CHAPTER 19

Ezinne and Ejike peered at the boy.

“What is your name?” Ejike asked.

The boy scratched his elbow as he replied, “My daddy told me not to talk to strangers.”

Ezinne and Ejike exchanged glances.

Ejike whispered to Ezinne, “Is Ekere in him?”

Ezinne looked into the boy's eyes. They looked calm and normal, just like that of a sane human being's. A demon host lent a feral look to one's eyes, dilating them widely.

“No. Ekere is not in him.” Ezinne replied.

“Good.” Ejike said, “I don't want to hurt a child.”

“We aren't strangers,” Ezinne said with a smile to the boy.

The boy gave her an unbelieving look, “Then who are you?”

“We are friends of your father's.” Ejike replied friendly.

The boy brightened at that, “If you're friends with my father, are you friends with my other father too?”

Ezinne was momentarily discombobulated by the boy's chattering before she pieced the words together and grasped the meaning behind them.

Ezinne's nostrils flared in anger. This little boy was probably one of the children who had "gone missing". She was sure he had wandered through the shield.

She managed to get her anger under control so as not to scare the little boy into clamming up.

“Yes, of course.” Ezinne replied the boy in a congenial manner.

“Could you please tell us where your father is?” Ejike asked.

“Which one?” The boy asked as he picked up a nearby pebble and lobbed it at a little bird.

The bird ducked and let out what was probably a taunting chirp.

“The one that lives with you here.” Ezinne said, redirecting the boy's attention by holding his chin.

Before the boy had a chance to respond, an adult male voice carried over to them, “Chidiebube! Your food is ready!”

Chidiebube forgot about answering their questions and ran towards the tree.

Ejike and Ezinne followed suit.

The tree was so large that one could not see around it, so they were not prepared for the sight that greeted them when they walked over to the other side.

They saw two other young children, both girls, sitting on the grass and eating up noodles straight from the pot.

The girls were so engrossed in their meal, they didn't look up to see who'd joined them.

Chidiebube took a spoon that lay on the grass and joined the girls in eating from the pot, complaining they started without him.

Ejike and Ezinne cast their eyes further and saw a man kneeling beside the brook.

He looked like he was rinsing the dishes.

The man looked up at them and even from a distance, Ezinne knew that along with surprise, the man's eyes revealed a demonic presence.

Without wasting time, Ezinne began muttering an incantation to exorcise the demon.

The man smiled knowingly at her and snapped his fingers.

Of their own accord, Ezinne's lips firmly sealed and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't open them.

Ejike charged at the man, hoping to give him a good beating.

Again, the man snapped his fingers and Ejike stopped in mid-run. With one leg in the air, his posture was as comical as that of a cartoon character.

The man chuckled as he stood up and wiped his wet hands on his trousers.

“Well, well, who do we have here?” He asked.

* * *

Ezinne tried her best to move but found out she couldn't. Sweat poured down her face from the exertion but she couldn't even lift a finger to wipe it away. Her eyes stung as the salty liquid entered them but she couldn't blink them away.

Ezinne knew Ekere had them where it wanted them. She'd given up trying to get her mouth to work.

Ejike wasn't faring well either. Still in mid-run, the only parts of his body he could move were his eyes which he fixed on the man who approached them.

“Ejike, Ejike,” The man said jovially, “My old friend. You've aged poorly. What brings you here?”

Ejike looked like he wanted to bite the man's head off but his eyes weren't enough to get the job done.

The man laughed at the anger he saw simmering in Ejike's eyes and without a second thought, he gave Ejike a huge punch to the stomach.

Ejike's eyes watered and he looked like he was going to vomit but nothing came out.

The man laughed maniacally and moved over to where Ezinne stood.

He examined her closely and nodded, “a Gate Keeper. Finally, he brought with him someone competent. Too little, too late. As you can see, my powers have grown tremendously.”

He stared at them for half a minute, making silly faces at them before he sighed.

“I'm bored. I want to know why you two are here.” He said as he snapped his fingers.

Immediately, Ejike felt his lips loosen and he didn't hesitate to use them, “Ekere, we're here to banish you to the underworld for your crimes.”

Ekere laughed, “I knew you could keep me entertained. What are these crimes you speak of? Killing Thomas? That young man was a ne'er-do-well.”

“He still didn't deserve to die that way. Moreover, that's not what I'm talking about.” Ejike said, his anger evident in his voice.

“No?” Ekere asked, “What other crimes are you referring to?”

“Murdering innocent humans to use as sacrifice so you can resurrect Dike Aru.” Ejike stated.

His words like a bucket of cold water doused the man's jovial disposition. His eyes narrowed and his thin nostrils flared, “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, don't play dumb,” Ejike replied.

The man gave him another punch to his stomach. This time around, Ejike regurgitated the contents of his stomach and because of his posture, some spilled down his throat to the front of his shirt.

The man snapped his fingers and Ejike's mouth clamped shut again.

The man went over to Ezinne and told her in a firm voice, “I'm going to let you open your mouth because I have questions that need answers. If you start incanting, I'll snap your mouth close so hard you'll dislocate jaw. Are we clear?”

Since Ezinne couldn't reply, he snapped his fingers and her mouth snapped open.

Ezinne was about to start muttering her incantations when he put his thin finger across her lips.

“Don't even think about it.” He warned.

Ezinne decided to obey Ekere. After all, he was holding all the aces.

She nodded, happy that her lips were able to move again.

“What was he talking about?” The man asked curtly.

“Someone has successfully made a human sacrifice to resurrect Dike Aru.” Ezinne answered quickly.

The man snorted, “That's a lie. If Dike Aru was here on earth, I'd know.”

“I said the sacrifice was made, not that Dike Aru has returned,” Ezinne stressed.

The man scratched his head, “Why would Dike Aru waste time coming here? It's what he's always wanted.”

“I have no idea. We know you're the one who made the sacrifice. If there's any way you can nullify it, please do. Dike Aru won't spare anyone.” Ezinne pleaded.

The man considered her with anger, “You think I made the sacrifice?”

“Of course,” Ezinne replied, “You're his head servant after all.”

The man shook his head, “Believe it or not, I did no such thing. The last thing I want is Dike Aru here.”

“Prove it. Release us.” Ezinne said.

The man smiled mischievously. To Ejike, he said, “I like her. She's smarter than you.”

He snapped his fingers and Ezinne regained full control of her body.

Ejike crashed to the ground and the man laughed.

To Ezinne he said, “Come, let's step out from the sun's piercing rays.”

He took them to the side of the tree where the table and chairs were situated. As they sat down, the three children came over to the man.

“Daddy, thank you for the meal,” they chorused shyly.

A paternal smile spread across the man's face this time as he replied, “You're welcome. Give me some time to talk with my friends.”

The children nodded and ran off, leaving the three adults to stare after them.

“We were at the village. You know they're looking for these children, right?” Ejike asked.

The man waved off his words, “We have bigger problems. If the sacrifice has been completed and Dike Aru hasn't showed up, you can be rest assured it's because he's planning something big.”

“Yes. Not knowing when he's going to return agitates me. I can't even begin to imagine how I'll start warning people because no one will believe me.” Ezinne said as she massaged her temple.

“Ekere, I'm not buying your stab at innocence. I know you came to earth to clear the path for Dike Aru's return. You used me.” Ejike raged.

Ekere laughed, “Settle down, Ejike. Yes, I used you. In my defense, you were an arrogant bastard.”

The man's expression turned serious as the next words left his mouth, “But I swear on my mother, I was not the one who made the sacrifice.”

“Yeah, right. You're his head servant. Who else would he entrust with such an important task?” Ejike asked disbelievingly.

Ekere sighed, “I am tired of your doubts. Yes, I was his head servant. I hope you know I'm also his offspring.”

Ejike and Ezinne were shell-shocked by the man's words.

When Ejike recovered, he bellowed, “See what I mean? More reason for us not to believe whatever Ekere is telling us.”

“Keep quiet, let's listen.” Ezinne admonished Ejike.

“Yes, not many people know this,” The man grimaced, “but Dike Aru is my father too.”

“How did it happen?” Ezinne said, eager to learn anything she could about Dike Aru.

“When the gods banished Dike Aru from the heavens and he took up existence as a man, he forced himself on a young woman. She became pregnant.

When the gods banished him to the underworld, he took the poor woman with him.

The underworld was no place to bring a child into the world. The birth was a difficult one.

When her child came, for some reason, it had no tangible form.

Seeing what her child looked like, the woman gave up the ghost. Dike Aru didn't care one way or another for the physical form of the child. All he wanted was a lieutenant who would rule alongside him.

This child was me. Because Dike Aru is my father, I was naturally stronger than most demons. At first, I loved the praise he would shower on me whenever I pleased him. I wanted to help him take over the earth so badly.

Then, he began to treat the demons down there like slaves, making us train without rest. According to him, it was for our own good so we wouldn't falter when the war started.

Any demon who slacked was tortured unbearably. It got too much, even for me.” The man said he inspected his nails. He bit down on one before he continued, “Then I heard that Ejike here was giving certain demons a pass to earth for a short while and a brilliant plan came to me.

I decided to pretend I'd leave my host and return to the underworld once he commanded me. When the time came, I didn't leave. I jumped out of the window and my host died.

Since I wasn't exorcised from his body, I was able to enter this fellow here.

I came up to this hill and decided to create a little space for myself. I created a shield so I'd be left alone.

At first, it worked just fine. Until those curious children walked right through. There was no way I could let them leave because I knew they would blow my cover.”

“So you kept them here with you.” Ezinne concluded.

The man nodded.

“I'm sorry we accused you of making the sacrifice.” Ezinne said as she mentally crossed Ekere off the list of suspects. Having no other suspect, it meant they were back to the drawing board. She sighed as she wondered for the first time if they ever stood a chance against the infamous Dike Aru.