Lady Black and the mysterious creature of the night

Chapter 8

Mpho woke up in the morning with a start. She jumped from her sleep and gasped a few breathes. When she looked down to her palm, she saw a knife drizzled in blood. She yelped. Shook her hand and when she looked again, she saw that it was only an illusion. At this point her brother whom slept next to her and woken up too. “Hey, what’s up?” asked he. “Did you have another bad dream?”

“I switched her off…” she kept whispering to herself. “I...” At this point her brother ran to the kitchen and brought her a glass of water. It was pointless for him to ask her about the dream, he knew she would not tell him. The least he could do was provide comfort to his shaken sister.

“You fell in love in your teens,” said the palm-reader. He had Black’s hand in his and her palm faced up. He took some more time trying to scrutinize through Black’s lines. “Oh, you were one strong, strong woman! You poor soul, you went through so many huddles—”

“For goodness sake! Quit rambling and tell me something already. What exactly did I go through, how many fine gentlemen did I get with? Tell me I did not have a bunch of kids.” They were alone in the castle. They had dragged the woman’s body to the living room and laid it on the couch. Mfundi launched back, “Oh, we’ve been at this since morning. Can we take a break and have lunch?”

However, Black was way too excited at finding out some more truths. She pushed and finally got Mfundi to succumb. He went and brought his bones, his reading bones. Aside, he burnt a bowl of w**d and called on his ancestors. The smoke of the w**d filled the room. Black was not sure if she was okay with that, however, her need for answers easily got her to let down her guard. Black said words as said by Mfundi to call on her own ancestors. They felt they needed their ancestors’ guidance through their journey towards clarity. Mfundi shook the small bones in his hand and cast them on the mat, “Oh, I see… I see twins…”

Banele and Bandile were twin brothers. Banele was a sweet young man, very gentle and in tune with his feminine side. Bandile was mostly masculine and very arrogant on many occasions. The twin brothers were always together and did everything together. One time in their mid-teens they ran into Kanala. There was an instant bond between the three. The boys invited Kanala to their little tribe. She found family in them. They went farming, fishing and fetching water together. They were building wealth for the tribe. Kanala fell in love with Banele and he felt the same. Their relationship went on for a long time. Kanala loved Banele’s ability to understand emotions, the boy was empathetic and giving. The boy was caring and Kanala fell in love with that. She had not met anyone like that since she buried her grandfather. It was an amazing feeling to have someone listen to her sad stories, cook her descent meals and bandage her wounds. Kanala could not stand, however, his twin brother—Bandile. He had some toxic masculinity about him. “No-one wants to see your tears. No-one cares about what you went through, we all went through hardships,” Bandile would always say. Kanala tolerated Bandile for a while. At some point, the two were always scratching and bickering with each other.

Regardless, Kanala fought her newly found tribe’s battles. She gave all she could to build them up. She thought they were her family until someday they started hunting her down. They had heard through the great vine that she was a wanted rogue Monarchy. A huge bounty was placed over her head. Kanala was surprized how her own boyfriend turned on her too. She had found herself from being relaxed and home to running and constantly fighting. Kanala knew she had to build up her own lot. She knew this was a war she could not win by herself. She went and started freeing prisoners in different villages on contract that they would serve and honour her as their leader. She trained and armed these new warriors of hers. She built family with them.

Black and Mfundi took a break. Mfundi went to prepare lunch. In fact, he was glad the throttling woman gave him a break. This man loved preparing food and he loved eating it equally. All the while, Black had her head reeling through what she had heard from Mfundi. Her memories were starting suffocate her. She was on the couch rummaging through her pacing mind. The young woman began remembering a few things, pieces of information started dipping in.

Kanala was at a stage where she was comfortable. Her lot had won all battles to date. Her lot had expanded and become very happy over the years. They would take breaks and recuperate. And then gather to get moving again just so the enemy does not catch them. Her people were more than glad to protect their leader. They were honoured to do service to a woman who freed them from cages of wrongful prosecution. She thought they were far away from the enemy but one morning she woke up and found that all her troops were killed. She had been dragged back to her village and those that did this were Banele and Bandile’s tribe. She had expressed to them before that she could not go back home or else, they would kill her but that morning they tossed her at the feet of the queen of her village.

A strange woman sat on the throne. She had her face masked and her nails very long and thick. She was quite scary. Her mannerism was as if possessed and her fabrics tattered and ragged. Her skin was scarred and bruised. “Kanala… Oh, Kanala… You have come. I searched for you up and down the face of the earth. The sun came and it went, the moon phased in different shapes, rain washed and drought came. Where have you been? Oh, I have crawled the deep waters, burnt down the forests and shoved aside the mountains. Where have you been?” the queen asked. She had a voice so smooth and tempting. She descended her throne and brought herself closer to Kanala who was tossed on her knees. She picked Kanala’s chin and marvelled, “Oh, so fresh! Fresh, fresh blood.”

Mfundi brought back a dish for Black but Black paid no mind to that. “Grandfather told me to run and never look back. Grandfather told me that my mother wanted me to run and free myself. He said she said I carry a dose of miracle in my blood and the vultures would come for me,” she lamented. She was depressed at her new discovery. “The one person I trusted betrayed me. He tricked me and brought me back into the den of hungry lions to feed on. He knew my story. He killed my people. He ultimately killed me. I thought he loved me.” Her heart break of years had resurfaced. Her anger and resentment for humanity had resurfaced. “They drew my blood as though milking a cow. For 7 days and 7 nights, this went on. And finally, I fell on a deep sleep. They took my body and tossed it over the cliff.”

Hearing that, the meal was no longer enjoyable for Mfundi. Mfundi could almost not believe the amount cruelty the young woman went through. “What were they doing with your blood?”

“It was for their queen to bathe in and heal her skin. She had burns, cuts, bruises and other scars—my blood was believed to clear all that out and bring enormous strength.” This was indeed, disturbing news. Even walking through the past memory was hard for the woman herself. Black wanted revenge against the twin brothers but then, they had reincarnated as fighters for justice. In this life time, she needed their help. Hence, fighting them off would be a bad move.

It was mid-night; she had reattached to her body. She was in her full power. She jumped at Mpho and had her throttled at her grip, “You!” Her voice spark terror in the mention. She had turned the castle upside down battling it off against Mpho. “You killed me!” The kitten was also heavily battered at a corner. It took the Angel to show up and tear off the fight. “Black, calm down! You need them!” Mpho did put up a fight in her feeble human body. She was still unsure of what was going on. Mpho had not much idea what Black was talking about. The Angel managed to pull aside the raged woman, he gave her a lecture on how times had changed and that the two people have had their karma. They were apparently, not the same people anymore. Banele reincarnated as a troubled and burdened girl. Bandile reincarnated as a black cat and he was constantly hunted by the community for fear that it may be a creature of dark forces. Black may had drawn her claws back but the grudge was still in there somewhere. 

“Right now, we have souls on the loose. Each one out on a hunt for new recruits,” Angel went as far as directing her towards these souls. It was in an old age home. There they found a young woman standing at this one old man. She had her claws out ready to grab the sickly old man by the throat. “Why are you doing this?”

The woman pretended not hear to Black and continued to aim at squeezing the soul out of the old man. Black could not let her, she jumped at her and had her on the ground, now Black could see who the young soul was, “Zandile?”

The soul only struggled out of the grip, Black quickly released. That was her friend. A friend she had rescued from prison, however, the soul did not recognize Black. As soon she was freed, she hurried to try and get away but Black was a quick one to grab her back. Looking into her eyes, “You don’t recognize me, do you?”

Along the way, as they were headed to their next target, they found a group of people drowning in the river. They did try to swim to get themselves out of that water but it was to no success. “Someone’s doing this.” Black scanned the area and saw a little boy sitting on a bench watching the river. He had his hand waving in the wind to sway the water down their throats. Black hurried to the boy, “Stop what you’re doing.” The 15-year-old boy only continued. Now, Black flexed her strength above his. She calmed the waters and pulled the people out of the water. All of this was done by the sway of her palm in the night sky. “What are you doing?!” cried the teenage boy. He was obviously angered by the strange woman’s meddlesome behaviour. To her surprise, these people were teenagers as he was. “Are those not your friends?”

“Those are snakes.”

The last soul of the night was found at a theatre performing to herself. She was performing the role of Fiela’s mother in the classic play, Fiela se Kind written by Dalene Matthee. Black had already made herself comfortable on the seats and marveled at the performance. She had never seen anything like that. Black thought the performance was magnificent and full of emotions. She clapped hands at the end of the woman’s performance. “How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to appreciate your work. That was a brilliant performance, Malina. You always loved to entertain us.”

“My name is not Malina. I am Alina. And do you know me?”

Black could only smile and look back into her past, it the same woman. The very first person she had freed from wrongful arrest. In the past Malina as accused of promoting ‘controversial’ content in her performances. Only, she was promoting equal distribution of wealth among the rich and the poor. Oh, but the idea was not accepted back then in her village.

Black brought the three souls to her castle, Mfundi hid their neck chokers in Argenteuil straps. He led them further in and allowed them a sit on the couch. Mpho and her kitten had to stand for the guests to have enough of the couch. Mpho could only marvel at Alina. Alina was a well-known theatre performer in the current lifetime. Now, Black had to get each one talking about their ordeal. She started with Alina the performer. She was easier to approach since she had not much grudges against anyone. She was a free soul however, trapped by the devil. “He came for me in my lowest point. I was lost, homeless and starving by the side of the road. He dangled a prize in my eyes. I always wanted to be successful, famous, rich and mostly great in my craft. He figured that out and I got tempted. I signed the contract with my soul. For many years, I have roamed the world performing and stretching my name over borders and across oceans. My time ran out and I had to go hunting for new souls for him to trap. As soon as I refused, he struck me with his lightning in the middle of my performance.”

“Performing Fiela se Kind?”

“Yes. And the world thinks I got a stroke. My body is breathing in pipes at the hospital as we speak. I have been in that coma for months now.”

“What do you hope to happen now?”

“I want to be free. I want to be free again.”

“You can be free but you will wake up paralyzed.”

“Oh, no,” she laughed softly. “When I say free. I mean free in soul. I have seen fame and I have tasted wealth. What more is left for me now? I have shared my gift with the world, there is nothing left in the world for me to do now.” Black held the woman’s neck in her palm and uncuffed the chains. The woman was released. Her body in the hospital stopped feeding the minimum response to the beeping matching and that was the end of her.

It was the 15-year-old boy’s turn now. He explained how he thought the other teenagers were his friends, “…ow, but they were a bunch of venomous snakes. I was only trying to show them a magic trick I learned on Videotube. They laughed at me like it was not enough. They made me feel small and inadequate. I gave in to the pressure and joined in on their occult practice. They had been researching this for a while, they read books, listened to tales and watched a few videos. They wanted to try it out to confirm if it was all true and they used me.” He told the story, slowly and sequentially. “…and then at 3 a.m. they took me to some alter they had built somewhere by the riverbank. They told me that they had done it before and it was fine. They told me that if I did this, I would have real magic powers. I love magic.”

“Yes, yes,” Black added. “You were my trusted sorcerer. You made explosives and poisons as weapons for my lot.”

The boy did not remember the incident or the woman, hence, he only continued his story, “I climbed onto the alter. They started dancing in circle below me, chanting some words. I think I heard them call me their sacrifice and there came a sudden heavy rain. They ran and I was stuck trying to get down from the shaky alter they had built. Next thing, I saw a blast of light strike at me and I zoned out.”

“What happened next?”

“I woke up and I was in a dark room. A strong voice spoke to me and called me its messenger. It released me on the basis that I go and recruit more. I saw my family bury me. It has been years now; I have had my revenge on a few of them. Tonight, I was about to finish them all, until you came!”

“Watch that attitude. For every soul you take, the heavier your burn in the Tunnel of Hell.”

“What now? I am supposed to let them scot-free? They took me at 15-years-old. Today they are turning 18 and 19. That could’ve been me!”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. The universe works in mysterious ways. No bad deed goes unpunished. Now, do you wish to continue as the demon’s messenger or shall I release you?”

The boy was hesitant. Black took him with to a separate room. In there, she allowed him chance to appear in their dreams. It was fun for the kid to haunt them in dreams for that night. Not all of his grudge was washed off but it is safe to say, it weighed much lighter. “If the Grim Reaper comes and finds you in that demon’s possession, you will receive the ultimate punishment—you will never reincarnate,” she explained to him to make him understand. Now, Black uncuffed the boy and set him free. This was a learning curve for her too. She wanted revenge on the twin brothers so bad, but now she was beginning to reconsider. 

It was now down to the girl she found in the old age centre. It took a long while. In fact, Black was beginning to panic that her time was running out. Finally, Black managed to get the young girl to open up about how she was captured and what the devil had on her. “I want my revenge,” the girl said. “That old man was a judge and he sent my brother to prison. My brother didn’t do anything.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! And he knows too. He was paid to pin the blame on my brother.” The girl began her story afresh, more organized now, “I was 6-years-old and my brother was 20. He was a cleaner at the politician’s home and he had brought me with him to his work. The politician had a guest over, he was having tea with his guest in his office. I was hiding in the cupboard as soon they walked in and sat and had their tea while discussing their political staff. The politician had a phone call, he excused himself. And the guest poured something in the politician’s cup. The politician came back in and finished his tea. Late at night, he collapsed. They put the blame on my brother. My brother had been sentenced to prison for years now.” She started tearing. “And he’s health is deteriorating back in prison.”

A hush fell in the room, each was sympathizing with the girl. In her past life she was the wrongfully arrested, at present she suffers the pain of her brother being wrongfully arrested. The worst part was, she knew the truth, but had not enough power to bring justice. “I joined the devil to punish all those involved in putting the blame on my brother.”

“Have you taken anyone yet?”

“No. I recently joined and so my first victim would been that old judge. I want to take him before he escapes to death, you saw that he has gotten old and sick. He will die anytime soon. I don’t want him to escape.” This was a hard case to solve in one night. Black had to think of something quickly. She had to free the girl’s brother and have the real murderer imprisoned.

Morning came and Black fussed into Mpho’s body. Oh, she wanted to run Mpho into a car crash on the busy road and send her off one time. “Stop it!” Mpho said. “Stop trying to kill me. I know you’re still angry at me over some past I have no memory of. But right now, we have a mystery to solve. You can try to kill me later, okay?”

They arrived at the girl’s home. She was living at a flat by herself. “My brother was taking care of me as a child after mom died. When my brother was arrested,” she had made Mpho a cup of tea, “I was moved to the orphanage. Now that I’m 18 and I have job, they kicked me out.” They sat at the small round table. It was a tiny room, not enough for a roommate. “So, who is this man that killed the politician? Do you know him?”

“I can take you to his place.”

Mpho followed the girl. They walked a long distance until they arrived. “He stays here,” the girl pointed at Gama’s house. It was a shock to Mpho. Gama was a common enemy. Mpho had her own grudge against the man and now she found out that Black and the new girl too have some unsolved mysteries regarding him. It was shocking to Mpho how one man could ruin so many people’s lives. Mpho knew very well that it would not be easy to take down Gama. She had been eyeing him for years now. “It was the man in that house. He killed the politician. He poisoned the politician.”