Mystery Loves Company

By Allan Tsisaga

Nikko, who lost his parents goes back to the place they had been murdered in a mysterious event, hoping to find closure. When he gets there though, he's trapped in a web of mysterious events and surprises. He unknowingly fall in love with a vampire, Kela who struggles with an existential crisis and walking the invisible line between right and selfish.

Nikko discovers that he is of the bloodline of supernatural hunters, and that Kela is one of the monsters he is supposed to hunt. While he feels appalled and betrayed, a part of him preserves the belief that Kela is good in deed. This will make him fight for her love when unlikely alliances will be made to face a common threat. While all odds and all rules are against their union, their magnetism only grows, especially when Nikko learns that Kela had saved him on the night his parents died.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Allan Tsisaga
• Release date: Aug 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005031268

Allan Tsisaga

I'm a twenty six year old writer and entrepreneur of Kenyan origin. I achieved a diploma in Business management from Strathmore University. I currently pursue a degree in Biotechnology from Technical University of Kenya. I am more of a concept person more than a numbers' person, because I believe in strong foundations and divergent thinking, since this is the crux of evolution and beneficial change.

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COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2020 ALLAN WATIMA TSISAGA

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book either are a product of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any similarity to events, establishments, locations or actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Cover design by: Jackson Moses

DEDICATION

The idea for this book was initially intended for a poem. However, I couldn’t stop thinking of more subsidiary ideas to spice up the story- ideas which could depict various aspects of the society in an imaginative way. So, I started writing a story, without any idea about how it would end, how long it would be nor what I would do with it when it would be complete. My passion to write this story ensured that I expressed everything exactly the way I wanted, and after some thicks and thins, space bars and backspaces, here it is. I have learnt so much which is related to writing and even much more which isn’t related to writing, which I wouldn’t have hadn’t I decided to write this story.

I dedicate this book to you who has bohemian ideas, but are afraid of exploiting them for certain reasons. I want you to know that the most important thing is starting to work on those ideas. Start from anywhere, however, disorderly it would seem, and like a magnet, you will pull solutions to you. Everything would be aligned in order as your vision would get pristine.

I dedicate this book to you who feels inadequate, like you can’t perform up to the standards which others have set. You who are about to give up on your dreams because things get more complicated with every step forward. To you, life seems to be a relentless monster. Well, if a monster seems too big to face, break it down. If you want it to understand reason, humanise it. Therefore, focus on one thing at a time, because all complex things are just a collation of smaller systems that can be easily managed. Also know that solutions are like humor- they can be found anywhere.

Finally, I give a special dedication to my mother, Penninah, and father, Solomon, who have always loved and supported me unconditionally. A special dedication also goes to the rest of my immediate and extended family for always being by my side and supporting me my whole life. I love you all. To all my friends, old and new, I specially thank you and dedicate this book to you, for all the experiences we’ve shared. They have shaped me into who I am today. I cherish you all.

PREFACE

I have always been intrigued by human behaviour and the rules that nature adheres to. We know some general principles like; Action and reaction, thus, for growth to be effected, a system has to undergo some sort of constructive stress; the only constant thing is change.

As a child, I used to believe just like everyone else, that I would grow up, get a decent job, start a family and live happily ever after, problem free. As an adult, life experiences showed me that problems will never end and that when we grow, the size of our problems grows with us. It is the dynamic of human behaviour and nature. We are the indirect cause of our problems since we are always striving for improvement.

Another thing I found interesting is that there are always some individuals controlling others insidiously. It is a globalisation era and thus and thus worldwide trends are abundant. Those who understand human behaviour can manipulate others if they have the right resources and strategies. For instance, people may do something or be ardent supporters of a trend or movement, thinking that it was their idea, when in reality, they were indirectly made to think so by the person who came up with the idea.

It is a time when there is as much awareness as there is brainwashing and as much enduring issues as there is rapid change. This knowledge, on the baseline of nature’s rules, was my inspiration for this book. I used the world of fantasy as a metaphor, so that I could give a non-political, thrilling and entertaining feel of the story and, well, because I love vampire stories. This is the first book on the series Red Libation. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Allan Watima Tsisaga, 2020

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ENGLISH TERMS

Blood mode – The state that a vampire is in when goes for attack.

Conscience of Magic – The collective magic sense that leached into the land due to the acts of supernatural creatures.

Hunter – A supernatural but human-like creature whose main purpose is hunting and killing supernatural monsters.

Mali Empire – Real-life empire which existed in the fourteen hundreds in West Africa. This is the plave where the Kavana witches and their families escaped from due to oppression.

Posho mill – A small scale maize/posho milling machine. The flour, which is the end product can be used to make ugali or porridge.

Rain Bow – A large, complex bow wielded by Hunters, which can shoot up to five arrows at a time.

Scaciddy – (Kodanese dialect) Nectar from a flower which grows exclusively in Kodana. It burns vampire flesh and could kill it if the vampire is exposed to it in large amounts.

Seer – (Kodanese dialect) A supernatural person with the magical powers to manipulate matter through spells and has the ability to see a person’s past, present, possible future and other general calamitous futures.

Sunmark – A mark which new vampires are given to enable them to walk in the sun.

Were-lion – A supernatural creature that can shape shift from human to lion and vice versa.

SWAHILI TERMS

Nyamachoma – Roasted steak. Popular delicacy in Kenya.

Ugali – Maize meal popular in East Africa.

Busaa – Kenyan slang for a thick alcoholic drink made from fermented maize, millet and/or sorghum.

KODANESE LANGUAGE TERMS

Adzro – Extremely potent sedative/depressant plant whose red leaves are chewed by vampires.

Amakudza – Sacred portion from the seer’s collection. It could be weaponised to cause mania and cannibalism on supernatural creatures.

Amena – Humans.

Baami – Army/squad.

Birito – Metallic hammer/ mallet that has a gong on one side and a large spike on the other.

Buma – Large, grey reptilian creature with poison in its saliva and talons.

Bumakali – Special concoction intended to destroy bumas.

Djebanki – A large spear connected to a special sword, used by Hunters.

Djinino – Strongest alcoholic drink made by mixing blood plasma with adzro then fermenting.

Dzaida – Figurehead; leader of the vampire and the supernatural community at large. Has senses that are superior to other vampires.

Dzango – A housing unit for vampires. Each new vampire is affiliated to one of these.

Dzarati – Special serrated daggers used by Hunters.

Dzarii – Idiots. Singular- idzari.

Dzemuho – Kodanese battle cry.

Dzoga – Car.

Dzukodana – Outsider in Kodana or doesn’t belong to Kodana.

Funigo – Ink used to draw tattoos on supernatural creature’s skins.

Gabaa – Curse word.

Gumu – Special stones found in the wasteland, Bakiwako, which are magically potent.

Kavana – Original pact/ clan of witches who escaped from the Mali Empire to East Africa.

Krakamu – A Hunter’s weapon, which is a long, metallic chain with spikes and daggers at either ends.

Kobidjuga – First milestone towards Hunter-hood ordainment. It mostly entails martial arts training.

Konabi – One of the ingredients used in making an all-deadly weapon known as bumakali.

Kooki – Part of the scent masks applied in a procedure to mask a vampire’s scent.

Kitutuki – Nutritive drug used and abused by vampires.

Manawo – Upgraded vampires which resemble humans. They are made to walk in the sunlight without a sunmark.

Maroku – Depressant plant mixed with blood to form a nutritive drug known as kitutuki.

Mugorongoti – Plant which was sprung into existence by the Conscience of Magic. It’s the plant whose flower scaciddy is extracted from.

Rimio – One of the ingredients in making the extremely potent weapon known as bumakali.

Talidz – A scent mask used together with kooki. It is applied on top of kooki, to make the creature completely odorless.

Tamanaki – Sacred, short swords wielded by Hunters.

Umi – Darling.

Vaiku – Ordinary vampires.

Vdzaa – Attack signal.

Wogami – The first vampires.

Wuhuraka – Retreat order.

CHAPTER 1

There beat a peculiar rhythm inside the heart of East Africa’s apex, Kenya. It was savage energy with a shy halo. Standing at nine hundred metres above sea level, Mount Gogoma was the name of the mystery. A crater lake brimmed the top. From a distant, traverse view, it looked like a trophy cup, with a union of hands struggling to strangle it.

Maybe it was, since the immediate surroundings of Gogoma only consisted of the vast wasteland land, Bakiwako, which was full of mammoth rocks, human waste and unethical wildlife. People liked to theorise about this strange and pristine contrast, and most commonly, about the dwellers of Gogoma. Gogoma was so different from the rest of the world, that some people believed that hell had burst open and vomited the creatures onto the mountain with the lava.

Stories ran that the creatures found human food unpalatable so they turned on humans, who they found delicious. Some even argued that these creatures were scary behemoths capable of superhuman feats. That they shape shifted into dazzling humans so that they could fit among them and lure them to their gory ends. The stories kept developing and twisting in different communities over the years that no one believed them anymore.

In reality, the stories were just smokescreens that had been manufactured to conceal the horror smoldering beneath. Powerful witches, vampires, were-lions and grotesque reptilian abominations called bumas flourished in Gogoma for over five hundred years. They were mostly found on the windward side, in the town of Kodana. This was the hub of magic. The creatures were at their most powerful in it. They were discrete, insidious and they, especially the vampires, were significantly smarter than humans.

They charmed with their exquisite beauty, humor and resourcefulness. They drank their blood and used their power of hypnosis to make them forget the events. The were-lions stayed in the shadows mostly since they were easily triggered to turn into their bestial forms in an event of maddening pain and exasperation. The bumas were forever in their monstrous shape, so they never saw daylight. They operated with instinctual, lizard brains. They were beasts which were incapable of rational thinking.

They became unpredictable and raided human homes, killing much more than they ate. Vampires felt it was like a pest invasion on their food source. Due to this, conflict among the creatures ensued. Though the bumas were much stronger than all the creatures, their incapacity to strategise gave the vampires an upper hand. The vampires were also the only race capable of siring others of their kind in less than a day. While others had to reproduce, vampires simply turned humans into vampires.

This, combined with their wits kept them on top as the dominant race. The witches, despite their immense power of manipulating matter, had less numbers and had bodies as mundane as humans, therefore they could not stop the vampires. Bumas almost made the were-lions extinct. Many were-lions escaped to the other side of the mountain, Djiwola, where they became less powerful, but safe. Some escaped to other parts of the country and the world. A new start, they thought. A shot at a normal life, they sought.

However, since they were out of their primordial birth place, they became be even weaker than most humans. Their bodies were suspended in pain and degraded faster than humans since they needed the magic that birthed them to keep them intact. Back in Kodana, vampires reigned as judge, jury and more often than not, exterminators of transgressors.

Death would be the penalty for any supernatural creature that killed humans. This law was enforced, but just like any society, complications arose. Evolutionaries evolved, revolutionaries revolted, stories inspired and expired, and thanks to this, an immortal story was born.

********

It was not just an ordinary evening in Kodana, the estranged, attractive town on Mount Gogoma. On this day, the town marked fifteen years since the most devastating massacre in their history had been witnessed. It was five p.m. The streets were lit with torches, lanterns and candles. A mixture of music, conversations, natural perfumes, excitement and colourful decorations formed the ambience.

From the way people crowded the streets, whether marching, chanting, or just moving, one could tell that they had a deep culture which they felt strongly towards. About one kilometre north of the celebration, an extraordinarily large church sat unwelcomingly silent. Next to it were the Pastor’s and Ministers’ office in one building. The two buildings were both painted cream on the outside and the roofs were shiny black tiles.

Inside the Ministers’ office, a clean-shaved, middle-aged minister with hazel eyes sat, clad in a black robe. On one hand, he held an older generation bible and on the other, he held a wooden bottle, which he drank from. Suddenly, he looked startled then capped the bottle quickly. He then went to the door and waited. A moment later, someone knocked on the door. He let the person in.

It was a boy, about eighteen years of age, with a mortified look on his face. He sat on the chair next to the minister. As silence lingered, they could hear the event’s celebrations. The boy tilted his head towards the noise.

I’m sorry, the pastor is not in. But I can pray with you, the minister offered.

It’s okay. I just want to face my demons, in God’s presence.

He’s with you, son, said the minister as he held the boy’s shoulder.

You know, previously, I dismissed the Lord’s existence yet I believed in demons.

I understand, son. Reason strengthens faith. It’s why people only believe in God when they get lucky. That’s what God has been reduced to. Luck.

Don’t you feel lucky minister?

Well, not lucky but blessed by God.

You were blessed with eternal life.

Well, of course a life of righteousness is rewarded with eternal life, and—

But you live eternally at the expense of others, the boy interrupted with certainty in his voice and face.

What?

You can’t help yourself. Even now you contemplate dining from my jugular.

With blurry speed, the minister held the boy in air by his neck, using one hand. A pitch-black sheath covered the minister’s eyes, and his canines extended to about three inches.

Now you poked a monster, the minister growled.

No. You did.

Though his eyes stayed normal, the boy’s canines extended to be four-inch fangs that gleamed as saliva dripped from them. He ripped through the surprised ministers’ neck with one slash of his three-inch claws. The minister dropped the boy, as his blood sprung all over the room. The boy licked the blood that fell around his mouth. He then crudely plunged his arm into the minister’s chest. He used the other arm to hold the minister’s neck as he dug his fangs into it and drank his blood to the last drop.

********

On the central street of the town, a noisy, small, green car eased away from the convoy and parked neatly on the side. A well-built man carrying a notebook alighted from it. He took a glance at either side of his flank then walked into the building in front of him. A bar. His name was Nikko and he was in love with any place that offered great whisky. Despite the head turns he caused when he walked in, Nikko headed on towards the bar directly in a way which implied that he wasn’t a new comer.

That was just Nikko being Nikko though. He quickly blended in wherever he went. Despite his mild awkwardness, being fairly light-skinned and the intense look he always had, he never seemed out of place. His nurtured confidence and focus always kept him unbothered. Now, at twenty three years old, he had the superficial demeanour of an accomplished man ten years his senior. He scrubbed the bushy scruff on his chin as he panned the room.

From the people seated, who wore sun glasses in a room that seemed to conserve natural light, the smell of stale herbs, to traditional murals on the blackest of walls he knew… everything was queer and out of place to him. He was the one out of place though. The last time he had been in Kodana, he had been eight years old and that had been exactly fifteen years ago.

Hey, what’s up with the guys in here? He asked the bartender.

She stared at him for a moment then minded her business.

The darkness is too bright for them or what? He pushed on.

She slapped a bottle onto the table heavily and everything went mute, as if it wasn’t already.

Hey guys, he wants to know why you’re all wearing shades, she shouted, pointing Nikko.

The subtle light at the bar revealed her face like black light as the people in the bar laughed irritatingly loudly to her statement. Nikko thought her face looked chaotic. She had black lips, compound wrinkles around her mouth and lazy, chubby cheeks disfiguring her profile.

He felt that her pitch-black skin was misty as if she had applied wet chalk instead of makeup. Her hair looked like it would all be blown off her head were strong wind to blow by it. Nikko wanted to get the image off his head. He looked around to see the people still laughing. He decided he’d had enough of this bar already. He was walking towards the door when the fat bartender spoke out.

"Carry all your confusion with you, dzukodana!" Dzukodana meant Outsider in Kodana.

Just as he was about to turn, his hat fell beside him. The revellers didn’t laugh any more. They maintained stern, cold faces. Nikko just picked his hat and pushed himself outside. I knew I shouldn’t have come back! - He said to himself as he started the car. He put his hands on the steering wheel and noticed that they were sweaty. He wondered if his anxiety was seeping back tenfold. He had never forgotten his hat, until today. He picked the hat from the seat and wore it, feeling like he would have forgotten it there.

He now needed his whisky more than ever. He would just find a decent place. If there is any. Up ahead, half a kilometre away, the marching crowd settled. It was where all roads led to, he figured. A strong smell of incense awakened his nostrils. Star-like candlelight and lanterns decorated the gathering up ahead. The car started inconveniently slowly. Nikko cursed as if it was the first time it happened.

"Ancient town, receives revenue from a million visitors a month- for what? To rent me a 1965 Beetle? Gabaa!" He cursed in Kodanese as the car skidded forth.

He leered at the activities by the road side. Activities he thought of as confusion. It was cheap, hand to mouth businesses being done right in front of large corporate buildings. At least the road is so decent on the tyres- he thought.

********

Kela walked through the crowded commemoration square with a distracted look. She felt that she had had about enough of her catastrophic aunt. Her condescending voice still buzzed in her ears. Kela couldn’t even hear any of the good vibes coming from the celebration. For over five hundred years she had to put up with her aunt, and it had never gotten easier. She was of the original bloodline of vampires, called wogami in Kodanese, but she felt that much younger vampires or plain humans could handle this much better.

She thought that maybe it was time to trot the solitary journey. All this time, she walked through the crowded square as if she was walking on a thin alley. As she got to the other side, she was still lost in her own thoughts. She didn’t hear the coming car screeching, trying to avoid her until it hit a big tree head on. The impact brought back her awareness and she instantly realised what had happened. People were at the scene already, pulling the man out of the car.

The man, Nikko, had a gash on the left side of his forehead and possibly a mildly fractured arm. Apart from that and the confusion on his face, he looked fine. They laid him on the soft grass but before they could fully assess his condition, he forced himself up to sit, with one hand on his gash.

Hey! I’m fine! Uh, uh, don’t touch me, I’m good!

Nikko was so headstrong and always tried to play the hero. He then spotted Kela, who was confused on what to do. She saw him too. She was about to utter something but he beat her to it.

Hey you, girl wearing a beehive! You think it’s such a glorious day to die huh? He blurted, Well, you’ll have to try harder than that, like just hold your breath...

It’s at this moment that he saw her clearly. Before today, he had never liked dreadlocks, let alone light-grey dreadlocks. Gosh, her face is so eye candy, my eyes roll sweets on it. This was one of the times when he saw something for the first time but immediately recognised it for what it was. Autocorrect snap-judgments. The sagging, beige cardigan which Kela wore couldn’t conceal her full, generous bosom. Streamlined hoarders of succulence.

The breasts poked the cardigan and Nikko’s pleasure centre in his brain, as they complemented the rest of her impeccable curvature. As she slowly came closer, Nikko almost swallowed his Adam’s apple at the sight of the small space between her thighs that her hugging jeans left. Nikko was lost, as if the accident he had just had put him in a vegetative state.

Kela spoke but Nikko just saw her brown lips moving. To him it was the rhythm of a sensual song. What intrigued Nikko the most though, is that she had sparkling, grey eyes. The moment Kela moved her hand towards his face though, he jumped back to earth.

Hey, don’t! Don’t even worry about me, look at the poor car.

He never wanted to be seen as the soft kind of person he had felt he was his entire life. Also, the naive, hopeless romantic had been, died with his boyhood. All the echoes of his name in women apartments all over back home in Nairobi could attest to that.

Oh, sorry for her.

Yeah, rented from ‘yours faithfully’, he said, showing his sharp smile.

The moment became weird as they smiled and glanced at each other till paramedics broke the silence.

Why don’t you come with me, said the paramedic who seemed too calm to be one.

Nikko kept exchanging glances with Kela as he walked away. He took two steps then turned to see her watching him go.

Ahem, you are? Kela beat him to that question as if she read his mind.

Ladies first.

Okay. The accident made you a gentle man. I’m Kela… not Kayla.

As she said it she smelled something. Not the usual vampire odor. This would be undetectable to normal vampires. She thought it was probably a newbie looking to get lucky on such an occasion.

Okay, I’m Nik-ko, not Ni-ko, Nikko said and laughed wholeheartedly.

It became awkward since Kela didn’t join him in it. Kela saw a queer man sauntering through the crowd peering at people. He stood out of the crowd with his scalp touching the sky just an inch shy of seven feet. This wouldn’t help when facing Kela though. Kela wanted to monitor its movement but then she saw its crude claws extending menacingly.

Though she maintained her look, her mood had changed. She was in her most dangerous state. Nikko’s eyes darted from Kela to the frowning medic with stressed eyebrows. Feeling quite embarrassed, he decided to give a parting shot.

I’ll find you later so I can tell you better ways to die.

Hey, I have to go, Kela replied then strode off.

It was now six thirty p.m. Nikko spent the next two hours getting stitches, giving statements and leering at the speakers of the event coming and going off stage. So much for making a quiet entrance- Nikko thought as he touched his throbbing forehead. As he thought of what to do next, Kela’s image popped in his mind every thirty seconds. The event had reached its climax. People sang and danced traditionally in groups.

They all looked and wore different, reminding Nikko that these were people from different parts of the world. Tourists who had had their family struck down by incomprehensible forces. Forces which Nikko had had a glimpse of on the fateful day he had lost his parents. No one had believed the words of his eight-year-old self. Sooner than later, even he hadn’t believed it. He had dismissed it as a boy’s mind which was overwhelmed with loss.

Nikko’s face suddenly hardened then he walked eastwards towards the abandoned yet newly gated and protected cottages. One of these held the last memories of him and his parents. It held the reason why he hadn’t been back for fifteen years. For fifteen years he had sought the strength to come back. Now he had come, but not because he wanted to, but because he felt a strange compulsion to. He stopped on reaching the house at the bend. The house closest to River Rodze.

Every year, on this day, the gates to these cottages were opened for the survivors and relatives of the massacre victims to visit. This year, Nikko had gained the strength to visit and perhaps see if he could connect with the part of his soul that had been lost on this day, fifteen years ago. He leered at the house with mixed emotions. It just looked exactly as it had the last time he had been here. His mind pressed play on a million images flashing through it. He got to the door, breathed in heavily then opened it. The door to the lost piece of his soul.

CHAPTER 2

Kela stalked the vampire as it approached the estate from River Rodze. She hid in the long bent grass. Their nuanced hush combined with the warning hoot of the night owl gave her deja vu. She’d been on such endeavours so many times. It now felt like sport. The vampire vaulted over the fourteen-foot wall of fencing in