Chapter 9 — The Shadow of the Drum

Zugudini's spear cut through the night air and through the soldier's neck, cutting off the words on his lips. He fell where he stood, choking and gurgling, scrabbling at the spear that stuck out of his throat. She ran up to him, set her foot on his chest and pulled it out. What had happened? Who had set off the alarm? What was the sound that woke them up? She had watched every step she took. And so had Luba. They’d done it a million times, without ever waking sleeping guards. Her ears caught the whoosh of another spear, hurtling through the air. She dropped to the ground, just as the missile sailed past her head. With a roar, a soldier charged towards her, brandishing a short sword.

Dande saw a soldier bearing down at him with the spear and shield. He didn't want to fight. These were government forces. Men like him just trying to do their job by serving their people and the Emperor. He wouldn't kill any of them but would defend himself and, taking the first opportunity that he got, make off into the night. The two women who had gotten into this scrape would have to sort it out themselves.

He dropped to his knees at the last moment as the soldier was just on top of him, catching the soldier by surprise and sending him sprawling onto the ground. He kicked the soldier in the throat, then grabbed his shield just as another soldier fell upon him. Dande blocked every thrust and stab, weaving and winding through the bushes and cursing the bad luck that had sent them a full moon that night.

Zugudini grappled with a soldier. With a deft move, she swept him off his feet and onto his back. Her next move slit his throat. But the whole camp was awake now. She could make out Luba fending off two soldiers. But there was another man. Not one of the soldiers. They were attacking him. For a brief instant, she saw his face. Dande. What on earth was he doing there? The loud shout of an attacker cut off her thoughts as she spun around to face a fresh wave of men.

Luba ducked in and out of the shadows, her dagger doing much of the talking in the moonlight. Soldier after soldier went down in paroxysms of pain as her sharp blade ripped open their guts. In an instant, another man was beside her. She raised her dagger, but then he spoke.

“What have you gotten me into?” he said, struggling to catch his breath.

“Dande?” she asked, her eyes wide in astonishment. “What in Mwari’s name are you -?”

Her words were cut off by the scream of a soldier. He leapt on top of Dande. They crashed to the ground, a writhing, struggling heap. Luba lunged in with her dagger but couldn’t get a clear thrust. A soldier hurled his spear at her, and she ducked just in time. She didn’t know how or why Dande was there, but she was glad they had one more person on their side, to even out the odds. She flitted back into the shadows, rounded on the unarmed man, and shoved her dagger into his lower back, puncturing his kidney.

The slaves huddled together as the bodies around them crashed into each other, and wild yells tore through the air. Zugudini noticed them, nervously trembling, afraid to make a break for it. She dashed across to the petrified figures.

“Run!”

A nervous tingle shot down her spine as a shadow flashed across the frightened faces of the women before her. She spun around to find a sword swinging down on her. She ducked to the left. The blade missed and smashed into the ground. The soldier raised his sword again, this time taking aim at the slaves. Zugudini read his intentions. He would rather kill them than allow them to escape. She sprung up and thrust her spear at the man. He parried with his blade. Fighting in such close quarters gave him the advantage over Zugudini, and soon, she had her back up against the open door of the slave cart. The women tried to dive out of the way, but one of them tripped Zugudini in the process, sending her sprawling to the ground. The soldier stood over her and raised his sword, ready to deliver the death blow. A slave woman screamed in terror.

The wild, terrified yell crashed into Dande's ear harder than his opponent's sword crashed into his shield. Through the moonlight, he saw Zugudini on the ground, Luba racing towards her, the slave woman screaming in terror, and the soldier's sword beginning its murderous descent. His spear left his hand in that instant. With a loud whoosh and then a thickening thud, it pierced the soldier as his sword came down on Zugudini, sending his blow wide. The man gazed stupidly at the spear tip sticking out of his chest, then pitched forward. Zugudini scrambled out of the way as the man landed right where she had been.

Dande's heart fell within him. He had not wanted to kill any soldiers, but his hand had been forced. He had raised his hand against the empire. In all his years as an assassin, he’d always followed the emperor’s commands. But now, he had become just a common killer. There was no way out of it now. He might as well finish what he had started. He dropped to a low crouch, swept the feet of the soldier fighting him out from underneath him, and tore through the bushes to retrieve his spear. He was at Zugudini's side in an instant. She was stunned, staring at the dead man beside her. The slaves were still huddling, wide-eyed, and mumbling incoherent prayers to their ancestors.

"Get up," he said as he pulled his spear out of the dead man. He turned around to find two soldiers closing in on them. He went to work. In an instant, he had thrust both of them through, and they lay dying at his feet. He moved through the soldiers, cutting and thrusting and stabbing and swinging. Soldiers fell on his left and his right like dry leaves falling off the trees in autumn.

"It's the Wild Dog! Fall back! Fall back!”

Dande recognized the trembling voice barking out orders in the night. It was Dikarai’s. Their eyes locked on each other for a brief second in the moonlit night. Then Dikarai dropped his spear and shield and bolted into the forest. Only three soldiers were left standing. They too, turned and fled.

"Don't let them get away," Zugudini screamed as she sent a spear flying through the night air.

It met its mark, even as Dande and Luba did the same and managed to fell the other two soldiers. They ran up to their dead bodies, trying to catch any sign of Dikarai, but it was too late.

"He's gone," Dande said. "I know him. He's very fast. We won't be able to catch him in the night. Not if he's running without his weapons," he added, glancing at the man's spear and shield lying where he had shed them as he escaped.

The softly muttered prayers of the slave women and their soft sobbing called their attention back to the task at hand. Zugudini tramped over the dead bodies and made her way back to the slave cart. The women looked at them with eyes full of fear.

"Do not be afraid," Zugudini said. "We're not taking you anywhere. You're free."

The women did not move an inch.

"Who are you?" one of them asked in a trembling voice.

"We are the Eagle's Claw," Luba said, coming up. She reached into the little pouch hanging around her neck, pulled out a handful of black feathers, and handed them out to the slaves.

"These are the feathers of the Fish Eagle. They are a sign of your freedom. You can go now. You're free."

"You can't do that!" Dande tramped up behind them, spear clutched in his hand. His face was twisted into a frown. "These people are slaves. You can't set them free."

"We already have," Luba said.

"We will have to take them to the nearest town,” Dande said. “And hand them over to the authorities.”

"Not while I'm alive," Zugudini said. She stepped in front of Dande and barred his way.

"This is crazy," Dande said. "These people are slaves."

"Why do they have to remain slaves?" Luba asked.

Dande glanced from her to Zugudini. Her jaw was thrust forward in grim determination. She was not going to budge. He would have to kill her first, which would have been strange considering that he had just saved her life. His glance flitted to the faces of the slaves, staring back at him, lined with hopelessness, despair, and misery. He did not have a good reason why they should remain slaves other than they were already slaves, which he knew was not a good reason at all. Their red, frightened eyes bore into his.

"You do whatever you want to do," he said and walked off into the night.

***

Dande found Chenzira wide awake when he got back to their camp.

"Where did you go?" he asked. "I heard shouts in the distance.”

Dande sat down on his mat, stewing in anger, and explained to Chenzira what had happened. Just as he finished speaking, Luba and Zugudini tramped back into the camp.

"I didn't expect you back," Dande said. "I thought you'd have escorted your slaves to someplace safe."

"We pointed them in the right direction and gave them a few weapons, then we came back here," Zugudini said.

"We have a job to do," Luba added.

"Good,” Chenzira said. “Let's all go back to sleep, and we can discuss this in the morning.”

"Go back to sleep? These women are criminals. They are enemies of the empire.”

“Maybe you should ask the slaves who the criminals are?” Luba shot back.

“It’s too late for that now, isn’t it? You let them go.”

“And yet you wonder why I never returned?” Zugudini asked.

"If you're so unhappy here, then why don't you leave?" Dande asked. "You can move somewhere else. Go north. See how they like your kind up there."

"What do you mean by your kind?"

“Rebels. Freedom Fighters. Whatever you Eagle Claw outlaws call yourselves.”

"Oh, Mwari, give me strength." She walked off towards her mat. Dande followed her.

"Oh, so you don't like it when someone tells you the truth, do you?”

"You speak as though you've never been a slave."

"So what if I've never been a slave? What does that have to do with anything? What's right is right, and the law is the law."

"You're a fool, Dande. Open your eyes. You've been a slave for the last ten harvests."

"I come and go as I please."

“Oh, so that’s why they call you Wild Dog and not Tame Dog. Wild or tame, a dog is a dog.”

The words hit Dande like a spear through the chest, leaving him speechless. Zugudini stared at him, daring him to deny the truth of what she said.

Chenzira and Luba looked on.

"Do you get the sense that there's something more going on here than what we are seeing?" she whispered.

Chenzira nodded. "That's why I suggested we go back to sleep, but nobody wanted to listen."

Dande caught the words and grabbed at them as a drowning man would a lifeline. He marched right over to Chenzira.

"There's nothing to discuss," he said, stepping up to Chenzira's face. "These two are members of the Eagle Claw. They're outlaws wanted by the empire. There's a bounty on their heads. Do you want us to discuss working with enemies of the state? There's nothing to discuss. We have to hand them over."

"Consider our mission, Dande. All of this can wait until we are done,” Chenzira said.

"I am not willing to work with outlaws.”

"You’ve worked outside the law before, haven’t you?” Zugudini asked.

The words hung in the cold night air for a moment.

"This is different," Dande said.

"What makes it different?"

“You are the reason I walked out. The reason why I left everything behind.”

“What do you mean?”

“My last mission was to capture the Eagle Claw gang. I asked to be initiated as the reward for doing it.”

Luba and Zugudini exchanged a glance.

“And?” Zugudini said. “What did they say?”

“They said no. So I left. This is why this mission is important. If I succeed, Chenzira will ensure they give me what I asked for.

“You want to continue being their Wild Dog?”

“No. Things would be different.”

“How?”

Dande said nothing. He knew she wouldn’t understand his reasons for wanting to be a part of an empire that had turned its back on him. When he'd seen Zugudini and Luba handing out their calling card, the black feathers, and realized who they were, his mind had been thrown into confusion. A part of him wished that she had never stepped back into his life. Things were so simple before she had returned, bringing up things that he wished to forget. As if that were not enough, now here she was, working as an enemy of the state. A part of him wanted to have nothing to do with the empire. But another part still wanted to belong to it. To be initiated into the Barwe Tonga. To clear his father’s name. He looked at Chenzira, and remembered what he had said the night the drum was stolen. He thought the drum would get him what he wanted. But now it seemed to be pushing him further and further away from it.

"I think it's been a long night," Chenzira said. "And we haven't gotten much rest. I suggest that we lie down and try to regain whatever strength that we can. It will give us all clear heads, and in the morning, we will be able to discuss this and find a way forward."

Dande was surprised at how casually Chenzira was taking the whole thing. But he didn't have a better suggestion. Silently, he walked over to his mat and stretched out on it. Chenzira did the same. Luba and Zugudini were the last ones to do so.

***

Day dawned a few hours later, but none of them had gotten much sleep. Dande sat up and looked at the paling sky. He got up and walked to the edge of the camp. They were on a slight incline, overlooking a grassland below. The rising sun cast an orange haze across the sky. A morning breeze picked up. No creatures stirred. This was the coolest part of the day, and the perfect time to think things through.

He remembered too clearly the job that the council had given him to do, to catch the leaders of the Eagle Claw and bring them to justice. But Hondo had laughed at his request to be circumcised, to be allowed to join the Barwe Tonga as a reward for accomplishing that task. The blow had been so hard that he had decided right then and there to leave the life that he knew. The people, the city, his comrades at arms. All that, he had left behind. In a strange way, the Eagle Claw had been responsible for pushing him to the limit. It had made him realize that he could never ever be accepted by the Dande Empire. Dande. He hated his name. Why hadn’t his father given him a different one? He would change it someday. Seeing Zugudini and Luba freeing the slaves had reminded him that he was the one still in chains. Maybe the Eagle Claw had freed him from the illusion that he was holding onto? Maybe they were right. Why waste his time getting into the Barwe Tonga? As a matter of fact, why even try to get the drum?

"Ngomalungundu is worth every effort, Dande.”

Dande spun around to find Chenzira walking up to him. The man had read his thoughts. How was he able to do that? Perhaps it was some kind of wizardry that the old man practiced. He sat down beside Dande.

“You owe it to yourself to know what it feels like to belong. To have a name. To be wanted. You have never had that. That is why you doubt. Ngomalungundu can get that for you. It is worth every effort.”

Dande frowned. "How can we go on if she knows that I was asked to arrest her?” he asked. “Will she ever trust me again?"

"The words you said in anger last night were unfortunate. But I believe that an apology and an explanation can fix a lot of things."

Dande bit his lip. Chenzira was asking him to humiliate himself before a woman. Not just any woman at that, but Zugudini. The one who had abandoned him all those harvests ago. The one that never came back to look for him. The one that had forgotten him.

"I know it's hard," Chenzira said, reading his thoughts once again, "but think of the mission. This is bigger than your pride."

Dande nodded and stood up. “I’ll do it.”

***

They trudged back into the camp. Zugudini and Luba were up and rolling their mats.

"I need to have a word with the two of you," Dande said.

The two women paused and exchanged a glance.

"Last night," he started, searching for the words, “I spoke in anger. What I said was true. I had been asked to find the two of you. And I walked away from it. If you will trust me, I will not betray you.”

Zugudini and Luba just stared at him, not knowing what to say. Dande continued.

“This mission means a lot to me. When the opportunity to find this Thief came, I realized that it was the only way that I could get what I had always wanted. It was the only way to be Barwe Tonga, like my father and his father before him."

"So what does this mean?” Luba asked.

"What it means is that I am apologizing for judging you. And requesting that we continue with our mission."

Luba shot a questioning look at Zugudini. She was the leader of the group. It was on her to reply.

"How can we know that you won't hand us over once we find the thief?” Zugudini asked.

"Because what he is carrying is worth more than all the slaves you've ever freed."

"What is he carrying?"

"I can't tell you that."

"And yet you expect us to trust you when you yourself won't trust us enough to tell us what it is that we are trying to recover?"

"You accepted this job on those terms. All you needed to know was that we were tracking a man."

Chenzira shook his head. This was meant to be an apology and a mending of relationships, but Dande, who didn't have a diplomatic bone in his body, was only going to make things worse.

"Allow me to try and explain everything," Chenzira said, stepping in between Dande, Zugudini, and Luba. "What we are after is an item of tremendous value to the Mutapa. When it's returned, not only will he spare your lives, but he will grant you whatever you wish and bestow you with every honor."

"And you expect us to believe that?" Luba shot back.

"What is it that we are tracking?" Zugudini said. "If you want us to trust you, you also have to trust us. Otherwise, this partnership is not going to work."

They stared long and hard at each other. The pink clouds overhead turned into a cloudy white as the sun broke through the horizon and lit up the sky. It was already getting hot. The crickets chirped, and the birds wheeled and circled overhead. The cool morning breeze was dropping now. They would have to get moving soon.

"We are running out of time," Dande said. "You women need to decide. Are you with us, or are you not?"

"First, tell us what it is that we are after," Zugudini said. "Otherwise, we are walking away from this job, and you can find this man on your own. Good luck tracking him into the Mountains of Mwari. It's nearly impossible to follow anyone on those rock paths."

"If you don't help us, I will arrest you immediately," Dande said. He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth.

Zugudini's eyes flashed with anger. She turned around and walked over to her mat. She picked it up, tied it to her horse, and mounted. "Let's go, Luba."

Luba walked over to her mat, picked it up along with her pouch, and got onto her horse. The two women started off at a trot.

"Wait," Dande called. They ignored him.

Chenzira turned to Dande. "Get them back, Dande. We won't find the drum without them. I don't care what you do, but get them back."

Dande leaped onto his horse and rode after them. He quickly overtook them and blocked their way.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Help us to find this man, and we will stick with the original deal. I promise you this."

"How do we know you will keep your promise?” Luba asked.

Dande hesitated. He didn’t have an answer.

Zugudini kicked her horse. "Come on, Luba. We're wasting our time."

They rode past him. Dande's heart fell. He didn't want it to come to this, but he knew that Chenzira was right. Without those two women, tracking the Thief across the Mountains of Mwari would be impossible. He had run out of options.

"I will tell you what the Thief is carrying," he called. The two riders paused. He rode up to them.

"I will tell you what the Thief stole," he said.

They stared at him with hooded eyes. Their incredulity was palpable. The thought of lying flitted across Dande's mind, but he knew that they would immediately know. Based on what Chenzira had said, the only thing in the entire empire that could earn them all such unimaginable favor from the Mutapa was –

"Ngomalungundu."

Luba's jaw dropped. Zugudini didn't flinch, didn't even blink.

"Did you hear what I said? The Thief stole ngomalungundu. That is what we are after. That is why this is so important."

A wave shot through Zugudini. She shuddered as the image of the drum, of Hondo, and of her mother raising her hands and begging for mercy flitted before her eyes. She moaned and clutched her head.

"Zugudini," Luba said, noticing Zugudini paling, "Are you okay?"

Zugudini tried to answer but couldn't. Her thoughts were swirling about in her head, making it want to explode. A sharp pain shot across her temple, and she clutched at her chest, trying to breathe, but no matter how hard she heaved, she couldn't draw in a lungful of air.

"Zugudini."

Luba's voice came from far away. Stars swam before Zugudini's eyes. Then they disappeared just as quickly as they had come. A gentle warmth came over her, holding her in its calm embrace as a soothing darkness spread before her eyes. Her heart slowed, and every muscle in her body relaxed. Now she was falling. Falling into a deep, dark sleep.

"Zugi!" Luba screamed, as Zugudini fainted and fell off her horse.