Gods of the Earth - Chapters 5 & 6

Chapter 5

Mr Odugbemi stared around his home...at least they had left this for him…but he was alone, for his wife had left him. He had been brought home by another former member of the cult who hadn’t been caught. They had maintained their code of silence even in the face of imprisonment. He wondered how his son Ade felt, losing six years of his life.

Still, all was not lost…he hadn’t been left alone in the prison…he still had his familiar spirits even though their Lord had been defeated in the battle. They told him of another kind of battle which he would be involved in…they told him of the rewards that awaited him outside the prison after he was released…they told him they were working on his release and indeed here he was…three years before he ought to have been released. He walked through his home slowly, savouring his freedom.

“When did she leave?” he asked suddenly.

“Your wife left about a year after you were incarcerated,” said Mr Adeola.

“I see,” said Mr Odugbemi, he was past caring about his wife. She had come to prison several times to visit him till he had banned her from coming. She despised him for his cultic activities…yet she enjoyed the benefits of it.

He hadn’t ever thought they could lose the battle. He had always thought that the Prince of this world had absolute power or why would he be so named? The Queen Mother had almost won the battle; no one had expected that the girl would deliberately throw away her life…that was how they had won…it had been a fluke victory!

“I need my phone, I would like to call my son,” he said as he finally sat down. A maid brought in a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“You employed a maid for me? That was very thoughtful of you Adeola. I thank you,” said Mr Odugbemi looking directly at Mr Adeola with a brief smile, then turning his gaze to the pretty maid as she turned to leave.

Mr Adeola fumbled in his deep Agbada pockets and brought out Mr Odugbemi’s phone.

“It’s already loaded,” he said.

“Thanks. So is she part of my ‘welcome home’ package? I haven’t had a woman in six years Adeola,” said Odugbemi fixing his gaze on Adeola.

“No she is just a maid I employed, but if you wish I can bring someone over to you this evening for that purpose.”

“Please do. About my son; who came for him and where is he?” asked Mr Odugbemi.

“Akande went to pick him up. He should be in his own home now,” replied Adeola, opening the chilled bottle of red wine. Mr Adeola was a tall, thin cadaverous looking man with a bushy moustache. He wore an Agbada that seemed to drown him completely.

He stared at Odugbemi surreptitiously as he sipped his wine. Odugbemi was second in command to Oduyela…but of the two Elders he was the most feared because of his ruthlessness.

“So who went to pick up Oduyela?” asked Odugbemi.

“It was Prince Adebajo. Adeleke died a couple of years ago from the swelling belly illness.”

“I see,” said Odugbemi, taking it all in slowly…there had to be a sacrifice…one of the six elders had to go…it was a sort of purification rite…the gods had chosen Adeleke…the cult had thus been purified and though there was no Queen Mother, it had been approved to go on…the leadership would now fall on Oduyela…the swelling belly illness always symbolised the pregnancy for the birth of something new…all the elders knew this…once the stricken person had died, the way was open for the cult to begin again.

Oduyela would probably convene a meeting soon… a new elder had to be approved and initiated to take the place of the late Adeleke…Odugbemi had to find out his son’s disposition quickly, for he was next in line…Oduyela had an eldest daughter, not an eldest son…only eldest sons could be initiated…Adeleke had a son, but had never brought him into the cult…perhaps that had been why he had been sacrificed…so it fell to Odugbemi to provide a new elder if he so chose, otherwise Akande would be next in line, for he had an eldest son.

“I should take my leave now. Please call me if you need anything, but I shall return this evening with the promised girl,” said Adeola, rising to his feet.

“The name of my maid?” asked Odugbemi not bothering to stand up.

“Funke; she will cook your meals and do anything you require,” said Adeola.

“So why can’t I have her for dinner?” asked Odugbemi with a crude laugh.

“You may speak to her if you wish, but I made no such deal with her,” Adeola chuckled, striding towards the door.

Odugbemi waited till he heard the sound of the car driving off then dialled a number on his phone. The person on the other end picked up instantly.

“Hello Ade. Have you been picked up?” Odugbemi asked his son.

“Yes dad, I’m in my home. At least they left that for me” replied Ade bitterly.

“It seems you are next in line for eldership and I need to know your decision concerning it as soon as possible,” said his father, not wasting any time.

“I am no longer interested in the cult dad, I want to start a new life for myself,” replied Ade.

“Think carefully my son, for it is never advisable to leave a cult. They will come after you to kill you, lest you leak out their secrets. I warned you about this several years ago when you first joined.”

“Very well father, I shall remain, but I don’t want to go any deeper than I already am. I do not want to be an elder.”

Odugbemi sighed and cut the line…he had guessed his son would decline, but he had to try. He didn’t blame him…for a young man to lose six years of his life doing nothing was definitely traumatic…he had to find a way to reintegrate his son back into the society…and he knew just how to do it.

He stood up and went into his bedroom and took down a suitcase from above his wardrobe. He pressed a hidden button that revealed a false panel and took out a black feather adorned with charms. He spat on it thrice…then spoke softly over it and went back to the living room.

“Funke!” he called out.

“Sir!” the maid answered and came running in. Odugbemi looked at her straight in the eye and waited till she looked at him.

“Go and wait for me in my bedroom,” he said; and watched her go meekly to the room. He laughed softly…he didn’t have to wait till evening to relieve himself.

The good news was that the cult would still continue…that meant that he was still relevant…the gods still had a use for him, but he had to wait till Oduyela summoned the meeting and told them what was next.

Oduyela would have to travel spiritually to a remote and very distant village hidden in the hills and yet to see the light of civilization, to see the ancient Mothers…they were all interconnected…they always provided guidance and counsel…they lived so long, it was impossible to determine how old they were…they were simply referred to as ‘The Ancient Mothers’…believed to be descendants of the first woman to exist on earth…the Queen Mother was said to be the oldest of them all…but that was after Aunty Hope had left the cult; for they had been twin sisters.

Odugbemi had never felt so helpless before…he was used to wielding immense power…but his helplessness would be short lived if his familiars had spoken the truth. They had told him he would be rewarded for his faithfulness and sacrifice, but had declined to tell him how.

He brought his mind back to the present…he knew his son would have started making plans…perhaps desperate plans. He had to act fast and give him a more suitable alternative.

Swiftly he dialled a number and hoped that the owner was still alive.

“Odugbemi are you out, thank God!” exclaimed the man on the other end rather joyfully.

“Yes thank the gods indeed, I am out,” replied Odugbemi.

“You want it now?” asked the man on the other end, lowering his voice suddenly.

“Yes, but not for myself, I want you to incorporate his name as the chairman of the company and remove yours.”

“It shall be done right away. I owe you Odugbemi,” replied the other man.

“I trust all is well?” asked Odugbemi rhetorically.

“Yes. So my debt will be paid in full once I do this?”

“Yes, consider it paid chief,” replied Odugbemi.

He leaned back against his propped up pillow, softly caressing the docile maid who was fast asleep beside him.

A very long time ago, his former classmate chief Eze had approached him for help…his business empire had been going down the drain…his companies had been folding up one by one till he was left with just one, so he approached Odugbemi whom he knew to be steeped in occult things, seeing as how he had been brought up as a pagan. 

He had often regaled his friends in school with little ‘magic’ tricks that had wowed his friends back then.

Odugbemi had agreed to help him but on one condition; that if things improved for the chief, he would give that one single surviving company to Odugbemi. The desperate chief had agreed and in a few months he had bounced back…some would say his business empire had even extended beyond its former borders and glory.

The chief had returned ecstatically to Odugbemi, wanting to hand over the company he had requested for immediately but Odugbemi had told him to hold it in trust for him pending the time he would really need it…the time had come and the chief had not reneged on his promise…except that he had not known that Odugbemi had been behind the initial collapse of his business empire. This was simply Odugbemi’s way of taking out a little ‘insurance’ for himself and his son…it had been based on the help of his familiars.

Odugbemi had deliberately chosen that Company…because his familiars had whispered their advice to him…he hadn’t been particularly interested in a Software company…what did he know about computers? But his familiars had never given him advice that he had come to regret later…so he chose to follow their advice. He would give the company to Ade and see what he would make out of it.

He dialled Ade’s number again…

“There is a company I would like to bequeath to you. It is a Software company that has begun experiments in the new micro-chip technology…I have no idea what that is, but you are still young…it’s all yours if you want it, but I have to know now,” said Odugbemi, holding his breath for his son’s answer.

“I didn’t know you still had any more Companies dad,” said Ade cautiously.

“I don’t, but I did a favour once for an old classmate of mine and this is his way of paying me back. I told him to hold the Company in trust for me till I needed it.”

“I’m in, and dad…you just made my day!” said Ade enthusiastically.

Odugbemi grinned broadly…at least his son was taken care of…and he would in  take care of that young upstart who called himself Kola…Kola the owner of Micro-tech…the son of the late Adeleke…

Chapter 6

Oduyela drifted away like a puff of smoke and watched the landscape that he was familiar with, gradually change into surreal surroundings…a jaded grey mist covered everything…it had been long since he had travelled like this. He soared above the mist trying to get his bearings till a familiar spirit suddenly hovered close to him…

“This way,” growled the familiar spirit in a language totally foreign to Earth’s inhabitants. Oduyela followed the swiftly moving spirit in a hurry. The mist began to thin out and he saw beneath him what appeared to be a great concentration camp…people were being herded out to go to work by overzealous task masters who flogged them at will…every now and then, showers of fiery darts rained down on their naked bodies; male and female alike, like showers of rain…the task masters were tall beings with scarred and broken wings hanging loosely from their backs.

 Oduyela recognized them as some of the fallen angels who had mated with mortal women in the beginning of time. He remembered that Queen Mother had spoken about them during their instructional sessions were she imparted knowledge to them. She had said their wings were scarred as though by fire, and they were broken…they could never fly again.

He watched them scurry out in pain, wading through the filthy ash of molten lava and the thick fumes of burning sulphur. The land was a mass of ash and bogs filled with liquid fire…for that was what the molten lava looked like. He saw the naked feet of the prisoners sink deep into the hot bog as they struggled to get out of the way of the whips of their captors.

He could not only hear their screams but he could feel their pain…for each time someone screamed, he felt a whip lash through his naked soul. He grimaced in pain as he shot forward almost colliding with the familiar spirit.

“You don’t like it here do you?” chuckled the spirit; “You should get used to it, it’s where you are coming to when your life ends on earth,” he laughed horribly.

Mercifully they passed out of that portion of the Abyss; for that was the name the elders gave it…and came into dry lands…suddenly they entered earth’s realm again and Oduyela saw the mystical village down below. He wondered why the spirit had taken him on a detour through the Abyss when they could easily have come straight here…but he knew it was merely a reminder as to who would be the ultimate boss…for now the familiar spirit was his servant…but hereafter, it and others like it would be his lords and masters forever…he took his mind quickly off the horrible thought.

It was too late for him to repent, having committed the unpardonable sin…he had traded his salvation for the riches of the earth and was too deep in it to come out…having once been a pastor who had known the truth and tasted of the world to come…even now, he could not find godly sorrow nor repentance in his heart…he had become like Esau who sought repentance with tears and could not find it.

The Mothers were waiting for him…shrivelled hags with sunken cheeks and eyes…he paid his respects and bowed before them on his knees.

“It falls to you to lead the others even though a Mother has always led. We are very old now and are no longer active like our late fiery sister. We have taken counsel and this is our decision, said the first Mother slowly…chewing her gums as she struggled to speak.

“You are to finish what the Queen Mother left unfinished,” began another Mother; “for the Lord of Darkness seeks revenge…the girls are still alive and they must die. This is your last chance. Even now, others are being prepared as a back-up plan. Remember, fail in this and we all fail, and the consequences will be terrible.”

Wunmi lifted her husband’s head up as she continued to pray…he groaned softly. She had sprinkled cold water on his head and now sought to clean it with a handkerchief.

“What happened?” groaned Kola.

“I don’t know, I came in and found you lying like this on the ground. You tell me what happened!” said Wunmi assisting her husband to sit up.

“Never mind, I’m fine now,” he said, getting up from the ground.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Wunmi, concern written all over her face.

“I said I’m fine,” answered Kola coldly.

He stumbled out of the bedroom and went into his study, locking the door behind him. He couldn’t very well tell her that she was the price he had to pay for the knowledge he wanted, and that she had already been exchanged…he would have to wait till the next appearance of the Translucent Man and renegotiate terms.

He had been examining the long streams of data that Muyiwa had given him on a hard drive. It had obviously been for him and not for Muyiwa, for even Muyiwa couldn’t understand them. 

They contained information about an alternate technology to the microchip…a technology that no longer required the brain to house the mind…one that could separate the brain from the mind, as fantastic as it sounded…the whole thing was coded and Kola had only decoded a miniscule part of it. It fascinated him…the possibilities…it meant that there were other intangible means of capturing the data of the mind still unknown to man, and if this was so…he could give anything up for the entire knowledge…no, he could give up anyone…including his wife…

Kola recalled what the bible had said about renewing the mind with the word of God…was there a coded technology within those words that Christians had merely symbolized and spiritualized? The codes he was currently decoding seemed to suggest as much!

There was only one thing left to do…he had to convince the Translucent Man to ‘own’ his daughter or son…his wife had some sort of relationship with God that he didn’t understand, but his children could easily be captured…he might have to perform the ceremony again…for whichever child the Translucent Man eventually chose.

Wunmi decided it was high time she began to fast for herself and her family…even Jesus had underscored the importance of fasting against strong demonic attacks when he said to his disciples after they failed to cast out a spirit from a man exhibiting epileptic symptoms – This kind does not go out but by fasting and prayer.

It was fasting that had fortified the Lord to resist the devil in the wilderness when the devil came to offer him the whole world…there was some kind of spirit possessing her husband…she would intercede on his behalf, even though she had been impressed somehow not to…perhaps she had misunderstood the impression…perhaps she heard wrong…fasting and prayer would increase her sensitivity to the Spirit’s leading and guidance.

Her children’s lives were in danger here…she had to get them somewhere safe until she had sorted out everything with the help of the Holy Spirit…even her cousin Mary’s place was not safe…there was no one else she could trust with the safe keeping of her children.

She fell to her knees in utter helplessness…Spirit of the Living God, guide me…show me what to do…keep my children safe from harm…restore my home and family…snatch my husband out of the grasp of the Enemy Lord!