Ch 39 - Home

Walking out to the courtroom, I met Hannah and ThaTho waiting for me. Seeing me, they walked me to a quiet part of the base, a place where barely one person was standing.

"This is the memorial hall," Hannah said in a slow, somber tone while leading me into the room. Standing on the front of a large gravestone that dwarfed me. It was marked by an icon of a dove framed by a rainbow and filled with brown moonstone. Under that, there are three rows of names, each row was short, but that was still over thirty names, and as my eyes wandered to the other grave stones, they varied from more to less. But more of them have more names inscribed on them. Looking back at the given stone in front of me.

"This is where we collect the names so that we can remember," Thabo said matter-of-factly. he showed off each tombstone with its myriad names till we reached near the end and saw Adam. They stopped but motioned for me to go forward.

He was standing in front of two stone monuments, their graphic were almost the same. A stone gripped by a right hand filled with a red carnelian stone, and the other was just an inverted form

. He stood there reading their names, or more so skimming them as if making sure there were no new names. After reaching the end of the stone on the left hand, he looked up at us, motioning for me to move closer.

"This is where the names of all the cainites that have fallen in battle protecting everything that they love," Adam said without shifting his gaze.

"And this is for those who had fallen to their best and have been put down," he motioned to the left stone. 

"Ek is hartseer dat Mandela se naam by hierdie saal gevoeg is, maar ek is bly dat ek hoef nie jou naam by hierdie klip te voeg nie." Adam said softly, letting his words hang. I looked at the stone, at the names on the stone, letting the number stare at me. These were all the people who had gone like me, or worse. It was like a cold hand grabbing my heart. Adam left and made his way back to ThaTho, and Hannah and I followed a moment later, unable to dwell in the place of the stones for a moment longer. Walking out of the mausoleum into the great hall, we started to walk across it to another unknown destination.

We met a different group on our way past the gates, two Muslim ladies, one with a decorative red hijab and the other with a plain black niqab. Led by a man, half a head shorter than Adam with skin just a bit darker than mine, in a black thobe, with a sea blue and green waistcoat over, with a plain black head cover. Turning to meet them, Adam's face hardened as he began closing the distance to them.

"Muhammad." Adam said in a dry tone, his hostility blatant but calm.

"Adam." His tome was equally hostile

"Hannah!" The woman with the red hijab's happy voice broke through the hostility, jumping into Hannah's arms with a laugh.

"Aisha, it's been too long. " Hannah met her energy but was still

"Sorry, ukht, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to curb her enthusiasm. " The Woman in the black burqa shook her head as she spoke and pulled Aisha away as she stuck out her tongue for a cute gesture. 

"It's no bother, Fatima." Hannah said with a smile. 

"How was your mission?" Adam asked disinterestedly

"Mashallah, it has gone well and the death of your ward." His words just seemed to anger Adam, but he held his tongue. With his silence, Muhammad shook his head and signaled to his group to go.

"I hope you will learn from his death." Muhammad said as he and his group started away.

"I hope you will learn of the Truth." Adam retorted as he summoned his blade to his hand.

In an instant, they both disappeared, only to reappear in a screaming flash of sparks with their blades caught, aimed at each other's necks. Adam was the first to follow up using his large frame to push in and smite Muhammad, who, using the attack, quickly opened up the distance between them with a first step before igniting his blade and right arm in an aure of yellow fire. 

There was no edge between them. While Muhammad was faster, flashing around the open area, he was unable to land a solid hit on Adam, who blocked and countered each strike with deadly force.

As a pillar of wind rushed past where they were just standing. But the two had reacted even before I heard it and parted, stepping back quickly to their groups, or they tried to end up at the other groups. And began talking to them.

A large figure stepped out from one of the large rooms. He was a colored man of color with short, black hair and a clean face with a short goatee on his chin. Standing a head taller than Adam and twice as muscular, like he was a bodybuilder in his free time. His vest was two sizes too big for him, but for his frame, it was for modesty. 

"I didn't start this." Both Adam and Muhammad quickly said after they were done talking to the group.

"I don't care who started it." The large man spoke down to Adam and Mohanned as if to his younger brothers, trying to get them to behave for the hundredth time. As he spoke, his most distinctive feature was put on show: his passion gap. Walking out behind him were two more descendants. One in a suit and the other in gym clothing, they quickly ran to catch up to the large man.

The other two groups also began to move in the Muslim group with Adam and the bright stars with Muhammad, till there was a large group standing in the middle of the large open area, arguing and discussing like nothing had happened. 

So this, this is my new home, I nearly fell to my knees at the thought.