The Witness of Usehjiki

Six

Kuwin opened his mouth to speak, to refute his claims with affirmations and God's word, but nothing came out. He had grown up, taking for granted the privilege that being a clans-blood afforded him. Now, here he was, on the cusp of his death, forced to question everything he knew. How could such a small key give them wealth, power, and protection from commoners? How could the key pose a threat of doom and hope for salvation, at the same time?

Enechi groaned and slammed his small hands on the couch next to him.

"We don't have time for this, Pastor Kuwin. No one has heard from Oseki ever since the second sister died and now all our keys are gone. If they're trying to do something stupid, it's going to affect all of us, so we need to stop arguing over nonsense."

Before Kuwin could reply, his bell rang again. Sighing in frustration, he went to the door, expecting the bodyguards, but was shocked to find three women standing out there. All of them, with Osa's face.

"Good evening, pastor," the one at the center said. "Can we come in?"

Two of the women slowly began to raise their hands in surrender as their eyes shifted from Kuwin till they were all looking over his shoulder.

When Kuwin turned back to see why and was shocked to find Ahimad and Enechi standing.

With guns in their hands.

"WHY DO YOU HAVE GUNS IN MY HOUSE?" Kuwin yelled, facing the other two men as Enechi's hand went into his jacket and came out with another gun.

"We need your help," the woman in red said as she stepped forward, limping on an injured leg. "If we don't all work together, we could be dead within days."

That had to be Osa.

Kuwin had spent months thinking about that voice. He couldn't miss it anywhere. It had to be her.

"You're seeing three of them, right? I'm not imagining three of them, abi?" Ahimad asked.

"Give me my key," Enechi said.

"We don't have your keys anymore," the woman in a blue sweater said.

"Are you crazy?" Kuwin asked, standing between the men and the women. "You're not going to shoot anyone here. Put the guns down, now!"

"No!" Ahimad said, holding his gun with both hands. "You don't know what she's-you don't know what they're capable of."

Osa had handled Kuwin very easily that night, tossing him to the ground with a suspicious lack of delicacy that she'd used when they made love just minutes prior. It almost seemed like Osa was a different person.

"I've seen what she can do, but you're not going to shoot anyone."

"Please excuse me, Pastor," Osa said as she pushed Kuwin down on the couch and rolled him to the floor. By the time Kuwin understood what was happening, Ahimad's gun was in a woman's hand as she pointed it at Ahimad. The third woman wearing purple seemed to be in a tussle with Enechi, who slipped out of the woman's grasp, turned her arms around, and caught her in a headlock before he placed his gun on her temple. For someone so small, Kuwin was incredibly impressed by how easily Enechi handled the woman.

Meanwhile, presently, Kuwin was on his back, on the ground, while Osa remained on top of him. When he tried to push her off, she resisted.

"Stay down, Pastor. You're safe here."

"Give me my key or I will shoot your sister," Enechi said.

"We're all clans-blood, here. You can't kill any of us," the woman in Enechi's hold said.