CHAPTER 12

After her call with Ezinne, Ogadi found it hard to sleep. She worried about her grandmother and she tossed and turned on her bed, Ogadi offered up prayers to Ala and Chukwu to protect Ezinne.

A few hours before dawn, Ogadi finally fell asleep and was dreaming about attending the approaching concert when she heard someone shouting her name.

Not wanting to be free from such a beautiful dream, Ogadi covered her ears with her pillow and turned away from the voice.

Some seconds later, the voice intruded again, this time more harshly.

Ogadi angrily got up, “What is it?!”

She hesitated when she saw it was Nwata who woke her up.

“What do you want?” Ogadi asked, rubbing her eyes.

Nwata gestured animatedly to her door, “There's a man in the sitting room.”

The demon's words had Ogadi rush out of her bed comically.

“Is he a thief?” She whispered.

“I don't know. He's just sitting down in the sitting room.” Nwata informed.

Ogadi reasoned that if the man was a thief, he'd be ransacking the house looking for valuables and not sitting around.

And with the image of some uninvited man sitting in her house in her head, Ogadi's fear transformed into anger.

Who the hell was he? Did he not know the house belonged to gatekeepers?

If he didn't, Ogadi reasoned, he was about to get schooled.

Without thinking twice, Ogadi tiptoed to the kitchen and brought out a meat cleaver so seldomly used that it had become blunt. Not that the intruder knew that. Cleaver in hand, she firmly but quietly walked to the sitting room with Nwata hiding behind her.

The man wouldn't be able to see the demon but either Nwata didn't know or it simply didn't care.

When Ogadi got to the sitting room, she saw a young man who looked her age or a few years older at most, lounging on her grandmother's favorite couch with one leg crossed over the other, going through something on his phone.

The man was pale, too pale to be a full-blooded black although his hair was super curly.

Ogadi decided he was probably half-Caucasian.

He was so comfortable and relaxed, as if her grandmother had asked him to come over.

Ogadi cleared her throat and brandished the cleaver, “Who are you and what do you think you're doing here?!”

The man looked up in surprise and Ogadi gave an involuntary gasp. The man was incredibly handsome with his slashed cheekbones and full lips, but what clinched it for Ogadi was his eyes. They were an arresting shade of gray.

“My name is Phillip Anyanwu and I'm here because I need you to come with me,” he said when he regained his composure, which didn't take much time.

“What are you talking about? How did you get in?” Ogadi asked, confused.

“I picked your lock,” Phillip said distractedly.

Ogadi saw he was looking at the meat cleaver in her hand, so she brought her hand down.

“You thief,” Ogadi accused indignantly, “I'm going to report you to the police.”

“I didn't steal anything,” Phillip said, still staring.

Belatedly, Ogadi noticed he was not staring at the meat cleaver but the indentation her breasts made on the shirt she always wore to sleep.

The bastard, she thought. She folded her arms across her breasts and scowled at him.

He finally looked up, giving her an impish smile that said busted.

“You might not have stolen anything, but you still broke in. Last I heard, breaking and entering is still a crime,” Ogadi said heatedly.

“You wouldn't do that,” Phillip said confidently.

“And why not?” Ogadi asked.

“Because you need me,” Phillip.

Ogadi broke into mirthless laughter, “How can I need you when I don't even know you?”

“Like I said, my name is Phillip Anyanwu. I'm an enthusiast of the Igbo culture and tradition.” Phillip said.

“An enthusiast?” Ogadi cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Phillip nodded.

“So what was so important that you had to break into my house?” Ogadi asked impatiently. She wanted to go back to her room and change into something less...revealing, but she had to find out why Phillip was here.

“I usually gobble up everything I can find about our culture. I'm planning on writing a book, if you must know. Well, I was speaking to a seer the other day, when she told me a prophecy.” Phillip stated as he uncrossed his legs.

Ogadi rolled her eyes. Some scammer had probably duped him. He wouldn't be the first. Many people posed as diviners and seers just to exploit people by telling them a sea of lies.

Ogadi nevertheless sat down in a couch opposite him and asked, “So what did this seer say?”

Phillip ran his hand across his smooth jaw and said, “The seer told me that one of the daughters of the earth shall betray her kind and give our world to the underworld.”

For some reason unknown to her, Ogadi felt chilled by his words. She shook off the fear that had settled in her spine and stood up, “And what is that supposed to mean?”

Phillip shot her a level look, “Do you ask because you don't know or because you already know?”

“Just answer the question.” Ogadi said irritably. She hated smart alecks.

Phillip sighed, “Your guess is as good as mine. I think what the prophecy is trying to say is that an Onye Nche, a Gate Keeper, will hand us over to the underworld king.”

Ogadi brandished the cleaver in her hand again, “You're lying! We all swore an oath to Ala never to betray our cause. A Gate Keeper takes this oath seriously!”

Phillip leaned back into his chair and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, “Don't cleave the messenger!”

Ogadi narrowed her eyes and ordered, “If you don't get out of here with your stupid and fake prophecy, I might do just that!”

Phillip stood up and let himself out, but not before he said, “This shouldn't be ignored.”

* * *

Ogadi didn't know what to make of Phillip's visit, so she did the only thing she did when she was unsure of events, she picked up her phone to call her grandmother.

She was about to speed dial Ezinne's number when her phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Ezinne calling.

Ogadi gave a sigh of relief. Now, she wouldn't have to waste her airtime.

She answered the call on the second ring, “Good morning, Grandmother.” Ogadi said happily, “I hope you slept well.”

“I did,” Ezinne replied, “And what about you? I'm pretty sure you didn't get much rest.”

“Actually, I didn't,” Ogadi admitted, “How did you know?”

“Florence called me some minutes ago. I don't even know how she got my number, but that's by the way,” Ezinne said dismissively, “She told me she saw a fine young man leaving the house just now. According to her, you're a demonic harlot whom I should restrain in a chastity belt.”

“Chukwu!” Ogadi exclaimed as she held her hand to her mouth. Florence, their zealot neighbor had seen Phillip leaving their house and had jumped to the conclusion that he'd spent the night.

“So what do you have to say for yourself?” Ezinne asked dryly.

Ogadi rushed to reply, “It's not true, Grandmother. If you must know, I was about to call you just now and tell you all about that.”

“I can't wait to hear it,” Ezinne encouraged.

“I was asleep when Nwata woke me up, informing me there was someone downstairs.” Ogadi started.

“What are you trying to say? That someone broke into the house?” Ezinne asked, alarmed.

“Yes. He told me he picked the lock.” Ogadi replied.

“I need to install an alarm system,” Ezinne remarked, “Carry on.”

“I went to the sitting room with a meat cleaver and asked him what he was doing in our house. He said he needed to tell me something urgent.” Ogadi narrated.

“Did you get his name?” Ezinne queried.

“Yes. Phillip Anyanwu.” Ogadi replied.

“Anyanwu. Anyanwu.” Ezinne repeated the name as she mulled it over. Finally, she sighed, “Anyanwu is a very popular name.”

“He said he'd gone to a seer, and the seer told him that a gatekeeper would hand over the world to Dike Aru.”

“Ala forbid it!” Ezinne exclaimed emphatically, “I hope he didn't pay the scam artist who told him that fallacy.”

“I told him that it was impossible, and ordered him to leave.” Ogadi said.

Ezinne's satisfaction was evident in her voice when she replied, “Good. I hope he left then.”

“Yes, he did,” Ogadi replied, “You see, it was an innocent episode.”

“I see that now,” Ezinne agreed, “You did a good job. Now, I want you to be extra careful. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

“Yes, Grandma,” Ogadi said, feeling six years old and in need of praise and reassurance again.

“Bye.” Ezinne said.

“Bye.” Ogadi echoed before Ezinne hung up.

Ogadi's stomach growled and she realized it was mid-morning. The activities of the day had made her lose track of time.

She hurried brushed her teeth and bathed as she talked to Nwata, who she left outside the bathroom.

Sure, he was a demon, but he still had eyes and Ogadi didn't like another presence with her in the bathroom.

After a quick shower, she wore a faded blouse and a pair of shorts and wandered into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and retrieved some leftover Jollof rice she'd eaten the day before.

She put it into the microwave to heat and went through her news feed to pass the time.

Her breath caught when she saw news of another “sacrifice/murder,” just like the one Ezinne had shown her a while ago.

This one had occurred on the bed of Okammiri, one of the sacred rivers in the state, said to be the resting place of the high priestess of Oshimmiri, the river goddess.

“Grandmother needs to see this,” Ogadi said as she hastily copied and sent the link to Ezinne.

Seconds later, Ezinne called her again.

“Ogadi, I hope this isn't your idea of a prank,” Ezinne said once Ogadi answered.

“No, it isn't.” Ogadi replied.

Ezinne sighed, “We have no way of knowing if the ritual was completed this time around.”

“I hope not,” Ogadi wished.

“I have to find out,” Ezinne said, “I'll head over to Okammiri and speak to the chief priestess.”

“No, no, no.” Ogadi said, “Why don't you stay in Umuisi and find out where Ekere is hiding while I go and speak to the priestess?”

Ezinne replied immediately, “No. I don't want you going there by yourself. Who knows—”

“Grandmother, time isn't on our side. We have to find out what's going on and find a way to counter it quickly. I'm a Gate Keeper, I'm powerful.” Ogadi interrupted her grandmother.

Ezinne sighed resignedly, “I see your point. Although I don't like it, you can go to Okammiri and summon the chief priestess of Oshimmiri. It is said that she watches over the river unendingly without even blinking. I'm sure she saw something.”

Ogadi did a fist pump and a little jig, “Don't worry, Grandmother. I'll find out everything I can.”

“Also, watch your tongue and show the chief priestess nothing but respect.” Ezinne warned sternly.

“Of course, I'm incapable of acting otherwise.” Ogadi said sweetly.

“Yeah, right,” she heard Ezinne mutter under her breath.

“One more thing, if any sign of trouble abounds, I want you to run out of there, as quickly as possible.” Ezinne pleaded.

“Don't worry, I'll do as you ask. Thank you for trusting me with such an important task,” Ogadi said and disconnected the call.

Then she broke out into a happy dance, shimmying and wiggling her lithe body.