CHAPTER 44

NARRATOR.

Qhawe stands by the door, frozen, watching his big brother—half naked, sweating, trembling—transform into something unrecognisable.
Ncanezwe's eyes are wild, unfocused, his breaths shallow. He looks less like the calm family man they know and more like a man fighting something inside his soul.

Nhlokwemamba never mentioned this part.
He never said Ncanezwe would tear his clothes off, stagger around like a possessed man, or speak in a voice that didn't sound like his own. Qhawe steps back, panic tightening his chest. He slips out of the rondavel and quickly pulls out his phone, dialing Mabutho with shaky hands.

"Mfana omncane… (my youngest brother…)" Mabutho answers, his voice heavy.