My father’s madness came on slowly. There were signs as far back as almost two years ago. Small things at first, the sort of things you can overlook or dismiss. Ruling a kingdom is no joke; sometimes the stress takes its toll.

I wasn’t worried. I was wrapped up in my own troubles. Getting Socca to help me pass Maths, for one thing. And making friends with Naeema Chulu, a girl in my class. I had just started to figure out that people were afraid to say no to me. If I invited kids to a birthday party, every single one of them came with flashy presents or prosperity charms for my parents. I never got that. We’re royals. What do we need prosperity charms for? Anyway, I wanted to ask Naeema to come over to play video games, but I didn’t want her to say yes just because I’m the prince. I wanted her to want to come.

With that sort of stuff going through my head, I had no time to worry about Papa. Grownups can handle anything. So when Mama asked me whether I thought he was acting funny, I said no. It took me a while to notice how forgetful he had become, or how many times he would stop in the middle of a sentence to stare into space.

And then things got really strange. His moods were all over the place; one minute he was laughing and making jokes, and the next he was throwing a tantrum. He would show up for meetings in shorts, or barefoot. Twice he left the palace in his pyjamas. When people tried to talk sense into him he’d lose his temper. It went on for months before the Council stepped in and put him on extended sick leave.

Since then the Council has run things on his behalf. When he’s lucid, which isn’t often, they brief him on recent events and get his view on important matters. Everything else they run past my mother.

Mama brought a healer to the house to have a look at him, in case it was more than just stress. Papa threw cutlery at the poor guy. Spoons, forks, butter knives. When he had emptied the drawer he tried to pull it out and throw it, too. Next time Mama brought a foreign doctor. Papa was spaced out the whole time. Mama had to call guards to help her move him. The doctor said Papa had paranoid schizophrenia and advised us to send him to an institution. The Kgosi, in an institution! The doctor had only been in the kingdom a year, so Mama forgave his stupidity, paid him and sent him packing.

She went for a local modern doctor next. He was smart enough to prescribe medication, round-the-clock care and prayer and offerings. He’s been Papa’s doctor ever since.

At the time we all assumed that Papa’s reaction to the healer was a sign that he wanted foreign treatment. He was always open to the whole global village thing, and wanted the kingdom to be “an international player”, whatever that means. I guess taking a pill is less complicated than sending people to find the root of a plant that only grows up north on the left side of the river. The pill doesn’t treat the real problem, but it makes the pain go away. When we don’t feel the pain, we can pretend nothing’s wrong. Besides, chemicals are strong. Traditional medicine takes time to work, and we weren’t sure how much time Papa had.

Now I think I understand better. Papa didn’t prefer foreign medicine. He was scared of the healer. Maybe he was still sane enough then to remember the dream, and he was scared of what the healer would tell him. Or maybe he was just having a bad day, and if Mama had brought the healer back another day things would have worked out differently.

All these thoughts are swimming around in my head as I sit in the sand with a bottle of water in my hands, struggling to catch my breath. The others sit close by, watching me, waiting for me to tell them why I’m so quiet. The Rain Stick lies on the ground at Socca’s feet. I’m tempted to grab it and break it in half.

“I think he has brain damage,” says Sam.

“Shut up,” snaps Socca.

“He was without oxygen for a long time, Socks. Lack of oxygen affects the brain.”

“There’s nothing wrong with his brain,” says Ranger. “Can’t you see the boy has a lot on his mind? Something happened while he was down there.”

“Yes, he almost died.”

I look at Sam and her eyes widen. “I wasn’t going to die.” My voice is soft but clear in the stillness. “I wasn’t buried in the sand. I was…somewhere else. A cave.”

Sam gives Socca a look that clearly says, “I told you. Brain damage.” Socca’s forehead wrinkles with concern.

“I’m serious.” I cough and spit out sand. My throat feels dry and sore. “I know it sounds crazy. I can’t explain it, but it’s true. And I wasn’t alone.” I tell them everything, from the moment I woke up in the cave to the moment they dug me up. Afterwards they sit and stare at me for a minute. I can tell Sam’s trying to decide whether to believe me or not, but the others are convinced. They know about encounters with the ancestors.

“This is…unusual,” says Ranger. “To summon you like that, to their world…” He shakes his head.

“He didn’t say anything about their world,” Sam points out. “He said underground. Right, Kitso? An underground cave?”

I nod. “But it wasn’t a normal cave. There was light coming from the water, and the spirit said it was one of the meeting places of the ancestors. I don’t know what that means.”

“There are places that exist partially in this world and partially in the other.” Ranger looks out across the sand, his tone sombre. “In-between places. They are said to be the only places where human beings can see spirits as if they were made of flesh. You were in one of those places, Taunyana.” His eyes come to rest on me. “Such things don’t happen often. It’s a rare honour.”

I nod weakly. I got the feeling this was a special situation. Then something flashes into my memory and I frown at Ranger. “She called you an exiled guard. What did she mean?”

He doesn’t answer, of course. Instead he says, “Now that we know it was your father who had the vision, we are sure that the three signs have come. You will have to talk to the Kgosi about this, Taunyana. We must find out what he remembers.”

Hmm. He thinks he’s so smart, changing the subject like that. Never mind. I’ll get my answer later, one way or another.

“Didn’t the water spirit say he doesn’t remember?” asks Socca.

“It’s worth a try.” Ranger looks up at the sky. “Come on. We’ve rested enough and we still have a long journey ahead of us. Taunyana, are you strong enough to continue?”

I nod, a little annoyed that he singled me out. I’m not made of soft clay, for goodness’ sake! We all get to our feet. Socca hands me the Rain Stick. I only hesitate for a second before taking it. I brought it, so I guess it’s my responsibility to take it back. Useless or not, it belongs in the palace. I look up to see Ranger several steps ahead as always, and increase my pace until I’m walking beside him.

“Dudu says you’re related to her, but she didn’t tell me how.”

He ignores me.

“Did you know her parents? Is that why you’re looking after her?”

“Yes.” He doesn’t look at me, but I’m encouraged by his reply.

“But you’re not from Desert, are you? You don’t talk like a Desert person. You don’t really talk like a Delta person, either. Where are you from?”

He ignores me again.

“The water spirit said you were exiled. Exiled from where? And why?”

He walks so fast that I have to hurry to keep up. Ranger Stranger is good at pretending not to see or hear me when it suits him. On the one hand, this mysterious old man act is kind of intriguing. On the other hand it’s disturbing that we’ve spent over twenty-four hours together and I still don’t know his name.

“Why don’t you want to tell us who you are? Was Sam right? Are you hiding from someone? The law, maybe?”

He gives me a dirty look, and nothing else. OK, so he’s not a fugitive. That’s good, but it doesn’t get me any closer to figuring him out.

“You’ve saved us more than once, Rra. You’ve protected us. We just want to know who we owe our lives to.”

Flattery doesn’t work, either. This guy’s tough. I give up and let him go on ahead.

“Find out anything?” asks Socca.

I shake my head. “Silent treatment all the way.”

“I told you the man’s hiding something,” says Sam.

“Don’t talk about him like that. He’s a good man.”

We all turn to look at Dudu.

“He is,” she says defiantly.

“No one said he’s not,” I tell her. “But why’s he so secretive?”

“That’s just how he is. He doesn’t like to talk.”

Sam sidles up to her. “How long have you known him?”

“All my life. He was friends with my parents.”

I frown thoughtfully. “What did your parents do for a living?”

“My mother worked in a shop in town. My father was a healer.”

Aha! There it is. I look at her, seeing her in a new light. Her father was a healer, his buddy Ranger is some kind of haunted wise man, and Dudu is a Rainmaker. For the first time the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit. I look at Ranger’s back. He acts like he’s an innocent observer in all this, but I’ve always had the feeling that he knows more than he lets on. Maybe he knew Dudu would be Rainmaker long before she discovered the power. Maybe her father knew, too.

I lick my chapped lips. “Do you mind if I ask how your parents died?”

Dudu swallows. “My mother got sick. My father couldn’t heal her; he said there were too many knots inside her. He tried to take her to the hospital, but she didn’t like hospitals. She wouldn’t go. All he could do was ease her pain before she died.” She looks at me. “The knots were tumours. Cancer.”

Me, Socca and Sam murmur condolences, then wait for her to continue.

“My father died two years later. It was before the Society of Healers was formed. In those days Delta healers discriminated against Desert healers. The Desert healers wanted to send a representative to the Capital City to open a case. My father supported the case, but he wanted equality between all healers. The others wanted Desert healers to have more power, because there are more of them. My father had a lot of influence and some of the others decided to put him in his place. They sent some thugs from Oasis to scare him. The thugs got… carried away. He died from his injuries.”

Damn. Now I feel guilty for asking. I thought there was a chance her father’s death was connected to this new era business, but apparently not. I clear my throat. “I’m really sorry, Dudu. That’s terrible. I hope the criminals were caught and sent to prison.”

“Yes. But that didn’t make it better.”

There’s nothing we can say to that.

“After that, Baba came to live with me.”

That’s strange. Normally in this kind of situation the orphan would move into the guardian’s house.

“Doesn’t he have his own place?” asks Socca.

Dudu shakes her head. “He likes to say he’s a nomad from the Sands, but I know he’s not.”

“Any idea where he is from?” asks Sam.

“The ancestors,” says Dudu.

Of course! The ancestors! Why didn’t we think of that? Geez. I raise my eyebrows at Socca and he raises his eyebrows back. We’re in agreement: the girl’s loonier than my father. First she has gods in her blood and now Ranger is some kind of gift-wrapped package from the ancestors. “Here, little orphan girl. We don’t do this for everyone, but you’re a future Rainmaker so you get a handmade guardian.”

“Is that your final answer?” Sam is trying not to smile. “Because I was thinking more along the lines of, you know, Kingdom of the Tusk or someplace.”

Dudu frowns. “Why would you think that? He doesn’t look like a Tusk. He doesn’t even speak their language.”

Sam gives her a withering look, the kind she likes to give Socca. But Dudu doesn’t wither. She just looks straight ahead as if she doesn’t feel the power of that evil stare. I have to smile. I think I like this girl. I’d like her more if she could fill in the blanks about her sinister Baba, though.

“When you say he’s from the ancestors,” Socca begins slowly, like he’s talking to a difficult kid who might throw a tantrum any second, “what exactly do you mean? Like he’s a blessing and you’re glad to have him around, or…?”

I wait eagerly for the reply. It takes a while. Dudu frowns, thinking hard.

“I can’t explain it,” she says finally. “He’s just special. Not like other people. He knows things, the way healers know things, but he’s not a healer.”

“Did he know about your rainmaking before you told him?” asks Sam.

Dudu shakes her head.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. He was surprised. He kept asking if I had made a mistake, and then he told me to show him.”

“That must have been the first storm in Desert,” says Socca.

“It was the second storm, Socks.” Sam sighs impatiently. “The first was obviously when she found out she had the power.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Dudu nods and Socca scowls at Sam.

I’m confused. If Ranger knows things like Dudu said, why was he so surprised that she made it rain? Did he still believe I was meant to be Rainmaker? I wish I knew how much he understood about the new age before it started. He knew enough to tell us the story of the war between the ancestors and the three signs. Who told him all that?

“Do you know how he met your parents?” I ask.

Dudu shakes her head. “They were friends from way back, before I was born.”

Great. The man himself won’t talk, and the only other person who can give us information doesn’t know anything.

“Taunyana, can I ask you something?”

I look at Dudu. “Sure.”

“Why does it matter? Why all these questions about Baba?”

“Because we’re letting him guide us and we want to know who he is.”

“You know who he is. He’s a good man who cares about you, and the kingdom. He will do what he can to protect all of us. What else do you need to know?”

“Well, I…”

“Do you trust him, Taunyana?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Isn’t that the most important thing?”

Ah, but this girl is something else. I don’t like the way she’s throwing all this calm, quiet logic at me. It’s sneaky!

“We’re curious,” says Sam. “Anyone would be curious. And what kind of person takes a long trip with other people and doesn’t even tell them his name? That’s not normal.”

“I told you,” says Dudu patiently, “he’s not like other people.”

We have no choice but to let the issue drop for now. We’re not going to get anything out of Dudu. She has a point; we don’t need to know the details of Ranger’s life. His business is his business. Fair enough. But considering the fact that he turned up in the middle of Escape Inc. unannounced, told us to get into his mokoro and has been in charge of this journey ever since, I do think he owes us something. An explanation, at least. “I sail on the river and hear a lot of secrets” doesn’t count.

“Can I ask another question, Taunyana?”

I shrug.

Dudu hesitates. “How did you become friends with Sam? She doesn’t seem to have anything in common with you and Socca.”

“Uh…” I glance at Sam and lower my voice. “Well…”

“We’re not friends,” says Socca over his shoulder. “She found out we were leaving Delta and she decided to come along, ‘cause she’s rude and pushy and likes to make other people miserable.”

“Their plan was useless until I came along,” says Sam, with her nose in the air like we’re all beneath her. “Without me they would never have made it out of the city.”

“Rubbish, Brat.”

“You know it’s true, Socks.”

Dudu looks at me. “I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t understand her.”

I nod. “Don’t worry, no one does.”

“Hey!” Sam trudges along on Dudu’s other side. “I’m not deaf, you know.”

Dudu leans towards me. “She’s very clever, but I don’t think she respects our ways.”

“She doesn’t respect anyone’s ways,” Socca mutters. “Even her own people don’t like her. That’s why they chased her away.”

“Nobody chased me away,” Sam snaps. “I’m here because my father is a genius and your stupid Met was in desperate need of a genius. Ugh, why do I bother? You’re all idiots, anyway.”

She stalks off, hurrying to catch up to Ranger. I feel guilty. A little. OK, to be honest I’d feel a lot worse if it was anyone but Sam.

“I’m sorry,” says Dudu. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Ah, relax.” Socca shrugs. “That one’s made of stone.”

“No one’s made of stone,” Dudu whispers.

We walk in silence for a while. It’s not long before we start to feel the strain of ploughing through the sand, but Ranger doesn’t let us stop. I don’t mind the quiet this time around; it gives me a chance to think. I soon realise that thinking isn’t useful, though. My thoughts are muddled and trying to sort them out makes my head hurt. I decide to push the thoughts away and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

After what feels like a lifetime, we finally reach the edge of Desert. I can see the place where we jumped before up ahead, and the sight gives me a burst of energy. Ranger goes first, then waits at the top to help the rest of us. I toss the Rain Stick to him. This time we have to climb up, and it’s a slow process. It’s not easy to get a grip on the shrubs and my feet keep slipping off the rocks, but after a while I manage to pull myself up. My arms and legs burn with the effort, but I force myself to keep going until I reach the top and crawl over the edge, with Ranger helping me up. As soon as I’m on solid ground I roll away from the edge, picking up grass and thorns, and lie still for a minute to catch my breath. I turn to help Socca pull Sam up, but he’s managed on his own.

We’re at the fringe of Savannah now and the sun is rising. Ranger lets us have a little water and some food, then we’re on our way again. I remember that we left the 4×4 somewhere nearby. The gun is out now and Ranger holds it ready, just in case. Savannah is loud compared to Desert – insects, animals moving and calling to each other – but I can’t hear anything unusual.

The boulder and the small cave where we left the car are up ahead. Sam increases her pace, moving past Ranger.

“Wait,” he whispers. “Let me go first.”

“It’s fine,” says Sam. “There’s nothing there.”

“Wait!” This time there’s a trace of fear in Ranger’s voice. “Something’s not…”

But it’s too late. Sam is already running towards the cave when we hear a loud click. She stops in her tracks, skidding a little. It takes me a moment to recognise the clicking noise; it’s the sound of someone cocking a gun. Someone other than Ranger. The rest of us freeze. It’s finally happened. The army has caught up to us. I knew they would find the car!

Ranger raises his gun as three men step out of the cave. They’re all dressed in khakis and boots, and armed. Even without the tattoos and badass scowls I can tell they are definitely not soldiers.

“Surprise, skattie,” one of them growls, aiming his gun at Sam.

“Don’t even think about it,” says another, raising his gun in Ranger’s direction. “Drop the rifle, Oom.”

Ranger hesitates, as if he thinks he can find a way out of this, then gives up and lowers his gun to the ground.

I can tell by their accents that these men are from Oasis. That’s not good. Not to be prejudiced or anything, but Oasis is kind of infamous for its thugs. Armed robbers, street gangs, guns for hire. The kind of people that would snatch a prince for ransom, and enjoy breaking a royal bone or two in the process.

One of them lets out a low chuckle. He’s a tall guy, thin, but not the weak, hungry sort of thin. He’s lean like a cheetah, or like the desert dog we saw. Strong. Scary.

“Kyk, boys! It’s our lucky day.” He approaches us slowly, but his eyes are on me. He points his gun at me and sneers. “We found the leeutjie everybody’s been looking for. I think that makes us heroes.”

“I think you’re right,” one of his friends replies.

“We’ve saved the day. Don’t they give out medals for that kind of thing?”

“For sure.”

“Does anyone know if there’s a reward?” Cheetah’s smug smile tells me he already knows the answer.

“I think there is,” says his pal, enjoying the little game.

“A big reward?”

“Oh, ja. A fortune.”

“A fortune.” Cheetah nods. “I like the sound of that.”

The engine of the 4×4 rumbles and the three men move out of the way to let it through. Uh-oh. That makes four Oasis thugs.

“Get the girls in the car,” says Cheetah. “Tie up the old man.”

His buddies do as they’re told, waving the guns and leading Dudu and Sam into the car. One of the men jumps in the back with the girls. The other one makes Ranger sit against the boulder, and ties his hands and feet together. Then I hear another engine. A second 4×4 appears with a fifth Oasis thug in the driver’s seat. Now we’re one-to-one, except four of us are minors and they have all the guns. There might as well be ten of them.

The man who tied up Ranger forces Socca into the back of the second car, then climbs into the passenger seat.

“Let’s go,” says Cheetah. He grabs my arm and pushes me into the back next to Socca, then jumps in beside me. “Leeutjie’s going to make us rich. Aren’t you?”

I swallow, looking back at Ranger. “Are you leaving him here? You can’t!”

“Yes, I can. See this?” He holds up his gun. “It means you’re going to shut up and do exactly what I say, or else I’ll blow your buddy’s brains out. Got it?”

I nod slowly, terrified. Ranger’s eyes meet mine. He doesn’t look afraid, but he should be. He’s helpless. This feels like a really bad dream. After all I’ve done to escape the firing squad, I might still get shot. I might get everyone else shot, too. That’s life for you. And there goes my heart again, gallop, gallop, gallop. I start to wheeze as my chest tightens. I don’t want to move, but I can’t help it. Doubling over, I press my hand against my chest.

Cheetah lowers the gun. “What now? Ronnie, you never said the kid had asthma!”

“I didn’t know!” says the guy in the passenger seat. He sounds nervous. Good.

“It’s not asthma,” says Socca. I feel his hands on my shoulders. “It’s a panic attack.”

Cheetah lets out a string of swear words that would impress me if I wasn’t dying. He rolls the window down all the way, jumps out of the car and goes round to the other side.

“Move over!” he barks. “Let him sit by the window. Whatever’s wrong with him, you better fix it. He’s no use to us if he dies!”

Socca pushes me towards the edge of the seat and I lean my head out of the window, gasping. “Deep breaths, K, from the diaphragm. It’s all good. Just breathe.”

Cheetah hops in on Socca’s other side, slams the other door shut and prods the back of the driver’s seat with his gun. “Go!”

The car starts moving. Breathe, Kitso, breathe. I have to keep it together. If I mess up, we could all get hurt. You’re not dying. You’re fine.

“K?”

I slump back in my seat and turn to look at Socca. I can breathe easier now, though my heart’s still racing. Socca looks about as freaked out as I feel. After a few more breaths, I give him a reassuring little nod to say it’s all good. He raises his eyebrows, unconvinced.

Ag, who am I trying to fool? He’s right. Forget helicopters and desert dogs. We’re in a car with armed criminals and Ranger’s all alone behind us, tied up in the wilderness.