Chapter Thirty-One

I shudder at the thought. I wonder, if only briefly, what my real sword would grant me. Do I have a sibling sword? Or is my sword one of the least desirable? Those that make ya kind or selfless. Those that makes ya have wisdom? Or worse yet, the Silent Sword. These are swords that choose a person whose life-mate's sword is powerful. This will be my sword. Of course. What did I expect? D'ziko is my mate. He has the Bakantwa Sword. I'll have a silent sword. I wish D'ziko wasn't my mate.
No. I don't mean that.
But it's already too late.
I'm horrified by it. How could I even think such a thing? Shouldn't I feel lucky that I'm one of the few that ever ends up with their life-mate? Shouldn't love be all that matters? Do I even love D'ziko? Even if I do, I wonder if this is fair. We didn't choose each other. The Gods did. If he had a choice he'd choose someone different wouldn't he? Wouldn't I?
As they open the stairwell door and hurry me down two flights of stairs then dart into the elevator, in my head I shift through all the boys from the village. A's, B's, F's, S's, Y's. None stick out. I cringe again. And again. But perhaps if I knew them on a personal level. Maybe I'd have found one with similar interests.
Now I'm stuck with D'ziko, no no, that's a bad word. Now I'm going to marry D'ziko. It inevitable. A guy whose presence leaves me powerless. A guy who erases every thought in my brain. The mere thought of him makes my heart skip a beat as the guard opens the door to my office and steps aside so that I can enter. He closes the door behind me.
There are several men in the room. Queen Mother and whatever other women are in the room are greatly outnumbered. They all drop their whiskey glasses to the table and straighten their "uniform" as they notice me. King Father stands and bows. This is hard for him. The grim smile makes me aware of this. They all follow his lead.
"Gentlemen," I say as I pass. "Lady Kwezi." She is the oldest person in Noddon with stuff eyes, void of emotion and a faint moustache.
"Goddess Imani," it's a chorus.
I survey the office, there's a dark walnut bookcase lining the entire East wall. The north wall has a large fireplace and an antique clock over the shelf in the right. A bigmessy desk with stacks of papers sits over a sea-green carpet.
"Ya may sit."
They bring the pages they were fussing over and put the large boxes marked pens and the other box marked tape recorders to the side. Now none of them talk. They weren't talking when I came into the room. What at first glance appeared as acquaintances socialising over a bottle of Whikai (the strongest whiskey in Noddon)--now looks like a group of people downing as much alcohol into their system to fight off reality. Their faces are constant masks of fear.
They sit across me.
"Goddess Imani, someone is attacking our people." King Father slides into the seat next to me and points to a name. "My son, Prince T'bosi, was attacked last night. He no longer has his gift."
Ah yes. The strongest Noddon. He could tear through buildings, uproot the biggest trees, he could crush a skull by his finger.
I sit up straighter. "Give me one of those," I tell elder Joni at the beverage table. He gives a curt nod. He pours me a glass and hands it to me with a smile. His grin reveals a set of yellow teeth and black gums.
I down it. I shiver as the liquor roasts my throat.
When Elder Joni takes his shot, he doesn't cringe like I did. He doesn't even wince. It's like he's drinking water and for a brief second I have to wonder if he didn't pour himself juice but when he gets up I'm assured he hadn't. He wobbles and I pick up my glass to his direction. I'll have a refill.
I'm already sweating. "Was this the first attack?"
King Father pulls up a paper labelled one and he starts to read the names on there: S'viwe. He could manipulate the skies.
Why haven't I heard of him?
I narrow my eyes at him. Why is he being vague. We don't have time for meaningless conversation. He should be laying it all out in the table. "Skies as in thunder?"
He glares at me for a moment before lowering his head back to the papers. "No. He's...the weather man."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elder Joni hands me my drink ,along with an apologetic look for King Father's impatience. I give him a discreet smile back.
"His sword allows him to manipulate the weather. His emotions decide the kind of weather it'll be." The negative tone that’s crept into his voice is disconcerting.
"So let's say it's sunny...?" I trail off for him to fill in the blanks.
"Then he's excited."
"Oh that's so..." I almost say cool but my brain works quick. It reminds me of why we're here. "So if he's sad then it rains?"
Elder Joni’s head tilts. He studies King Father for a long moment. "No. It's windy. When he's angry there are thunderstorms."
"But why would the Essence Thief steal this gift?" I look each one of them in the eye before continuing, “Why would he risk people knowing he's the terrorist? I mean (I assume) the weather man has to be really angry for the storm to hit and so, someone, somewhere is bound to notice."
Sir Ayize gestures to the wall on my right. "That's why he stole Madame Thembi's gift."
Only then do I notice the woman standing so silently against the far wall. Away from everybody else. Madam Thembi could be a shadow. No one notices her unless she wants to be seen. She's so good at blending into her surroundings.
"The Silencer?"
This gift allowed Madam Thembi to Silence yer thoughts so that when ya tried to say something Thembi didn't want revealed, ya'd forget it.
"Okay..." I take another shot. My liver must be jumping around because of the heat. Popcorn in the microwave. "But still that doesn't explain why he'd steal S'viwe's gift. It doesn't make sense."
King Father shrugs uncomfortably. "Because S'viwe, if he wanted to, he'd halt the sun."
Everyone in the room gasps.
I notice how King Father avoids eye contact. Why hasn't he told anybody about the extent of S'viwe's gift? "As in, stop it from moving?"
"Yes." King Father's eyebrows pop into his forehead, as though the thought has just occurred to him. It hasn't. "So that in one part of the world it's constantly day and on the other it's constantly night."
Queen Mother makes a startled choking noise. Now she understands.
I scoot closer to the table and scan the pages frantically. This can't be happening. "Do ya know how much damage this Essence Thief can do if it's always night here?"
Elder Joni rubs his hands together. "Or even if it was only day?"
Noddon's can't sleep when the sun is out. Ever. So if night never comes. I dread to think about what that would mean. Even with the magic in our veins. If Noddon's can't sleep, fatigue would eventually catch up. Eventually.
"But we have the twins Lebo and Mmeli," I quickly object. One can switch off any kind of light, the other can switch on any kind of light. "So even though the Weather gift is gone. Noddon still has the Dotye twins at our disposal."
Alarm dawns across Joni's features and he gets up to pace between the walls. He only stops long enough to say, "Except, the Essence Thief has already robbed them of their gifts."
"I need another drink," I say.
Elder Mzamo offers to refill it. He has knee-length white, dull hair, falling over his face in heaps.
I jump to my feet and join Joni. Back and forth we pace. Back and forth. I stop, walking fast to the table. I move the papers out of my way, searching for K's. "Okay, let's get Kaseke involved. Get all the villagers in the hall. No one leaves until Kaseke prowls through their thoughts. That will bring this Essence Thief to a swift end."
Elder Mzamo steps forward and hands me my drink. He takes a sip from his, grimaces and says. "That won't work."
I reach for my glass. "And why not?"
King Father turns back to me. "This morning when I came back from yer room"-- Queen Mother eyes me and I'm so glad she doesn't always carry her sword-- "Kaseke was one of the new reported cases in the last hour."
"Fuck." My hand comes down on the table and the people around it jump. "Is there anyone who still has their gift?"
"Not the important ones." Queen Mother stands, almost knocking the chair over in frustration. "As is the Essence Thief is already the most dangerous person in Noddon and it's clear that if he gets yer gift no one will be able to stop him. Surely a man like this doesn't wish good things for our people."