When Gods Bleed

by Njedeh Anthony

  “Why did you not take me instead?”

  “You are important to the kingdom.”

  “I cannot help you…you could have saved both of us. Now I will wake up never to hear her tell me I worry too much.”

  “You can find people to replace her. It’s no secret that you change your women as fast as the days change to night.”

  “I can never find a replacement.”

  “She had to die to appease the oracle. She was a good woman and she even begged to sacrifice her life so you could live…probably she wanted you to recognize she existed.”

  “Then why did you end up telling me to do things that were unnecessary?”

  “At that point it was necessary, but I changed my mind.”

  “Do you think I really care for these people anymore?”

  “You might not care about these people, but you care about your descendants and most especially revenge.”

  “I have to clear her spirit by proving to the people that she was no witch.”

  “You can do that when you are chief.”

  “Then they will say I used the power bestowed on me to clear her name.”

  “You have till the fifth day after that. I will not wait any longer. Take these leaves with you, they might come in handy.”

  Pokzee walked out into the main town to see the burnt corpse of his dead wife on a stake. Nobody had touched it, not wanting to be infected by her evil spirit. He picked her up in his arms and took her to his home, where he buried her in his compound. He then climbed on his stallion and rode as fast as the wind without resting at any spot until he got to the Alloida boundary.

  He immediately went to the Haku of Chief Vacoura. One of the two Omees at the gates answered with sarcasm.

  “And who might you be?”

  “Tell him Pokzee, son of Wadunko, General from Ogwashi.”

  There was a flicker of respect from the two Omees when he introduced himself. One of the Omees went to inform the chief.

  As he waited he observed that Vacoura's quarters were nothing compared to Akuna’s and he did not even see a single white man as he arrived, not even Arabians. The horses in the province were not as strong as their horses in Ogwashi. Women carried baskets on their heads to go to the market with their children on their backs.

  Mother and child, he thought, my children will have no mother. Somebody is going to pay with blood.

  The Omee returned. “The chief will see you tonight, but till then, I will lead you to where you will eat and rest.”

  Pokzee wanted to insist on seeing him immediately, but he knew there was a level you cannot cross with a man of higher respect.

  As they walked away, Vacoura watched them from his quarters and told the Omee next to him to bring the envoy to him.

  The envoy walked into the chief’s conference room knowing something was wrong.

  “My Envoy, how was your journey to Ogwashi?”

  “My Chief…The Patient One.” He bowed very low to show extended respect. “The feast was grand. With all the Ikas present, it could be the best I have ever participated in since I became envoy.”

  “You are wasting my time.”

  “A girl was raped, sir.”

  “Who was she?”

  “Nkiru.”

  Vacoura burst out laughing. “Tell me it is not the barren woman who dances the fire dance and has slept with everybody I know.”

  “It is her, sir.”

  “Who is the fool who does not know that a dog in heat does not choose her man or he could not afford her?” the chief asked with laughter in his voice.

  “It was Pokzee's wife.”

  The chief stopped laughing. “Are you trying to call me stupid?”

  “No sir. She was a witch, so she turned into her husband and raped her out of jealousy. She confessed it.”

  “Envoy, I heard about the flamboyancy your wives are portraying. They put on glittering coral beads.”

  “They were given to me by Chief Akuna during the feast.”

  “But your wives wore them when you were away to let the market women know what coral beads should look like.”

  “I sent it for them during the feast.”

  “Let me see, you were away for four days. You went with a convoy of people so that should be at least a day’s trip. So which day exactly did you send them to bring these beads? Because your last wife wore them on the day you left.”

  “My mistake, he gave it to me before I left,” the envoy said, nodding as he corrected himself.

  “You and I both know Akuna will never give you anything for free. I initially thought it was for transporting goods to him so he could sell to the Portuguese, but it seems there is another reason. So the choice is yours. Confess and save yourself being tortured to get everything out of you. Then you will be removed as envoy. You and your family will, of course, be banished from the province, or you make things easier for all of us.”

  “Chief Akuna gave me the beads for a favor.”

  “I do not have all day. What was the favor?”

  “It was a personal favor, sir.”

  “I understand.” Vacoura snapped his fingers and two guards came forward. “Cut my Ika's thumb and his middle finger.”

  “The Patient One, what are you telling these men to do?”

  The two Omees pinned the envoy on the floor, brought out their knives, and sliced his fingers from his hand while the envoy screamed at the top of his lungs.

  “Stick a cloth in his mouth. He is blocking my ears.” The Omees immediately stuffed a rag in his mouth.

  “Look at what this avaricious fool has done to my floor. Do you not have any sympathy for the people that work here? Just imagine him allowing his blood to pour all over. In fact, cut the whole hand off.”

  The envoy was kneeling and trying to beg with words, but his mouth was full. The Omees had pinned him down again as they wanted to slice off his hand.

  “Wait! I think he is trying to say something. Remove the rag from his mouth,” Vacoura ordered.

  “Chief Akuna sent his messengers to me before the feast. He told me to bring a girl to Ogwashi who would announce rape publicly regarding Pokzee to inhibit his succession. He gave me horses, beads, and other gifts and due to my weak heart, I fell for the temptation. Everything was going well until his wife claimed the crime.”

  “So what happened to her?”

  “She was burnt alive, but the woman was really a witch. Everyone saw her appear from smoke.”

  Vacoura looked him deeply in the eye and then faced his messengers and told them to bring Pokzee to his presence.

  As Pokzee arrived, he bowed to the chief in the conference room. He saw the envoy on the floor with blood all over his hands and he was not positive, but it seemed like he was crying.

  “I know why you have come and we accept the shame that our envoy has bestowed upon us,’’ the chief said. “I have thought of over a hundred ways to replace your loss and this is the best I can do. I give to you Okonpoli, son of Aghinere, now the former envoy of Alloida, to be your slave, along with his wife and children. From now on they will be recognized as your slave.”

  “That is too much for me, Patient One. All I require is the envoy…I mean the former envoy.”

  “Then he is yours. Relax and enjoy the pride of Alloida.”

  “I wish I could, but my time is short. I have to leave now with my slave, with your permission.”

  “Take my staff so everyone you talk to will know that you speak with my blessing. When you come back, I want to be talking with a chief.”

  Pokzee put his slave on the horse and rode to Ogwashi without slowing down to breathe.

  Immediately after he got to Ogwashi, he went to the chief’s quarters. As he tried to pass through the gates, the Omees blocked him and ordered him to wait while they alerted the chief.

  “I require you men to do me this favor as your friend, comrade and chief: Summon the elders. Tell them their presence is required by the chief, whilst my s
lave remains here.”

  “First of all, Pokzee, you will have to kill us before you pass these gates and secondly, you are not the chief,” the Omee said fearlessly.

  “I initiated you before you became an Omee. I saw the pride of the pain when you passed through it. I have no intentions of passing through the gates, but I am giving you a direct order as your Chief to go and call the elders. You are either for me or against me.”

  The two Omees stood looking at each other, then they faced Pokzee and said, “As our Chief requests.” One of the Omees went on the errand.

  The other Omee heard a scream, “AGAM OBODO UZO,” and he saw smoke where Pokzee stood.

  As Akuna was sleeping, he kept hearing his name and each time it got closer. When he opened his eyes, he saw Pokzee.

  “How dare you come into my presence without announcing yourself.”

  “You took away my priceless gem.”

  Akuna bounced to his feet and walked toward the exit as he replied to Pokzee’s biting words.

  “Your wife was a witch and she got what she deserved.”

  “I never did you wrong. Why give me this pain?”

  Akuna had gotten to the door and was trying to open it, but was locked.

  ”I don't understand what you are talking about.”

  “Confess. I brought the envoy with me.”

  “So what am I supposed to do, beg you? You are nothing. I faced great chiefs like Ezeonisha in gory times, and now you expect me to be scared of a baboon like you,” the chief said with extreme confidence.

  At that time there was banging on the door.

  “The envoy has told us everything,” the elders shouted through the door. “The soul of your wife will rest in peace. Open the door.”

  Pokzee looked at Akuna and walked toward the door.

  “I know what is in your heart, Pokzee. You are grateful I helped you get rid of that pathetic excuse for a wife. I thought chimpanzees were ugly creatures until I met your wife.”

  Pokzee just stood there looking at him, but the fume of his anger heated the room.

  “Thank goodness you are here. I always wanted to ask you, was your wife a chimpanzee?”

  Pokzee roared. He couldn't take it any longer. He wanted to pounce on Akuna, but his legs were stuck to the floor and they could not move.”

  “You have to take life in small paces,” Akuna's Tikpapa said while laughing.

  “What is wrong, Pokzee? Do not tell me that the earth is too heavy for you,” Akuna said, laughing heavily.

  The banging on the door got louder.

  “We do not have much time, Akuna, kill him.”

  “Why am I not surprised that even a chief has to put a spell on a fellow man like himself to kill him? Would you not want to take me down and have it on your conscience that you dealt with me like a man?”

  “Do I look stupid to you?” Akuna asked, picking up his knife.

  “It is too late for you, Akuna. The envoy has told everyone what happened.”

  “You do not understand. If you die, the envoy will conveniently change his testimony on grounds of imposed confession through brutal force. The elders can't complain because I do not have a replacement, and if that archaic Vacoura sticks his nose into my business, then we go to war with his people. Is life not sweet, Tikpapa?”

  There was no answer to the chief. Akuna turned around to find his sorcerer’s head separated from his body.

  “I hope I am not late,” the Ifa priest spoke with his normal coolness.

  “Your timing is impeccable.”

  Pokzee pounced like a cat on Akuna. The chief stabbed him in his shoulder before they fell on the floor. They grasped each other’s neck, trying to choke one another.

  “Pokzee, feel free to invite me when things get a little too rough,” the Ifa priest said while eating a watermelon.

  Akuna used his knees on Pokzee's groin, then stood up and hit him with a chair. Pokzee rose with the knife still in his shoulder and walked toward Akuna, who ran to his sword. He pointed it at Pokzee, but the man kept coming at the same pace.

  “My death will never be at your hands,” were the last words Akuna spoke as he stabbed himself with the sword.

  Pokzee stood for a while looking at the dead body of the chief. There was no sorrow, but worst of all, there was no joy in the revenge. He turned to thank the Ifa priest, but he had vanished.

  Chapter 16

  Chief Okon died ten years after Obi was made King and his grandson Oludu became the Chief of Ndemili. In the years Oludu ruled as chief, the province continued to prosper in the same way it did, under his predecessor. The King, knowing how independent he was, invited him to the palace to watch his first daughter, Ugonwa the Ada, perform The Dance of the Seven Fire Stars. Before the dance, there were other forms of entertainment like folksongs, feasts, and jocular acts.

  Oludu knew this was definitely a ploy by the King to match him with his daughter, from whom most men seemed to run away. Some questioned how a woman so beautiful could choose to be alone. Others said she believes herself a man and fights like one, thus why her father loved her the most. A few said she was alone because she insisted on being the only wife.

  People also whispered she was an Ogbanje, a possessed girl with psychic powers. They belong to the spirit world from birth and lived for a short time. Their link between the spiritual and reality is a package made up of anything they find precious and this package is hidden by the girl in a place where she will never remember. As long as the package was not found, she stayed alive.

  Oludu did not believe in making wives out of women, instead he believed in loving them as concubines, so they were free to bring out their animalism. Most times he wished there were other species that could replace them. He knew they had the power to make the land of man a better place, but instead they gave birth to jealousy, envy, sorrow and tears. The only thing he could not understand was his greed for their touch, their body, their comfort, and their offspring. He had five children from different women for whom he provided everything they required except marriage.

  A notable group of guests assembled around the room. Everyone squatted on mats placed over the animal hides as the beat of drums filled the room. A contained fire started to burn in a passageway, but nobody noticed. From nowhere Ugonwa’s legs flowed through the fire. Every step she took followed the beat like a lioness seeking its prey. Every turn she made was like the earth turned with her.

  As she twisted her waist and let her braids create their melody, it was as though an explosion was about to occur within every man. Her every curve stung the lust of every man watching. She began to sway like a drunk looking for his way home. All of a sudden the beat changed and with a rejuvenated firmness, she danced toward Oludu, watching her steps like a peacock. At that point, Oludu was looking into her eyes, but in a flash the beat ended, there was a large applause, and she rushed away.

  Then Oludu understood why men traveled from afar to see her dance whenever she chose to, for her father. He turned to the King and said loudly for the remaining guests to hear, “I son of Okon, Oludu, Chief of Ndemili, would like to take your daughter Ugonwa to be my first wife.”

  As though he was talking to a child, the King said, “Sit down and stop shouting, you are blocking my ears.”

  With a stroke of shame, Oludu sat down reluctantly to aggravate him. In the most indifferent manner the King continued softly.

  “Did you think I invited you all the way here to come and screen my daughter and see whether she is worthy to be your bride? I could snap my fingers and she would have over a hundred suitors.”

  “Then what brings me to such a beautiful land we call our capital?”

  In a deep voice Gbangba said, “You never question your King. If he tells you to walk, you run. If he tells you to keep quiet you, cut your tongue. You are here to answer to commands and questions that are asked of you.”

  “Gbangba, try to relax. These are flexible times,” the King said.

 
“I beg your forgiveness, oh Great King, if I altered my obeisance. It’s the animal in my age.” Oludu said, lying with a straight face.

  “Forget all that rubbish. The Head-of-Government is still living in the past. Anyway, I didn't call you here to see if you would accept my daughter. I called you here to see if she would accept you. She happens to be a very stubborn human being and seriously raised out of the laws of tradition. It was due to her constant relations with the white missionary and his wife, who have infiltrated all kinds of crazy stories into her head. The gods knew why it had to be her of all my daughters to give me such pain in the head. If it was someone else I would have...anyway are you still interested?”

  “More than ever, Your Majesty,” said Oludu.

  “My servant will take you to her. We await your reply,” he said softly.

  Oludu bowed and left.

  When he had gone, the King turned to the Head-of-Government and said, “What do you think?”

  “The boy is as dangerous as the Ifa said; his eyes did not leave mine when I spoke. The boy does not know what fear looks like. He is protected by a greater force than he can imagine. What makes you think your daughter will be able to control such a man?”

  “Do you believe there is anything that walks and crawls on this earth that can make me do what I do not want to do?” the King asked.

  “Unless the man with six legs,” the Head-of-Government said.

  “Well, Ugonwa doesn't have six legs and she does it to me all the time.”

  The closer he got to her house, the faster his heart beat. He wondered why he would be shivering to meet a common female, and he didn't understand how they duped him into begging for her hand in marriage. He was positive of it then—she was a witch.

  As the servant knocked, the maid received them and asked them the purpose of their meeting.

  “I, Chief Oludu, have come to see if your princess is worthy to be my wife.”

  “I am sorry sir, I will not be able to deliver that message.”

  Immediately a voice from behind the door said, “Don't worry, I already got the message. Let him in.”