Adaeze

A Special Child

The chief priest faced the wooden sculpture representing the god of the land and made some incantations.

After some moments, the chief priest turned to Okenna and shook his head negatively.

" I'm sorry there is nothing we can do about it." The chief priest sighed and said defeatedly.

" Wise one, what do you mean by that? You are the strongest chief priest in the whole state. There is nothing that is beyond your power. Why will you say that there is nothing we can do about this case?" Okenna asked while praising him at the same time so that he would not provoke him.

" She is special." The chief priest simply replied.

" Who are you talking about?" Okenna asked in confusion.

" The child your brother's wife is carrying." The chief priest replied again keeping his answers short.

This was already pissing Okenna off. But he had to swallow his anger when he remembered where he was.

" Are you saying that my brother's wife is carrying a baby girl?" Okenna asked to be sure that he heard correctly.

This time, the chief priest only nodded in affirmation to his question.

Okenna smiled widely at this revelation. But his joy was cut short when he recalled that the chief priest had called the child 'special'.

" What do you mean by 'the child is special'? Okenna could not help but ask the chief priest anxiously.

She is special because she has the backing of the gods. No one can harm her either now or later." The chief priest said stressing each word.

Okenna scoffed. He would definitely find a way to eliminate the child when she is born. Okenna thought silently.

He would have been happy to wipe his brother's family off the surface of the earth. But hearing that he could not harm the child his brother's wife was carrying, shattered his heart completely.

He would definitely not leave the child alive. A special child could obviously cause his ambition of becoming the next king to go down the drain.

He had gone too far with his ambition of becoming the next king to allow a mere child to deprive him of that.

He was going to end the life of the child as well as that of her parents with or without the help of the chief priest. Okenna thought to himself.

" Don't you dare try anything stupidHarming her will only bring disaster to you and your family." The chief priest warned Okenna sternly.

Okenna had married a week before Chibuike's wedding as he could not bear to see his brother get married before him.

" Don't worry wise one. I won't do anything stupid. I will hearken to your words." Okenna lied smoothly.

He did not want the chief priest to know about his plans since he was not in support of harming the child his brother's wife was carrying.

Okenna left the chief priest's shrine after paying some cowries.

Okenna had other chief priests he consulted apart from the chief priest of Umuagu.

He journeyed for two days from Umuagu to Umuotu to seek powers to kill his brother's unborn child.

He had before now, heard great things done by the chief priest.

The chief priest was so powerful that everyone in that community feared him.

Okenna stood at the entrance of the shrine as he raised the curtain which was made of animal skin up to enable him to go in.

He could not see the chief priest anywhere in the shrine when he entered. He wanted to walk farther into the shrine but a voice stopped him.

"Stop right there!! Wash your hands in the calabash at your right hand." A voice commanded behind him.

This scared the hell out of Okenna. Okenna turned in the direction of the voice.

Without being told, Okenna knew that this was the chief priest of Umuotu.

How was he able to get in without a sound as he was so sure that he was not in the shrine when he entered?

Could it be that he teleported himself? Okenna asked himself silently.

" Of course, I was not here a while ago. I just teleported back as I sensed someone entered the shrine." The chief priest said responding to his thoughts.

Did he actually say that loud? Okenna asked himself in confusion.

" No, you didn't. I happen to have the ability to read minds." The chief priest said replying to his thoughts again.

' Wow! This chief priest is really powerful as the rumours said.' Okenna thought happily.

After washing his hands in the calabash, Okenna made his way to the chief priest who was already seated making some incantations.

" You can not kill that child. The gods have blessed her with many powers which have started working even in her mother's womb." The chief priest said suddenly.

Okenna's shoulders slumped defeatedly.

Why was everyone saying the same thing? Does this mean that he had to forget about being the next king? Okenna could not help but ask himself.

" But there is something we can do to the child." The chief priest said after some moments of silence.

Okenna looked at the chief priest hopefully.

" Take this. Make sure that her mother puts it on her immediately after she is born. It will suppress her powers as long as she has it on." The chief priest said while handing a white bead necklace to Okenna.

This would do. Okenna thought to himself as he exited the shrine.