Thirty two

OLAMIDE

It was difficult to take in air. It was as if something had been stuffed in the depth of my nostrils. There was a hand pressing hard on my forehead and someone was holding my right hand, rubbing at them like they were trying to pacify someone or perhaps themselves. A thousand frantic thoughts dashed through my mind in the space of a single heartbeat as I roused. What happened? The last thing I remembered before I blacked out was talking to Satake while I planned to elope. Then the next minute, It was as if my body went up in flames.

"Olamide..." A familiar voice whispered to me. It sounded like that witch. Realizing who the speaker was seemed to immediately kick-start my dormant memories. It was happening. My nightmares were true.

My eyes blinked, staring wildly around the dim-lit room as I tried to ascertain if I was still trapped with that woman in my head. I had come to a conclusion that this was another one of Candice's mind games until Satake's face came into focus. I stilled my throbbing heart and stared at him thoroughly confused. He let my hand go and hugged me, pushing away whoever was seated next to me as he did so. The heavy feeling on my forehead vanished and a harsh cry immediately echoed in my head.

"Take it!" It was Candice's voice no doubt. I didn't know why I cared to listen but I did. I knew what she wanted me to do and my fingers got to work. While Satake hugged me tight, my fingers stumbled an open book by my side and I tore a generous amount of pages off. I then folded it and stuffed it under the duvet. It happened so fast, I wasn't even sure if it was of my will. I had no idea what was in the book, why I felt a magnetic pull towards it and, what I even needed it for. Satake broke the hug and stepped back to regard me.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes..." I managed, my heart still pounding. "What happened?" The last sentence was a stretch. I knew exactly what had transpired. A vengeful late witch with whom I was somehow sharing a body wanted me to kill Jason. Somehow, I felt the need to throw suspicions off me even when all Satake did was genuinely worry for me.

My–She is awake." A formidable elderly man leaned close to the door frame, arms crossed as he observed from a distance.

Fear struck my heart immediately. I had not noticed him before. What if he had seen me tearing out pieces of that book? My unease grew as he waltzed in my direction. My breath became ragged the closer he got but at the last minute, he took a turn to the left. His attention was solely on the unconscious man whose palm had been on my forehead the minute before.

The man placed two fingers to the unconscious man's neck to feel his pulse and when he did so, the knocked-out man suddenly screamed, jumping to his feet and pushing the elderly man off him. He was traumatized. If I did not know better, it was as if he had looked death in the face.

"Isaac, Are you alright?" Satake asked, walking up to the man who was now sprawled to the floor shaking.

His name... Isaac, I was not sure why but it reminded me of Sofiane. I continued to watch the three men despite the fact that I was far removed from the scene. Satake and the old man continued to assure Isaac that whatever he had seen was not real. At first, he wouldn't buy a word they said, he kept holding on to his stomach like he had been hurt there but he slowly came to his senses.

"Isaac, it's fine," Satake promised. "You are alright." To that, Isaac hugged Satake but there seemed to be something to it. Isaac and the elderly man shared knowing looks. They were clearly trying to keep something a secret from Satake. That seemed to do it. I hadn't bothered to ask why they were here. I threw my glance at the book I had torn pages out of. I pulled it closer and shut it to observe what it was exactly. The leather-bound book seemed to be old, ancient even. It looked more like one of my grandmother's Bibles. The difference is that this one just had the insignia of a tree and no title. I flipped past the pages and began to notice every word written in the pages was strange letters that I could not read. Now, I didn't want to speculate but Were they witches?

I looked back in Satake's direction only to see Isaac glaring at me. I seemed to know why. It all seemed to make sense. Candice had mentioned something about someone lingering around while we conversed. She also revealed whoever it was, they were trying to exorcise her out of my body. Naturally, I hoped they had succeeded but Isaac's glare and former erratic behavior filled me in. He had failed. Candice was still in me.

"Are you alright?" Isaac asked me. I was taken aback considering his intense gaze did not relent.

"Yes," I replied. "I'm guessing that is all thanks to you."

He pulled away from Satake and joined me on the bed. It was surprising that this sandy blonde baby-faced witch filled me with tension. He reached out for the book I was caressing and snatched it. I looked into his eyes. They were a smoky gray hue filled with intrigue and wariness. He had been in my head. He must have seen it. Whatever I was doing now, Isaac probably saw it as an act.

"We will find the witch that tried to attack you," Isaac said with promise before he leaned in to hug me. That voice at the back of my head went haywire. It wanted me to push him away and for a moment, I considered it. My hands, against my will pushed against his chest in an attempt to yank him off me. To put it upfront, it was fruitless. Isaac remained glued to me. "I will send you back to hell sister," Isaac whispered into my ear before releasing me.

Sister? Candice was his sister? The same Candice who was Alpha Sofiane's mate. It clicked–the reason why the name Isaac seemed to ring a bell in my messed up head. Isaac was the individual he was referring to from before. The puzzle pieces filled in slowly. Sofiane must have reached out to this witch concerning the reason why I could peek into his mind. I knew why now. But whatever test they conducted must have outed it too. Was that why he was here in the first place? Was he responsible for me blacking out? I had so many questions yet there was no single person ready to give me answers. Isaac smiled upon noticing my reaction.

"We will be going now," Isaac announced.

"And who is the culprit?" Satake demanded.

Isaac kept his eyes peeled on me for the longest seconds before proceeding to say. "We don't know. Yet."

"Well, that is not the answer I want." Satake barreled onward. "I know you witches damn well. You are loyal bastards. To yourself at least. There is no way you are going to hand the bitch that did this to her without a fight."

The elder shook his head. "Of course not, the primrose coven is loyal to the Crow. We would never entangle ourselves with something that will tarnish our oath. Not when we know the consequences."

"There is something else that Elder Quentin forgot to add," The Isaac guy chipped in with a smile.

"And what might that be?" Satake probed.

"That you are such an unappreciative dick head," Isaac said.

Satake exhaled, pacing closer and towering over the smart mouth that dared to insult him. "Thank you for your assistance. Can I lead you to the door?" He said in a hushed tone.

"Now that wasn't so difficult, Was it? And about your offer, yes, do lead us to the door."

Satake sighed for the second time. It was clear Isaac knew how to push his buttons. He quirked an eyebrow at me, his way of telling me he would be back in a minute. I sent an understanding smile his way. Satake then lead both men to the door. Once they had vanished, I reached into the depths of the duvet and retrieved the torn pages.

"What spells did you manage to steal?" Candice teased. This time, it did not sound like a voice at the back of my head. I slowly looked in front of me. A catch grabbed my throat upon seeing Candice seated next to me.

"What...How are you doing this?" I stuttered, shrinking towards the magnificent headboard.

"I told you," She said. "We are stitched."

"No," I shook my head, absolutely refusing to accept this new development."I mean how are you here? This has never happened before."

"You let me out," Candice replied.

"I would never–"

"Your brother." Candice chipped in before I could finish my sentence. "I have a lingering suspicion that was what did it. You also have doubts, don't you? Now that you are open to this whole new strange world, you must begin to wonder what can happen and what cannot."

"No, my brother died. I saw him. I was there."

"And I am not disputing that," Candice acknowledged. "But you sure as hell did not see how he died. In fact, all you know is Deji was drained of all his blood, and let us not forget those bite marks on his throat. Does that strike a bell?"

"If my brother was alive, he would come for me irrespective of whether he is now a vampire or whatever."

Candice giggled. Without missing a beat, she continued her assault on my mind. "You tell yourself that but do you really believe it? I know the thirst for answers is inside you. You are just afraid Olamide. You are afraid you are going to find the truth and that you cannot come to terms with that truth. It's just like you though. Weak."

"I accept that. I am weak. At least I can admit that truth to myself. Unlike some witch who latches herself just so she can escape death; a natural order considering it is the consequences of her actions. Even if I do choose to go looking for answers concerning my brother, why are you here? Do you believe we will become partners of some sort? That I will be full of gratitude to you once I get those answers and I will finally be susceptible enough to help you kill Jason?"

My hurtful retort again seemed to have no effect on Candice. Her mental fortitude was something I truly envied. She had to be built of steel. She raised a single brow at me and said; "You were abandoned by your family and sent here. Just you and your brother, alone in this big scary world. When he was out of the picture, you tried to reach out to your parents. It must have been the millionth time considering they practically vanished when you arrived in the states. You wanted to break that awful news to them, you needed a shoulder to cry on but again, your calls didn't go through. You were so certain your family were monsters if they could leave you here for years and not bother reaching out or accepting your calls but what if you have had it wrong all these time?"

"What does that mean?" I managed to choke out.

"Olamide, what if they are all dead? Brutally murdered and wiped off the face of the earth for their secrets."

A tear escaped my eye. "You are a monster." I blurted out. I could not even believe I was considering what this dead witch just muttered. But if Candice was not right, what could the answer be? It had been almost fifteen years.

"Far from it Olamide. I am your guardian angel." Candice told me.

"Or perhaps the devil dragging me further down hell."

"Perhaps." Candice agreed.