He tossed his mbanje to the side. 'What is the meaning of this, Dombo? Gumbo?' He asked them as he stood up.
The two Elders began laughing wickedly.
'I fail to find humor in my question,' Brahmuhn said, looking furious.
'That's funny because we find humor in your very existence,' Gumbo spat at him with a look of disgust on his face.
The Vadhindi stood up in fury but Brahmuhn restrained them with a gesture of his hand. 'What do you mean, Gumbo?'
Dombo chuckled, 'Do you consider us ignorant of your repulsive deeds?!'
Cheetah tried to reach for Dombo's throat but Brahmuhn restrained him again.
Brahmuhn gritted his teeth, 'If you do not explain the meaning of this, I will have you speared within seconds!'
Gumbo turned around and clapped his hands loudly to get the villagers' attention. There was a great silence. It was as if this action held some unseen unnatural power. From the old men to the young children, the silence dominated. The drums had stopped playing and not a whisper fell from anyone's lips. Their full attention was on Gumbo, eager to know what he had to say.
Gumbo cleared his throat. 'Hear us, oh noble people! This chief of yours has gone against our laws and taken into his house, the house of our departed chief, a Ndebele girl!'
There was a loud gasp of shock and surprise from the people.
Gumbo smiled broadly as though excited by the response of the villagers. 'Now…' he went on, '…our customs state that if we were ever to take captives, we would keep them in separate shelters they would be obliged to build themselves which is of course what the rest of you have done. But I guess your "chief" deemed himself so powerful that he thought this law should bypass him. This chief you regard with such high esteem, the Great Brahmuhn, who you thought was sinless and could do you no wrong, is actually harboring our enemy in his own house. Now, how do we know that he is not perhaps siding with the Ndebele? What if they are planning to obliterate us, I mean…he is not from our village after all…'
'How do you know of this?!' one villager shouted.
'Our witness is our trusted companion, Shiri,' he placed his hand on Shiri's shoulder but he shook it off like it was infected by some fatal disease. 'Not only do we have a witness but…' he clapped his hands twice.
A man brought Buhlebenkosi to them with her wrists bound by ropes behind her back.
The silence in the village became so intense that it could actually be heard. The expression on the faces of the villagers was pure confusion and disappointment. Even the children who were too young to understand this custom shared their parents' expressions. They were too young but old enough to understand that their chief had done something very bad.
Buhlebenkosi's eyes were turned to the ground. She however looked as humble as ever as if she was willing to accept any penalty they would throw upon her. The man who brought her pushed her to the ground.
Brahmuhn grabbed his knobkerrie. 'I swear to you that if you do not move away from her I will break every single bone in your body!' he warned the man.
Even though the man was almost twice the size of Brahmuhn, he retreated several yards back.
The silence in the village continued to swell up as though waiting for someone to puncture it. Brahmuhn walked over to Buhlebenkosi and picked her up and began walking back to his hut.
'Yes! Enjoy the fruits of your sins and let us decide your punishment!' Dombo shouted after him.
'What is wrong with you!' Buhlebenkosi barked at him when he finished untying the ropes from her wrists whilst they were inside his hut.
'You're welcome.'
'For what?!'
'I've just saved your life.'
She laughed scornfully, 'Saved? Saved? You keeping me in here and them stoning me to death is the same torture!'
He walked to the edge of the hut and drew water from the gourd and began gulping down its contents.
'I know all your laws…they're probably going to stone us both.'
He ignored her and continued drawing water from the gourd.
'Are you even listening to what I'm saying?! They are going to kill you, Brahmuhn! Both of us! How could you be so stupid!'
'Thirsty?'
She choked on her words. She realized that none of the things she was saying were even registering to him. She also realized the dryness of her mouth and throat, like sand had been poured into it. She nodded her head quickly.
He drew water with the gourd again and walked towards her. As he knelt on one knee in front of her, watching her slurp the water as if it was her last drink, he felt compassion towards her.
She panted and then pushed his hand aside, water dripping from the edges of her mouth onto her glistening breasts. 'So what are you going to do?' she asked him, her tone now calm as if the water had cooled her rage.
'They can do all that they want with me: burn me, stone me, spear me…but not one hair shall fall from your head. I am the reason you are in this mess in the first place but you have my word, they will not touch you again.' He stood up and headed for the door.
'Wait!'
He paused by the exit.
'Why?'
He turned his head to her, 'Why what?'
'Why do you want to protect me?'