Chapter 75
"Very well then, you leave me no choice but to coerce you since cajoling you is useless! Osun, I give you from now till the next moon to do as you have been instructed to, or I'll adopt her and give her what she needs for this war!"
"You can't take my own granddaughter from me! You can't!" Osun barked.
"You know that I can, Osun, and I'll!" The Cuban Mermaid hissed, turned and swam away while the others turned and followed her too.
★★★
Soaking herself in a big wooden bath that reached just a little above her breasts, Kikelomo opened her eyes when she sensed her friends enter her bathroom.
"Did you find her?" She asked, without looking at them.
"No..." They replied, a bit out of breath from scouring the forest for hours. "We have searched everywhere that we can, but there's no trace of her." Abisola answered.
"We even went to her house." Ronke added. "But she was not there."
Kikelomo grunted. "Ige might be weak but she's not foolish enough to make such a mistake of going to her father's house when she knows that that's the first place that I'll probably look for her." She said then asked, "And the old man?"
"We have taken him to your great-grandmother. She has him imprisoned there; though she hasn't decided on what to do with him yet." Fisayo answered.
"Good..." Kikelomo said with a pleased smile. "I'll not really bother myself about Ige anymore... I made sure that she sustained a lot of injuries, and I very much doubt that she'll survive them. Wherever she is, she might eventually die there and perhaps, we might stumble upon her rotten corpse someday." She smirked then continued. "In her next life, she'll know better than to cross paths with me again, or to try to share my man." Turning her head to look at Fisayo and Ronke, she asked, "Do you two still have sex with the fair-complexioned priest in his dreams?"
"Yes, we do." Fisayo and Ronke answered in unison
"Then why does he still live? I expected him to be long dead!" Kikelomo was displeased.
Fisayo and Ronke nervous exchanged looks. "We didn't want the effects to be that obvious yet to the other priests... that's why we tarry."
"I don't care! You have had too much fun with him already! Waste him!" Kikelomo ordered.
"As you wish, princess." They curtsied by slightly bending their knees.
"Ifede?" Kikelomo called.
"Yes, princess?" Ifede answered.
"You have slept with the other priest, the one who touches himself, haven't you?" She asked.
"Yes, princess." Ifede answered.
"Why didn't I see his semen in the sacred Calabash where all semen ought to be deposited?"
Ifede swallowed hard and averted her gaze by lowering her head. "Urm... I...I..." She stuttered.
"You know that you are not permitted to attach any sort of emotion to the duty assigned to you, right?" Kikelomo said, sending her thoughts.
"Yes, I do, princess." Ifede sheepishly replied.
"Then do what's right or it might cost you your life!" Kikelomo hissed. "None of you are allowed to fall in love with anyone, especially the priests! When it's time to start your own families after the snake goddess is pleased and satisfied with your services, we shall let you know!"
"B...but... princess...you have assigned everyone else to a task, except me. What about the priest on glasses? Why have you not assigned me to him yet? Or is he an exception?" Abisola curiously asked.
Kikelomo slowly turned her head to shoot Abisola a scornful look. "And what business do you have with the priest?! If I wanted you to deal with him, I'd assign you, but for now, he's mine to deal with personally, so wait until something else comes up for you to handle!" She scolded. "And do not speak about this again, ever!"
"Yes, princess." Abisola reluctantly murmured with a frown on her face. She was skeptical that the princess was spiritually attacking Vincent.
Kikelomo rose out of the bath now with water dripping down her naked body. Ifede grabbed a wrapper and held it towards her as she stepped out of the bath. Taking the wrapper from Ifede and wrapping it around her wet body, Kikelomo walked out of the bathroom without another word.
When they were sure that she was gone, Abisola indignantly asked now, "Am I the only one who feels that the princess is being biased about this whole thing?! She doesn't want any of us near the priest on glasses!"
"You all ought to know by now that she likes him!" Fisayo replied. "She likes him so much that she's eyeing him for the throne despite the fact that her great, great grandmother has given the order that no priest is to be spared. If she doesn't want to harm him, then it's her choice."
"Oh, so she's allowed to fall in love while we are to keep serving the snake goddess as maidens, right?" Ifede asked. "I have served her and this goddess for eleven years and it's exhausting! I also want to know what love feels like! I'm tired of doing her bidding and seducing men just to destroy them! Why does she get to have what we can't have?!"
"She's our leader, do not forget that!" Ronke stated.
"Do not also forget that she was also our friend before she became our leader!" Abisola shot. "She cheats us in everything! Two years ago, I almost fell in love with a priest, but what did she do? She killed him because he was going to take me for deliverance! She gave a flimsy excuse that he was a distraction to me!"
"Well, I'll be honest..." Fisayo sighed now. "Ige didn't deserve what we did to her. I know that we all did not start off on a good beginning as children with her, but she has been nothing but kind to us all and the other villagers. The only time she retaliates is whenever Kike is mean to her, and now, we almost killed her just to please Kike."
Ronke folded her arms under her chest and rubbed her elbow as she mumbled. "I have a confession; I didn't actually bite her as Kikelomo had commanded, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Even though I know that you three bit her several times, there's no denying that our bites are less potent than Kike's. She was the one who burnt Ige and bit her several times in fatal places, then she sent us to look for her in the bush while she came back here to have a royal bath like we don't need one too." She indignantly finished.
"All this talking will not solve anything. What we have to do is to find a solution to our problems and to this tyranny." Ifede said. "As for me, I'm not bringing that priest's semen to the sacred Calabash! I won't! Enough of these mindless killings already!"
"Who else sees herself burning in a lake of fire in her dreams?" Ronke asked with fear in her voice and all the maidens raised up their hands. "So, what do we do? I don't want to burn in that fire after I die. I want to go back to living my normal life before Kike initiated us. Those dreams feel so real and I don't want to end up there."
"First, I think we should help Ige out..." Fisayo suggested. "Let us make sure that Kikelomo and her great grandmother never find her."
"And the old man?" Ifede asked.
"One of us has to go back to the grandmother's hut and set him free." Ronke stated. "But who's bold enough to take such risk among us?" She asked and the maidens expectantly glanced at one another.
"I will..." Abisola finally said.
★★★
As Abisola crept into the forest and hid behind one of the trees, she partially squatted and scanned the hut around for any sign of movement. When she was sure that there was no one in sight, she crept to the pit where Oyediran had been held hostage. As she lifted the heavy bamboo sticks and palm fronds covering the opening, she felt someone standing behind her. Gasping aloud, she whirled around to see Bukunmi, watching her.
"You have come to set the old man free, haven't you?" Bukunmi asked and Abisola could only lower her head in fear, trembling. "Does the princess know what you are about to do?" Bukunmi asked again.
"No, Yeye (used to address older women-pronounced as Yay-yay with), she is not aware." Abisola managed to answer.
"You know well that she does not take betrayal lightly, don't you?" Bukunmi said.
"I know." Abisola could not stop trembling and she kept nervously rubbing her fingers together at her sides.
"So, think of what she'd do to you if I was to tell her what you just tried to do."
Abisola suddenly dropped to her knees and began to beg, her palms placed together in front of her. "Please, please, Yeye, do not tell her! She'll probably cast a bad spell on me, or worse, kill me! Please, do not tell on me, I beg you!"
"Well, I'm willing to keep this a secret if you are willing to do something in return for me." Bukunmi said with a sly smile now.
"Anything, Yeye! I'm ready to do anything!" She anxiously said.
Bukunmi smiled wickedly and said, "I know that you seek revenge against my granddaughter, and although, I know that I've given her my word not to harm the priest but that doesn't mean that I cannot send somebody else to do it for me. That priest has been a great source of distress to me and a greater distraction to my granddaughter, Kikelomo.
It's said that a pound for a pound, Abisola. I'm aware that she once killed a priest you almost fell in love with two years ago. Well, here's your chance to make it even... Will you take this priest's life for me in exchange for this secret I'm to keep for you?" Bukunmi asked and Abisola hesitated as she contemplated on the offer.
She was perplexed and helpless. She knew that if Bukunmi told Kikelomo what she had tried to do, she was dead, and if Kikelomo found out that she had killed Vincent, then she was dead all the same, and the way Kikelomo would kill her might even be worse than that for Oyediran. She just didn't know what to do.
★★★
Paul was just arriving the church that morning when the Parish priest who was conversing with two members, saw him, then excused himself and approached him.
"Father Paul." He called.
Paul stopped and turned to look at the Parish priest. "Good morning, father." He said in a tired voice. He looked emaciated.
The parish him scrutinized him for a moment then asked in concern. "Are you okay? I noticed that you have lost a lot of weight lately. Are you not feeding well?"
"I'm, father... I just feel very tired these days." Paul answered.
"Yes, I noticed that... I also noticed that you also doze off during mass...I presumed that you probably stay up all night, reading your bible or praying, but from the look of things, I don't think that's the case. Is there something you'll like to share with me?"
Paul heaved a sigh as he rubbed his nape with his hand then warily glanced around.
"If you are uncomfortable here, we can go into the church for some privacy." The parish priest said, placed a hand on Paul's upper arm and guided him into the church. Once they were seated, he asked, "How's your prayer life, Father Paul?"
Paul heaved a sigh and hung his head in despair and shame. When he lifted it again, he remorsefully said, "Father, I'll be honest with you. I'm dying. My penis is bleeding."
The priest was surprised and his eyes quickly traveled down towards Paul's crotch. "When was the last time you went to confession?"
"I've not done so for months now." Paul replied.
"Do you have an ailment that's causing you to bleed from your organ?" The Parish priest asked.
"No father, but I've been bleeding for a few days now. Blood comes out of my nose every night before I sleep. I bleed when I urinate and there's also blood in my stool. I can't sleep, because all I see every time I close my eyes are snakes." Paul said.
"Snakes?" The parish priest asked in shock. "You mean that you have been seeing snakes in your dreams?"
"Yes, father..." Paul answered, noticing the apprehensive look on the Parish priest's face. "Father, is anything the problem?"
"Before you started having such nightmares, did you have nightmares about having sex with faceless women in the dream?"
"How did you know that?" Paul asked in surprise.
"This is not the first time I've heard this or seen this sign of massive weight loss from a priest, and I regret to inform you that none of the priests who had these symptoms, survived."
"God!" Paul cried in despair, placing his head in his hands. "What do I do father? What do I do? I don't want to die." He began to panic now.
"You need to undergo a thorough deliverance immediately, it's a good thing that I noticed when it's still early, but first, you must get rid of that which attracted these demonic maidens to you in the first place. It could be a sinful object or a sinful act; it could be both."
"I see pornography, father." He ruefully murmured. "I was addicted to the magazines."
"Hallelujah." The Parish priest murmured under his breath. "Hallelujah... Father Paul, you must return to your apartment immediately, fetch those magazines and bring them to the church. We must burn them and then commence the deliverance session. I shall also send for Father Gideon and Father Vincent immediately."
"Alright, father." Paul answered.
Almost half an hour later, all three priests were at the church with the Parish Priest sitting in front of them.
"Father Vincent, Father Gideon, is there anything you two will like to tell me?" The Parish Priest asked.
Vincent and Gideon exchanged confused looks then shook their heads at the priest's questions.
"If there's anything you are hiding, you don't need to hide it anymore. Father Paul has already confessed his addiction and the effect which his dreams are having on him, and I hate to break it to you that he's already dying. So, if there's anything you two are keeping, just to save your lives before it's too late, I think this is the best time to confess them. For Proverbs 28:13 says that whosoever covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."
A short silence ensued before Gideon finally sighed in resignation. "Father, I also have a confession."
"Go on, let's hear it." The Parish priest encouraged him.
"Urm... I...I...have broken my oath of chastity and have been having sex with one of the maidens in the village." Gideon confessed and Vincent and Paul gave him a surprised look because he never mentioned it to them. "Honestly, I tried to resist the temptation but it was overwhelming. I really tried."
"Which of the maidens if I may ask?" The Parish priest asked.
"One of the princess' friends, Ifede...just a few days ago, she came to tell me that she's pregnant." Gideon managed to say, his gaze lowered, unable to boldly look any one of them in the eye.
"Holy Mary." The Parish priest murmured, resting his forehead on his thumb and index finger and closing his eyes in dismay for a moment. When he could finally recover from the unpleasant news, he lifted his head and turned to look at Vincent. "And you, father, is there anything you'll like to confess to?"