“My brother, King Adebayo, talk to your son, because I swear…you have no right to tell me who I must protect and how when all you do is mope around for the loss of your Custodian. Do not use this situation to right your own wrongs and prove that you are more man than me. I know what my duties are.” The Emperor fires back, anger burning in his eyes.
“Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech old friend; his words should only affect you if they are true. Are they?” The Emperor clenches his jaw and breathes in deeply.
“Low blow father.” Kwame states.
“Shut your mouth,” A vein bulges in his forehead and his eyes look crazily at his children. “Now you know what, out of the kindness of my heart I decided to take you in all those years ago, but now, now I think you’ve overstayed your welcome. You will not talk to me like that in my own home. You’ve got to be out of your damn mind to think you could get away with it just because you’re a Prince…”
“Only you would think I would speak my mind just because…”
“Shut up I’ve heard enough…”
Aziza walks closer to her father and places her hand on his shoulder. The Empress stops pacing and stares at her husband’s back. She knows her husband will not help. She is going to have to be the one to lead this mission.
“All of you get out of my sight.” No one moves. Tension seeps deep into the air and settles in their bones. “Did I not speak? Leave. Now!” He roars, turning his back on them all, whipping his purple robe around him. Aziza notices a change. Unlike a book, she is unable to read him. He is guarded. What is he hiding?
“Except you Khari.”
Khari huffs and turns back. His mother shakes her head at him. She warns him not to anger his father anymore and that she’ll think of something. This matter will not go unheard.
“What did I send you to Earth to do?” The Emperor asks staring out of the tall windows at the sky and his people.
“Calista-”
“Answer the question.”
“The assignment doesn’t matter at this moment-” Khari throws his hands in the air.
“The assignment is everything. Don’t you get it?” He turns around and closes the gap. “What did you uncover?”
Khari looks away from his father’s deep stare. “I can’t remember,” he mutters.
“What do you mean, you can’t remember? That is complete and utter foolishness.”
“No, it’s not, what is foolish is how you are acting like Calista is not out there in the hands of the Sixth Dynasty.”
“She can take care of herself.” He walks away and sits on his throne.
“Can she though? Isn’t that what you said when you pushed her off a cliff where she would have drowned if I hadn’t pulled her out. Or how about her first fight where she broke her arm and her leg. Just because she has the Blue Flame, that doesn’t make her invincible. She’s more fragile than you think.” The Emperor clocks his tongue and puts a hand to his forehead.
“Alright son. So, what do you propose?” Is Khari getting somewhere? Is his father actually willing to listen to what he has to offer?
“I heard each of the Dynasties could track each other with their sunstone. So why not use that to pinpoint their exact location.”
“That’s out of the question. Did you also hear that if destroyed or broken it could create a tear in the shield that upholds our shield and expose us to the Earthlings and other species?”
“That’s only collateral if not used properly.”
“No son, this is real stuff. Only an Emperor would see that. I see you are still only but a Prince.” This doesn’t settle well with Khari. Only his father is unable to see his progression. Regardless of the fact that he is his protégé.
“You’re unbelievable.” He walks up the small steps and faces his father head on.
“Now the mask has finally slipped off. You are a coward, not a father, not even a man willing to do what’s necessary.”
“Is that what you think? The moment I send out a signal tracking them, they are able to trace it back to us and we are left defenceless, because the only way we can send out that signal, is if we bring down the veil on our Kingdom and Acirfa. What then? So, no, I’m not willing to use the only easy way out because that would only jeopardise our entire existence. I thought I taught you better than that. Your love for your sister is clouding your judgement.”
“Because love is weakness, right?” He sucks his lips in. “And here I thought there was always another way. With all the skilled people that we have in this Kingdom, you’d think we could handle a little rerouting. I’m beginning to wonder if you even want her back.”
The Emperor sighs. “You don’t know what you’re messing with. This is powerful stuff and when they’re all combined the beholder is unstoppable to every degree.”
“Who said anything about combining them? Is power all that’s on your mind? And I thought I was destined to take over the Kingdom and have everyone’s best interest at heart.” Khari backs away. “It looks like I may be ready after all. The question is, are you ready?”
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”
- Joseph Campbell.
28
Activation
{Calista}
Footsteps approach my cell. Foreign.
“I hear you’re having difficulty following the rules.” I do not recognise his voice. It holds strength and power. “My daughter was the same.” It can’t be. I barely have the strength to reposition myself, but his words provide me with the motivation to look him in his eyes. To look the King, whose arrival I was secretly awaiting, in the eye. I wonder if he is truly here unlike his son and Tamari.
“Follow me. It appears you have ticked off the Kutawala.” He subtly looks behind him at a man watching him on the ground floor.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I croak.
“Why do you insist on fighting us? You know what comes next, just accept the change. I promise what comes next is far better than what you are living now.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“My wife travelled to where you are going. Simply put, I saw everything through her eyes. You need not be afraid.” The man walks up the stairs slowly, his shoes scuffing the ground. With every step the ground moans in pain. The King outstretches his hand. I look at it but don’t make a move. The man is now at the end of the hall quickly approaching. Long strides with his eyes focused on me and the King.
“Take my hand.” Again, I refuse. The man is one cell away from us, in a couple seconds he’ll have us. The King on impulse walks into my cell and stands beside my bed, just as the man reaches my door. “King Amare, it has been awhile.” The Kutawala’s Wingman bares his teeth looking sinister. “Don’t make any sudden moves.” I look at them both from the corners of my eye.
Choose wisely. She speaks in my mind.
Ramiyah has become somewhat of a parasite. A devil or angel, whatever you will, in my mind rather than on my shoulder where she could easily be flicked off.
The King reveals both his hands at either side. I look at the man but he’s oblivious to what’s happening. Is the King playing a trick?
“No sudden movements from me sir.” The word ‘sir’ sounds weird coming from his mouth. He’s a King addressing his captor with respect as if he deserves it. The more I watch the King in action the safer I feel with him. My hands reach out.
“This applies to you too, young lady.” He steps closer. “Have we met? Hold on. You’re-”
The King grabs my hand twirling us out of there before the man could call upon my true identity.
“Zaire, we need to leave, now.” When we arrived Zaire was half asleep, while Tamari was in the corner playing chess with himself. “The Kutawala’s Wingman is onto us.”
“What you talking about? I thought I handled it.”
“Not anymore.” The King adjusts his collar and admires his appearance in the mirror.
/> “They can’t find us in here.”
“I’d rather not give them a chance. We cannot allow them to interfere with our affairs.”
“So, what, we run like cowards with our tails between our legs. We are supposed to be royalty.”
Cali. You’ve got mail.
The floor grows colder. My breath becomes foggy. Everyone freezes. Ramiyah walks around Tamari and settles cross legged in front of me. Our eyes meet and neither one of us backs down.
I come bearing words of wisdom. We have both suffered a lot. I’m going to set you free. You deserve peace, and knowledge shall bring you there.
“And what gives you the right to redirect the path that I’m walking down?”
You gave me the right the moment you called to me. Again, I’m faced with confusions knocking. You remember the day you manifested your Blue Flame? You almost burnt the whole training room down.
“How do you…” She catches me off guard, my mouth slacks.
We’re connected. Your fellow peers looked at you with fear in their eyes. You had burnt your male partner’s hands. He couldn’t hold in the scream. Smoke wafted from his charred hands. Fingers shaking like he had Parkinson’s. When your father stormed in…
“…he pulled on my ear, twisting them, and asked what I had done. I couldn’t respond. Tears started to form in my eyes, as I watched everyone shy away from me. Watched my father look down at me with disgust. With disappointment. I remember whispering…”
Father, father, it just happened. I don’t…can’t. He released your ear and told you to leave. He forcefully pushed you in the direction of the door. You stumbled and fell, hiccupping. Coughing up your flame. Your tears burned your face and before you knew it, you was on fire again.
“My father rushed to throw cold water on me but it wouldn’t die out. The only person who could put it out was Dakarai.” I can picture the memory so perfectly in my mind as if I am reliving it.
The flame is energy. We are energy in a different form. I’m going to teach you how to reach your potential. How to contact the Neter within you. You just got to let me borrow your body
The room grows excessively warm and I see our Blue Flame manifest around us. It bounces off the walls. Walks among us. Laughing in our presence. It is home, at peace, I don’t see why I shouldn’t be too.
“Why am I still awake even though I’ve stepped into the dark?”
We are missing one final component, a full lunar eclipse. It should be on the horizon soon. Anymore questions before I depart?
“What’s your plan?”
She gets up and smiles. Slowly she turns, faces her back to me, and whispers: To destroy the SYSTEM, but first I require something from your father. This sounded familiar but weird at the same time. She disappears, wrapping her arms around Tamari’s waist. The Blue Flame continues to bounce around in the background. I see a golden light spread from my fingertips. It travels all over my body and stops at my lips.
“What the hell?” I whisper. Your life force never left you.
“More lies Zaire.” Surprisingly, I feel nothing. Anger is absent. My words sound more like a statement that reaffirms what I should have known already. How much longer will they play me for a fool?
“I’m sorry what?” He stops pacing and gives me an innocent but quizzical look.
“I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.”
“I see. It was all a part of the façade. No harsh feelings love.”
Get me out of here already.
The next few moments go by swiftly. They pack up pretty quickly and lead me outside making sure to keep me within their perimeter. Only a fool would walk into the lion’s den exposed. but they aren’t fools. They’re playing an angle. The Kutawala and his Wingman exit the waterfall and walk in our direction. We need to turn right but they are blocking us.
“Who knew we were harbouring the Emperor’s daughter right under our noses and we didn’t smell a thing.” The Kutawala has a slight, unnaturally high pitch to his voice. His red eyes assess my body.
“That’s funny isn’t it, how you missed the bigger picture. You are supposed to be in control, but one thing you missed. You underestimated our talents,” the King said.
“It’s going to cost you in the future.” Zaire laughs and proceeds as planned. The Kutawala stands his ground and I watch as his little soldiers round the corner and surround us. If they think that will stop us they are wrong. The soldiers hold small bombs which I presume are a remake of what they used in the Civil War.
“Back down.” The Wingman at last speaks. There is no way they are going to do that. Once they have made their minds up, there is no stopping them. The Kutawala flicks his wrist and a tsunami of bombs are targeted and shot at us. There is no impact; no explosion; no death. My Blue Flame repels out of me to create a shield- a dome that disintegrates the bombs immediately.
“So, it’s true.” The Kutawala’s suspicions and secret questions are answered. The soldiers rush at us, but I’m unable to see the aftermath as I’m twirled through the bubble. Freedom. I taste freedom. I know it won’t last long. It’s time for my goodbyes.
Set in stone
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Over the last 24 hours, Aziza had her nosed buried in a variety of books. In one of the many training rooms, Dakarai huffs as he thrusts his hands into the punch bag hanging in the air. With every punch his mind relaxed. The Empress and the Queen discussed the past and what Ramiyah’s resurrection would mean for Calista. Hell Genapa. They too tried helping Aziza with ridding a body of an unwanted possession.
Empress Nubia is very much nature centred. To her balance is everything, this is probably why Calista’s possession amazed her. She never expected her to be so unstable that spirits were able to enter her body without her knowledge. Her energy should have hinted at it, her father amongst other things is responsible for such an imbalance; she should have seen it sooner. The Emperor had always been merciless when it came to her. He held a one strike and its over policy. Calista was never to embarrass him or make any mistakes. An impossible task for a young woman growing up with energy she could not control or at the time begin to understand.
It was not always like this. When she was born her father was radiant with delight. His aura was the greenest it had ever been and he had the widest of smiles. He had thanked his wife and the universe for blessing him with a beautiful daughter. As she got older and her character began to manifest things changed. She knew he loved her but it had become clouded by his ego and she was more like him than he wanted to let on. Things became worse when she received the Blue Flame, energy in its rarest form. No one knows why he objected when she received it. But her mother suspected it was because he was never gifted with it.
“Guys, guys I’ve figured it out.” Aziza races down the corridor and makes a pit stop in the training room. “I’ve accumulated some information from the Ethernet and this is not going to be easy. Step 1: we create a sacred space, using smudging, incense, spell casting, anything really to cleanse the atmosphere of impurities. Step 2: we manifest a magical self-defence, so Ramiyah doesn’t disappear into anyone of us. Step 3: we need to open Riptist…”
“Are you insane?” Khari jolts out of his resting position on the mat and kisses his teeth. “We’ll be inviting all kinds of spirits into our home, what’s to say the magical barrier will hold against an influx of spirits?”
“It will. Trust me. Mother will be in charge of that. She has the necessary balance to ward of angry spirits.” Aziza’s mind runs wild as she calculates, processes and envisions her plan. If she were a dog her tongue would be hanging out of her head in excitement.
“What’s the last step?” Dakarai asked. Everyone takes in a deep breath.
“Calista has to want Ramiyah to leave, therein pulling herself out of the dark and into the light. There’s no way we can physically separate them unless we go to the full extreme.” Aziza takes a seat on the floor and taps at the grou
nd with her nails. Her curly dark hair rubs against her face and shoulders. Heat radiates off her skin in waves amongst the influx of body heat in the room.
“What would that be?” Dakarai wants to know every possible solution. This has to work.
Downstairs through the hidden passage, the Emperor walks up to his mirror. The thorns had spread to cover the majority of the wall. Something is different. A small crack had begun to spread from its centre. “You said you completed the job. You lied.” A shadow appears and speaks back.
“In theory we did.”
“Theory… you lie.” His fist cracks down on the thorns around the mirror. Blood from his hands seeps into the cracks. He stares down at his wound, eyebrows knit with a tight lip. How dare they withhold such vital information? Overhead in the left wing of the palace, he listens in on Aziza’s plan. It deeply disturbs him. He shakes off his anger and rebuilds his composure raising both hands with the rise and fall of his chest.
“There’s no way I will allow you to follow through with this.” He storms in eyeing them all.
“What happened to your hand?” Empress Nubia asks, alarmed.
“I will not allow such voodoo nonsense into my home, disobey me and you will reap the consequences.” The room grows cold, its heat sucked out like a candle blown out with one huff. Words are spoken through body language and silence. The King and his Queen observe. Any intervention could make matters worse.
Dakarai stands and approaches the Emperor. “It’s like you wanted this to happen. Every plan we muster up, you feel to avoid its success rate by inventing a distraction and trying to make sure all, fails. What does Calista know, or shall I say Ramiyah, that you don’t wish to disclose? If Calista comes back with Ramiyah and we set her free, there is the slightest possibility that we may not be able to contain her. And if that happens she’ll roam freely within your kingdom, targeting your defences. Targeting, you.”
The Masterpiece (The shadow I cast Book 1) Page 14