Deities of Deceit

Chapter Five

Nimah Eze | Five
The Snake Mountain
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Through another servant, I passed along my message of approval to Iman and by dusk the next day, I received a scroll, containing details about her planned assassination. It was written in a coded language only few servants could understand.

As I read, it became clear to me Iman had anticipated my answer even before I gave it. The gathering Ada Fadimah was set to a hold was an Odogwu. A traditional wrestling match that only held under a full moon night during the new yam festival. Citizens of Arjana poured out in droves to watch high born Obi's and Ada's wrestle to prove their importance through the ultimate test of physical dominance.

The match was held in the largest shrine to Amadioha in all of Arjana. A round colosseum with a fifteen story high wall that could normally hold over seventy thousand people. The roar and chants from the crowd, cheering their favorite contestants could be heard thousands of miles away, throughout the kingdom.

It was known to be brutal and bloodthirsty. There were absolutely no rules once the match began except 'no death'.

Igbankwu was known for grace and elegance, not blood and pain. Only a few hundred citizens were invited that night. I knew the moment I read the scrolls the only reason Ada Fadimah would organize an Odogwu in the middle of Igbankwu would be because Iman asked for it. Her favor towards Iman knew no bounds.

I spent more time than ever in Ala's shrine those two weeks before the Odogwu. Begging for forgiveness and mercy. Mama was elated about my new found devotion to Ala and I was dying of guilt. I wondered if she saw the guilt on my face, and the traces of fear, but chose not to say anything. Mama could always read her children, better than the royal scholars could read a scroll.

The day came when the sun set and it was time to escort Udume to the Odogwu. Following Iman's plan, once the match began, I was to sneak away into the back passage of the colosseum and find the servant with a white scarf tied on her arm. We only had until 5am when the wrestling match came to a close. I needed to be back in the colosseum before then.

White people across the kingdom were banned from entering certain areas in the colosseum, unless invited by a high born, and even then, it was looked at with disdain. The private oiling chambers where the Obi's and Ada's would normally be stripped and oiled in preparation of the wrestling was one of those places.

Udume and I arrived by the entrance and just when he handed me his Obi attire and turned towards the entrance, Yarima Abubakar, the man who Udume was trying so hard to impress, stepped out, wearing nothing but a small wrapper to cover his bulging cock.

Yarima was built like a god. Six foot two, long black locs that dangled along his waist, muscles that attempted to tear the very fabric of his skin. He was sculpted to perfection in every corner of his body. With his deep dark skin oiled to perfection, his body glistened.

I had seen him once before during a festival, in a carriage as he waved to the people. But never—never that up close, never that bare. It struck me with a sickening shiver and my throat collapsed on me, making it difficult to swallow. I couldn't fathom how a man like him could share the same cravings as me.

Floggings, chaining, pain, those were for white people. No black man in all of Arjana knew what it was like to be subdued, stepped on, spat on, mocked and degraded. How could he, of all people, possibly crave those things? How could he want it?

"General, Jookwah." Udume bowed slightly.

"Udume," he called. I expected his voice to sound like a roar, but it came smooth and gentle, caressing my ear pleasingly. "I hear we've been paired for a match."