Kinara thought a moment, stroked his chin whiskers moodily, then smiled. “I like that. And next time he accuses me of being greedy, I shall remind him!”
Kinara came back. With a kindly smile, he patted Azima on the back. “My boy, you are right. We will give you half of the fruit as my friend has suggested. By all means. Maybe even more. Why not take it all? We don’t need the extra fruit.”
Azima began to look uncomfortable. “Is there something wrong with it?”
“No, not at all! It’s wonderful. I hope you enjoy it. Why not take some home with you?”
Azima began to scratch his head. “Now wait a minute here! What did Busara tell you just now?”
“He told me that it is more blessed to give than to take.”
Azima looked around at the others. He began to tremble as he met each pair of eyes, looking for some hint. “Like hell he did!” he shouted, throwing up his hands. “You’re all a bunch of scheming, lousy good-for-nothings! Do you think I’m stupid?? Keep the fruit! I hope you DO eat it! By the gods, I hope whatever you planned falls back on you threefold!”
Azima stormed out. For several moments, there was not a word, not a sound. Then when he was out of hearing range, Kinara began to chuckle, then he burst out in laughter, putting his arm around Busara’s shoulder. “You no-account scheming little devil you! I didn’t know you had it in you!”
Busara smiled, but his heart was not in it.
After the meeting, Kinara took Busara aside. “I’d like to show my appreciation, old friend. I want you to be my chief advisor. You know that is second in power only to me, and I offer it because you are as shrewd as you are honest.”
Busara looked uncomfortable. “Thank you, my chief, but perhaps I’m not as shrewd as you think--or as much as I should be.”
Kinara smiled, but laid his hand on Busara’s shoulder a bit firmly. “Save your double speaking for them. When I want a good riddle, I’ll ask you as Chief Scribe. Right now I need one word. It sounds exactly like ‘yes’.”
“I’m sorry, my friend. I’m not the type you need.”
“Oh?”
“With all due respect, you want to win at all costs. It has become your fruit and your water. What you desire most becomes your god, but when you die, earthly powers will desert you. Only love can bear your soul to the Blessed Realm.”
“Are you calling me irreligious?”
“No, old friend. I’m calling you precious and one of a kind. A child of the gods. I want something for you greater than this world has to offer. Go home tonight and kiss your wife. Speak to your son Makedde. Make peace with the boy and realize how much he still loves you. These are more important than all the breadfruit in the world.”
Kinara looks at him undecided. But he recognized the kindness in Busara’s voice and patted him on the back. “You’re beginning to sound just like my mother. I’m a big boy now, and I can look out for myself. As for my son Makedde, I pray for him every night.”
When Busara saluted him and went back toward his cave, Kinara leaned over to one of his lackey guards nearby. "Take Uwezo and follow him. See what he’s up to."
CHAPTER 16: THE WALLS HAVE EARS
Uwezo and Doya were very good at what they did. They were Kinara’s bodyguards, but they also were remarkably quiet and stealthy for large mandrills. It was a combination that had helped Kinara maintain his power for many years.
Usually, Kinara’s ability to “get the goods” on his opponents led to no great mischief. In fact, there were many members of the troop that shared an odd kind of bond with him. They would ask for advice about matters they could confess to no one else, and Kinara would usually try to be helpful in return. In that way, he was the Father Confessor of the wealthy and powerful. And never had he violated his confidence.
Uwezo was very observant, and his hearing was very good. But he wondered about the two sets of footprints he thought he heard as Busara walked along. One of the sets sounded very heavy. He glanced about nervously, thinking a leopard may be spying on HIM. All he saw was Doya behind him, and Doya was doing a good job of muffling his steps.
Suddenly, there was a loud lioness roar. Forgetting to be quiet, Uwezo charged back toward Doya and passed him brusquely. Busara looked around, but by the time he saw the two mandrills, they were far enough away to not be recognized.
“What’s the matter, old girl?”
“I just don’t like it,” she said. “They looked suspicious.”
It would do little good to follow Busara when he was alert. Uwezo and Doya had a job to do, and they did not dare risk the wrath of Kinara if they failed him. So deciding that he was headed home anyhow, they waited until evening to quietly and cautiously took up hiding places right outside the mouth of the cave.
“This will always be your refuge,” Busara said. “When you need a place where you can come and be accepted for who and what you are, our arms are always open for you.”
“Thank you,” Metutu said. “I love you more than I can say! You have been so kind. You and Kima and Asumini.”
“May Aiheu bless you, my son,” Kima said.
Doya glanced at Uwezo. “Uh oh!”
“Shhhh!”
“Your destiny is a special one, Metutu,” Busara said. “In a small way I tried to bring some change about today. Maybe if I am lucky, before I die I will hear Kinara and Maloki exchange a few civil words. But you are to be the new chief someday. You will do more in a year than I have in my lifetime. Freedom will blossom and grow like Alba, and worship will be the choice of the heart, not that of the council.”
“Just wait till he hears this,” Doya said.
Just then, they heard heavy footsteps leaving the cave and padding through the leaves. “It’s that sound again. Let’s get out of here!”
Busara looked up. “What happened to Asumini? You’d think she saw a ghost!”
Seconds later, the lioness appeared, very agitated. “Doya and Uwezo were right outside.”
“What did they hear?”
“Probably everything.”
Busara closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He moaned as if someone had gouged him. “We are in grave danger.”
“Let me kill them,” Asumini said.
“No, girl. That will only make Kinara more suspicious than ever. We are not judge and executioner. Not like him.”
When Uwezo and Doya found Kinara, Chief Priest Kasisi was with him. They competed to be first to give their reports, knowing that there would be a bonus in it for them somewhere.
“He’s an Aiheuist,” Uwezo said.
“He’s teaching Metutu to be one,” Doya said.
“He said he tried to get you and Maloki on speaking terms, but that Metutu as the next chief would really clear out the cobwebs.”
Kinara sat stunned for a moment, then jerked to his feet. He almost never showed his temper, but he grabbed a fruit he had been eating and hurled it at a tree.
"My son! He thinks to turn my own SON upon me! That triple cursed barbaric heathen! I trusted him. I gave him my own son! Oh gods!"
Uwezo and Doya were really expecting a reward for that. Instead, Kinara merely dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
Kasisi was almost foaming at the mouth. “We have to wipe this thing out! It is a disease, and it’s spreading! Wipe it out, I say!”
“I’ll have to have a little talk with Busara.”
“You’ll have to kill him,” the Chief Priest said.
“Denounce my friend to the council? Have him put down like a thief or adulterer? I will banish him.”
“Banish him and you make him a hero in your son’s eyes,” Kasisi said. “The same will happen if you give him a public execution. No, he must disappear. Suddenly and without a trace, do you understand?”