Page 60 of Wrath of the Oracle

“Not when it falls in the hands of the Dembe,” Musembi said in one breath. “Do you want to stay here and wait to be killed? I’m sure you didn’t just leave the Dembe camp like that. You must have done something to get away.” Musembi stopped and faced Sholei. “How did you escape?” Her voice got lower.

When Sholei didn’t answer and shifted her eyes, Musembi took her by the shoulders and shook her, apprehension all over her face.

“How did you get away from General Ojore?” Panic registered on Musembi’s face.

“I prepared thesumupowder and administered it to Ojore’s food,” Sholei confessed, her shoulders slumped. She was ashamed of her actions, but what could she have done to save Tula’s life? Ojore would never let Tula go unpunished.

“The same man who kidnapped you? Does he have tattoos of wings on his back?” Musembi’s voice strained.

“How did you know about Ojore’s tattoos?” Sholei whispered back.

“I want you to be very specific and tell me the exact amount of potion you fed him. Be very clear, Sholei.” The older woman swallowed. “It’s important.”

“Enough to make him sleep for several days,” Sholei said and Musembi released a strangled cry. She released Sholei’s shoulders and paced around the small room.

“If I didn’t poison him, how could I escape with Tula? We managed to get away, didn’t we?” Why was Musembi surprised? Hadn’t she used poison to break her out of the prison, too?

“You possess a gift, Sholei. Every potion you make is amplified tenfold. Your medicine can heal, but when turned to poison, it becomes potent enough to kill a man,” Musembi wrung her fingers in worry.

“What?” Sholei stumbled on her feet, confused at Musembi’s words.

“Have you never wondered why your medicine works exceptionally well on others, but their effects are profound when it comes to General Ojore?” Musembi stopped and turned to Sholei.

Sholei recalled meeting Ojore in the forest. His wound had been fatal, but after a night, he was healed enough to ride back to his camp. She thought he was quick to recover because he was a soldier in perfect physical condition.

After he ingested the poisoned food on the night of her escape, he fell unconscious faster than she had anticipated. A grim realization hit her. She could have harmed him more than she thought.

“Your gift is a curse, Sholei,” Musembi whispered. “For Ojore, you might have triggered a bigger problem than you thought.”

“It wasn’t poison, but a sleeping potion. It’s just that I included thesumuherb to make it more potent,” Sholei said and Musembi shook her head. “I swear I didn’t mean to cause him much harm.” The latter sentence was more to herself than for the older woman.

“There is much you need to learn, but there’s no time now. We must escape.” Musembi grabbed Sholei’s hand and pulled her toward the door.

“What are you not telling me?” Sholei steeled her voice. Musembi kept secrets from her for far too long, and now Sholei demanded answers.

”It’s not Ojore I am worried about, but something else.” Musembi paused. “Like fire and water, your destinies clash.”

“What do you know about destinies? I thought you didn’t believe in gods and divinities.” Sholei grew angry. Musembi was being evasive like before. She fed Sholei a handful of information and left her to figure out the rest.

“A beast crawls under Ojore’s skin, and it is etched on his tattoos. A creature that won’t stop hunting you until death,” Musembi replied, fear behind her eyes. “Your poisoning might have awakened it; we can’t stand and wait for it to attack.”

“What are you going on about?” Sholei asked. Cold tremors ran through her spine at Musembi’s voice. “What beast? Why would it want me dead?”

“There is a reason why you get headaches when you come across the statue of Keita the eagle and Asaa the snake. There is a reason you have tattoos on your head and you keep getting the nightmares of a black snake chasing you.” Musembi grabbed Sholei by the shoulders and shook her.

”The marks on my head are connected to my dreams?” Sholei ripped her scarf away. ”Every time I speak to you about my dreams, you turn me away. You know the green-eyed snake haunts me. Asaa…”

“You can only mention her name if you’re ready for her to claim you.” Musembi covered Sholei’s mouth. Her eyes darted to the dark corners where light didn’t reach the small room.

Sholei’s words were muffled by Musembi’s hand. With force, she ripped Musembi’s hands from her mouth.

“If you’re still dreaming of the snake chasing you, Ojore isn’t dead. High Lord Keita is still in pursuit.” Musembi fixed her eyes on the lone lantern in the room. After her escape, Sholei’s nightmares grew worse and robbed her of sleep. Sholei hated closing her eyes only to face the beast in her dreams.

“The snake is pushing you toward Ojore. It will relent only upon his death and you claiming Asaa.” Musembi tried to pull Sholei toward the door, but Sholei didn’t move. The information she received swam in her head.

“Why are you telling me now?” Sholei pulled out of Musembi’s grasp. “You aren’t making sense of anything.”

“When you were three months old, I consulted a priest during your naming ceremony. He said you are the reincarnation of Asaa, the condemned daughter of the water god, and the man with winged tattoos is the reincarnation of High Lord Keita. You weren’t meant to meet, but destiny brought you together. The priest who revealed all this died before I could gather more information. He was struck by lightning. One thing he insisted before he died was for you to keep out of the way of the man with moving tattoos to survive.”

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