Alade (Irunmole Saga) Read online

  I could feel my stop approaching and although my instincts told me to start moving towards the exit now so I did not get trapped on the train, I was mesmerized by the flecks of gold, green and red in her dark eyes that seemed to reach out and penetrate me with their strange power. They seemed to smile and beckon to me yet at the same time they held a powerful element of danger that every fiber in my being screamed at me to run from. But against my will, I soon found myself standing and moving quickly towards her, pushing myself through the crowd with an urgency that bordered on desperation, all the while wondering why my legs no longer obeyed me and moved so hungrily in her direction. She never took her eyes off me as I approached, and when finally, I made it through the crowd and stood panting and fearful in front of her, she stood up, looked me up and down once and then embraced me tightly. “Hello Alade,” she said quietly, after releasing me from her arms, “my name is Raziel and I have been waiting for you for a long, long time.” Her words struck me like a sledgehammer, I stood there stunned, looking like an idiot, confounded by the words which she had just uttered which were playing havoc somehow with my senses, as if a trigger had been depressed and the first of a series of planned detonations had just begun within me. “Are you alright?” she said. “Huh?” I said dumbfounded

  “This is your stop, right? Woodley Park and the National zoo, this is your stop isn’t it, or do you plan on missing your important meeting?” She quickly began to move toward the exit and I followed reluctantly. Although I seemed to have regained control of my limbs, I suspected that if I did not follow her I would soon find myself in the grip of whatever force had held me hostage on the train. So I continued to follow her down the platform and because I was preoccupied with what was happening to me, it took a few minutes for me to realize that she somehow knew about my imminent business meeting. I finally caught up to her on the escalator, where I found her patiently watching me climb the stairs to where she stood, and when I caught my breath I whispered to her “Who are you and how can you possibly know about something which no one knows about, not even the person I intend on meeting with, and for that matter, Raziel, that was your name right, what is wrong with your eyes and how the hell did you somehow drag me across the train to you against my will?” She slowly smiled at me and in that moment, something ancient and powerful winked at me from the depths of her unusual eyes and I took a step back, suddenly afraid to be too close to this beautiful creature. “We have plenty of time to discuss the finer points of the supernatural which, considering the nature of your own race, should pose no problem, but for now it is important that you know a few things before your meeting. First, despite all your careful preparations, you will fail in your task and because of this you will fall. Your fall from grace will be spectacular and allencompassing. All your secret plans and deceptions will come to naught, for your opponent will best you so completely that there will be nothing left for you to recover. All that you believe to be important will be rudely snatched from you and you will be cast out from what you believe to be your lofty kingdom. You will learn that all your vaunted knowledge is for naught in the new world that you will be forced to inhabit with the dregs of society that you so shunned all your meaningless life. You will become one of them, yet you will never be accepted and because of that you will be alone, so completely alone that at times your heart will seem to ready to break from despair. But despite all of this you must persist. You must pass through these trials and tribulations so that you may be reborn even as you are being destroyed. And in the end, you will look outside yourself and see with clear eyes the revelation and the destiny that has been waiting for you since your birth. Without it, life will continue to have no meaning, no substance and no soul for you and you will wander throughout it as a wraith, ignorant of your true purpose. You refused the summons once before, and this time you must not, for whether you answer it or not you will still fall, and I have come as a both harbinger of your doom and as your savior. You must now open your heart to the truth that I have come to give you to prepare you for your difficult journey. Go now to your meeting, I will be waiting for you afterwards to come to me, for after your monumental failure you will have many questions.” And then she was gone.

  I cannot remember getting off the escalator, nor could I figure how she was able to leave without me seeing her go, but what I do know is that she had severely affected me and a large crack had opened in my perfect façade. Perhaps this is what she had intended, perhaps this was a necessary roughness needed to kick open the doors of my perception which had been sealed for so long. I never once questioned her supernatural origins, not because of the control she had exerted over me on the train or because of the power I saw hiding behind her irises but because she had been right about something which had happened when I was in a different place and I was a different person when I was still firmly ensconced within my family and clan. I had felt a power calling to me, a summons which I had resisted despite the scent of destiny that emanated from it, finally rejecting it even though I somehow knew that there would be dire consequences later. The power that I felt had then was the same power that I had seen saw hiding behind Raziel’s eyes and it terrified me for all of what I had suppressed in my flight and in my struggle to exist in this Godless world came rushing back to me and the memories of my betrayal of my Goddess came flooding back into my mind. But what did She want and what price would I be forced to pay for my insolence in rejecting its call? When I finally opened the door to my office I was sweating heavily. I told my secretary to hold my calls and locked my door so I could calm myself down and prepare for the task at hand, the important meeting I had been preparing for all week. The fateful meeting was supposed to be an ambush of one of my senior associates who was essentially poaching and backstabbing me in my own backyard by trying to woo longstanding clients of mine from me into his own camp while increasing his own visibility at the cost of mine in a business which was very personality driven. My business as a “special consultant’ was to get my clients whatever they asked for, period. No questions asked, no morals, just give them a quote as to how much it would cost to achieve their goal and get it done by any means necessary. But of late, without being aware of it, it seems that I had begun to develop morals because I had recently refused several requests for our services on the grounds that they were a little too bizarre, a little too taboo. My action, this passing of judgment, was an unforgivable act in a business that deals in principally the bizarre and the taboo and had made many of my clients nervous. What I could not know was that my associate, Brian Batard, had been going to these same clients behind my back and fulfilling their requests against my wishes. He had built himself a reputation as a go getter untroubled by pesky morals and had positioned himself as my heir apparent. But he was not content to wait for me to bow out gracefully into a well-earned retirement, not when he wanted to take my kingdom from me now, and quite frankly that naked ambition had never been a problem until recently. It was I who had cultivated this ruthlessness and amorality in him and I was proud of my achievement. He was brilliant at this work, almost as good as me and I envisioned an empire of desire administrated by apprentices of mine such as Brian, while I controlled it all from the center of a mighty web. The difficulty in this business lies in the fact that when you know the secret desires of so many of the rich and powerful there can be no retirement for you. These are paranoid, greedy, amoral and very powerful people who worry about how the world perceives them and who cannot have their deepest secrets revealed to the world, and if I was having doubts about my work now they worried how soon afterwards would I start feeling the sociological obligations to protect society from the deviant, predatory and often flat out evil desires of these wicked men and women. There was no room for spiritual development in this business, no room for the growth of moral fiber. I was bound forever to this world it seemed and it was a growing disillusion on my part that had placed the first crack in my facade that eventually led to my downfall. In my business, ninety per
cent of what we were obtaining for our clients was not only frowned upon by society, but often not strictly legal if not downright immoral. And ultimately no matter what my longstanding relationship with my many clients, it is their trust and confidence in me, and my ability to fulfill their wishes that drives the company’s success. If I could no longer get them what they needed, despite our longevity together, then I was no longer of any use. My top employee, my right-hand man, and now my chief rival represented a viable alternative to me, Alade Akeju, who now seemed to have lost his cojones. With their backing, he could take my business from me because make no mistake they needed this business to continue with or without me, and if they were unhappy with me and had lost confidence in me, then I would most certainly be destroyed. There is nothing like ruining a person completely to ensure that they will never again have any credibility, thus making sure that your secrets remain your secrets.

  At precisely 11AM I watched him walk into my office with cockiness and confidence that reminded me of myself, and the arrogance in me refused to take heed of that sign of impending danger. Instead, I thought, with pride, look what I have wrought, he is a masterpiece. I indicated the seat opposite me, and took a deep breath. I had been meaning to recite a whole spiel about the direction in which the company was going in and how I did not feel his style now reflected what I was looking for in my consultants, but Raziel’s speech had rattled me, so instead I decided to not beat about the bush and said simply, “There is only one leopard in this forest Brian and it is me, not you. You know that rival cats cannot and will not be tolerated, and you have hunted on my territory with impunity quite long enough. It is time for you to pay the piper Brian. You are fired. I want you out of here by day’s end.” To his credit he did not smile, he did not blink and nor did he gloat, especially not when seven of my most powerful clients walked into my office and quietly stood in front of my desk close to Brian, watching me yet saying nothing. It was a show of solidarity, but for whom?

  There was a palpable tension growing in the room which seemed to only get worse when he opened his mouth to speak. “Actually, Alade, there seems to be something of a misunderstanding. I am not hunting in your forest, because you have not had a forest to call your own in quite some time, you have just not realized this because you were not patrolling your territories as a dominant leopard should be constantly doing, you were busy hanging out in your tree contemplating things that are best left to those who have consciences. And you were, were you not? You were questioning your place in the world instead of reveling in the great thing that you wrought in building this company where anything is possible and where morality does not apply. What happened to you? Grew a conscience, did you? And considering that you are one of the most amoral men I have ever met and that in itself is a miracle. They say people can change and I guess I am seeing the proof of that statement for myself. But that is neither here nor there, because as you yourself taught me, in our business, there is no morality and there is no room for doubts. This is a business and you have failed your shareholders. It is you who must now pay the piper, I am afraid, not me. As you can see by the gentlemen standing behind me now, your clients have lost confidence in your ability to lead and indeed there are some misgivings as to where your heart lies now. As you know many of your clients are also your biggest financers and as of today those wells have just dried up. But don’t worry, I will be leaving by the days end but I will not be skulking out with my tail between my legs as you had perhaps envisioned, crushed by your prowess and might in this game of deception which you taught me so well. I will be taking all these gentlemen and more with me to my new offices in Georgetown along with whichever others of your employees wish to come, since as of now you are no longer in business.” And with those words he looked at me and grinned, knowing that he had won and that I was finished, a threat no more. I stopped breathing; the room began to spin, my heart began to pound and all I could envision was me reaching out and strangling him, but somehow, I sensed he knew this for he leaned forward, almost baring his neck as if daring me to try. I took a deep breath and looked at the room in front of me, looking at the remains of an empire that I had built by the strength of my will, looked at the powerful men who were watching me, judging me and trying to gauge how much of a liability I had now become and then Raziel’s prophetic words came back to me, “Despite all your careful preparations, you will fail in your task and you will fall.” I had failed and now if she was right I would soon fall. Judging by the resolve on their faces as I watched them all leave the room I knew that my former clients were going to make preparations to ensure that their secrets would remain safe, which meant that soon I would not be. My world was coming to end and despite it all I could not find the strength to fight for it. As Brian got to the door, leaving my office victorious, I called to him and as he turned to face me, I smiled and said, “Well played, Brian.” He returned the smile warmly and said, “Alade, I am just doing what you would have done. Remember I learned from the master. No hard feelings, right?” I looked at him carefully, trying to gauge the sincerity of his words, and at that moment I knew the truth. It had never been about the business, or about pleasing our clients, all along it had been about me and Brian’s obsession with what I am. Brian wanted to be me; he wanted everything that I had, from my class and sophistication, to my unnatural strength and strange and unexplained abilities. If he could not repossess everything that was mine and make it his own so that the world would finally look at him the same way that it looked at me, then he would tear me down to his level and make me eat the shit that he had been born swallowing all his life because of the filthy, cruddy and despicable nature of his soul. “Well you are the master now Brian,” I replied “And yes of course there are hard feelings, you fucking nimrod, very hard ones indeed. Mark my words Brian; whatever other horrible treacheries you have prepared for me will not change a thing. You will never be me nor will those from whom you so desperately crave acceptance ever accept you for they too can see you for the bottom feeder that you truly are. I was the only one who chose to look beyond what was obvious, the only one to give you the chance to shine, and see have how you have rewarded my friendship. But blood will sing true and I hear yours singing loud and clear you disgusting snake. This is not over by a long shot and one day I will come back to take terrible retribution upon you for what you have done to me. For now enjoy your success, but remember it will not last long, for one day I will take from you so much more than you have taken from me today. Good bye, Brian.” He studied me for a moment and knowing that there was nothing more to say, he nodded, turned and left me to my dark and ominous thoughts. Alone again, my head was pounding like a jackhammer and right now more than anything I needed answers. I knew only one entity could give them to me. It was time for me to go find Raziel.

  I found her sitting under an oak tree in the park next to my condo, as I walked back from the metro station in a daze, still shell shocked from Brian’s betrayal and my colossal failure to prevent it. I did not even notice her sitting there listening to an iPod until she launched an acorn at my head with enough force for me to spin around angrily, looking for the culprit who dared bombard my person, because despite my defeat I was not yet broken and I was spoiling for a fight. When I saw her there my anger quickly fled, soon replaced by fear as she beckoned me over, while patting the ground next to her. After a moment’s hesitation, I obediently sat down on the bumpy ground and let out the breath that I had been holding since I left the office. Angry as I was, even now I was mesmerized, as her strange eyes regarded me. They danced from green to red to gold and black as if a celestial light show existed deep within her skull. Yes, I was scared of her, but I still knew that she had the answers to the questions which had plagued me ever since her first prophecy had come to pass, and oddly enough those eyes of hers actually seemed to calm me as I felt my pulse slow and my breathing return to normal allowing me for the first time since my failure to think clearly and to begin to calculate the different av
enues of approach that I would take in fixing my present problems. “You have many questions, Alade,” she finally said “But of the many questions which are now plaguing you, I will only answer three, so pick your choices carefully because these questions and more importantly, their answers, will be the only tools that I can give you to survive the coming darkness that will soon assault you. I told you that you would fail and that you will fall but perhaps I was not clear enough, for even now I can hear the wheels turning in that reptilian brain of yours while it plots vengeance on your perceived enemies. For this reason, I will give you one piece of wisdom freely, so pay attention; you have no enemies except yourself and the sooner you come to terms with this the sooner you will be able to embrace your destiny. It has been decreed that you will fall and fall you shall but whether you survive it and return with the knowledge that you have sought all your life depends on your knowledge of yourself and your faith in something greater than the petty construct that you have called your world for so long.” Time seemed to slow and it seemed like an hour had passed before I finally had the courage to speak, for despite her fragile appearance there was a terrible power alive within her and I could feel it fighting the confines of the form she had chosen to adopt in searching me out, and despite my resistance, I recognized that power. I turned to her and looked at her face, studying every line and mark of its beautiful contours and this gave me the confidence and courage to speak. Beauty was always one of my greatest weaknesses, so I forgot myself and spoke. “I am, as I am sure you know intimately familiar with your kind, indeed I have made a point to stay out of your way, which is why I am not surprised by your presence or existence,” I said, “But despite the healthy dose of fear and respect that I have for your kind, I have been the master of my own destiny for a long time now. Yet you would have me believe that once again I am the puppet of the Gods and that I must submit to that which I have run from for so long, and you believe that I would go into this bondage willingly and without a fight? Sorry my dear, powers or no powers, no one controls Alade, not even the Gods. I will not play your silly game. My name, Alade, means ‘the crowned one’ and that should let you know what I feel about serving anyone other than myself.” I saw the amusement in her eyes as she listened to my insolent speech and it pissed me off so much that I got up and walked away, needing the solitude of my home and the balm of some good music. I would not drink today because I needed my wits about me, but a hot bath and a long nap would do wonders for putting things in perspective. When I entered and shut the door behind me I turned to find Raziel sitting down, comfortably ensconced in my reading chair with an amused grin on her face. “How dare you violate my space? What do you want?” I shouted, “I told you that I will not play whatever game you creatures are playing! I have my own problems to deal with now. For all I know it was you who caused my downfall. Now leave me be please, I respect what you represent but I am not buying what you are selling. Fuck off!”