Betrayed by Ifeanyi Esimai

Author:Ifeanyi Esimai [Esimai, Ifeanyi]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781635897098
Publisher: Ciparum Press
Published: 2019-12-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The same dream I had on the way to Ode and almost whenever I was stressed arrived in earnest. But this time the dream progressed to a woman screaming. Her voice was suddenly cut off, followed by a sound like the pounding of cassava in a mortar.

I woke up tired, drenched in sweat, and ached all over. The habit of waking up early over the years to hunt got me out of bed and to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

“Thighs hurting?” asked Enitan. A smile danced on her lips as she brought me breakfast. “Don’t worry, it will only hurt for a few days. Do you want me to give you a rub down?”

“No!” I blurted, remembering what her hands did yesterday.

Enitan’s eyebrows shot up. “You have anything against massages?”

“No, no. I… I’ve never gotten one, and I don’t think it’s for me.” I thanked the gods Enitan didn’t push it and we left it at that. Once I was done eating, we left the apartment.

“See you later,” said Enitan as we parted ways at the corridor.

I rushed to the training room, knowing I was late.

“Little girl thinks she can show up whenever she likes,” said Kintola in his scratchy voice once I stepped in through the door.

Some of the boys stopped to watch. I wished the floor would open up and swallow me. I couldn’t make eye contact with anyone.

Kintola’s eyes bounced around the room. “Who told you to stop? Continue with your practice,” he barked. His eyes roamed the room like a hawk searching for prey. They settled on me. “Let’s pick up from where we stopped yesterday.”

The practice was as demanding as the day before, but this time, I knew what to expect.

I practiced with Kiki. She still acted like I’d wronged her and was literally trying to maim me. Warding off her attacks drained the reserve energy I had. I knew I’d wronged her, but she’d started it. I blocked her attacks until she surprised me with a thrust to the stomach with the stick and knocked the air out of me. She’d had a lot of practice with that weapon. I eyed the bow and arrow hanging on the wall a few tables away, bad ideas coming to my mind.

At that point, Kintola stopped the fight and sent Kiki to the bow and arrow table. She picked up a bow and clumsily knocked in an arrow. The instructor at the station worked her through. It was what I did with Kemi a few days ago, and Kiki was clumsy. I smiled; I could beat her at that.

Kintola took over for Kiki and sparred with me. “Kiki beat you like a dog,” said Kintola. “Always keep your eyes on your opponent’s. The eyes never lie.”

We circled each other. I soon got tired of looking into Kintola’s bloodshot eyes and shifted my gaze to his forehead.

“Focus! A seasoned attacker will notice the slightest shift in your eyes. He will also give away his or her next move in his eyes, but you have to be ready and fast.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.