Ki Khanga by Milton Davis & Balogun Ojetade

Author:Milton Davis & Balogun Ojetade
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sword and soul, sword and sorcery, black speculative fiction, epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, steampunk
Publisher: MVmedia, LLC
Published: 2016-09-11T00:00:00+00:00

The Deal

By Balogun Ojetade

Tears cascaded down Zurah’s cocoa cheeks, soaking the collar of her tunic. A moist lump in Uqmal’s throat choked his words.

“It will happen, Zurah.”

“When,” Zurah cried. “When will I be blessed to hold our baby in my arms? To feel it suckle from my breasts? When, Uqmal?

“Soon,” Uqmal croaked.

“You have told me that every season, for the past three sun cycles,” Zurah hissed. “It is time to make it happen!”

“How?” Uqmal inquired. “Our magic has been unsuccessful.”

“A baby is spirit in flesh,” Zurah replied. “Magic cannot manipulate spirit; only Divine Power can.”

Uqmal grabbed his wife’s arm and pulled her away from the midwives’ tent.

“Have you lost your mind?” He whispered. “The Al-Askari will have our heads for even thinking about submitting ourselves to the Divine!”

“You know you don’t have to tell me,” Zurah said. “My father...my siblings...all Al-Askari. However, preservation of the bloodline is the one thing my family holds dearer than the protection of Fez. They will support me.”

“You’re serious?” Uqmal asked.

“I have already spoken to Zaakah,” Zurah replied. “She has agreed to accompany you to Targa, which should not raise any suspicion, as she travels with you on your expeditions all the time.”

“You want me to ask High Priest Yabo’Daan to intervene?” Uqmal asked, shaking his head. “Those Sand Elves can be a tricky lot.”

“The Shadi-Khain only uses chicanery for their protection, or to teach life-lessons,” Zurah replied. “They are not rogues like their Kel-Tamajaq neighbors.”

“How you lived amongst those dune dwellers for so long without losing your mind, or your virtue, is beyond me,” Uqmal said, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

“Had you not swept me off my feet, I would still be ambassador to Targa,” Zurah said. “The dunes are never dull.”

“One does not taste stew with another’s tongue,” Uqmal said with a shrug.

“So, will you go?” Zurah asked.

“Of course,” Uqmal sighed. “Anything for you, my love.”

Zurah clapped her hands and then leapt into Uqmal’s arms. They embraced and shared a kiss as torrid as the Fezzan plain.

* * *

Uqmal sat beside his sister-in-law, Zaakah and perused the colorful artwork etched into her copper skin. The tattoo of a dove flittered from one side of her neck to the other and then disappeared under the collar of her tunic. The tattoo of a spider on her right cheek fed on the tattoo of a horsefly.

“How long before we arrive at the oasis of the Shadi-Khain?” Zaakah inquired, massaging the fresh tattoo of a great-spear on the middle finger of her left hand.

Uqmal closed his eyes and inhaled, allowing his mind to become one with the residue of consciousness that fueled the oga’koi-koi – the “Sand Creeper” – whose corpse had served as Uqmal’s transport on his many hunts for magic relics throughout the lands of Ki-Khanga.

“We should arrive by tomorrow morning. However, we will surface in an hour or so to fill the oga’koi-koi with fresh air.”

“Good,” Zaakah said. “My companions are restless. They long for the sun upon my skin.”

“The Al-Askari have strange and fearsome magic,” Uqmal said.

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