Chapter 7: The River of Bones

The river was alive.

Not with fish or frogs, but with bones.

Adewunmi waded through shallows littered with skulls and ribcages, the water icy despite the sweltering air. The coral bracelet glowed faintly, its light reflecting off the bleached remains. She'd lost track of time since fleeing the treehouse. The spectral hounds' barks had faded, but their absence brought no comfort.

Ayodele's warning echoed: Don't trust the water.

Ahead, the river widened into a churning rapid, its center spanned by a bridge woven from femurs and vertebrae. The Bone Bridge. Ancestral voices rose from the current:

"Pride led Adéọlá to ruin…"

"Will you repeat her folly?"

Adewunmi stepped onto the bridge. The bones shifted beneath her feet, clicking like teeth. Halfway across, the spirits materialized—translucent figures with hollow eyes, their hands clawing at her ankles.

"Turn back," they moaned. "You are not worthy."

She gripped the coral bracelet. "I carry your blood," she said, louder than she felt. "But I am not your sins."

The spirits recoiled. The bridge stilled.

"Well said."

A woman rose from the river, her skin the deep blue of midnight waves, hair cascading in kelp-like tendrils. Yemoja. The Orisha's voice resonated like a tidal pull. "But words alone will not save you, child."

Adewunmi knelt, the river soaking her knees. "I seek the amulet. To mend what's broken."

Yemoja's gaze pierced her. "You mend nothing. You are a spark in a storm." She gestured to the bracelet. "This will leash Oshun's fire… for a time. But each use steals a piece of your mortal coil."

A cold dread settled in Adewunmi's chest. "How long?"

"Before the power consumes you?" Yemoja's smile was sorrowful. "Before the blood moon rises, I suspect."

A shriek cut through the air—Ayodele, stumbling from the tree line, her arm bleeding black ichor. "Adewunmi! The hunters—"

A spear of shadow impaled the diviner's shoulder. She collapsed.

"No!" Adewunmi slammed the bracelet against the wound. Golden light flared. Ayodele's flesh knitted, but Adewunmi's vision blurred. She tasted copper, felt warmth trickle from her nose.

Yemoja whispered, "The first cost."