“Mr. Assante, can I talk to you for a moment?” I ask, peeking into his office.
Finding out the truth about what happened to my parents during the Bralba invasion is an important piece that’s missing from my memory. He is the closest credible source, and until I can get Kynani to unlock that part of my mind, he can fill in the blanks.
He’s opened a few books on his massive desk, writing something down and then checking the information in the book, switching up every few seconds. He barely acknowledges me as he continues his work. “Sure, Yasir, what is on your mind?”
I don’t feel like beating around the bush. Here goes nothing. “The Bralba Invasion.”
He stops writing, looking up at me like speaking that into existence sends a shock through his body. He removes his glasses and motions for me to take a seat. “I guess, sooner or later, you would want to find out more about that time. Are you sure you want to hear about what happened? I do not want to dredge up any bad memories for you.”
“Well, I’ve been told that my memories were suppressed and that it’ll take a Vodaran priestess to unlock them, so I think we might be safe.” I’m doing my best to keep my rising fear at bay, but the closer I get to hearing about it, the more I don’t want to move forward. “No one will tell me what happened to my parents. I don’t know if they were heroes, or victims, or anything.”
“I don’t know if I’m the right person to…”
“Sir, with respect, you’re probably the best person to tell me what happened. You knew my parents, and you know all things related to Kindara…” I rub the back of my neck, hoping I can handle whatever he has to say. “It will help me connect with them, if that makes sense.”
Kairo gets up from behind his desk, then ambles over to the bookshelf on the left side of the office. He thumbs through the spines of each book on the shelves, sliding from left to right until he finds what he’s looking for. “Here it is, the Bralba Invasion, including timelines, major figures involved, everything you need to know.”
He has to be kidding, right?
I almost throw the book against the wall. I don’t care if Gamba awakens; this is an insult to my intelligence. “Mr. Assante, I can do a Google search and find what I need if I had to do a social science project. Had the invasion never happened, you would’ve been the closest person outside of my father as any man in my life. I need your help…please.”
Kairo sighs, sitting in the chair next to me, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I do not mean to be dismissive, Yasir. That day…it is still hard for many of us to talk about. It was hard for me to compile the information you have in your hands. I can promise you that you cannot find what I have learned in a Google search.”
“But I lost almost everyone I loved. My culture, our culture, was hidden from me for reasons that still don’t make sense.” My voice cracks, and I feel small for letting it happen. “This is another piece to a puzzle that might help me learn more about myself.”
Kairo leans back in the chair, exhaling sharply. “Okay, I still feel like this might not be the best idea, but ask whatever questions you have in your head.”
“Okay, thank you.” I pause for a moment to figure out where to begin. “Why was Solara chosen as a target during the invasion?”
“Your village, as we found out after the fact, held one of the Kindaran Nine families. Your family, Yasir.” Kairo sighs again as he takes his time to find the words. “Each of the Kindaran Nine had a responsibility to protect the location of the Kutokufa Scrolls, sacred scrolls hidden on the island that hold the secrets to immortality and resurrection.”
“But why are people invading Kindara? Are the Scrolls public knowledge or something?” I’m trying to make sense of why my world has been turned upside down.
“Several different countries have tried over the years, but one in particular—Bralba—has been a centuries-old enemy of Kindara,” Kairo replies as he leans forward in his chair to maintain eye contact. “The rest of the world thinks the Scrolls are nothing more than a myth, but Bralba has been after them based on information they believe is true.”
“And that is?”
“That the Scrolls belonged to them,” Kairo flatly tells me. “And to answer the next possible question in your head, the Scrolls have always belonged to Kindara, but the Bralbans stole them three centuries ago. We were eventually able to get them back, but it took almost another century to do so. By then, Bralba had falsely claimed that the Scrolls were theirs. That’s what started the ongoing conflicts between our nations.”
I have other questions, but I don’t want to overwhelm myself. A lot of this is making my head hurt. “Okay. So back to my family being a part of this Kindaran Nine. How did we get chosen?”
“It was because of your bloodline, Yasir,” Kairo answers. “There are nine bloodlines that are direct descendants of the original nine mwali duati…these metahumans…who helped colonize this island with the humans. Over time, due to the intermingling of the two species, the abilities of the mwali duati began to lessen over the generations.”
“And you’re saying that my family line was targeted because of this gene?” I have to be careful with what I say. I feel like I’m in the middle of a legend being told to me, except I’m the legend, and I didn’t even know it. “This gene comes from which line? Was it my father? My mother?”
“Hmmm, the last one we knew of that openly carried this gene was more likely your grandfather, or perhaps his father before him,” Kairo continues with the information dump, and frankly speaking, I’m here for all of it, no matter how much it scares me. “What happened to you is a result of the gene that your bloodline has carried for generations. The nyxwraith gene. But it can only trigger during a tragedy or great loss.”
“So is it possible that the priestess who suppressed my memories tried to keep the gene from being activated because of my parents’ deaths? The invasion?”
“Yes, it is possible.”
“Well, there’s no need to worry about that anymore.” I chuckle, but I’m not sure if it’s from being nervous or over the sardonic humor. “I wonder what else could possibly happen.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Well, damn it. Cynicism clearly isn’t his thing. “Um, forget I said anything, sir. Do you mind if I take this book home so I can continue my research? I promise I’ll have it back in one piece.”
Kairo scratches his head, and I know I’ve confused him, but now’s not the time to tell him that it awakened anyway, despite what the priestesses did. That I’m a newly realized mwali duati with a nyxwraith buried inside my physiology. That might compromise my relationship with his daughter. Or maybe it won’t, I don’t know. “Okay, if you say so. Let me know if you need anything, or if you want to have a longer conversation, my door is always open.”