Page 62 - Microsoft Word - FANG EMPIRE - NOVEL.docx

the mysterious natural beauty of the motherland she never knew existed; towering whirlwinds of

sand touching the desert like the fingers of God, gossamer spider webs the size of elephant skins

dripping with morning dew, a withered mermaid carcass washed upon the shore. “Could this be

real?” There were lilting sketches of herself that she had never seen, and portraits of Kanja in

noble poses wearing royal robes. “How he loved his father,” she thought and smiled with

remembrance. There were illustrations of African landscapes, the sunset, the stars and moon, his

loyal companions, Zuba, Cane, and Raki in action, the saber-tooth tigers, and a sketch of a

beautiful young woman, naked, enraptured. “Who could she be?” GoGo wondered.

She sighed and closed the book. She kissed the cover and placed it down on the small table

next to Omar’s bed. She took a cloth from the wet basin and tenderly cooled off his forehead and

face. After a long journey to the center of her soul and back, GoGo had reached the Rubicon.

She looked down at Omar, in a poison slumber, and spoke softly to him, to his

unconscious, deeper self.

“My Golden Leopard, my prince, my good boy. What I must do now, I must do.” Tears

roll down her cheeks. “My heart erupts in my chest. For though I have beseeched God for a sign,

he has left me to my own will. I gave birth to thee and there is no greater emotion than a mother’s

love for her child. So I must trust that no part of me would harm thee, and my decision on thy

behalf must come from that divine place that all mothers know. But if my will is not thy will . . .

forgive me! Forgive me, my sweet child. I choose . . . existence for thee . . . over oblivion!”

GoGo wept.

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Go’Ngola Khan, the queen of Timbuktu, walked down a long cave tunnel. Her skin was oiled, her
hair was washed, and she was dressed in flowing gold and purple robes given to her by the Rhune

Mystic traders. She led a delegation of her loyal warriors behind her. Sooth, Daka, Zuba, Cane,
Raki, and eight soldiers of the royal guard walked solemnly in a formation of rows of two across,

eyes forward.
Sooth’s voice echoed in her mind as she walked.