Maliha

Maliha wasted no time.

The moment the creature engaged in a ferocious battle with the wolf, she spun around to face Enzo. She quickly took in his dishevelled face and body before scouring the clearing for a safe place to hide.

She put his bleeding body and teary face to the back of her mind as she tried to think clearly. As much as she was tempted run from the beast, she knew that eventually one of the animals would win the fight and inevitably give chase. She didn’t believe that they could get far enough to be safe. Not with Maliha’s wounded foot and Enzo’s bleeding body. She wouldn’t risk it. Maybe if it were only her, but she had to Think of Enzo now and the boy was hurting, weak and tired.

“Run to the tree, climb it.” Maliha whispered urgently.

Tears clung to Enzo’s ruddy cheeks but he hastily obeyed Maliha and sprinted to a tall tree that stood to the outskirts of the clearing. Her breath halted as she watched him scale his way up the tree. Her gaze flickering back and forth between the bloody fight and Enzo. Once he had climbed high enough into the tree so that none of the creatures could reach him, Maliha slowly began to retreat. Each foot step was slow as she paid extra care not bring attention to herself, but the animals were too busy.

The moment Maliha’s back thudded against the tree, she spun around and began climbing it, her hands shaking until she was perched high into the branches near Enzo.

“Are you okay,” she croaked, perusing over his body to make sure there were no serious wounds.

Enzo nearly dropped from the tree as a loud clap of thunder rattled above them followed by blinding bolt of lightning. Maliha clung to the large branch she was perched on, whilst sticking her hand out for Enzo to slowly move to her. Her gaze was narrowed as she watched him slowly climb from the small branch he had been clinging to until he was sinking down into her larger and much sturdier branch.

Apart from the dirt and grime that coated his skin, and the blood that coated his knee form his fall, Enzo looked fine. He was a little scared and traumatised, but Enzo wasn’t seriously hurt and Maliha knew that as soon as she gave him her love and comfort, his worries would lessen.

As soon as he was seated, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his back flush to her stomach. Her chin dropped to rest on his head as she sucked in lung falls of his scent. Though Enzo was six, there was something about his scent that reminded Maliha her of the milky powdery scent of babies. He was her baby and she guarded him like a lion would her cub. She cradled him in her arms and murmured soothing words as the animal fought viscount.

There was no competition.

The creature was almost triple size of the wolf. Its paw larger than the wolf’s head.

It moved with grace and precision, each strike defensive as if it didn’t want to crush the animal before it. It was bizarre. The creature acted as if it were hesitant to attack, whereas the wolf held no such reservations. The wolf nipped at the creature’s hind.

Jagged teeth and claws ripping into the rich midnight pelt of the creature and yet the creature did not make the killing some. The creatures body was tense as it swatted at each of the wolf’s attacks but the persistent of the wolf was beginning to win out.

Blood spurted from the creature’s shoulders as the wolf sunk its teeth in deep, tugging at flesh and tissue.

Maliha clenched Enzo tighter to her body and forced him to close his eyes. She didn’t want him to be further traumatised by the death of the creature that had taken up battle to protect them. The sharp bolts of lightning and the thunder added to the sense of sadness that was building inside Maliha.

The tree shook as the lightning struck nearby.

“It’s okay, Enzo,” Maliha hushed him soothingly, trying to quiet his frantic sobbing.

The thunder and lightning worsened. The sky was grey with clouds and rain pelted down on their skin like the sharp eyes of the hungry wolf.

Blood dropped from its muzzled as its incisors tore through the crumpled creatures skin.

The earth trembled with the wolf’s growl as it charged at the tree.

Maliha gripped the branch beneath them with one hand as the wolf head butted the tree. The tree did not move but the vibration carried to their perch and along with the harsh clanging of the weather, increased Maliha’s worry. Branches and leaves tumbled to the floor as nature matched the crazed and vicious energy of the wolf

Enzo’s crying grew louder as the wolf’s howling and growling became more aggravated. The animal kept head butting the tree as if it would dislodge them from the tree. The wolf was demented. A crazed look in its eyes as it snarled up at them.

The wolf backed up a few steps and charged at the tree with a force that Maliha knew would cause some damage. A pale bolt of lightning flashed through the sky and struck the earth just as the wolf lunged. From the pale bolt, A black blur shot across the earth and tumbled into the wolf.

Maliha’s eyes widened as the lightening seemed to channel into the spikes and tail of the creature. It’s majestic head rearing back as it roared to the sky. Nature responded back with its own clanging clash of thunder. Lightning shot from the curved spikes of the creatures back, flinging the wolf back into a nearby tree. An awful crack splintered the air as the wolf crashed into a tree, the bark snapping beneath the force.

Disoriented and angry, the wolf stumbled to its feet, hobbling as blood oozed from its coat.

The creature seemed to grow under the tumultuous weather, it’s body elongating until it was almost the size of a horse. Blue flashes of lightning flickered form it’s eyes as it stood territorially in front of the tree. Maliha saw the wolf hesitate for a moment but it had too much ride or perhaps its last meal had been that long ago and the desperation for a meal was its motivation. Whatever the case, the wolf wasn’t giving up and neither was the creature.

The wolf released a sharp whiny as it staggered a few feet and lunged for the creature. The creature moved with feline grace. The black fur of its coat rippling as its large lithe body, coiled and then sprung like a snake. It’s long pointed tail wrapped around the wolf’s neck as the creature’s large canines sank into the wolf’s neck. Crushing through flesh and bone. Lightening shot from its take and electrified the wolf.

The wolf’s body fell limp to the floor. Its life essence oozing into the earth as the creature postured over the dead animal. The smell of singed fur and burning flesh was strong in the air. The earth was smothered with blood even as the rain tried to wash away the death of one of nature’s children.

The creature paced over the limp body of the wolf. It’s head rising every few moments to look up at the tree where Maliha held Enzo. The creature looked confused, indecisive even. Maliha shifted in her seat, hesitating with whether she should make her move or wait for their defendant to retreat.

Tears gathered in Maliha’s eyes as the creature sent a mournful song up into the sky, a song full of loss and regret. The hairs on Maliha’s skin stood at an end as the air quivered around them with energy.

The earth seemed to pulse where the creature stood, the rain rippling in a vortex of whipping wind. Maliha covered her eyes from the harsh gush of wind. Her head smacking back into the tree as the wind crashed throughout the clearing. The weather rattled above her in a final clash and then everything was still. Eerily silent. Maliha’s eyes slowly opened as the dark skies cleared and gave way to sunshine.

In the centre of the clearing writhed a shifting body. Fur moulted to the ground in thick black chunks as the animal preened and growled.

Before Maliha’s very eyes, the thick black hairs of the feline creature retreated and in its place was a woman with skin almost the same midnight hue as the creature’s fur. Her thick black hair reached up to the sun and dropped down her back as she stretched on the floor as naked as the day she was born. The woman’s naked form was spattered with blotches of white. Her body was like a canvas of artwork, each white mark blending into her black flesh flawlessly. The sizes and shapes merging into one as if they told a story.

Enzo whispered his confusion but Maliha softly hushed him. Her eyes were peeled to the woman whose skin was smeared with blood as if she had been fighting and, in an essence, she had.

The woman staggered over to the wolf before sinking into the earth. Her fingers sunk into the wolf’s pelt as her mouth moved in a silent chant. Her fingers dipped into the blood of the wolf and then smeared it against her wound before rubbing her bloody fingers into the earth. Her finger spread into the damp grass, her head tilting to the ground as she prayed. When her head lifted again Maliha could see that tears lined one of her cheeks. Did she cry for the wolf?

Maliha’s heart quivered at the small glimpse of pain she could see from the female’s side profile. The grief was plain to see on the females face and still Maliha hesitated. When the woman’s sobs grew louder, Maliha shifted Enzo onto a separate branch.

“Stay here” she commanded, giving Enzo a stern look when he hesitated.

“I am serious Enzo. I don’t know who that woman is and though she appears to be a friend, I can’t trust her with you. Not until I know it’s safe. You mean too much to me.”

“I love you, umahu.”

Enzo leaned over and gave Maliha a firm kiss on her lips, his small arms wrapping tightly around her as if he feared she would leave him.

“I promise to call you down as soon as it is safe.”

Maliha gave him a final firm look before slowly climbing down the tree. The branches were damp from the rain, making her journey that much dangerous. She almost slipped a few times, but her grip remained true as she finally thudded to the ground.

She hesitated beneath the shaded crop of the tree before making her way towards the sobbing female. A prayer on her lips as she slowly approached the woman.

The woman’s head snapped back at the squelching sound of the wet grass beneath Maliha’s feet. Feline dark eyes glanced back at Maliha with a knowing look.

“I know you.” Maliha stammered, her feet weakening at the woman’s familiar face.

The woman’s face brought Maliha back to a time of her life when she was so vulnerable and had been begging for a chance to belong.

“Yes, Maliha” the woman croaked, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I am Nkechi, you lived with my tribe some years ago.”

“Yes, your mother was the shaman who healed me after a child shot me with a poisonous arrow.”

Nkechi was the daughter of the shaman of the Feri tribe. Her mother had been the person everyone had gone to for spiritual guidance, even the healer who Maliha had lived with for those long months had gone to her for assistance. Maliha couldn’t remember talking to Nkechi back then, but she remembered the girl, a person with such distinct features and skin was hard to miss or forget.

“Yes, my father was not happy that she would waste her Majic on you, but mother said you had a strong spirit. I didn’t see it then, but I can see now. You mean me no harm, just as I mean you none. You can tell the boy to come down from the tree.”

Nkechi projected her final words so Enzo could hear her words but Maliha stuck her hand out to halt the eager boy.

“Here,” Maliha pulled some clothing from her bag and handed it to Nkechi. The woman wasn’t much taller than Maliha, but her hips were wider, her body more developed than Maliha was.

“Thank you.”

Maliha bobbed her head in acceptance as she waited for Nkechi to clothe herself before reeling off the questions that were plaguing her mind

“What are you doing so far from home and what was that creature?”

Even as a human Nkechi had a way about her movement and gestures that reminded Maliha of her feline counterpart, so much so that Nkechi’s words did not surprise her.

“The creature is me and I am the creature. We are one. As to why I am so far from home? The Night Lady guided me here. She whispered in my dreams and touched my heart so that I could find my new path, but that is not what you want to hear is it, Maliha, daughter of Kaori?”

Air gushed from Maliha’s lips as Nkechi seemed to look through her entirely, her brows knitting with confusion before her lips titled up in approval.

“Call your son down and I will tell you all. No harm will come to your boy, Enzo.”

Maliha tried to hide her shock as she retreated away from Nkechi and headed to the tree. The woman had the sight, though she did not seem to go into a trance like Makula or a seizure like Darsan, it was clear that Nkechi had the sight. For how else, would she know Maliha’s heritage and Enzo’s name.

Maliha stood beneath the tree and called Enzo down. “Be careful,” she snapped when the boy nearly missed a branch and almost tumbled to the ground.

“The branches are wet so don’t… Rush,” huffed Maliha as the boy ignored her words and continued tumbling down the trees.

The moment his feet thudded on the earth she crouched down in front of him and gripped his arms.

“We are going to have a serious conversation about you heeding my words later on,” she grumbled cleaning the leaves from his clothes and then pulling him along with her.

“Hello Enzo, son of Ria and Maliha, I am Nkechi, daughter of Zira and Matin,”

Enzo looked up at Maliha for confirmation before gripping Nkechi’s wrist awkwardly. Nkechi’s eyes widened with delight at his gesture.

“What a smart child, you know of which nation I hail from.”

His headed nodded slowly as he muttered a reluctant response.

“My mother Ria, told me that only two nations can shift forms. The Draganik and the N’galiki. She said the Draganik don’t like touching people too much and so they greet each other with a fist over their hearts. But you aren’t a Draganir.”

Maliha’s eyes watered at the way Enzo spoke so easily about his mother, even with her Enzo struggled to mention his mother. The most Maliha had gotten was her name and her physical description. Every so often, Enzo would mention something that Maliha believed his mother had told him but when she pushed him, Enzo told her he couldn’t remember. Maliha had always assumed that because his mother had died when Enzo was so young his lack of memory was normal. However, maliha now knew the truth. Enzo’s had been holding back information. The boy was special and Maliha had a feeling his mother had been too.

“That was a reasonable deduction, Enzo” smiled Nkechi, “You are correct. I am from the N’galiki Nation as the Dahsolik refer to us. The creature you saw is called a Dahara, a spirit guide, though your people call us N’gala.”

“Are they not the same?”

Nkechi’s slanted eyes bulged wide as lightning flicked beneath within her orbs.

“No,” she spat, “To be Dahara means we are guided by spirits, our ancestors live within us and we are warriors because of them. To be N’gala means to be a skin shifter. It is a derogatory term as it removes us from our heritage and from The Night Ladies light.”

“Yes well, I didn’t mean to offend you,” apologised Maliha but Nkechi dismissed the apology.

“I am sorry, I just hate how my people are treated.”

Nkechi didn’t mention by who, but from her previous words it was clear that the Dahsolik nation looked down on Nkechi’s people. it was a shame that people who had once been united as one were so distant to each other.

“I don’t know much of the Dahsolik people or their reasons for looking at your people the way they do, but I know the Der Surjaz and some of the Der Khatil. Though they can be stubborn and harsh, they are good people with good hearts.

“Perhaps, you can come with us on our journey and maybe change the way the Dahsolik see your people?”

Nkechi pondered Maliha’s words, her eyes glazing over in that way that the Alhasmiji did. her lashes flickered once, twice and hen the glazed look was ebbing from her eyes and replaced by a firmness that eluded to Nkechi’s decision.

“The Nah Barros have dreamed of you for years, I cannot impose on such a moment, but I would be honoured to guide you both home.”

It was more than Maliha had hoped for.