There was a loud silence in Rayuwa. Certain things were never discussed, but everyone knew it was forbidden for the people of Rayuwa to leave the Island. The Only person that was allowed that privilege was the Sarki and his family. It was believed that in the past, to save Lafiya and prosper the land and people, the Island of Rayuwa and its people were sacrificed. They were to carry the burden of keeping the deities happy while they prospered the land and the country. The price that Rayuwa paid for this responsibility was confinement. They were never to leave the island. People had been rumoured to try and escape the Island, but they never made it. Some of them ended up as corpses washed onto the shores of Rayuwa. Soon the people just stopped trying to leave. Binta was born on the island with no hope of ever escaping until she met Adam and fell in love. When she becomes royalty, she can leave the island but the liberation of the people of Rayuwa is paramount and she and Adam work closely together to liberate the people. (The point of view of the story changes. In each chapter, different affected characters will tell the story from their point of view. This is to enable the reader to have the full understanding of the story and also understand how the characters reason.)
View MoreSAFIA. Aishatu had succeeded in bringing the final and most crucial ingredient for Binta's ritual. I had warned her that Dagudu was on his way, and she had handled the matter beautifully. Although Bamali was not covenanted to us, he had shown his loyalty to our course. We couldn't allow him to get in trouble with the jinni. She still owned him. So we had to be careful. The-bond-that-binds you is usually a finger bone made from jinni cadaver. It is used to bind the holder's soul to the jinni he or she sold it to. Often the holders were clueless about it, and this is because they usually receive it in a dream, but in actual reality, it is their soul that receives it, but the experience is perceived as a dream. Bamalli was the only living being with the finger-bone, and I was glad he was on our side. The finger-bone was somehow tied to the jinni in question, so I was going to use it to gain entrance into her kingdom. Binta was laid beautifully on the floor in the middle of the compou
BAMALI. News about the sudden huge number of visitors arriving at Rayuwa baffled me. I knew what the people were, and I became scared. I had been unable to warn Safia about the jinni's ploy, and I worried that it was too late. I was a prisoner even in my home. Selling my soul had taken away my freedom. I once thought the people of Rayuwa were unfortunate prisoners; my situation made me realise that there were worse forms of thralldom than that which Rayuwa was in. At least the people of Rayuwa had the luxury of drinking the blessed water to sever their ties with the jinni. I could not drink the blessed water because it would not affect me. I had already sold my soul, and my only hope was that the jinni would be defeated. I prayed that I would one day be free. I did not know how my freedom would come. It would either be in life or death. I yearned most for life. Dagudu had successfully found a way to get close to Safia, and it made me worried. Couldn't she sense who he was? He had
ADAM My father had sent an order to the president instructing the people of Lafiya to throw out Aljanan Daji's altars from their homes and swear allegiance to the new deity. There were also instructions to bless the land. I thought my mother-in-law would be coming to bless the land herself, but I learned that it was going to rain for seven days instead, a form of cleansing. Those who were interested in serving the new deity were instructed to collect the rainwater and drink it to sever their blood ties to Aljannan Daji. The people were confused, and soon I had a crowd at my gate. People wanted answers, answers they knew they could only get from a royal. News also went around about what Laila had done at the party. It was linked to the decree by the king, and people had become scared. I knew I had to attend to the crowd of reporters outside. So I went out with the guards to address them and answer their questions. Since they couldn't all go to Rayuwa to interview my father, I was the
Laila. My mission in Duniya was heartwarming. I looked forward to doing good. With my long history of evil deeds, the mission the deity sent me on was a soul redeemer. Zuwaira and I had devised a plan to get our friends and their families to cross over. We knew it would be very difficult because the people were loyal to the old deity, and they were afraid of her too. The fear got worse when the sky turned red, and the plants began to die. The plague had worsened the situation. No one wanted to get on the deity's bad side for fear of her wrath. We had seen greater power than hers, and we were willing to fight for it. Since Adam was still sorry about what they had done to us in Rayuwa, I was able to persuade him to allow me to throw a party in the house. He didn't like the idea at first because of Binta's situation, but when I told him about what the deity had requested of us, he agreed. Watching the way everyone worked to help organise the party warmed my heart. I secretly wished t
BAMALI. Dagudu was unable to cope with the female body he occupied. The fact that the body was that of a fugitive made it worse. His magic was growing gradually. He was already more powerful than I was, and he wasn't yet at full capacity. I began to wonder what he would be capable of. He never left my side, and because of that, I was unable to communicate with Safia about the new developments. Unlike me, he had a telepathic connection with the jinni. More and more, I realised that I had sold my soul for way less. "Why did she put you in a female body?" I asked curiously. She could have as well killed two men instead of a man and a woman. I hated the sight of Dagudu, realising my daughter's body would have been his host sickened me the more. I had to be careful around him. Already the jinni had begun to withhold information from me; I didn't want to create more suspicion as that would put my life in danger. Not that my life was worth much, but I wanted to see the jinni defeated. "It
BAMALI "You betrayed me." I heard the King of jinnis say as he held his spouse by the throat. "You didn't bring me back. Why didn't you bring me back?" "I...I tried." She managed; I had never seen her so afraid. "But I had no priest. No one swore servitude to me until him." She said, pointing at me. I watched the man drop her and turn his attention towards me. His eyes were fire. I was sure the fire had burned the eyeballs of the body it occupied. Whatever was left of it was burned out, unless it was magical fire, but at the range we stood, the fire was real to me. Anyone that was afraid of Aljannan Daji would die from fear just by seeing this jinni. He had altered the body he occupied in the most hideous way. The skin was red, and steam exuded from him. He had two large black horns and one small horn in the centre of his head. He was huge, easily nine feet tall. His presence was evil and menacing. What had she unleashed upon us? While the jinni advanced toward me, I saw Aljanan Da
BAMALI. After the incident in Safia's compound, I tried to find ways to make amends. What I did most of the time was to find a way to inform the deity of Aljannan Daji's plans. Without my help, the jinni had been able to trap two unfortunate people for Dagudu's resurrection ritual. I was taken to the forbidden forest to help prepare the items for the ritual. What I did not know was that I would have to be the one to slaughter the innocent people for the ritual to work. Apparently, the jinni could kill to feed, but a human had to sacrifice life to her for the blood to have any magical effect. The coldness of the situation brought chills to my spine. The fact that the unfortunate humans were fugitives did not make me feel better at all. Knowing the situation, I was sickened that the jinni would have made me sacrifice my children with my bare hands. If it wasn't for the fact that the deity could protect them, I would have killed myself if it had come to that. I had sent word to the dei
LAILA Shortly after the scene with the deity, we were escorted to my bedroom in the Palace. It was clear that the royal family were ashamed of what they had done to Zuwaira and me and tried to apologise by having the palace maidens pamper us. Everything that happened at our trial still shocked us. Binta was the daughter of a powerful deity. I couldn't believe it. The woman looked almost as young as Binta. The last time we were in Rayuwa, there was a rumour that her mother had gone missing. I began to believe it was all a sick joke. The people knew what we were up against and still set us up. That must have been the reason why our plans against Binta failed. It was also the reason why the Sarki and the entire council, in fact, the entire island, wanted Adam to marry Binta, so she would be the next queen. What beats having the daughter of a deity as queen? Was the main deity not Aljannan Daji? Who was Binta's mother? Was she Aljannan Daji. Aljannan Daji was the deity we all worshipped
ADAM Our arrival in Buchum Rayuwa was a shock to everyone. Binta was carried straight to the Palace. My father was in shock and hesitated to inform Safia of her daughter's predicament. "We have to tell her mother. She might be able to help." I tried to convince my father. "He is right, Umar. We can keep this from the deity; she will find out, and that will be worse." My mom said, trying to talk some sense into him. "What deity?" Ibrahim asked, confused. No one answered him. "Bring that witch for trial." My father said, refusing to send words to Safia. "The council isn't complete," I pointed out. "Right now, our energy should be spent on trying to save Binta's life. The trial can commence later." I pleaded. "The witch did it; she must have the antidote. She will solve the problem she caused with the right amount of pressure, and then I will behead her, her cousin and her family." My father said, and I could see the rage in his eyes. "What if she doesn't have the remedy and Bint
BINTA I lived on a remote island on the coast of Lafiya called Rayuwa. Lafiya is a country made up of four states. Fili State, Ruwa State, Gona State and Daji state. Rayuwa is part of Daji State, and the capital of Daji is Duniya. The proximity of Rayuwa to Duniya is near. Lafiya is a developed country, but although Rayuwa is a part of Lafiya, it lacks civilisation, and because of this, it serves as a tourist attraction for Lafiya, generating millions in revenue. In Rayuwa, there were no schools, no electricity, or water supply. People usually fetched water from the streams or dug wells in their compounds. The lack of civilisation made it impossible for us to access proper medical care, and because of this, my people sought the services of our local herbalists and witch doctors. I was the only literate in my village, and I was fortunate to be so, thanks to the non-government organisation that opened when I was five. The owner took a liking to me and offered my parents to allow the te...
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