The sun rose over the City of Kigali, Rwanda, driving the night critters back to their lairs. Darkness must give way to light, it's the way of the world. The owls, the honey badgers, the porcupines and the pole cats went back to their hiding places, driven away by the light of the sun. Abdel Karangwa headed back to his place, a two-story townhouse located in the wealthy Nimepata District of metropolitan Kigali. Abdel Karangwa made it home just as the sky turned golden. Even though Abdel Karangwa hadn't breathed in decades, he sighed in sheer relief.
"Thanks, brother," said the cab driver, overjoyed with the generous tip that Abdel Karangwa had given him before exiting the vehicle. Even with a Vampire's preternatural strength and speed, Abdel Karangwa had his limits. After completing his task in the wild, Abdel grabbed his cellphone and summoned a cab as soon as he reached the City of Kigali. It would have taken him too long to cross the vast West African metropolis on foot. Modern technology does have its conveniences, especially for the Undead. Abdel Karangwa made it home safely, beating the arrival of daylight by a hair...
"Home sweet home," Abdel Karangwa said to himself, as he closed the door behind him. The townhouse had heavy drapes on the windows, shielding its inhabitants from the sunlight, and Abdel welcomed the cool darkness. As a Vampire, Abdel could potentially live forever but sunlight was his bane. Normally, Abdel would have been home hours before dawn, but he'd gone on a mission which took him far from his comfort zone. When duty calls, a warrior must answer. Even nine decades after becoming one of the Undead, Abdel, a former soldier, was still a warrior at heart. Some things simply never change...
Abdel grinned as a quartet of furry forms came bounding toward him in the darkness. The house's dogs, Lucky, Dakota, Marquis and Harriet rushed to greet their master. Abdel knelt down and petted the dogs. Collectively, this quartet of canines are known as the Familiars. The animals had been recently fed. Abdel could smell the goat meat that the dogs consumed. Abdel allowed the dogs to lick his hand and face. Even as a Vampire, Abdel loved his dogs more than anything. Dogs are loyal, unlike people, or Vampires, come to think of it. During the day, the dogs had the run of the entire house. They're the daytime protectors of the Vampires...
"Cutting it a bit close," came a female voice, and Abdel smiled as Lady Jannah came forward. Six feet tall and curvy, with dark brown skin and long black hair, Lady Jannah looked no older than forty, even though she had been walking the earth for centuries. Lady Jannah In the dark, Lady Jannah's golden brown eyes glowed. Lady Jannah smiled at Abdel, briefly baring her pearly white fangs. Abdel took off his coat, which had a hood and gloves in the pockets, a last ditch defense against the sun's rays.
"The deed is done," Abdel replied, and Lady Jannah nodded, pleased to receive the good news. Abdel had gone to the outskirts of Kigali, into the wilderness, and taken care of business. The Cult of Tukur would be diminished now that its leader Father Basil was dead. Abdel had gone into the wilderness and infiltrated the Cult of Tukur's woodland compound, and then he killed their leader, the infamous Father Basil, one of the most dangerous men in all of West Africa. Father Basil, a former Catholic priest, had found an ancient tome of forbidden magic and used it to summon rogue Orishas, forcing them to do his bidding.
In West Africa, from Nigeria to Ghana, from Senegal to Congo, from Gambia to Benin, a delicate balance exists between the world of Man, and the world of the Supernatural. Demons, monsters and creatures of myth and legend walk among ordinary men and women, disguised as seemingly ordinary people. In Europe and North America, the various species of sentient nonhumans have been hunted in the past, but in West Africa, the sentient nonhumans have always commanded respect. A truce has existed between Man and the Supernatural in Africa since time immemorial.
"Father Basil needed to die, the man wanted to use demons to destroy the European neocolonial influences and their African myrmidons but he went about it the wrong way," Lady Jannah said, and Abdel nodded in agreement. A war between humans and the Supernatural would do no one any good. Such a conflict would only result in the end of the world. Abdel, as Lady Jannah's apprentice, has taken care of business. Lady Jannah approached her apprentice, and hugged him tenderly.
"The Cult of Tukur will be in disarray, your mortal agents in the Rwandan military can take care of them," Abdel said, and Lady Jannah nodded, gently kissing him on the forehead. Six feet two inches tall, strongly built and dark-skinned, Abdel still looked like the soldier he'd once been. Lady Jannah knows warriors. After all, Lady Jannah was once a Palace Guard during the Reign of King Rwabugiri, who unified the states of Gisaka, Bugesera and Burundi into a true Rwandan civilization in the nineteenth century.
Lady Jannah was turned into a Vampire by Prince Kagayo, a legendary Vampire who once ruled over the Manwagari Tribe in the Kirundo region of Burundi in the eighteenth century. After roaming all over Africa and the Arab world, Lady Jannah returned home to Rwanda. The African female Vampire was in a tavern in the town of Kibuye one evening when she saw a tall, handsome Rwandan military man stride in with his cohorts. Lady Jannah chose to turn Abdel Karangwa into a Vampire after meeting him in the environs of Kibuye in the summer of 1932. The African Vampire queen has not regretted that decision. Abdel Karangwa has become a magnificent Vampire...
"You've done well," Lady Jannah said, and she took Abdel by the hand and led him to the basement of their townhouse. To their neighbors, Lady Jannah and Abdel were simply a pair of wealthy, eccentric oddballs. The people of metropolitan Kigali didn't know that Lady Jannah and Abdel were the latest in a long line of Dark Protectors. In the olden days, just like today, Africa's monsters protected the people of Africa. Lady Jannah has fought against European colonials such as the Belgian Empire in her time, and before her time is done, she will do far more to protect her people.
