"Father, the villagers, why were they here?" Anine asked ignoring Uzo totally. There was stillness everywhere and Anine became more anxious. "Where is my daughter? Where is Ije, Mother?" Anine stood up and was about to leave the hut. Uzo stood in her way. "Sit down, Anine," Uzo said with a lot of calmness in her voice. Anine sat down gently as though the chair would smash if was not careful. "Your father cried as he has never done. The villagers came to find out why he gave out such a loud cry in the early hours." Uzo explained. Anine turned and clasped her father's hand. "Father, what happened?" "Ije....has... gone..." Mazi Ileka stuttered. Anine slowly dropped his hands which she held firmly. She stood up and walked towards the door as though she was going in search of her. Ogom looked at everybody in awe. "Who is Ije?" Ogom asked. "Her only daughter," Uzo mumbled without raising her face. "Ee..? Does she have a daughter? She did not tell me," Ogom muttered. "She

It was four market days already and Ije had not returned. Her family knew she would not return home anytime soon. Anine woke up and was a bit nervous. She wondered what she would tell Ajonwa deity about the disappearance of her daughter. Just then, the door of her room opened, she looked up and saw Kasie standing at the door. "May I come in?" He requested. "Sure, please come, I'm so confused right now," Anine said with a sad tone. "Don't worry, everything will be alright. When you get to the shrine, tell Ajonwa that your daughter left the community while you were away. Ask for more time to search for her. I shall lead you out of this community when you return from the shrine, I promise. "I don't want to leave this community, Kasie. I'm tired of everything." "You must leave. You are a young and attractive woman. The deity might keep you as one of his wives." "May the gods forbid," Anine snapped her fingers. "I rather marry you than, allow the wicked deity to lay his filth

"Your majesty, some strangers are here to see you," one of the guards announced with a shaky voice. The king detected fear in his tone but he was too busy to ask him why he was so afraid. "Where is Ikenga?" Ezeudo asked. "He is in his chambers. A healer from Uzofia community just attended to his sick son," the guard responded. "Go, tell him to attend to the visitors and find out why they want to see me. As you can see, I'm attending to my visitor," Ezeudo said. The guard left immediately and ran to Ikenga's chambers. Ikenga was startled when the guard ran into his room as though he had seen a wild animal. "Dike! Who is after you?" Ikenga asked as he drew his sword. "Some...some...strangers are here to see the king but he is busy at the courtyard. He asked you to meet the visitors and find out what they want." "Who is after you, Dike? The king or the visitors?" Ikenga asked. "The visitors, they are strangers. They came with a four-wheeled donkey, and the maiden...." "Oh,

Ezeudo and his cabinet arrived at Mazi Ileka's compound earlier than scheduled. The traditional ruler of Uzofia community, who was present at the king's palace yesterday was also among those who came to hear how Ije found the only mysterious sword that could destroy the deity. Ezeudo had not visited Mazi Ileka for quite a long time. He was dumbfounded when he entered the compound. "They are set to take the throne," Ezeudo whispered into Ikenga's ear. "The people of Ohanta are safe in their hands," Ikenga replied. Mazi Ileka led the king and his cabinet to his Obu after praising the king. He was surprised his young daughter summoned two kings and they obeyed. Some villagers who heard about Ije's arrival began to come in. Soon the whole hall was filled with people. No one wanted to be told. A seat was kept in the middle of the Obu. Those who had no seat stood, while some leaned against the wall. "Wake up, the people are waiting for you," Nwife said as he patted Ije's leg gently.

Ije could not explain how she got to Ndikwe community. The last thing she remembered was seeing the three Ajonwa bulls coming towards her. She was preparing to fight the bulls when she stepped on a cold decayed object. She looked down, it was a decayed body of a tall man. He was quite huge and the whiff oozing out from the corpse was quite overpowering. The sight of the corpse sent some coolness down her backbone. She blacked out immediately and fell on the corpse. Ije opened her eyes in a strange room. She looked around, but she could not identify the new environment she found herself in. Perhaps the bulls took her down to the shrine, she thought. Ije sat down on the bed waiting for Ajonwa to come. She was ready for battle. A middle-aged man walked into the room and was happy she had finally woken up. "Thank the gods you are awake," he said with a smiling face. He bent to see Ije's face as she had her face lowered. Ije jumped out of the bed and grabbed his neck. She encircled