CHAPTER 16
Of Magic and New Dreams
Naena listened with her fists pressed against her cheeks and tears in her eyes. “She deserves to die, Somi.”
“I cannot believe I felt guilty about it all being my fault… Now… Now, I wish she had really died. I could have lived with the guilt. Nae, I need you to look after the children for me. Until I get back.”
The children were inside Naena’s house, eating a lunch of smoked fish, a vegetable salad, and mango juice.
“Anything for you, sister. I have enough activities and stories for them to last the afternoon.”
“I mean for longer than that.”
“What…?” Naena read Nasomi’s face. “You mean you intend to pursue the witch yourself? I thought you said you will be going to the mages.”
“Yes I am, but I need only a certain potion from them, one that frees someone from a spell. And perhaps for them to point the direction Reema has gone. They have a way of determining that.”
“You can’t do that, Somi!”
“Why not? It has to be me.”
“She’s a witch.”
“Whose hyenas, powerful as they are, are afraid of me.”
“How is that?”
“I don’t know Nae, but I mean to use it.”
“But that might mean you’ll be gone for more than two days.”
“Yes, it might.”
Naena picked up dirt from the ground, sprinkled it as she spoke without looking at Nasomi. “You know my wedding is the day after tomorrow, Somi. You know how important this is for me.”
“I know.”
“I’ll be finally happy. I need my sister there.”
“How would I celebrate knowing my husband is being tortured by a witch out there, all alone?”
“Let the mages find him, as you said.”
“Look, Nae…” Nasomi leaned forward and took Naena’s hands. “The mages — they can only point the way. I don’t think the king would let them set a foot outside the city. It would have to be me to go.”
“And if you die, Somi? What is going on is beyond you. It’s magic and spells and witchcraft. You are just… just you.”
“All I need is to get Tambo to drink the potion and he’ll be free, then we can return and seek protection from the mages. If I can find him quickly, even by tonight, we can return in time for the wedding.”
“That’s you trying to convince me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Stop pretending, Somi. This is about your dreams. You knew about Father’s death, didn’t you?”
Nasomi opened her mouth but didn’t speak.
“You must have known, Somi. I’ve thought about it and understand your behavior in those days. You had dreamed he would die and you didn’t tell me about it.”
“I was scared, Nae. I didn’t want it to happen. I did all I could to make it not happen.”
“You could have told me. I would have not wasted much time moving about the city, and spent more of his last moments with him.”
“Nae, you have to understand.”
Naena stood up, shook her head. “The only thing I understand is that you don’t want to tell me things anymore. You won’t be there for the wedding. Tell me that.”
“Maybe not.” Nasomi stood up, took Naena’s hand. “I don’t know, Nae, and that is the truth. I can’t control these dreams. I hardly understand them. It’s not like they tell me what to do.”
“But you’re coming back?”
“Why would you think...? Of course, I am coming back. I will bring Tambo with me.”
“But you know when? How days, weeks?”
Nasomi closed her eyes, touched her face.
“Months?”
“Maybe.”
“Somi!”
“I really don’t know, Nae, but I will bring him back.”
Naena stood up stormed toward the house.
“It has to be me,” Nasomi said when Naena had one foot into the doorway. “It has to be me to go after him. That’s the only way it can be.”
Naena nodded, but not in affirmation. She saw she couldn’t convince Nasomi. “I will take care of your children. It’s my duty as your sister. I just pray you come back before they start calling me Mother.”
Ramona and Meron squeezed their way between Naena and the doorway. A tear was falling down Nasomi’s cheek and she quickly wiped it away.
Meron ran to her. “You’re crying, Mother.” He looked at Naena, squealed, “You made my mother cry!”
Nasomi turned his head to face her. “She didn’t make me cry, my son. I just miss your father, and I must go find him.” She beckoned Ramona close. “You’re a big girl now. Wise beyond your years. I know I can trust you with taking care of your brother.”
The girl nodded.
“I want to follow,” Meron said, breaking into a cry. “Take me also.”
“Stay with your aunt. I won’t be long.”
Ramona took Meron’s hand. “I will do my best, Mother.”
“I know you will. Whatever happens, I promise you this: your father and I will return. Your aunt here will keep you.” She looked at Naena. “And she will take you once in a while to the Kepe palace, to see your grandparents. Won’t you, Aunt?”
Naena nodded. She held out her hands. “Come now, children. Your mother must go.”
Her heart broke as she was escorted by Meron’s wail until he was out of earshot. Nasomi walked as calmly as she could muster, and when she was sure they couldn’t see her anymore, she broke into a run.
Fortunately for her, she didn’t need to go all the way to King’s Island. As she passed through The Dragon on her way to Inkanyamba, she met a group of citizens fleeing in the opposite direction. She found out from them that some kowasa had escaped the dungeon. The mages were at the amphitheater trying to capture them. “It’s better to be as far as possible, everyone within the vicinity has moved away,” one man carrying a child said.
“I thank you,” she replied, and left him with a cry of surprise when she dashed into the dreaded direction.
One entrance to the amphitheater was unlocked. The amphitheater seemed eerily quiet until she walked in. Two figures zoomed past her: a kowasa and a spear-wielding warrior. She walked through the cacophony of chasing warriors and fleeing kowasa until she found Thorro in a narrow hallway. He was uttering in Majen and two kowasa were magically dragged through the air toward him.
As he spoke, Nasomi had a growing tugging sensation within her. Maybe that’s what I need, she thought. Majen can stir the dreams. She mimicked what she could hear in a whisper, gauging how it made her feel: “Kwag fa pa’ni, pemsi asiene.”
Thorro picked up a rope and bound the two kowasa. When he noticed her, he raised a brow. She sensed he recognized her.
“Most people would be shaking under a table, miles from here,” he said.
“Because of these adorable creatures?”
“You’re either stupid or you have never seen what these can do to a human.”
“I need your help. She’s back. The witch who had sent the kwindi. She’s taken my husband.”
“We are particularly busy, as you can see. And if there was any such powerful witch about, we would have detected her.”
“Where is the other mage? You’re rude.”
“I am here,” a voice behind her said. Kaan came leading four kowasa linked to each other by a rope around their necks. He bunched them with Thorro’s two.
“She says a witch took her husband,” Thorro said.
Kaan regarded her with some concern. “Is this true?”
“It is! The same witch who had sent the kwindi. She’s a witch now, wasn’t then. She defeated the sorcerers who had helped her at that time, I don’t know how.” She described how Reema looked, wrinkly in tattered brideclothes, and what she said about binding Tambo to her.
Kaan lifted an impatient hand. “She commands two hyenas? That would be nigh impossible, and it would raise magic alerts from the beacons we set around the city. Did you not imagine this? Maybe he ran away—”
“He did not run away! You must help me. If not, give me a potion that frees someone from the bondage of a spell.”
Thorro stepped toward her. “Who are you to demand anything from us?”
“Are you not supposed to be protecting us from such things? What will the king say?”
“Get out of here, woman—”
Kaan stepped in between. “Let’s do this right. Where is your home?”
“Second home around the bend by the hill at the eastern edge of Nkuku District. It is painted in red and white. You can’t miss it.”
Kaan held her shoulder. “I will personally come to your home, if the king permits me. We cannot stop what we’re doing now, or else the kowasa will escape into the city. That would be a terrible situation.”
“But… she could be too far by the time—”
Kaan noticed something behind her. He and Thorro rushed thither, after three kowasa that emerged from a door. The mages threw the black dust onto the ground. “Zhef’mi pami! Khata!” they screamed and the kowasa froze mid-stride and were dragged toward them. Nasomi felt a shiver move through her.
“Please!” Nasomi said, following them. “It has to be today. I’m afraid we’ll miss them if we delay.”
“Nothing is stronger than Majen,” Kaan assured her. “If what you say is true, we’ll catch your little witch.”
Something moved at the edge of her vision. She turned her head and saw the outline of a kowasa in the shadow of a pillar. It looked at her with its deep blue eyes, like ponds of water reflecting a starry night. It slunk back in the shadow but she could still see it.
“Kowasa!” she said, turning to point in the opposite direction of the kowasa’s hiding spot. She followed the mages when they dashed where she pointed, and when she looked back, she saw the little creature flit toward the other end.
“Where?” Thorro demanded.
“I saw one. I think it left through the corridor there.”
The corridor led onto the arena, where scores of kowasa were bound together. The mages walked among them, trying to find any that were free.
“If you don’t want to help me,” Nasomi said, “give me some myama and teach me a few phrases. I will find her myself.”
Thorro gave her a look as though she had just said the king was a dog.
Kaan was calmer: “Even if it were allowed, it takes years to master Majen.”
Nasomi took a deep breath. “I have something to confess, that I have kept all this time. I am a seer — I see things in my dreams. Real things, and somehow your Majen strengthens my ability. If you could—”
Thorro was close to slapping her. “Do you realize you’re saying you are a diviner? What would the king think of that?”
“It’s true—”
“Stop wasting our time or you’ll get in trouble for anything that comes out of that mouth. We are not children to be teased. We have a city to save. Get out!”
She hesitated, put her hands to her hips. “I am a good citizen of this city. If you cannot help me, what is the point of your existence?”
“You! Soldier!” Thorro called to a soldier who just walked in, leading five bound kowasa. “Come here. Take this woman and throw her out of this place. If she tries to return, I grant you permission to stab her.”
Kaan shook his head in a resigned way when Nasomi looked to him for help. He turned away and continued looking for the supposed free kowasa. As the soldier led Nasomi out, she whispered Majen phrases to herself repeatedly to strengthen the strange sensation she was feeling. “Zhef’mi pami. Khata. Kwag. Fa pa’ni. Pemsi asiene.”
The sensation tugged and swirled in her. It looped and danced all inside her body. She knew without a doubt that a telling dream was calling. It was all she had left.