A Labyrinthine Affair: The World of Taboo

The Hunter - Part 7

If James had been counting the days, or rather the nights, he would have known exactly why his skin had become irritated, his body overheated and his mouth more and more parched, no matter how much water he drank. He would have known why his teeth seemed to ache and his senses were enhanced to an unusual degree.

Tonight the moon was in her prime; full, luminescent and glowing over the land in a milky white array. None of this was at the forefront of his consciousness, mind you. It was the amplification of his body's metamorphosis, ever since his chance encounter with that wolf, so long ago. The canine spirit always dwelt within him, but under a waxing moon, his hunger became insatiable. It was for this reason that he heard Akuba rise, heard the sound of her feet muted against an earthen floor, as she prepared to leave their hut.

He'd finally had a comforting dream of Amma, in a time and place before London had cast a shadow over her. In his vision, she was young, unencumbered and most importantly, free. She took his hand and ran with him through a forest of pine and moss til they reached a wide expanse of beach, the sand so silky between his toes that his first impulse was to lie down and let his entire body sink into its embrace. Just at the grains of sand were set to caress his skin, he was jostled back to Yasi and the blue-black night that curled around them

James could barely make out Akuba's form in the utter dark. On any other night, he may not have heard the soft rustle of her robe as she wrapped it around herself, tying it in place. Several hours earlier he'd unwrapped that robe effortlessly like an early Christmas present (what month was it again? Here in the quiet expanse of Ashantiland, it truly didn't matter anymore). He let himself smile, remembering the contortions of her face as he savored every inch of her body. A flower blossoming.

James lay on his pallet, eyes almost closed, waiting for her to leave. To his surprise, she hesitated in the entranceway, turning her head back towards him and spoke.

"I wouldn't follow if I were you. But if you must...bring a weapon." Her voice was soft, low and pointed. Her inflection daring him to rise. Instead he lay still, focusing only on the expanse and retreat of his breath.

She stretched her lithe limbs, releasing a nervous breath from her lungs. Then she stepped out into the rich night air.

A slight breeze stirred around the village, but not loud enough to mask the certainty that others were joining her outside, to head off somewhere into the night. James waited a few more moments, blushing at the way she'd "caught" him. Any man would have been curious. She had to know that.

He got up, wrapped his own robe about him, gathered a soft water sac made from animal skin and a curved dagger he'd made weeks earlier and left in the direction he'd last heard their voices.

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Akuba took a deep bountiful breath of fragrant night air and willed her nervous stomach to settle itself. Of course James would follow. He was far too curious and attuned to her not to gather himself up and whisk away out of their hut to see what they were up to.

What were they doing exactly? Definitely searching for a little girl; possibly fending off an evil entity as well. Her own peculiarities meant that she was well versed in what other beings roamed the land.

Prah warned them about creatures that sometimes searched in the heavy darkness for blood and flesh; fearful humans upon which to feast. In the weeks after her husband's death, when she'd wandered the plains and jungles alone, she had come into contact with a few of them. Some merely phantoms passing through a field, their emanations no more than a whiff of smoke or mist. Others thoroughly solid, able to be touched; frightening, gruesome, creatures with steely teeth and claws meant to mangle muscles and tendons. All having the need to subsume a body down to a wilted carcass before moving on to their next victim.