FROM LOVE

CAME WAR
Scholar Millen

Independently published
 PROLOGUE
The 19th century, Diary of a lost soul.

It is four o’clock yet darkness reigns, the wind is blowing so hard like never before,
the lightning and thunder are enough to make one pee on their clothes, but the
most frightening thing is the heavy rain that pours angrily, its waters carrying
away anything in its path. It feels like the era of darkness has just begun.

I kneel in the corner of the lonely hut, observing as events unfold, my bloodied
lover lying lifeless on the floor next to me. Every time I look at his defiled body I
feel the sword of pain stab me. I cry out in pain and frustration, sorrow and anger.

“Why? …We are just but young people in love. What have we done
to deserve this inhuman treatment? Why did he have to be killed so mercilessly? …
I need to know what happened, I need to know who killed him and why.”

I place my hand on his chest where his heart once dwelled and the fact that it has
remained an empty hole, his heart missing, infuriates me and I vow to unleash my
wrath upon the village and its neighbors, I would not die before I avenge the death
of my lover, my best friend and my future husband. It is time that my people
learned the power of love and what it can do if it’s snatched what rightfully
belongs to it, for I will not rest until the lesson has been taught.

~1~
CHAPTER ONE
Present day, 20th century.

It all felt frustrating. “How can something so beautiful feel so wrong? Is it my age
that makes it wrong? But love is love, whether a teenager or a middle aged adult,
whether an adolescent or an aged person.” Nineteen-year-old Maria Soita
couldn’t understand why she felt like a mature woman yet her parents were
solidly against her going out with a man. She was tired of having to do everything
in secret, but she also didn’t want to face the wrath of her parents, especially her
father.

“Soita!”

Startled by the sharp sound of her mother’s voice, Soita almost fell from the
branch she was sitting on.

“Soitaaa!”

Her mother’s voice could be heard again but louder this time.

“Ma, I am coming.”

“Better not waste a single second young lady, you have questions to
answer, I pray to the one above that I am mistaken.”

At that last sentence Soita started running towards her mother’s voice and
forgetting that she was barefoot she jumped on roots thus falling down and
dropping the aged book she had hidden under her woolen coat.

“I am here mother.”

Holding her by her arms, Soita’s mother half dragged her, half pushed her.

“You shouldn’t be reading that book outside in the open. Come, let’s
get into your hut. We need to talk right now.”

“You are hurting me Ma.” Soita said as calmly as she could.

~2~
 Without listening she banged the wooden door shut and let go of Soita’s arm.
Moita walked towards the sisal sofa set on her right and slowly sat before
intensely looking at her daughter directly into the eyes.

“Where is the yellow book that you have been reading on top of that
tree?”

“What yellow book are you talking about?

Standing up to face her daughter she breathed in deeply and quietly asked again,

“Where is the yellow book with very old and faded pages that you
have been reading on top of that tree?”

The mood became tense and Soita felt her muscles tighten,

“You are not taking that book away from me?”

“You do not know what that book carries. It could ruin us all.”

Soita inhales deeply and in a husky voice asks,

“What are you talking about, it is just a diary of a lost soul. Fiction.”

Taking hold of Soita’s hand, Moita whispered,

“Child, you do not understand. That book is a tale of forbidden love

but unfortunately it also holds the history of our people. History that should never
get out. Our grandparents and great grandparents kept it safe, locked it but never
destroyed it because one day, it would be needed.”

Now curious, Soita relaxed and asked,

“What really is that book, and exactly who was Amor?”

Impatient by her daughter’s questions and worried that someone will pass by and
overhear them, she shortened the conversation and firmly asked,

“Where is that book Soita?”

~3~
Soita looked at her mother in silence for a couple of minutes before putting her
hands inside the coat so as retrieve the book only to find an empty pocket.
Gasping in shock, she frantically searched for the book in the numerous pockets
of her coat.

“Where is it Soita?” Moita asked in panic.

“I think it fell on the road when I was running to you.” Soita replied in a
whisper and Moita stumbled back, eyes wide open and in a frustrated tone she
whispered,

“What have you done Soita? Child what have you done? You could have
put us all in danger and most especially you. You don’t know what you have
done.”

The second era of darkness after centuries, had just begun. Something that they
would all come to later discover the hard way.

CHAPTER TWO
“From love came pain, from love came war

The heart once full of love, refilled by bitterness and anger,

Thus instead of love creating, it destroyed

Its own and that which belonged to another,

Burdening generation from generation with its secret,

A lover denied her love, declaring war on all in her path,

All the mistake of one man, a man who was forsaken by wisdom,

If in foreign hands this fall, there shall be…”

“Hey, return that book.”

~4~
The man with the most beautiful physique lifted his head and turned to face the
woman with the most powerful voice chords he had ever heard. They both
stopped in their tracks and stared into each other’s eyes.

“You came back!” Soita exclaimed in a whisper.

Devin closed the book carefully and slowly walked towards Soita. For several
minutes he did not utter even a single word, instead he traced the smooth lines of
Soita’s face while silently smiling,

“I might have left, but I never forgot about you. Every morning,
noon time, every evening, and every night, I would see a vivid image of you. I
would toss and turn, cursing myself for being different. Last night I couldn’t take
it, I did not care that I was different, and I could not keep my promise to never
come back. I had to see you.”

Soita looked at the one man she had so longed to see again. The one man who
seemed so close yet so far, the man who was her forbidden fruit.

“Devin, I …”

“The boo…”

Moita who was slightly behind her daughter in the search of the book, stopped in
her tracks and fell silent. Looked from left to right at the faces of the two young
people who had now turned to look at her. She opened her mouth and closed it
again when her eyes fell on the Yellow book on Devin’s hands.

“Mrs. Ndika, it is a pleasure to see you, again, although I am not sure

you would say the same.” Devin said politely and moved forward to touch Moita’s
feet. A traditional greeting between the young and the old.

Moita stood rigidly but did not push him away, instead, she gave him a bright
smile that did not reach her eyes and tightly said,

“Devin Ndaka, the stranger in every land that you visit. You have
returned. Am glad to see that you have survived, but like my husband the leader
of the Andika people said, you still are not welcome in this place.”
~5~
The pain that sliced through Devin flashed in his eyes and then vanished as if it
was never there.

“It was out of love that I kept going and out of love that I returned
and I also believe that love shall keep bringing us together and…”

“Love is wicked and full of pain, and it is the same love that will
destroy us all.” Moita cut through Devin’s sentence.

At that statement everybody fell silent, even Soita who never lacked words to say
was struck dumb. The uncomfortable silence and staring went on for a moment
before Devin stepped forward to hand over the ancient but most valuable book,
to Moita.

“Here is your book, it has some pretty fancy wordings and…”

Boom! That was like a bombshell under Moita’s feet for she jumped very fast,
snatched the book like it was going to accidentally fall in an abyss and then
hurriedly asked,

“How much have you read?”

Soita cleared her throat and silently answered before he could even utter a word.

“Almost as much as I have read.”

The look on Lady Moita Ndika was one to match that of a person who has just
seen the dead rise from the grave.

*******************************

Meanwhile, in a nearby bush a pair of human eyes could be seen watching the
trio and listening keenly to every word that was being said. By the smile grazing
his lips and the satisfied look on his face, one can say that he had found valuable
information.

“Now this is interesting, the trip and the shivering was worth it for I
have found the very weapon that would destroy the angel beyond repair and

~6~
nobody would know what hit her.” With this information he could get exactly
what he wanted from the village of Thandi without any problems.

The man looked at the torn page from the yellowed book and chuckled evilly
before stealthily leaving. Going by the dressing code, he was one of them, one of
the few men remaining in the Andaku village.

***********************************************

“What sorcery is this?” Moita exclaimed and turned to look Soita in the
eyes.

“Child, you make my heart weaker and weaker.”

Devin looked from mother to daughter a few times, a confused look ruling his
face.

“Sorry to interrupt you two, but what is going on here?”

For a moment everybody looked lost but then Soita shook her head and eagerly
told her mother,

“Please allow him to stay. He knows a lot of wordings in foreign words

that we have never heard of, he understands the coded language. If this book is a
real story as you say, and we are going to need this book, don’t you think he could
be of help to us?”

“Wait, are you saying that this is real history? …is…” Devin tried to say
but the sharp look from Moita and a painful pinch in the ribs from Soita shut him
up.

“He is a stranger Soita, if the book falls into the hands of foreign
people, there will be hell on earth.”

“How sure are we that he is the stranger? The book has already been
in his hands before for a long time and nothing bad has happened.”

Moita looked at her daughter trying to think about what had just been said.

~7~
 “Please Ma. You will see that he will be of great help.”

Soita begged, holding her mother’s right hand in both of her hands. Their eyes
met and Moita looked away and cursed,

“Your father will kill me.”

She pulled her hand from Soita’s hold and walked to where Devin was standing so
as to give the two some privacy.

“Please I am not leaving again, no…” Moita lifted her hand to

silence the protesting young man then in a gentle but firm tone she said,

“Learn to listen before you speak boy.”

She inhaled deeply, exhaled, narrowed her eyes, and looked the young man in
the eyes,

“You shall stay, but you have to do only what we say. No

playing around.”

Devin looked at her in surprise and despite the great dislike she felt towards him,
Moita had to smile.

“I am glad you are not like the rest of them.” She turned to walk away
but added over her shoulder to him,

“Let all this be worth it boy, make it count…” and to Soita she said,

“Show our guest to his hut, just don’t be late.”

Soita smiled broadly and answered enthusiastically,

“As you say Ma.”

Moita nodded curtly and increased her pace as she walked away while Soita and
Devin, looked at each other, smiled and linked hands as they walked to their
destination.

“I may not be lucky always, but you lady, are my lucky charm.”

~8~
Soita chuckled and jokingly said,

“Hurry up boy, I don’t want to be late.”

Well, we can all agree that even in your darkest days, there will always be that
light to keep you moving.

CHAPTER THREE

“This is wrong!” Ndika thundered.

“That boy is trouble, he is a foreigner, not just a foreigner but one of confused
blood. He is bad luck.”

“He may be trouble, but he may also be worth the risk.” Moita countered calmly.

“You yourself have proven so.” Ndika stopped in his tracks and folded his hands
into fists.

“That doesn’t mean that he will not be the end of us all. The boy has to leave. I
will not risk it.”

Moving closer to her husband, Moita placed her hands on the sides of his face
and gently said,

“I know you are worried, but you heard what our daughter said, you saw what the
boy can do, we need him. With this mysterious killings and disappearances of
people, it all happens just as the book said, darkness has begun. It is time we face
it, the boy is who our village, our people, our whole tribe needs.”

Ndika stopped and stared into her eyes then started pacing again.

“What are you talking about?”

Moita stood next to the throne, quietly observing her husband as he lamented
and released his anger.

“…and what is that word that I heard? Was it love? That is a catastrophe.”

~9~
At those words, a mask of sadness covered Moita’s face. She looked away from
the sight of her pacing husband,

“My rib, why the sad look on your face?”

Moita stared at her husband’s face as if trying to memorize all his features and
then smoothly lied,

“I am saddened by this state of affairs, with all that is happening but

especially with you being so unsettled. It bothers my soul greatly.”

Ndika stopped both his pacing and ranting then stood next to his wife.

“I apologize for troubling you. I see sense in what you say. I pray that the
one above be the head of all that happens now and in the future.”

Moita nodded and smiled in satisfaction, took her husband’s palm into hers and
together they went to the hut that served as their dining room. I must say, that
woman has a way with words when it comes to dealing with her man. One
sentence and it is well. A power that very few women possess.

*************************************************

The warrior in the Andaku regalia majestically walked through the mouth of the
Utu cave. A look at his built body suggested that he was no man to joke with. His
muscles were ones to die for, he looked like a 21st century 1st class model.

“Tho whath dho I owe the pleathure of your vithit Nkau?”

Nkau moved closer to the throne surrounded by skulls both human and
animal.

“I have some intriguing news for you Toothless King.”

Leaning forward and beckoning his spokeswoman. He whispered instructions

into her ear and leaned back to his creepy chair.

~ 10 ~
 “I am Nathu, the spokesperson of the Thandi, what is this
‘intriguing news’ as you call it, which makes even you of royal blood, who lacks
nothing to leave the safe haven?”

Nkau burst into exaggerated laughter and welcomed himself to sit on one of the
rocks that served as a chair. He stared at the fire in the middle of the cave for a
while before saying in an even tone.

“I know where he is.”

“Where who is?”

“He of mixed blood shall be found, from the lineage of the blind warrior
Nteta of mixed blood Andaka and Thandi by his true love Princess Amar of Andika,

Shall be the one to relieve the burden of Amor from the people, if wrong is done,

A weapon of destruction he shall become and only the heart of…”

“Thtop!!” The Toothless King shouted from his throne. He stood

and slowly walked towards Nkau.

“Are you thure that ith the boy?”

“Yes I am”

Nathu moved forward and eloquently asked,

“If you found the young man, where is he and what is his name?”
Nkau stood from where he was seated and walked towards Nathu. He closed the
distance between them and traced the side of her face with his long fingernails.
She trembled and moved a step back. Nkau laughed evilly and turned to King
Toothless,

“Not so fast, we agree on a price, and I will tell you what it is you
desire to know.” Back to Nathu he whispered,

“You never know, it might just be you.”

~ 11 ~
Nathu snorted and the king nodded In Agreement. Nkau smiled, exposing his row
of yellow teeth to the world. It was time to conquer.

**************************************
The 19th century, Diary of a lost soul.

I stand under our tree of love beside my lover’s grave, and something tells me that
he must have been killed because he was different. You see, our tribe, The
Bandundika is divided into sub tribes, The Andika, Andaka, Andaku and the
Thandi. When it came to intermarriage, marriage with a person from the people of
Thandi, a land believed to be a dwelling place for witches and wizards was
severely forbidden and with the violent Andaku was a taboo for it was believed
that the offspring will be a danger to the community and a curse to every soil they
stepped on. Now, my man was one of the rare, he was a mix of all the four bloods,
Andaku and Thandi from his paternal side and Andika and Andaka from his
maternal side thus considered to be a curse. He was considered an outsider
wherever he went and upon his parents’ murder, he lived a life of rejection.

One look at his grave is enough to bring me back from my trail of thoughts. I
sheath my hunting knife in its rightful place and adjust my royal skirt made from
leopard skin. I am all set to go hunting, not for animals but for the people
responsible for the death of him who was young and loved fully. This path might
be the death of me, but I have no problem with royal handover for my sister Amar
is one with a kind heart and will handle these issues better than I, who was born to
be a warrior. I close my eyes and breathe in the cool air of the evening before I set
off in a jog towards the direction of the beautiful setting sun. Andika will be my
first destination.

*************************************

At the Andika village, people believed in the saying, the early bird catches the
early worm. Therefore by sunrise men and women could be seen going about
their duties. Some were tilling land, others were building and repairing huts, the
sons of the wealthy could be seen on horses with bows and arrows going to hunt.
Soita was already out of bed and outside appreciating the new day, passing

~ 12 ~
through the huts she walked happily towards Devin’s hut waving and greeting the
many men and women.

“Good morning auntie.” She waved at a woman winnowing maize

in front of her hut.

“Good morning Soita.”

Touching the feet of an old man sitting in front of his hut in greeting she said,

“How is the beginning of your day today grandfather?”

Touching the top of her head he jovially replied,

“Favorable.” And shouted at her retreating form,

“Have a blessed day child.”

Soita went on her way greeting all, the old as well as the young until she arrived
at the hut she had been running to.

“Boy, open up.” She said in her melodious tone and patiently
waited before silently knocking thrice.

“Devin, Devin open this door, or I will break it open.” She said in a
sharp tone, pretending to be pissed off. When no response came from the inside
she started panicking and tried pushing the door open and to her surprise the
door flew open, throwing her to the ground.

“Bad door, you don’t throw people to the ground early in the
morning...and …” She paused, pushed herself off the ground and continued,

“… and as for you Devin, we don’t play games in the morning, just
come out.”

She searched the hut frantically and when she turned to his bed and saw that it
was as she had made it the previous evening, it dawned on her that he really was
not in the hut, nor did he sleep in it. Getting scared she ran out following the
route to the spring.

~ 13 ~
 “No, no where are you? Surely you couldn’t have left again.”

She kept talking to herself until she arrived at the spring where she saw nobody.
Soita sank to her knees, closed her eyes and placed her right hand where she
imagined her heart to be. It wasn’t long before she felt a muscular hand touch her
left shoulder making her jump.

“Oh, I did not mean to startle you.”

On hearing the familiar voice, she forgot about the Penknife she was holding on
her hand and quickly hugged the now perplexed Devin. Devin pushed her away
very slowly and said,

“I know you still want me to live, so could you please put that
weapon away.”

Soita looked at the knife in her hand and smiled then placed away. She drunk
some water from the spring then turned with a frown.

“I would have requested nicely but since you made me run all the
ways here like a confused being, I demand to know, where have you been?”

Devin looked at her calmly then burst into laughter.

Soita narrowed her eyes and pinched him in the ribs,

“Ouch, Ok, sorry, you just look more beautiful and funny with that
expression on your face.” He sat on a rock by the spring and for a moment
assumed a serious look that made him look like he was far deep in memory lane
but that did not last long he shook his head and with a smile looked at Soita who
had placed herself next to him on the rock.

“I couldn’t seem to relax yesterday so I decided to go out, lie on the

grass and look at the stars. Normally that calms me. Well, I think I fell asleep
because the next time I checked, the stars were no longer there and I knew it was
close to morning. I did not have my watch with me and I couldn’t sleep again, so I
decided to stroll and before I knew it, I was by the community’s school section.”

~ 14 ~
Soita shifted so that she could face Devin who all this time had been looking at
her face. Opening her eyes she slowly asked,

“So, you are coming from the school section right now?

“Yes, I am.”

The two love birds looked at each other for while in silence before Devin took her
hand and softly said,

“I did not intend to worry you. I am here and legally of course.

Permitted by your own parents, the leaders of the Andika.”

“I thought you had left or even worse, that something bad had
happened to you.

“Listen to me.” Devin said firmly.

“I am staying here and if I leave, it would never be of my own volition,

and even then I would not leave without saying goodbye not unless I am leaving
as a soulless body.”

Soita looked at Devin and smiled.

“I believe you but you need to take care of yourself.”

Standing and pulling Soita to her feet he said,

“As you say your highness. Now come. I have something to show
you, something that might be of importance to everyone in this place.”

“What is it?”

Devin shook his head quietly and answered,

“I came across it this morning while strolling and it bothers me greatly

but you know your land better. You might be able to shade some light on me.”

~ 15 ~
Soita did not ask more questions but instead she nodded slowly and held his hand
more firmly as she patiently waited for him to lead the way. They walked away,
side by side oblivious of the dark man in a skull mask watching them from behind
the bamboo bush just a meter from the rock they had been sitting on.

CHAPTER FOUR
In the Andaka Village.

It was not yet weekend, yet the head of the council of leaders had called for a
meeting.

“My fellow leaders, I greet you.”

The man with the cap of leadership spoke and in return he got a unified response.

“We greet you.”

“I know you are all asking yourselves why this meeting has been
held today and not on our usual day.”

Several grants and nods could be heard and seen before the room fell silent.

“Well, we have all seen the happenings that are taking place right
now in our village.”

“Like the disappearance of the prince…Death of our great doctor

Maada…The ho…”

Voices could be heard from all corners of the room, every man and woman trying
to contribute the horrible things that they have seen and heard of in the village at
the same time.

Great Mandaku stood in silence and watched for a few minutes as his members of
the council talked in sorrow and shook their heads in disbelief before knocking his
decorated club of authority on the table in the middle of the circle and called for
silence.

“Silence in the council!” He called in his authoritative voice,

~ 16 ~
“I know that all that has happened is shocking, causes a lot of pain not only to
you, but to me too. I have been thinking about the matter and even asked the one
above to shade some light on us and while trying to catch some sleep, a thought
came into my mind, and I couldn’t help but connect the dots to the events of our
ancestors and more to Princess Amor of our Bandundika tribe and from the
subtribe of Andika.”

At this, everyone became attentive for the subject of Amor was a forbidden
matter to discuss.

“Ehe, Great Mandaku and what is this that you speak of?”

Great Mandaku leaned forward in his seat and for a moment, he was lost deep
in thought. Like one who wants to speak but does not know how to begin.

“Even the most patient sometimes loses her patience Mandaku.” Said
Awise, a very old woman seated in the corner of the hut. She was the eldest in the
group and the greatest historian of the whole tribe and although she had a sharp
tongue, she remained to be the darling of all in the village every day.

Despite the thick sorrow in the air, Great Mandaku and the rest of the people
chuckled at the sound of the old woman’s sharp soprano and not wanting to keep
the old lady waiting, Mandaku began,

“Long ago as history tells us, Princess Amor had a lover, Amiak, the
man whose blood had a mix of all the four tribes. One among the two of the
cursed ones who had survived the execution of all who had blood mixed with that
of the forbidden tribes. He was murdered in his hut. She called it ‘our hut of love’.
After burying him under ‘the tree of love’, she put on her war regalia and set off in
search of Amiak’s missing heart and the answers to her questions.”

Everyone stayed silent and waited for the connections to be made for them.
When Mandaku did not continue, one of the young members of the council who
represented the young people said almost impatiently,

“Great Leader, could you please keep explaining.”

~ 17 ~
Mandaku smiled and calmly said,

“Be patient son.”

The smile was replaced by a thoughtful expression before he slowly turned to

beloved Awise who sat expressionless with her eyes closed in the corner. He
looked at her as if seeking for permission to tell the part of the history that was
never spoken out loud and only the history keeper of the whole tribe could grant
that permission.

Awise sensing his stare and understanding what he was asking for nodded her
permission without hesitation and went back to closing her eyes. Mandaku
cleared his throat and continued in a silent but audible tone,

“Amor started from Andika and went round to all the villages,
enquiring and investigating. When she learned that nobody cared, that people
regarded the death of all ‘cursed ones’ a blessing, she went mad. She became a
savage and started back from her home village, killing two people in each land
who spoke ill of the ones of forbidden mixed blood, calling their words foolish
superstitions and beliefs. In every village, she removed the hearts of her victims
and buried them where the lands of all the four tribes meet. When she buried the
last set of hearts, she curved a stone into the symbol of love and with her blood
she wrote on it,

One taken double returned. A pair from each land. In that, I have
avenged the one who was judged harshly and denied life. With my own blood I
engrave the words on this stone to symbolize the pain, sorrow and disappointment
in my heart and I curse this land that I have disowned as mine. May it drown in
pain and sorrow until the people change their beliefs. If they do not learn to love
all without discrimination, my book shall be their weapon of self- destruction.”

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very chilly and the silence that
reigned was so unsettling. Mandaku surveyed his audiences’ face and then
continued,

~ 18 ~
 “The killings in our land today are closely related to those of Amor, only
that the hearts are placed in our own land and not covered by soil, instead they
are covered by banana leaves written on them, ‘For your discrimination and
hypocrisy’.”

Mandaku paused to observe the reaction of his people before going on,

“Although I have never seen ‘The forbidden book of Amor’, I believe it was
hidden in the land of Andika and I cannot help but think that somehow it has been
unearthed and has fallen into the wrong hands. After all in the very end all things
in the darkness come to light.”

There was murmuring as people discussed among themselves the new piece of
information that they had just received. A middle-aged woman in the group
fidgeted in her sit and when she could take no more, she opened her mouth and
loudly questioned the actions of her ancestors. Oh right, there is one other taboo
that I haven’t explained. You see, in the whole of Bandundika, it was a taboo, a
great crime to ever question the actions of your ancestors especially the leaders
of the people for it was believed that they were the brains, the knowledge and
wisdom of the clans, subtribes and the whole tribe at large. It was a crime
punishable by banishment.

So, the middle aged leader in the council stood and boldly asked,

“Why did they ignore her words and even go on to hide them from the
people? And just to calm my raging curiosity, why have we never seen the stone
in the middle of our lands?”

Everybody fell silent, surprised by the audacity of their colleague but since all of
them needed the answer to the same questions that she had voiced out loud
nobody spoke anything and neither did they throw her condemning glances.
Instead, they all turned to look at Awise, the wise old woman and head of all
history keepers of the land expecting her to use her witty tongue to condemn the
unimaginable words spoken out loud by their colleague but were shocked when
they saw her smiling and nodding in approval.

~ 19 ~
Awise kept smiling while looking at all the shocked faces and when she felt that
she had, had enough, she frowned and asked in her jovial way,

“Alas, why are you all looking at me like I have just risen from the
dead?”

Mandaku tried to speak but no words came out of his mouth making Awise fall
into uncontrollable laughter. When she was done laughing she said,

“Son, if you are waiting for me to condemn Sanda, then you are
wasting your time. I have been waiting for this moment year in year out, looking
for the person bright enough to see the mistakes of our past leaders and
courageous enough to question them and we can all agree that what she has
asked is valid.”

She sat upright in her chair and leaned in on her cane and looked at Sanda who
had a smile playing on her lips.

“Child, the questions you ask are valid, do not be afraid,

nobody will cast you out. Am proud of you.” To all she said,

“Feel free to ask questions and I will answer for this is the only
way that we will find a solution to these problems we face.”

At that, the room became alive, and questions were asked in turns.

“Is the book really there? What happened to Amor? ...How...

why…”

Awise sat quietly listening to all the questions being thrown at her and when her
ears got tired of hearing question marks, she hit the floor so hard with her walking
stick and the room fell silent at once and smiling she said in approval,

“Good people, you know that I am too old to shout at old

children for them to keep quiet therefore you’ve done well to be obedient at first
call.” She kept quiet for a minute then seriously spoke,

“I will answer your questions in one part of the story.”

~ 20 ~
She sat back on her chair, closed her eyes and started narrating.

“After Amor left the heart of the lands, in her book she wrote,

‘My work is done, I have avenged the one I so

loved dearly, but with him gone I have no strength to live on. The pain and sorrow
is too much to bear, the hole in my heart is too wide it frustrates me. The
loneliness I feel is too great a burden on my shoulders, therefore beside the grave
of he who lit my world I lay, giving my body the rest it needs. I open my veins and
let the red liquid of life flow out of my body. It is not suicide for the day he died so
did my heart and soul. I am only doing justice to my tired soulless body that has
served me faithfully to this very end.’

True to her words, she was found beside her lover’s grave and in a grave next to
Amiak’s, Amor was buried never to be spoken of aloud. The elders of all the four
tribes regarded her as an abomination and therefore it was agreed that all about
her be forgotten, her book be buried in Andika and her stone of love be grinded
to dust so as to avoid the ‘pollution’ of the minds of the people of Bandundika
and that of the generations to come.”

Awise paused then quietly in a tone that sounded as if she was talking more to
herself she said,

“But I believe that she left a simple solution, the problem is to get
the people to embrace change. If they do t…”

She paused and stood abruptly stiffening completely.

“Grandmother Awise!” Sanda ran to the grandmother of the village

but she stopped her in her tracks with an outstretched arm.

“Grandmother, what happened?” Mandaku asked her quietly and

she slowly turned to face him.

“Where is my boy?” She asked in panic.

“Your son is out hunting.”

~ 21 ~
 “No, where is Ndaka? Where is Devin?”

She urgently asked and everyone in the room shut up.

“Where is he?” she now asked sternly and Sanda slowly answered,

“You know he is a cursed one, he is not accepted in any land, he

might have been raised in secret but when it came to light a few months ago he
was cast out. You did not know?”

Old Awise sat down in resignation and in despair she whispered,

“So that is why he has not visited me for days.” Out loud she said,

“Of course I did know that he had a mix of the forbidden blood.”

She lifted her head and looked at all the people in the hut and

commanded,

“I want him found, I want him brought back home and protected.
If you harm him, then we all are doomed. History might just repeat itself.”

Confused glances were exchanged and silent whispers could be heard, People
were trying to make the head and tail of what Awise was saying but to no avail.
On seeing their predicament, she decided to help them out,

“That boy and his girl from Andika might be our only saving grace.”

Understanding dawning on them they started nodding but we never miss a crazy
soul in a crowd.

“Heeeeeeeeh!” Came the exclamation from an old man in the

group,

“A girl from Andika you say? Mandaku make sure your Warriors
are careful with the boy, we do not need a repeat of history.”

Everybody fell into laughter and Mandaku made a theatrical bow and said,
~ 22 ~
 “The queen’s king will be protected with our lives.” Another
round of laughter and then Awise said,

“Now run along, let’s waste no time. Start from Andika,

something tells me that he might be there. Go, bring me my boy, I have some
things to tell him.”

The members of the council uttered their yeses and yes grandmas before Great
Mandaku announced,

“Meeting adjourned.” And everyone took their leave smiles

brightening their faces, their hearts full of hope but little did they know that they
were not the only ones after the boy.

CHAPTER FIVE
In one of the scariest part of the land, a traditional ritual was taking place.
Chanting could be heard and on the altar was an animal bleeding to death. In
front of the altar was a man in a skull mask holding a rusted metallic box in his
right hand and on his left was green hot liquid.

“In my left hand I hold the precious lost but now found Jewel. On
my right I hold the herb of life. Tonight we shall bring back to life that which is
forbidden and power shall we gain, authority shall be our potion and fear shall be
our trademark.”

He took the metallic box and with care removed the organ in it. It was the heart of
the man whose death left behind a mad lover, many deaths to avenge his and a
curse upon the whole tribe. The heart had been long found and buried to avoid
catastrophe but it seems that the secret was not well kept and somehow found its
way to the lands of the two most feared and distasted sub tribes , the land full of
witchcraft, Thandi and the land full of legalized inhuman killings, the Andaku.

“Bow in respect of the ritual.” Said the ritual leader to the five
wizards and witches surrounding him before turning to face the altar with the

~ 23 ~
purpose of consulting the aged yellow piece of paper that looked like it had been
torn from a very old book.

He read and reread the wordings on the page and frowned.

“The ritual cannot work without the blood of the chosen, get the
boy.”

The humans in all black and skull masks on their faces nodded in unison and
twirled before walking away looking as deadly as death itself.

****************************************
19th Century, Diary of a lost soul

I have avenged my dead fiancé and found his heart in the hands of a rogue wizard.
I killed him although I believe that he was not the only culprit in the case but I am
satisfied with what I have accomplished in my mission.

I am exhausted and wish to go lie next to my man’s grave in eternal sleep never to
awake but before I do that, I have a secret that only Amiak and I knew and I will
not take it to my grave instead I am going to write it here and whoever gets this
book, will have the choice of keeping quiet and saving the tribe or releasing it and
putting all under the bondage of darkness.

One thing that people did not know was that Amiak’s heart had power. If a
forbidden ritual of uishi is performed on it then it could be used to control people.
The blood directly from his heart combined with that of the chosen one gives one
supernatural strength and life double that of a normal human. I still remember the
procedure of the ritual,

Blood

~ 24 ~
Those are symbols of life. Only those blessed with the special gifts can correctly
interpret them. I say no more on the matter but like I have written before,
whoever has this book has the choice of giving the information out or carry it in
silence however, if it falls into the right hands then light will shine upon the tribe
but if it lands into the hands of those corrupted at mind and at heart, then
darkness shall thrive and take over the whole tribe and the consequences shall
never be forgotten neither shall they ever be spoken of.

***************************************

Andaka

Devin and Soita stood looking at the dark hole dug at the corner of the fence that
divided the community’s education area and the living areas.

“Have you noticed what I have noticed?” Soita quietly asked Devin
who was now frowning. He nodded and almost in a whisper said,

“In this hole shall I burry the hearts that have been taken to
avenge my lover and…”

“… I seal this hole of vengeance with my blood.”

Soita completed the sentence for him before twirling abruptly to face him,

“This hole looks exactly like the one described in the book of
Amor.”

“Only in the book, the hole is in the middle of all the four tribes,
doesn’t have names engraved on a black stone and there were no banana leaves
covering the entrance.”

Devin contributed as he moved closer to the black stone and read the names
before asking,

~ 25 ~
 “Are these not the names of the people you said vanished from
the village?”

Soita knelt beside him and nodded after a minute. She was about to start talking
when she felt some wetness on her knees. She looked at Devin and that was
when she saw him jump and start shouting at her,

“Get away from that place. Get as far away as possible.”

Soita did not argue, instead she stood, walked towards him, and touched him on
the shoulder. He turned his head and looked at her, the face very pale and eyes
unblinking. He kept repeating the words from the book of Amor in a shaky voice.

“I seal this hole of vengeance with my blood.”

Soita stood aside and watched as he walked slowly towards the hole and
crouched, letting his hands feel the surface of the freshly dug soil placed on top of
banana leaves and then traced the circle of blood with his finger before lifting a
bloodied finger and sniffing it and that was when he choked and started coughing.
Soita was beside him in a blink of an eye, rubbing his back.

“D, you have to calm down and breathe.”

He did as he was told, and it did not take long before he was better and Soita was
throwing question after question barely giving him the chance to answer her.

“Tell me, what is it? Why did you choke? What is in that
blood? Wha…”

“Stop!” He shouted.

“If you want me to talk then stop, keep quiet.”

Soita looked at him in surprise. Devin had never shouted at her no matter how
angry he was with her but she did not say anything. She shut up and looked at
him blankly.

~ 26 ~
 “Lord.”

Devin said calmly.

“I am sorry I did not mean to shout at you. You were just

talking many words so fast and my head was still trying to process these things. I
couldn’t think and I felt suffocated.”

Soita stared at him for a while before swallowing hard and nodding then calmly
asked,

“Ok, you want to tell me now?”

Devin nodded and said,

“Yes, it is important and needs immediate action but we are not

spending any other minute here so I will tell you on our way back.”

“Good, then let’s get out of here.” Soita said as she took his
hand and started pulling him after her.

“That hole was a ritual.” Devin stated flatly and Soita stiffened.

“Keep walking.” He urged her and then kept narrating.

“That blood belonged to the Thandi and the fact that it made me
choke makes me think that it belonged to the highest people in the hierarchy of
the black cloaks. I feel like they are looking for someone in particular and those
hearts in that place are those of failed experiments.”

Soita became rigid again but kept walking and talking.

“If it is indeed as you say who could they be looking for and
why?”

Devin shook his head and Soita exclaimed in horror as realization dawned on her
as her mother’s words came flooding back to her.

“What is it?” Devin asked anxiously.

~ 27 ~
 “If the book falls into the hands of a stranger then there shall be
trouble.” Soita whispered and looked at Devin who was getting to the peak of his
anxiety and worry.

“What is the matter?”

Soita shook her head, placed a strong grip on Devin’s palm then said,

“I want us to run.”

The young man did not get the chance to ask any question because before he
could count to five, he found himself propelling forward, the wind hitting his face
hard. All questions could be asked later.

CHAPTER SIX
Moita was sitting outside her daughter’s hut when she saw the two youths come
running. She stood abruptly not letting go of the book in her hand but
immediately forgetting what exactly had made her go looking for her daughter.
The ashen look on Soita’s face was enough to give a mother the taste of severe
panic.

“Ehe child, why do you look like that? Whose ghost have you seen
now?”

Soita did not speak nor let go of Devin’s hand but she stopped running and now
walked to her mother.

“Ma we have trouble.”

She started explaining to her mother who had become weaker and weaker in the
knees with each paragraph of the story and had decided that a chair would come
in handy. By the end of the story she had the look of a thunder stricken being,
rigid and unmoving. No expressions and no blinking.

After what seemed like eternity she turned to Devin and said quietly,

~ 28 ~
 “Boy, if you will excuse us, we need to find my husband so we can
discuss a couple of things before we involve the council of Andika.”

Devin nodded in understanding but before leaving he turned to Soita and held her
by the shoulders, looked into her eyes and spoke softly but firmly,

“I have a feeling tough times have come, but you together with your
people in unity can do this. The challenge is coming but do not fear, I will be
beside you every step of the way and even if I am not around you physically all
the time, I am still with you in heart, soul, and spirit. Remember I love you, I
believe in you and I will always be here to help you. Bye.”

With those words, Devin did not stand to wait for her response, he gave her a
tight squeeze of reassurance and walked away without looking back even when
she called to him,

“Take care of yourself.”

Soita turned to look at her mother while blinking her watery eyes rapidly and
Moita pulled her in for a motherly embrace.

“Now, now be calm child don’t cry.”

Soita shifted her position so that she could also look into her mother’s eyes.

“Why does it feel like he is not alright? Like am not going to see him
again? Why do I feel so sad?”

Moita looked at her daughter in silence, heartbroken by the pain glaring at her
from her daughter’s eyes.

“Do you think he is going to be fine Ma?”

Soita asked again amidst her silent tears and this time Moita answered her like a
mother not a queen who has to follow the rules.

“Here is what I think.” She shifted her daughter’s position in her arms
and looked steadily into her eyes.

~ 29 ~
 “That young man might be considered a curse but personally, I think
he is a man of worth, the type of man that our society needs. Do not worry about
him for he is a strong, intelligent man and a human being who knows how to
survive. I have watched you two and I have noted that despite everything, you still
care deeply for him, and he cares too much for you thus if there is anything I am
sure of, it is that he will survive just for you. Despite his kind soul, he is not a man
who would go down without a fight.”

Soita looked at her mother in surprise then with a sly smile she said,

“So you really do believe in love.”

Moita chuckled and playfully elbowed her daughter.

“Hush now child, we have more important things to do now that you
feel better. We need to call your father and have him meet us at the hut of
governance. I hope you do have your phone.”

“Thank you Ma.” Soita said before pulling her cellphone from her
pouch made from goat skin.

“Also, here is my phone.”

Moita nodded in approval and said with a bright smile,

“If your grandfather were alive, he would have insisted on the use of a
messenger without acknowledging that these modern toys make work easier and
faster.”

Soita joined her mother in the soft laughter before dialing her father’s number.

I know you are wondering why there are phones in the village of people who are
so deep into their culture, you will be surprised, they have both traditional and
modern doctors, drugs, and they have the modern communication systems not to
forget the education system. You see, the people of Bandundika are beings who
have embraced the modern times technology and modern education but still
insist on respecting, valuing, and living their culture.

~ 30 ~
 ********************************************

Meanwhile, Devin was walking towards his hut, his bright mind venturing into
lands known only to him but by the look on his face it was not a land full of sweet
potatoes, bananas and festivities, it was a land full of dark thorns, rough stones
and steep mountains. Even with his handsome face, built physique and young
age, he still managed to look ten times older than he did before and should still
look now. For some reason, Devin felt like the fate of his people was in his hands,
the killings and disunity could only be stopped by him but he did not know how
and why he kept feeling like that.

“What is wrong with me?” He kept whispering to no one in

particular as he walked.

“Why can’t this buzzing sound in my head stop and the feeling like I
am being pulled to a place by an invisible being?”

Devin was just taking the turn to his hut when suddenly, a vivid memory popped
up.

*********************************

A young Devin, sixteen years of age saddened and brutalized by life stood at the
door of a decorated hut looking at the old woman who was humming a tune of
one of the banned traditional love songs.

“Come to me son, what ails you?”

Devin sat next to the Old woman on the traditional sisal mat. He looked at her for
a long time before asking,

“Awise grandmother, why is it that when everybody rejects me, you

who are very important to all the tribes of Bandundika accepts me even if it is
against the law?”

Old Awise stopped humming and looked at the boy for a minute before
proceeding with her humming. Young Devin waited patiently for her to answer

~ 31 ~
and just when he thought that he was not going to get an answer, the old lady
spoke in a strong voice.

“You are not a curse. On the contrary, you are a blessing. You see, I
have always believed that whether one is of confused blood or pure blood, it
doesn’t matter. A man of pure blood can have a heart as dark as the bottom of a
pot, characters worse than that of a hyena and brains that put the sheep’s
stupidity to shame, whereas the one considered a curse could be the one with a
heart white as fresh cow’s milk, characters to be celebrated by the moon and
stars and a brain wise as King Solomon’s.”

She paused, turned to look directly into young Devin’s eyes and went on,

“The blood flowing in your veins does not matter, this…” She said
pointing to his head,

“… and this…”

She pointed to his chest where his heart was supposed to be then concluded,

“… and your behaviors matter a lot. Without an upright side on the

three things that I have shown you, unless one changes, he or she will never be
considered a blessing to the society.”

Devin hugged the Old woman carefully for she was a delicate flower and he was a
strong metal, difficult to break.

Old Awise chuckled and said,

“Never look at yourself as a curse for you are always a blessing,

besides, there will come a time when you will be the only pillar of our salvation.”

Devin narrowed his eyes and asked curiously,

“Grandma, what does that mean?”

The old lady shook her head and said,

~ 32 ~
 “You will see, just be patient. We both know that everything has its
own right time.”

******************************************

Devin gasped and struggled for air as he came back from the memory. He placed
his hands on his knees and panted for a few minutes as he thought over the
conversation in the memory and that was when recognition hit him hard.

“Damn, pillar of our salvation. Everything has its right time.”

He was about to take the remaining two steps to his door when all hell broke
loose. A whirlwind blew round him, carrying with it the rich soil of the earth,
creating dust and hence blinding him.

“Aaaaaaaah!” He screamed in pain and quickly closed his eyes.

In his blind state he struggled to get out of the dusty whirlwind, but he didn’t
need to use much energy for as it had appeared, so did it disappear.

“What in the universe was that?”

Devin thought out loud while rubbing his eyes vigorously.

“Why can’t I open my eyes?”

He stretched his hands to feel for his door and for some reason, left his hands
hanging and slowly turned. First to the right, then to the left, then turned in an arc
in front of him. He sniffed once, twice and then moved back.

“You smell like fear, pain and death. What do you want?”

There was no response, so he asked again,

“I asked what you want from me.”

The men in cloaks and masks chuckled evilly before the woman with grey hair
hissed,

~ 33 ~
 “He is a tough boy like his ancestor Amor.” The masked faces
nodded in unison and then the team fell silent.

Devin’s curiosity peeked by the name Amor, moved further into the circle and
asked,

“What does Amor have to do with me?”

The tallest of them all with the deep voice answered him coldly,

“Come with us the easy way or we do it the stony way.”

Devin stood tall, like the warrior he was and said bitterly,

“So, you are cowards who choose to blind the enemy in war so as
to get the easy win.”

“You can call it whatever you want.”

“Well then, I may be blind now…” Devin said through clenched

teeth and unsheathed a sword and a dagger,

“… but I still have good use of my feet and hands. I am not going
with you unless as a lifeless being.”

“Very well.” Replied the leader of the dark team and swords
were unsheathed followed by grunts and effortless jumps as swords clunked
against each other and whispers of the wind as daggers were thrown. It was jump,
dodge, and kick. If that fight had been a game, it might have been a sight to
behold.

Devin might have his eyes blinded but his senses were still intact. He had worked
on the rusty skills his father had taught him when he had been eight years old and
had become a skilled fighter. All had been going on well until the unfortunate
happened.

~ 34 ~
From behind the bushes, a small girl who looked like she was just five years old
burst from the bush, a look of panic on her face and tears pouring down her
angelic face. She did not waste a second before shouting her concern in her tiny
voice,

“Ndaka no, they will make you sleep forever.”

That distracted him giving his opponents the chance to disarm him and then into
his stomach went a sword, making him stumble and gurgle blood but his attention
was focused on the little girl who was screaming his name over and over. He tried
to wave her off but she had her eyes closed very tightly therefore he summoned
the little strength he had and shouted to the angel,

“Get out of here. It is not safe.” That brought the little girl back to
the present world and whether she understood or not only the child would know
because suddenly she sped away as fast as her tiny legs could carry her, making
that the last thing Devin saw before giving in to his pain and loss of blood ending
the fight granting the people what they sort, Devin. They had him as instructed,
either dead or alive.

CHAPTER SEVEN
It was dusk when the warriors with very dusty feet, evidence that they had indeed
walked from their territories to Andika despite the availability of vehicles, arrived.

“I greet you my fellow warriors.” Said the tall man with not a
handsome but an arresting face and two strong legs protruding from his
traditional regalia.

“I greet you. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“We are here to see your King about an important and urgent matter.”

The warrior on border duty studied them for a while then counted the number of
heads visiting before the man in charge of entrance and exits at the border so that
he could organize for a warrior to lead them to the hut of governance.

~ 35 ~
 “Please wait for one of us to guide you to our hut of governance. She will
be here in a minute.”

“Did you say she?” The Andaka warriors asked in surprise and the man
on duty nodded his head and slowly said,

“Oh, I had forgotten that of all the four sub-tribes we are the only ones
that allow the ladies into our army. Yes I said ‘she’.” He chuckled and entered his
booth as the lady warrior arrived to take over, her military swagger not going
unnoticed.

“Peace, my fellow warriors.”

“Peace our sister.” The group answered in unison and fell behind her as
she turned to head the way.

“Well then let us be on our way. I believe that you are all aware about
the rule that states, ‘No weapons allowed in the hut of governance.’.”

Grunts of yeses were heard, and she acknowledged with a nod before increasing
her pace and leading the small team to their destination.

********************************************************

In the hut of governance, a very serious conversation was going on.

“Are you trying to tell me that just by sniffing the blood he knew who
it belonged to?” King Ndika asked, the shock expressed on his face coming out
clearly in his tone and Moita nodded.

“Wife, do you know what that means?”

“Of course I do. That also means that if the Thandi and Andaku find
out who the boy is, there will be war.”

Silence resumed for a while as brains were turned right, left, upside down in
thoughts.

“We need to talk to the …”

~ 36 ~
 “Sorry sir to interrupt but you have visitors.” A sharp voiced woman
said from the entrance of the hut.

King Ndika looked at her and asked,

“Who are they?”

“They are the men with the leopard skinned traditional regalia.”

“The Andaka warriors!” King, queen and princess said in harmony.

“What could they be doing in this place?” Soita asked and Moita
answered without hesitation,

“I am afraid that the time our people have dreaded for centuries
has arrived.”

“Send them in.” His highness Ndika ordered softly.

Without wasting time, hut of governance receptionist if I may call her, ushered in
the five awaiting warriors who filed in silently and bowed in respect to the King.

“Well, well, well. It has been a very long time since I had any visits
from you my beloved neighbors. To what do I owe the pleasure of your rare visit
to my land?” Ndika said as he stood from his seat and walked towards the
semicircle made by his guests.

The man standing in the middle of the rest of his team, the general commander of
the Andaka army, spoke.

“Great ruler of Andika, we are here courtesy of our Old but wise
Awise.”

That captured the attention of the royal family. It was not every day that you
would hear of Awise sending a team of warriors to run an errand for her.

“Ah!” Ndika exclaimed.

“And what does our beloved and witty history keeper need?”

~ 37 ~
 “She looks for the young man Devin Ndaka but we have no idea
where the man is habiting currently.”

Moita and Soita frowned, looked at each other but said nothing.

“Old Awise says that he might be the only savior we have now
and must be protected at all cost. She also has a lot of things to say to him.”

For a moment King Ndika was silent, his expression that of someone who was
physically present but mentally absent. Moita cleared her throat when he seemed
to be lost and not finding his way back and that was enough to shake him back to
reality.

“My apologies.” He whispered and walked back to his throne, sat,

then gestured for the men to sit too.

“The young man is here but we have a few things we would like to
discuss with him first before we allow him to go with you.”

“We need him urgently.” One warrior said and another added,

“Like we were told, we do not have much time.” Ndika looked at

the men and shook his head. The time negotiations began and Moita together
with her daughter, not wanting to be part of the negotiations, opened ‘The book
of Amor’ and began the search for why Old Awise was in urgent need of Devin
and that was when they discovered that everything was wrong. The important
pages describing the curse unleashed by Amor, her lover’s secret, the ritual to be
performed with his heart and the consequences, were all missing.

“We have a problem!” Moita announced in a loud panicked voice

that silenced the men and had them giving her total attention.

“Pages in this book have been torn out.” Moita added.

“What pages are we talking about?” The Andaka commander

asked but Moita did not give a coherent answer. Instead, she just shook her head
and whispered,

~ 38 ~
 “The heart, blood, ritual and war.”

As much as the sentence was not clear, it was enough to make everyone rigid
with terror. If one did not know better, they would have thought that the demon
of rigidity had passed. It seemed like someone had stopped time. The spell did not
last long though because Soita who had been unusually quiet stood abruptly and
exclaimed,

“Oh no!” Before breaking into a dead run while calling Devin’s
name frantically making the rest of the people in the hut to follow suite.

Soita skidded to a stop when she reached near Devin’s place. The others arrived
soon after, one of the young Andaka warriors commenting,

“Lord, that princess sure does have beautiful legs like those of a
gazelle but very fast like those of an antelope.”

Thus inviting a painful punch on the shoulder from his colleague.

“Now is not the time Ndakya.”

“I am sorry.” He apologized as he walked towards Soita, stopped

exactly beside her and said quietly,

“Oh this cannot be good.”

“There was a fight with daggers and swords.” She added and
everyone nodded in agreement.

“The wizards of Thandi.” Moita said in the silence that followed

her eyebrows creased in lines of concentration.

They all stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at her.

“Are you sure?” King Ndika asked as he closed in on the

destroyed earth surface and stopped on what looked like a lot of blood and
before Moita could explain herself he asked what was considered to be more of a
rhetorical question.

~ 39 ~
 “Is this blood?”

Soita ran passed him and was about to kick open the door to the hut when a tiny
scared voice called,

“Soita, is that you?”

She turned from the hut and turned to look at the figure of a child half hidden
behind a flower bed on her left.

“Yes it is me, come out now.” It was the child from the nursery
where Devin and Soita visited almost every single day of the week.

The little girl ran to Soita who held her firmly in her arms as she sobbed on her
shoulder.

“It’s ok, what happened dear?”

“They made him sleep forever and…” the little girl said in a tiny
voice, her eyes closed tightly as if scared of reliving the horrific moment.

“And what Angel?” Moita who was now beside them asked softly,

“… and then they… carried him like a baby but with a big knife in his
stomach. They looked so bad, their faces were only bones.” She completed
between sobs, covering her face with her tiny hands. Soita was now having a hard
time containing herself. She gave the child to her mother and walked towards the
destroyed surface.

“Stop!” One of the Andaka warriors said to her.

“If the Thandi made an entrance with their famous whirlwind then
stepping on that piece of land will have dire consequences.” Soita narrowed her
eyes at him and kept walking as if he had not spoken anything.

“Princess, you have to stop!” Ndika commanded but Soita ignored

him and walked to the center and estimated the diameter by using big footsteps.

~ 40 ~
She then crouched and started tracing the shadow of lines made by the whirlwind.
Slowly moving in a circle.

“They came from west. They never leave using the same direction
meaning they left for the eastern side.” She frowned and moved to where the
blood was on the soil. One tear drop after another started falling from her face to
the ground. You could feel her pain as she heaved continuously.

“You have to get out of that shadowed circle.” Moita begged her
daughter who lifted her face and looked at her mother’s face, her father’s, those
of the five foreign warriors and finally at their own warriors who had been
summoned by the King. She wiped her face with her hands and through clenched
teeth she said,

“They attacked my man, injured him and took him away. I am going
after him whether he is dead or still alive and nothing you do will stop me. You
can follow me after you make plans, but I cannot delay justice, they have to pay.”

Loud murmurs began among the people in the gathering, some shaking their
heads in disapproval.

“Child…” Moita began when a young man, seemingly new in the Andika
army shouted,

“Isn’t it a good thing if he is dead? He was cursed. I believe this should

be a celebration not a search and rescue party.”

I must say, those were the most insensitive words of the century that silenced
every single person present. Soita stiffened and suddenly her eyes lost the little
light of humanity that had been left in her. She looked soulless, a walking empty
shell as she narrowed her eyes towards the man who had dared to utter the
words. Before anyone could blink, she had jumped from the slightly raised surface
and was holding the man by the neck.

“Arrogance.” She said in a quiet deadly voice as she tightened her

grip further on his neck.

~ 41 ~
 “You said the wrong words at the worst time. Your tongue will be
the end of you.”

“I… am …sorry.” Choked the young man.

“You better be and pray that he is not dead for if he is, so are you
because when I am done with them you will be next.”

Soita did not give the man a chance to respond, she threw him down and took a
sword, two hunting knives, a bow and arrows from the men around and loaded
them on her body. Without looking at the many wide eyes that were staring at
her including those of her parents’, she walked away hitting aside every warrior
who tried to stop her and then in a run she disappeared into the forest. I now
believe that anger sure does give people extra energy that they did not know they
possessed.

The young princess left behind a surprised crowed and a sobbing mother,
shocked like all the other people and not believing that all sweet and charming
Soita Ndika had just done what she had.

“We have to make things right this time round. We cannot have
history repeating itself.” King Ndika shouted to the gathered soldiers.

“Number 1, organize our team and get the horses.”

“Yes King.”

“Ndakya, call Old Awise.”

“Yes, your Highness.”

“Commander of Andaka, inform Great Mandaku that we are

headed to war.”

“Yes Sir.”

King Ndika adjusted his traditional goat skinned coat and said in his
commanding voice,

~ 42 ~
 “We the Andika are going to fight alongside the Andaka against
the Thandi who I am sure have the almost extinct Andaku on their side. We have
a ritual to stop, lives to save and a possible darkness take over to prevent. Let us
all give it our best. We have ten minutes to prepare.”

The warriors saluted and the five from Andaka bowed before leaving for complete
preparations. It was the beginning of war.

CHAPTER EIGHT
The darkness was too thick, he couldn’t see a thing. The pain was devastating that
he could not move an inch. His legs were widely spread and tightly bound, his
hands tied above his head. His body was placed on the cold stone and on top he
was covered with fresh lion skin while in the inside he was blindingly nude. Frozen
water was constantly flowing down his face. It was a live nightmare.

“Did you give the boy those herbs as instructed?” asked the
ritual leader standing beside Devin, in his hand a curved knife rested.

“Yes master.” answered the slave who sold his soul to serve at
the altar of sorcery.

“Very well, call the black team. Let us not waste any time.”

Devin felt like he needed to do something. He closed his eyes and started
thinking. All he could see was Soita, the pain that she would feel if he died her
beautiful face distorted by sadness, and that brought out a moan of frustration
from him.

“Son, do not struggle for the pain that comes with struggling
might be your death. The herb of pain has all of you enslaved, the more you
move, the more it tears your internal organs. You see, we need you alive so stay
still.”

Devin tried all he could to turn his head and look at the man, but he couldn’t. His
face was frozen and his neck was stiff. So instead, he gritted between chattering
teeth,

~ 43 ~
 “Wh…wha…what...do…you…wa…want?”

The ritual leader chuckled and moved closer. He traced the sides of Devin’s face
with his long fingernails.

“You are a pretty human, just good enough for us. We want to give
you power, power to lead, to be our weapon, instill fear and be the god of the
dark era.”

Devin grunted and tried to pull himself up only to be thrown back by what
seemed to be invisible hands.

“I…will…be…dead then.”

The ritual leader laughed so hard and then turned to leave but before he
completely left the room he said evilly,

“You are ours, nothing will change that. I would love to see the
compassionate man turn into the cold blooded killer without a soul and then
when I am done, we will bury your heart with those of your ancestors.” His watch
sounded and he turned his head slightly to the left and smiled ruefully.

“Your princess has come for you my prince. She has almost all my
warriors down. I now see why you loved her. I have a feeling that this is going to
be fun.”

Devin alarmed by those words tried to fight against the restraints ignoring every
pain that bit through him with every move he made.

“Soita my love.” He kept whispering as he struggled. His hands were

now bleeding as he fought to untie them frantically all the while groaning in pain.

“It’s useless Devin.” A voice from the mouth of the cave said out
loud.

“The knots are bound by spells.” The figure moved in closer and
stopped in front of him.

~ 44 ~
 “Nkau!” Devin spat.

“I see you have never changed Ndaka.” Devin fell back onto the
cold stone and closed his eyes.

“If you are here that means, you are the one who had the blacks
come after me. What do I have to do with your rituals?”

Nkau sat on the stone next to Devin’s and said in a tone that promised death.

“Your heart, blood and soul have everything to do with the ritual,
with the freedom of the Andaku and Thandi. It is time we took over, we have had
enough being secluded, discriminated and judged harshly.”

Devin looked at Nkau and their eyes met.

“You Devin are the key to everything.”

****************************************************

Meanwhile, Old Awise was sitting facing her mirror. She knew everything had
gone downhill. She did not need anyone to confirm that but either way the phone
call that just came through her rarely used cellphone was what confirmed
everything. Nobody called her unless it was an emergency, and she could almost
guess what this one was about. Awise received the call and with a hand shaking
like a leaf, she placed the phone against her ear as she had been taught.

“You were too late?” She asked quietly.

“How did you know?” Asked the voice on the other end.

“I can feel it. Tell me son, where is Soita?”

There was silence for a while before the man on the other side decided to
answer.

“She left. She was like a robot going for a kill. You should have seen
her.”

~ 45 ~
Old Awise shook her head and a tear dropped down her cheek but she answered
harshly,

“I already know the look, I saw Amor and I was hoping to never see it
again.”

She walked towards a big book with papers and then sat next to it on a mat and
said,

“Listen carefully warrior, we lost control of her, but there is still a

chance. I know the boy is still alive they need him to be alive for him to be useful.
If you can get to the boy before he is turned into an animal in human form,
destroyed beyond repair, then we have a chance. His sanity is Soita’s sanity, if you
are too late in getting to him before the ritual is complete, then we will have two
incontrollable beings dangerous to humanity and this will be a blow that will
overshadow Amor’s history. For whatever shall happen after will never be a
pleasant part of our history in the future.”

She stood, walked slowly to the door of her hut and said,

“Organize for me one of those things that move with four round legs
and make a lot of noise and then tell Ndika it is now or we are all going to be too
late.”

Awise hung up and walked to the outside of her hut that was surrounded by the
beautiful flower bed. She had a feeling that this was the last time she was going to
see this place. It was time, time for her to perform the last duty that had kept her
on this earth for so long, the duty to return the value of love to the Bandundika.

********************************************

Soita crept round the trees, her sword dripping with blood.

“That is the cave. I need to get Devin out.”

She whispered to herself before bolting for the mouth of the cave. She had just
gotten in when the entrance banged shut. In front of her was a sight she had
never imagined that she would ever see in her lifetime.
~ 46 ~
 On the Altar was Devin, His body covered in blood, surrounding him were the
wizards and witches each holding a skull with green fluid. At the head of the altar
was the ritual leader who was holding what looked like a bloodied golden sword
and on his left hand was a human heart. Soita did not need to see any more, she
let out a piercing scream.

“What have you done to him?” She shouted as she walked

towards the altar but everyone present kept chanting.

“alive, alive, alive, power. Alive, alive, alive, Fear. From life come
death, come life, come power.”

Soita ran to the altar. One look at her man and she was almost sick.

“Ritual of uishi?” She asked more to herself than the people

present.

Soita was about to unsheathe her dagger when the chanting stopped and all the
heads turned to her.

“Ah and she finally arrives, only a little late.”

“What have you done?” She asked in horror and the blacks started
laughing.

“What have you done?” She shouted loudly this time and the ritual
leader closed in the distance between them.

“He is ours to use now. We are so glad to have you here. Our
ancestors made the mistake of not allowing Amor to see as Amiak was being slit
open and drained to his death.” He turned to look at Devin’s body and then back
at Soita.

“I would like to see the look on your face when he wakes from the
dead and does not recognize you. Sees you as the enemy and what he wants to
do in his life is not to love you but destroy you.”

Soita’s eyes opened wide in terror.

~ 47 ~
 “No, you cannot do that.”

“Of course we can my dear, all we need is for him to wake up and
give him the blood of the lion.”

Soita ran towards Devin and tried to shake him awake,

“Don’t let them lock the real you inside.” She said strongly.

“You sure are quite a woman Soita.” Nkau said from the corner he
had been observing the drama from.

“Prince Nkau Ndaku.” Soita said bitterly as she raised herself from the
stone she had been leaning on.

“I should have known all the while just like always, you are the
conniving bastard behind all this.” She unsheathed her dagger and started closing
in on him.

“Why?” She asked as her daggers clanked on the metallic protected

arm that Nkau had risen in defense.

“You want to fight princess.” Nkau said unsheathing his daggers.

“Let’s go daggers.” He added playfully and started fighting. Both very

skilled thus providing an entertainment show to the wizards waiting for their
specimen to awaken.

Soita had Nkau pinned to the wall and was about to slit his throat open, when a
loud roar sounded from behind them. The man had risen alright, but he looked
wrong.

His eyes were blood shot red, his fingernails were elongated and for some reason
his body was built double his size.

“That was not supposed to happen.” Said the ritual leader calmly.

“But if we can control him, the better.”

~ 48 ~
Soita turned to look at what was once her Devin and that was when Nkau took
the chance and switched positions,

“Learn to finish the job before you get distracted princess.”

He pressed his dagger on her neck and broke her skin than paused,

“First, I should feel how you taste in bed, let’s leave this melodrama
for the experts and have a little fun. You know if you were not so rebellious and
hard headed you would do great ruling beside me.”

Soita spat blood on the ground and stepped hard on Nkau’s toes who
immediately loosened his grip and cursed. She switched position again and this
time did not allow him to blink. She slit his throat open, bursting his artery. Nkau
opened his eyes wide in surprise as he gurgled his way to death.

“You messed with the wrong man.” Soita whispered coldly and that
was when arrows started flying across the room at the wizards who had put the
large Devin back to sleep and were trying to figure out what had gone amiss.

***********************************

Inside his own body Devin felt trapped. The animal was trying to take over
completely. For the first time since he watched his parents being murdered, he
felt afraid, scared. If he let the animal out completely, he would kill even the
innocents. He did not want to be that person who did not know what he was
doing. He knew he had to fight, if not for himself for Soita. The woman who
brought meaning to his life. For Awise, the Old woman who opened his eyes to
the see himself as he is and not as people thought. He knew that he had to hold
on and wait for the opportunity to subdue the animal threatening to take over his
body, only then could he win. It was an internal conflict.

*************************************

Soita looked at the people who had shot the arrows and was pleased to see her
people and those of Andaka fighting side by side. They surrounded the place and
blew the horn of war.

~ 49 ~
 “Who do we have here?” The ritual leader asked with a smile. He
palmed his gold dagger and the five wizards and witches palmed their silver ones
too. He twirled so first looking like the wind and before anyone could move, there
was blood splashing on the walls.

“Are we really going to do this?” He asked softly as he sniffed the

blood staining his sword.

“We will fight to the end if it means liberating our descendants.” King
Ndika said through gritted teeth and nodded to his fellow leader, Great Mandaku
then together they commanded their teams to fire arrows, throw daggers and
play with swords. It was war between Andaka and Andika against the mighty black
squad of Thandi, their warriors and the few men of Andaku. Very disturbing
bloodshed.

Soita was standing in a corner observing the black squad fight and it was when
she noticed that they evaded everything that showed their reflection and she got
an idea. She ran outside the cave and into one of the huts that she remembered
as the one that she and Devin had bought a couple of mirrors not so long ago. She
knocked once, twice and then kicked the door open. The hut was empty. She did
not waste time looking for the owner, she went to the corner where a lot of
mirrors were placed and then took six.

“Damn, when did mirrors get so heavy?”

She was about to lift them when she had footsteps behind her. She went still and
with her left hand palmed her dagger and was about to throw it when the person
spoke.

“Heeey, it’s just me. I saw you running out and I followed.” The man
panted.

“Ndakya, you are a joker. I could have killed you.”

“My apologies princess. Tell me, what is on your mind?”

~ 50 ~
Soita relieved her now sore right hand from the heavy weight of the mirrors and
turned to look at Ndakya. Then dividing the mirrors between them, she moved
closer to him and whispered instructions into his ears.

“Very well princess, that is very clever of you. Let’s do this.”

They jogged out of the hut and sneaked into the cave. Where they looked for the
men strategically position then handed each the mirror and a set of instructions.
When that was complete, Soita took the horn and blew hard putting a pause to
the fighting. She walked towards the black squad who had stood against each
other’s backs and started singing.

“Evil knows no mercy

Knows no boundaries

But even it has its own weakness…”

As she sang, the men with the mirrors moved in, encircling the black squad who
had started looking at each other in panic.

“…it loves not its reflection,

For with its reflection comes death.”

As the mirror holders kept moving in, one by one the black squads dropped their
swords and started screaming.

“This is unacceptable.” Shouted the Ritual leader whose skin had started
burning. They turned to the left, mirrors, to the right, mirrors, every side there
were mirrors. Their reflections all over, burning them with every glance, and then
slowly by slowly they dropped dead.

When the Thandi and Andaku saw that, they lowered their weapons and
surrendered. The toothless king moving forward to face king Ndika.

“You win.” He said and Ndika nodded.

“But we will not thtop war, unleth you reconthider.”

~ 51 ~
King Ndika nodded and together with Great Mandaku agreed to have a meeting
with the leaders of the secluded sub tribes.

“I have lost a lot of men to want the continuity of this war. It is time we
set things straight.”

**************************************************************

Soita ran towards the gigantic Devin as the warriors cleaned up and the leaders of
the four tribes went to the Toothless king’s ruling chambers. She shook his head
and shoulders but he looked dead.

“You are a part of my soul your death is my death.” She bent her
head in sorrow and was sobbing in pain when a light hand touched her shoulder.

“My child.” Said the voice and Soita looked up to see the remaining
warriors surrounding them and behind her Old Awise was beside her mother.

“Mother.” Soita said softly and to Old Awise she said,

“Grandmother Awise, your boy.” Tears started falling again and

Old Awise placed both hands on her shoulders.

“There is still hope my child, the ritual was not completed and
sealed with the blood of a male lion. He can still be saved but it will take great
effort.”

“I will do anything to have him back.” Soita said evenly and Awise
smiled.

“Very well child, cut your palm, put droplets of blood in this mixture
of herbs. When mixed completely give it to him and call him out any way you
can.”

Moita closed her eyes as her daughter slit her palm but did not interfere. She
watched as Soita followed the instructions given to her.

~ 52 ~
 Soita knelt next to Devin and placed his head on her lap and forced the drink
down his throat. Then her powerful Vocals filled the cave with the song that she
used to sing with her lover in the better days.

“The first time I set my eyes on you,

I felt light and free like a bird,

Shining in the brightness of the day,

I saw love and happiness in you

And you became a part of my soul.”

When nothing happened, she placed her forehead on his and whispered
musically,

“You die, I die.

For you leave me as an empty shell,

The pain unbearable,

For a bond ripped open has left a bleeding wound

My lover, my friend beside me is where you belong.”

She stopped singing and let her tears fall on his face as she cried bitterly, the pain
threatening to overcome her. She was shifting her position so she could lie next to
him when he whispered,

“You sure do have a lot of tears.”

Soita flung her eyes wide open and looked at him,

“You are back. But your body?”

Devin shook his head and said,

“He doesn’t want to leave.”

~ 53 ~
 “Who doesn’t?” She asked and Old Awise answered,

“The animal that awakens in him and takes over is who he is talking
about. If he doesn’t come out willingly, then he has to be forced out. What do you
think will be irritating enough to make him cough?”

Devin and Soita looked at each other and then nodded in unison.

She took a piece of the black cloaks and dipped them in the pool of blood made
by the black squad. She then covered Devin’s nose with it and he immediately
started coughing. Soita rubbed his back as the coughing became severe and
severe until he finally released a black lump that looked like clotted blood. The
coughing ceased right after and Moita handed him the herb of cleansing and not
long after, he was back to normal, only too weak to walk.

Soita covered him in a big, warm hug and everybody present cheered. He was
back. The princess’ prince was back.

**********************************************
The 19th century, Diary of a lost soul.

I cursed the tribe of Bandundika, but I will not leave them without a way to undo
the curse. When I insist on unity and all the four sub-tribes coming together in
harmony, I know what I am talking about. When I say there is nothing like a
cursed and that of the pure blood, I knew what I was saying. When Amiak and I
were in our happy days, we travelled a lot in all the lands and we were surprised
to find that as much as the Andaku were considered very violent, they had a lot of
good people amongst them. The Thandi might have been known for sorcery but
majority of them were normal people, friendly and with kind hearts. Secluding and
discriminating them is an injustice. Killing children because they are of blood
mixed with theirs was unfair. Some of the rules and norms were wrong. They
caused pain to lovers, deaths of innocent children and bitterness among those
with good hearts.

When I stood up for what was right, I found my man dead. Therefore, when the
elders and leaders of all the four sub-tribes come together and agree that there is

~ 54 ~
no such thing as cursed or confused blood, and that we are all one people, the
people of the Bandundika tribe, only then will there be peace, unity, harmony and
joy.

EPILOGUE
Three months after the war. Soita and Devin stand side by side on a hill, her arm
around his waist, her head on his shoulder and his hand on her shoulder.

“It feels good to be an accepted member of the society.” Devin

whispered in her ear.

“Before the new rules were passed, it was only Old Awise, may her
soul rest in peace, and you that made me feel like I existed.”

Soita lifted her head and looked at him and smiled.

“I am so glad that you feel free now, you do not live with the worry
of being thrown out of the land you are camping on.”

“Yes, but I just wish that Old Awise would live to see the changes
she had long awaited.”

Soita nodded and rubbed his arm softly,

“I am sure wherever she is, she is continuously smiling.”

Devin nodded, placed his huge palm on Soita’s smaller one and said,

“Thank you for being my moonlight, my sunshine, my angel and

my best friend. Thank you for always being there for me.”

Soita turned to face him and then whispered,

“When I entered that cave and saw the ritual leader holding a bloodied
sword and a heart. I thought I had lost you forever.” She smoothed the hair on his
head and said loudly,

~ 55 ~
 “I am glad it’s all over, no ancient curses, no discrimination and most
importantly, love is no longer viewed as a poison but as a flower, a flower that
makes the earth beautiful when it blossoms.”

Devin nodded and pulled her in for a tight embrace.

“I hope Amor is happy wherever she is because she has won the fight
for justice.”

“Mmmmh yes.” Soita responded lazily and then suddenly, she pushed
herself away from him,

“You want to go play with the kids at the nursery?”

Smiling Devin answered,

“Yes and I think you want me to race you there?”

Soita burst into laughter and said,

“You know me too well for your own good boy.” Without warning she
took off leaving behind a frowning Devin,

“What, hey you did not count.”

Soita stopped so she could shout back,

“The more you talk, the further I get from you.”

Devin shook his head and laughed before taking off after her.

It was one of the rare joys of being free, free from discrimination, from judging
eyes and free to love.

The end

~ 56 ~