Death Ties

Chapter One

"Nailah, you cannot run from this!"

"Dakaari, I can and I shall!"

"Just because you want nothing to do with the coven does not mean you should take away that right from our girls."

Nailah brushed past her husband, who had a concerned and fearful look on his face. Her eldest daughter, Yuna, followed her mother's fast-paced movements with just as much concern. At only seven years old, Yuna didn't grasp what was happening or what had transpired. All she knew was that her mother had been on edge for the last few months. There had been whispers in the town about an exile but Yuna was too young to grasp what that meant fully. All she knew was that the news turned her mother into someone she didn't recognize. And 

Nailah placed a pile of clothes in a traveling bag, finally stopping her pacing. "In your opinion, didn't I already take their right away to be in this coven?"

"I didn't ... that isn't what I said."

"But it's what you are thinking, aren't you?"

Dakaari sighed, rubbing a frustrated hand down his locs that longly fell down his back. He could not deny his frustration with his beloved's decision but he made a promise to always stick by her despite any hardships. 

"I do not understand why you made that pact with that evil woman."

"Balo is no evil woman. She is a powerful creature for which I am forever grateful. She told me she can relate to my position."

"My Love-"

"Dakaari, you've seen some of the wickedness that has been committed. I cannot stay here and put our children at risk. I found solace in you, and I will forever love you for that. I was lucky to have come across Balo, and she was willing to do me such a favor."

"At what price?"

"There was no price for the favor."

"The favor of having your powers stripped away completely? Stopping the bloodline with yourself? Yuna and now our small baby Truin will never have the power of the Melisizwe clan."

"Dakaari-"

"You didn't even let the thought cross your mind to inform me of such a decision. You fooled both me and the clan for years. It was only when I noticed the lack of progression within Yuna that I thought of questioning it. And now you're leaving me? Why?"

"I'm not leaving you! Have you not heard the rumors and whispers? The clan has discovered my secret. I can no longer put on the ruse that I have magical powers. They will not only exile me but they could decide punishment by death, for both me and the girls. Is that what you want?"

"You know that isn't what I want."

Nailah clasped the bag and Yuna's hand. It would be foolish to assume Nailah wasn't torn up inside; to have to leave her husband behind. But what else could she do? There was no way she could just run off and leave the girls behind. It would be both selfish and distasteful. So, the only logical thought would be to escape while she had this small window of opportunity.

The Melisizwe clan was known for many things. They were mostly known within the magical community as the most powerful bloodline of witches in Africa. They were also known as the most brutal. Countless sacrifices and lives were lost in the name of what the witch at the time would have felt was the greater good. Nailah knew better. Her mother, Fatou, was head of the coven. Growing up there hadn't been much Nailah wasn't exposed to. She wanted different for her children. Nailah dreamt of a time when Yuna, as well as Truin, could grow up in a normal society without their fates being set because of their ancestors. And if that meant Nailah had to remove and escape from what she had always known, then so be it.