Stella and the Slavers

By Maggie Brooke and Jorge Tarzia

The sequel to 'Stella and the Elephant'. Stranded in the middle of Africa, in the year 1875, Stella Stardust has parted from her friend, Fortune the elephant, so that he can follow his destiny to the Elephant's Graveyard. Now she must find her way, alone, back home to her family in Australia. On this journey she encounters wild animals, bogs, he

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maggie Brooke
• Release date: Dec 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645703815

Maggie Brooke

Maggie Brooke was born on a farm in Kansas and now she lives in Oz. (No ruby slippers, please, she doesn’t want to go back!) She is a free-lance writer and, although she’s had many stories, poems and articles published this is her first novel to hit the big time.She’s lived more places, worked more jobs, had more men than she cares to remember. Favourite place to live – tropical island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Favourite job – delivering babies in an African jungle. Favourite men – her gorgeous grandsons. She now lives in North Queensland with her dog, Gideon.

Book preview

In the Beginning… It was the sixth of May, 1865, and Stella was entering this world, come hell or high water, which is exactly what was happening outside. A wickedly wild storm sounded like the gates of hell banging as high water from the creeks flooded the road. Fierce winds drove the pouring rain sideways and the dogs in the barn howled as crashes of thunder and slashes of lightening shook the walls. No midwife from the town would be arriving to help and Father, panic-stricken, raced to the kitchen to get Cook. Suddenly the back door blew open and the wife of one of the Aboriginal farmhands rushed in amid the rain and leaves. Without speaking, she took Father’s arm and he took her upstairs to the birthing room.

‘The woman was so silent I thought that she was mute,’ Mother always said.

With quiet skill the woman helped Mother to deliver her daughter, dried the baby with a soft blanket, dressed her in a pink bunting and gave her to Mother.

‘Special girl child here,’ she murmured. ‘Very special.’

‘And then I knew she was not mute,’ Mother always said. ‘She left as mysteriously as she had come.’

Father, pacing the hall outside, heard a cry so strong and lusty that he was sure he had another son and burst impatiently into the room. He stopped short when he saw the pink bundle in his wife’s arms.

‘A girl,’ he breathed softly. He tiptoed across the room and gazed into the baby’s blue eyes, sparkling beneath her bright red hair.

‘We will call her Stella for the starlight in her eyes,’ Mother smiled. ‘Where are the boys?’

Father hurried away to fetch the four-year-old twins. They were not so thrilled to have a sister.

‘Her nose is very big,’ muttered Lucas, climbing onto the bed.

‘And you could pick her up by her ears,’ added Marcus, standing on his toes for a closer look.

Baby Stella’s clear eyes danced as she gazed at her brothers. She blew a big bubble and reached out her two little fists, grabbing handfuls of thick black hair from each boy.

‘Ow!’ they cried in unison. ‘She’s awful strong! Help us, Pa!’

As their father untangled hair from tiny hands he noticed a leather thong tied around the baby’s neck. He opened her blanket and saw a strange-smelling amulet dangling from the thong. ‘What the…? Must have been that woman put this on.’

Father reached to untie it but Mother stayed his hand.

‘We don’t know what it means,’ she murmured. ‘I think perhaps it should remain…’

Chapter 1: On the Road Again

Stella drifted down the river all through the day, lying hidden in the bottom of the canoe with the sun beating down on the blanket that covered her. As the hours crawled slowly by, though, she knew from the sound of the arrows whistling overhead and the occasional cries from the shore that the hunt was still up. Uncomfortable as she was from the heat and thirst, she didn’t dare show herself.

Night fell at last and, with it, peace. Hoping it was safe at last, she removed the blanket and sat up. The first thing she did was to dip her pannikin into the river again and again, drinking enough to fill a barrel. A full moon flooded the great river with light and she looked around but the distant shore was barely visible. How could a river be so wide? The canoe rocked her gently and she leaned over the side to feel the cool water on her arms.

Thwack! An arrow pierced the side of the canoe an inch from her elbow.

A heart-stopping cry from the shore followed and she knew the Journey Master hadn’t given up his quest for the gold of slave trading. In an instant she was curled under the blanket in the bottom of the boat once again. This time she stayed there, sizzling like a sausage, through two full days and nights; amulet clutched tightly in her hand.

*****

Stella Stardust stared ahead, not looking back. She lifted her amulet to her lips, muttered something between a prayer and a kiss, and found the courage to keep going. She sniffed back her tears, shouldered her swag, tried to brush some of the dirt off her trousers, and then strode stoutly down to the road to join the river of people traveling east. With alarm, she remembered that she had not spoken to another human for more than six months. What if she’d forgotten how?

A sob caught in her throat as she looked at the heavy traffic; everyone on their ways to destinations near and far. How far was hers? She and Fortune had walked for weeks from the east coast of Africa deep into its interior and now it was time for her to return.

Months ago, shortly after her tenth birthday, Stella had rescued Fortune, the largest elephant in captivity in the southern hemisphere, from the Amazing Traveling Stardust Circus. Together they had journeyed over oceans and across a continent. They had found his family and she had lived with them all for an entire wet season. When the rains stopped, the two wayfarers had continued their travels, following Fortune’s nose once more to their final fork in the road, where he had turned west toward the elephant’s graveyard and she had turned east, back toward her home in Australia.

She would walk her road alone just as he must follow his. A sudden chill made her shiver as she realised just exactly how alone she was, stranded on a road in the middle of the Dark Continent with only a compass to guide her back to the other side of the world. A small cry escaped her lips, tears stung her eyes and her chest heaved with panic. What if…?

Her red curls danced as she shook those doubts out of her head and, with more bravado than she felt, she tucked her amulet under her shirt and stepped onto the highway, into the throng.

No-one took any notice as she darted here and there, trying to decide what she should do now. She had known for so long that this day would come, why hadn’t she come up with a plan? The noise of all these people talking confused her more. Africa had so many languages there was no way Stella could have learned them all but she had learned one and, as she wandered through the crowd, she came across a family speaking the familiar words of Swahili. She fell in step with them, determined not to think about Fortune’s destination. With a forced smile stretching her lips, she raised her straw hat politely and said, ‘Jambo.’ Hello.

The family seemed surprised, to say the least, by her sudden appearance. The father, who carried a large cooking pot on his head, glanced at a boy about Stella’s age who was balancing a wooden cage holding two chickens on his. The mother and oldest daughter, carrying cloth bundles on their