Efezino sat in front of the mirror on her dresser, dusting her cheeks with green eyeshadow and red blush. She smashed an eyeshadow blush into a heavily glittery metallic purple eyeshadow and coated her eyes with a thick layer. She finished off with shiny black lip gloss and large fake eyelashes. She picked her phone from the dresser and dialed a number. The person picked up immediately. "Hello, Landlady? I taught Dumebi. When is Agnes coming to drop my rooster and human heart? If Iya Dorcas's children arrive, they will not see anything to practice with! Landlady, let me ask you something. Is it that Iya Dorcas doesn't want her children again? I have never seen a mother hand over her children for sacrifice like this." She scratched her butt again.
"Efezino, calm down. Those are children born out of wedlock, and she raised them secretly. This ritual is like a favor to her from me. Getting rid of the children she loathes is the least I can do for her right now. Agnes will bring everything for you, including the small silver knife. She already used the perfume. This time, you should make sure that those children sacrifice the other. We can only move to the next step if they die. I trust you and your ability enough, so I won't talk much. Baba Jide also told me that he liked your bones. They were very fresh." Efezino jammed her finger into her buttcrack and scratched hard. She sniffed her finger momentarily before rubbing it on her cheek.
"Thank you, Landlady. This time, you can trust me that your sacrifice will not be in vain. Baba Jide should enjoy my bones very well! I had to steal them from a pregnant woman! Thank you, Landlady, goodnight." She cut the call immediately and slipped her feet into sharp heeled black open-toed pumps. In her room, she opened a large padlock on a large brown leather suitcase with a rusty iron key. It fell on the floor with a thud. She ripped open the bag to reveal a piece of charred wood, a broken Bic black Bic pen, a metal flask, and three red peppers. She spat on the peppers and closed the bag. She dragged it out to the parlor. After dropping the bag, she walked to the kitchen to prepare orange juice and fried meat. Mama Agnes knocked on the door as soon as Efe dropped the food on a stool.
Efe opened the door and received Mama Agnes with open arms. "Agnes, darling! You look fresh! See how Landlady's money is making you fat o!" Mama Agnes slapped her thigh and hissed jokingly. "Efe, this your mouth will not kill me. See the knife Landlady gave me to give you. Those children that are coming, they can kill themselves for money. Just one thousand naira will make them slit their throats!" Mama Agnes gave Efe a black nylon bag. Efe beamed in delight as her eyes roamed its contents. Mama Agnes went ahead of her way to get extra materials for the ritual. She brought a rooster, a silver knife with a gem embedded in its handle, a fresh, bloody heart, a ball of red yarn, Maggi cubes, and a small bundle of Ogbono leaves. Efe's eyes twinkled with excitement. Mama collected a brown envelope in Efe's hands and rushed away. Efe went in to arrange the remaining items, and by the time she was done, someone knocked on her door.
She answered the door. Two boys stood before her, holding a blue cooler. "Good evening, ma. Thank you for welcoming us here." The boys were dark-skinned and covered in black spots. They were twins. Their noses were flat and broad, their hands were large and clammy, and their legs were thin and spindly. Efezino shuddered in disgust. The other children Landlady sent to her were much easier to look at. "Enter inside and sit down. Don't touch anything!" They dragged their feet on her carpet and sat in the middle of the things she arranged. She pulled her pant from between her buttocks and started talking. "This is very important. I am not going to repeat myself! Add the Maggi, Ogbono leaves and the heart first, then use the knife to cut the rooster's leg. When you're done, tie the wool around the other leg and cut it as well. Cut the neck and allow the blood to fill the bowl. Wait for ten minutes." The twins followed her instructions well. In no time they completed the first stage of the ritual. Instead of a calabash, Efe gave them a copper bowl to use. She needed it for the sacrifice, which required fresh blood from a dead twin.
The twins played with the mixture in the bowl. It turned brown and looked like a sort of chicken soup with thick red blobs and two chicken feet sticking out. Efe lighted a grey and orange incense stick. Faint red smoke dispersed into the air and permeated the carpet. The twins scrunched their noses as they perceived the stench of rotting yam porridge and black Lipton tea. Efe pulled out some money from a bag and pretended to count it. One of the twins who had a large dark birthmark on his forehead stared at her. Her fingers deftly counting and sorting out naira notes made his mouth water. His twin was playing with one of the feet sticking out of the mixture. Efe smirked to herself when she identified the Hara, the killer twin. The one playing with the feer was the Garia, the killed twin. In this ritual, the Hara was the twin with the darker, more evil heart, and the Garia was the twin with the pure heart. She took the clammy hand of the Hara and moved to an empty room. "I see the fire in your eyes. What is it that you want the most?"
He looked around and coughed before speaking. "I want to be older, rich, and handsome, so I will be making love to five girls every night like my daddy, and so I will kill mummy." Efezino cackled in her mind as she realized the naivety of this boy. Iya Dorcas was about four ranks below her in terms of juju, but she was not to be played with. She scratched her armpit and dusted his head. She pulled out a brown leather parcel which surprisingly didn't fall from her breasts and handed it to him. He ripped it open to reveal a knife. "Do you know where to stab?" "The heart, then the right thigh, then the right hand, and the left thumb." Only Efezino could see the thick, scaly rope wrapped around his wrist. The boy accepted his fate and role as the Hara. She nodded, pleased that this generation's Hara did not need any coaxing or lessons. He slit his left index finger and middle finger and sucked the blood gushing out, then he rubbed the bloody tip of the knife on his eyes. The rope was now on his shoulder. He walked out slowly with the knife hidden in his jean pocket. Efe stood in the room as she heard agonizing screams from the parlor. "Brother! Stop! Leave me alone! Why are you doing this to me, ah!"
The Garia lay on the floor, bloody and battered. As if stabbing his twin to death was not enough, the Hara busted his twin's skull and broke his shoulder. His right arm was loose and detached from his chest. His eyes dimmed, and he soon passed away. The Hara grinned as he looked at the blood splattered on his shoes and the carpet.
The sacrifice had only reached the second stage.
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Hey guys! I'm glad I'm able to churn out more chapters more frequently now! 💎🌹 I wasn't the best at keeping to update schedules during school time, and I'm glad to have more time to make up for it. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please, please, please vote!⭐⭐ I hope to see you in the comments, as I barely see you guys around these days! In the meantime, stay tuned and stay safe!🦆❤''
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I Know My Mother👩🏽(IKMM)✅
Mystery / ThrillerAfter Nneka's father almost loses his life and farm, her mother mysteriously vanishes. She then moves to Lagos to live with her grandmother, but she soon finds there's more to her grandmother's life than she knows. While hawking, she meets a boy...
