Chapter Seven - Pain

Still on the Rave God Reruns

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Moremi tumbled to the ground beside the comatose Oduduwa and unconscious oya. Her kneecap gave a horrible sound as pain lanced through every fiber of her being. The stupid girl had tossed them outside Oyo Ile! The fall would have splattered a human but she could already feel her torn ligaments knitting back together. She would give that upstart tweet a piece of her mind if she had to strike her with lightning herself. Ode landed slowly beside her; he had enough time to slow the fall that was caused by Omotola launching them out on that pocket of air from the palace. It was impressive though, she herself could only just manage to carry that amount of barely and definitely not to launch them that far.

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Ode turned to her, a cut on his face leaking blue blood as he held Oduduwa down and pulled the knife abruptly from his shoulder. Oduduwa groaned and his eyes fluttered open. Ode wasted no time and turned to Oya, his hands glowing as he tried to bring her back to consciousness.
‘Where is Omotola’, Oduduwa said weakly.
‘She was taken’, Ode replied, his tone brisk and cold.
‘What?’ moremi said before she could stop herself.
‘She couldn’t escape with us’, Ode gritted out, ‘They were seven! How come we didn’t know they were seven? When did the number of the Nupe Gods reach seven?
Moremi just opened her mouth and closed it back. So the girl sacrificed herself for them. There was no helping her now. They would drain all her powers before sunrise. That was the fate of a captured god.
‘We have to go back for her’, Oduduwa said as he tried to lift himself from the propped up position Ode left him in.
Moremi held him down. ‘Remember you have been struck by a divine weapon, you are in no shape to get beaten up again’. He glared at her but she held his gaze till he sighed and looked away.
Oya came to with a gasp as she scanned her surroundings, letting out a small sigh of relief when she saw the rest of them. She smiled a small smile which quickly turned into a frown when she noticed that one of them was missing. She looked at Oduduwa quickly and he gave a small nod, confirming her suspicions. She growled and stood up, gathering her godly power around her, ready to storm the citadel. She and Omotola had grown close on their journey and she had taken her as a godsister. She would go to the depths of hell to free Omotola even if it meant her own death.
Ode rose up from his kneeling position where he had been healing Oya and said in a deadly quiet voice.

‘I will go back for her’.
Moremi spoke up angrily, her eyes blazing. ‘This is ridiculous, we all know there is nothing we can do for her. She will only remain a husk by morning’.
’No’, Oduduwa said. ‘She is not like us, her power comes from within. She will be like a never ending source of power for them. A battery of divine power. They will keep her alive if only for this’
‘But how is that any better?’ Oya burst out. Who would want to live after going through something like that once, not to talk of repeatedly? From seven gods! I’d rather die!’
‘I’m afraid that is the only chance Omotola has of making it out of this alive.’
‘How do you propose to get into the city?’ moremi sneered, ‘the moment you step foot into the citadel, they will know exactly where you are and be on top of you before you can take a breath.’
‘Not if I give up my divinity’ Ode said faintly.
The silence that followed was so loud that it was deafening. Before Moremi could open her mouth to say anything Ode continued.
‘I have made up my mind. I will give up my divinity for seven days. After seven days it would come back to me. All I have to do is work my way to be beside Omotola when it happens. Then break her out immediately’, he finished.
‘It is a risky plan’, Oduduwa breathed, grimacing with pain from his shoulder. ‘So many things could go wrong. You would be mortal, you could be killed, or worse your divinity could come back before you have a chance to get close to Omotola’.
‘It is the only plan we’ve got’ Ode growled. ‘She saved our lives; I for one will not leave that debt unpaid’. And with that, he looked to the sky, his lips moving softly, asking Olodumare to receive his divinity.
Abruptly, power rushed out of him and blazed into the sky. He staggered and looked at the remaining gods. He was mortal now.
They looked at him once, almost regretfully and turned their backs on him. It was done. Mortals had no place among gods. He turned and began the trek back to the capital.

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Omotola came to slowly with a grimace. She was developing a knack for being knocked out every time. The last time when she was knocked out was when she officially met Oduduwa and his crew. This time was very different. She raised her head up to meet the cold green eyes of seven gods, each dressed in divine armor. She instinctively drew on the well of power inside her and found it was empty. She panicked and dug deeper and deeper, frantically tearing at the walls of the well, looking for any shred of power. It was there, pulsing softly, but barely enough to blow breeze sufficient enough kill a candle light.
The gods were almost identical but with varying degrees of height but the same cold green eyes.
‘What is your name?’ the leader asked.
Omotola drew on her dignity and faced them coldly. She kept silent and looked at them with as much significance as one paid to an ant on the wall.
Then it began. The first jolt of power lanced through her and she gritted her teeth. She would not give them the pleasure of seeing her break down. Then it increased, each of the seven sending massive bolts of power into her system. At the tenth stroke she left out a soft whimper. More and more bolts lashed at her repeatedly.

Her screams rang through the whole of Oyo ile long before they reached the 20th stroke

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CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX