When Gods Bleed Read Online Free PDF Page B

the Wovamee to the chief died mysteriously. Gbangba looked for a million excuses to kill the general, but he was good at covering his tracks and was loved by both his Omees and the elders. The Tikpapa was not so fortunate; he was killed by the general for treason. The general claimed to have killed him immediately after he told him about assassinating his beloved chief. Gbangba knew that the Tikpapa was killed to cover all the loopholes, but he really did not mind the loss. Now he had only the general to take care of.
     
    The burial of Obi’s father was not too ceremonial; a few commoners came and danced around his grave and some poured palm wine on it. His wife was kept in seclusion from everybody for a week, except her daughters who provided her food and anything she desired.
    Obi looked at everyone dancing and rejoicing at his father’s burial. His father told all of his children he wanted them to be happy when he died because he lived a good life and he expected them to dance vigorously. Ifeanyi raised him as an Omee, taught him about the art of physical combat, the different poisons and their antidotes, to understand the deception of man, and gave him systematic information on the laws and politics of the land.
    On more than one occasion, Nneka told Obi about his real mother, but he would always say that she was his only mother. She died immediately after she came out of seclusion at the end of the funeral. Nobody could detect what she died of, but everyone knew she went in search of her husband's soul. Nneka’s funeral was not crowded because she was a woman of lower respect. Top delegates from her province of Utagba were present. The people who came were of a younger age than she was because it was forbidden to go to the funeral of someone younger.
    The people from his mother's province were known for their loyalty to anyone who was still accepted by them. The men from Utagba gave Obi a chain made out of the teeth of lions, letting him know that he had a home at Utagba at anytime. The whole funeral was organized by Obi; he was the only son in the house and the first daughter did the cooking for everyone in the funeral, as was custom.
    His two sisters were both married and he cared deeply for them . He was positive when they left he would drown in an intense form of loneliness. Obi wished the funeral would last forever so he could feel the presence of his parents within him. When the ceremony was over and everyone had gone, his sisters stayed with him for a while.
    After they had gone back to their former lives, Obi started work ing on the family land. Day after day, he tilled the soil. In the evenings, he sold the antidotes for different kinds of poisons. He never left his land for anything pleasurable. Traders came to his farm because his harvest grew in a very healthy fashion. Alone at night Obi wondered about who his father was planning to arrange for him to marry; all he knew was that she was the daughter of another Ikaza named Ikpong.
    On one of those provocative sunny days a man came to his home with a haughty aura. His horses were a fine breed and he was escorted by more servants than was required. The man definitely dwelt in the realm of luxury and he was not an Omee; he did not have the beads on his hands to show his position in society. He walked through the land with a certain determination that made its owner come into view.
    “May I help you?” Obi asked politely.
    “Depends. Who owns this land?” the man said as he continued walking around the farm.
    “If you are talking to me, I suggest you stand and look me in the eye whilst you speak, or else you leave my property.”
    “I take it you are the son of the Ikaza who owns the land.”
    Obi did not say a word, but kept his eyes locked on the man.
    “I am Okonjo. Some say I am the greatest merchant who has seen this earth, but I just let them know I am an ordinary man. I have lots of things to do. I came to inspect this land they say flourishes