Kiri- Prologue

The terror of the night crept in around everyone as they sat huddled in the hut. The guard at the door had a gun, had been waving it about as if the tension was frightening him as well. His skin was so dark that he almost melted into the moonless night if not for the one torch and the gleam it cast of his gun and the ever widening of the whites of his eyes. Every sound from the surrounding area convinced them all that death was imminent, be it from the guard or the night itself.

People fought no matter where they were, but here especially things seemed more barbaric. The seven people in the hut were just as innocent as everyone else, but they, it seemed, had a guardian angel. She watched from the tree line as the guard became more and more frantic. She had no clearance to move just yet, but they wanted her to save at least one of those people. He had a purpose to them, but that meant little to her. The color of his skin, his gender, the fact that he breathed, really did not matter to her in the least. She was here to fetch, and fetch she did, not because she needed to or was being forced. She had her own reasons, and if they were to do what she wanted, she had to play at their game.

So the game was fetch, she had no problem with that game at all. She was better than any retriever they had ever had, in more ways than one. So she had to rescue a couple of people and take them to a certain point, how hard could it be. She could do that with her eyes closed.

Sensing the end to the guard's ability to control himself, she began moving. The night sounds started easing behind her from the fevered pitch she had encouraged them to be. She moved silently, standing behind the guard within a blink of an eye. She gripped his neck between two fingers and squeezed, watching his legs spasm then drop from beneath him, his eyes closed.

The people in the hut started to mumble and make noise, but she turned to them and in a mesmeric voice said, "I am here to help you, do not be afraid." The foreign tongue making her words even more reassuring. "Come, I am taking you somewhere safe from these people." She gestured to the guard's body and then towards the trees surrounding the small clearing. "This way."

She wore all black, but her skin almost glowed it was so white in the darkness. She moved quickly, at least to the captives, toward the easiest path from this point to her next venture. She moved silently still, as if she knew no other way to move. Her body was tall, built like she was able to take on anything, but feminine and sensual as if made for love, not battle.

The seven captives were soon worn down however, by the lack of food and water, the endless terror having given them no time to sleep. Their rescuer gave them a pouch of army rations and a couple of canteens of water, but saved none for herself. When they tried to persuade her that she should have some, that she needed it, she in turn persuaded them she did not. She was thirsty, dreadfully so, but would not drink until she could be assured of the captives welfare. She had gone thirsty before, it was nothing new now.

By the time dawn chose to appear, she was edging them to the edge of the path and hiding them for a few hours rest. Rest she did not need. Regardless of myth, the sun had never bothered her, she felt no real need to sleep, except when injured. So now she scouted their escape route, almost hoping to be followed. Boredom was one of her primary enemies when dealing with most human beings. She always seemed to be easily bored by them because they lacked originality and imagination. Or maybe they just lacked intelligence.

Either way, she was pleasantly surprised to find one man following them. He held his weapon casually as he, too, scouted his way through the dense forestation. She moved with the stealth of a lioness hunting her prey as she closed in on him. The dense underbrush aided her ability to sneak behind him and attack. Finesse is a thing she liked to say she had gained with age. As she drained the blood from his body by the jugular vein she saw no large spurts of blood or major signs of struggle. Of course, when she had grabbed him there was a small jockey for freedom, then position. But his struggles were easily overcome, his life's blood flowing from his body and his eyes grew dim as he stopped breathing. She searched his body, disabled his weapon and returned to her scouting, finding more rations and water on him for her assignments. At least she was no longer parched, that was reassuring that at least that would not be a problem in the coming day.

With no more unexpected guests, she returned to her party and woke them. She handed over the canteen and rations she had found on their hunter and began to lead them from the fray. They looked at her with more fright than the night before, and the one child gave her a look of awe and terror as he hid behind his mother's legs. She paid little heed, but it was as if she could feel their terror, because she did not try to communicate or anything else after she began to lead the way. The few hours of rest seemed to be what they needed, most, as they moved more quickly than before. The daylight no doubt helped, but she sensed their need to be away from her was also a factor. When the mother, forced to carry her child, began to falter, their leader did not ask, merely lifted them both inter her arms and continued at her original pace, not slowing for the sudden almost tripling of her weight.

They protested weakly, as though afraid of angering her, then when they realized she only meant to carry them and spur them forward, they silenced their arguments and followed as quickly as they could. Their movement much improved by this, she almost believed she could make it to the rendezvous point by dark. She was not expected until the next day, but she had a thing about men's expectations, she liked to show them up.

The woman in her arms was stiff with fright, but the child slept in peace as they moved as quietly as possible amongst the trees to the north. Thirteen miles was all she had to move them, and to be honest, she could have moved the target that far within minutes if she was alone. The entourage however would balk at being transported that way one at a time, or even two at a time. To move them this way kept them quiet and got them where she wanted them to go.

Suddenly, she stopped, her hearing triggered by the noise of someone coming. She put the woman down slowly, and barely jostled when two of the men behind her did not see her stop and ran into her. She put a finger to her lips and motioned with her hand for them to get down. She moved toward the sound, trying to place what it was exactly. From the range it was away, she knew that her entourage was in no danger from it, no weapon could have that kind of range, but she moved towards it to identify and eliminate it if it was unfriendly. Within seconds they could no longer see her from their hiding spots, but whispered frantically between them about her.

She knew what it was without having to be within range of it that she was finding a sniper's den. She had no need to empty it, as she would not travel within a mile of it in any direction, and she did not believe in senseless slaughter. She did believe in a fair fight, and that was why she made her way towards the den. She moved to find two men barely paying attention to what surrounded them, speaking Dutch and passing the time. She moved as if she were invisible, skirting the edge of the den, and coming to the opening.

What happened then needs no retelling. The two men would argue for years over the events. No one is truly sure how, but the rifles in the enclosure were all taken, as if by a thief in the night. But neither man saw someone enter, nor were they so remiss in their duties as to not check their weapons that morning. Their weapons were there that morning, and then not at noon. And not even all of their weapons disappeared, only their long range rifles.

She returned to her assignment. They did not protest when she moved them on, again lifting the woman and child. She kept the pace steady, and the men's hunting had kept them fit for the run for miles. She held them to the strict pace and did not stop again for nearly two hours. She knew they were tiring, and they had less than two miles left in their journey. She did not stop completely, merely moved them to a walk.

It was nigh to noon, and she knew that they would require food again before they made it to their rendezvous. It had been so long since she required that much to eat in a day that she could not fathom how they lived constantly seeming to be hungry. It always amazed her how they survived when left to themselves.

After another hour of walking, they made it to their meeting place, a small village that boasted a marketplace. Digging into her knapsack, she found the colorful caftan to wear. She slipped it on over her head, covering her hair. She needed no curiosity as she led them through the town. Setting out from the jungle, her party balked for the first time. "Come on, I can guarantee your safety." Her pale face only slightly shaded by the new garment.

They seemed to follow unwillingly, and upon reaching the marketplace, hung back slightly. She purchased food from a vendor, nothing expensive, but it would get them through. The vendor seemed to be hesitant to take her money, then bowed in great respect and never took his eyes from her. Thinking little of it she led the party onward to a small wooden church, pulling them inside the small building, welcoming the cool shade it provided.

Handing the provisions again to one of the men, she searched the church with her eyes, noticing that nothing had been changed since the last time she had visited here. Not even the priest's cassock as he approached them, was different than yesterday. He met with the people she had brought, speaking to them, making sure everything was all right.

She heard every word, even though she was still at the back of the church, and the rescued family had moved almost to the altar. She moved to the open window and watched the people go by, making sure everything was still safe, that nothing from the town would move forward before her job was done. Eventually, finding everything all right, or as good as to be expected, Father Verselli moved up the center aisle to the end of the church where she stood.

"I see you have done your job well, beast. At least you have some uses." He leered at her in a way that priests were wont to do. She experienced it every time she met

with one of the small-minded men that served the Church. "You could not even clean yourself up after your last meal, no wonder they are so afraid of you." She looked at the priest for the first time, and in the reflection of his eyes saw the trickle of blood that had escaped her notice from her meal. She moved to the doorway leading to the chapel and dipped her fingers into the holy water, wetting them before applying them to her face to wash off the offending blood.

"You commit a sacrilege by using holy water to clean a man's blood from your face. It should burn you as it does the other beasts. I hope you rot in hell, you unrequited whore of Satan." He made a face and began to turn away. Stopping suddenly, he turned his face back to her, "And as soon as you are done here, you had better leave, or I will turn the people on you. And they are almost the vicious animals that you are."

She did not respond, only moved back to the windows to watch the square. His words were nothing she had not heard before, and if she had not needed the help of the Church once again, she never would have come here. Things had a way of making her regret her outbursts, so she just kept quiet anymore when the men of the Church made their feelings known. What they did not understand caused them fear, and they feared her and her kind very much.

A sound behind her caused her to turn, thinking to see the priest ready for another tirade, she was surprised to find the child there. He looked at her with open curiosity, and did not show his fear, though she could still sense he held it. She was rather like the beast the priest called her, and could pounce any moment to their way of thinking. The child however, moved closer, to stand beside her. He looked up at her with his deep brown eyes, almost the color of the earth overturned in the fields of her homeland, and spoke in a solemn voice for one so young.

"On behalf of my family and myself, I wish to thank you for saving us. I would be honored to sing your praises to my people." He would, she could sense the truth in his words. This boy of eight, was asking her name so when he again saw his people, and when he guided them, when his children asked about him, he would say she had saved him. He did her an honor that most did not think to do. He recognized that she could have killed them, or left them to be killed, but she had used her abilities to keep them alive and save them from their fate.

Nodding her head, she told him, "Then you will tell them Kiri saved you, and that she kept watch over you all the next night so that you could one day rule your people with fairness and grant peace." At her words, he nodded his head solemnly and moved again to the people waiting at the altar. They had all watched with fear his approach and now his leave of her. Kiri however, turned back to watch the goings on outside.

The next day when the rest of the contingent appeared, nothing had happened to risk the lives of those she had saved. The other Churchman handed her a letter and sent her on her way, no harsh words on his part, in fact no words at all. The letter stated that her friend had died, but he had been granted extreme unction, and given the last rites. No emotion showed on her face, and having been granted what she wanted, she left Africa, hoping never to return.