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You could see them chatting through the windows of cabs and shops. Everywhere, people were talking about the day’s failed judgement and BTWD was not left out. Grace had turned off the rotating lights when Michael complained about it turning his eyes and amid the sunlight floating in through the room, you could see a few patrons, seated in groups of three, four or more except a particular god who preferred sitting alone. Even Michael had grace for company although he was a bit tipsy.

“Grace, another red wine,” he ordered, placing his glass on the counter. Grace looked at him for sometime and just nodded, tired of giving unwanted advices.

“I’ll bring it right up,” she said while Michael didn’t raise his head from his palms.

Grace served him his preferred wine and watched him take a long sip before sighing. “I doubt that you’re this bummed about Onye ndu's arrest. What exactly is bothering you?”

Michael took another sip. Bloodshot eyes focusing on Grace. “I just found out that Kylie hadn’t even kept our secret a secret.”

“What type of secret could it be that’s making you this bummed? People find out each other’s secrets all the time. Hell, right now, as I stand before you, I know a million people’s secrets.”

“That doesn’t count Grace. You’re the god of memories, remember?”

She raised her head as if in thoughts then said, “ooh! Right.” Then she remembered his words. “Permit me to ask who Kylie is?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Grace threw her hands away in surrender, glared at the door and then exhaled before looking at Michael like he just baffled her.

*****

It was the same day that Onye ndu was arrested; same day that Dike became unconscious.

Kwento had resorted to just sitting at the fair stoned bench placed beside Dike's bed so he could study him.

As he watched him, lean body placed on a bed with a white duvet draped over him and herbs placed on both sides of his head and on his forehead, he noticed that the boy was not breathing.

There was not even anything present to indicate if he was breathing or not. Kwento stood and walked towards him, crouching and straining to hear anything but there was nothing. He was not breathing! Kwento’s fingers dug into his scalp as he tried uprooting his hair. There were a lot of things that were appearing like a joke that instant, as if he was living in a distorted reality.

Staring at the boy’s long lashes for sometime, before discovering that the tension in him was much and he needed to alleviate it. He began pacing the length of the room, his skin and body parts doing an alternate reality flash of disappearance.

He heard the crunch of the grass outside, followed by the presence of two and the tents opening flapping behind them. Then he saw it, her legs, smooth and shiny and extending upwards. She was dressed in a gown he had gotten her, one made of brown silk, like the colour of her eyes, with leopard skin for its hand and the end of the slit.

He met her eyes.

“You still had the gods to wear this cloth after everything you’ve done, how dare you!” Kwento said, anger replacing whatever he must have once felt for her.

Still, she did not shake or cower. Instead, her head was raised higher and she returned the fire tenfold. “I can’t believe you Nanu,” She said, scoffing. “After everything we’ve shared and you still don’t know what I can and can’t do?” She asked. “I didn’t do it!” She moved towards him, hands grabbing his biceps, voice turning soft and eyes pleading, “trust me… I didn’t.”

Then she stared at his lips, then his eyes before resting her head on his chest. “Please,” she whispered, “believe me.”

And tentatively, Kwento’s hands were freed from the ice they were in, as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her closer to his chest.

He remembered all the meals they shared together, and all the times they spent in the spring. He remembered the first time hey confessed their love for each other, him and this woman in his arms.

Why then, would she want to hurt him that way? It was simple to answer. She simply was not capable of a crime like that.

“I believe you,” Kwento said, nuzzling his face in her neck and inhaling her sweet scent, although now unfamiliar.

“You do?” she asked, raising her head to look him in the eyes and he nodded.

“Yeah,” he said, studying her features. “I do.” He got a shy smile as a response.

Then, they proceeded to kiss, him initiating it  and her leaning in to catch up. When their lips touched, he inhaled it again, the unfamiliar scent of pine and herbs. He broke off the kiss out of a shortage of breath and rested his face between her neck to inhale.

“Did you change your shampoo?” He asked.

“You don’t like it?” she asked, trying to pull out from the hug.

He held her tighter. “I do… just that I’d kind off gotten used to the rose and shea butter. But this one is also nice.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling.

They were having an eye moment, when it started again; his body parts flickering so violently, changing from transparent to his original colour that it forced Chimma to ask what was wrong.

“What’s happening to you?” she asked, pulling back, frightened.

“I guess it’s him,” Kwento replied, eyes directed at the child on the bed.

“How?”

“It’s our bond. His life on the line also means that I’m bound to loose mine too. That was actually why we called you.”

Chimma gently approached the child. “The healer said that his thoughts are delaying his healing process and he needs to think of thoughts that’d make him want to live.”

“Do you know of anything that makes him happy?” she asked, turning to look at Kwento.

“I wasn’t opportuned to spend that much time with him.”

“Let me see what is going through his head,” Chimma said, before placing her index finger against his forehead. She invaded the second realm which was made up of a big, hollow shaft and a million doors. She appeared in the realm as an ant navigating his way in an ocean until she got to particular point, where she bumped into an invisible shield. She saw it, the flickering; a result of the boy teetering between life and death. His subconscious was rapidly changing, he was breaching the third realm.

She tried passing again but was pushed back by a strong force. Nothing she did seemed to be working so she had to return back.

Kwento watched her form, which had been perfectly still shake violently like it had been electrocuted. Then he saw her open her eyes and the message in them did not look good.

He had witnessed that look a number of times, mostly anytime he reminded her that they could not get married because of the law of domain. Sad it was, how things had changed, and the maker of the law was the person who broke it with his own mortal mother.

“What did you see?”Kwento asked with a dreary look.

“He’s unstable. I’ve never seen a situation like this,” she said in a burst and at Kwento’s confused stare, she tried explaining. “His subconscious was indefinite. It changed between two veils, one which I’m familiar with and the other which I’m not, which is a bad sign because the other veil may actually be the third realm, the realm of the dead and it had a strong shield that I could not penetrate unless dead.”

“What can we do? He needs to think good thoughts,” Kwento asked, worry seeping into his bones.

“Just gather everyone he’s familiar with, his friends, anyone he loves. His subconscious needs to be penetrated both internally and externally.”

At her words, Kwento nodded. “Okay,” he said before trying to disappear but it did not work.

“This premises is fortified. Ask for the people in charge to help you leave,” she advised as she turned back to the child.

“Okay, I will,” Kwento said and left the tent to go find Josh.

*****

Kwento saw Josh outside the tent. He was a few feet from the tent's exit and was seated on a stone chair under an short herculean tree.

On a closer look, Kwento saw that Josh was not alone, he was with the healer and they both had their eyes closed, palms facing upwards and arms outstretched.

“Do you really wish for the inner peace you ask?” the healer asked. She had a brow raised and other than her mouth which just moved, you would not even know that she was awake. Her form was still.

“Yes,” Josh replied, twisting and turning his fingers to control the leaf twines growing from the earth and forming flexible poles behind him.

“Then why can’t you forgive yourself? You were inexperienced and now that you have the power to help others like her, why aren’t you still satisfied?”

Josh’s brows pulled up into a frown just as the healer’s voice rang out. “Do we have company?”

“Uhm, yeah. Yes.” Kwento cleared his throat making the healer’s eyes to snap open at his voice. She was still seated, her legs crossed and the wind blowing her hair.

“Speak. We hear you,” she said.

“Okay,” Kwento said eyeing the gigantic twines and still not moving closer. “I need to get to earth but leaving here is proving to be impossible.”

“Josh,” she said, looking at the cop whose eyes were still closed and lips tight shut. “You should escort him out.”

His eyes snapped open and those brown pools focused solely on Kwento’s confused gaze. “Okay,” he said, standing from the bench. “Let’s go.” And they both followed the exit before disappearing.

*****

The knock on the door resounded through the neighborhood. What were they expecting anyway? Shy knocks from muscular gods with big fists? …not happening.

Josh leaned against the building while Kwento stood before the door, knocking like a bulldozer.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Don’t pull down my door please,” a feminine voice said from inside, before he heard the clank of metals landing on the floor, a thump and then a surprised yelp.

Kwento and Josh shared a look. It was going to take quite a while for her to open the door so he took matters into his own hands and knocked the door off its hinges.

Splinters flew.

“You!” a long nosed, narrow faced lady said in the most menacing way  possible while looking up from the pile of plates she was arranging. “What did I tell you about knocking nicely? You made me do this and now you’ve destroyed my door after the last time!”

“There’s no time for this right now,” Kwento said, standing in the middle of the room that it appeared Josh took the remaining space, while he had half. “Dike stabbed himself. He needs friends and family to stay alive right now.”

“What!” she asked, the metal plates that she was holding landing on the floor again. “How?”

“I have no idea, but get dressed, were going to get his new family. That Obiora girl I think.”

“You can’t just go and be grabbing people because you’re huge! How do you expect to pull that off?”

“Time’s up, you don’t need to get dressed again,” Kwento said and then rushed to her side to throw her over his shoulder. “Josh,” he said, titling his head sideways. “let’s go.”

Boy o boy was Josh amused.

“Wait! Wait!” Anwulika shouted, kicking her legs. “I’m serious! I’m not going to be part of this barbaric act. You could just kindly asked them to follow you.”

“And how do you explain the place they’d be going to?”

“You’re right,” Anwulika said, suddenly realizing what was going on. “How about taking his friend instead. They seemed to have more connection.” Kwento paused at her words. They were at the door.

“You mean the one in the photograph?”

“He only has one friend.”

“Alright,” Kwento said and held Josh’s hand. “You should envision the place you’re talking about. We’re going there.”

*****

“We’re here,” Kwento said immediately the haze cleared and their surrounding got clear.

“Ooh,” Anwulika said, opening her eyes which had been tightly shut due to fear.

“You know,” Kwento joked, as he walked to the entrance and knocked. “As a supposed spiritual communicator, you should have been used to all these.”

“Well, forgive me for never teleporting since birth.”

“Now you’re overreacting,” Kwento said, smirking at her doll face as the door opened to reveal an equally tall guy dressed in all black suit.

A guy dressed in suit in a village?

“What do you want?” He asked with a stoic expression, eyeing Kwento from head to toe, then the lady on his shoulder and finally, his eyes moved to Josh. When he looked at their necks he realized that they were not humans.

“Put me down! I got this,” Anwulika said, legs trashing.

The guy raised a brow at him, them the lady on his shoulder. “She’s a slow walker,” Kwento said seriously, making her trash more. He was smiling internally until he felt a sting along his fingers and his hands disappearing with synchronous zaps.

The god by the door was unamused, just a brow raised.

“We’re actually here for Essence,” Josh helped to break the tension.

The guard raised his brows again and then his face was back to his normal, impassive look. “You can’t see her.”

“We don’t want to resort to violence,” Kwento said, dropping Anwulika and moving towards him.

Josh tapped Kwento’s shoulder. “Wait,” he said. “This guy is like us. Are you also one?” Josh asked, flashing him the SOCs’ badge.

The guard looked inside the house as if checking for something, and when he was back out, he threw a punch. Before Josh could even process what was happening, he had ran in and was already on the phone.

“George, hurry. They’re here.”

With Kwento’s bleeding face, Anwulika would have thought the scene funny if she was not confused. “What’s happening?” she asked, looking at the six feet five guard running up the stairs and Josh following after.

“He knows that we’re from the domain and somehow, he does not want to offer a nice reception, I wonder why?” Kwento replied with a groan.

The battle was ongoing, and Kwento rushed to help, leaving Anwulika alone. Who knew that an extravagant one-story building at the outskirts of town could serve as a suitable arena for battling gods?

Kwento watched it, as Barb would strike Josh and Josh he. Kicks, punches and things kept flying, most times those things ended up broken and when they did not, one of the two fighting would be on the floor with the other on top, landing a punch.

Kwento walked into the first room he saw. It had blue walls and a bed. Other than the desk and chair, there was not a sign that anyone lived in it. Maybe it was the bodyguards room?

Wait! Bodyguard? Was the guy thinking that they were here to hurt the girl?

Just then Anwulika managed to escape a clay pot thrown over the railing from crashing into her.

“Chi mu ooh!” she exclaimed as she sought cover behind the couch. A useless hiding space it was!

The second room Kwento saw had pink walls. A four poster bed stood in the middle and a walk in closet was on the other side. Other than numerous black and white pictures of a girl and an older woman in beautiful places was one particular picture, placed on the desk and having a baby and a man, a man who was familiar—the smile and eyes were filled with warmth except that Kwento could just tell the carefully shielded worry underneath those pool of brown.

“Michael?”

To summarize his current predicament, he was in a room looking for a girl who was no where to be found and had instead seen a picture of best friend cuddling a child. How fantastic!

As Kwento was reasoning his life choices, the door burst open and Barb walked in, knuckles bloodied and face scratched.

“Get out!” he ordered, approaching him with predatory steps.

“If you want to kill me, do it but that should be after you’ve known that we are not here to hurt the girl. In fact, we need her to save her friend. He’s currently sick.”

Barb looked at him with suspicion, before staring at the picture he had been admiring.

“Proof?” he asked.

“Proof of what?” Kwento was confused.

“Your claims,” Barb said with bloodied teeth, palms outstretched.

Not knowing any other way he could prove himself, Kwento also stretched both arms forward and looked into Barb’s eyes.  It did not take long for the flickering skin to appear.

“You see that?” Kwento asked, hinting at his disappearing skin. “That is the bond I have with her friend. Her friend is dying and if he does, I’ll also die.”

Barb swallowed and nodded. “I see,” he said. “Just know that you’ll die if you hurt her.”

“I know.”

Barb nodded at Kwento and poked his head out of the door to the scene of Josh sparing with George.

“It’s been settled,” Barb said making George pause and leave Josh on the floor, bleeding while being surrounded by water.

Josh raised a weak brow at Kwento which he nodded to and approached him to help him up. “We’ve spoken,” Kwento told him and he exhaled.

*****

“The god of liquids that pleases men, getting drunk on his own products,” a woman’s voice said. It was light and elegant. “Now that’s something new.”

Michael’s eyes snapped upwards. “Kylie,” he said, blinking when he saw the face. "Kylie, what are you doing here?” he asked, trying to stand up when she was before him.

“I just uhm...” Kylie was about to respond until she saw him fall face first against the counter and a thud filled the room. She was beside him in seconds. “Michael,” she said, raising his face. “How much have you been drinking?”

“Not enough.”

She shares a sympathizing look with Grace before helping him lean on her. “I’ll take him to his office.”

“Isn’t he too heavy for you?”

Kylie looked at the patrons then at Grace. “There is no other option,” she said and the bartender nodded, understanding what she was trying to say.

So Kylie began the tedious task of taking Michael up the stairs and to his office. “I can’t believe that you’d drink this much. Why did you drink this much?” She sighed each word on every stairs they climbed until they were finally up in front of his office where Michael’s shoulder bumped against the doorframe and he moaned in pain.

“Sorry,” she muttered, struggling to get him in. When they were finally in his office, she led him to the balcony and placed him on the couch, making sure he was comfortable before taking a fancy stool to sit beside him as he slept.

“I’m not dreaming right?” Michael murmured, drowsy eyes searching for her.

“No you’re not,” Kylie said with a worried frown.

“I understand why you did it though,” he said before slowly blinking and falling into a slumber.

The sound of speeding cabs below, an accomplice to his snores.

*****

The domain’s sun illuminated five beings on the tarmac outside the healing center, Josh included as he opened the gate with a weak flap of his wrist and recited spells which let them all in.

Anwulika was walking beside Kwento  who was supporting a badly beaten Josh. They crossed the walkway till they were at the waiting room where a lot of other gods, dressed in white gowns with leaves behind their ears were walking around. They should be the healer’s assistants.

A barefooted, female assistant approached Josh when she saw his state.

“Officer Josh, how did you manage to acquire this much injury?”

“Just call Akachi,” Josh said squinting as he sat on a bench.

“You shouldn’t have let them beat you so badly,” Kwento said, successfully grabbing Josh’s attention as Josh raised a brow at him.

“I’m coming,” Kwento said after realizing how unwanted his advice was. He then hinted at Barb and Anwulika to follow him as he led the way to Dike's tent.

*****

What are your thoughts, fam?

What's your favourite character so far?