23* Lepers and Sacrifice

The greatest reason why the Sanctuary had stayed safe and hidden from predatory eyes

all the moons was because of the Great Goro River.

It surrounded the mountains which hid the Sanctuary, guarding her like a watch dog.

Obinna stood at the bank of the river,under its darkness and eerie stillness and silence.

He needed to cross the river and that required a costly sacrifice.

Many moons ago,when the inhabitants of the Sanctuary were trying to cross the river, fourteen beings which included humans, wolves,witches, mermaids and vampires, had to sacrifice their lives to the dark waters for it to let the others through.

They were warriors!

Strong and selfless_never to be forgotten!

Now,Obinna had to also make a sacrifice. He had to prove to his people that their sacrifice was not in vain.

The waters were silent and still,shaded by hundreds of sleeping willows and oaks whose branches and leaves bent so much that they touched the river on all sides.

Bones and remains of different species lay scattered across the bank. These were remains of those who had once tried to trick the river to cross without a sacrifice,but ended up being consumed in its hollowness.

The darkness and silence of the river sang a song__a hollow and empty song which held tales of hopelessness.

Are you sure you are willing to

sacrifice that much? Did you think this through?

Mechi's voice was calm despite his questions.

He was Obinna's wolf, and just like his human,he was calm and level-headed. He had an aura as peaceful as water but could also be as ferocious and dangerous when he wanted to.

The questions were expected.

As the tall and heavily muscled wolf stood at that bank,he could think of a million reasons to turn back.

He took a long and sad look at the direction he had come from.

If he turned back now, what would become of his people?

Would he be able to avert the impending doom? Would he ever be able to find his mate?

"It is all for the greater good, Mechi!"

With those words,he rolled out his hair from the iron pins that had held them in place.

The three foot long locks came rolling down his back like waves.

You could lose your power as an Ose!

Mechi tried to reason.

They hardly disagreed on anything but today, Mechi was very skeptical about the necessity of Obinna's plot.

Your powers would be gone forever! You would never be able to feel people's emotions,see the future or sense your mate!

Obinna brought out his knife from his goat skin bag.

Ignoring the words of his wolf,he sliced off the beautiful long locks.

The feeling was empty, painless but weakening. As the locks faded to ashes and were carried by the wind,he collapsed to the floor.

He could feel his power drain from him.

"It is for the greater good...it is for my people...it is for the future...it is for my mate..."

His voice was weak but his words were strong enough!

The temperature of the river dropped.

The air had become very cold and there was a slow and eerie whistling.

The darkness had become even deeper and the bones at the bank seemed to come alive.

HE was here!

Samo,the soulless fisherman!

According to legend,he was cursed by Obiojor,the goddess of the underworld to ferry people across the river for all eternity.

He paddled through the river slowly,as though he was counting the ripples.

Obinna could remember vividly how he looked,his face was  backwards with an eye in the middle of his head,one which never opened.His black cloak was torn and shredded with a skeleton of a man covered underneath.

Obinna knew that there was no turning back!

He had made a sacrifice and now he must see it to the end.

He had to count on the man to take him across,the dead man!

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There was a somewhat peaceful silence around the fireplace where Aira sat amongst the few lepers.

Lepers were outcasts,thrown to the edges of packs to live.

This was so they did not spread their plague which was highly contagious.

As she sat there,she could not help but feel very uncomfortable.

Do you not believe that you could get infected by this plague?

Fire's voice was loud in here head,and she knew that she was right.

"You do not seem comfortable...Okwu."

One of the lepers called Aira by Fire's name, in her frail voice.

Aira's head snapped towards the direction of the words.

"How...how...how do you know that name?"

The other lepers chuckled.

"It is not often that one has the privilege of meeting a fire wolf. You have nothing to fear,your blood makes it impossible for you to be plagued."

Aira nodded slightly,still not feeling very convinced.

Although at this point, nothing really surprised her. It seemed to her that every other person know more about her than she did of herself.

She just silently studied the lepers, shamelessly staring at their bodies without any ounce of pretence.

Their bodies were clearly ailed. They had numb fingers and toes, scaly white skin and some even had glazed eyes as though milk was poured into them.

"I do not want to get infected with leprosy,and you are all lepers!"

Aira's words were straight to the point.

"I do not know what Nna's intention of bringing me here was,but I can not put myself at risk for..."

"For someone so strong,you sure are very foolish!"

A strong motherly voice called out from behind them.

Everyone turned to the direction of the voice.

The woman who Nna called mother, was crawling towards them with Nna flanked by her side.

"What do you..."

"Did your mother not teach you not to call people out by their ailments? She must have failed as a mother,then."

Aira became offended.

How dare this woman talk about mother that way?

"You have no idea what my mother has gone through...do not you dare speak ill of her!"

Aira hissed at the woman.

The woman called mother rolled her eyes before shaking her head sadly.

"You should not feel so entitled to everyone,Aira...not every body owes you something!"

The words were raw and hit a spot.That had put an end to the conversation.

Aira plunged into deep thoughts.

Was she expecting things from everyone?

Yes she was! She had gone through so much and she expected everyone to understand,not caring about others but wanting everybody to sympathise with her.

At this point,it felt as though a sword had been pierced through her heart.

"Mother...Ogadinma..."

The group greeted with a small bow as 'mother' sat in their middle with Nna still standing behind her.

She let out a small smile before flagging her frail hands.

"We have some important matters to discuss!"

She motioned to Nna,as though telling him to speak.

Surprisingly,he begun to speak.

"For many moons,I have sacrificed so much to see the Fire Wolf sit amongst us as she has done today!"

Aira seemed confused.

What did he mean by 'sacrificed'

The other lepers nodded in agreement.

"...and today, the goddess has blessed us to see her finally her here with us!"

Aira was very confused at this point,but she still did not ask any questions.

"For many moons,our mother has told us how the blood of a Fire wolf could heal us all from our plague and now...now... she is finally here with us! She is ready to be used as the sacrifice we need!"

Aira's eyes grew wide as she got up to her feet in a flash.

"What...what are you talking about!?"

Her voice was shaky.

For the first time in her life,she felt genuinely afraid.

Nna smiled a sick smile as he stalked to her side. All hint of playfulness had gone out of his eyes.

"What I am saying is that Mother has been plagued for many moons! She and her brothers and sisters had to live in this part of the pack where no one cares about, being treated like dogs!"

Aira begun to take subtle steps backwards, trying to find a route of escape.

"There is no way to leave here, Fire Wolf...why do you think that I had kept you running in all those circles for that long?"

"You lied to me!"

Nna scoffed out a laugh.

He no longer looked like a twelve moon old,she wondered how old he might truly have been.

"I did not lie,I simply made you follow me and your foolish curiousity could not keep your mind away!"

They were just lepers... they could not harm her! She just had to find a way to shift or create a fire so she...

"Uh..uh! You can not shift out here,poor wolf! Your powers are also very useless! This is Ohiaowehe, the bushes of nothingness."

There was a great moment of silence.

Aira could hear her heart beating erratically, and she felt her feet plant firmly to the ground in terror.

"You were the being whose prescence had been following me ever since I got out of Black Silver Pack!"

The realisation had hit her like a flood.

"Gbam! I wonder why it took so long for you to discover that! Believe me...I...I really hoped you would have discovered sooner,when the circumstances were not so...so...sad."

"Oziza!"

Mother's voice called before Aira could respond to Nna's admission.

Five hefty looking men stepped out of the bushes around them.

They stood tall and menacing,as though daring Aira to try to make any careless moves.

"Prepare the girl for sacrifice!"

As the men walked swiftly towards her,she unsheathed her dagger and held her stance.

If she was going to die today, she would make sure that she took every body her down with her.

Anger and fear begun to control her as she waited for the men to attack,but she stopped to reason...she could not take these men down on her own!

Before the first man struck,a mad idea flashed through her mind.

Immediately,she dove behind Mother, dragging the woman up from the ground,with the dagger placed directly in front of her neck.

She gave a mad laugh as everyone else's face morphed into horror. They clearly weren't expecting that move.

"You know...I have come so far to let a group of evil lepers stop me!"

She shot wicked smile at Nna.

"I do not know who you are but it is very clear that we have both underestimated each other! But I swear to the goddess that if any one of you make a move towards me,I will cut off the head of your precious mother right here!"

Slowly,she begun backing of inside the bushes with mother's neck tight in her grip.

She did not turn back but looked directly into everyone's eyes, especially Nna's.

One of the monster looking man stepped forward, only for Aira to dig the dagger closer into Mother's neck, even drawing blood.

"Do not even dare!"

She warned, barely able to recognize her voice.

"Go...g...go back!"

Mother's voice was tight under the chokehold as her eyes pleaded.

"How...how c...can you even think of hurting an old and weak leper, Aira! Have you no shame?!"

Aira scoffed,still backing off into the bushes which seemed to get further away from her.

"Shame is a luxury I can not afford to have! Maybe one day I would be able to feel shame but not today!"

With those words,she let the woman go,not caring about how she landed before sprinting into the forest like a mad person with the sounds of heavy footsteps pursuing after her.

Run Aira...

Fire's voice called from within her.

Run! You would not be dying today!

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***Author's Note***

Hey everyone!

Guess what? This chapter has 2022 words.

I know right... CRAZY!!

Anyways... sorry for being so slow to update.

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