Chapter 7 Teeth in the dark

Chapter 7: Teeth in the Dark

They didn't stay in Nairobi.

By morning, Malakai had arranged transport through a shadowed network of allies-some vampire, some human, all bound by blood-debt or oath. They traveled by truck at night, passing the city's edge and cutting through rural highways. The road narrowed into dirt, winding past banana groves and maize fields, then deeper into the heart of the Rift Valley.

Their destination was a small village, long abandoned, nestled between cliffs. There, hidden beneath the ruins of a crumbling church, lay what Malakai called "a map."

Not a physical one-something older. A memory. Locked in stone. Guarded by a vampire seer who had once served the old council before it fractured.

Ayo barely spoke during the ride. The memories had changed something in him. They weren't just dreams anymore. They had weight, sensation, grief. He could smell the temple fire now. Hear Malakai's screams echoing down stone corridors. Feel Elijah's last breath-his breath-leave his body.

It made him afraid. Not of the memories-but of what they might demand of him.

They arrived just before midnight.

The village was silent, overgrown. Moonlight spilled through the broken roofs of huts. Malakai led him to the church, its wooden beams rotted and sagging, but the stone altar inside still intact.

"We go down here," Malakai said, pressing his palm to the stone.

A low rumble answered. Then the slab shifted, revealing a narrow staircase winding into darkness.

"Great," Ayo muttered. "Creepy secret tunnels. Classic vampire behavior."

Malakai smiled. "Afraid of the dark?"

"No. Just resentful that my past life couldn't have been reincarnated as a yoga teacher in Mombasa."

Malakai laughed softly-just once-then began the descent. Ayo followed, heart thudding.

The passage spiraled downward, deeper than he expected, until it opened into a chamber lit by green flame. The walls pulsed faintly with carved symbols-some Ayo recognized from the museum stone, others too ancient to place.

A figure waited in the center.

Tall, draped in a cloak of bark and feathers, skin the color of charred earth. Their eyes were pure white, unblinking.

"This is Nyasha," Malakai said quietly. "They remember everything."

"I remember more than you'd like," the seer said in a voice like wind through old trees. "Including the night you swore never to return here."

Malakai inclined his head. "I broke that vow. For him."

Nyasha stepped forward, studying Ayo. "You wear Elijah's soul like a second skin. But it doesn't fit yet."

"I'm working on it," Ayo said.

"You'll need more than effort. You'll need courage. Blood. Sacrifice."

Ayo swallowed. "Yeah, I figured. But if you can help me find the relic..."

Nyasha turned away. "It's not a place you seek. It's a wound."

Ayo frowned. "A what?"

The seer reached toward the wall and touched a carving. At once, the stone shimmered, becoming liquid. Images flickered-memories not his, not Malakai's. The relic, whole. The temple, unburned. Elijah holding it beneath the stars.

"It was never just a weapon," Nyasha said. "It was a key. Your soul was the lock."

"Why me?" Ayo whispered.

"Because you chose love. Even when the cost was death."

The chamber dimmed. The flame flickered. Something shifted behind them.

Malakai turned sharply. "We're not alone."

From the tunnel above, the scent of ash rolled in. Then a hiss.

Three figures dropped into the chamber-vampires, but not like Malakai. Their eyes were silver. Their skin pale as bone. Fangs glinted.

"Hunters," Malakai growled. "Rami's pets."

The first lunged.

Malakai moved instantly, meeting the vampire midair. They crashed against the wall, stone cracking. Nyasha hissed and raised a hand-the flames flared, forming a barrier between Ayo and the rest.

Another hunter snarled and charged.

Ayo stumbled back, heart hammering. He grabbed a chunk of stone and swung it as the creature lunged.

It missed by inches.

He threw the rock. It struck the hunter's temple, dazing it.

Malakai was already on the third, driving a blade into its chest.

But the first recovered, sprinting toward Ayo.

He froze.

Then Nyasha stepped in front of him, whispering a word in an ancient tongue. The air thickened-time stuttered-and the vampire screamed as its body turned to salt, collapsing in a heap.

Silence fell.

Malakai stood over the second body, panting. The other had fled into the dark.

"You're bleeding," Ayo said.

"It's not mine," Malakai replied.

Nyasha knelt beside the salt remains. "Rami moves faster than we thought."

"He knows Ayo is awakening," Malakai said. "He'll come for the relic next."

"Then he will have to pass through fire," Nyasha said. They turned to Ayo. "Come."

Ayo stepped forward.

Nyasha opened a small chest from beneath the altar. Inside lay a black stone pendant-small, heart-shaped, worn smooth by time. When Ayo touched it, his breath caught.

He saw Elijah standing in a pool of moonlight, offering it to Malakai. He saw hands brushing, lips meeting, blood on altar steps. And love. So much love.

"I remember this," he said.

"It remembers you," Nyasha whispered.

The pendant pulsed once, faintly warm.

"What do I do with it?" Ayo asked.

"Keep it close," Nyasha said. "And when the final choice comes, it will answer."

Ayo looked to Malakai. "What choice?"

Malakai's jaw tightened. "The kind that decides everything."

They left the village before dawn, shadows long behind them.

Ayo held the pendant in his hand as they walked, the weight of memory settling deeper into his chest.

He didn't feel like the same person anymore.

He wasn't.

And somewhere out there, Rami was watching. Waiting.

The final choice was coming.

And this time, Ayo wouldn't run from it.