CHAPTER 15

Ogadi's head still rang from the gunshot and her fingers still shook from the kickback. She was so drenched and cold, two things she hated, so she didn't find Phillip's smart-ass reply funny at all.

“What do you mean you came here to save my life? And who's he?” Ogadi asked, gesturing to the wounded man who was still screaming.

Phillip started, “I followed you here—”

“You followed me? What are you? Some kind of stalker?” Ogadi asked angrily.

Phillip held out his hand so she could pull him up. Ogadi disregarded the hand.

Phillip sighed and pulled himself up, “Yes, I followed you. If I didn't, you would have been dead by now. I saw the man aiming a pistol at you, and I warned you. The way I see it, you should be thanking me.”

Ogadi sniffed, “Yeah, right.”

The priestess smiled up at Phillip, “Thank you.”

Ogadi was taken aback. So the girl could be polite?

Phillip smiled warmly at her, “You're welcome,” then turning to Ogadi, he asked, “Who is she?”

Ogadi replied, “She's the priestess of Oshimmiri.”

Phillip stared at the priestess incredulously, “Seriously? Aren't you too young for this?”

“I'm seventeen,” the girl replied maturely as if she was thirty.

Ogadi left them and went over to where the man who'd tried to kill her lay, still screaming. Although she hadn't been shot before, Ogadi thought the man was overacting.

When she was a few feet away from him, she felt it. His aura felt unnatural, unclean, tainted by the underworld.

Immediately, Ogadi's guard raised. The man was possessed by a demon. She began to chant incantations to banish it to the underworld but before she could finish, the man jumped up and held her jaw firmly in his hand, trying to crush it.

Ogadi tried to punch him, but she couldn't get to him. She clawed at the arm that held her, making gouges in the skin, but the man was oblivious to the pain.

Ogadi looked into his eyes and what she saw in there scared her. The man wasn't possessed by a demon, they were many inhabiting his body.

Ogadi cursed. So many demons possessing a person wasn't good. They put a lot of strain on the person which would eventually lead to death.

Ogadi knew she had to save the man, but she didn't know how she would do it with her jaw on its way to being broken.

Phillip and the priestess ran to Ogadi's aid. Phillip tried to tackle the man while the priestess began to smack the man's back, but the man shrugged them off like they were nothing more than pesky flies.

Just as the pain became unbearable, Ogadi had an epiphany. She kicked with all her might and her right foot connected with his groin. Although she was barefoot, the force with which she kicked brought forth tears to his eyes as he screamed.

He pushed Ogadi away and she staggered. Although her jaw hurt, she forced herself to complete her incantation.

The man began to screech and run around as if he had been immolated.

“What's wrong with him?” Phillip asked, concerned.

“It's the demons. Banishing them to the underworld is very painful for them.” Ogadi explained.

“So he'll stop soon?” Phillip asked, wincing when the man let out an ear-shattering scream.

“From the multitude of demons I saw in him, it might take a while.” Ogadi explained.

Turning to the priestess, she asked, “What's your name?”

She replied, “Adammiri.”

Ogadi nodded. Adammiri meant “water's first-born daughter.”

“So Adammiri, what did you see that night?” Ogadi queried.

Adammiri's face contorted as she replied, “I saw a man who had a painted face come here with the body of a woman. He'd already killed her before bringing her here.”

Phillip frowned, “Why would he perform the sacrifice here?”

“Don't you know?” Adammiri snapped bitterly, “This was supposed to be a great big middle finger to Oshimmiri and the other deities.”

Ogadi scowled. Dike Aru was going too far, she thought. To Adammiri, she said, “Did the gods do anything to stop the sacrifice?”

Adammiri nodded as tears trickled down her face, “Yes. I called on Oshimmiri to stop him. A huge storm ensued with lots of lightning and thunder, but it didn't scare the man.”

Ogadi put her hand on Adammiri's shoulder in a consoling manner, “I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how it feels to have this sacred river desecrated.”

Adammiri wiped her tears away as she said, “I noticed the man was limping too. I probably should have come out of the water to stop him but for some reason, I was too scared. Because of my fear, I have failed my goddess.”

Ogadi shook Adammiri's shoulder, “Now, listen to me. You didn't fail anyone. What if you had intervened? What would have stopped him from killing you?”

“And if he'd killed you, who would have told us what happened?” Phillip asked quietly.

“It's not as if I saw much. Most of what I've told you will be of no use to you.” Adammiri said, bent on punishing herself.

“Don't beat yourself up, it's still something,” Ogadi said although her thoughts ran in the same vein with Adammiri's. She'd gone through a lot for so little information.

The man was still screaming as he scratched his body. Ogadi could only imagine the pain he was going through.

Phillip, trying to distract Adammiri asked her, “So how did a girl like you end up as priestess to the goddess Oshimmiri?”

“Why do you want to know?” She asked defensively.

Phillip smiled in that open way of his, “I'm writing a book.”

Taken in by that smile, Adammiri began to tell her life story, “Well, back in the days, when Oshimmiri had many worshippers, women used to flood the river, hoping to be selected to succeed the present priestess.

Those days, priestesses were revered and received a lot of offerings in the form of money and foodstuff from people.

Fast forward to this day, and Oshimmiri has been forgotten by the people,” Adammiri said bitterly.

Ogadi nodded, she understood how Adammiri felt.

“The priestess before me died. At that time, I didn't even know who Oshimmiri was. All I knew was that I felt at home in the water. I was one of the few children who enjoyed taking my bath. I would intentionally get dirty and sweaty so I'd be forced to bathe. Sometimes, I bathed more than five times daily,” Adammiri smiled sadly before continuing, “Suddenly, I began to get sick all the time. At first, I thought it was Malaria. Treated myself and it stopped, for a while. Then I took drugs for typhoid and this time, it didn't stop. My body began to burn up and I had a fever that made me delirious.

My parents rushed me to the hospital but the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me. I went to different hospitals and clinics, but I was given a clean bill of health. Clean bill of health, when it felt like I was going to die at any moment.

At one hospital, the doctor took one look at me and proclaimed the cause of my illness was spiritual. He referred my parents to a church, and the second phase of my nightmares began.” Adammiri shuddered.

“We went to different churches. In some places, I would receive beatings in the name of deliverance. I was forced to drink all sorts of "spiritual cleansers" and when nothing worked, I was told never to return to their churches, lest the evil spirit in me possessed them too.

One day, my father's friend came over and seeing the sorry state I was in, he told my father about a native doctor.

My father who was at his wits' end, took me to him. The man took one look at me and began to scream at my father, telling him not to deny Oshimmiri what was hers.

My father didn't understand until the man explained that Oshimmiri was without a priestess and had handpicked me herself. He said if I didn't become a priestess immediately, I would die.

That spurred my father into action and he began to find out all he could about Oshimmiri and her priestesses, which wasn't much.

The next day, he took me to Okammiri. At the sight of the river, I felt marginally better.

Because the priestess was already dead, there was no one to initiate me and teach me what I needed to know.

That was until I began to know what to do. I'd think about a problem, and immediately, the solution would pop up. I knew it was Oshimmiri guiding my way.” Adammiri smiled happily for the first time since her narration.

Ogadi and Phillip looked at her with pity. Ogadi thought her lot was better than Adammiri's. At least, she'd had a nearly normal life and she'd been the one who chose to serve Ala. The same couldn't be said for Adammiri.

“Get those looks off your faces,” Adammiri said hotly, “I don't need your pity. I'm very happy here. I love serving the goddess.”

Ogadi noticed the man was no longer screaming. Instead, he lay on the ground.

Ogadi tapped Phillip and showed him the man.

“I hope he isn't dead,” Ogadi mused.

Phillip's eyes popped from their sockets as he asked, “What? You killed him?”

“Of course, I didn't!” Ogadi shouted, outraged as they ran to the man to check on him.

They found him staring up at the sky, his gaze a little unfocused. His breathing was even, Ogadi noted with relief as she shook him gently.

“Sir, sir,” She called, “Are you awake?”

The man's eyes narrowed as he focused on them.

“Who are you?” he asked, alarmed. He tried to sit up and noticed the wound on his shoulder.

“Who did this to me?” he asked hysterically.

Ogadi and Phillip scratched their heads and looked away.

“What am I doing here?” he asked them.

“You were possessed by demons and tried to kill us.” Ogadi replied.

“I don't believe you,” the man said stubbornly.

“It is the truth,” Phillip asserted. “What last do you remember?”

The man thought deeply before he remembered, “I was going home after a long day working in my farm. All of a sudden, I felt dizzy and nauseous. I think I blacked out.”

Ogadi nodded, “That was when the demons were entering you.”

“Demons? How many were there?” The man asked.

“A hundred or so.” Ogadi replied.

“A hundred?” The man and Phillip asked simultaneously.

“Or so.” Ogadi pointed out.

“Are they all out of me?” the man asked, checking to see if he was still in one piece.

“I think so,” Ogadi replied.

“You think so?”

“Fine. I know so.” Ogadi replied more confidently.

“I better get out of here,” the man said as he walked away.

“It's probably best,” Phillip called out after him.

When he was gone, they turned around and found out that Adammiri had disappeared.

“Thank you!” Ogadi called out.

“So what do we do now?” Phillip asked.

“Excuse me?” Ogadi cast him a look, “Did I hear you correctly? Who's "we"?”

“I saved your life, and I know you're involved in something dangerous. You'll get into trouble again and you'll need me to save you again.” Phillip said with maddening cool.

“First of all, I saved your life too. Secondly, I can take care of myself,” Ogadi pointed out with a huff.

“You saved my life because I had to save your life, and while there's no doubt that you can take care of yourself, I do know that you aren't invincible,” Phillip said, “And even if you don't tell me, I'll still shadow you. So save your argument, I'm coming along and that's final.”

Ogadi considered the stubborn set of his jaw and knew he wasn't going to give in. Moreover, although she would never admit it to him, this riverside encounter had been more than she could chew, “Fine. Let's go.”

Phillip smiled, “I knew you would come around.”

At that moment, it hit Ogadi that Nwata was nowhere to be found. She began to panic, “Nwata! Nwata! Where are you?”

“Who are you calling?” Phillip asked, confused.

Ogadi shushed him and repeated her call.

Some minutes later, Nwata floated to her. Ogadi was so happy. If Nwata were tangible, she'd have given him a hug.

“What happened?” She asked Nwata, “Where did you go?”

Nwata looked down as he replied, “You told me to hide. Then I saw the possessed man. If the demons in him saw me, they'd have reported me to Dike Aru and he'd have sent some of his guards to capture me, so I went off.”

“You did well,” Ogadi commended it.

Nwata smiled. At the same time, Phillip asked, “What the hell are you talking to?”

“A demon.” Ogadi replied.

Phillip looked around before he proclaimed, “I can't see anything.”

“Only Gate Keepers can see demons.” Ogadi replied smugly.

“You're rolling with demons?” Phillip asked, running his hand through his hair, “I thought they were the enemy.” He said uneasily.

“Not this one. You still want to tag along?” Ogadi asked, hoping the prospect of being around a demon would scare him off.

“You bet I am,” Phillip replied with a roguish grin.

Ogadi sighed her displeasure.

Nwata pointed at Phillip and asked, “Daddy?”