CHAPTER 20

Ekere watched as its guests as they stared helplessly. Who would have thought Ejike would be doing something as altruistic as saving the earth from Dike Aru? The Ejike he had known would have either partnered up with Dike Aru or built a safe haven for himself alone.

“As much as I want Dike Aru to remain in the underworld, I cannot get involved in your fight.” Ekere said, watching as the hopeless expressions on their faces intensified.

“But I can tell you how to counter the sacrifice already made.” It completed.

Ejike and Ezinne's dispositions changed for the better at his words.

“How can we do that?” Ezinne asked eagerly.

“You must perform another sacrifice.” Ekere announced.

Their faces dulled once again.

“You mean you want us to kill someone?” Ejike asked wringing his hands.

“Not just anyone,” Ekere replied, “The person who performed the sacrifice.”

Ejike and Ezinne got stunned expressions on their faces.

“Yes,” Ekere proceeded before they could speak, “You see, the person who made that sacrifice made a personal request for the return of Dike Aru. It's no different from requesting for personal riches or for admission into a prestigious university.

If the person who offered the sacrifice dies, of what use is the request? He's already dead.”

“Oh, I get what you're trying to say.” Ezinne said with a smile.

“The person who made this sacrifice could be anywhere. It's going to be very difficult to find the person.” Ejike replied.

“Yes, I know what you mean.” Ekere said, “But there's also a way to counter that.”

“Please, how do we do this?” This question came from Ezinne.

“There's the sacred amulet of Ikala. This amulet will alert you if anyone who has made dealings with the underworld is nearby.” Ekere replied.

“That does not necessarily help,” Ejike replied, his earlier anger resurfacing in his voice.

“I agree but it is better than nothing.” Ekere conceded.

“Not really,” Ejike muttered under his breath.

“Oh, I'm sorry, do you have a better plan?” Ekere asked angrily.

Ejike didn't reply. Instead he folded his arms across his chest and stared at the ground.

“Thank you, Ekere. Do you know where we can find this amulet?” Ezinne asked.

“What? You expect me to do everything for you?” Ekere asked them irritably.

Ejike sighed and Ezinne remained silent.

“I have helped you to the best of my abilities. You can leave now.” Ekere dismissed them. He willed his host to get up and leave the table.

“To the best of your abilities? Ekere, you know how to control time. You can be of more help to us.” Ejike accused fiercely.

Ekere laughed mirthlessly, “Ejike. You've proven that good intentions do not eradicate stupidity. First of all, I do not control time. I control motion. I spent years teaching myself that here.

Secondly, my powers do not work against beings from the underworld. Why do you think I hide here? You don't know what Dike Aru does to deserters and trust me, you don't want to know.”

“You have to return those children to their parents.” Ezinne added.

“I'm sorry, I can't do that. They might expose me. I'm doing them a favor. Another demon would have killed them without thinking twice. As you can see, I provide for them. They lack nothing and are very happy with me.” Ekere argued.

“What about their heartbroken parents?” Ejike asked hotly.

“We all know humans can give birth to many children. They can easily replace these ones.” Ekere dismissed.

“It doesn't work that way.” Ezinne asserted, “Okay, what about their schooling? Do you teach them English language and basic Arithmetic?”

“No, I don't but I'll start. This discussion is over, you can leave.” Ekere said coldly.

Ezinne sighed dejectedly and stood up. Ejike followed her lead. They were about to leave when they heard a deafening swooshing sound and a gust of wind almost blew them off their feet.

They turned around to see a huge majestic bird, its feathers as white as snow and its eyes as dark as a moonless night. It was twice the size of an ostrich and was of great pulchritude. It spread its strong wings and gave out a loud screech.

Ekere was shocked, he never thought he would see the creature again.

He made his host grab Ejike by his neck as he shouted, “You brought it with you, didn't you?”

Ejike shook his head, “No, no. This is my first time of seeing that bird.”

Ezinne tried to get Ejike out of Ekere's hold as she said, “While we were climbing up here, I saw the bird up in the sky. I blinked and I didn't see it again. What is it?”

Ekere released Ejike and replied with all the trepidation he felt, “It's Ugo Dike. Dike Aru's pet. It can make itself invisible. It is as I feared, my father has finally found me.”

A woman appeared from behind the bird, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

Ejike and Ezinne recognized her as one of the women they had met in the village.

Ezinne looked into her eyes and saw the presence of a demon.

“She's possessed,” Ezinne shouted just as the woman raised up her long skirt and attacked them in a most unladylike manner.

She jumped on Ekere's host, clawing the man with her long finger nails.

Ekere knew it would be useless to try and stop her with its power, after all she was possessed by a being from the underworld.

Ekere pushed the woman off and she staggered back, laughing.

“At long last, Ekere. Do you know the honor your father will bestow upon me when I finally take you back to the underworld?” The woman asked, evil dancing in her eyes.

“You will never,” Ekere said, urging its host to grab the woman and fell her.

From Ekere's peripheral vision, it was able to see Ejike and Ezinne try to attack Ugo Dike.

“Don't!” Ekere shouted, hoping to dissuade them from their futile attempt but it was too late.

The huge bird spread its wings and gave a loud screech which was accompanied by a long and enduring breath of flames.

* * *

Ezinne and Ejike barely had time to duck before the flames came for them. They jumped out of the way, getting only the edge of the fire.

Ezinne saw her the back of her blouse had caught fire and she rolled herself on the ground, effectively putting out the flames.

As she stood up, she felt a hot pain on her back and knew with utmost certainty had gotten burned.

Ejike on the other hand escaped from the flames relatively unscathed, earning himself only a few grass cuts from how forcefully he'd dove out of the way.

“There's no way we can fight this bird,” Ejike said fearfully.

“Get the children and leave!” Ekere shouted. The woman was giving it a hard time as she tried to choke its host.

Ezinne nodded and grabbed Ejike's hands as they went to the far side of the hill to get the children who were oblivious of the happenings around them.

“Chidiebube, girls, we have to leave now!” Ejike said, halting their game of tag.

“No,” Chidiebube said disagreeably, running from the adults as fast as he stubby legs could carry him. The girls followed suit, running away from the adults.

“Look,” Ezinne said, pointing at Ugo Dike, “Look at that bird. It's dangerous. If we stay here, it will try to kill us.”

The children stopped in their tracks and stared at the bird in awe.

Ejike and Ezinne made to grab the children while they were distracted, but they simultaneously let out squeals of joy.

“Oh! The bird is very pretty!” One of the girls exclaimed.

“I'm going to hop on it and let it carry me away!” Chidiebube said confidently.

“Me too! Me too!” The other girl shouted and they all ran towards Ugo Dike.

The bird saw what it considered as three little assailants and let out another spray of fire.

The children halted as they screamed with fear and tried to evade the incoming rain of fire but they were not fast enough.

Just as they were about to get licked by the flames, Ekere's host dragging the possessed woman with him jumped in front of them, bearing the brunt of the fire.

The children screamed as they saw the two adults writhe and scream uncomfortably as they got engulfed in flames.

Ezinne and Ejike each grabbed the little bodies. Ezinne held Chidiebube firmly over her shoulder and Ejike did the same with the two girls. Without looking back, they raced past the shield into the other part of hill, leaving behind two burning bodies and one humongous bird.

* * *

Ezinne winced as a woman applied a salve to the burn on her back. The salve stung.

“It hurts.” Ezinne said, arching her back involuntarily due to the pain.

“Sorry,” The woman said as she continued rubbing the salve, “That's how you know it's working.”

When she was done, the woman gave Ezinne a blouse of hers.

“Thank you.” Ezinne said genuinely as she collected it. The loose V-neck blouse was not her style, but it was better than nothing.

With utmost care not to touch the salved burn, Ezinne put on the blouse.

“Again, I can't thank you enough for what you've done.” The woman said as tears came to her eyes.

Ezinne sighed inwardly. The woman had thanked her a thousand times over and couldn't seem to stop herself.

“I've told you to stop thanking me. There was no way I'd have left those children there.” Ezinne said as she stood up.

“You don't know what it felt like. My daughter was so convinced that she was such a bad mother to have lost her two girls. Her husband walked out on her because he thought it was all her doing. You didn't just bring the girls back, you brought back her life too.” The woman said with something akin to reverence.

Ezinne smiled. She and Ejike had returned the children to their respective parents. The village of Okoagu were so happy to have the children back that they were preparing to hold a big feast in honor of Ejike and Ezinne. Too bad they couldn't stay.

She patted the woman on her shoulder and they made their way to the tiny sitting room where a younger woman was cuddling the two girls as if they were the most precious things in the world.

When she saw Ezinne, she left the girls and rushed to her, kneeling down to hug her leg as she profusely thanked her.

Ezinne halted her and helped her to get up, “It's okay.”

“It's not okay,” the woman said, wiping away the tears that trickled down her cheeks, “You've given me my life back. I don't know how to thank you.”

The woman's mother gave Ezinne an I-told-you-so look.

“You can thank me by not saying "thank you" every time you see me.” Ezinne said.

The young woman smiled and went back to her girls. Her mother accompanied Ezinne outside.

There, the old man who'd welcomed them to the village stood, giving her a sagely smile.

“Thank you for getting those children back to their families. Can we ever repay you?” He asked.

Ezinne nodded, “Yes sir. You can get us a reliable motorcyclist. We have to be on our way now.”

The man's face fell, “You won't be staying for the feast? You're our guests of honor.”

“Believe me, we would love to stay but my friend and I need to be on our way. It's really urgent.” Ezinne explained.

The man nodded, somewhat mollified, “If that's the case, I'll see what I can do.”

“Umm, one other thing,” Ezinne said, “You wouldn't happen to know Ejike's whereabouts, would you?”

The old man nodded, “Why, yes. He's with Chidiebube's family. Last I checked, he was downing a meal of pounded yam and Egusi soup.”