Page 61 of Wrath of the Oracle

”You spent time with him. You must have noticed something unnatural about him, didn’t you?” Musembi asked. Sholei recalled Ojore’s change in eye color accordingto his moods, the huge eagle that followed him everywhere.

“Why should I believe anything you say? You haven’t been forthcoming with much information besides lying and evading my questions.” Sholei’s ground grew shaky. “You also refused to reveal my birth parents.”

“I haven’t lied about your origins because I don’t know, either. The Oracle placed you in my arms when you were days old. She alone knows your birth parents and your destiny,” Musembi said. “Your kidnapping and captivity are destiny. The times you have shared with Ojore in his camp were to create a chance for you to take him out. With your poisoning, Ojore shouldn’t be able to recover.” Musembi’s voice turned desperate. “But if he does, imagine how angry he’ll be with you.”

“If what you’re saying is true, then my whole life is a big lie.” Sholei took a step back from Musembi.

”You have a cruel destiny. I thought I could shield you from it, but I failed.” Musembi reached for her again. “We have to get away before Ojore gets here.”

“I will not go anywhere with you.” Sholei rushed for the door and left Musembi behind. She wanted to leave Musembi, her secrets, and the lies.

She hadn’t steppedoutside the cell door into the night before a group of alliance soldiers surrounded her. Their weapons were drawn, and their attire streaked with blood, torn and burned. Each sported visible, fresh wounds. Their grim faces twisted in angry scowls directed at her.

“Are you trying to escape?” the leader asked her, his voice stern. He approached her with a drawn sword. He had lost his helmet, revealing his wild hair that had been charred by flames.

“I don’t have any quarrel with you,” Sholei answered, her eyes fixated on the blood-coated sword. One wrong move, and she would die.

“She is a traitor and deserves to die, General Kangemi,” a younger soldier screamed, an ugly gash on his head.

In a blind fury, he charged forward, his weapon directed at Sholei’s chest.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” she shouted, her voice desperate as she dodged his aim. The sharp blade sliced her upper arm and tore at her clothes. She removed the small dagger Tula handed her and braced herself. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

“You countered the poison meant to kill Dembe soldiers. We know you healed them, and because of that, our people are being slaughtered in the battle.” General Kangemi breathed and flexed the sword in his red right hand. Sholei’s pulse thundered in her throat. She couldn’t die, not yet.

“We barely survived the Dembe onslaught, but if we are going to die, we are taking you down with us.” He pointed his sword at Sholei. “You set free the beast that annihilated your people.”

Musembi came out and was surrounded and pushed toward Sholei. “Cover your face,” she murmured to Sholei, who obliged, knowing what was coming next.

Musembi sprayed the powder from her waist around her and created a white mist that spread all over them. The soldiers coughed and spat as the poison entered their eyes and noses. One by one, they fell to the ground.

“Let’s go.” Musembi dragged her by the wrist from the fallen soldiers.

Under the shroud of night, they navigated out of the prison. Sholei had been confined outside the palace grounds. She followed Musembi’s lead as they used the back streets to avoid everyone. The routes they took were silent, and hardly anyone was in sight. With the threat of Dembe at their gates, everyone retreated to the safety of their homes.

Sholei’s legs felt as if they were encased in leaden shackles, each step an arduous endeavor. Were it not for Musembi’s support, she might not have been able to move at all. Apart from the Dembe, they had to watch for the alliance soldiers. Sholei wanted to curse the wind.

“If we could get to the lake, I know someone who would help us cross to the other side,” Musembi explained when they reached the edges of the forest. They steered clear of the medicine yard in case more soldiers were after them.

“Since my fate is this cruel, you don’t have to share it.” Sholei snapped from her dreamlike state. With the Dembe occupation, it wouldn’t be safe if she stayed around. She didn’t know what the future held for her, but Musembi didn’t have to go through the trenches with her. Musembi forsook everything she knew and her home for her—a castaway child.

“How about we journey to the Faye Islands? Don’t you have dreams of being an Imperial Physician?” Musembi asked, and Sholei stopped in her tracks. “The Imperial Physicians are protected by a special code and spared the continent’s politics. No one will dare to attack you if you take refuge there.”

“How can you bring up the Faye Islands at this time when you’ve done everything to try to stall my dreams?” Sholei tried to control the anger in her voice. “Why did you raise me, Musembi? It seemed like I was an inconvenience to you from the beginning.”

“Do you think I wanted to be saddled with a child like you?” Musembi’s jaws ticked. “You are more trouble than it’s worth, but I concede. I’m at fault for not speaking up due to my fears. When you were kidnapped, I knew I couldn’t keep shielding you from your destiny.”

“There is no use saying this now.” Sholei sighed. She didn’t want to fight with Musembi anymore. “If you return to Mukuru, you’ll resume your life and won’t have to deal with thistroubleanymore.”

“And where will you go?” Musembi’s eyes glinted in the dark.

”There is no safe place for me in this world. I have managed to anger everyone. To the alliance, I messed with their plans to eradicate the Dembe soldiers. To the Dembe, I doubt if Ojore will let me go. Tula might be dead trying to help me, and now I have made you a traitor. Tell me again, where can I go?” Sholei lamented in the cool evening. The half-moon provided light, but the heavy foliage prevented it from reaching the forest floor.It was by muscle memory they remembered the path they took while they foraged for herbs.

“That is why we are getting away from all of this. It will be a fresh start for both of us” Musembi stepped over an overgrown tree root. “The priest also said you will find more answers in the Faye Islands, but your journey will be rife with danger. That was the reason I prevented you from going to the islands. I thought if you stayed put in the medicine yard, you could evade your fate, but it seems your fate is attached to the islands. I can’t stop it.”

“Even if I become a physician, with my reputation, who will dare employ me in their court?” Sholei chuckled sarcastically. “And if you’re right about the prophecy, how will I outrun destiny? Nothing but death waits me down this path.”

“You’re going to give up? That’s not your style,” Musembi said. “The Faye Islands have always been your dream.”

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