The Dark Goddess

Chapter 39

Ami knew for sure she had made a bad call as she ran, she could’ve definitely tried for a more civil conversation with the natives rather than bolting.

Well, she couldn’t stop now, so she headed from bush to bush to path, she glanced back once and almost had a fit, ‘how had they gotten so many?

From the initial three that discovered her, now they were about six or seven all with machetes.

What had she done? How could she possibly rectify this? Who could save her from this predicament?

A thought suddenly popped into her head, if she couldn’t outrun them – which she highly doubted she could at the moment – then she was going to scare them off.

She halted in her strides and came to stop facing them, her hair had fallen all over her face, even she was very sure that she must look scary at the moment if not bat s**t crazy.

But the natives as well gathered around her not minding her looks entirely, they looked scared quite alright, but at the same time they were indignant, why? Ami couldn’t say.

She reached inwards for her powers and found it there humming and throbbing, she knew she couldn’t go all out though, these were humans, scared and angry, but there was no justification if she killed them.

“I am warning you for the last time, please go back and leave me be” Ami said with a forceful voice.

Then some of the natives did something awkward, they pulled some stringy materials wrapped with red and black clothes and adorned with little white shells and then started swinging it over their heads while mumbling words.

Ami felt the pull of mystic energy as it pooled around those casting the charms, she knew for certain at that point that they had taken her as a threat for them to be casting charms at her.

She felt the potency of the charm and knew it would hardly make a dent on her but then that didn’t account for the pain it might cause her, better not to get hit at all.

Just then she felt a tug at her abdomen as the first charm hit her without her even being aware, she started feeling feverish and weak and as well felt the urge to just lay down.

Whoa, the charm might not be so powerful but it was effective.

The second one hit her and this one brought pain, harsh and gut wrenching pain, she cried out as she fell to her knees from the effect of the charm and at that point she got to her limit.

She activated her powers with one strong gasp and a loud boom sound like that of thunder followed, she held the winds back but then dropped the pressure around them all down to the very least.

The natives all held their heads in their hands in pain as it popped from the reduced pressure and eventually they all passed out cold.

Ami took a deep breath and released her hold, then everything went back to normal.

Immediately after that she headed away lest the wake up and feel the need to strike her with more charms and she was going to have to defend against that again as well.

She hadn’t gotten too far when she felt the air electrify all around her, the fine hairs on her body stood on end and Ami knew at once that a powerful lightening strike was on its way.

When the lightening came, it was silent and red and white in its streaks and tendrils, it flaked around for a while, before settling and taking a humanoid shape.

Ami knew at once who this was, the actual husband of her mother and arguably the toughest and most feared deity in all of Yorubaland.

He is called Ṣàngó ọkọ Ọya, meaning Sango the husband of Oya, and he is the god of war in these parts, the deity of fire and lightening, and the very representation of masculinity.

Ami was only bothered about one thing, how he would take to her existence, because one thing she was also sure of was that this very deity was not her biological father, else if he was the one and had meant to kill her then she would have been dead a long time ago.

The lightening defused and revealed a young man in his early thirties, tall, fit and muscular, well shaven and the hair on his head was plaited all back till it dropped in braids to his shoulders.

He had a firm expression on his face that made him look fierce yet ruggedly handsome, he wore a red version of the type of top she had on, but his pants were tightly fitted jeans, long to the ankle of his bare feet.

He just stayed there with his back to a tree and looked straight at her.

Ami really didn’t know how to react, should she greet or just keep on going like she didn’t see him? (She was sure the later idea would get her into trouble, the toast kind)

At a loss of what to do, she just faced him as well looking right back at him, then after a few short seconds, he got his back away from the tree and in a smooth perfect masculine voice he said “Fine, let’s just fight it out”.

Before the meaning of his words could register in Ami’s mind – especially seeing how she had been distracted by his smooth voice – Sango attacked.

He had the speed of, well, lightening. He landed multiple hits on Ami within the space of a second but right after that first second, Ami activated a blast of her powers as well.

The momentum from the blast of her powers drove both of them apart, but then Sango was al ready moving in to close the gap, and after another few hits, she was able to repel him once again.

This time as he came forth again she maneuvered around him and judo flipped him sideways, but before his back touched the ground, he had twisted upright and landed in a crouch instead.

Again at her and this time she was able to properly follow his movements, and although they were still faster than hers but still she was able to handle it pretty well.

They went back and forth with their attacks like two soldier ants fighting, speedy attacks, quick counters and fierce hits.

Ami was on one part surprised and on another she wasn’t, she was surprised because here she was with a powerful deity going back and forth in hand to hand combat conveniently, the reincarnation really did do what was promised.

But then she wasn’t surprised she could last that long tousling with a god like Sango because she felt him pulling his hits, those that landed on her didn’t hurt as it should have, but she was going all out with him, using all her strength and abilities like speed and super sharp reflexes.

What he was trying to do, she really did not know, but if they continued like this then she might very well pass out from exertion.

A solid punch from Sango hit Ami squarely in her stomach and drew all the breath from her, she had been distracted by her own thoughts.

Sango stopped then and chuckled heartily, he wasn’t even out of breath in the slightest “Well done kid, I can see your mother’s ferocity and tenacity in you” he said to a gasping Ami.

She struggled to regain her breath and composure “So, that, was, just, a test?” Ami asked between breaths.

“A test?” Sango asked looking puzzled “Heck no! That was a greeting, that was me saying hello to my stepdaughter” he said with genuine warmth.

Ami couldn’t help but smile, she really hadn’t been expecting this at all, not in the slightest realm of possibility had she thought she would get this form of affection coming from Sango to her.

“You know what? I feel you in me too you know” Ami said to him.

“Why no, you don’t have to say that, c’mon, come and give me a hug” Sango said.

The hug smelt of warm toast and honey and suddenly made Ami nostalgic, why did Sango smell of home to her? Was it because he had accepted her when she had thought he wouldn’t? Or because he had accepted her even when her very own birth father had rejected her to the point of wanting to kill her.

When they dislodged from the hug, Ami had a tear in her eye, “Hey c’mon, no tears here, oh have you traveled by light or sound before? No? Trust me it’s super fun and you’re gonna love it, much better than your mother’s wind and storm traveling” Sango said to her.

“Well you can teach it to me, but I need to find my mother first” Ami said apologetically to him.

“Right that, I can help with that you know, if you want me to” Sango replied to her.

“Really? I’d love that, thanks so much” she replied gratefully.

“Ok, so what do say we get out of her, I’d like to show you my domain, other things you need to do can be done from there” Sango offered.

“Oh yes please, before those natives come back especially” Ami said with relief.

“Oh you met the natives? I was wondering why I was called upon, that usually doesn’t happen anymore you know, you must have given them quite a scare for them to call on me to strengthen them in battle after all these while of neglect” Sango said smiling and chuckling heartily but there was sadness at the corner of his eyes.

Ami placed a hand on his broad shoulders, “Well” Sango said totally shrugging off the past few moments “shall we go? And let me officially welcome you to your first lightening traveling, the fastest mode of traveling apart from portals and long distance teleportation and space warp oh and time traveling…” Sango counted on.

Ami was laughing hard by then “I don’t think you should call it the fastest then if there are all these ones still ahead of it” she said while still laughing.

“Well it is pretty fast, now, off to my domain, hang on” Sango said and grabbed hold of her.

From within him, lightening came forth in gentle and slow movements, Ami had never seen a slow lightening up till that moment.

The lightening surrounded them both and then they themselves started to change form and turn to lightening.

It wasn’t unlike being ripped apart being by being when she was being reincarnated, only that this was much softer and painless, only the feel of the current running through her as she herself became a current alongside Sango.

Then she realized something right before they took off, their entire surroundings was at a complete standstill, no wonder the lightening seemed slow, they were actually both moving at Sango’s speed.

‘Is he faster than light?’ she thought inwardly.

But then they fully joined the lightening and moved at its speed towards the late afternoon sky, heading for Sango’s domain.