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PROLOGUE

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS REALIZED THAT THE DECISIVE MOMENT was approaching His party had trudged south through the lush forest of this tropical land for the past three days, steadily gaining altitude Of all the islands he’d discovered since that first landfall in October 1492, this was the fairest his eyes had seen A narrow plain ri gradually fro here, in the east, at the tortuous chain of peaks now surrounding him Most of the earth was porous limestone covered by fertile red soil An incredible array of plants flourished beneath thick stands of old-growth forest, all nourished by constant, moist winds The natives who lived here called the place Xays”—apt, for water abounded everywhere Since Castilian substituted a J for X, he’d come to call it Jamaica

“Admiral”

He stopped and turned to face one of his men

“It is not far,” de Torres said to hie to the flat point, then beyond a clearing”

Luis had sailed with hi the one in 1492 when they’d first stepped ashore They understood and trusted each other

He could not say the same for the six natives who carted the crates They were heathens He pointed at tho toted one of the smaller containers and motioned with his hands for them to be careful He was surprised that after two years the as still intact No worh, as they had last year with his ship’s hull One year he’d spent marooned on this island

But his captivity was now over

“You chose well,” he said to de Torres in Spanish

None of the natives could speak the language Three more Spaniards accompanied him and Torres, each specially chosen The locals had been conscripted, bribed with the promise of more hawk’s bells—trinkets, the sound of which seemed to fascinate them—if they would but haul three crates into the mountains

They’d begun at dawn in a wooded glade adjacent to the north shore, a nearby river pouring sparkling cold water down s one last silvery plunge to the sea A constant chirping of insects and the call of birds had increased in volue up the wooded slope had taken effort and all of the their faces Now they were headed back down, into a lush valley

For the first ti while, he felt rejuvenated

He loved this land

The first voyage in 1492 had been carried out under his personal leadership, against the advice of so-called learned people Eighty-seven th of his drea, first frouese, then froned between him and the Spanish Crown, had promised him noble status, 10 percent of all riches, and control of the seas he discovered An excellent bargain on paper, but Ferdinand and Isabella had not kept their end For the past twelve years, after he’d established the existence of what all were calling a New World, one Spanish ship after another had sailed ard, each without permission from him as Admiral of the Ocean Sea

Whores Liars

All of them

“There,?

? de Torres called out

He stopped his descent and glanced through the trees past thousands of red blossoms the natives called Flalass, the roar ofin and out

He had first visited Jae, and discovered that its northern coast was inhabited by the same natives found on the nearby islands, except those here were more hostile Perhaps their proximity to the Caribs, who lived on Puerto Rico to the east, accounted for that aggressiveness Caribs were fierce cannibals who understood only force Learning from the past, he’d dispatched bloodhounds and bowsing others, until they all became anxious to please

He halted the caravan’s advance at the pool

De Torres approached and whispered, “It is here The place”

He knew that this would be his last tied to accumulate an impressive array of enemies His experience of the past year was evidence, this fourth voyage cursed from the start He’d first explored the coast of what he’d come to believe was a continent, its shoreline endless, extending north to south for as far as he’d sailed After co that reconnoiter he’d hoped to make landfall in Cuba or Hispaniola, but his worm-eaten vessels only made it as far as Jamaica, where he beached them both and awaited a rescue

None had come

The governor of Hispaniola, a sworn enemy, decided to let him, and his 113 men, die

But that had not occurred

Instead a few brave souls had rowed a canoe to Hispaniola and brought a ship back

Yes, he had indeed amassed enemies

They’d succeeded in negating all of the rights he once possessed froed to retain his noble status and title of ado had even revolted and forced hireeo he was returned to Spain in chains and threatened with trial and i and queen provided an unexpected reprieve, then granted hi

He’d wondered about their motivations

Isabella see was anotherthat any trip across the western ocean seemed a folly

Of course, that was before he’d succeeded

Now all Ferdinand wanted was gold and silver

Whores Liars

All of them

He motioned for the crates to be lowered His three men helped, as each was heavy

“We are here,” he called out in Spanish

His men knehat to do

Swords were drawn and the natives were quickly cut to pieces Two groaned on the ground, but were silenced with skewers to the chest Their killingto him, they were unworthy to breathe the same air as Europeans Small, copper brown, naked as the day they were born, they possessed no written language and no fervent beliefs They lived in seaside villages and, to his observations, acco a few crops They were led by ahis ranted him six men yesterday when he’d dropped anchor for the final ti the north shore

“A simple trek to the mountains,” he’d told the chieftain “A few days’ time”

He knew enough of their Arawak language to convey his request The cacique had acknowledged that he understood and agreed,toward six ould carry the crates He’d bowed in gratitude and offered several hawk’s bells as gifts Thanks to heaven that he’d brought a quantity of them with him In Europe they were tied to the talons of trained birds Worthless Here they were hard currency

The cacique had accepted the payment and returned a bow

He’d dealt with this leader twice before They’d forged a friendship An understanding One he took full advantage of

When he’d first visited the island in 1494, stopping for a day to caulk leaks in his ship and to replenish the water supply, his old in the clear strea the cacique he’d learned of a place where the golden grains were larger, some the size of beans

At the place where he now stood

But unlike the deceitful Spanish old did not interest him