by Reni K Amayo
Naala stood astounded as black marks appeared on her left hand. Strange markings that she couldn’t place. Nsibidi? No, this was something else. Something magical, she thought, as the markings settled on her hand. Before she could think, the black and gold realm suddenly appeared before her, circling her like a large snake. She was coiled in its thick smoky mist, like the dust clouds she used to create in her village, but black with speckles of bright gold—just as Bayo had said.
‘Let’s go,’ Eni said, breaking her from her thoughts, causing the black and gold mist to vanish.
The five of them walked through the halls on high alert. The urge to run was so strong, but it would only lead to even more suspicion. All they could do was walk, a slow torturous pace that was synonymous with the rich, lazy nobles that they were pretending to be.
He’s going to kill me! I shouldn’t be here.
Naala stopped dead in her tracks and gasped. Her hand went to her heart as an unknown but familiar voice rang in her head. She felt a rush of emotions: fear, anger, and despair all at once. That voice wrapped around Naala’s heart and tugged her towards it. She couldn’t leave, she needed to find it, she needed to save her. Naala had never felt an urge as great as this before; she felt as though she would die if she did not follow it.
‘What’s wrong?’ Eni asked, as he turned to find Naala bent over with her hands on her knees.
‘I need to go to her,’ Naala breathed; every second she resisted the pull towards the voice, she felt a tightening pressure against her heart.
‘Who?’ Eni asked, as cold fear ran up his back.
‘I need to go,’ Naala gasped, before dashing away from the group and towards the nameless voice.
‘No, no, no, no, no! Where is she going? She has the crystal,’ Okeke cried, before sounds of a commotion broke out.
Naala whipped her head around to see Eni knocking the daga that Okeke had aimed towards her, out of his hand, while Madi pushed away a passer-by who suddenly started to charge at Eni. Kora watched, stunned.
More wooden darts whistled through the air, but this time Naala raised her hand in and drew power from the black realm. The darts stopped in their flight and clattered to the floor, as Naala turned a corner.
THE NDỤ CRYSTAL
CITY OF NRI
SINAI WANTED TO SCREAM, but she couldn’t make a sound. Her back was pressed against the Eze’s walls, and her arms pinned above her head. She watched as the Eze circled the large stone table in the middle of his room. The table held five tiny people made from sand, brought to life by the Eze’s hand. One of the people broke away from the group and ran off the edge of the table before exploding back into a small pile of sand on the floor.
The Eze let out a cruel laugh as he watched.
‘Yes, little one, bring me back Ndụ,’ he muttered, before turning slowly back to Sinai.
‘So Ala’s supposed daughters have come at last!’ he exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and beating at his chest. A manic look flashed across his face, but vanished quickly, and the Eze’s profile was expressionless again. He let his arms fall to his sides before stalking towards her. ‘I’m sure you expected me to be afraid?’
Sinai tried again to move, but all she could manage were small shuffles within her invisible chains. The Eze stroked her cheek, and Sinai roared silently within herself. His touch felt like scorching flames. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her breathing increased into rapid short bursts, but she remained stuck to the wall.
The Eze smirked.
‘Admittedly one might have said that … at one point anyway … that I was … afraid.’ He spat the word as though it was poison. ‘Can you believe it, me—a whole Eze—as great as I am, as weak as you are—I was afraid, of what? A whore’s prophecy!’ He looked at her with pure hatred.
‘For years all I could think about was the two of you coming to hunt me down in the dead of the night. Until one day I decided to take matters into my hands. You see, the whore said that you would come as twins. So I made sure that every twin born in Nri was slaughtered.
‘That settled me for some time, but then, whilst on a visit, I spotted two boys with the same face in one of those villages. You see, people in the cities are easy to track, everything is recorded, everything is monitored— but in the villages …’ he swivelled around and faced her, his eyes burning with fury.
‘They are all treacherous. Can you imagine it? Keeping secrets, disobeying my law. After everything I did for all of them. I saved every single one of them. Me! I sacrificed my soul—and what did they do? Betray me,’ he snarled through clenched teeth, before taking in a deep breath and draining all emotion from his face.
‘You see the problem is, there are too many of them. Too many people roaming the earth, causing trouble, creating ripples everywhere they go. The more people, the wider the net, the lower chances of complete control,’ he noted, as he swivelled a finger lightly on the edge of the table. ‘Some of them have to go. These remote villages are where the problems always start. So one by one I am wiping them all out,’ he said, as he flung the sand off the table.
‘I embarked on creating yet another new order. A kingdom with less people to track, a kingdom without any villages. Just a nucleus of the best, most loyal people. And why not? Am I not the Eze of Nri? The people’s champion? Am I not the Mother’s slayer? I can provide all the food and material that the cities need with the Ndụ crystal. So what do I need villages for? I have never needed those villages—they are no use—and since the villagers refuse to obey me, what else is there left to do but to wipe them out?’ The Eze mused, as he dusted his hands. A sickening smirk crept again over his face.
‘But you,’ he said, drawing closer to her. ‘You wormed your way out of my grasp—an efuọla! Hiding right under my nose. I should have known,’ he murmured, as his nose flared and he poked his finger repeatedly into his head. ‘But I found out! I always find out! I discovered you and her—I bet you thought that stunt at the mountain was clever! All it did was confirm the suspicions that I already had!
‘Mmos! That witch had me believe that you were actually born of Ala! You are nothing more than mere mmos, HA! What could a mmo do against me?’ he hissed. ‘I have had the Ndụ crystal for centuries; its power has filtered into my soul for centuries. I am a master of the black realm. How could you possibly kill me?’ the Eze screamed, as his eyes searched Sinai’s face desperately. Sinai willed herself away from him.
The Eze turned from her in disgust. ‘Weak, that’s what you are. That’s what I have been afraid of! Can you imagine? I even gave you fuel for your fire,’ he continued incredulously. ‘After Udi, I could have come back here and killed you straight away. But alas, I am merciful, I am fair. I gave you the chance to face me at your full potential. I wanted you to come to me. I wanted to feel your wrath—I wanted you at your peak when I crushed you alive. So I killed your treacherous mentor. I handed it over to you—all the pain that you needed to access your full potential, and even then all you could muster was a little bit of wind.’ The Eze flung his hand dismissively in the air and a gust of wind whipped through the room, gathering all the grains of sand before settling them back on the table. The Eze broke into another manic laugh before turning back to Sinai.
‘This is who she sent to kill me!’ the Eze roared. The room fell into a deathly silence as the Eze stalked towards Sinai, his eyes thundered with rage. Sinai’s body filled with dread. She needed to run. She needed to scream so loudly that her throat bled raw. But all she could do was wait. The Eze cupped a hand around her throat. A blind and all-consuming pain coursed through Sinai’s body. In that moment, all she was, all she knew, was hot, unrelenting agony. The Eze lifted her in the air, not with his hands alone, but with a strange, charged, green, lightning substance.
Sinai couldn’t breathe.
She did not want to breathe. She longed for the comfort of a sweet, dark death that would release her from the Eze’s torment. In due time, the pain lessened somewhat and
Sinai began her descent. She closed her eyes and succumbed to the deep beyond. Seconds later her body slackened lifelessly.
With a flick of his wrist, the Eze flung her vacant body behind him. He straightened his isiagu and wiped sweat from his brow. He stood for several minutes, waiting for the door to fling open. When it did, he smiled.
Naala stumbled into the room breathlessly. The large, exquisite space was almost dizzying, filled with bright gold ornaments, encrusted with sparkling stones; gleaming marbles and polished woods. It took Naala a moment to come to grips with what was happening.
When she did, it hit her like a punch in the stomach. A large powerful man watched her from the right side of the room, like a beast stalking a new prey. She looked at him wordlessly as he strode towards the centre of the room, the thick furs on his shoulders ruffling.
The Eze.
Naala gulped as he stood squarely before her; behind him a figure lay slumped on the floor.
Naala’s heart contracted, but not solely from fear. Naala had accepted her fear long ago; she wore it like a scar that she could do nothing else with. However, she was surprised to find sorrow also coursing through her veins. Deep sorrow for whomever lay lifelessly on the floor. The person that she was called to save. Once again she had failed, but this time, somehow, it felt so much worse.
‘So here is the other one,’ the Eze said darkly, as he flicked his wrists twice. Naala’s heart skipped a beat as she felt the Mother’s crystal breaking out of her tight clasp.
No! she screamed silently, as she tried desperately to keep hold of the Ndụ crystal. But try as she might, she could not stop it from nudging out of her quivering fingers, cutting across her skin until finally it pulled away from her grasp. The emerald crystal zoomed through the air with the same determination as a bloodthirsty hawk zeroing in on its prey. The crystal reached the Eze’s hand.
Then it flew past it.
His face contorted with violent wrath as he looked incredulously at his empty hand. He swivelled to find the crystal hovering over Sinai’s lifeless body.
The Eze let out a vicious snarl and edged towards the fallen girl. Naala looked from the Eze to the girl lying on the floor and then back towards the crystal. He can’t get it, she thought desperately, before springing towards him and leaping on his back. Naala caught the Eze by surprise. She called on loose pieces of wood, lying unburned in a fireplace nearby, to bind his hands. The wood formed chains as she dug her fingers into his eyes. His piercing roar shook Naala to her core, but she refused to waver. He can’t get it!
Sinai’s body began to lift weightlessly into the air. Her head and feet dangled as her torso drew closer and closer to the illuminated crystal. The index finger on her right hand suddenly twitched. With her eyes closed and her throat breathless, Sinai’s right arm reached up blindly towards the crystal. As soon as the tips of her fingers brushed against the surface of the powerful crystal, Sinai let out a loud and strangled breath. She cupped the crystal in her hand as she crashed unceremoniously to the floor.
Naala and the Eze ceased their struggle momentarily. The Eze roared as Sinai scrambled up from the floor, the Ndụ crystal gleaming in her hand. He jerked his body violently and Naala tumbled to the tiles in front of him, just a hair’s breadth away from her sister. She sprang up defensively.
‘So you are going to make this a little more interesting, I see—that’s fine,’ the Eze rasped. Naala’s wooden chains burst unceremoniously from his hands as he raised them, and curls of green smoke coiled his palms. ‘You will both die by my hand and that curse will be broken forever. The Mother will die forever and Amadioha’s rule will never end.’ He narrowed his eyes, curling his left hand into a fist.
Sinai stumbled forward as the crystal in her hand nudged towards the Eze.
‘No!’ she shrieked. Naala watched the scene with horror. Seconds later, she instinctively drew her left hand towards the Mother’s crystal. She placed her hand over Sinai’s and the fingers that had once pressed against Ezinne’s stomach all that time ago, now extended over one another for the first time in years.
A deep red colour suddenly bled into the Mother’s crystal, as bright and potent as fresh blood.
In that moment, everything changed.
Something inexplicably powerful exploded between both of them. The room erupted in a golden bright light. Suddenly a burst of deep black mist, speckled with gold dust, engulfed both Naala and Sinai. Their eyes filled with a golden glow as they looked at the red crystal in their hands.
The Eze looked on in shock, before roaring in anger as he rushed towards the girls.
Without warning, the black and gold mist exploded with a resounding force throughout the room. The various artefacts and furniture, used to decorate the elaborate chamber, suddenly shattered into tiny pieces.
The Eze blinked wordlessly, his jaw clenching, and his muscles tensed. He stumbled towards the two girls, the light dimming behind his frozen eyes, but before he could reach them, he crumbled to the floor and burst into a cloud of grey dust.
The mighty Eze was gone.
THE DAUGHTERS OF NRI
CITY OF NRI
NAALA AND SINAI breathed out simultaneously as though an unseen force had suddenly let go of its iron grip on their throats. They released each other’s hands slowly. The Mother’s crystal hovered weightlessly between them.
Sinai looked at the girl who had just helped her to defeat Eze Ochichiri.
Esinaala
A light, almost musical, voice whispered delicately in her mind. Sinai blinked as her heart raced furiously. She was pleased to find that she was not afraid. Unlike the voice she had heard in Meekulu’s cave that had left her feeling uncertain and nervous, this voice made Sinai feel completely at peace. She knew something phenomenal was happening. Sinai accepted that she did not understand it and she knew that she was exactly where she needed to be. The face of the other girl was so recognisable, so familiar, that she could have sworn that she had known her for years.
‘I know you,’ she whispered incredulously.
‘The Eze is dead,’ Naala murmured back in a daze. She too felt that something about the other girl, her face, her voice, her scent, felt exactly like home. Naala couldn’t even begin to comprehend it. She couldn’t comprehend any of it.
The Eze is dead, she thought. Grey dust floated weightlessly in wispy beams of bright yellow sunlight. Her family was finally avenged and the threat of the Eze’s rule was gone. Yet she did not feel at peace. She felt as though she had suddenly been thrust into a new world. A world full of uncertainties, hidden demons, and bitter consequences. Naala closed her eyes and took a deep breath in.
‘Esinaala, I know you,’ Sinai repeated, as she watched the girl carefully. A flash of shock rippled through Naala. It jolted her awake and her mind churned. How does this girl know my name? The question pounded through Naala’s head as she opened her eyes and settled them on Sinai.
The other girl was utterly serene. Her eyes gleamed with something bright and magical, something Naala had only seen in her forgotten dreams. A sense of recognition leapt between the girls, and Naala’s heart suddenly felt full.
‘Who are you?’ Naala asked softly.
‘I don’t know,’ Sinai replied with a laugh, as one tear gleamed in her eye. ‘I’m looking at a girl with my face; I’ve just helped to do the impossible, and I don’t know who that makes me.’ Sinai did not understand how she could be standing here right now. How she could have helped to defeat the Eze. How she could access a power that felt as though it could tear her apart and bring her back to life at the same time. She didn’t understand how she could be standing in front of a complete stranger, and yet know, without a doubt, that she was destined to exist alongside her. ‘But I know you.’ She smiled warmly.
Naala found herself smiling back. She took a step closer and, without thinking, embraced Sinai for the first time since they were both nestled safely within Ezinne’s warm womb. Naala was overcome with an incomprehensible
joy that swirled gently around her heart before engulfing it whole. Her eyes watered, but she refused to blink away the tears.
‘I know you too,’ Naala whispered.
Neither one of them noticed the light winds stirring around the room. Nor did they did see the fierce gust that chased the heavy clouds from the sky, invigorating the birds that swept through the air with unbridled jubilation. They did not notice the sudden and inexplicable blooming of lustrous plants shooting up throughout the kingdom. All they could see, all they could feel, was each other.
THE END.
NAALA AND SINAI will return in Book 2 of The Return Of The Earth Mother series.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Firstly, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to read Daughters of Nri. This story is incredibly close to my heart. It began as a form of therapy but soon grew into a beautiful world that I could escape into; a world where the magical, strong and real black women in my life were finally the focal points. A world where their beauty was a fact and their power undeniable. A world where they were given room to have flaws and space to grow. A world where the weight of slavery and oppression was non-existent and in its place a look into the complexity of black female relationships, internal conflict and a true expression of what it is to be human.
Unfortunately, we are not all currently given the freedom to be human in this present world. Black women shoulder immense burdens and we endure far too much pain. But change is coming. We are taking up our space in this world. We are demanding love, respect and the care that we deserve. We will change the world. In the meantime, I hope this book gave you a break and provided an escape into a world where you didn't have to fight to be seen; a world created entirely for you.
