Chapter Seven

"There, look," they shout.
"Where?"
They point at me and jump in excitement.
"Oh my Gods, it's Imani."
One faints.
"Would ya look at the Bakantwa. It totally suites her."
"And that gorgeous gold hilt. Like, I'm so jealous."
Yesterday I was a nobody. Yesterday they were turning up their noses as I walked past but no more. That is all a thing of the past.
"Shouldn't they be home, celebrating their new gifts with family?" I ask and wave some more, almost making the move comical.
They scream and chant my name. Imani. Imani. Imani.
I'm flattered. I wipe non-existent tears from my eyes. As a toddler I used to fake cry for Mama’s attention, much to her frustration, and so I've had years of bursting into tears very dramatically. The crowds do the same. How cute. I place a hand over my racing heart. They follow my lead.
They hold me of a high standard. I'm like a God.
It's like a cult following.
I bow my head and they fall to their knees.
Mama licks her lips and smiles. "They're waiting for ya."
"For me?" I ask unsure, as my people murmur on the front lawn. “For me to what? To speak, to come out?”
"This is a historical moment for our people.” Mama looks into my eyes as she says this. “Address them. There's unease, uncertainty. They need to know they're safe under yer leadership. New leader. New laws. You do know that your sword now makes you the most powerful person in Noddon?"
My people.
"Isn't it wonderful?" Mama asks my brother.
Kaseke's lips press together the way they normally do when he's trying to stop himself from saying too much. He had a vision.
"What is it?" I ask him, backing away from the window.
He follows me. "Nothing."
He keeps his eyes on his shoes. He smells like mint and deodorant. He's chewing on some bubblegum.
"Look at me," I bite out.
He closes his eyes.
"Kaseke, what aren't ya telling me?"
"Imani, please."
My heart kicks at my chest like it's trying to get away.
"Kaseke." I keep my voice firm, a warning. “Ya saw something and ya gonna tell me what it is."
"Imani, you sure do enjoy disappointment." He walks to the fridge, takes out an apple and pours himself some milk. "I'm not telling you a damn thing. It's not my place."
The villagers outside sing, their voices hallowing.
"Ya need to get them off my property." Mama’s voice sounds like a peach pit in a garbage disposal.
"What do I tell them in the meantime?" Kaseke asks.
"Tell them to -- ugh, I don't know." I shrug.
The last thing I want right now is to lead these people. My only interest is unearthing the essence thief and killing him. When that's done, I'll take the sword back. I won't even try to lead them. I won't bother.
I turn for the bathroom. I need to dye my hair blue before they start noticing my hair is still black and put my new gold contacts on. I am the Bakantwa owner, I have to look the part. My heart is speeding as I enter the narrow hallway.
A hand snatches my arm and yanks me back. Ow. I turn, eyes narrowed. Kaseke, the fool, glares back.
He looks worried. "Ya sure ya wanna do this?"
"What?"
"Deceive these people?"
I swallow, hard, but my heart remains at my throat. Thump. Thump. Thump. "Ya saw something."
He shakes his head, solemn. "It doesn't end well."
My dinner churns in my stomach, threatening to join my heart at my throat. "Do I die?"
His sigh is enough of an answer. I shrug. So be it.
Kaseke's jaw drops. He's never been this confused, this worried. "Why are ya doing this?"
"I just want to be Goddess. For my words to carry some weight."
And then he does something that changes everything. He looks into my eyes. His widen in horror and understanding.
"Oh," he says, backing away, and turning back down the hallway. I watch him until the small bubble in my chest bursts.
"So ya not gonna stop me?" I call out to him. I wish I could read minds like him.
He doesn't turn back as he shouts. "No."
I'm so confused I frown after him. "Why?" The desperation in my voice is as clear as the sky at its worst.
This time he does turn back to look at me, and his eyes find mine again. I see he means everything he says before he opens his mouth to say, "Because, Imani, yers is the most selfless motivation I've ever read in a thief's mind. Of all the people who wanted to steal and control the Bakantwa Sword, yer intentions are pure. That's what it means to be a Goddess."
I hesitate. “What exactly did ya see?
“Ya knew Commodore's killer craves power. That he'll come after ya, in fact ya're counting on it. Ya want him dead so that the powers he stole from people will return to their rightful owners and you never want to see another family go through the same thing we did. You want to sacrifice yourself for these people.”
"And," he says, he looks down and his hands are clenched into hard fists. "The number one reason you're doing this is to protect me. You think the essence thief will come after me next."
I don't know what I'd do if I were to lose him. If he too were to die. And I just know Kaseke or Mama is next. Mama has the immortality sword, obviously the thief wants it. Who doesn't? And Kaseke's gift is pretty cool too, the thief would know exactly who's coming after him. He'd have visions about us. He'd read our minds whenever he felt as though he's in danger. Should he have any of my family's gift, he'd be extremely powerful. He needs to be stopped.
The essence thief's blood will bring peace to our people.
Kaseke bows his head respectfully.
I swallow the lump in my throat and bat my eyes to get rid of the tears.
When I’m back in my room gathering my bathroom supplies, I remember I still have to hide the real bakantwa. I sneak out to the garden.
Okay, I admit it. Burying such a legendary sword in my garden and then planting lilies over it isn't such a bright idea. A "zombie-idea," Commodore would call it.
But it's the most obvious spot. No one would even think twice about looking for it here. Kaseke being the only exception. And he wouldn't betray me like that.
Though the night is still young, it's already pulsing with the sound of crickets. Street lamps influx light on my garden, making my work so much easier.
I dust off my hands on my thighs and smile to myself. But something silvery catches my eye. It's a cat, laying on it's side. It has wrinkly, watery grey skin with no fur. I've never seen a cat with fur. Such a sacred creature. What is this one doing here? Cats are some sort of myth, ya rarely ever see one. They are human shy. This is my first time seeing one. I've never seen a cat without fur and neither have I ever seen a cat at all.
"Pssst," I coo. "Come kitty, let's get ya some warm milk and food."
No answer.
It's probably sleeping. Besides, cats don't have good hearing.
I walk up and stand over it with my hands to my waist. I poke its stomach with my foot. No answer.
I check its right paw. It's name is tattooed unto its thin skin. I call out his name. “Kat Nap, it's the Goddess. Wake up.”
“Kat Nap, Kat Nap?”
No answer.
I'm still not too concerned, although something just doesn't feel right. If only my stomach would stop churning.
I scan the cat. Just near the forehead, between the eyebrows and the hairline. A wound. Two fanged bites, like a snake's. The corpse is extremely bloated so appears to be massive, and it has patches of green mold over it. The skin looks waterlogged, unnaturally wrinkly in the way yer skin is after ya remove a Band-Aid that’s been on for too long.
A blanket of blue blood has frozen over, as if its been here for hours.
Suddenly, D'ziko Gabada is standing against a tree, legs crossed, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He's wearing glasses and a cloak covers his face.
I watch him, faintly surprised he came back, as he beckons to someone behind him hidden in the woods.
A girl with dark make-up and equally depressing clothes shuffles hesitantly toward me. "I think I have something that belongs to you," she says. "I was meant to give it to you earlier. A gift, if you will." She hands me a narrow, neatly wrapped, hot pink package. Ew.
I rip the paper open and a note falls into my hands.
While I wait for the F300
There's also a knife.
I look at the knife once and fling it at him, martial arts style. It flies through the air like a dart, never withering from its target. D'ziko doesn't move. The bloody idiot. In two seconds the damn knife will cut between his eyes. What have I done? I can't afford to graduate from thief to murderer. He shrugs as he catches it a mere second before it makes contact.