A five meter Nile Crocodile has made the mighty Zambezi River it's hunting ground and it hunts the easiest prey of all... the villagers who live off the river and make the Zambezi Valley their home.
An ancient gold mine is discovered, but nothing is secret as you never know what is watching from the shadows. The greed of man puts Piet van Zyl's family in danger as a man driven by greed will stop at nothing for the yellow metal.
Excerpt
With the songs of the weaver birds filling the early morning air as they kick off their day, the sun slowly warming the African sky, the mist sits low over the dark waters of the Zambezi River as it moves like a large snake slowly making its way towards the Smoke that Thunders that throws up a spray, catching the rising sun and filling the sky with a kaleidoscope of colours.
She slips out of the mud hut that she shares with her parents, a song in her heart for today she will become a married woman... the Labola has been paid by her husband’s family... six head of cattle to add to her Father’s growing herd. Carefully she closes the door on her sleeping parents and moves off towards the pathway leading down to her favorite spot along the banks of the mighty river.
Snorts from a pod of hippo carry to her as she eases along the well-worn pathway, the Vervet monkey’s chatter from the trees above and with joy in her heart, she steps out onto the riverbank... the water gently lapping at her feet as she looks over the vast river and a shiver of apprehension runs through her... not of fear for she has bathed here many times but the thought of the cool waters cleansing her body and her bridal night for she is still a virgin... will her husband find her pleasing?
She turns from the riverbank, discards her clothing, and clutching a prized bar of soap, returns to the water’s edge, unaware that she is being watched. The watcher lies motionless, its eyes just above the surface of the dark waters, unblinking it takes in the naked figure of the woman as she steps into the water... the sound of her singing does not affect it.
Silently it slips beneath the surface... mud from below is stirred up coming to the surface, its tail moves and like a torpedo, it speeds through the dark water towards its objective.
The village is just coming awake, the sound of a scream rents across the bush separating the river from the cluster of huts, and then is no more. The villagers look at each other... had they heard correctly... a scream of terror... impossible!
Some of the men hurry down towards the river to investigate and on arriving at the end of the pathway their eyes fall on a bundle of clothing... clothing they know so well... the daughter of the chief and one man falls to his knees crying out to the ancestors for he is the groom to be... his bride is nowhere to be seen... the silent hunter has struck again.
