CHAPTER TWENTY- FOUR, SIX SISTERS.

Uloma heard the rush of a sudden breeze and the folding of wings, even before she saw their owner. She looked up at him now, sauntering up to her. His fair skin against his white feather-peppered body was a vision, but she, for once, did not notice any of that; she was just grateful to see a familiar face, even this familiar face. He came over to her in the lazy yet earnest brisk way he walks, like he had no patience for the inconvenience of walking. 

“How did you find me?” 

Uloma asked him when he reached her. What she really wanted to tell him was, 'Thank you for finding me.' She hated that she had sat there like that alone when she wanted her friends. His eyes roamed over her face, his eyes lazy; they looked at her like he sought to see her. 

“I was passing by.” 

He finally answered her after a heartbeat. She nodded. He had not been looking for her then, so why was she feeling this pang of disappointment, as if she had really wanted to be sought out by him? 

“Are you okay?” 

He asked. 

“Huh?” 

Uloma replied. 

“It is not your fault that he was upset; he is dealing with much more than you know.” 

“Huh?” 

Uloma asked him again. She knew she must sound stupid. 

“Abali.” 

He said. As if it were all the explanation she required. 

“You saw?” 

She asked him. How did he know about Abali or that Abali was dealing with something even she did not know about? 

“I was passing by.” 

He answered. 

“How long were you passing by for?” 

She wanted to know; she eyed him suspiciously. He shrugged almost non-perceptibly. 

“Long enough to assure you that whatever you hear after today, it's not your fault, and you should not wear the guilt for others. You seem like someone who wears a lot of guilt.” 

Eligwe’s eyes were serious. Uloma shook her head in annoyance. 

“I do not. You don’t even know me. How can you tell me what I am like?” 

He shrugged and walked over even closer to her. He sat himself on the mud-ground, not minding that his feathers were a glistening, flawless white. 

“You also take offence a lot.” 

He told her, his neck turned so he could watch her. 

“I do not!” 

She snapped. She must sound like a child, she knew, but he was goading her, was he not? 

“And you are in denial a lot.” 

He went on. She looked at him this time and nodded. 

“Are you admitting it now?” 

He asked her. She saw the surprise flash through his eyes, but they were gone as quickly as they had appeared. 

“No, because I can see that you have a death wish. I was going to suggest that you go find someone else to make you extinct, but no matter, I am willing now to be the culprit.” 

He guffawed. Uloma watched him, surprised; she caught herself smiling. Even his laughter was weird, but it tickled her where her heart should be. 

“How do you get a self-possessed Heavenly to laugh, baby sis?” 

Uloma’s head swerved around for her sisters in excitement, all her anger towards them momentarily suspended; they were here! 

“Oh, they are not here.” 

Eligwe informed her, his laughter was gone. 

“They are watching you through your reflection.” 

He was scowling at a point ahead in front of him. 

“Come on, sis, we have been looking all over for you!” 

Aku called. Uloma looked apologetically at Eligwe, who was still scowling at the point ahead, and allowed the disembodied voice of her sister to pull her in. 

Her sisters were sitting in a perfect coven circle, a nod to the Moon god, the father of Deaths. Aku had a free seat beside her in the circle; her grave eyes were full and kind, they lit up and beamed when Uloma appeared before them. 

“Baby, baby, baby!” 

She sang, sprinting up and engulfing Uloma with her tiny hands that barely went around Ulo. The circle of sisters rang with names of endearment for Ulo, as she was passed from one identical hand and hugs to the other. They held her like they could never get enough of her, like they never wanted to let go, like they had really missed her. Gone was all of Uloma’s former anger at being excluded; her sisters had shown time and again that they loved her fiercely. Uloma was crying and laughing when she reached Eke, her eldest sister. The blue of her attire was always formidable, but they were warm and tender for Ulo. 

“Littlest one.” 

She beamed. Her tiny voice, similar to Asiya’s, was demanding and commanding, even now when she was evidently pleased. 

“They would not give us status as gods, even though our father is the Moon, and our Mother his very product. Here is one of us now, powerful enough to bring our family where we belong.” 

Her voice cut through Uloma, yet Ulo never left her sister’s embrace; she was the most intense of them, the first Death, or the death of the unnatural. 

“Sisi, I know you are pained that they would never accept you into the cycle of the Firsts in the realm of the Heavenlies, but our sister is not a weapon of revenge.” 

Aku, her dagger was tucked to her side, her knives, decorated with herbs and flowers, were worn concealed to her waist, they protruded a little over her exposed midriff. Ulo knew that the dress she was wearing was held together behind by twine and flowers. A death too early, she always went where she was not welcomed, but she was the mildest of them, scary still, she was death after all, Uloma mused watching her sister, with all the flowers woven into her hair, her favoured colour yellow, worn on a dress, covered her body. She would always wear a dress, no matter what the occasion was. 

“Our sister is not a weapon to engender any ambitious desires.” 

Odim looked indistinguishable from Asi; her green was more swallowable, though. She was seated on the other side of Eke. Eke’s firm hand pulled Uloma away from herself. She held Uloma’s hand firmly. 

“No one is suggesting that our sister is a weapon here. But out there at the gathering, do you think they would want to sit back and allow a Death wield this much power? They would not even allow all of us to congregate.” 

“But Mother said...” 

Aku started to protest. The room smelled of everything, everything sweet and putrid, rotten and fresh, old and young. Uloma knew this meant that her sisters were not controlling their powers. 

“But mother nothing, she does not walk or work amongst us. You know well that there has been a division. A division that is only getting worse by the century. Mother and all the other gods and Elders are acting like these threats upon us have come out of nowhere. You know, just as I do, that this is not true. The division has become unbearable over the years. Black and White, worthy or not. Heavenly or Cosmic. They are not more powerful, and they do not do more for the universe, so why do they get all the status?” 

Eke had something that resembled smoke moving rapidly like a snake around her body, evidence that she was letting her powers out. Uloma moved away from her, but she was too wired to notice.  

“Okay, but is the solution unaliving the innocent? What have they done to be dragged into this? This is our fight; it is cowardly to use them.” 

Odim’s voice was liquid fire, her weapons were glowing red, even the concealed ones. 

“I am not saying we should resort to a killing carnage. But we have been kept apart because we are too powerful together. Uloma is being summoned because she is too powerful a Cosmic. What do you think they would do to her if we do not stand our ground?” 

“Go to war!” 

Aniye suggested with vigour. She was sipping on some human juice; she was always stealing from the humans. 

“No, tah, keep your mouth shut, seriously, you never talk unless there is a prospect of battle.” 

Aku accused her sister. 

“Mhm, because I have better things to do. Humans get it; they never waste their time squabbling over who is stronger. They go to battle and find out the hard way. But you would subject me to this nonsense.” 

“If you don’t have anything useful to say...” 

Odim started, annoyed at Ani, who rolled her eyes as if her sister’s anger did nothing for her. 

“Keep quiet, fine. You won’t hear a word out of me.” 

Aniye whispered, becoming mum. Her sisters simultaneously rolled their eyes back at her. Even Aku now had fresh vines snaking through her body and shooting up randomly in the room. 

“Your voice won’t be missed.” 

Aku told her. Their room was filling up with black smoke, vines, and the heat from Odim’s weapons. Her sisters were tearing each other apart, but one thing that was glaringly evident with every angry word out of their mouths was the eyeless woman; she had heard her in their squabbles.  

“Do you know who the woman with no eye is?” 

Uloma asked in a small voice. Her sisters all turned to her. They had heard her, they shook their heads, they were lying, Uloma realised. Why were they lying?  

“But...” 

Uloma attempted to protest, but Aku was yelling again at Eke for suggesting that Uloma needed to be protected, not shielded. Odim, who was neither in agreement with Eke nor Aku, was yelling at them both. Aniye, with her hands over her chest, was leaning back and whistling. Her music added a crescendo to the already taut room. 

“You see why they never invite us anywhere? Leave it to us, though, to complain about not being allowed to all be in one place all at the same time. If you ask me, it is not just because we are volatile as a unit combined; we are volatile as a unit combined because we explode on each other when left together.” 

Aku was shouting now. 

“What are you talking about? When do we ever explode anything?” 

Odim shouted back. The room felt heavy; Uloma felt it spinning, but she planted her feet on the mud floor and tried not to sway with it. 

“We are currently biting each other’s heads off about something we all agree on? What is so hard about saying, ‘Hey, we will all protect our sister? Do we have to make it into a battle?” 

Aku yelled, her green vines creeping out of her extended finger. Her yellow dress was pulsing and covered in green. 

“Again, going to battle is fine by me.” 

Aniye interjected. 

“No one asked you!!!” 

All three sisters yelled at her. Uloma looked over at Asi; her eyes were gleaming. She followed one yelling mouth to the other with fastidious attention. 

“Okay, fine, you are right. We do not agree about how these beings are going about ending lives, and we will not let Uloma take the fall.” 

Odim consented. 

“Speak for yourself.” 

Eke spat. 

“So, you will allow Uloma to take the fall?” 

Odim spun on her sister, her eyes embers. 

“No, I meant that sometimes, people are forced to go about things the hard way, is all.” 

Eke said with a tense shrug of her shoulder. 

“There is never any justification for hurting the innocent!” 

Odim screamed at her. Uloma could feel it, the lack of ability for thoughts to flow intelligibly in this room; she could not even hear herself think. 

 “Remember the first time Mother revealed you to us?” 

Asiya whispered over the yelling. 

“No, I was a baby. Babies don’t have memories.” 

Uloma shot at her sister, the grating, annoying tune from Aniye getting the better of her. 

“You are Cosmic. Cosmics are not born, but we suspected from the start that something was different about you.” 

Asi continued unfazed. Uloma narrowed her eyes. Was Asi so eager to join in the fight that she was starting one with her? 

“What are you saying?” 

“Don’t jump on my neck before I land. I am trying to say that they fought like this then. Mother waited for the perfect opportunity to bring us all together, but they fought so much over you that they forgot they were all happy to be brought a sixth sister. Mother had to intervene then. They almost brought down the realm of Death, blood and plague coloured the sky, which is why Emenike is weary of their presence.” 

Asiya chuckled. She loved this, Uloma realised, she was reveling over this. 

“But I thought the only reason nobody wanted them around at the same time was because they were a force to reckon with or something like that.” 

“Ha. If you get swamped by bees, flies, locusts, and wasps when all you were doing was going about your day, tell me you won’t feel like you have been dealt with reckoning, and you heard me say blood filling the whole realm, right?” 

“You are a little too pleased with all these.” 

Uloma accused. 

“Whatever, Deaths are meant to inspire fear; our sisters inspire dread in everyone. When they are all in one place, why won’t I be pleased?” 

The room smelled heavy. Did heavy have a smell? Uloma wondered; she was not choking because she refused to choke, but she was certain that if anyone else who was not Death stepped into this room at this moment, they would not be enduring it so well. 

“And why aren’t you pleased? You are the most feared of us all at the moment; you don’t want to be feared? And you call yourself a death?” 

Uloma eyed Asi. She could see that Asi was revving up for a fight. She won’t bite. Goodness, did she want that stupid tune from Ani to stop? It was as if her sisters were too far gone to hear the fanning of the wildfire that tune was. 

“I did not say anything like that, don’t put words in my mouth.” 

She finally answered Asi. 

“So, you want to be feared then?” 

Asi asked her, the infuriating sprite. 

“Asiyame, leave your sister alone!” 

Their mother’s voice boomed from the entrance of the room.