Chapter 4

THE SKY LOOKED SOMETHING LIKE the early hours of dawn—not bright, not dark. Red clouds gathered in clusters over the horizon to the left, and a grey outline of the sun and moon hung up high in the sky side by side with a soft sliver glow. Everywhere as far as my eyes could see looked the same, bare and plain under the soft shadow of light, and the ground where we stood was as dark as night and soft, giving off a feeling of standing afloat on air.

My heart pounded hard as I was lost between fear and curiosity, but I was simply winging through it out of trust for mama. She had promised me all would be fine.

I fingered the eagle pendant and chain resting on my chest as I thought of my mother, trying to permanently imprint the memory of her face and her voice on my mind. Mama had given me the chain to me when she finished talking, and then I saw the message my mother left for me. “My love I am so sorry I will not be there for you, but I believe I am leaving you in good hands,” Mother began in the message, her face glowing with an otherworldly light.

Mother! I wanted to scream and run to her, to jump into her embrace and tell her how sorry I was, how much I missed her. I could only stand there with tears rolling down my eyes.

“If you are here then it only means you have been called upon for a matter of great importance, as I have tried my best to allow you lead a normal life,” she continued. “Follow your heart always, even if your eyes and ears are telling you otherwise. Don’t also forget what we stand for, we are white witches and we stand for the good. I believe in you my little witchlord, I believe you would be the strongest and most capable witchlord ever. Take care of yourself, I love you.” Her image disappeared, leaving me with a huge sense of loss.

A strange power then called to me, insistent and urgent. I heeded its call, quickly overwhelmed by a feeling of transcendence and exhilaration as I felt some kind of barrier breaking within me. I felt invincible, like I could do just about anything, my senses became sharper, my body was lighter and yet brimmed with energy.

That was before Mama broke me out of the feeling and harried Aunty Ope to bring me here, wherever this was.

“Where is this place?” I asked Aunty Ope.

“This is Olofi, the conduit between heaven and earth.”

“He- The heaven where God is?” my eyes widened.

Aunty Ope scoffed. “There are seven heavens and that one you speak of is a long way off. Off limits for mortals and even other gods.”

I turned to Aunty Ope, hearing an unmistakable quiver in her voice as she spoke. Her face was pale and bound in a soft grimace of pain, and her body quivered slightly.

“Aunty Ope are you okay?”

“Yes,” she nodded slowly. “It’s just, this is my first time coming here with my real body and I need a minute to accustom myself to this place.”

“But you’ve been here before?” I countered, raising my brows.

Aunty Ope shook her head as her face slowly regained color. “I have, but we smaller less-powerful witches can only come here with our spirit body due to the pressure of powerful magic here, leaving our physical bodies at home. Only stronger witches can come here physically, and that is after creating an illusion of themselves still at their home before coming.”

“But I don’t feel anything.” I shrugged.

“You are a witchlord, little things like this don’t affect you,” Aunty Ope replied tersely like that answered all my questions. It was the very same answer she gave when we were coming down here and she changed into a white wrapper and head tie, painting dotted lines of white paint over her face, her arms, and the exposed parts of her chest and I asked if I needed to change into white too.

I looked over the yellow gown I wore, hoping it will not be out of place. Mama said it wouldn’t.

“Let’s go.” I flinched as Aunty Ope grabbed my right arm and began to pull me along. “There will be no need for all this when you finally get used to your powers. You will be able to teleport directly anywhere in an instant,” she encouraged.

A strong feeling of nervousness overwhelmed me as Aunty Ope led us forward, making me wish it was Mama who was with me. At least I would find strength in her presence. I reached up my neck and fingered the gold chain again, caressing the eagle pendant softly.

Chirping sounds of birds resounded before us making Aunty Ope stop abruptly, and two birds suddenly appeared out of thin air. I took a step back, but Aunty Ope who still had a hold on my arm stopped me from taking more.

“Mothers,” Aunty Ope bowed as the birds morphed into two middle aged women. Their clothes are white, making me understand we are all in the same group.

“Is this the right time you were supposed to arrive with the girl?” The woman on the right hissed angrily. “You’ve kept the elders waiting and they have not taken lightly to this tardiness.”

“I’m sorry,” Aunty Ope replied, still holding her low bow.

“We will see to your punishment later,” they both hissed in discontent.

Both women shifted their gaze to me, looking me over for less than a second. I surprisingly felt my fear ease a little seeing their gaze towards me, drawn in by the soft warmth they exuded. One of the women said a phrase, and before I could react we were submerged in darkness.

Nothing prepared me for the next course of events.

We suddenly reappeared in a clearing, before a group of people seating in tensed silence. The clearing was marked by tall trees at the outer edges that grew so close that it seemed like walls, and the sky was dark with numerous stars glinting brightly high up. Three brightly burning braziers cast an iridescent glow around, sometimes burning yellow, red, blue… changing colors like a rainbow, and burning low one second while blazing hard the next.

The people here sat on logs in two rows, and there was a podium up front where three wizened old women sat on wide broad chairs looking like thrones. The silence was unnerving, so also were the eyes trained on me as they all appraised me, causing shivers to run through my spine.

This should be the council of sixteen Mama spoke about. Their white, red and black attires and painted bodies blended perfectly well under the luminance of the light.

“Finally, the last witchlord honors us with her presence,” the old crone in the middle up on the podium announced sarcastically in a patronizing croak. She wore black, signifying her to be the black matron and supreme leader of the whole witches in Nigeria according to Mama.

“You should have been here yesterday, yet you choose to come here today and not keep to time again?” the woman on white by her right scolded, glowering at Aunty Ope.

“I’m sorry mother.” Aunty Ope went on her knees.

“You know, Amope, if she was a black, I would take her life right now,” The black matron divulged.

“Rise child,” the white matron said softly, ignoring the Black matron as Aunty Ope shivered visibly in fear. The white matron turned to me, beckoning me forward with a warm matronly smile. “Come little girl.”

I trudged forward slowly, walking through the center of the seated thirteen who were all still studying me in silence.

 “M- ma- ma- mo- Mothers,” I stuttered, etching a bow as I stopped before the podium.

“There is no need for that.” The white matron waved her hand dismissively. She rearranged herself over the chair, sitting up straight to catch my eyes. I find I cannot evade hers gaze, forcing me to hold it. “I’m so sorry I had them bring you here despite your mother’s wishes, but we have great need of you so you will have to forgive me.”

The wicked cackle of the black matron suddenly split the atmosphere, making the feeling of terror which was formerly receding under the soft motherly gaze of the White matron return with full force.

 “You see what I’m saying, Zaretu,” the Black matron turned to the red matron by her left who have been silent since I arrived. “These whites are just too emotional. And that only reeks of one thing, weakness!”

“You are scaring the girl,” the red matron retorted, barely turning her a glance.

“I’m scaring her?” The black matron barked, sitting up straight. “We need them to be strong, fearless, not easily scared and jittery. Only then will they be able to face what is ahead of them.”

“We still have other matters to discuss than to spend the whole time bickering about our basic ethics,” the white matron cut in, turning to glare at the black matron.

The black matron scoffed and shook her head, sending me a wicked glare that made me want to run as far away as possible, leaving all this behind me to hide. I could barely stand as tremors ran up my legs.

 “I know you have a lot of questions,” The white matron shifted her gaze back to me, the warm smile returning to her face effortlessly. “But we don’t have the time to answer them at the moment. You must be with the others now. Iditan would take you to Oniko.” She nodded towards her left which was empty when I turned to look.

A young girl looking about my age suddenly appeared from the thick darkness beyond the firelight, from amongst the wall of trees like a ghost, and my eyes widened as I took in her appearance.

She wore a short black gown and her dark obsidian skin seemingly glowed as the fire blazed hard, alongside her eyelids, brows, lips and nails which were all painted in the darkest shade of black. Her head was clean shaven, and on her face which was more handsome than beautiful was a look of wicked ruthlessness.

“Go with her,” the white matron commanded, waving me away.

I shifted a gaze to Aunty Ope down by the table where I had left her and she nodded. I took a deep breath and made my way towards the girl.

“Follow my steps,” Iditan said coldly, turning around as I arrived before her.

She hated me! I could feel her hate, and she did nothing to hide it in the sharp glower she gave before turning away, drowning me within those deep black pupils for the briefest seconds. I immediately quenched the budding thought of making friends with her at the moment.

 The girl, Iditan, moved back into the darkness, entering into it without a pause, and it was as if the darkness swallowed her whole.

I paused, eyeing the thick swirling darkness suspiciously.

“Enter, fool.” her voice came to me.

This is going to be harder than I thought. I took a deep breath and stepped in.

“Uh…?” I gasped as we reappeared before a thick forest to a place which was a sharp contrast to the one we left behind just a step away. There was no sun but everywhere was bright like day, the trees were tall and huge with airs of ancientness about them, and all the leaves were verdant green. Sounds of animals also teemed in the forest; birds, squirrels, and many more. My gaze finally landed on the floor. We stood on earth, on soil instead of darkness. Somehow I knew we were not really on earth as I knew it. I used my tennis shoe to kick up sand to confirm that the sand and forest was not an illusion.

“This is beautiful,” I muttered.

“This is the ancient forest leading to the training ground.” Iditan said tersely, a permanent scowl and sneer on her face.

Why so cold? I frowned back at her. “Okay?”

Iditan scoffed as she noticed the frown on my face, an evil suffocating air effusing out of her which sent chills down my spine. I shifted my gaze from hers, looking at the forest.

 “Can you fly?”

“Fly?” I was taken aback, confused, as she searched my face. “No, no I can’t.”

“Useless,” she hissed softly under her breath.

Finally my anger got the better of me. I was new to all of this, scared, hesitant, and I was just barely winging it through to save my sanity. But I would not take to being called useless to my face by someone who looked younger than I am. “Hey you! I just got to know all about the witches and magic barely a few hours ago, so you don’t just expect me to—”

“We still have a long way to go, very short if you could fly. But since you can’t…” Iditan cut into my impassioned speech. She shook her head and began to walk into the forest.

I stood there for a moment, heaving with anger as she continued forward without a care for me. I had a lot to say to this cold, evil girl, but I knew I could not just stand there, I had to reach our destination first before I could do anything. I hurried after her, the forest opening up a clear path before us as we pressed in. 

A group of squirrels up in the trees stared at us as we passed, seemingly talking to themselves. I stopped as we arrived at a part of the forest where long vines with colorful, pink, white and purple flowers upon them coiled around the trees. I reached to touch a pink flower and stopped as my eyes caught sight of a doe just a little way off, staring at me. As I looked deep into its eyes, the doe suddenly seemed to change, looking like an apparition with several feelers. I gasped in fear. The flowers I had wanted to touch also changed to tiny old gnarled faces with long knobby nose, making me skip backwards.

Iditan cackled, her laugh sounding like a squawking hen. “If you’re so scared of these little spirits how do you hope to fight the cursed ones? Really useless.” She shook her head and continued forward.

That evil witch! I ran after her, glaring hard at her back as she walked away. We continued in silence for a moment, until my curiosity got the better of me. “Who is Oniko?” I asked, remembering the person the white matron instructed her to take me to.

Iditan took a moment before she answered. “Leader of the Nighthawks.”

“What is the Nighthawks?”

A long moment passed.

“You don’t know the Nighthawks?”

“I don’t. I was only told about the covens, the provincial elders, the—”

“They are the witch’s army under the direct leadership of the three matrons, more powerful than the average witch, but not like us witchlords.”

  “Oh, so you are also a witchlord?” I asked, pleasantly surprised.

Iditan stopped, shifting me an evil glare. “What did you think I was? The help? The little servant girl you can order around?”

I recoiled at the heat of her words. “No I didn’t think that, I am just surprised.”

She scoffed and turned around, increasing her pace to the extent that I was half running behind her to catch up. Just as I was about to voice my complaints, the bushes finally parted to reveal a wide rolling field and a tall castle by the right.

“Wow!” I hissed, staring at the castle which castle stood tall with walls that screened everything off except for two towers, its grandeur taking the breath out of me. The castle spoke of an ancientness and beauty that made one eager to explore its secrets, and I felt myself subconsciously walking to its direction.

“Where are you going?”

I stopped and turned to look at Iditan who had a faint smirk of amusement on her face. “The castle, is that not where we are headed?” I asked.

“No, there.” Iditan pointed to the far left of the castle where there were high rolling mountains visible in the distance kilometers away. “We are going up to those mountains.”

My excitement of seeing the castle quickly faded. The mountains were just way too far away. I grumbled mentally at having to walk so far, feeling tired already. “Can’t we teleport there or something?”

“Portals don’t work here on the ancient training grounds.”

“Then how do we get up there, a lift?”

Iditan scoffed. “Can you fly?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Then you climb.”

I stopped in my tracks, staring at her incredulously. “How is that even possible? Even a professional mountain climber would take hours to—”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Iditan cut in, her tone somber and cold.

“Doing what?”

I felt rather than saw her move. One second she was in front of me, the next I was flying as she threw on her back like a baby, running like wind towards the mountain. My screams echoed loud and strong as the wind whipped around me and I held tight to her. in less than three minutes, Iditan changed direction and the wind whipped harder, as she seemed to be running horizontally. I kept screaming hard up till the moment I felt myself lying safely atop a flat hard surface, the death race at an end.

We were already on the mountain top.

I took deep heaving breaths, shifting my gaze away from Iditan out of embarrassment only to let out a gasp of amazement at the sounds and sight that hit me as I finally come to.