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!
