Mutapa walked into the cave where Makosi was sitting. He was holding Gora's head and blood dripped to the ground. He threw Gora's head on the ground and sighed. The head rolled and stopped just in their middle.
"Four years ago I was just a child without parents. Having lost them was I was young in war, I deserted my former land and began sojourning around the plateau. I had lost faith in life. I began living alone in the jungle and it almost got me killed. That's when Murape found me and took me into the Bantu kingdom as his own son until he was murdered in cold blood..." Mutapa couldn't finish because Makosi began continuing with his story.
"...and then he instructed you to find me in this cave. You wondered in the jungle crying for your father and you couldn't find me. I found you lying by the river and took you as my son. The death of Murape broke you to pieces. You had lost all hope. Then I decided to give you power. I thought by giving you power you could find hope and rebuild your life altogether."
"The ancestors chose me to become Mutapa. They instructed you to annoint me but you didn't. You always told me that the right time would come. I avenged the death of my father and all those sangomas who were killed in those four kingdoms. They were killed because they advocated for the ancestors. You told me that they needed to be punished," Mutapa said.
"They had to be punished for their sin. You took the punishment as the main mission and lost the way. The reason why you were chosen was not to have war with all the kingdoms. You chosen to preserve sangomas. But all that matters in you now is the blood of these kingdoms. In the process you have become hard headed and you can't turn from this," Makosi said.
"Hence, you chose someone to replace me. You annointed that man in my place and rejected the one who served you for four years. Not only did you annoint me, but you encouraged him to kill me. Now his head lies before you," Mutapa said.
"I never rejected you, the ancestors did. In the end I serve the wishes of my ancestors, not yours. If you had changed when I told you to do so then you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. Put the blame on yourself my child. The path you have taken is dark," Makosi responded.
"You betrayed me and chose one of our enemies to become one of us. You annointed our enemy behind my backs and left a few drops of oil for the one who spent four years serving," Mutapa said.
"That share of a few drops is more than enough for you. I never intended to leave any. Yet, the ancestors will never recognize you even if you applied that oil. Not until you change and become the man I chose you to be. In the end, your decision will determine what you will become," Makosi explained.
"You don't feel ashamed for what you did to the one you called a son. In the end you are just like our enemy and the fate that fell on them suits you," Mutapa said.
"Four years ago I found a son whom I gave everything. The same son chose to disobey her mother and do what pleases him. In the end I had a good son who overcame even unto his death. I don't regret having annointed Gora as Mutapa because he more wiser. I hope you will find peace after all this," Makosi said as she stood up.
Mutapa remained silent as he watched her coming closer to him. "Have you forgotten? I have the power to take what I gave you. But I am not going to leave you with nothing. Four years ago you were left with nothing and I saw what it did to you. I die a happy person because I served the ancestors faithfully."
She stood a few feet from him. Mutapa took his spear and looked at it for a moment. When he thought that Makosi wanted him, anger flowed through his hands. He gripped the spear with all his power and swiftly stabbed Makosi right through the chest into her heart.
Makosi gasped and her eyes widened as her chest felt heavier with pain. With little strength left in her, she looked at Mutapa and said, "You did not just break my heart, today you destroyed it."
Makosi fell to the ground and Mutapa removed his spear from her chest. He watched as the blood oozed from her chest whilst she gave her last few kicks. When the life disappeared from her eyes, he closed them with his fingures and sat there watching her as memories he shared with her in the past four years filled his mind.
He quickly shook the memories off and took her body outside where he burnt her. He then sat alone as he started plotting exacting revenge on the Bantu kingdom for burning down his caves. He never cared about the other three kingdoms anymore.
After the war, the three kings fled with their lives. They camped somewhere far from the Bantu kingdom with the remainder of their warriors. The warriors were tired, hungry and thirsty after the war.
They all decided to camp for rest because if they continued with their journey back to their kingdoms some would die along the way. The stronger warriors began hunting for larger animals like buffalos in order to feed the others.
Their camp was defined after the model which the Karanga people adopted after Mutapa had visited their land. They used pole and daggar as well as thorns to protect themselves.
The three kings sat down together and Mambo Tenda said, "What are we going to do? Clearly we have lost the war and Mutapa might be out there preying on women and children. We caused damage to their kingdom and I am sure they will want to punish us."
"It will take time before they try to wage a war with us. Our armies combined are bigger than theirs. We will have to regroup and attack again. If we don't cripple them at this moment then we will spend the rest of our lives running from the Bantu," Mambo Wasu of the Manyika kingdom said.
"I strongly disagree. Our warriors can fight the Bantu alone not the Bantu with Mutapa on their side. You all witnessed what happened when Mutapa joined the battle," Mambo Gwati of the Zezuru kingdom said.
"Yes we can't fight the Bantu at this moment. We will have to find other means to defeat them," Mambo Tenda said.
"What do you suggest that we do?" Mambo Gwati asked.
"Remember how Mutapa attacked our kingdoms at night? Let's use the same method against them-an element of surprise. Only a few brave men will carry out this task. And this time they go for the king's compound," Mambo Tenda responded.
"What if they walk into a trap? The Bantu people might be expecting another attack from us and they are prepared like the last time," Mambo Gwati said.
"Last time we declared war. This time we will be raiding their kingdom and destroying everything else which survived the war," Mambo Wasu responded.
"We can't risk the lives of our warriors like that. We need to be sure if our first attack was effective or not. Do not underestimate the Bantu," Mambo Gwati said.
"I agree, we don't have to underestimate the Bantu people. Their location protects them from outside danger. This time we might walk into a trap which we might not escape. We are not very far from their kingdom, spies can be send out there to assess the situation in the kingdom," Mambo Tenda said.
"What if they are still powerful. We will have to abandon this war if they are still powerful," Mambo Gwati said.
"That's true. Our women and children are still vulnerable on their own. If the spies return with bad news, we will go back to our kingdoms and prepare for the worst," Mambo Wasu said.
"And if the Bantu were left vulnerable, we will have to finish them. If you find an injured beast you rather tame it than leave it to recover. Because if it recovers, it will come after you one day," Mambo Tenda said.
All the kings nodded at once and a few men were chosen at that moment to be send as spies to the Bantu kingdom. They left that evening towards the Bantu kingdom whilst the kings prepared their hearts and hoped for a good message.