Chapter 15The treasure was in sight and the way to it was opened for the likes of Alkins, Matthews, and Capperton. The trucks were fueled with the last containers of gasoline and the remaining portions of rations were eaten. This would be the final day of hardships. The chamber, once located, would mark the end of the quest. From the site, a radio communication to Captain Yearling would signal the airlift. The survivors would be less in number.By the time the sun reached its zenith, the convoy was pulling up to the base of the mountain that the African men called Oke Ara.“Here is where the orisha descended and joined with evolving humans in order to bring about humankind as we know it,” said Makinde. “And over there to the east is Oke Itase. This is where the Prophet Orunmila began his teachings and where he came to rest after one thousand years of life on earth. He willed himself into stone and there he remains for the devout to come and give homage once every four years. The place here, at the foot of these mountains,” he continued, “was called Edena in ancient times.”He looked at each face and particularly at Adesanya’s. She was even darker than the early morn. Her hair was closer to her scalp and had begun to bead up into tight little kinks. Her eyes and teeth had become a brilliant white.Makinde and his crew foribaled {genuflected} in front of her. She had become the Queen Mother prophesized by the elders.Placing the four fingers of her right hand on each of their left shoulders, she bid them to rise in a voice that had also noticeably changed.The young men then hugged their ancestral queen and her child. They informed the group that it was time for them to return to Ilesha.Although they knew the directions to the caverns, they had never ventured this close as such was taboo. Subsequently, they had never been inside the chambers and dared not trespass on the serenity and dangers within. Aside from the remnants of the ancient civilization that had washed down river, they would have maintained their belief in its existence by faith alone. The need for physical objects and measurements as validations of things spiritual was fully, in their minds, a foreign concept.“You can’t leave,” said Alkins forcefully with his hand on his holster.Capperton followed suit.“Let them go,” Mrs. Matthews demanded, “there’s been enough killing already.”She was fond of the young man whose innocence touched her maternal instinct. Plus, she couldn’t take another murder for no sane reason. She was truly tired of the bloodshed and evil inflicted upon others by her brother. She once looked up to him and followed him as a loyal believer, but now she was losing faith. She was overwhelmed by his wealth and his power, but she now saw him as no better than the brutes he hired –scientists and mercenaries alike. And, if she could now help to save a life, then maybe, just maybe, the final judgment of her soul would be a little less difficult to bear.“We must begin the evacuation of the town,” Makinde stated.His eyes met Sikoya’s. She nodded and quietly said goodbye.The young men put on their goggles and revved their engines. They would leave Alkins and his misfits on holy ground to confront the horrors of their minds.“The captives will fair much better than the criminals,” stated Makinde over the roar of the motorcycles.“The gods will have mercy on those who are righteous,” said Awe.“Hiiumm,” was the choral response.The rising dust made the bikes invisible, and the sound of engines and tires racing on the dirt road soon became a deafening silence.****The ajomans were pulled by shackles and chains from the trucks and ordered to fall in by Capperton and his roughnecks. The experimental creatures stretched their muscles and moved about in sparring motions ready to engage in combat; ready to satisfy the blood lust of their creator. They hissed and groaned almost intelligibly. They seemed to understand each other and were beginning to partner up by choice disobeying commands to remain in formation. The team had to shoot at the ground in order to enforce compliance and dissuade resistance.Natalie and Lotoya looked upon the huddled mass and shook their heads. At one point, they feared the mutations so much they trembled at the very sight of them. Now, there was only pity.“They’re slaves,” said Natalie to her sister. “They’re nothing but slaves bred to be mindless and forced to do whatever the master says do.”“Yeah,” replied Latoya sorrowfully. “They look like Africans being chained and led to the awful tumberos...”She didn’t finish her thought. The growling of the ajomans suddenly turned into an almost recognizable language and there appeared to be a concerted effort to cast off the shackles of oppression. There was rebellion.Some of the mutants refused to line up as ordered. They raised their fist in defiance. One of the leaders knocked down a soldier and was prepared to strike him again. It was immediately gunned down. Brass cartridges fell in slow motioned release and formed heaps of spent hot metal. The rebel ajomans hesitantly dispersed and fell back into formation.Capperton and Alkins hurried to the scene and both agreed that once the need for these unruly things was over, they would have them all killed and left for the vultures to feed on. But, the plan had to be executed quickly as the ropes were being stressed to the breaking point.At the base of Oke Ara, two boulders were placed as if doors to hidden passageways. Adesanya and Sikoya located hand paintings of prehistoric symbols and ancient hieroglyphs on the base of each as they moved through the underbrush. Alkins and Mrs. Matthews pulled out the Inscriptions and Keepers of the Shrines printed from the memory stick and placed them on the table.“Sikoya, come here,” Alkins called out, “and bring your mother with you.”Within moments, the two stood in front of their enslavers.Natalie and Latoya made their way over to the area as did Capperton.“We must wait until morning when the sun first rises,” Natalie said as she looked down on the papers. “We must kneel at the rock that changes with the sunrise and look upwards. There will be a sign that guides us from above. A lock will be on the chamber and it can only be opened with a special key.”Sikoya added: “There will be rain and within the rain there will be a sacred stone. Once the stone has been turned the Sixteen Wives will manifest and the elder of them will speak. From this point, only Heaven will guide us to salvation.”“Seems simple enough,” said Dr. Alkins. He gave a distinct nod of approval and looked upon his followers and army with the eyes of a world conqueror. And though they were few in number, he saw tens of thousands and they were all under his command –they were all under his absolute rule. Yet another trap: Delusions of Grandeur.****Praise songs from the forest awoke the spirits of the day. During the hours that she slept, Adesanya reached her final stage: She had become a female hominid ranging five feet tall and weighing around one-hundred and twenty-five pounds. Her skin was blue-black and her eyebrows were completely gone. Her nose was broader and her lips more full. She was fully shaped with hefty legs and large round buttocks. Her voice was in perfect harmony with the rising and falling of colorful long-tailed parrots that flew around her. She stood naked unto the world. She was virtually hairless except for her pubic area and armpits. She looked around nervously as would a new born baby.Sikoya rushed to cover her disoriented mother in a white sheet and sat her down on a nearby rock.“Adesanya…Adesanya.”They called to her, but she did not respond. She turned her body in the direction of the boulder and held up her palms to give of the self-offering and receive the blessings. It was Natalie who saw the unfolding of Keepers of the Shrines but remained quiet. She nudged her sister.“Iya…iya,” murmured Sikoya.She rested in the cradle of her mother’s lap and caressed her small sagging breast. Adesanya gazed at her child and held her close.“Sikoya, oooo. Omo meee.”The child began to cry, not because she’d lost her mother but because her mother was now greater than ever imagined. She had become an ancestor of the distant past. She was purer, more attuned, and devoid of evils that plagued the modern world.The sun peered between the two mountain tops and one of the boulders reflected a pattern of colors.Alkins noticed what appeared to be a rainbow.“There’s water inside he exclaimed. “It’s probably from an underground stream.”“Build a fire,” Latoya said. “Keepers of the Shrines says that a sacred fire still burns, so build a fire.” “And look here,” she placed her fingers on one of the boulders. “See the flames?”“Now we’re getting somewhere,” said Capperton as the men set ablaze an abundance of paper, dry grass, and twigs.Adesanya and Sikoya walked up to the boulders. They rubbed their hands over it until they found an impression of a hand that had four fingers. First Sikoya tried to push the boulder, but she could not move it. Then her mother placed her hands inside the impression and the ground beneath them shook and rumbled. The boulder moved and gave way. The passage to the cavern had been found.“Everyone inside!” shouted Alkins.Goaded by the proximity of the treasure, he cast caution to wind.Mrs. Matthews, the mercenaries, and the ajomans blindly followed, but the others proceeded with caution. Miguelina didn’t go. She stood looking from the mid of the entrance with widened eyes. She intently watched until the shadows disappeared into the darkness.Torches lent brilliance to the long abandoned cave. The hieroglyphs on the sides of the dust laden walls were still somewhat legible. They depicted bald, clean shaven priest sitting in lotus positions holding opeles in their hands. Shamans were shape-shifting into various animals and postures; wisp of smoke waved outwardly leaving the bodies of initiates; and large bowls of bronze tint filled with incense were held in triangular constructs. These, along with other pictographs of Ife-Oodaye, decorated the entire length of the passageway.“I smell water,” Capperton called out.About a hundred yards away, a waterfall poured onto the jutted rocks below. When the group reached the opening, they fanned out and stood transfixed by the wonders of nature. Three brilliant chambers stood near the waterfall –each highlighted by the glimmer of sunlight that found its way through the crevices above –each a testament to the ancient civilization that constructed them.“The Nigerian rain…I climbed the rocks to the summit…” recited Natalie.Step by step, the raiders and their captives struggled up ledges made smooth over time. Finally, they stood in front of the chambers. The one in the center sat on a large circular tray with carvings of ancient animals and divinities on its borders. The diamond-laced crystal box was inside.Moved by greed and arrogance, Alkins reached over the borders and attempted to take out the crystal container by sheer force. A current of high voltage electricity shot throughout his body causing him to withdraw and cry out in excruciating pain.“Bring me the C-4,” he shouted.Once set, the group constructed a fortification to protect themselves from the blast.The chambers were covered in stones set loose by the explosives.“Get the ajomans to undo this mess!” ordered Capperton.The creatures labored under whip and gun. When they finished, they were pulled back and forced to once again sit until further needed.The chambers stood as structured and solid as ever.Alkins now looked for leverages or codes that would allow him access to the treasure that was just out of reach. He paced back and forth slapping his dusty hat against his trousers.He called Adesanya and Sikoya.“Come over here you two!” he commanded. “Find a way in or die!”He pointed his revolver at them the whole time they searched.Adesanya found a small opening and pointed to it.“Over here, iya’s found something,” Sikoya called out.What they saw was a tubular hole located to the far left of the chamber. It appeared to be a key slot and try as they might, no one could figure out what to implant inside of it.Natalie reached into her bag and pulled out her tampon case. She opened it and held up the mummified thumb wrapped in layers of cotton.“Sorry sis,” she whispered.She then took out the pollex, stuck it into the small hole, and turned it slightly to the right and then to left.Ticking, ticking, ticking, the gears of the chamber’s machinery were set into motion and the doors to its entrance opened. Sixteen beams of radiant light appeared from behind protective gates. A voice spoke unto those who dared trespass on sacred ground; who dared tip the scales that weighed good and evil:“I am Oromodimodi, first and senior wife if Orunmila, the prophet.”Philip Alkins, Sarah Matthews, and Winston Capperton, along with his men, instantly fell asleep while standing. She placed them all within her consciousness and spoke to them. She was encircled by the other fifteen wives:“Each of us represents the wisdom bestowed on the sages who came to Orunmila. From each of us Orunmila learned the depths of the earth’s song and the heights of the heavens. He studied us so that he could understand the ways of humanity and eternity. We taught him, but we were not his teachers. It was he who opened our eyes to the wonders of our lives unfolding.What manner of humans are you to come and risk the sanctity of mankind and cause the destruction of the world? What are your worthless desires? Have you not seen the end results of your endeavors; the catastrophic closure to your quest? If the Night Flower is set loose, of what good will your riches be?”“Alajogun will protect me and grant me the position of Supreme Lord,” stated Alkins unmoved by the high priestess. “I believe in him and all that he has promised. I will take my followers with me and become a god among men.”“That may be so, but first you will have to pass through the Trial of Ages.”The reality of being awakened struck the intruders, and they beheld the Sixteen Wives prepared for battle.Brandishing weapons forged in the fires of Ogun’s compound, the Wives turned counter clock-wise three times and readied themselves.Adesanya, Sikoya, and the sisters quietly retreated behind the fortifications previously built.The soldiers raised their semiautomatics and emptied their clips repeatedly. Grenades were thrown but no damage was inflicted on the mystical being. The weapons assault had failed.“Let the ajomans loose!” ordered Capperton.“Attack!!!”Chains were unleashed. With the smell of battle deep within their nostrils, the ajomans mounted the offensive. They forgot about the brutal treatment; they forgot about their slowly evolving ability to think; they forgot about their struggle for freedom. Instead, the demon-men swiftly and defiantly tore at the Odu and twisted at their golden skinned heads with all of their might. The Odu strategically attacked and counter-attacked with explosive power. Yet, the ajomans continued to strike. The Wives began to falter. They were overwhelmed by the sheer evil and savagery of the onslaught. The tide had turned.“Yes!!!” Alkins shouted.He felt the surging power of victory in his hands.If he defeated the Odu, he would then take the box and open it and claim the diamond-laced crystals. He would have all the riches his heart desired. He would have all the power he desired. He would be protected from the Night Flower and have immunity within the global dominance of evil. But then, just as his thoughts were starting to get the best of him and the situation, there came a beam of blue light from above and in it one-hundred and forty-one thousand wisp of smoke. When the beam hit the ground, Adesanya and Sikoya stood up. They both felt who it was before their eyes perceived the glory.“Tumari,” Adesanya cried out.Even in her primitive state, she had not lost memory of the man she loved. She reconnected to her dream when she and her hero fought side-by-side against the iyaami.“Tumari,” she called out again.The heavily armed Warlords of Ife-Oodaye that had materialized through the portal were heavily armed and ready to fight. Their names: Shango, Oya, Ogun and their battalions of ancestor-gods stood behind them waiting for the command to strike.On seeing this, the ajomans stopped in their tracks. They struck the ground with their fist and chanted bestial utterances –their incantations reverberated throughout distant realms. Their satanic master was alerted. The time had come. Legions of ajoguns sprang from encampments set on the fringes of Uad and crossed into earth.Suddenly, another portal opened. The dark swarm of iyaami flew through it in numbers to great to count.When Adesanya saw the bird-shaped witches she screamed and began to move around frantically. She tore at the stones beneath her and began to hurl them at the invading horde. It was the throwing of these stones that incited the epic battle waged in full.The warlords positioned their troops in a circle around the chambers as the first line of defense. Within that circle Orunmila and Elegba (along with their legions) fought in exact timing slaughtering any demon or witch that made its way through. Closest to the chamber and the crystal box stood the Sixteen Wives. If the evil ones prevailed, then the Wives would have to expend all of their power to stop the remaining forces of doom from entering and releasing the Night Flower.The ajogun found strength in their combined efforts. Ruling the earth and subjugating humanity was well within reach. They would mate with the women of humankind until they died of repeated childbirths. Those who were barren would be tortured to death. The men among humans would be kept in cages and forced to breed with devil females. Once they became useless they too would face a horrible death.The demon lords would domesticate the offspring. Easily controlled and unable to reach divine human states, these spawns would work endlessly as slaves in a world that would replace the one destroyed –a world fit for demons and mutant forms of life –a world that would be the antithesis of now.The riches meant nothing to them. They wanted only to defeat human beings and the gods who protected and guided them.The warlords held their ground, each using special talents and weapons bestowed upon them at birth and by training. Yet, the wicked ones fought their way through and challenged the second line of defense. They were met by the mystic cants of Orunmila –cants that raised a feverous wind of sharp, spinning disc. This, coupled with the speed of Elegba’s knives, caused many of the enemy to fall. The ground was littered with parts of demonic bodies and their oozing innards.Tumari, with broadsword ablaze, found his strength and helped to keep the ajoguns from reaching the last line of protection. When Adesanya saw that he was being overpowered, she let loose a primal scream that rifled into the eardrums of the unholy. Many laid down their weapons in order to cover their bleeding ears. She picked up a sword from one of the fallen ancestor-gods and cut her way to him. And there she fought, again, by the side of her beloved.Colonel Capperton and his men were no match for this type of combat. They hid with Alkins and Mrs. Matthews between the large boulders that were loosened as a result of the C-4 explosives. They looked at each other in attempts to come up with a plan to ultimately get what they came for. Why did they have to die? Let the gods fight for dominance and control over humanity. All they wanted was the box and the riches it would bring.“Alkins, the explosives… we still have more!” shouted Capperton over the din of battle. “It’s right over there…next to the kid!”With the twenty remaining ajomans, the crew moved along the thin trail towards the explosives. The blast killed evil and divine alike, but such was considered collateral damage. The plan was to create a diversion and take the child hostage and use her as a bargaining chip to get away with the diamonds.“Adesanya,” he called out. “Look at your child. Here is your guardian of the world.”Holding Sikoya by the heels, he threatened to throw her over the precipice if the warriors of Ife-Oodaye did not drop their weapons and hand over the box.It was Ogun who first noticed. He commanded his warriors to cease fighting. His love for Oshun was boundless and he couldn’t bear to see her suffer or in peril. Oya and her legions followed as did those of the powerful Shango.Even the Odu could not bear to see the innocent girl harmed for the sake of riches or humanity’s demise. They all knelt on one knee and surrendered. The box was taken out of the chamber by Oromodimodi. She lifted it for Alkins to see.Adesanya and Tumari remained standing. They nervously looked upon their child in danger of being thrown over the cliff, surely to her death.“The two of you,” Alkins ordered, “come up here!”He wanted to stack the deck ensuring that both the theft and the escape would be successful. He knew that the warriors would not allow the child to suffer nor would they risk the lives of their queen and king.“What are they doing?” Latoya asked her sister still protected by the fortifications.“They’re going to give Alkins the box in exchange for Sikoya’s life,” she replied.Overcome with greed, Philip Alkins reached for the treasure that he sought. In his blindness, he dropped Sikoya and she fell to the jagged rocks below. Adesanya leaped from the grasp of Capperton’s men tearing their throats as she did. She reached for her child and called out her name, but she had disappeared into the dark chasm. She was gone.“Sikoya!”“Give me the box!” commanded Alkins pointing his gun directly at Adesanya.She shortened the distance. She reached for him. He fired. The first bullet missed her, but the second one entered her chest and she fell to the ground.Just as he was going to fire the next shot, a beam of amber light arose from the jagged base of the cavern. Sikoya, who had feigned weakness and lack of position, levitated up from the murky depths on a cloud of dust. In deep blue- bronzed glory, she alighted from the abyss and reclaimed her stance as goddess full grown and empowered. She emerged from the mist that covered her and gazed upon the battlefield with firm resolve. Her locks were adorned with a thousand cowry shells. The remnants of her clothes, torn into strips to secure her body, flew in the winds.“I am Oshun.”Her royal voice echoed throughout the earth and into the minds of men, demons, and gods alike.She took from her hair a fan of gold and copper. The razor’s edge, sharp enough to cut through metal and deep into flesh, shone through.The reincarnated orisha spun in five directions decapitating so many demons and witches in one swell that the warriors of Ife-Oodaye stood up. Now inspired, they rallied to fight with renewed strength, vigor, and purpose.Adesanya was stunned by her wound and she still thought Sikoya was smashed on the rocks below. She lay unmoving. She was undone by grief. Tumari embraced her and lifted her so that she could witness the transformation of their daughter; so that she could see that all of her life’s trials, tribulations, and triumphs had meaning and that she wasn’t betrayed or misled. What had to be done was what had to be done in order for this moment to be.Oshun saw her earth mother and ceased to kill. She folded her arms: right hand to left shoulder and left hand to right. Then, gazing into the eyes of her beloved iya, she sang her life song taught to her when was but a small child, this time in the archaic language of Yoruba.The Lord of Demons, seeing that he had lost the battle game, ordered his legions to fall back. He could not bear the sound of Sikoya’s voice or the inspiration that she gave to those who worshipped her.His demons were being slaughtered. He sounded the trumpet and his legions retreated.Alkins and his crew stood dumbfounded, but they were not forgotten. The time for judgment was at hand. Oromodimodi commanded them to the entrance of the chamber and she gave Philip Alkins a container filled with diamond-laced boxes. His followers delighted in the prospect of being rich and powerful beyond measure –beyond their dreams.“For all that has transpired and for all the lives that have been lost, you should have this treasure so that such never happens again,” spoke the prophetess.Oshun sought to guide the man who wavered at the accused crossroads:“You must repent and use the riches that you gain for the good of humanity. You must do what is right and responsible for the sake of mankind’s evolution and the betterment of the world. Only if you truly change will you be saved. The treasure is of no consequence when your very soul is at stake.”Philip Alkins strained to lift the heavy container, but he managed to carry it to a pathway and place it on the ground. He turned to his sister and Capperton. For a brief moment he contemplated his next move. He then pulled out his revolver and shot them both in the head. They fell into the dust.The ancestors-gods cried out: “You have failed us!”The mirage created was cast away. Mrs. Matthews and Capperton witnessed the act as did Lotoya and Natalie. Taking small uncertain steps, they moved back knowing but not knowing what was going to happen next.“You have the container, now open it,” said Oshun.Holstering his weapon, he knelt down and opened the jeweled cover. A small cloud of pollen from the Night Flower entered his blood stream when he inhaled. Before he could discern his shock, he was turned into a wisp of grayish-yellow smoke and drawn inside. The lid then shut and the lock clicked.****The doorway to his subconscious mind was covered with dense, dark fog. When he opened it, he saw the Lord of Demons sitting upon his throne of wasting corpses and tortured near-dead. Walking through the sulfuric mist, he defiantly approached his master.“I succeeded, Demon. Why did you forsake me?” spat Alkins.“Because the game was over and until I devise a new strategy with new pawns I will bide my time,” Alajogun replied. “In the next moment; another god will be tainted; another angel will fall; and another human will succumb to the lower realms of mind and drink from the bitter wellspring of forgetfulness. War will again be waged.”“But we had them,” Alkins continued in disbelieve that all he invested and plotted to gain was foreverlost. “Why did you retreat? Answer me!”Alajogun responded feigning patience. He was already tiring of this worthless piece of human who dared question him –who dared defy him.“In this domain, only my words are law and such is not to be questioned.”“That being the case,” stated Alkins showing obvious signs of agitation, “what about your promises? I upheld my end of the bargain.”“And so you did,” stated the Lord of Demons. “And so you did.”He then drew sludge from his slime covered body and rubbed it on the head and neck of Philip Alkins. He then banished him to a world that is but is not.When Philip Alkins opened his eyes, he saw that diamonds and crystals worth billions upon billions of dollars lay all around him. Set in the abundance of money and a lavish house, he looked around for other pleasures: He sought objects of status and opulence; gratifications that fed the immediate nature of his being; and subjects to kneel before him.Charlene was waiting for him in the bedroom. Feeling accomplished and empowered, he was ready to engage in powerful, lust driven coitus. He approached his mistress and began to take off her clothes. She did not resist. But no matter how hard he tried or how much cocaine he did, his body wasn’t able to respond –he couldn’t get an erection. All that transpired were recurrent pains in his gonads.Charlene lay down on her back. She pulled her knees to her chest exposing her vulva. It was deformed and curds dripped from inside. She moaned his name and reached out to embrace him.Alkins’ mind was caught in the twisting vise of the twilight zone. Running from the house, he stumbled and fell face down in the streets. Fire and brimstone rained down. Creatures of thick, bloodstained skin with razor sharp claws and fangs walked up to him and sniffed his body. He stood paralyzed with incomprehensible fear. Just as he was about to feint, the Hounds of Hell lay down at his feet in total submission. He was the despotic ruler of all that existed in this world –the Supreme Lord.

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