The relics and other cult items began to shake as the chants became more violent in its approach, the cloaked bodies moved around Selassi in a deranged manner. James held onto Selassi's hands, continuing to soothe her with reassuring words but nothing seemed to work.

Selassi could feel increasing pressure to push but fought against it, she didn't want to give birth to her baby right here, not with all these people surrounding like moths to a flame. Her instincts told her to push but her heart warned her of the possible fate for her child and that scared her more than anything.

She wanted to call out her parents for some sort of intercession but then she realised that they wouldn't be able to help at all given that they were part of this cult themselves. Everything seemed so hopeless right now and she knew that all she could count on was herself but for how long?

Meanwhile, Nina's head with groggy as her eyes opened, she moved a little, feeling her hands chained to the bed railing and turned to see that Theo was still knocked out. All Nina could remember was Selassi get lost in some kind of trance, someone pushing her to the side violently and then everything went black.

She knew that at this point, Selassi and her baby were in grave danger and by the looks of it, her instincts were right about both Auntie Diane and James who nowhere to be found.

She realised that she and Theo were not alone as two cloaked figures stood at the door with a strong focus on them. Still feeling a little delirious, Nina looked around with half-closed eyes to see if there was a way to distract them and finally setting her sights on the chair nearby, she looked back to the cloaked figures who seemed to be chanting some strange words.

Stretching out her foot, Nina strained in quietly whilst watching the cloaked bodies chant away and when it finally touched the chair, she used all her might to kick harshly making it fall instantly.

The cloaked bodies switched out of their chants, seeing the chair on the floor but both prisoners still unconscious, one of them investigated the scene and picking up the chair before getting closer to Nina who was pretending to sleep.

The cloaked individual got close, to see if she was really asleep and her eyes opened quickly before they knew it, Nina struck with force as she headbutted the cloaked body, knocking them over.  The other cloaked body came over but Theo got up quickly having listened the incident unfold, breaking the cheap chains off and grabbing the cloaked individual by the throat.

Theo was completely vexed by the situation they were in, he wasn't surprised that James was involved but he was concerned about Selassi, that was all that troubling his mind right now.

" Stop Theo, you're gonna kill the person. We don't need blood on our hands" Nina warned him as he let go of the cloaked individual who instantly passed out.

They decided to use the chains and some duct tape, they found rope to tie up the mysterious cloaked bodies. They took off their hoods which unveiled two ordinary men with snake symbols carved on the side of the face.

" Selassi was right about something following her, they might be part of the cult that she mentioned that her parents were part of" Nina mentioned which had Theo stunned. He never knew that she was in that much danger and if the cult were really here, that meant Selassi could be hurt or worse.

" This is so fucked, we need to get some kind of help," Theo said, getting up but Nina was worried that Auntie Diane might have few important people in her pocket and she was sure the police could be one of them.

"This might be a long shot but perhaps Father John could help. He's the parish priest at Selassi's family church and he's only one that I think might not be involved." Nina said, rubbing her hand nervously.

" Ok, let's go before they wake up and realise we are gone," Theo said, they grabbed their things and opening the door slightly, they saw no one there making a run for it.

Opening the front door, they saw that front gates were still open and ran to Selassi's car, driving out of the compound, hoping they would get the help in time before something fatal happened to Selassi.

Meanwhile,  Selassi was in a race against time as the contractions continued to cause detrimental pain and she fought as she could to not push but it was getting harder.

Noticing what she was doing, Daimonioi placed it's hand strategically on Selassi and purposely pushed down which made Selassi let out an excruciating scream, forcing her to push and it continued to do this rhythmically to thwart her plan to not give birth.

Selassi held onto James' arms for comfort as she pushed again, all the cult members watched in anticipation for the baby to appear.

" Your baby will be the ultimate gift Daimonioi, you can't fight this destiny, my dear." Auntie Diane taunted her.

Selassi's back arched as she pushed with all the might she could muster, the sounds of a baby's cry could be heard and Selassi joined in with the cry, feeling happy that the baby was ok but sad that it would be taken from her.

The baby placed on the liquid circle whilst it wailed loudly,  Daimonioi smirked as it moved away from the weakened Selassi towards the baby but it hissed in displeasure when it saw what the baby was.

Auntie Diane felt her blood run cold as she saw it too, she picked up the baby and surveyed on more time but she knew that the ritual was well truly fucked up and there wasn't much else she could.

Daimonioi could itself becoming weak all of sudden, it looked at the clock to see the time was nearly up and screeched once more, making the whole shake wildly. Parts of its skin started to fall off its body, burning it from the inside and started to move around uncomfortably.

The cloaked bodies pleaded as they watched the one they worshipped fall to its demise, slowly it fell to the ground and simply disintegrated into dust as soon as the clock struck at 12 midnight. 

The room fell to an uncomfortable silence with only the baby cooing lightly, Selassi leaned forward and grunting as she grabbed her baby, seeing that she had given birth to a beautiful daughter that shared her mother's warm chestnut tone.

The baby was a perfect mix of Selassi and James, having Selassi's doey eyes and James' trademark grin. The baby girl instantly melted in Selassi's embrace as James watched in wonder at the intimacy between mother and daughter.

Scooting closer, he was in awe of the fact that he had a child to call his own and it seemed like he would have a chance with Selassi and their baby after all if she let him, to say the least.

Auntie Diane was disbelief as she clutched onto the ashes of the demonic creature, there was nothing left to salvage and that only made her enraged, after all, she had worked just for the baby to be a fucking girl.

"ahhhhhhhhh. Did you not check the gender before this ritual, huh?" Auntie Diane asked angrily, her eyes twitching in a crazed manner. James knew that there was something he had missed and to be honest, he was so glad he never found pout before now.

" Selassi didn't want me at any of the appointments and she explicitly told me that she didn't want to know if the baby was a girl or a boy because she couldn't care less." James expressed smugly which made Auntie Diane chuckle in the most manic way possible.

" You had one job, James. It was so simple that an imbecile could do it but somehow, she bewitched you into doing something else; falling love and fantasising about a family you could never have. Why don't you tell her the truth about who really are? or should I?" Auntie Diane mentioned making Selassi look at him with concern.

" I was born into a poor family in a village outside of Accra, my family had always been superstitious that one day kisses and hugs became deranged calls for me to be killed because they thought I was some sort of witch child. I was thrown into the river at the tender age of five, floating for days until a fisherman found me and took me in with his family. But it wasn't long before they kicked me out for the same reason as my family's, I ran away to Accra to find a better life and hustle my way into education till Form 6 ( Year 12). It didn't matter where I went, it was like I was cursed because no one wanted to be around me or even be with me.  Diane approached me about an opportunity; a chance to have a family but there was a price to pay and unfortunately, that was you, baby. They told me that if-" James was cut off as Auntie Diane struck him harshly, tired of his silly sobs tory.

Selassi held her daughter closer as she allowed his words to sink in, though she felt sorry for him that didn't change how she felt about him. His actions would've gotten her killed and her baby harmed, that was beyond unforgivable for her.

Auntie Diane roughly ran her hands through her hair, trying to think about her next move and then it hit her like a ton of bricks, she walked over and pulled two cloaked figures who seemed to be apprehensive moving at all.

" Now, now my dear. Didn't I tell you that tonight would be full of surprises? I think you are going to be thrilled about this " Auntie Diane said in a fiendish tone as she pulled back the cloak hoods and unveiling something that should kill Selassi right then and there but she was so stunned that she remained frozen.

Both Ama and Kweku adjusted to their surroundings as they saw their daughter alive, feeling relieved that the ritual didn't work. It was what they wanted more than anything but equally, they were shocked at the fact she had a child in her arms.

" No, no, no, no, no. This can't be, I buried the both of you, carried you ashes with me and saw pictures of your charred pictures. What the fuck is going on?" Selassi screamed out, as tears fell uncontrollably.

She couldn't believe that she had bamboozled into believing that her parents were dead and coerced into having a funeral for two people who were clearly still alive and well. There was nothing that could prepare her for such an earth-shattering revelation like this.

" My, my, my. Selassi, I'm sure you are confused about what you are seeing but you see, your parents are to blame for this whole thing happening to you. Did you know want to know why? I'm sure that you do" Auntie Diane gave her one of her trademark smiles as she paced the room.

The room was still lit by candles all over the room, all the cloaked bodies were still reeling from the aftereffects losing their great one but Auntie Diane had gone full crazy as she began to detail something that would send Selaasi's whole world crashing down.

" Life is really funny sometimes, your mother wasn't always particularly a good friend to me but me being a bumbling and naive idiot, always dismissed it as nothing but her personality. All her life, she had it good; a privileged upbringing, popularity and a husband that adored her but there was one thing she couldn't do so easily; conceive, my dear. So one day, she came to me, pleading for help after trying all the methods that money could buy and finally for once her life, she begged and pleaded for something in her pathetic life. I would be lying if I said I wasn't satisfied by her bowing down to me for once." Auntie Diane expressed as Ama ducked her head in shame, she knew that this day might come but if she could, she would still never told Selassi the truth, it was better that way.

" I offered her something great and she was all too willing to do it but it took your father some time to come around to the idea. When he did, we can commence the deal that would bring you into the world; making a deal with Daimonioi to conceive but there was one condition as always, they could only have you for 24 years and when you turn 25, you must be sacrificed as repayment for you being loaned out to your parents. They agreed and it wasn't long before you were born 9 months later, those photos you found of them being in cult activity was just a ploy to make you think less of them. They were never involved but this room had to be created for our practices before the ritual had to be done; it was part of the debt repayment." Auntie reiterated, smiling devilishly as Kweku sighed, ashamed of what they did.

Looking at his daughter, he could see how astounded she was to what was being revealed and he could only feel remorseful for how they had betrayed and hurt. He wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to them anymore and somehow he understood that because if he was in that position, he would do the same.

" But why did you need my baby then? What were you going to use her for?" Selassi asked, startled and holding her daughter tightly.

" Daimonioi needed a human vessel to enter this earth fully and given that you are a loan It handed out, any children you give birth to also belong to It. As you should know, babies are the most vulnerable human beings but they are also closely linked to the spiritual realm so it makes senses. It would've been so easier if James had found out the gender before but his incompetence had cost me everything; money, status and power. How foolish of me to think that a cursed individual like him is competent enough to do the job" Auntie Diane, chuckling darkly.

" Selassi, my child. I'm so, so, so sorry for this, I wish there was a better way, we only did what we did because we are desperate. You have to understand, please." Ama expressed sorrowfully, reaching out to Selassi who backed away in disgust.

"Baby girl, it wasn't something we ever wanted to do but there really wasn't any other way that would work. Having you has been the biggest blessing in our lives and no matter how much you might hate us, I don't regret doing it because then we wouldn't have had you" Kweku vocalised, hoping that Selassi would try to understand their reasons but he could see in her eyes the pain that might not be healed.

" You could have adopted at least then no one would have to be sacrificed but you two are too selfish realise that. I could've died and your grandchild would be something else than a human being, tell me was it worth all this trouble?" Selassi lashed out, eyeing their guilty faces suspiciously.

They couldn't answer because they knew that there was truth in what she was saying and truthfully, they had no desire to adopt someone else's child, treating it their own. It just wasn't something that people of their status did, it would be admitting that they had failed to produce a child of their own and that in itself was a serious taboo issue in Ghana.

" Selassi, maybe you should see things from their viewpoint. I mean they risked their lives to have you this way and they are apologetic about it." James said, still playing devil's advocate which made Selassi give him the death stare.

" Fuck you, James. You're no better than them and my life was equally risked to the point of death so you talking all that bullshit isn't helping their case."  Selassi expressed in a venomous tone, there was absolutely no one in this room she could trust any more and she needed to get out of here before anything else could happen.

" Enough! This all ends now." Auntie Diane shouted in a malevolent tone that made everyone anticipate what her next move might be.

............................................................................................................................................................

Hey guys,

There is one more chapter left to go!!

Ama and Kweku are still aliveeeee!!!

Tell me your thoughts in the comments.

As always, vote, please.

Love,

TamaraMensah