Chapter 24: Chapter 24
GOING UP IN FLAMES
A deep hole formed in Sergio's head, from the front to the back. But somehow every tissue healed itself. And the coach's countenance remained the same. In a few seconds, there was no sign to show that the man had just been shot. Not even a stain of blood was on his shirt!
He laughed aloud in a very sinister manner. "You know nothing about power! How dare you contend with me without understanding the proper use of it?" Sergio's face then darkened. "Well, I will let you live because I know better, but you shall bear the consequences of your action!"
"Mr. Serg… Coach," Jason stuttered. "Think about your next action. You can't possibly go free! I understand you are in some kind of cult and perhaps we made a mistake by wrong association. Still, Jemimah and I hold nothing against you. Kindly let us leave and we will pretend like none of this ever happened. You are a man I respect. Please reconsider."
But it seemed as if his words further aggravated the situation. The coach's countenance changed. He now looked very upset. "Silence, you coward! How dare you defy me despite the signs and visions you've seen with your own eyes? The story I have told is as faithful as time itself. Yet, you are too foolish to perceive and reason!"
"Of course not! I swear by whatever you hold sacred, there isn't the slightest intention within me to defy you. Coach, long has love eluded me. Ask for something else I can offer. It's impossible to let go of Jemimah. Be merciful unto us." Jason pleaded fervently.
"I have had enough of this nonsense!
Roberto is but a pawn in this needless game. Right now he is a hindrance to us." Sergio stood up grimacing as he sauntered towards the footballer. "You are but a weed on a piece of ground kept fertile for generations. Your amorous connection to the chosen bride is useless and must be discontinued."
Then, he moved to a corner of the room as confident as a god with footsteps striking great terror in the hearts of everybody in the room. Sergio brought out another gun from a different pocket and returned to where Ariana was shielding her beloved. "Don't you dare lay a finger on him!" She warned.
"I have no such plan, ma'am," the coach replied.
There was a gunshot and Roberto screamed in agony! His left leg had been hit. Blood gushed out and flowed on the wooden floor.
"What have you done?" Ariana's eyes widened. She lifted her scared self quickly from the ground without thinking about her wounded hand. Thereafter, the young lady rushed towards Sergio and threw her weight on him. This was in order to prevent another shot.
But he disappeared in plain sight. So she fell badly thereby hitting her already injured hand. "Show yourself you bastard!" Ariana shouted. She was in severe pain.
Then, something extraordinary happened. The more furious she became, her eyes turned bloodshot and the complexion of her skin transformed into that of burning coal! Her clothes were set ablaze and she burst into a naked flame. Ariana stretched her wounded hand right in front of them and the injury was gone.
Then from thin air, she caught the coach from his invisible state holding him by the neck. After that, he could be seen by everyone.
He shook from both deep reverence, fear and pain. He could not utter a single word. But when she looked at him, Ariana threw the man to the ground. "Priest of the ancient hut, why do you bother me?"
"Mother, may I never be a bother to you! Accept my deepest sacrifice of remorse. Alas, the last couple have become so distracted by erotic temptations. The groom refuses to adhere to prophecy. He has fallen in love with a traitor, a descendant of Faya! Time is short and all I have done is bring him back on course, to put an end to his misdeeds."
"A descendant of Faya!" the burning woman asked and her flames intensified! Immediately she turned to Jason and Jemimah. On setting her eyes on them, Ariana roared, "What business has my groom with a betrayer?"
The young footballer had never been so scared in his life. Nonetheless, he would not have her touch Jemimah.
All of a sudden, he began to feel a surge of energy coursing through his veins. In a matter of seconds, he also transformed into a special flame! The fire appeared to be almost as transparent as air but its heat was hopelessly destructive. "Why bother me needlessly?"
"Mother, behold your bride," Sergio replied. "It is but a fortnight to the day of consummation as prophesied through the generations. But a descendant of Faya has come to stop it. She is even here among us!"
While the coach was still talking, the flame of the bride moved closer to that of the groom, it was as if they were attracted to one another. And right in front of the others present, the two of them united into the most beautiful light ever seen. It possessed all the colours of the rainbow.
The heat of this new flame was extremely unbearable! It moved towards Jemimah in order to hurt her!
It was as if the room had been set on fire. And there was nobody to protect the young lady!
The other players and their partners who cowered in fear because of Sergio's power were now alarmed by the fervent flame both Jason and Ariana had transformed into.