Nostradamus:
I love that Jeffrey guy

He believes in his brute strength.

EkoroPrince:
Boss, we are all hungry for more oo. I have been refreshing this pages for a while now. So far you are doing a great job. Your artistic writing is just superb...

enamored1:
Everyone, I am terribly sorry for the delay. I was about to post this morning before I decided to rewrite the entire chapter. I was only able to do that this evening.

If you have any questions concerning magic-building or whatnot, please let's hear it.

I know the story has started dragging, but it will soon pick up. This is because I need to set the stage for future events, some events not even happening in book one or two but book three. Please do stay with me.

enamored1:
Everyone, I am terribly sorry for the delay. I was about to post this morning before I decided to rewrite the entire chapter. I was only able to do that this evening.

If you have any questions concerning magic-building or whatnot, please let's hear it.

I know the story has started dragging, but it will soon pick up. This is because I need to set the stage for future events, some events not even happening in book one or two but book three. Please do stay with me.

Royver:
CHAPTER 9

I looked at the unmoving body of Bawo lying on the ground in front of me; his eyes open wide in horror, his mouth still gaping and oozing blood and spittle. There was no doubt in my mind that he was dead. This was the second dead body I was seeing in a few hours. Things weren’t looking good at all.


I sat down on one of the chairs and pondered my situation. I was worried about being found in a room with a dead body but at the same time I knew unless someone chanced upon this room there was no way anyone outside heard anything, not with the loud music from the Deejay blaring away. I turned my attention back to the problem at hand.


At least I had found out Nina had been taken out of Lagos to the South, but where? How was I supposed to find out the rest of the information now?


A moan from a reviving Zeke provided a solution.
I walked up to him and waited for him to get to his knees, then tore him a hard slap across the face. He gasped and was about struggling to his feet when I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down. He looked from my hand on his shoulder to me, shocked. I guess he was wondering how with his bulk I had the strength to hold him down with one hand. I pointed at his friend on the ground and when he saw Bawo’s contorted face he began to shiver. I let him ponder on it for a while then let go and took one of the chairs and sat opposite him.


“I need information.” I said quietly.


“You…you killed him?!” he gasped, still trembling.


“Listen to me Zeke. I’m not in the mood to answer stupid questions. I want to know what you guys did with my girlfriend, where you took her, do you understand?”


Zeke nodded and stared at his colleague on the floor. His eyes were filled with terror, just as I wanted them to be. I watched the red chain on his neck, it remained inanimate but I knew it could come alive and strangle him if this man so much as thought of uttering Nina’s location. It was obvious whatever oath Egbegradudu had made them swear to was very potent.


“We took her down south to the riverine area…” he had not finished uttering those words when the red chain began to glow. I raised up my hand immediately and he stopped, perplexed.


“Did you take an oath with Egbegradudu not to speak of the location?” I asked.


He nodded, a look of wonder on his face.
“I had forgotten about that,” He said. “How did you know?”


“Never mind.” I gave him my phone. “Type the name of the place here.”


With shaky hands Zeke collected the phone and began to type. He had not punched the keypad twice when the chain glowed again and began to get taut.


No way!


“Wait!” I shouted. Zeke stopped and stared at me, not aware of the mortal peril he was currently facing. Their boss was indeed a very powerful person to have worked such a charm on them. I leaned back on the chair and sighed, wondering what to do next.


“What?” Zeke asked, his gaze turning suspicious. “Why do you keep stopping me?” Then suddenly his eyes grew wide with fear. “What are you seeing? Is he here?”


I didn’t want to tell him about the chain but it seemed I didn’t have a choice. Also I was tired. The events of the past few hours were beginning to tell on me. I wanted the information so badly but at the same time I didn’t want to have to kill anybody to get it. I hadn’t reached that point, yet.


“Just…give me a State. Don’t mention the name of the place, just the State it’s located in.”


“It’s the oath we took isn’t it? You can see what it is doing to me?” Zeke asked his eyes bulging with fear.


“That’s what killed your friend over there. Not me.” I confessed. “Egbegradudu made you people swear never to disclose the location. Disobedience to that oath is tantamount to death.” I stood up from the chair and started pacing. “Apparently you boys didn’t know the gravity of your actions or else Bawo wouldn’t have broken the oath so freely.”


Zeke looked at Bawo again. The latter remained motionless on the floor.


“He made us swear, but it was nothing ceremonious, we simply joined hands and agreed. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s making us do things like that.” Zeke replied.


“Yeah, well, don’t say anything yet.” I replied. “Maybe I can figure out a way to save your life.”


He looked up at me and his eyes became curious. “Why do you care if I live or die?”


I shrugged. “You are no use to me if you die before you can mention the place. And besides, I don’t want blood on my hands.”


Zeke gawked at me for a moment then threw his head back and burst into wild laughter.


“You don’t want blood on your hands and you are going to face Egbegradudu?” He shook his head. “You must be a joker! The man is as ruthless as they come. Look what he did to Bawo…” and here he became sober again and seemed about to burst into tears.


“You two must have been quite close.” I said.
Zeke nodded.


“I’m sorry.” I replied.


Zeke sighed. “We knew the boss was a dangerous man but we have been loyal to him all these years, we have been with him through tough times, done terrible things for him. We thought he would at least be more lenient with us.”


“Give me the State.” I repeated. “Your oath didn’t include you mentioning the State did it?”


“No it didn’t.” Zeke replied, “But why should I tell you? You think this little talk we are having makes us friends?” He said, laughing scathingly.


Suddenly the door was kicked open. Someone wearing a black overcoat on black jeans and a fedora hat burst in, a gun in hand. I raised my hands to defend myself but he went passed me and grabbed Zeke by the throat, shoving the gun into his face.


“Maybe this will help you make up your mind.” He said. “He may not want to get blood on his hands but I’m willing to do so. Eager even.” He forced the gun into Zeke’s mouth and cocked it. “Say you won’t help. Go ahead.”


He looked very familiar though I couldn’t place his face just yet.


Zeke choked out some incoherent words.


“Huh? I can’t hear you.” The man in the overcoat replied.


“You shoved a gun in his mouth.” I said. “How do you expect him to speak up?”


“Oh, he’ll find a way, don’t you worry.” The man replied without turning back, and motioned with his other hand for me to leave the room. “If you don’t want to be a party to murder I suggest you leave right now. Things are about to get messy.”


Zeke stared at him then looked at me with bulging eyes and shook his head. He seemed terrified out of his wits, more terrified in fact than he had been of me a few minutes ago and definitely did not want to be left alone with this stranger. I felt kind of jealous that I hadn’t been able to elicit this kind of terror on such short notice.


“Who are you?” I asked.


“Aw, you’re hurting my feelings man.” He said and removed his hat with a grin. “Hey bro, how you been?”


The recollection came slowly but then I remembered the man in the Michael Jackson “Moonwalker” outfit; the one who had helped me fight the robbers at the restaurant three nights ago where I was supposed to have proposed to Nina. His countenance had changed greatly, now he looked darker and vicious, not as friendly as he was three nights ago. His clean shaven face showed a hard set jaw and bright, dangerous eyes. He was a ruggedly handsome fellow, I realized, although his features suggested he wasn’t a stranger to the hard life.

Jeffrey!

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