Chapter 7: Prayer and Thunder
Sunrise painted the estate in soft gold, but the air in our living room felt like storm clouds ready to break.Dad had us all on our knees before breakfast—me, Mina, and him. The old wooden floor creaked under us. His big Bible lay open between us like a battlefield. I could still feel Mina's head on my shoulder from hours earlier, the way her voice had cracked when she admitted she felt "too much" around me."Lord, reveal every hidden thing," Dad prayed, voice low and fierce, the same tone he used when he burned the juju years ago. "Expose every spirit that is not of You."Mina's shoulders tensed beside me. Her braids fell forward, hiding her face. I reached out without thinking and brushed my fingers against hers on the floor. She didn't pull away.When Dad finally said "Amen," the silence stretched.Mina spoke first, voice steady but small. "Pastor… my blood carries something old. Not a demon I chose. A binding my ancestors made with shadows to survive persecution long ago. It's supposed to stay quiet. But when I feel safe—happy—it wakes up. Last night it saved us. Deji fought with faith. I fought with… what I have."Dad's eyes opened. They weren't angry. They were exhausted, the same look he had in the dreams I sometimes overheard him muttering through at night. "I lost my wife to forces like that. Watched her slip away while I chanted useless words. I won't watch my son walk the same road."I couldn't stay quiet anymore. "Dad, Mum didn't die because of the old ways failing. She died because sickness doesn't care what you believe. Mina isn't sickness. She's the first thing that's made me feel alive since Mum left. You renounced darkness for love. Why can't I choose the same?"Dad looked at me for a long time. Then at Mina. "Child, show me."
Mina hesitated, then lifted her hand. A thin ribbon of shadow curled from her palm like smoke, gentle this time—no violence, just a soft veil that shimmered before fading. It didn't feel evil. It felt… lonely.Dad exhaled sharply but didn't flinch. "We will pray. Every day. And you will stay under this roof where I can watch. No more secret walks. No more dates until we know this won't cost us everything."Mina nodded, but I saw the spark of rebellion in her eyes. Later, while Dad was in his study making calls to other pastors, we stole a moment in the backyard near the old mango tree."You okay?" I asked, leaning against the trunk.She gave me that half-smile I was falling stupidly in love with. "Your dad prays like he's personally offended the devil. It's intense. Kinda sexy in a terrifying-old-man way."I groaned. "Mina."She laughed softly, then grew serious and stepped closer. "I meant what I said last night. My power… it's tied to emotions. The stronger I feel about someone, the harder it is to keep it buried. That's why my singing sounds like a dying cat—it's the seal fighting back." She poked my chest. "So stop making me like you so much, church boy. You're ruining my cover."I caught her hand and held it. "Too late. I like you too much already."For a second we just stood there, foreheads touching, hearts loud in the quiet morning. Then she kissed my cheek again—quicker this time, but warmer.The moment shattered when distant screams echoed from the edge of the estate. Not human screams. Something deeper. Multiple.Dad burst onto the porch, face grim. "It's not over. More are coming. And they're drawn to her light… and yours now, Deji."I looked at Mina. She looked at me.Whatever came next—prayers, shadows, demons, or my father's unyielding faith—we would face it side by side.The real war for our hearts had only just begun.