet.”
“Maybe you can kill him, but not before you’re nearly dead yourself. What good would your victory be, then? The other warriors will kill you. Half your amulet is no match for forty of mine.”
“The two of us can order them to recognize me as their new leader.”
“Do you think they will listen to a woman? And to a man much younger than them? They will kill you, Badong, and then they will kill one another—they will fight over the leadership and me. Is that what you want to happen?”
Badong’s fist tightened.
“You must go now,” Ikang said. “It’s getting dark. Get out and tell Gaston I’m waiting for him here.”
(To be continued)
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