Chapter 7
1289 Words
I close my eyes and listen to his words—“No matter how good it feels, it is not from Oshun or any of the gods. It’s a curse from a demonic indwelling: the curse of licentiousness and s****l depravity”—and drift past the curtains of my mind, traveling through space and spirits, screams of passion echoing around me, loud and climactic. I’m so titillated that the lure of the fires of erogenous stimulation is immense. I want to be consumed by them, but I must be strong. Must find the non-conformity in such oneness of spirits. Must fight the overpowering sensualness my brain interprets as tongue, teeth, and lips upon my body parts. Lovers pause to catch their breaths, their erotic compulsions never far away. It is the case with all except one.
One lover is satiated with s*x and not eager for more. This person is regaining calories and savoring a scrumptious meal—I don’t know what. If it were me, it would be grilled fish. Time to unfocus.
I open my eyes.
Ajasin, Adeniki, and the others are waiting for me.
“Well?” Ajasin asks.
“I will take you to him—”
“Good, good. Lead the way.”
“—on one condition.”
“You cannot give us conditions. Like the rest of us, you are a servant of the gods.”
“So I am giving the gods a condition for my service.”
“You have lost your mind.”
“Do you want to know what my condition is?”
“Speak.”
“Take the Seed and leave. Spare the others. There must be no m******e. Not a single blood spill.”
“You think you’re being compassionate. But in this situation, your emotion is a weakness that blinds you. If you do this, you will be changing the course of destiny. The world will be the worse for it. Don’t question. Just obey the command of the gods—the instruction we give you. We don’t tinker with these things.”
“You won’t witness any bloodshed,” Adeniki blurts. “We promise to take you far away from this place as soon as you show us the Seed.”
“I will have it on my conscience,” I say. “My answer is no, thank you.”
“You cannot change your mind in the middle of a mission,” Ajasin yells. “You should have told us this before now.”
“Look,” Badimun says to me. “Those people down there are deviants. There is no restitution for them. Their lecherous and incestuous lives must end today so that they might reincarnate and try again. It’s their best bet. If they continue like this, Orun Apadi will be their home. And you know there is no returning from that.”
“It is my way or I won’t be a part of it,” I say dismissively.
The others clasp Ajasin as he lunges at me. They drag him back and whisper in his ears, trying to calm him.
“Let me kill him.” Ajasin struggles in the clutches of three others. “Do you know who we are? This is madness. Madness. Should you succeed, I promise you one thing: we will find you and kill you for this treachery.” As his men guide him away, he screams. "You will lose your life for this, Oracle. I swear it.”
“By protecting deviants, you become a deviant yourself,” Badimun says to me, “and there are consequences.”
“I don’t care,” I retort. “I’m not afraid of death.”
Speaking to Badimun, Adeniki says, “There is no time. The curse’s effect will soon wear off, and everyone will disperse. We need to act now.”
“Ajasin—”
“Ajasin is too emotional right now to make rational decisions. You are the next in command, Badimun.”
“I need to confer with him. Excuse me. I will be back.”
Adeniki shakes his head as Badimun paces towards the men gathered around an irate Ajasin.
“Think about what you’re doing?” he mutters to me.
“I’ve thought about it,” I say. “Nobody dies. And that’s that.”
Badimun scuffles uphill back to us.
“We accept your terms,” he says, panting. “Give us the Seed.”
“No harm will come to me or anyone?” I ask.
“No harm. We give you our word.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“We are men of honor. We do not use underhanded means to achieve our aims. You can rest assured that the Afefe’s word is his bond.”
“Take off your armbands. All of you.”
“What?”
“You might be sincere, but I need to make sure we are all in agreement and there will be no dissent.”
I make them remove their talismans, join hands, and form a circle around me. Ajasin obeys grudgingly. For the first time, I feel his spirit... and nineteen others. They brim with hate. I feel it. It’s bitter. Malicious. They wish me harm, that much is clear. What I don’t know is whether they will keep their word or strike me down the moment I reveal the Seed.
So much for my plan to learn if I can trust them.
“Now listen,” I say to them. “This is what we will do. I believe it only takes one or two of you to capture the Seed, so only Badimun and Adeniki will enter the caves with me. The rest of you are not to follow. I will keep your talismans to make sure you don’t. I will deliver the Seed to your comrades when the orgy is over and the ‘deviants’ have left.”
“You better hurry up,” Ajasin says. “Their screams of passion are lessening fast.”
I hand Badimun and Adeniki an armband each, gather the rest into a sack, throw it over my shoulder, and plod down the valley.
I'm looking for someone who is neither resting nor coupling but binging on food. In the swarm of possessed minds, I can tell a free consciousness from its unique impulses. But I'm afraid this will be impossible if the oneness in desire I had felt among the lovers won’t be disrupted by a singular craving.
Inside the caves, torches wedged into jagged cracks flicker low, casting tremulous shadows on the damp stone. The air is thick with sweat. In the wavering glow, naked bodies pivot against the walls and move hip to hip, breath rising to a slow, rhythmic chorus. I push past slick skins, charging deeper into the caves, Badimun and Adeniki in pursuit. Finding myself at the apex of a sloping fire-lit chamber, the view before me sends a charge to my member.
A tangle of arms and legs spread like spiders against the cave walls as three bodies joined at orifices tighten and pulsate, loose flesh twitching relentlessly. Gasps and grunts echo around the cavern like the chants of demons. Some are crying, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary—I’ve heard that orgasms can bring you to tears. My investigation reveals regret and shame as the stimulus. A woman pushes away her male partner, disgusted by his old frame. This could only mean… the effect of the curse is fading, and people are returning to their senses. They are severing their ties to that refractory instinct to penetrate or be penetrated. I’ll never find the Seed now.
- Writer
