As Ego bent to pick up her overturned basket, one of the gourds rolled into the leaves. She reached for it and quickly gathered the scattered herbs and tinder.
The moment she straightened, her heart lurched.
The old woman stood directly before her.
Ego gasped, stumbling backward, one hand flying to her chest. Her cry caught in her throat before it could escape into the night. She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.
The old woman was still there.
"Nne..." Ego whispered sharply, pressing a trembling hand against her racing heart. "You frightened me half to death! Why did you leave without telling me? There are people searching for you. They're at your hut, tearing it apart."
The old woman raised a finger to her lips.
"Shhh... Lower your voice."
She glanced toward the distant flicker of torches weaving through the forest.
"I left to find a safer place."
Then, after a brief pause, she asked quietly,
"And who told you they were looking for me?"
Ego frowned.
"They said they were searching for the widow who murdered their brother."
The old woman's expression did not change.
"Did I ever tell you I was a widow?"
The words struck Ego like a blow.
Her blood seemed to freeze.
If the old woman was not the widow...
Then—
"They're looking for... me?"
Her voice was barely audible.
The old woman neither confirmed nor denied it.
"That no longer matters. They're getting closer. Come with me."
She reached for Ego's wrist.
"I know somewhere they won't think to search."
Confusion, fear, and disbelief battled inside Ego.
How could anyone believe she had killed a man?
She had never harmed anyone in her life.
As the realization settled upon her, tears welled in her eyes.
"So they truly hunt me like a wild animal..."
"Save your tears for later," the old woman whispered. "If you want to live, follow me."
"Where are you taking me?"
"I have another hut deeper inside the forest. It's hidden. You'll be safe there."
There was no time to argue.
The angry voices were growing louder.
Ego nodded.
Together with Ogologo leading the way, they disappeared into the darkness.
*
The journey seemed endless.
They pushed through thick undergrowth, crossed narrow animal tracks, and skirted giant trees whose branches swallowed what little moonlight remained. Neither woman dared speak.
At last the old woman stopped.
"There."
Ego followed her gaze.
A hut stood in a small clearing.
Unlike the first, this one looked occupied.
Torches burned around it, their flames dancing in the night breeze and casting long, wavering shadows across the clearing. It was much larger than the old woman's hut—almost twice its size.
Ego's stomach tightened.
Red ritual cloths were tied around its walls.
A human skull hung above the doorway.
Two goat skulls, their horns stained dark with dried blood, guarded the entrance like silent sentinels.
The place looked less like a home than the shrine of a powerful dibịa.
Ego stopped walking.
"Is... this where we're hiding?"
"Yes."
The old woman urged her forward.
"Hurry."
Ego remained where she was.
"You said it was your hut."
"I never said that."
"You made me believe it was."
The old woman sighed impatiently.
"If I had told you otherwise, would you have followed me?"
"No."
"Exactly."
Ego stared at the shrine-like building.
"Who lives here?"
"An old friend."
The old woman spoke calmly, as though there were nothing unusual about the place.
"He's a dibịa. He reveres the gods more than most men do, but he means you no harm."
Ego studied the clearing once more.
Behind her lay a forest crawling with armed strangers.
Before her stood a hut she wanted nothing to do with.
Neither choice offered comfort.
At last she drew a slow breath.
"I suppose I have little choice."
She stepped inside.
The old woman turned to the dog.
"Ogologo. Stay outside. Watch for anyone approaching."
The dog obeyed immediately, settling beside one of the skulls at the entrance.
The instant Ego crossed the threshold, the heavy wooden door slammed shut behind her.
Before she could turn—
A giant of a man emerged from behind it.
His broad shoulders blocked the only exit.
Two more men sprang from the shadows.
Ego barely had time to scream.
They seized her from both sides.
"No!"
She fought with every ounce of strength she possessed.
She kicked.
Scratched.
Bit.
Twisted wildly in their grip.
Her fingernails raked across flesh. Her teeth found an arm, drawing a grunt of pain.
But they were far stronger.
One man pinned her struggling body to the floor while another bound her wrists behind her back with coarse rope. A third lashed her ankles together before forcing a strip of cloth between her teeth and tying it tightly behind her head.
Her cries dissolved into muffled sobs.
Hot tears streamed down her face.
Helpless, she was dragged across the earthen floor and thrown beside the shrine.
The two men remained standing over her like silent guards.
Only then did Ego truly see where she had been brought.
The hut was enormous.
Torches burned in every corner, filling the room with flickering orange light.
Human skulls lined the walls.
Between them hung the skulls of goats, sheep, and dogs.
Small clay pots filled with dark earth stood at intervals around the room, each pierced with feathers and charms.
At the center stood an altar.
Upon it rested a carved wooden figure no taller than a child, smiling with an unsettling serenity.
Its neck was adorned with heavy white beads.
On either side stood blood-smeared cow horns.
Behind the idol hung crimson cloths, fresh palm fronds and rows of empty ritual gourds swaying gently in the smoky air.
The entire shrine reeked of incense, blood, and old sacrifices.
For the first time since entering Ajọ́fịa, Ego became certain of one thing.
She had not escaped danger.
She had walked straight into it.