Chapter 4 In the blood

Chapter 4: In the Blood

Ayo wasn't sure what he expected from Malakai after their conversation in the museum.

Answers, maybe. A clearer picture. But all he got, at least at first, was silence.

They didn't speak again for three days.

Not a message. Not a shadow at the corner of his vision. Ayo began to think he'd imagined the whole thing. That stress and sleep deprivation had cracked him open and fantasy had spilled in to fill the space.

But the dreams kept coming.

They were sharper now. Longer. And always, they ended the same way-with fire, and a voice calling his name.

Not Ayo. Elijah.

And the way that name made his heart ache scared him more than anything.

On the fourth night, he found himself back at the rooftop bar where he and Malakai had first locked eyes. He didn't know why. Some part of him just knew Malakai would be there.

And he was.

Leaning against the railing, dressed in black again, as though the night had dressed him itself.

"You came," Malakai said without turning.

"You left," Ayo shot back.

"I didn't want to overwhelm you."

Ayo approached slowly. "Too late."

They stood in silence for a while, the city humming beneath them like a living thing. Ayo watched the lights flicker across buildings, wondered how many lifetimes could be packed into a single skyline.

"I've been dreaming," he said finally.

Malakai nodded. "I know."

"You're in them. And... him."

"Elijah."

"Was he really me?"

Malakai's voice was soft. "He was kind. Brave. Always too quick to forgive. He had a laugh like river water. And he loved me."

"And you loved him?"

Malakai looked at him. "With everything I was."

Ayo swallowed. "So why did he die?"

Malakai turned away, hands tightening on the railing. "Because I was weak. Because I trusted someone who no longer believed in our kind."

"You mean vampires?"

Malakai nodded. "We don't all live like this-wandering, hiding. Some believe in power. Dominion. They think humanity is a resource, not a kin."

"And this person killed him?"

Malakai's jaw tensed. "He killed us both. I just... didn't stay dead."

Ayo was quiet for a moment. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I want you to understand what's coming."

Ayo frowned. "What is coming?"

"The others know. They can feel it, just as I did-that your soul has returned. That Elijah's heart beats again. And they will come for you."

"Why?"

"Because they fear what it means. A heart that returns is a symbol. A threat to the old order. And... because of the relic."

"The stone heart?"

Malakai nodded. "Some believe it holds power. Enough to awaken bloodlines. Even heal what's been broken. If they think you're the key to finding it..."

Ayo sighed, stepping back. "So now I'm being hunted?"

"Not yet. But soon."

"I'm not some chosen one. I barely passed high school Kiswahili."

Malakai smiled. "I don't need you to be a savior. I just need you to stay alive."

They locked eyes.

Ayo felt the weight of it again-that strange pull. As if somewhere deep in his marrow, something remembered this man. Trusted him. Wanted him.

It made no sense.

It made too much sense.

"I need time," Ayo said.

"Take all you need."

They stood in silence again. The city buzzed below, but up here, it felt like the world had narrowed to two souls tangled by fate.

Ayo glanced at him. "Do you ever miss it?"

"Miss what?"

"Being human."

Malakai didn't answer right away. "I miss mornings. Real sleep. I miss the way food tasted. I miss growing older with someone."

Ayo looked at him sideways. "You know, most people are afraid of getting older."

"Then most people have never watched everyone they love grow old without them."

Ayo shivered.

They stood a while longer, then Ayo said, "Come with me."

Malakai blinked. "Where?"

"I want to show you something."

They took a boda boda to Kariokor. Ayo led Malakai down narrow paths between market stalls, past smoky nyama choma grills and woven baskets, until they reached a tiny courtyard hidden behind a shuttered hair salon.

A small grave sat in the corner, marked with river stones and a metal plate etched with initials. Ayo knelt beside it, brushing dust from the name.

"Mwikali. My grandmother," he said. "She raised me."

Malakai stood quietly behind him.

"She used to talk about love like it was something you wore. Like it left stains." He smiled. "She always said the soul travels. That sometimes it waits in another body, another name. But it remembers."

Malakai knelt beside him. "She sounds wise."

"She'd have liked you."

They sat in the quiet. Somewhere in the distance, someone played an old taarab song on a speaker.

After a while, Ayo turned to him. "If I'm really Elijah... that doesn't mean I am him. Right?"

"No," Malakai said. "But some part of him lives in you. Enough that I feel it. Enough that you felt me, too."

Ayo exhaled. "Then I want to try."

"Try?"

"To remember. To learn. To see where this goes."

Malakai's expression shifted. Surprise. Gratitude. Something softer.

But before he could answer, the air changed.

It was subtle-a pressure. A heaviness that fell like a shadow.

Malakai stood instantly, eyes scanning the alley.

Ayo felt it too. The hairs on his arms lifted.

"What is it?" he whispered.

Malakai stepped in front of him. "We're not alone."

From the far end of the courtyard, a figure emerged. Tall, in a gray suit. His skin gleamed like obsidian, and his eyes-red as embers-were fixed on Ayo.

"Found you," the man said.

Malakai's voice was steel. "Rami."

The man smiled. "It's been a long time, brother."

Ayo stood, heart thudding. "Brother?"

Malakai's fists clenched. "Run, Ayo."

"But-"

"Now."