going to be only one winner, him.
The glass floor felt cold against his bare
feet as he sneaked across the oval
corridor. He looked at his reflection
coming off the walls for a few seconds.
He looked wild; it was how he wanted to
look. His head was clean shaven except
for a thick line of hair running from his
forehead to the back. He had not
touched his beard in centuries so he was
not surprised it was shaggy. But there
was something else, something he was
not used to; anger. He was a happy
person, the life of the party. He was
mischievous, a trouble maker but never
angry.
Well, until he had been crossed.
He looked away from the walls and
walked on.
“You can’t get away!” A voice rang
through the atmosphere and he stopped.
He closed his eyes and became one with
the air. His opponent was strong but he
could not see the invisible.
“You can’t get away you foul being!” A
female voice shouted so close to him he
jumped. He stepped away off the corridor
and moved towards the male voice.
“Esu, come out!” The male voice
screamed. “You sad excuse for a god,
come, let me teach you a lesson”
Esu smiled and shook his head. They had
no idea what was coming.
***
The light seemed to swim around the
throne, it was one of the most beautiful
things he had seen in his centuries of
existence. The light had several colours
and it always gave him joy to bask in
their sweet fragrance. But not today, not
even the dancing light could ease his
troubled mind.
“They are going to destroy each other my
lord.” Orunmila said as he looked at the
east, eyes drawn together in worry.
“If they must engage in petty fighting like
men, then like men they must be
destroyed.” Edumare, creator of the seven
heavens, answered him.
Orunmila opened his mouth to argue, but
closed it and looked on. He had watched
Edumare make decisions for millennia
and none had failed, if it was his
decision not to intervene in the battle of
the gods, so be it.
“Orunmila.” Edumare called.
“Yes, my lord.”
“You’re my priest, the wise one amongst
the gods. You have stood by my throne
for ages, so you have become my
wisdom.”
“My lord, such accolades don’t belong…”
“I have a question for you Orunmila.”
Edumare said, shifting on his throne to
face Orunmila.
“I’m listening, my lord.”
“How shall the earth and her inhabitants,
the sons of men be in four thousand
years? Can you predict their future?”
“My lord, I’ve been called wise by many
but no god, no matter how wise can
predict the future except you choose to
reveal it.” Orunmila answered, surprised
at the question.
“I know, but give it a try. I want to know
your thoughts.”
“Four thousand years will be the year
twenty fourteen…” Orunmila said quietly
and looked away, deep in thought.
“What do you say? How will man fare?”
Orunmila stood from his chair, walked a
few feet forward and turned around.
“In four thousand years, men will be
corrupt and perverse. They will have
more knowledge but use less and less of
it. They will bring forth wisdom that will
make even gods jealous but will destroy
each other with it. They will suffer but
even in the face of death they will curse
the gods to their faces.”
Orunmila finished and found himself out
of breath. The words had come out of his
mouth without his thinking about it.
“You are right my priest.” Edumare said
with a sigh. “The question is; will the
gods fare better?”
Orunmila sighed and turned towards the
east, lightning and thunder still rang
through the sky. Fiery bursts of different
colours spread across the face of the
sky. He shook his head and turned back
to face the throne.
“My lord, it is hard to tell. But the gods
are not mortal men, surely they will fare
better.”
“Surely, you say. Well, soon we shall
know. Very soon.”
Orunmila turned and looked at him. What
did he mean by soon?
***
Esu looked at Sango and smiled. His trap
was perfect, all he had to do was wait.
He moved closer to Sango as he strutted
towards the trap, his favourite goddess
Oya by his side. They could not see him
still and he had them exactly where he
wanted them.
“Is that him? You are sure?” Sango
reduced his pace and asked pointing at a
shadow in the distance.
“Surely, it is him. Sango, you’re the chief
amongst gods, you are second to none
except Edumare himself. Are you scared
of Esu, that trifling elf?” Oya replied him.
“Of course I’m not!” Sango said, pushing
his chest out. “Esu is tricky, I do not
want to…”
“Sango, you are known as the thunder of
the seven heavens, well six of them. You
are far above any trick Esu brings.”
“Yes, I am!” Sango said and marched
towards the shadow.
Esu smiled and moved a few feet away
from them.
“Here’s the plan.” Sango said. “You will
raise a storm, I will light it up with fire
and hail and we will both bring it down
on him.”
Oya nodded and spreading her hands
upwards she started to conjure a storm.
Esu looked up at the storm gathering, it
was bigger than he expected and he was
grateful he was not the real target. He
watched Sango raise his fist and the
storm became fiery red. They held their
hands in the air and together brought the
fiery storm on the shadow.
Esu opened his mouth in anticipation as
the storm approached the shadow. The
storm hit and almost immediately a bolt
of lightning from the east hit the shadow
too. For a few seconds his eyes shut and
he did not know what was happening.
He opened his eyes and found himself in
the midst of the storm. He looked around
him as the storm spun him around. Oya
was holding tight to Sango as they spun
above him. The storm seemed to be
taking them downwards.
“This is the work of your hands.” A voice
called from below him.
He looked below and saw Ogun. Ogun
had been his involuntary decoy; the
shadow. He had put the target on him
but things had not gone the way he
expected.
“I did not plan this, I swear.” Esu said,
afraid for the first time in his life.
He looked up at Sango and Oya. Sango
looked down and saw him and his face
became red.
“What have you done?!” He screamed and
there was an explosion of light.
Esu closed his eyes against the light,
waited a few seconds until he felt a calm
around him and he opened them.
He looked around, there was no one. He
blinked and rubbed his forehead, a
headache was building. He heard a
sound coming from behind him and he
looked to see a strange being with large
shiny eyes approach him, it was coming
at a high speed, it made a screeching
sound and sped past him. He stood
slowly to his feet but dropped back to
the ground immediately. He was naked!
He looked up and saw a large object in
the sky with a man’s face on it, he was
saying something. His face goes off the
object and a scantily clad woman walks
around on the object. The light started to
hurt his eyes and he looked away.
He crawled away from the object and
towards a darker place. He reached a
wall and stopped. He sat against the
wall and held his head in his hand.
Where was he?
“Hey dude!” A voice said beside him.
He jumped and scrambled away
“Hey man, it’s okay, I’m homeless too.
You want some coke? Stole it off a kid in
the park.”
Esu looked at the man speaking to him,
he was dressed in rags and stank. Who
was this man? Where was he?
“My name is Folusho. What is your
name?” The man continued. If he was
going to find out where he was, the man
was probably his best bet.”
“My name, my name is…” Esu started.
“Yes? What’s your name?”
“My na… na… name…” He stuttered and
stopped. Beads of sweat formed on his
face as he came to a sudden realisation.
He had no idea what he name was. He
had no idea who he was.
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Watch out for chapter 1
