The Dancing Bride And Her Spirit Warrior - Episode 19

 

Koni slowed down when he reached Vuyanzi’s house. It was quiet and no soul was on sight. He kept in the shadows and avoided the lights. It would not do well to have anyone sporting a lion cruising through the town in the middle of the night. He stilled when he reached the trees that acted as a fence for Vuyanzi’s home. He listened for any movement inside the house but everything was okay . He breathed a sigh of relief after realizing the amanani was indeed bluffing. Vuyanzi was safe. For now.

An owl howled from the tree that he was crouching under. Koni looked up to see the moon being covered by clouds. Just like the first day in the forest, he followed her scent to her window bedroom.

Perfect, the beast growled. Koni cursed, he tried to shift into man but managed to do it halfway. He ended up standing up in his man – beast form. His claws were drawn out and his canines were out. Koni tried to convert back into the man but the lion refused to back down.

Koni gave up and stalked silently towards Vuyanzi’s window, he picked the scent of oranges and pineapples and his beast growled in appreciation. Her breathing was even meaning she was deep asleep. He crept to her small wooden window and urged the timber aside with his paw

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. It didn’t take much of an effort before the old hinges gave way. The clouds parted and gave light to the room, he pushed the flowery curtains aside and gazed at his sleeping bride.

She looked so peaceful, her hands folded underneath her head. Koni quietly removed the grills from her window and squeezed his large body inside the house. The house was old, Koni noted. He stood tall in the middle of the room and gazed around. It was not the first time, he was in her room. The first time was when he carried her from the forest, but that night he was too concerned about her injuries to look around.

He took in the drum table, the twin beds and the wall covered with pictures of her and Lishevi, Tabu her cousin, her uncle Liyai and another woman that he assumed was Tabu’s mother. He could not see any pictures of her father or mother.

Then he crouched beside her, he took care not to knock anything down so as to wake her up. He was just in time to stop her rolling from the bed and hitting the floor. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he was able to catch her in his arms mindful of his sharp claws, blankets and all. Koni nearly roared with happiness at having his bride at his arms. Finally.

Now let’s run away, his beast argued.

No. she will not accept us that way you thoughtless brute

She will learn to love us with time the beast answered hopefully

No Koni stood firm. Most of the time he was in sync with the animal but lately, that seemed to be a problem.

Koni, she sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck engulfing him with her warmth though she didn’t open her eyes, deep in sleep. Koni nearly threw her on his shoulders and took off. Maybe his beast was right. Vuyanzi might not know who Koni is but her bride identified him as her warrior, Koni thought happily, he broke into a smile that he was sure looked more like a snarl in the dark room thanks to his canines. He turned so he could look at her sleeping face. A face so close to his. Koni found himself looking at her pouty lips for some time before swallowing hard and looking away. She had washed the face paint off. Her lashes were considerably long, relaxed against her high cheekbones. Her nose small and upturned.

He carefully placed her back on the bed and as if defying him, Vuyanzi kicked off the blankets, leaving Koni to feast his eyes on her curvy body. Koni held his breath, his mind reverted back to earlier that day when Vuyanzi was dancing at the cultural center. It took everything in him not to join her on the stage and marking her there and then in the presence of everyone. He was glad of the sunglasses they hid his true intent. Sudi was never going to shut up about it. Like earlier today Koni felt his teeth tingling and without meaning he nuzzled her exposed neck. If he marked her, she would be his forever and no one would be able to separate them but it seemed wrong to mark her this way. He wanted her to be aware when it happened. He wanted her to feel each and every of his pent up emotions when that happened. With a painful grunt, he turned his head away. The marks on her neck and chest were shining like small diamonds in the dark through the light camisole.

Koni wanted to trace the marks but stopped himself when he looked at his sharp claws. Vuyanzi stretched in the bed and her thin camisole rose and exposed her shapely legs. Koni inhaled sharply and pressed his claws deeply in his palm. He was sure he drew blood. Was she trying to kill him? With a frustrated growl he threw a blanket over the tantalizing limbs. His ears picked up a sharp sound. Lishevi was rising from sleep. He listened for a second to realize that the old lady was waking from her sleep. He listened for a moment to realize, the grandmother was making her way out of the bedroom.

With quick precision he fixed the window and jumped up on some dark wooden beams inside the bedroom. A section of the ceiling had been covered by a papyrus reed mat. He crouched at the corner just in time for Lishevi to stumble into the room with a torch in her hand.

‘’This girl will never learn how to sleep,’’ Lishevi mumbled to herself covering up Vuyanzi who had shaken off the blanket again, exposing everything to his hungry gaze. She placed the torch on the round drum table and smothered her hand gently on Vuyanzi’s plaited hair.

‘’Am sorry nyanya. I should tell you the truth. I should come clean. I am so sorry,’’ she said in a low voice that was filled with so much sorrow that left Koni what she meant.

………………………

The next morning was busy. Vuyanzi’s team were rehearsing a dance when Caro pulled her aside.

‘’I have some good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first,’’ Caro asked practically jumping from foot to foot with eagerness.

‘’What are you talking about? Can’t this wait till the dance is over,’’ Vuyanzi was sidetracked. She had to dance perfectly since Koni was expected to make a speech, her dance would open the stage for him. Her previous day performance had impressed him and he had specially asked for a repeat experience. Not that she would be dancing for him, yeah right, the voice in her head mocked.

‘’Vuyanzi come on choose one,’’ Caro whined impatiently.

‘’The good first then the bad,’’ Vuyanzi answered distractedly.

‘’Okay Juma is back in town for the celebrations and he is looking as sharp as ever, he arrived earlier this morning,’’ Caro said triumphantly and Vuyanzi smiled. She was happy that he was back but she didn’t feel the excitement that always came with the mentioning of Juma. Now when she thought about Koni, her heart missed a beat. Whereas Juma was a boy, Koni was a man, yes he is, the voice in her head crooned. Besides it’s not as if she could get either of the men for herself Juma had Tabu as a girlfriend and Koni was um…uh totally unattainable.

Are you seriously comparing Koni and Juma? Vuyanzi slapped herself internally.

‘’Okaaay…why do you have that look Vuyanzi?’’ Caro raised her painted eyebrows. Vuyanzi schooled her facial features. She had decided to keep the encounter between her and Mr. Jasiri to herself before telling Caro. It seemed intimate, she wanted to keep it to herself for some time first.

‘’ No reason…,’’ Vuyanzi fluffed her afro hair avoiding Caro’s questioning gaze, ‘’what is the bad news?’’

‘’Oh, ndovu (elephants) was killed. The park rangers found it near the river.’’ Caro said, misery in her voice. Vuyanzi’s heart broke, who were the monsters who kept on killing innocent animals?

‘’Its tusks were missing and its young one was also killed beside it,’’ could it get any worse? The government was doing its best to conserve the gentle giants but people still found ways to get to them. The number of jumbos’ was decreasing daily because of people’s greed for the tusks which were very expensive in the black market.

Sometime back the confrontation between human and wildlife was so common that the government had to come up with strategies to prevent more conflicts. The wide expansive park was fenced to keep the two separate. The conflicts had stopped, the hyenas, leopard and other predators had stopped attacking livestock, the elephants and hippos had stopped attacking people’s farms. It was a peaceful co-existence that had boomed the tourism levels in her small town. Poaching had also greatly reduced, until recently. In fact in the last five years the government had been closely monitoring the park and only a handful of poaching activities had been reported. It was sickening to think that the jumbo killed last night was so close to her. Vuyanzi did not live far away from the river.

‘’My dad said they were alerted by Mr. Jasiri,’’ at the mention of Koni her heart missed a beat.

‘’Koni Jasiri?’’ Caro’s father was a senior game ranger. He had more than once allowed Caro and Vuyanzi to watch him feeding an orphaned baby elephant. Those were Vuyanzi’s happiest days. It cemented her love for animals.

‘’Did they find the poacher’s?’’ She asked now more interested.

‘’Yes, now this is an interesting fact, Mr. Koni was standing there with tied poachers’ up, the bloody tusk beside them,’’

‘’How is that interesting?’’

‘’The location they found the poacher’s and Koni is interesting, my dad and his team had to ride for four hours after the alarm was raised to reach the poachers. Now, my dad said that the condition of the jeep the poachers used was bad, its bonnet had been crushed inwards as if it was punched and the tires slashed. Koni was also there with one of his brother when my father asked how they followed the poachers, they didn’t give a satisfying answer. They claimed that they had been following on another jeep, which had left to attend to the carcass,’’

‘’I still don’t get how that is interesting Caro,’’ Vuyanzi was getting exasperated.

‘’There were only two jeep tracks, my father’s teams’ jeep and those of the poacher’s. No sign of the third jeep,’’ Caro’s eyes were filled with mystery.

‘’Come on Caro, it was dark in night, your father could have missed the tracks,’’

‘’My father is a tracker Vuyanzi, he knows what he was talking about, when he said he didn’t see any tracks. Something else, the poachers claimed that they had been chased by two lions and the lions caused the dent in the jeep, the lions disappeared immediately Koni and his brother appeared out of nowhere, what do you make of that Vuyanzi?’’

‘’What are you saying Caro?” Vuyanzi narrowed her eyes towards her best friend, trying to figure out her point.

Caro responded by pulling Vuyanzi to a more secluded area away from listening ears.

‘’What if Koni and his brothers are not what they say they are? What if they are spirit warriors? They have come to punish the evil poachers,’’ Caro whispered. Vuyanzi looked at Caro’s serious expression and bust out laughing. She laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. She had thought Caro was going to suspect Koni to be a poacher, not a mystical beast.

‘’A spirit warrior? Caro get serious, those things don’t exist,’’ Vuyanzi said wiping tears from her eyes. She could always count on Caro to lift her spirits. She looked at Caro who still had a serious look on, she didn’t even crack a smile, and it was as if she was waiting for Vuyanzi to stop laughing so that she could continue.

‘’Are you done Vuyanzi, my grandmother claims they exist, I believe her,’’ she asked her hands folded on her chest.

‘’Okay let’s say for a moment that spirit warriors are true. How can you prove that Koni is one?’’

‘’My grandmother says that they appear when the dancing bride comes of age. A spirit warrior is never far from his bride.

Read " Jabali's Redemption " by the same author ( Razia Iminza )

. We have to monitor the women around Koni more,’’ Caro said a triumphant look on her face, she was happy that Vuyanzi got to listen to her.

Vuyanzi got jealous thinking about Koni with another woman.

He is mine, a voice in her head snarled.

Where did that come from?

‘’Have you seen Koni, of course girls will be all over him,’’ including me, Vuyanzi thought. He was young, beyond handsome and crazily rich everything a girl would want. He was also very caring considering he saved her from that lunatic Kweyu.

‘’I know, that is why my grandmother said that a spirit warrior finds it hard control his nature around a bride, she says the beast is always on the surface fighting the man to come out and claim its bride, remember the bride belongs to the beast as a reward to the service of protecting humans from amanani,’’ Caro had spent a good amount of time in her research.

Or she was spending so much time listening to her grandmother.

Vuyanzi felt a shiver ran down her spine thinking how her encounter with Koni the previous night, his eyes had not been the normal brown color. This discovery should be scaring her but Vuyanzi was not scared even one bit, it actually excited her. Vuyanzi remembered how warm he was and his alluring scent.

Koni was a compelling man but he was not a spirit warrior. What about the color of his eyes? The voice in her head asked. People put on contact lenses all the time Vuyanzi concluded, orange ones that burn brightly like flames? The voice went on. Okay that was very strange. There is more to this Vuyanzi, the voice said before going quiet.

‘’…Vuyanzi are you with me,’’ Caro tapped her arm.

‘’…yes,’’ Vuyanzi answered absentmindedly.

‘’Good, you are going to watch him today, we have until the evening to try figuring out if Koni is a spirit warrior. Remember, he will always be close to her and something about his body will be off, look at his nails and his eyes etc.,’’

Vuyanzi had no idea what she was agreeing to but she nodded. They both joined the rest of the team.

The only problem is that Koni did not appear again for the celebrations.

Hey guys i dedicate this chapter to my silent readers.

You guys very important

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You will make this introverted girl very happy.

Much love.