The Dancing Bride And Her Spirit Warrior - Episode 22

 

Vuyanzi sneaked out of their room after Juma confirmed he was waiting outside. The sirens were blaring more loudly than before meaning the hyenas were truly moving towards the town. Vuyanzi had managed to slip passed the back door of the hostels. He stepped out to in the dark. She pulled the sweater tighter around her body to ward off the midnight chill. She looked around to assure herself that the guards do not spot her . She silently made her way towards the back fence where a fence was broken, her escape route.

She crouched down to tie her shoe laces before jumping up the broken fence. She heaved herself up the wall and landed cleanly on the soft sand on the other side. Thanks to her dance practice she was swift on her feet. There were no people around and a lone street light was the only source of light.

‘’Some things never change Vuyanzi,’’ a dark voice said in the dark and Vuyanzi nearly shrieked.

‘’Hey it’s me Juma, don’t scream,’’ the owner of the voice introduced himself before stepping into the light. Vuyanzi’s heart went back to normal.

‘’Juma what are you doing creeping up on me? I could have hit you,’’ Vuyanzi dropped a rock she had picked ready to haul to whoever surprised her. Juma was silently chuckling.

‘’How are you Vuyanzi? I missed you,’’ Vuyanzi looked at Juma and her heart rate rose up again

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-dancing-bride-and-her-spirit-warrior

. This boy would be the death of her. He was handsome, gone was that boyish look that had always charmed her. The pictures that Tabu flaunted everywhere on social media didn’t do justice to Juma. Is it possible for someone to become more appealing? He had sprouted some facial hair that he had trimmed nicely. He appeared taller and packed more muscles than before. There was some air of maturity that he seemed to possess. He was dressed in jeans, army boots a black t-shirt that proudly showed off his muscles. A leather jacket topped it off. He looked good and Vuyanzi consciously pulled the hood tightly her head, she felt so underdressed.

‘’Are you not going to say anything?’’ he was amused now and Vuyanzi internally slapped herself, to her mortification she had been staring at him. Talk.

‘’Um Juma…hi?’’ her voice came out as squeak.

‘’Let’s get you to the bus station before your grandmother does something she shouldn’t do,’’

At the mention of her grandmother Vuyanzi snapped off from her stupor.

‘’Yes let’s do that,’’ but before that,

‘’Wait Juma,’’ Vuyanzi stopped Juma who started walking off towards his parked motorcycle. ‘’thank you for doing this. I really appreciate it,’’

‘’I would do anything for you Vuyanzi,’’ Juma said while tapping Vuyanzi’s nose with his fingertip.

Before Vuyanzi could to ask what he meant, Juma had already seated on the bike ready to take off. The sirens were still blaring and Vuyanzi prayed that they found her grandmother safe when Juma drove off in a neck breaking speed.

The bus station was harrowingly empty apart from parked buses when Juma parked the bike and Vuyanzi jumped off. She ran to the inside shed and looked around but there was no sign of Lishevi. The only person around was a cranky sleepy guard who shouted them off.

‘’The station is closed for the night until tomorrow morning,’’

‘’Have seen an old woman here some twenty or thirty minutes ago?’’

‘’She was picked by Guma that demented old man who lives inside the reserve,’’

What in the world?

‘’The medicine man?’’ Juma asked frowning and Vuyanzi nodded.

‘’What would her grandmother be doing with the medicine man, Vuyanzi?’’ Juma was hesitant to ask.

‘’I don’t know Juma,’’ Vuyanzi answered question piling in her head. What if her grandmother had no gone to visit her sister but was with Guma? Why would they be together? What were they plotting or were they…together?

No impossible.

‘’Were they together or did he pick her from the station?’’ Vuyanzi questioned the guard who was already snoozing off.

‘’I don’t know. I only saw them leaving together,’’ the watchman answered grumpily before reclining on his chair and ignoring them.

‘’Juma can you drive me home, there is something I have to confirm,’’ Vuyanzi asked now urgently needing to get home.

‘’Sure Vuyanzi come on,’’

The trip to her grandmother’s house was long, too long. Vuyanzi didn’t know what to expect but when she saw the lights on the windows she released a sigh of relief. Juma parked his motorbike and followed her in the house.

She knocked on the door not knowing what to expect.

The door was opened and Guma stood there, a beaming smile on his face. Why was he ever smiling?

‘’Vuyanzi Amani, welcome home. Come in I was expecting you, and who is this mmmh Juma Kanze, this is getting interesting I was not expecting you,’’ he said and made way for her and Juma. Vuyanzi replied his greetings and ignored what he said. She desperately needed to see her mother.

‘’Shosho where are you?’’ Vuyanzi tore through house of her grandmother’s house to the bedroom. She found her shosho heaving on the lawn behind the house, her grandmother was puking her stomach out.

‘’Shosho are you okay?’’ Vuyanzi rubbed her grandmother’s back soothingly. Was shosho sick? Maybe it was something she had eaten.

‘’Vuyanzi what are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay in school,’’ shosho asked before another bout of retch tore through her.

‘’Shosho… maybe you should lie down,’’ Vuyanzi ignored her grandmother’s house.

‘’You are right, bring me a cup of water to wash my mouth,’’ shosho said between breaths.

‘’Okay but first sit down,’’ Vuyanzi helped her grandmother to sit on the grass and lean against the house. She rushed and scooped a cup of water and returned to find her grandmother with her eyes closed.

Vuyanzi bent down to offer her grandmother a cup of water to wash her mouth when she heard a deep growl coming from somewhere ahead of them. She sharply looked up to see a fully grown hyena snarling at her. The hyena had glowing red eyes and its mouth was dripping with snoot.

…………………………

Vuyanzi tried to keep the panic from rising in her throat. She shook her grandmother beside her to rise her up while maintaining eye contact with the beast. The beast just stood there growling at her and to her horror she could hear the laughing of more hyenas, they were joining there friend.

 If she could only get her grandmother to get to the back door. Vuyanzi thought quickly.

‘’Shosho wake up,’’ she shook her grandmother who seemed to be deep in sleep. Shosho only mumbled and turned her head. What was wrong with her grandmother? Vuyanzi lamented silently.

‘’Shosho,’’ Vuyanzi screamed when the hyena took a step forward. That seemed to jolt her grandmother from her daze. Lishevi came face to face with the beast. Vuyanzi stepped before her grandmother, still maintaining an eye contact with the beast.

Lishevi slowly stood up behind Vuyanzi but the hyena growled at her stopping her movements.

‘’Shosho quickly get inside the house,’’ Vuyanzi commanded, ‘’am right behind you,’’

‘’Are you crazy am not leaving you out here with this animal,’’

‘’We have to move before they all come around us, please shosho,’’ Vuyanzi pleaded with her grandmother and cursed her stubbornness. She could now see the rest of the beasts, five pairs of glowing red eyes looking back at her and her grandmother.

‘’Vuyanzi,’’ Juma called, coming through the back door. That triggered a series of events.

It seemed to be the call the hyena was waiting before it attacked her, it jumped and knocked her down making her lose her breath.

‘’Vuyanzi, Nyanya,’’ her grandmother and Juma shouted in unison.  From where she had fallen Vuyanzi saw her resisting grandmother being dragged inside the house with Juma. The hyenas were not done, they kept circling her and snarling. Right now the rest of the hyenas had assembled. Vuyanzi tried to stand up but her legs were not working. Her ankle was twisted.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp bite to her shoulder, one of the hyenas had bitten her. Vuyanzi screamed with the pain that followed. The hyena started dragging her from the house and Vuyanzi tried to grab on anything. Another hyena got her by the shoulder and both, the hyenas dragged her away. Vuyanzi fought off with all her might, trying to stop the hyena from dragging her away but it seemed futile. They were focused on their task.

‘’Vuyanzi hold on,’’ Juma shouted from somewhere inside the house.

She saw him come out with a jembe and locked the door behind him. He tried to hit the hyenas but three surrounded him snarling and biting him. Vuyanzi wanted to shout for him to go back inside the house but another severe bite to her shoulder had a screaming. By now she could feel blood soaking her clothes. She was dragged further from the house and she could still see Juma hitting the hyenas which were relentless. They were keeping him from reaching her.

The hyenas seemed to in a hurry as they dragged her further and further away into the dark. She was dragged for some time her body hitting every sort of thing. Her clothes were torn and tattered from her body.

A growl tore through the night and the hyena that was biting into her shoulder suddenly let her go and Vuyanzi watched in amazement as it was tossed high into the air by the largest lion Vuyanzi had ever seen in her life. Its dark mane covering its head and chest, a long tail swishing back and forth with its movement. Her eyes must have been playing tricks in her. The hyena holding her leg released her and took but a second lion as big as the first one went after it. The first hyena was being thrashed around by the lion. The hyena yelped and stopped fighting against the lion.

The lion suddenly turned towards and Vuyanzi tried to crawl away from it, Vuyanzi felt blood pouring from her body, her shoulders hurt. Hyenas were one thing but lions were another. One bite and she would be a goner. Dead.

Vuyanzi, come down the voice in the wind soothed but she could not stop panicking.

Vuyanzi was crawling but her legs were not cooperating. The lion approached her cautiously and Vuyanzi felt around touching a stick. She waved the stick on its face while trying to ward off the dizziness that was suddenly overwhelming her.

‘’Keep off…,’’ she weakly waved the stick at the beast and the lion stopped its approach and looked her with an apprehensive expression, its gaze was so familiar, those orange orbs shining in the dark, orange flames. Koni. Black spots started appearing before her eyes and Vuyanzi felt her head grow heavy, she prepared to hit the hard ground but her head hit a soft surface, fur. In her haze, she saw the lion had approached her and was holding her head. Its sharp canines shining in the flimsy moonlight.

Weakly she tried to push it away but it was like moving a boulder.

Oh God she was going to die. Tears flowed freely from her eyes. Her shosho would cry so much, Vuyanzi thought.

Vuyanzi, the voice in the wind hummed with some pain in it.

Vuyanzi noticed that the lion had a unique scent, a scent she had smelled before.

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

. The furs were warm, soft and she yearned to bury herself into its warmth. Vuyanzi could feel dizziness and she wished to sink into it and sleep forever but the growling of the lion kept stopping her.

‘’I feel so cold…,’’ Vuyanzi’s teeth started clattering, she was feeling so cold. If only she could close her eyes and sleep, everything will stop. The pain would stop.

The lion growled and licked her injured shoulder, its rough tongue burrowing into the injured shoulder. Vuyanzi screamed as stark white pain shot through her. The lion continued was drinking her blood, Vuyanzi thought as she listened to the sucking sounds. After sometime with Vuyanzi sinking in and out of consciousness, the lion went ahead and sink it’s canines into Vuyanzi’s shoulder. The same part the hyena bit. The lion’s mane tickled Vuyanzi’s face as she tried to move her head. She passed out.

So guys am reposting this chapter again.

I posted it on Friday but am not seeing it updated.

Hope you enjoy and sorry for the delay.