“A machine gun?”
“Definitely not.”
“I’ll meet you at the T-junction.”
I hung up and picked up my bag.
There was no one on the road save for the two security guards who were off to work. I walked down the deserted Clinton Street on my way to the junction. The street was known for its vast amount of enormous masquerade trees. The gusting wind made them wave from side to side. The sound of barking dogs made me suddenly aware of my surroundings. I heard a noise and looked up in alarm. There was nothing there except the trees and swaying branches.
I laughed at myself for getting scared.
Headlights coming from behind made me look back. The car sped down my way and stopped in front of me.
The screeching sound made my heart rate triple, and my ears ached. Two men stepped out of the car. The last man waited in the driver’s seat. One of the men was bald and had what appeared to be an amulet made of a feather and beads around his neck. The other was younger and much taller.
“Scream, and you die,” the young man threatened.
“I have a little money in my bag and my phone,” I said, backing away.
There was a lot of laughter from the two men.
“We have come a long way to find you.”
“What do you want?”
“She’s asking what we want. Just like the rest of them.”
The bald man laughed and gave the younger man a knowing look. It was as if I had said something out of ignorance. He mouthed something into the amulet.
"It is really you this time. No doubt about it."
"What is it that you want?"
“Ajë is in you, and you are in her. You possess so much power, and you don’t even know it.”
I edged backwards in fear, fumbling with the confines of my bag, ready to bring out my newly acquired pepper spray.
“What are you talking about?”
The bald man was done talking.
“Bode.” The taller man turned. “Take her.”
“Don’t come any closer!” I shouted, firing my spray, but instead of the hot peppery liquid squirting out, a bright light emerged from my hands sending the man over the car and all the way to the other lane. The man landed with a ghastly thud.
“What the ...” the words got stuck in my throat. I stared at my hand and threw my pepper spray on the ground. Instinct told me to shout for help, but I was too scared to even move.
The bald man laughed hysterically. The other man behind the wheel came out, circled the car and stood behind the bald man.
“I told you. Raw untapped power. But now you must come with me, Reincarnation of Ajë.”
The sound coming from the opposite direction eased my worries. There was a trail of blue light coming from behind it. The motorcycle came to a grinding halt, and Aiden alighted from it. He was wearing a jumper and blue stone-washed jeans, which made him look younger in a boyish way.
“Grab her,” the bald man ordered.
I tried to run, but I was held by the driver. His lousy breath made my stomach turn.
“Let her go.”
“Go about your own business, Mister Man.”
“I said, let her go.”
I saw a glint in Aiden’s eyes, and it frightened me. His hair gradually turned white. A deep growl came from him.
The pang in my chest was in anticipation of his next move. Would I get to see him transform into his other self?
“Let me go!” I screamed and kicked.
The bald man took a pistol from his jacket and fired at Aiden. The shot was silent, but my high-pitched scream rent the cold night air. My captor covered my mouth with his hand, and I gagged.
Aiden moved swiftly. He was in front of the man with the gun in the blink of an eye and tore it away from his grasp. He gripped the attacker’s right arm and snapped it with one swift motion. The bone jutted out of his elbow, and blood spewed out. The man fell to the ground crying and cursing.
“If you want to keep your head,” Aiden spoke to the man holding me, “you’ll take your friends and leave. You have three seconds.”
There was fidgeting behind me. It did not last for long.
“We will come back. The time is almost upon us, and we will get what we want. I assure you, Ajë will be reborn.”
He tore away from me and ran to get the bald man into the car and drove to the other lane to get the other one.
My legs gave way beneath me, and I fell to my knees.
“Simi, Simi, are you alright?”
I stared straight through him. My thoughts became chaotic, and I could not remember where I was.
“Simi.” Aiden shook me out of my stupor.
“I’m not fine,” I told him.
“I can see that. Your foot is better, though.”
“Thanks to the painkillers.”
He straightened me up.
I ran my hand over his arm where he had been shot. Only a small hole on the sleeve of his jumper told the tale.
“You were shot.”
“Just a scratch.”
His eyes scrutinised my entire being.
“Do you know those men?”
I shook my head and cleared my throat. There seemed to be something bitter stuck inside trying to get out.
“What were they talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
The dream I had the day I first met Aiden, and the aftermath of it came streaming back.
“We should go,” Aiden said.
“Your surprise?” I asked as I climbed atop the motorcycle.
“Yes, I was hoping to show it to you under different circumstances.”
My mind went back to the bright light that had emerged from my hand and what it did. Aiden took my hands, and I trembled. He wrapped them around his body, bringing me back from my disturbing thoughts. I smiled and laid my head on his back.
Femi was waiting for me on my front steps when we pulled in front of my house. His countenance changed when he saw Aiden holding me and helping me walk.
“What did you do to her?” Femi charged forward, enraged.
I stepped in between them and frowned.
“He did nothing. What are you doing here by this time anyway?”
His voice came down to a whisper.
“I came to apologise for what happened the other day.”
“You’re forgiven," I told him hastily.
“I’m not leaving you with him,” he said, looking Aiden’s way.
I could hear the growling clearly now.
“Just stop it the both of you. Your negative energy is making me sick.”
“What happened to you?”
“Can we talk inside? My leg hurts.”
Once inside, Aiden went about the kitchen like he knew every corner of it. He filled the kettle with water and turned on the gas. I was sitting on a high stool with Femi who was not trying to hide his distaste for Aiden.
“Now tell me all that happened.”
I told Femi everything, omitting the supernatural part.
“I think they were just small-time thieves trying to get some money. Thanks to Aiden, they left me alone.”
Aiden placed his hands on the kitchen top and said “One of the men mentioned something about an Ajë. The supposed small-time thieves said they will be back for her.”
Well, the cat was out of the bag.
“Did you just say Ajë?” Femi shot up from his stool.
“Yes, maybe I’m not pronouncing it correctly. He said something about Ajë being reborn. Those guys looked like they were going to use Simi for some voodoo magic ritual. Do you know anything about it?”
Femi paced from one end of the kitchen to the other. The shrill sound of the boiling water became apparent, and Aiden turned off the gas. He searched the cupboards and found a box of tea and proceeded to get it ready.
“Femi what do you know about this Ajë?”
“I don’t...” He was clearly hiding something.
I gr
oaned in frustration. “Something impossible happened out there tonight, and I need answers. Please, Femi.”
Aiden handed me a steaming cup of tea. I flashed him a weak smile as thanks. I blew on it and drank. He had added a copious amount of honey in it, just the way I liked it.
“I’ll tell you all that I know,” Femi started with a sigh. “This information has been passed down from my ancestors down to their descendants. Long ago, there was a mighty witch. She could turn into anything she wanted and enter people’s homes to drink their blood.”
“You mean like a vampire?”
“Sort of. The victims became sick and died in days. The blood was the source of her powers. It made her more powerful but on a small scale. She discovered a clan where she could get insurmountable powers. Their blood made her stronger than she ever was, and she hooked on it, like a drug.” He paused to regain his breath. “This clan knew that they would soon die out if they did nothing about it. There was no way to kill the witch, so they used their magic to seal her away.”
“So she’s indestructible?”
“Yes. There’s only one weapon that can kill her, but one would be unwise to go on such a journey to get it. Very unwise, indeed.”
“She’s still alive?” Aiden inquired. He blinked his tired eyes and rubbed his temple in smooth motions.
“Technically.”
“What does it have to do with me?”
I drank my warm tea and coughed.
He explained. “The witch’s name was Ajë. It was predicted by a seer among my people that she would come back, but no one knew how or when.”
I threw the last dregs of the tea down my throat and passed the cup to Aiden whose eyes had been fixed on me the whole time.
“The men told me that I was her and she was me. What does that mean?”
“It means you, Simi Oladeji, are a witch and a pretty powerful one at that. She must have sealed her powers or part of her consciousness into you.
From the knowledge passed down to me by my grandfather, the only way to completely do such a thing is with a pregnant woman. That would mean one of your ancestors was prey to the witch.”
“The clan you mentioned, they had a name, did they not?”
Femi turned to Aiden and said “the clan was called Meje. Beasts the whole lot of them were. Bloodthirsty, filthy beasts.”
“Aiden.” My voice was shrill.
Aiden’s calm demeanour almost fooled me. I knew he was distraught.
“Were they all slaughtered?” I probed some more.
“Yes.”
“By who?”
“By my ancestors.”
My body went stiff. “Why would they do that?”
“Because the Meje people were the scum of the earth and had to be eradicated. My ancestors were all servants of the earth goddess, Yemaja. Well, they didn’t do a good job of it because the last of their kind is here in this room with us.”
“I thought you were a devout Catholic.”
“Well, some things just have to be done for the greater good,” he answered calmly.
“How do you know I am one of them?” Aiden’s voice was unrecognisable.
He was too choked up to bring his voice to normal.
“Because this—” he lifted his vest and let his birthmark come into view, “—grows an inch longer every time you turn into that filth. And with every inch, the pain gets worse. Even standing close to you makes it burn. The mantle of Chief Hunter fell upon me, and I had to perform my duty, but I could not. I do not possess the will my ancestors had. I do not believe in killing innocent people." He glanced at Aiden. "If my grandfather were as strong as he used to be, he would have killed you the moment he saw you and end all this.”
“What do you mean?”
My pulse quickened, and sweat broke out on my forehead even though the room was cold.
“Don’t you understand?” was Femi’s answering question. “You with him, it’s all perfect for them. It’s like serving them what they want on a diamond platter. His ancestors put Ajë away, and they’ll need his blood to bring her back.” He laughed in a nerve-jangling manner. “For Ajë to come back they’ll need you and him.”
It all dawned on me that meeting Aiden may have been no coincidence, neither was meeting Femi. Everything was being pieced together for one single purpose.
Femi’s said with a straight face, “I could end it all by killing him.”
“I’d like to see you try,” retorted Aiden, his harsh voice slicing through my ears.
“Or you could kill me,” I retorted standing up.
Femi turned to face me and said, “I can’t kill you.”
“Well since you’re so bent on killing someone you can add me to the list too.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Then don’t you dare lay a finger on him.” I choked up.
"This is serious, Simi. This is reality, and bad things happen in reality.”
“On the contrary, I do know it. And I know Aiden, and he’s not a monster.”
“You know what he is and you still stay with him? He must have you hypnotised or something.”
“I’m not hypnotised. Don’t be absurd.”
“He may hurt you.”
“I will never hurt her.” Aiden’s pronouncement made my heart leap.
“Oh.” Femi’s gaze shifted from me to Aiden and back to me.
“This is what we are going to do?” I began. “Aiden, you’ll take me to your library. I need to know everything I can about this. Including your notes taken during your research. And Femi, you’ll come too.”
“I don’t…” Femi tried to back out.
“You’ll come too, Femi. I need you to fill in the blanks please.”
“Fine.”
“I’ll take some days off work. I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate with this on my mind.”
“I’ll make the call for you,” Aiden offered.
“Thanks.”
I went into my bedroom and packed a duffel bag with only the essentials; clothes, toothbrush, some makeup. My hands froze when I reached for the extra charger for my phone. I quickly shook it off and grabbed the cord. This was no time to be freezing up.
I went back to the kitchen to find Aiden and Femi whispering. They both turned my way when I walked in.
There we were in my kitchen, the messed up trio in an even messier love triangle; the Hunter, the witch incarnate and the shape-shifter. And on my heels were bat shit crazy men ready to do anything to bring back an old witch. Fun times.
“I need to take care of a few things first before I fill in your blanks,” Femi said.
“Thank you,” I replied.
“Everything is going to be alright,” he added.
“I want to believe that. Let’s go,” I said to Aiden.
We got out of the house, and I locked the doors. I got on the motorcycle with Aiden and took a last glance at Femi. He gave a reassuring nod before Aiden drove off.
Chapter 11
I did not know how long I had slept, but when I opened my eyes, Aiden’s eyes were on me. I shifted in the comfy chair, and the book I had been reading fell to the floor.
“You’ve made it a habit of yours to be the first person I see anytime I wake up after a tragedy.”
“Does it bother you?”
“No, it’s comforting.”
I noticed the bags under his worn eyes and asked, “Have you had any sleep?”
“I don’t need it.”
“You look really tired. You don’t have to watch over me like a hawk.”
“We’re the only ones here, so I think I do.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to leave this library.”
“It’s almost 10am. You should have some breakfast. I’ll cook.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“A shower then.”
I sniffed.
“I think so. Did you know that there was a time in Nigerian history when women who were believed to be w
itches were hunted down and decapitated? Just like the witch trials,”
“Yes.”
“It’s bizarre to think in a different time I would have been hunted down and killed. Oh, wait. It’s no different than what I’m going through right now,”
I picked up the book from the floor. On the cover were distorted images. Inside was information enough to warp my brain. The author talked about witches and their innate strength, but nothing about the transfer of powers.
“I saw it,” He said,
“What did you see?”
“I saw the light come out of your hands and what it did to that low life.”
Stretching out my legs brought comfort to my aching body. I stifled a yawn and looked past him to the door behind. “I don’t think I want to talk about it.”
"I know you're scared, but I will protect you, Simi. Against anything. Even myself.”
“I know that. I just need to learn more about what is inside me.”
I stood up from the chair and looked around. Aiden sat on the chair and pointed me in the right direction.
“You can find books about witches and shape-shifters up there.”
I climbed the step ladder and looked through the top shelves. I found a book I thought got what I needed.”
“You really should get some sleep,” I told him as I came down the ladder.
I need not have said that because Aiden was already asleep, his head slightly bent over his shoulder and a peaceful look I envied on his face.
“Sweet dreams,” I whispered quietly.
***
Femi arrived at Aiden’s house just after noon. By then, Aiden was awake. I had taken a quick shower and was hungry. But hunger tended to fade in the face of death. I joined them in the study on the first floor. Femi stood near the shelves like he was ready to leave at a moment’s notice. His eyes kept darting toward the door.
“Do you want a drink?” Aiden offered.
“No, thanks,” Femi refused. He faced me. “What have you learnt so far?”
I told him all that I had learned. From Aiden’s books to Google searches.
“I know you can make someone a witch through food. Or an item they would not easily notice. I never saw anything like what you told me. A transfer of power that lingers through the generations?”
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