Episode 18
You will have many happy days. “The sad ones cannot overshadow the happy ones.”
“What price shall you accept?” Amina ignored her prophecies. She wasn’t a believer in the old religion.
“A life but not yours,” the healer repeated.
“Whose?” Amina wondered.
“The one with the fire of Ukdran.”
Before Amina could utter one word, the healer collected a vial with golden designs. She spilled the black liquid in it over Abdul’s hairy chest.
She closed her eyes, and searched deeper with her mind. A surge of energy arose within her; her fire was ignited by the magic of Ukdran, that swirled within her. She spread her slender fingers over Abdul’s body. The poison of the serpent would meet with the serpent oil. It would be over soon.
“Release him Ukshal. Release his soul from the well of death, mother. Release his mind from the grasp of fear. Release his healing from the great serpent, Ukshal…”
She chanted the words twice. On the third count, she grabbed Amina’s hands and held it.
“You must repeat after me. With my magic and with your love, shall your husband return.”
Amina licked her lips nervously and nodded. She wasn’t used to the practice of the old ways, but she had to learn.
“Release him Ukshal. Release his soul from the well of death, mother. Release his mind from the grasp of fear. Release his healing from the great serpent, Ukshal…” The women chanted in unison.
On the third count, a loud and ear-shattering scream hit the ranch. It was a woman’s voice.
Just in time, Abdul’s eyes cracked open and he found a stranger, a little girl and his beautiful wife in the room.
“What is happening?” He whispered in a weak voice.
Hazim launched forward and pierced his sword through the first man who sliced him.
“That is for my horse!” Hazim withdrew the sword, dripping with blood and pointed it at the second man.
“You either surrender, or you end up like him,” Hazim pointed the sword at the man.
The guard sneered and spat on the ground, “I’d rather fall on my own blade, than surrender to a half breed!”
Hazim chuckled, the guard like Idris, was a Shuwa and they considered themselves superior to other tribes. They were filled with ambition and power lust.
“Good, you have chosen!” Hazim screamed in a loud voice and jumped closer to the man, but the guard escaped the blade. He outsmarted Hazim and gave him a kick that unsettled him. Hazim found himself on the floor, and at the mercy of the guard.
The silver blade had fallen out of his palms. He couldn’t defend himself now.
“I told you Kanuri man, I do not surrender to anybody! I only answer to Mallam Idris!”
Without hesitation, he raised his sword and was ready to plunge it into Hazim, but he wasn’t quick enough. A sharp arrow pierced through his chest, and found his heart. Blood oozed from the orifices of his eyes, nostrils and mouth. The sword he held fell out of his hands. The man staggered and fell.
Hazim couldn’t believe what had just taken place. Someone had saved his life!
He quickly grabbed his sword and waited for the arrival of the man on a horse. His face was cloaked. Hazim couldn’t deny the fact that the man was a handsome archer. From the distance he stood, he was able to kill Idris’ guard.
“Idris’ men are good fighters! It was foolhardy to come here alone!” The cloaked man bellowed.
Hazim said nothing. There was something strangely familiar about the voice. He couldn’t wait to see the stranger’s face.
The horse swiftly covered the distance between Hazim and the man.
“Is this any way to appreciate your life saver?” The cloaked man asked.
Hazim scoffed, “how am I sure you aren’t one of Idris’ men?”
“Idris men don’t save, they destroy!”
At once, the man pulled the cloak away from his face and Hazim’s eyes radiated with shock. The man was the last person he had expected to see in Dafa.
“Mohammed? What are you doing here?”
Mohammed laughed, “I work with Idris. Prince Fadin told me where to find you. Idris thinks I am loyal, but I am not. We must ride back and warn the Prince and everyone. Idris would attack Kanem Dazau in two days and with full force.”
Hazim couldn’t believe his ears.
“How did you get Idris to trust you so much?” Hazim sensed Mohammed was hiding something.
Mohammed replied with a dry laugh, “that my friend, I cannot tell you. It has been my plan with Prince Fadin all along. To defeat an enemy, you must get into his camp.”
Hazim slowly understood that the Prince hadn’t been working with just him and Abdul. He was working with the information seller as well.
“What did you do to win Idris’ trust?” Hazim repeated.
Mohammed sighed, he knew Hazim wouldn’t let this one go.
“The Sultan was dying from an ailment. I promised Idris his head. When I approached the prince and told of him of my plans, he agreed to work with me. We made it look like one of Idris’ men had sneaked into the palace. This was the only way I could convince Idris that I am for him.”
Hazim felt a cold chill running down his spine, “you killed the king? To what end, what purpose?”
“Idris is more powerful than you and Abdul think. He killed my parents when I was just a child. This is the only way I could honor their memory. This isn’t the time to do what is right, we do what must be done.”
Hazim was confused. Prince Fadin had made his father’s murder very believable. He couldn’t wait to tell Abdul all about it. For Mohammed to risk his life by working with Idris, he was really very powerful.
“Where is Idris now?” Hazim asked calmly. He had known Mohammed all his life in Kanem Dazau; the information seller wouldn’t have a reason to betray them now.
“A Hausa village to the south; he intends to take their horses and rape their women. We must hurry back to Kanem. If he finds me here, I will be in trouble. I told him I will be returning home.”
Hazim nodded, “thanks for saving my life Mohammed.”
“It’s nothing. I trust you would have done same, if I was in your shoes.” Mohammed bowed his head.
The men were about mounting Mohammed’s huge stallion, when they heard a loud voice.
“What is that?” Mohammed raised a brow.
“It seems someone has been in there, all these while…” Hazim grabbed his sword and rushed into the ranch. He was right. Tukur had been captured by Idris’ men. He had heard the clashing of swords; the screams of death and the silence that followed. He wasn’t prepared to die like a coward. He had to cry out for help.
“Hazim!” Mohammed called in a sharp voice.
“What is it?” Hazim paused.
“I don’t think you should go in there. Idris could return anytime. I don’t want him to distrust me. I have enough information about his army. If he senses that I am no longer with him, he’ll have my head.”
Hazim understood that Mohammed was in a hurry, but his conscience wouldn’t let him return to Kanem, without checking the captive out.
“I promise to be quick about this.”
Hazim followed the sound of the groan, till he reached an empty barn. It smelt of animal dung and dead grasses. Little insects and maggots danced in the dung; lizards crawled on the floor. Hazim felt sick.
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