Chapter 5 — Blood and Betrayal

Luba’s dagger flew through the air and into his throat. The soldiers eyes widened in surprise and terror. Then he pitched forward and lay still.

“The two of you can squabble later,” Luba said. She pulled the dagger out of the man’s throat. “We need to get going right now.”

They dashed out the tent and crouched beside its flaps. But they had already been seen. A gang of men rushed them, screaming war cries at the top of their lungs.

“Run!” Luba said. She leapt to her feet and made for the bush. Dande and Zugudini were close behind her. All at once, more men emerged from a clearing on their left, cutting off their escape. Luba ducked as a man reached out and grabbed at her. Just then, an arrow whistled through the air and thudded into his neck. The man went down. More arrows flew through the air, finding their marks with deadly accuracy. The two surviving men crouched low and took cover, scanning the dark trees for their assailant. Two more arrows flew and the two men lay dead. Chenzira stepped out of the darkness, a bow in one hand and a spent quiver in the other.

"We have to move quickly," he said. "There are more on the way."

Dande and Zugudini relieved the dead men of their spears, while Luba pulled the arrows out of their bodies. She grabbed the bow and quiver from Chenzira.

“I’ll take that,” she said, handing him a spear.

“We need to get to the horses,” he said. “I know where they are. Follow me.” He spun around and raced down the path. The others followed. But in less than a minute, more soldiers came crashing through the bushes around them. They hemmed in the three as Luba got off the path and ducked into the bushes. The soldiers were everywhere now. Chenzira and Dande both fell to one knee and made quick work of the men who came at them screaming. Zugudini used her speed to her advantage. Leaping, whirling and stabbing, she felled several before they had a chance to raise their shields. But the odds were against them. They were surrounded and grossly outnumbered, and they knew it. They were desperate now, and their lagging hope gave their arms that last ounce of strength of those facing certain death. Then Luba’s bow sang in the night, and the men started going down, one after the other. It was the chance they needed. They scrambled off the path and into the bushes, and crouched low. Luba was beside them in an instant.

“I thought you’d abandoned us.” Chenzira asked.

“I only have two arrows left,” she said. “We’d better not run into any more trouble.”

Hondo looked on as his men raced through the camp, searching for the escapees. He was livid because he could blame no one but himself. He had taken a risk, trusting Dande. But it was a gambit that had paid off. He felt the weight of the drum, hanging from a strap around his shoulder and pressing against his side. The gamble had paid off quite well. All he needed was the woman. The rest could be disposed off.

“Gamba!”

Gamba, standing a few feet off, turned and raced to his side.

“I want the woman Zugudini alive. The rest are of no use to me.”

Gamba nodded and spun around.

“Spread the word,” he shouted. “The woman must be taken alive. Kill the rest.”

Chenzira led the three, keeping to the shadows. The camp was teeming with soldiers. The four scurried along, crouching low, the shouts and yells of the soldiers telling them which way not to go. The surroundings were better lit now. The soldiers raced up and down with flaming torches. Having formed search parties, they combed their way through the bushes rapidly.

“There they are,” Chenzira said. They had come up to the edge of a muddy clearing. In the middle, about twenty horses were tethered. Dande counted six men standing guard. They were having a hard time of it. All the running, shouting and screaming and flaming torches had made the horses nervous. They whinnied and reared and tried to break free of their lead ropes. It was just the distraction they needed.

“We have to move now,” Dande whispered to the others crouched beside him. “We won’t get a better chance.”

“Rushing at them head on would be suicide,” Luba said. “We have to get round them.”

“They’re in the middle of a clearing,” Zugudini said. “We won’t be able to surprise them.”

“So be it,” Chenzira said. He grasped his spear tightly, rose to his full height, and raced into the clearing, screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Wait!” Dande said. But it was too late. The screaming old man bore down on the guards. Dazed, they took a moment to react. It was all that Luba needed, as she quickly let her two last arrows fly into them. Chenzira engaged a guard in close combat. In a moment, Zugudini and Dande were beside him, battling the other two. Luba weaved in and out amongst the combatants, her dagger letting the blood out of their lower backs, targeting their vitals. In a moment, the six lay dead. Zugudini, Dande and Luba leapt onto their mounts. But Chenzira hung back, and leaned against the side of a horse.

“Let’s go,” Dande said. “You’ll catch your breath later.” Zugudini glimpsed the pallid look on Chenzira’s face. She leapt off her horse and picked up a spluttering torch off the ground. She brought the flames close to his robe. They revealed a dark patch, growing steadily. She took a closer look. Bright red blood bubbled out of his chest with each rasping breath.

“You’re hurt,” she said.

Chenzira winced. He shut his eyes against the pain. Dande and Luba leapt off their horses.

“What are you doing?” Chenzira said. “You need to get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving you behind,” Dande said.

There was an ear splitting yell. A soldier burst into the clearing and raced at them.

“Get him out of here,” Zugudini said. She grabbed her spear and rushed at the soldier. Dande picked Chenzira up and lay him across the saddle. The old man moaned in pain. His blood trickled onto the saddle and down the horse’s side. Dande leapt on just as three more soldiers fell upon Zugudini. Luba picked up a spear and darted into the fray. Dande hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do, but Zugudini’s voice rose above the clangs of the spears and the angry shouts.

“Go!” she shouted. “We’re right behind you.”

Dande kicked his horse hard, and galloped out of the clearing as more men came pouring in. This was bad. Luba and Zugudini were sitting ducks. He turned his horse around, and rode back into the clearing, trampling down whichever men came in his way. Getting to the middle of the neighing, rearing horses, he jumped down, quickly untethered all of them, and slapped their sides. The horses bolted out of the clearing, racing down the path that led into it. Dande got back onto his horse, and rode after the rush, praying to the ancestors that Luba and Zugudini wouldn’t be trampled.

Luba and Zugudini’s attackers stopped and stared stupidly at the storm of steeds stampeding straight to them. In an instant, Zugudini pushed two of them into the horses’ path and leapt out of the way. The horse trampled the man into a bloody pulp. As it slowed down, Zugudini grabbed its reins and vaulted onto its back. She thundered towards the men who were piling down on Luba, and burst into their midst, riding them down.

“Grab hold.” She reached out a hand. Luba grasped it firmly and Zugudini hoisted her onto the saddle. She wrapped her arms around Zugudini as the horse bucked and reared. In a flash, a soldier threw himself at the two riders, and grabbed hold of Luba. Luba landed on the hard ground with a thud, but was on her feet in an instant.

“Luba!”

Zugudini turned her horse around and leaped off. She fell on the man grappling with Luba. Forgetting the pygmy, he focused all his attention on her, just as a fresh wave of soldiers crashed into the clearing. Luba’s heart faltered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the new arrivals hold off, then hurl something dark into the air.

“Watch out," she called at Zugudini. Luba dived to the ground and rolled out of the way. But it was too late. The net came down around Zugudini, tripping her up and sending her crashing into the mud. Like a ferocious lion roaring against its captors, she screamed in anger, kicking and thrashing. But every kick and punch only wrapped the net in tighter.

“Zugi!” Luba called, not caring about the soldiers who were now bearing down on her.

"Go!" Zugudini yelled at Luba. "Run!" Luba hesitated for a second, torn between leaving her friend behind and escaping. Just then, Dande burst out of the bushes and onto the path.

"Get out of here," Zugudini screamed. Dande spotted Luba at the edge of the clearing, surrounded by soldiers. Zugudini was fighting with the net. Unable to escape, the few men trapped alongside her bore the brunt of her fury. Like a caged animal, she went at them relentlessly. Dande thundered towards Luba and knocked down several of the men closed in on her.

"Luba! Get on!"

He reached out and hoisted her in front of him. Another spear came whizzing past his ear. He kicked the horse hard and thundered down the path, running down every soldier that stood in his way.

Zugudini snarled at the men tugging at the edges of the net. Her burning eyes dared them to come closer. None did.

“Did you get her?” Hondo's voice boomed out of the night. He stepped out of the shadows and walked calmly up to Zugudini, still kicking and thrashing in the net.

“Yes, Grey Leopard,” one of the men replied. "But the others got away. Shall we give chase? They haven't gotten far."

"Leave them be," Hondo said, eyeing Zugudini. "She's the only one that I need." He walked up to Zugudini, treading carefully over the net. Zugudini stopped thrashing as he approached. When he was within reach, she thrust at him with her spear. Hondo neatly sidestepped it, grabbed the shaft in his hand, and ripped it away from her. Its blade cut across his palm. He held it up to the light of the flaming torches, and stared at the blood dripping down his wrist.

“Blood for blood,” he said. He ran his bloodied finger across Zugudini’s cheek. She drew back, hawked and spat in his face.

"I'll kill you!" She said. "I swear to Mwari."

Hondo wiped the spit off his cheek. He turned to his soldiers.

"Tie her up and bring her to my tent. Do not hurt her.”

The men closed in around her. She put up a fight. They were not going to take her that easily. Several came away with kicks to their groins and scratches on their faces, but they were still too many for her. They dragged her off her feet and hauled her away.

Dande and Luba rode through the night. The dappled moonlight made shadowy silhouettes of the trees, turning each into a mwana wa Lungundu. But the distant howling of hyenas and the steady clip-clop of their weary horse was the only sound they heard. Dande's horse struggled to keep going. Chenzira moaned softly.

"We're too heavy," Luba said. "We'd better get off. No one is following us.”

They stopped riding and climbed off. Dande lifted Chenzira off the horse and carefully lay him on his back on the forest floor. The old man’s eyes flicked open.

"Dande.”

“I’m right here. Don’t speak.”

He turned to Luba.

"Is there anything you can do to help?"

Chenzira coughed. Blood trickled out the corner of his mouth. Luba shook her head.

"His lung has been pierced."

"We need to stop the bleeding," Dande said, bunching up the folds of Chenzira's cloak and pressing them against the wound on his chest. Chenzira groaned in pain. His breath came in shallow rasps.

"Dande," he whispered.

“Save your strength, father. We're going to help you."

He turned to Luba again, his voice edged with desperation. "Isn't there a herb or something in this cursed forest that can help?" Luba didn't answer. She just stared at Chenzira. Her face was a mask of grief. Dande grabbed her by the shoulders.

"I need you to help!”

Chenzira coughed and gurgled.

"Calm down, Dande" he rasped. "Do you want to send me to my fathers with noise or in silence?”

"Don't say that, my father. You’re going to be just fine.” He shot a glance at Luba. Begging. Pleading. Luba hung her head. She sat down, drew her knees in, and stared at the dying man.

Chenzira's mouth twitched into a smile. "It’s been a full life. I have lived most of it badly, but I think I can end it well.”

“Don’t say that. You haven’t lived badly. You’re not going to die.”

Chenzira reached out and took Dande’s hand in his.

“Listen. There's something I must tell you, and I don't have much time."

“You can tell me later.”

“I said listen.” His voice was suddenly stern and strong. Dande fell silent. Chenzira took a deep breath and fought back a cough. He shut his eyes for a moment, gathering his strength for one last effort. Dande stared at him, blinking back his tears. He was angry that he had shown weakness in front of Luba. Not that she seemed to care. Chenzira coughed again, then spoke.

"Your father, Banga. He was a good man."

He took a deep breath then coughed up a mouthful of blood. Dande held up his head.

“Before he died, he came to see me. He told me that…”

He paused, searching for the words. Trying to remember.

“He and Hondo had seen the Shimbwe witch. She said that the drum will thunder when Hondo’s hand sheds the blood of the child that is his but not his, at the right place and at the right time.”

Dande frowned, confused.

“What do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“He’s getting delirious,” Luba whispered.

“I am not,” Chenzira said as he sat up, eyes burning. “Your father and I were part of the same secret society. Our goal was to discover why the ngomalungundu had stopped working. We knew that the Mutapas were not its true heir, but we didn’t know who they had usurped it from. The Shimbwe witch confirmed our suspicions, that the heir was Modjadji and the last of her line, Zugudini. Hondo, being partly of the same line but not fully, would have to wash the drum in her blood at the altar of Shabaka to assume its power. This was why he stole the drum. Ten harvests ago, he tried to defy the gods, and now he's still going to try. Your father tried to stop him. I was too afraid to do so.”

Dande looked at him, too shocked to speak.

“I tried to make up for the past. When I saw you that night the drum was stolen, I knew. You had been sent by Mwari. You have a hand in finishing what your father started." He pressed Dande's hands hard and pulled him close.

“Please forgive me for failing your father. For failing you.”

“You have not failed anyone.”

“Please, Dande. Please.”

The tears streamed freely down Dande's face now. “Yes,” he nodded. “I forgive you.”

Chenzira reached up and pressed his forehead into Dande’s. Dande felt his warm breath wash over his face, and then felt it no more. He pulled back to find Chenzira's sightless eyes staring at his. His body was limp, but his lips were curled into a slight smile. Dande lay him gently across on the grass. The forest was silent. Luba's sobbing was soft and gentle, like the breeze blowing through the trees.