CHAPTER 26

Ogadi groaned as the ice pack she slid beneath her sweater made contact with her bruised back.

She and Phillip had finally gotten enough strength and had limped away from Hereos' Square with the amulet.

They were in Ogadi's house now. Phillip was in the sitting room, tending to his own injuries with a first aid box while Ogadi had retired to her room. Call her a coward but after all she and Phillip had been through, the atmosphere between them had become more intimate.

She decided to do the smart thing and hide in her room.

Her phone buzzed and her face lit up. It was a video call from her father, Ikechukwu.

Ogadi thought she hadn't spoken to her father in a while. She realized she'd missed him terribly.

She tapped her screen to accept the call and set the phone on her table.

“Hi, Dad.” She said cheerfully as she waved at her father.

She could see he was in his office.

Ikechukwu smiled, “Hello, Ogadi. It's been a while.”

“Yes, it has.” Ogadi agreed, rubbing her forehead to ward off an impending headache, “I've been busy.”

Ikechukwu's gaze narrowed as he assessed her, “Doing what?”

“Uh, there's an in—” Ogadi caught herself just before she told her father about Dike Aru, “It's just foundation work.” She finished.

Ikechukwu frowned, “I hope you're getting enough rest. Your grandmother knows better than to work you to the bone. You're still in your twenties after all.”

Ogadi sighed and rolled her eyes, wondering why her father always jumped to the wrong conclusions.

“I'm getting enough rest and Grandmother hasn't been working me to the bone.” Ogadi protested.

Ikechukwu nodded his approval, “That's good to know. So what exactly have you been up to?”

“Oh, you know, this and that. Securing the odd artifact.” Ogadi replied evasively.

Ikechukwu smiled, “You know I'm proud of you, right?”

“Yes.” Ogadi nodded. Her father told her every opportunity he got.

“Good,” Ikechukwu said, rubbing his balding head.

Ogadi noticed he looked uncomfortable. She wondered what was up with him.

“Dad, are you okay? Is everything alright?” Ogadi asked concernedly.

“Well, you might not appreciate me saying this but I miss you and our video calls are not enough for me.” Ikechukwu admitted.

Ogadi was surprised at his admission. She missed her father but she was content with hearing his voice and seeing him via video calls. Truth be told, she didn't know how she'd act around him if she had to live with him.

“You could always come back to Nigeria.” Ogadi suggested slyly, knowing it was the last thing her father would do.

Ikechukwu grunted, “No way. My work is here. If I quit my job, I don't know how I'll provide for you but you could always join me here.”

Ogadi shook her head fiercely, “My place is with Grandmother.”

“Your grandmother won't be alive forever.” Ikechukwu commented.

Ogadi couldn't believe her father had just said those words.

“Just what do you mean by that, father?” Ogadi asked angrily, “Are you planning to kill her? Last I checked, she was still in her sixties, not at death's door.”

Ikechukwu raised his hands, “I didn't mean it that way. What I wanted to say was that your grandmother is a human and humans die. If she dies, although I hope it won't be anytime soon, would you come over?”

“Like you said, she won't be dying anytime soon. When we get to that bridge, we'll cross it.” Ogadi replied coldly.

Ikechukwu massaged his forehead, “You're something special, you know? Many people would kill for a chance to migrate to the USA and here you are, throwing that chance away.”

“I'd rather stay here. Grandmother and I are trying to make an impact here.” Ogadi replied.

Ikechukwu was about to say something when Phillip's voice carried into Ogadi's bedroom.

“Ogadi! I need your help!”

Ogadi saw her father's reaction to hearing a male voice calling for her.

“Is your grandmother around?” Ikechukwu asked immediately.

“No, she traveled.”

“Does she know you're alone with a man?”

Ogadi looked up in resignation, “Of course, Dad.”

While Ezinne wasn't aware Phillip was with her at the moment, Ogadi knew she wouldn't disapprove if she found out.

“Then she trusts this man?” Ikechukwu continued with his questions.

“Yes.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“What? No!” Ogadi replied indignantly.

“No need for the righteous indignation. There's nothing wrong with having a boyfriend. You're of age.” Ikechukwu reassured.

“I'm glad to know but he's just my colleague.” Ogadi replied sarcastically.

“Whatever you say. Just remember to use protection.” Ikechukwu advised.

Ogadi felt her embarrassment levels rise drastically. To nip an already awkward situation in the bud, she hurriedly said, “Goodbye, Dad. I have to go.”

Ogadi ended the call before her father could reply and ran out of her room.

When she got to the sitting room, she found Phillip applying a band-aid on his arm. The first aid box lay open beside him.

“You called?” Ogadi asked, hands akimbo.

“I did.” Phillip nodded closing the box.

“Well, what do you want?” Ogadi asked impatiently.

“I have a pimple on my back. Could you help me pop it?” Phillip pleaded, fixing his gray eyes on her.

“Ewww.” Ogadi replied, making a disgusted face, “You know you aren't supposed to pop your pimples, right?”

“Please, please, please, just help me.” Phillip begged, widening his eyes in a way that made him look innocent when she knew he was anything but.

Ogadi sighed as she gave in. How was she to resist him? She moved over to where he sat.

“Show me.” She said curtly.

Phillip pulled up his shirt and Ogadi's breath hitched. Phillip's back was drool-worthy. The slightest movement caused his muscles to undulate beneath his pale skin.

Ogadi raised her hand to feel his skin when Phillip said, “Um, have you seen it?”

Ogadi snapped back to reality, “Uh, wait.”

As she searched for the pimple, she mentally berated herself for almost making a fool out if herself.

Some seconds later, she found the pimple. It was red and angry, a clear contrast to his otherwise smooth skin.

“Found it. Try to hold still.” Ogadi advised.

Taking a huge breath and steeling herself for the disgusting pus that was about to be exposed to the world, she placed her thumbs at opposite sides of the zit and applied pressure.

Phillip gave a small cry as the pimple burst and gooey yellow pus spilled out.

“Eeew!” Ogadi said. She opened the first aid box and took out some tissue paper which she used to wipe off the pus and the little blood that followed it.

“Thanks.” Phillip said as he pulled his shirt down.

“It's no problem.” Ogadi replied, leaving with the stained tissue paper.

“Hey! Where are you going to?” Phillip asked.

“To properly dispose of this.” She gestured to the tissue paper.

She left the sitting room and entered the hallway. She opened the waste bin that was kept there and disposed the paper. After that, she washed her hands at the nearest sink she could find.

She was drying her hand with a miniature towel when Phillip's voice rang out again, “Ogadi! Ogadi!”

Ogadi sighed as she wondered what he wanted this time around.

“What?!” She asked impatiently.

“There's someone knocking on the door!”

* * *

“Chukwu!” Ogadi exclaimed as she opened the door.

She couldn't reconcile the battered and bruised duo she saw as Ejike and her grandmother.

Ejike's shirt was dirty and he spotted a bruise on his cheek while Ezinne looked worse. Her face from her lips down was swollen and she was wearing a basketball jersey that reeked.

“Grandmother, what happened?” Ogadi asked as Ejike and Ezinne limped in.

“Ogadi, get me an ice pack and save your questions for later, it's killing me to speak.” Ezinne ordered in a weak voice.

Ogadi nodded and immediately ran into the kitchen. Opening the freezer, she took an ice pack.

“Mother,” Nwata said happily.

Ogadi noted she hadn't seen the little demon since she returned but now was no time to talk.

“I'll talk to you later.” Ogadi said as she ran out with the ice pack.

When she returned to the sitting room, she found her grandmother reclining on the sofa while Phillip examined her face.

“Here's the ice pack.” She said as she handed it to Ezinne.

Ezinne nodded her thanks, groaning with pain when the ice pack came in contact with her swollen face.

Ogadi looked at her grandmother and was annoyed to note the lurid bruises on her neck. If she wasn't mistaken, someone had tried to strangle her.

Turning to Ejike, she asked, “What happened?”

“We were attacked by demons.” Ejike replied, massaging his neck.

“And you couldn't have prevented this from happening to her?” Ezinne asked hotly.

“I tried my best.” Ejike replied defensively.

Ogadi thought he hated being addressed like he was an incompetent amateur. Well, too bad. She wasn't going to massage his ego.

“How many demons where there?” She continued.

“There were three incredibly strong demons. It took your grandmother, the bus driver, the bus conductor and I to stop them.” Ejike replied just as angrily.

“The jaw doesn't look broken or fractured. It should be back to normal in a week, tops.” Phillip proclaimed, distracting Ejike and Ogadi from their argument.

“And how would you know?” Ogadi asked, transferring her aggression to Phillip, “You're a medical doctor now?”

“As a matter of fact, I dropped out of med school.” Phillip said, undisturbed by Ogadi's attitude.

“Do you know everything?” Ogadi asked him, surprised at what he'd just said.

“Ogadi, you're asking the wrong questions.” Ezinne criticized from her spot on the sofa.

Ogadi walked to where her grandmother lay in obvious pains.

“I'm sorry. Can I get you some paracetamol or Ibuprofen?” Ogadi asked with great concern.

“No. I don't think I can swallow anything just now.” Ezinne managed to mumble.

“I'm so sorry that this happened to you.” Ogadi said, her anger giving way to sadness.

“What's done is done. Did you get the amulet?” Ezinne murmured.

“Yes, we did. We were attacked by demons too.” Ogadi replied.

“You were?” Ejike asked, bewildered.

“Yes. A whole swarm of them.” Phillip elaborated.

“How did you escape?” Ejike questioned.

“Julius helped us stall some of them and we tricked two into believing they had the amulet.” Phillip said.

“Get the amulet. I want to see it with my own eyes.” Ezinne commanded.

“Yes, Grandmother.” Ogadi answered already on her way to retrieve the amulet.

When she returned with it, Ezinne managed to pull herself up into a sitting position and reached out for the amulet.

Ogadi handed it to her and watched her eyes widened as she ran her hands over the ornate designs on the amulet.

“The sacred amulet of Ikala.” Ezinne whispered fervently as she closely examined it.

Ejike joined her in the examination, running his hands almost reverently over the amulet too.

“It's more beautiful than I thought it would be.” Ejike whispered.

“Not that it will be of much help to us.” Ogadi said, frustration evident in her voice.

“Yeah. I mean, what will we do with that? Parade the streets until we encounter the person who offered the sacrifice?” Phillip asked, agreeing with Ogadi.

“I mean, the person behind all this could be anywhere by now.” Ogadi added.

“Having the amulet is better than nothing.” Ezinne scolded.

“Moreover, why would Dike Aru send demons to steal the amulet if it wasn't very important?” Ejike asked.

“What are you trying to say?” Ogadi glared at him.

“I'm trying to say that the amulet could be more useful than we're giving it credit for. We don't even know the full extent of its powers.” Ejike finished.

The room fell silent as they all pondered on his words.

* * *

Dike Aru made sure he was about twenty-five feet in height as he entered the dream world.

When he found his victim, he smirked.

He tugged at his waist-length dreadlocks as he impatiently waited for his contact to appear.

When he did, Dike Aru wasted no time in making his displeasure known.

“What is wrong with you?! I gave you a simple task, kill the old woman and retrieve the amulet from those brats, yet you failed me!” His voice was like thunder cracking in the silence of night.

The man promptly fell to his knees and began to sob, “My god, my king, and my lord, please forgive me. I didn't mean to fail you.”

Dike Aru was even more displeased by his sniveling. To him, crying was a sign of weakness only fitting for women and children.

“Will you stop?! I tire of your incompetence!” He scolded.

The man wiped his tears away and inhaled shakily, “But my lord, in my defense it wasn't my fault. The demons failed to—”

The rest of his words didn't make it past his lips as Dike Aru backhanded him viciously. The slap sent him flying and he landed on his rear.

In a flash, Dike Aru was on him, pressing his large foot on the man's head.

“Are you saying it's my fault then?” Dike Aru asked, applying pressure on the man's head.

“No, no, no. I didn't mean it that way.” The man hurried to say as he felt his head compress.

“Good.” Dike Aru nodded, easing his foot away a little.

The man heaved a sigh of relief but cried out in debilitating pain a moment later when Dike Aru reapplied the pressure on his head.

“You and your stupid sidekick better make sure my resurrection is successful. If you don't, I'll kill you in your sleep in the most excruciating manner.” Dike Aru threatened.

“Don't worry my lord, you have nothing to fear. I'll make sure everything goes smoothly. In fact, I can send demons to the woman's house to kill her.” The man assured.

“Don't. Those Gate Keepers are like ants. You kill one, another critter pops up. Just focus on bringing me back to earth.” Dike Aru ordered.

The man nodded, “But my lord, what about the amulet?”

“Leave that too. Those ignorant humans probably do not know how to use it and even if they do, it will be too late.” Dike Aru replied.

“Yes, my king.” The man replied.

He whimpered fearfully as Dike Aru heaved him up by his collar as if he were just an action figure.

“Remember,” Dike Aru said, narrowing his eyes, “If you and your apprentice fail me, I will kill you.”

The man nodded vigorously, spouting all assurances he could make up.

With a snap of his finger, Dike Aru disappeared leaving the man to fall to the floor.

* * *

The man woke up with a scream and wrapped his arms around himself to help stop himself from shuddering.

He looked down and cursed. He had peed himself during his encounter with Dike Aru. As he got up from his bed and stepped out of his wet pajama bottoms, he frowned. Dike Aru was growing too angry at him. Him and his apprentice needed to up their ante because Dike Aru didn't make empty threats. He vowed to make sure he never got on Dike Aru's bad side. In fact, he'd make sure Dike Aru was satisfied with the kind of welcome he received when it was time for him to ascend to earth.