chapter 8: paths

"Do you understand now?" Verett said

"Not at all," Ife said

"Alright let's go over this again with demonstrations shall we?"

"Okay"

Verett stepped away and threw a dart at him which stopped inches from his face

"Your ability makes you attract or repel metal objects but that's not all"

Verett threw a twig at him which reacted the same way as the dart

"You can magnetise what isn't magnetic as well do you understand so far?"

Ife nodded

"Now that's at the very minimum going a bit higher as in the case of the boards"

Verett threw a handful of darts which first circled Ife and we were flung back to him and disappeared inches within him

"You can imbue objects magnetically or not with your ability and give them remote instructions like now you thought 'I don't want to get hit they should go back and so they did you understand?"

"Yes"

"Finally the last thing I noticed was this" he flicked a seed to Ife who caught it

'Squeeze on it for a moment"

Ife squeezed his palm and soon felt movement within his hand and opened his palm to a rapidly growing daisy

"My guess is because the magnetic field of the earth is so large and we all exist within it that means everything and everyone has it flowing within them as a form of energy but you can manipulate that energy and bring it forward physically like being blindfolded and then someone takes off the veil to show you the light amazing ability"

"So let me guess this right my power is attraction and repulsion of magnets, making objects magnetic and manipulation of the magnetic energy in everyone?"

"And one more"

"Which is?"

"The electro part it seems you can amplify the magnetic properties with electricity and generate and fire electricity at will interesting now do you understand?"

"Mmmm yeah"

"Don't worry you don't need it to get it right now you have a year"

"A year for what?"

"Oh" Verett hit himself in the head

"I got ahead of myself you see you're not the only one with these abilities there are lots of us who use it to help people but you don't have to join if you don't want to teach you how to use your ability would be fine too we're in an emergency recruitment process deadline is a year from now would you like to join?"

"No"

Verett smiled sheepishly

"After fighting that snake monster I don't think im cut out for it and if I can learn how to use my ability I can help my people here protect my village, feed the village it's not bad it is?"

"Nope in fact that's an honourable goal" Verett moved closed and put a hand on his shoulder

"Protect them with everything you've got if you change your mind tell me"

"Okay"

Verett is a nice guy I have to keep my word no matter what

"Ready to start?"

"Yes im more than ready"

"Alright it's going to be hard, painful and you may want to give up you ready?"

"YES!"

"That's the spirit now here it is" Verett snapped his fingers and a small notebook on top of a stack of large books appeared on the floor with a pouch at the side

"Study those and get what you can I'll be back in a year or two " and he turned his back to leave

"Wait-"

"Don't worry I ensure you can read now-"

"Aren't you going to train me on how to use it?!?!?"

Verett stopped and turned around, he took a deep breath and made a straight face

"No absolutely and here" he threw a sheathed machete at him which landed at his side

"Why not???"

Verett laughed heartily

"Now's not the time to be senile why not?"

"First of all, it's your ability, not mine meaning nothing I know about your ability ensures I can teach you I can only teach you how to develop a sturdier body and how to fight secondly you can only make techniques yourself and can't teach it to anyone thirdly, im busy"

"I guess that's alright... What about my uncle?"

"I told him I needed to borrow you to help with hunting and we would be gone for a while"

"Ok"

"Don't worry" Verett gave a thumbs up

"You'll be great"

"I hear you"

"Oh, I almost forgot you don't need to worry about the food I've taken care of that and that pouch is imbued with a technique that makes an infinite amount of anything so you have an infinite amount of darts to practice with one last thing" Verett walked up to him and patted his head

"You'll now understand the books"

"I hear you now go"

"Later"

And he vanished

Alright time to get started

He felt a cold feeling around his neck and looked down to see Verrett's pendant. He clutched it tight and sat down and read the first book for hours

Thank you Verett I wouldn't have understood anything if not for that pat earlier

He closed the book, clasped his hands together and closed his eyes

According to the book first, concentrate on a single thought a focus, then say a prayer from the bottom of your heart then envision it

In this position with only this thought hours passed once more then he lay on his back and breathed heavily

That was hard but at least now he could see it worked a faint white aura shrouded him.

He reached for the pouch and pulled out a dart and flicked it and it promptly hit the ground. Ife glared at it and it launched off into the target

I have control! But that's all there is to it control no techniques and I still don't know anything about it

He thought about it and came to a conclusion

I need to learn about the individual parts of my power then I'll be able to fully master it I'll start with magnetism, then electricity than that energy thing

He concluded.

All I know about it is what he said it can attract magnetic objects and repel them but he said that's at the basics meaning it may not just apply to objects and may not also be restricted to just attraction and repulsion but what?

And then a thought hit him

Maybe if I...

He reached for another dart and closed his eyes and focused only on the dart in his hand and flicked it and heard it fall he focused not on the dart anymore but the ground

If the magnetic field is ready all around us that means...

Slowly he started seeing glimpses of the dart for brief moments

That's it I can sense it not by much but I can! That means I don't need to see it and that also means...

Steadily the image formed clearer and clearer until he could sense even the grass around the dart

Now!

The dart launched forward and he directed it although not perfect but he directed it towards the bullseye he opened his eyes and he had hit the side as he had thought

If I don't have to touch it if I can sense it and my environment that means I can launch my ability anytime

He collapsed now feeling the exhaustion and tasting the salt of sweat

He clutched the pendant tightly to his chest with a smile spread across his face and slowly loosened his grip and closed his eyes. Everything was coming along. Ife slowly opened his eyes to disoriented voices

".. help me"

"I....kill"

"...sold"

His hands and legs were bound by chains

"what is going on?" he fell face flat and was drenched by the strong smell of piss and a soft solid

"don't open your mouth!" a girl's voice next to him said

"no matter what don't and stop wriggling"

"what?" he muttered. He was jerked to the wall a slither of light shun exposing the shit and piss covered floorboards in shock he let out an unstable amount of aura rocking the carriage he was jerked to the wall and sat up swaying in the confusion

"where are we?" he asked

"I heard the guards call it Esu's forest," she said

Ife looked in her direction but was unable to see her in the dark carriage

"Are you sure? that's what they called it?" he asked,

"yes, I heard the trader say so what's so bad about it?"

"You don't know it?"

"I've come a long way from here

he leaned against the metal bars

chains and bars?

"This is a slave cartel right?" he asked

"yes," she said

It all made sense he sighed

A loud crack was heard following The carriage flopped to the side jerking everything to a corner

efe held unto the bars and the woman caught hold of his midsection efe held on till the carriage stopped with a crash efe screamed as a wave of pain shot up his left arm, no longer in it's socket

"damn it" he screamed his breathing heavy

"thank you" the woman whispered

a guard stood at the front of the cage rifle in hand

"what's wrong?" the dealer and one more man came looking

"looks like this one dislocated an arm" the guard replied

"You know what to do"

The guard aimed in between efe's eyes

"Wait please I don't know how I even got here" efe screamed

"Wait did he just speak? bring him out "the carriage the guard pulled efe out by his chains

"who taught you how to speak that language boy?" the dealer asked gun cocked and ready

It must have been like that time I was able to understand and talk with verett but I can't tell them that

efe faced the dealer

"There used to be white people who would talk about God they taught us how to communicate with them"

The dealer twirled his moustache a brow raised

"they also taught you Portuguese?" the dealer said

efe froze

they have been speaking in two languages? or is it just the one?

efe looked at the man beside him

an interpreter of course he would need one

"Yes" he replied the dealer

"You may be of more worth great for business," the dealer said with a toothy smile and beckoned a doctor to come

"You see the lake down there? Take him to that lake and take care of his wounds "

"what of the woman?"

"take her to," the dealer told another guard who pulled her out by her chains

"Important merchandise here!" she said as she

was dragged to the lakeside bumping into the guards and efe along the way their chains were removed at the mouth of the lake

"When you're done change into those clothes" one said throwing a pair of clothes to the ground

"now" the other raised his gun at them

"hurry we don't have all day" the doctor chimed

"We don't do we," the girl said

whipping out a pistol and firing at a guard efe threw a knife at the other. The doctor ran off the girl darted but was held by efe

"There's no need"

She pushed him off

"This is where we split ways have a good one!" she said, efe grabbed her legs

"what the hell are you -"

"take a good look at where the doctor ran"

He said

She glanced then stopped moving

"See?" he said getting up

"his footprints are gone creepy," she said

"That's esu for you," he said

"Who?"

"simply put he's a trickster with many forms each form their own path," He said

"sounds troublesome," she said

"The paths at minimum are 256 but generally they're uncountable and this is his forest" he sighed

"us derailing-" she pieced it together

"yes, it means we're only going to get lost in loops with no exit unless we meet one of his forms"

And that's oversimplified if we encounter any Ajogun-

"You just got a hold of your spiritual energy didn't you?" she said

efe lept back

"That explains how you swiped the knife without touching the guard I saw it all" she said

This woman is dangerous come to think of it she's been calm and collected why?

"first we need to take a bath I'll explain when we're done I'm going first" she said

what's wrong with this woman?

"If you have a problem with it then we go together"she said

" That's not the problem here!"

"Heh?" she smirked

"Well you are a kid" she walked towards the lake

"I'm 18" he followed

"and I'm 27 now get in I'll explain is you join me" she said

....

"See isn't a soak relaxing?" she said resting on driftwood

efe kept a distance on drift wood staring at her

"If you have something on your mind let it out" she said

"You have something on your face" efe said pointing to the bridge of her nose

She crossed her eyes and laughed

"They're called freckles want a better look?" she said drifting towards him

"Could you just tell me what you know?"

she paused

"You're no fun but I do owe you an explanation first tell me how you got your powers?"

"well"

...

"I see that verett is a hell of a character"

"please stay on track"

"well you had a spiritual awakening its basically becoming aware of the paranormal and when that happens you unlock an ability generally called a spiritual gift there are ways to get there the most common is getting attacked by a paranormal being you getting your spiritual eyes forcibly opened by someone else or although uncommon being born under a spiritual pretense"

"How common is common?"

"I'll keep it simple and say very few people however- no that's not going to be needed now"

"what?"

"basically you now have official control of your spiritual body congratulations" she clapped

"What do you want to do with your new found awakening?"

"protect my village"

she laughed almost falling sinking into the lake

"corny don't you think?"

"nothing wrong there"

"you don't understand it and don't have anyone to teach you worse you haven't attained the insight aspects of it and are too vague you are a real idiot" she laughed

"of course I am I got here with you because I'm an idiot I've always been having ambitions that could never be real but I understand now -"

"You think you got some fancy powers you're now a hero? Can you save people from the inevitable path of death? Are you sure you're people will always be in the right? What do you really want to achieve?"

"I just want to protect the people I care about even if I'm just a little special I just want everyone else to be happy that's all! If I can have the strength to protect just them I don't care if I become strong or remain weak all I want is to protect what matters to me no matter how selfish it may be! And then get whatever I want"

for the first time throughout their talk, this was the first time he looked her in the eye

"You're one hell of a saint but I can respect that I'll help train you"

"really?"

"Sure, besides it will help me bide my time while I'm here and if we're going to have to fight something regardless I don't want you slowing me down " she drifted towards him and put a hand to his forehead

"what-"

"The first thing you need is insight or the preferred name scripts, you know how you're body knows how to function on automatically but you don't really know? This makes both your physical and spiritual semi-automatic you know how they will work and can control it but you don't need to control it all the time normally you need immense focus and practice but a good flow of external spiritual energy to the noggin will do" she sent an overflow of spiritual energy knocking him into the water, she swam down and grabbed him

"do mind you your going to be unconscious for a bit and may or may not have to relive your most traumatic memory..." her voiced trailed off as efe began to lose conscious slowly closing his eyes the last thing he saw was her red hair