“WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IDITAN?” Oniko asked. Everyone else had left the mountains save the two of us. I didn’t have to think much to give him an answer. “She is evil, and I think she hates me.” Oniko smiled. “Why do you think so?” “It’s glaring.” I shrugged. “Everybody around here knows this for a fact.” “Oh?” Oniko raised an eyebrow. There is a quirk of amusement on his lips. “So she loves every other person asides you? Or she is being cold to just you alone?” Love? Does Iditan even know what that is? But thinking on Oniko’s questions, Iditan was cold to everybody, making them take the extra effort to steer clear of her. But I still felt like she was always seeking me out. Oniko’s quirk of amusement widened seeing as I took time to respond. “She relates with you just the same as with others, and from what I’ve seen of her Iditan seem to like you although she might not know that yet.” I scoffed at the absurdity of

I MOVED LIKE THE WIND, running so fast I was at the foot of the mountains and back to the starting point in a matter of seconds."Faster," Damola barked.I was not sure if she was talking to me or to the others who seemed to me to be moving like bicycle in a car race—the nighthawks in our team especially—but I put more effort, throwing all my frustration and negative emotions into my legs. I was in a race not only physically, but also a mental race to empty my mind.Damola had brought us for training away from the pressure of the mountains on the kilometers long field between the castle and the mountains, to test our speed for real life action against the cursed ones. The castle was still shut, as silent and as dreary as ever, but I have no time to throw questions about it and feed my curiosity like I would have done on a normal day.I reached the foot of the mountains yet again, still brimming with energy, and was returning back when a sharp

 “KUDAISI AND I ARE BACK TOGETHER.”“What?”“How could you ever accept that fool back?”“You must be kidding right?”My siblings exclaimed as we rode to school Monday morning. I had taken courage to tell them so they wouldn’t hear from others later on when people saw us together.“But we spoke about you getting over him just two days ago,” Taiwo added.I smiled at their reactions. “It’s alright—” I began.“It is not alright!” Shola fired back. “You had us really scared when you broke up, moping around like a vengeful spirit. I think it’s unhealthy you continue staying with him.”“I don’t know sis,” Kenny added, frowning as he shook his head.Their heated responses made me surprised and emotional at the same time, knowing it was out of their love for me. “We didn&rsqu

THE ANCIENT TRAINNING GROUNDS was cast in darkness, making the whole atmosphere which was always bright to look different. A large bonfire burnt in the middle of the clearing not far from the castle, and smaller fires with roast meat on them littered the around filling the air with scent of burning meat, pepper and spice. People gathered in groups around the smaller fires, while the matrons and the council sat the center, a few feet away from the larger bonfire.We sat before one of the smaller fires at the fore front of the gathering; I, Iditan, Chike, Ramatu, Biola, Kola, Irene and Bashir, and a wild pig sat roasting on our fire as we faced the council directly. Oniko was absent, out following a lead on the cursed ones, and Damola who had been monitoring the arrangements of the whole setup with the help of some of the older nighthawks finally returned to join us.“What is this all about?” I asked Damola as soon as she came back. We had arrived at the trai

THE UNUSUAL SILENCE and darkness on the mountains was unnerving as I flew slowly to the seventh point where I met Iditan training by herself. She continued her practice without turning around, even as I knew she sensed my arrival, so I just watched her go through her forms.Iditan’s moves were unpredictable, I saw that glaringly now. Sometimes she was slow, so slow you feel like you could strike her with twenty or more moves before she brought up a defense, and other times she was fast, like the wind. And her leg work was just a work of art, like a dance.I was so lost watching her train that I nearly missed the dagger she threw at me. It was so subtly hidden in the wind that I only sensed it at the last moment, moving my head so it passed a hairs-breath from my neck. She came at me in the same instant, the lone dagger in her hands pointed straight at my head.Was she trying to kill me now that there are no witnesses? I back-stepped fast, my senses now hei