When Gods Bleed (10 page)

Although Gbangba seemed to decode the power behind this daredevil move, the fact that he was an easy target tempted him. If there were an attempt on his life, the whole kingdom would be against him for making a move forbidden by the Omee code, thereby having a reason for all the other provinces to become stronger together. Then again, Arubi would expect him to think that way. That was probably why he came alone, because he was the key man to the King. Gbangba got up to welcome the fat yet agile Head-of-Government. After exchanging greetings both men sat down. They brought kola nut; he blessed it and chewed. They brought pounded yam; he laughed and ate. When he had finished, he praised the chief’s wife for the excellent cuisine.

“There is nothing like peace within.”

“Yes, my Head-of-Government.”

“Please, Gbangba, I came to your Haku. I ate your kola. I drank your wine and I ate your food. Please call me Arubi when we are together.”

“It’s a title you deserve for every drop of blood you have ever spilled and every thought that has made our kingdom a better place. I am honored to call you my Head-of-Government.”

“If you were a woman, I would have married you immediately for those words that come from the heart—yes, from the heart. Those are real and touchable, not the hypocrisy and lies that fill this generations.”

Gbangba nodded in agreement without saying a word, but his gaze remained fixed at the Head-of-Government.

“There is a matter that pinches my soul. Come closer.”

Gbangba left the seat he was sitting on from a higher level to a lower one. In a louder form of whisper, the Head-of-Government continued.

“Some people are planning to rebel against the King and destroy the harmony we have.”

“Really?” Gbangba said, acting shocked.

“It even gets worse. Someone has come out claiming to be the son of the King.” The Head-of-Government laughed and Gbangba joined him mechanically. “When the fool’s wife died, instead of using his brain and disappearing, he sends an Omee’s hand to the King. Our spies tell us he was crying like a baby when his wife died and I seriously feel they should check if he has a penis. They say he is a friend of yours.”

“Yes, he is.”

“Funny, isn’t it? I don’t think I mentioned who the person was, so how do you know he is your friend?”

Gbangba got up and turned his back to the Head-of-Government.

“You taught me that there were three ways to attack your enemies, either from behind his back, from within, or from the front as his enemy. I am tired of playing the fool. Everyone knows about him, so why don’t you tell me what you came here for, Head-of-Government?”

“What I came here for is open as the skies above, as plain as the grounds we step on. Are you for us or against us?”

“What do I have to gain by being for you and what do I have to gain by being against you?”

“Life gives this complex illusion while it really revolves around simple theories. If you are for us, I promise you that you will succeed me and if you are against me, you will lose the battle. So which way are your leaves going to fall?”

“My honor dies with my King.”

“I should be heading back to the capital.”

“I am grateful for your presence in my home.”

“Nonsense, Gbangba. I am grateful that you accepted me into your home. By the way, the King wants all the chiefs together, to know the people for him and those against him.”

“When are we to meet with him?”

“Actually, he would like to see everyone immediately. He wanted to send the messenger, but I also had to know where you stood.”

“Really, this is what they call bad timing. Can you imagine of all the times my sister’s husband just died and I have to bring her to my Haku before she grows mad. When I do that, then I will dash down to meet the King.”

“You will dash down. Your King requires your presence and you are telling me about your sister.”

“I will make it as soon as I can.”

“I am sorry, Gbangba, but that is not good enough. You are coming back with me.”

“No, Arubi, I am the one who is sorry. I am not going back with you.”

“Yes, the animal has come out of his cage. Only a fool will try and crack a coconut with his teeth.”

“Before a bird can learn how to fly it has to jump,” Gbangba retorted.

“But it is smart enough to jump from a height that it can still walk when it falls.”

“Only a fool measures a height he cannot see.”

“I take my leave, Gbangba, or should I call you Head-of-Government? You would be a smart man to kill me before I leave your province.”

“And lose all my allies.”

“Allies?”

“I think I spoke too much.”

“You were always my favorite protégé, but your time has come. Your death awaits you.”

Arubi left the Haku and the province with his two Omees without looking back.

When Arubi reached the outskirts of the province, he met his new general with two hands. He was ready for his first battle as general with their battalions behind him.

“Do we still strike tonight?” the man asked his master.

“No, not tonight; he is ready for us and he has allies. Or maybe he was lying. Let’s go back to the capital.”

Vacoura rushed down to where Gbangba was and with great enthusiasm reported, “They are retreating, my chief.”

“I take it you are happy with this information you have given me?”

“Definitely.”

“Did it not occur to you that they are going to come back and this time prepared? If they had attacked us, we would have had all the other provinces on our side if we had won or even lost. Please, leave. I want to be alone.”

So all the provinces don’t belong to the King. Arubi believed I had an ally, that’s why he left. Beautiful. Going to war with Arubi is like digging to the middle of the earth, but it can be done. If I die at the hands of such a great warrior, I will be honored. My name will be respected. I have to make contact with Obi. The poor child lost his only wife.

Then Gbangba smiled—Obi gave the King a hand.

Chapter 9

Obi dwelt in the Haku of Utagba’s former chief, still waiting to build his palace on his wife’s grave. The general’s daughter Ifrareta, whose left hand was handicapped, always attended him.

Three men came to visit Obi: the Okpala of the Province Utagba, the general named Ebikela and the envoy named Sagbe.  The last time Obi came to the province he was bowing low to these men; now they were bowing to him. He looked at these men and realized a common goal amongst them.

Obi always had great respect for the people in the province. When their last chief died, he was to be replaced by Vokei, but King Nwosa sent down his general from the capital to become their chief because they were getting too powerful and they needed to be checked. The people of the province refused the chief and defied the King. The King sent his envoy to tell the elders that they had fourteen days to take back their decision and pay the fine for disobedience. The elders of the province sent their reply immediately, which made the King’s rage increase. Arubi advised the King against an immediate attack because the people had more skilled Omees.

The province was initially made of a village near the sea. By an act from the gods, the sea started to run away from the land, widely expanding the area. Most retired head-of-governments, chiefs, generals and Omees settled in this secluded village so they would no longer be in the same environment with their successors, who now had power over them. They all came with their families and the land expanded with the people in them. This was about eighty years earlier, when they were under the Ozuoba Province. When they realized that they were too big to be under Ozuoba, they went to the King asking for a separation from Ozuoba. He agreed on grounds that the people of Ozuoba accepted their decision, though he foxily gave them the power to do what they had to do without his permission.

The people of Ozuoba initially disagreed and wanted to disgrace them in battle. When the men of Ozuoba saw the multitude and the fitness of their adversaries, they decided to let the people have their own province for the sake of the kingdom. The hate between these two provinces grew as the years passed.

King Nwosa did not attack the people in Utagba because they paid their taxes. However, they were still unable to make Vokei their chief because the ceremony had to be held in the palace and by the Headman to the Oracle.

Obi respected these men around him and understood their logic. He wondered what would have happened if he had not been taught about the strategies of war by Ifeanyi. He would have barked amongst the roar of lions.

“The news of your birth by Aneaton has spread to those near and far. I think it’s time we make a decision,” the Okpala said with a stern look on his face.

“What do you have in mind?” Obi asked, thinking how funny life was—the Okpala now answering to him.

“We should send a message to your father the King that you are rightfully his heir and that you intend on staying here until his death. We all know they will try to lure you to the capital or even make attempts on your life while you are still here, but our honor is to the death. I doubt if the King will want to attack here. If he wanted to, he would have done it a long time ago.”

“There is a saying: ‘A drunkard is a humble man to you as long as you continue giving him palm wine from your calabash, but when you decide to stop he will redefine the word humble to you.’ I know you openly rejected him as your King, but you have always paid your taxes and still do not have a chief.”

Obi then faced the general, asking him, “What do you have in mind?”

“I think you should surrender to the King because we are only strong enough to conquer at most two provinces, but not the whole kingdom. If you publicly surrender, you might be given amnesty and the whole kingdom would publicly acknowledge you as the first son of the King.”

Obi looked at the general and nodded. He thought, No wonder you are still a general. He faced the envoy and asked, “What do you think?”

“The cat that comes out and looks the dog in the eye does not run away for fear. If you make any attempt to surrender, your body will decorate the grounds of the earth. It has passed the stage of forgiveness, the god of war screams for blood. Attack is inevitable because we have nothing to defend.”

Obi was angry at the bluntness of the envoy but he knew that such a personality was necessary to wake him up to the harsh reality of everything around him. So he decided he would make him the King’s envoy if they succeeded.

Just then a blind man walked into the room.

“Forgive me, Your Highness, I am late. The wind blew against my soul.”

“How dare you come into our presence without announcing yourself!” the general exclaimed.

“Our presence?” Obi repeated, raising his right eyebrow.

“Your presence, Sire, forgive me.”

“Who is that supposed to be?” asked the blind Ifa priest.

“Okpala, Vokei, and Sagbe, this is the Ifa priest.”

“He is the old man with eyes that can see deeper than us,” the Okpala replied confidently.

“Yes, I agree the Ifa priest was older and had eyes and could see, but he is dead. That is why I am here now.”

Turning his head to Obi immediately, he said, “I have news for your ears only.”

“Then it will wait. I have questions for these men,” Obi said. “Vokei, how many battalions do we have?”

“Five, Sire, made up of eight to nine hundred.”

“Sagbe, go to Ozuoba tonight with six Omees. Tell Chief Atani to surrender while he still has the chance, that we strike tomorrow night.”

“I don’t think it is honorable to go to war with them with only some hours notice, and such an act would make all the provinces have a reason to be against us,” the Okpala said.

Obi continued as though he did not hear a word.

“Vokei, tell all the Omees to say goodbye to their loved ones for now. I want to see the women dance the war dance before we go to battle.”

“We, Sire? With all due respect, you are not going anywhere,” the Ifa priest said.

“Are you to tell me where I can go and not go?”

“Your Highness, Kings do not go to battle; they sit on their thrones and monitor what is going on from there,” the Ifa priest replied.
             

“Look around you, does this place look like a palace? Have I seen all the chiefs drop their blood into a cup? Have I been crowned? No, I have not. So now if I decide to do what I choose, the law binding a King does not apply to me. I am not any man’s King now,” Obi retorted.

“You are my King,” the Ifa priest responded with a bow.

Obi looked and wanted to do something to the blind man, but he did not know what it was. As he looked around him, all the other three men had their heads bowed. Then he started laughing and the other men joined him.

Obi directed the next question to the Okpala.

“How strong are the people of Ozuoba?”

“Compared to us they are like feathers against wings, but if they join the province next to them, then we have a real battle ahead of us. Maybe the people of Ozuoba would be ready to join us. Please don’t forget they were your wife’s people,” the man replied.

“They were my wife’s people—hear him talk. Was it not these people who gave the Omees from the palace permission to pass through and hunt us down? I will crush the place to the ground personally. Which province would they merge with?”

“Suyema.”

“Sagbe, speak to me.”

“The chief of this province is Otiotio, but the man to fear is his general, Shalebe. They have six battalions and two of these have never lost a battle and they are led by Shalebe.”

“If Shalebe is the man behind the sword, then why is Otiotio still chief?”

The envoy looked around the room and spoke in a low tone.

“They say Shalebe is Otiotio’s slave, that’s why he chose him to be his general, because he can never be chief. Him being an Omee, and even a general, was due to the chief’s and elder’s influence. Till now, everyone in their province pretended not to know about it out of fear of the man.”

“So do we review our plans and negotiate?” the general asked, pride in his voice for being right all along.

“You are right. We might have to review our plans. As of now the people of Ozuoba will not know that we expect to go to war with two provinces, so they will underestimate their predicament. We still strike tomorrow with two battalions, one led by—”

“Two battalions?” the general interrupted.

Obi continued as though he heard nothing, “—the general and the other led by me. Battle plans from Suyema will be drawn on site. The other three battalions will backup when the piper changes the song and the drums stop beating.”

“Wherever you go, I go,” the Ifa priest said.

“I knew you would say that,” Obi answered.

“Whatever you do, make him think we are going to war with only him on our minds. Can I trust you, Sagbe?”

“This is one way to find out, Sire.”

Obi looked into the man’s eyes and saw they were clear.

“Go now and whatever time you get back in the night, come and give me the report.” Obi used his fingers to invite the envoy closer and whispered into his ear. “Tell Odagwe, the general, that my door is always open to him.”

The Envoy bowed and left. Obi faced the Okpala and general and told them to go and come back when the envoy arrived.

“Can I trust them?” Obi asked the Ifa priest.

“You did not seem to need that information when you were with them.”

“That was not the question.”

“He is already talking like a King. Is it amazing how the pompous nature of a position possesses anyone in power. They have not got any reason to be against you.”

“So what did you want to tell me?’

“You have two provinces secretly for you and one that is openly fighting for you.”

“Which ones?”

“Ndemili and Ahoda are secretly for you. Okon wants his son to succeed him and he does not want you to interfere when you are King.”

“But his child can hardly walk. What about Ahoda? I can understand Okon joining because he was duped by the King over the Head-of-Government position, but I don’t understand why Ihua would join us.”

“Ihua was easy. I promised him he could conquer Ogbe and make it part of Ahoda.”

“Are you telling me that he joined us because he wanted to go to war with Ogbe?”

“He has a deep obsession for Adesuwa, Ike’s wife.”             

“How did you know?” Obi asked.

“I have passed from province to province in all forms and watched the ways and lives of these chiefs. I tried to be with them when the news got to them. Most of these chiefs had poor excuses for Tikpapas. I was tempted once or twice to kill them.”

“You and I know the code of war: a king, chief or general who is killed by his enemy’s Tikpapa during war has lost the battle,” Obi angrily replied.

“That’s why I used the word tempted.”

“Get to the point and save your accomplishments for another day.”

“Well,” the Ifa priest grunted, ”she used to be Ihua’s concubine and then Ike came from nowhere and paid her dowry to the parents, who were more than willing to give their slave child to a normal man. Think of the humor of a chief asking her hand. So she became his wife.”

“If he liked her so much, why did he not marry her?”

“She was a slave.”

“You mean Ike married a slave? He must have really liked her.”

“He didn’t. It was all about showing Ihua that he could do anything he wants to. She is still treated like a slave.”

“As much as he tries to deny it, she took a part of his heart away. He still tries to pretend that she was just sex to him. But she tortures his dreams and thoughts. Ike’s and Ihua’s families have been enemies for a long time. Ike feels the burn in Ihua when he sees him with Ugochi and he loves it.”

“So what does this have to do with Ihua joining us?” Obi was getting impatient.

“Patience.”

Obi looked at him with a wicked eye.

“Sorry, Sire. Well I realized that there was something missing in the story. Ihua asked the King to give him permission to marry Adesuwa. He refused, claiming it would be a disgrace for other kingdoms to find out that his chief was married to a slave. Later on Ike asked the King for the same thing and the King gave him his permission.”

“Did the King know it was the same slave?” Obi was now engrossed in the story.

“That was the beauty of it—the King did not know it was the same girl. It was supposed to be a secret between Ike and King Nwosa. So as of now the King is not aware that Ihua’s hatred extends to him.”

“How did you…You know what I mean.”

“I was in Ike’s Haku.”

“I hope they did not see you.”

The Ifa priest answered the question in quick lilt, not to kill the flow of his story.

“No, they didn’t. I was camouflaged.” He continued from where he stopped. “Adesuwa’s female cousins came to look for her. I did not have eyes to see her, but from the aura in the environment, I noted that the cousin was tall and she gave an Arabian impression by the way she dressed; she seemed to have covered herself fully. I was positive that she was a link to something Adesuwa was doing because she persuaded the Omees in the Haku with gifts not to say a word. I waited a while before entering the room they were in together and behold, right in front of me, I saw Ihua undress in front of me and grab another man’s wife. He tore off her clothes like a wild animal that had not seen food to eat. She was licking the sweat from his neck and around his body. It was as though her clothes were like insects biting her as she threw the torn pieces away. When intercourse started she wanted to scream, but he stuffed the clothes in her mouth. The intensity of his thrust in and out of her making her act crazy. She used her nails and scratched his back. That was the time I made myself visible.”