Harsh breaths  and grunts filled the air, it was very early in the morning, the sun was no where to be seen. Sweat poured down Ada's back as she ran, her wrapper was soaked and clinging to her body but she kept running.

"Stop!" A deep voice called out, all the girls came to a halt, most of them dropping to the ground on their backs in exhaustion.

They had been brought to the arena at the first cock crow, without any explanation they were ordered to run. For hours they had been running in circles round the arena.

Ada felt all her muscles quivering as she sat on the ground, her legs stretched out before her.

"I feel like I am going to die," Nmachi whined as she collapsed  to the floor on her back, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took.

"Someone must have broken that man's heart." Dera whispered from where she lay as she rolled onto her stomach.

"Are you alright?" Ada asked concern in her voice, the little girl had kept pace with them through the hours of running, she wondered how much practice she had. Pain squeezed her heart as she remembered Esomchi, memories of running with him flooded her mind.

"Oh! Me? Sister I am good, a little out of breath but good, it's that man you should ask that question." Dera replied smiling

Ada wondered if the girl hit her head when she hit the ground, how could she be smiling when everyone wanted to die. She looked over to see the guards hurdled together. The mean one a head taller than rest.

"Do you think they are thinking of more ways to torture us until we die?" another girl asked

Nazza groaned, "please no more, I can't feel my legs"

Ada looked at Nazza, that was surprisingly the first time she was speaking since they left the hut, maybe she knew not to test the guards or she was really agreeable in the morning.

"We all can't—"

"On your feet, all of you," the guard who had drilled them all morning interrupted, he had a scar across his left eye, running from his right temple to his left ear, his muscles bulging as he folded his hand across his chest.

"You all won't last a day in the land of the spirits like this," he began walking, stopping to look each girl in the eye." You are weak, pathetic, why the gods want you to embark on this journey is beside me."

He stopped at Dera, looking at her as one might look at an irritating insect he was willing to crush. The mad girl flashed him the brightest smile.

"Same time tomorrow!" he barked before leaving, the girls fell down to the ground again.

"Tomorrow?" Agbomma looked so horrified it was almost comical. "I am not sure I can walk back to the hut. She was tall and dark and had a very nasty temper.

"You are talking of walking back, I don't know how I was able to stand a few seconds ago" the girl the guard interrupted doubled over, her fingers touching her toes in a stretch.

"Fear"

All eyes fell on Nmachi, "Fear, makes you do things you don't even know you are capable of."

Ada looked closely at Nmachi after she had spoken, though it was not yet light she saw the girl spoke not of what had just happened but of something that happened to her. Her eyes had a far away look, they reflected pain and suffering. Ada made mental note to talk to her later.

"You must be thirsty," Ada knew that voice she turned in its direction, there stood the man who spoke to them on their first day.

"We have water, you may drink and rest a bit before you go back to the palace."

Ada looked him over as he watched them, she hardly saw him since that first day but now he seemed a bit off, she watched him walk over to scar.

After the death of the second girl, Ada had throw away all plans of escaping, even if she wasn't caught by he guards, she was bound to fall prey to hooligans on her journey back.

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The shrine was a large clearing that was fenced off with huts scattered sparsely around, the most prominent structure being the actual shine, it was a large semi circle, the walls were painted in bright red, white and black patterns. Young men, two of them moved about. They had a plain red wrapper about their waist, their hands and feet were painted white and the had cowrie shells in their hair. Ada recognized them as apprentices, they were probably his sons she thought as the guards led them to the obi behind the shrine. The obi was close to a garden of sorts, thus the air was perfumed with different fragrances-sweet and pungent.

The girls took seats in the obi while waiting for the chief priest as they talked of their experiences.

"I feel like these people just want to kill us like chickens, I mean one of us was stabbed, the other died mysteriously and three of us have gone missing. I wonder who is next?"

Murmurs rose at Agbomma's question.

"If I didn't think I have a better chance of surviving here than out there I would have risked escaping." Nazza said echoing Ada's earlier thoughts.

"Agbarakwe said they would be escorted home." Dera said from her perch at the dwarf wall of the obi overlooking the garden.

"And you believed him? A girl died a horrible death right before our very eyes!" Agbomma said.

"No one is dying." Agbarakwe announced his arrival as he walked into the obi, "none of the three were harmed, young one you have so much distrust and very little patience."

Agbarakwe looked pointed at Agbomma before taking a seat and addressing the girls.

"You need a lot of endurance where you are going, the journey is long and full of terrors, some beyond what your eyes can see."

Ada marvelled at the riddle in Agbarakwe's voice.

Was it necessary for elders to speak in proverbs and riddles, they tend to leave her more confused than when the conversation started.

"I see you are already well rested"

The girls nodded in response as he bit into a kolanut no one knew where it came from. One of the boys from earlier came into the obi with a tray laden with  small rounded green garden eggs which he placed on the table.

"Young ones Kola is here, our people say he who brings kola, brings life. May our reason for being gathered be accomplished." The girls each stood up to pick a fruit from the tray in accordance with tradition. Kola was never rejected.

Silence reigned as no one spoke for a while, the girls were beginning to get uncomfortable with the silence when he finally spoke" The land of the spirits is not a place for the weak hearted."

This was the first time they were being told of why they were taken. Ada still couldn't believe her ears.

Gasps filled the obi at his statement,some girls looked scared, others puzzled and some ignorant.

"Where is it?" One of the ignorant girls asked.

"It is the divide between the living and the gods." Agbarakwe continued. "It is a place of peace and suffering, the journey to the land of spirits is a perilous one.

"Many men have journeyed there in search of treasure, loved ones or a cure for sickness our medicine can't cater for.

"Few made it back.  You are here to retrieve the healing cup. The igwe has suffered a mysterious illness and drinking from the cup is his only chance of survival."

Murmuring rose among the girls at the word mysterious. It went on for a while before one of the girls, Agbomma asked, " If what you say is true, the Igwe is bound to die anyway. What is the need of even trying?"

"You are asking us to put one necks on the line for a man we do not know, you do not have to be reminded that we are not here of our will." Nazza spoke, Ada thought she reminded her of Ogadi though a less hostile version.

She was tall and pretty and carried herself like royalty.

A lot of the girls voiced their agreement.

"Why couldn't girls from this village do it?" Nonye, a very quiet girl spoke.

"I thought the healing cup was a myth?" Ada asked quietly.

The girls stooped their murmuring and turned to her, Agbarakwe sat straight in his chair at her question. "My mother used to tell me stories about it, she said a drink from it could heal any illness, however men wanted the cup for personal gain and then one day the cup vanished."

"The healing cup was given to our ancestors by the gods as a blessing, for years everything was fine but greed entered the hearts of men and they fought for the healing cup, for a lot of reasons." Agbarakwe's voice was grave as he told the tale, the atmosphere in the obi was heavy as the girls listened.

"Then one day the cup disappeared, wars erupted, men blamed each other for the cup's disappearance-"

"Well, now we know it's not a myth." Nazza interrupted, "What I don't understand is why the cup suddenly popped up again?"

"Even strange is why we girls have to go get it? Are there no men capable in the land?" Agbomma chipped in.

"What offence could the Igwe have committed to warrant such an illness beyond known medicine?" A quiet voice spoke. All attention snapped to the speaker, Dera still hadn't moved from her perch.

"Young one, What is your name?" Agbarakwe asked?

"Chidera." The girl replied her voice quiet, she was small, maybe fifteen, sixteen, Ada felt a pang of pain, couldn't the kidnappers have picked someone older, if they never made it this girl's future was gone.

"Why do you think the king is being punished?" Agbarakwe's voice pulled her from her thoughts, she could hear something in his voice but she couldn't place her hand on it.

"My Nnenne use to say strange things happen to him the gods want to punish."

Agbarakwe smiled, "your grandmother is a wise woman, however no one know the ways of the gods. I know you all have questions but you will have to hold onto them. We will talk more soon. Your training starts tomorrow I suggest you get a lot of rest tonight."