Free When Gods Bleed by Njedeh Anthony Page A

kingdom is not aware of this, making it easier for the King to get access to Obi and kill him privately, so we have to let the kingdom know of the new King without the provinces acknowledging where the information came from. Envoy, you will get your most trusted messengers and send them to all the provinces to spread the news to anyone who walks, talks and crawls. Firstly, the people of Utagba should know everything in detail and as quickly as possible. Give the messengers my fastest horses. Vacoura, from today we will be checking the entry of people into the province. You prepare and station the Omees for anything. All the elders who are corruptible should be persuaded to fight for our cause amongst the other elders. Whatever price they ask, give it to them. This job I expect you to do personally, Envoy. All the market women and any gossiper should be given the story in whispers to speed its travel. As for the war against the kingdom, we have no intentions of going to battle now and, as of this time, our loyalty is still with the kingdom, the persuasion of other allies from the other provinces I will take care of personally. You may leave us, Envoy.”
    The envoy bowed. As he was about to leave, the chief said, “Thank you.” He pretended not to hear, but those were the things that made him loyal to Gbangba.
    “What else do you require me to do?” the general asked with enthusiasm.
    “Stop deceiving yourself . I do not trust you, Vacoura, and I am positive at the first opportunity you have, you will stab me in the back.”
    “Never.”
    “Face it, Vacoura, you can't be chief as long as I am alive. I know how much you crave this seat. By the time I leave, nobody will let you succeed me.”
    “Chief, why would you punish me with such ill thoughts?”
    “If we succeed in this battle, then I shall take over as the Head-of-Government of the kingdom and Alloida will be yours.”
    A grin finally came to the general's face and he said, “You are too kind.”
    “There is this tiny problem that is still bothering me,” the chief continued with a deadly look on his face. ”The province can still belong to you if you betray me to King Nwosa, so I decided to keep your son as my personal guest till King Obi is crowned .”
    “You can't do that. He is my only son,” the general begged.
    “Don't worry, everything is going to be all right. You of all people have no intentions of betraying me.”
    “I beg of you. I swear total allegiance with any god you mention. Please take any other member of my family, but not my boy.”
    “Look at it like I am showing him around his new home that his father will soon inhabit. Enough.” The Chief clapped his hands and his Omees appeared. ”Escort him to his home so he can hand his son over to you.”
    With hatred in his eyes Vacoura said, “This is all about power to you.”
    “No Vacoura, it is all about my friend.” Gbangba turned his back to them while they left. Yes, Vacoura, it’s all about my friend, my only friend.
     

Chapter 6
    Obi and his wife had passed through the river. Though they saw no one behind them, they maintained their pace. The areas after the river were muddy; they stopped to eat on a few dry patches. As they traveled , Amina stopped once to vomit. He was positive she was pregnant, but being the proud woman she was, she refused to let him carry her. It was not until she sprained her knee that he forcefully put her on his back and continued the journey.
    The farther he went, the more he felt guilty for dragging his greatest asset into such a quest. He wondered why he left everything he had and started this journey with this priceless human being. His thoughts raced, looking for a reason why the Ifa priest would lie to him, but there was none. As he kept moving, there were only two things he was sure of : the first was that the direction he was traveling in led to his mother’s province; and secondly, he was not interested in being King, prince or anything that