“Olodumare o! What else do we have to offer?!”

Screams could be heard from the courtyard of the King. This time around, disaster has struck the royal home. Akanji, the first son of the King was found mangled, in a twisted manner, a sight no one has seen before. Each killing was different from the previous. The killer seemed to have a thing however for removing insides out.

It seemed they had a preference of taking a body part as well as his pair of eyes were gouged rather violently, evidence of this trailed like a footprint in the sand.

The King, in all anguish was not permitted to see the corpse of his son or any for that matter. An emergency meeting had to be held to put a stop to these killings.

“Kabiyesi oooo”, the chiefs and the priests prostrated, showing a sign of respect.

The king nodded, as a sign of acknowledgement.

“Kabiyesi, please accept our apologies, e jebure, this tragedy should never occur, not to anyone or the prince.” The Chief priest spoke solemnly, the others nodded in acknowledgement and despair.

“Atona, you are the chief priest, you served my father, you are serving me and you will serve my successor if the gods permit. Well, the successor is the one who has been killed so the gods have permitted it.”

Sounds of ‘Ah’ resonated round the room. Bewilderment was etched on their faces, deep down they knew the king was right. The next in line was killed in a disgraceful manner. Animal and human Sacrifices has been made, Nigerian Pound exchanged hands numerous times to buy feathers, palm oil, so much money was given to the priests that it seemed the gods needed to spend money in their world.

“If the gods want to strike us all then they should do it immediately. Are the gods deaf? I repeat, are the gods deaf?” The king roared, sorrow was laced in every word he said, the venom was enough to strike a person dead. It seemed in that moment he was a god himself.

“Atona, I give you seven days. If we have any more death after the timeline, you shall suffer the consequences.” He stood up, adjusted his well-crafted agbada and stormed out of the royal chamber to console his Olori, Adunni further. She was inconsolable, Akanji was her only son who she sought for ten years before the gods blessed her. The gods who blessed her snatched the blessing from her within Nineteen years.

“Shindara, Shindara! Ibolowa omo yii (Where are you this child)” Ayanfe, the aso-oke seller called out to her daughter, while blowing the flames off the firewood. Dinner was being made, Egusi soup with Pounded yam, just as her husband, Kunle loved it. He was a palm wine tapper and an alcoholic but Ayanfe accepted as her fate and focused more on her children as her source of happiness. He was clearly not coming home that night as he had not been home in a week. It was nothing surprising to her as that was his modus operandi.

“Mo n bo ma (I am coming ma)’’ Dara reiterated. She gathered her two younger siblings to the living room before heading to the backyard to help her mother.

“Gbe Pot yi sori Ijoko ni kitchen. (Place the pot on top of the stool in the kitchen) And I have told you to speak English more, It is 1965, you need to speak good English to have a better life and move to Lagos someday. I keep telling you that”, Ayanfe gently scolded Dara.

“But mother I want to stay with you, I like it here. Lagos does not suit me I am afraid, I have heard stories ma.”

“Omode lo n se e(You are being a child)” Ayanfe hissed, entering the house. They lived in a three-bedroom apartment which Ayanfe inherited from her father.

Dinner went without any event and the children were put to sleep.

“Dara, come to the living room when you are done putting Taiye and Kehinde to sleep.”

“Yes mother.” She replied.

“I am sure you heard of the death of the prince, Akanji, I ned you to watch over your siblings more these days. As you know, only men are victims it we never can tell when the gods decide to eliminate the women.”

“The gods? pfft. The gods that protected us from the white man suddenly starts killing its worshippers? Mama I do not agree it is the gods. The priests are making money from this mama, the pounds, animals they constantly receive for sacrifice is not working yet people keep giving them out of fear. They seem to enjoy this if I am being serious.”

“Gbe enu e dake (Shut up), don’t you dare disrespect the second hand to the gods Dara. Do not utter senseless talk like this anywhere, not even to yourself you hear?” She drew her daughters ear so tight, it felt like it would disconnect from her face.

“E ma binu ma, I am very sorry, it was just a foolish thinking mother. I will be very careful and will never repeat such again. I swear by the gods.”

“Better. Now off to bed. See how skinny you are, you need to eat more. Asunji o(Goodnight)”

“Asunji ma”, Dara walked to her room, looked through the window and stared into the full moon for few minutes before laying on her mat and drifting off to sleep.

“Kunle o, Olakunle noooo, this is not how we planned it!” Ayanfe screamed loudly, attracting a crowd who had gathered once again to see the next victim the gods had claimed. This time around it was Kunle, the funny palmwine tapper who lived a with a reckless abandon.

Dara flung her wrapper and ran outside, her heart beating faster than a wild horse galloping uncontrollably. The sight before her was too gory to comprehend, her fathers head was on a stick, in a twisted reference to a palm wine tree, his intestines were spread, strewn like fallen leaves in the wind, his legs were broken, his heart missing as if there was a personal vendetta against him This screamed crime of passion. Few feet before her laid a sobering mess of her mother and a desecrated body of her father who was never present but somehow became present against his will in their house.

Ilu Ayanda was once again shaken with fear. The last death was two days ago and the gods seemed to be angry yet again.

Word reached the Chief priest who immediately headed to the palace to speak with the king.

‘Kabiesi oo, I greet you. The gods of the land greet you. This will be the last time I will show my face. You have aggrieved the gods with your words. They have put you to test and you have failed. This tragedy will not be averted easily, they will ensure your reign will not be smooth.” Atona rose, solemnly informed the king.

“Atona look at me, man to man, what can I do to stop this? it is getting unbearable. Olori has refused to eat; she blames me for the death of our son. Please you are the mouth piece of the gods, do something. It is only a matter of time before the people scatter everything and adopt the white man’s god to save them. I do not want to end up as the worst king this town has ever seen. Jor (Please).” The king desperately pleaded with Atona for a solution.

“Hmm, we would need money to buy more ingredients and a cow. This will be the biggest sacrifice we have to give to the gods. I am certain this will work Kabiyesi, trust me.” Atona reassured the king. Money rubbed hands once again and the priest set out to appease the gods one last time.

“O TUN TI SHELE O! O TUN TI SHELE O!(It has happened again).” There was yet another corpse, the worst the town has seen, across the untarred road lay pieces of what was once a whole being. Clothes were littered from the bag which belonged to the victim, pounds soaked in blood, body parts were speared completely. There was no whole part linked together, On the other side of the road laid the legs, on another, the kidneys, the street was soaked in blood. Flies were buzzing on the corpse; dogs were being restrained to avoid eating the parts. The sight was too gory to see and people fainted, vomited or just stood in shock. No one could recognise who this once was.

“Is that not the Necklace of the Chief Priest?” a man pointed at the beaded necklace and wristlets a few feet from the scene. Others nodded in bewilderment This meant one thing, the chief priest who was meant to hep them out of their predicament was dead. News flew like wildfire; word had reached the king who fell to his seat in sorrow. It was clear, the gods had abandoned them and was going to kill them all. Staring at the cloud wistfully, he made the one decision which was his last resort; to end his life. The world seemed fickle, insignificant and if this was what the gods wanted, what could he do about it?

Cleaning the jars filled with various body parts which they regarded as a trophy, they brought out a new jar, added the entire set of teeth from the latest victim, a thief who capitalised on the murders and extorted the king. If anything, the priest was happy the murders were happening. It was enough he collected money and enriched himself but for him to plan to escape the town? That was unacceptable.

They recollected his final moments, the chill running down his spine as he felt life sipping out him. He could not scream as his muscle were stiff and the only sound he could make sounded as a croak which one could mistake for a frog. All the scheming and plotting was now in vain, he was going to die anyway, it was just a matter of time but he made it faster by trying to sneak out of town while everyone slept. It was exhilarating splitting him into various pieces, his greed had to be shown and the people needed to see what type of person he was. Yes, I did them a favour, it is about time they realize a serial killer who only attack men lurk in the shadow.

Killing Kunle was no fun but he had to go. He was an irresponsible man and needed to be taught a lesson even in his death, he was drunk, his children would thank me later for getting rid of such burden.

They had no reason to kill the prince but he deserved it, they were uninspired and needed to shake the palace for a while.

“I have to lay low for a while and strategize, more equipment’s are needed as well as the chemical which makes them numb but awake while they are being mutilated.” They muttered, making a mental note to remember the equipment’s needed.

“Lagos does not suit me, just as I told mother. This is my home and if she insists, I may just have to make her stay put. I hope the gods enjoy the show I put on for them.” She smiled maniacally to herself as she pushed her cupboard back in place, her secret lair hidden from everyone but her and the gods.