Page 121 of Children of Anguish and Anarchy

I sprint across the field as the Skull lifts up his hammer. Before the Skull can attack, I hurl my bone axe in the air, striking him in the center of his chest.

Our battle rages throughout Lagos, from the battered port to the deserted marketplace. We fight with all we have, but no matter how many Skulls we defeat, more pour through the alleyways.

To my left, hammers catch soldiers straight in the chest, sending them flying into the barricades. To my right, a Skull seizes two soldiers by the necks. He squeezes them until they snap.

Another Skull knocks a line of soldiers to the ground. With a vengeful swipe, his glowing blade digs into their abdomens. The massive Skulls strike with no remorse. They cut straight through the seal of Orïsha across our soldiers’ breastplates, forcing our soldiers back.

Keep going!I will myself, pushing though my muscles’ burn. I don’t know how much longer we can keep up the fight. There’s no end in sight—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The concussive force blasts through the air. It blows through the deserted buildings before us in a mere breath. I shield myself from the rubble that falls overhead. The clearing smoke reveals a full view of the sea.

The skies split open at the very seams. A rush of rain pelts from above. A string of lightning ripples through the red night from the east. The bolts dance above our heads in a vibrant blaze, golden lines crackling free.

Zélie…

I recognize her power. I feel her in the racing winds. My eyes sting as the shorelines of Orïsha transform. It’s like a hurricane is released over the seas.

Mountainous waves swallow the remaining carriers whole. The Skulls feeding into the alleyway are no more. Their bodies fly as they’re carried up, pulled into the raging storm.

I lift my face to the pelting rain, allowing it to wash the blood from my skin. I raise my axe into the air and roar.

The soldiers join me in full force.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE

ZÉLIE

THE MOMENTILANDon the thrashing seas, the waters start to glow. The white force ripples through the currents. It pulses far below.

My entire body shakes with the strength awakened from deep inside. Electricity rumbles through every vessel. Bolts of lightning shoot from my lips. Chanting voices fill my ears.

I open my arms to the night as I hear the call of my ancestors again.…

“Ti ìjì ati òòrùn—”

I shut my eyes, and I’m brought back to the mountaintops of Ibadan. Mama stands before me, head lifted to Oya’s storm. The faces of Reapers long passed circle around us, deep purple robes flying in the wind. They spread out their arms, laying their hands on my shoulders, my neck, and my temple.

As they chant, my skeleton shakes. The jolt reverberates through my core. A familiar heat runs through my veins. I inhale as the magic of life and death returns in full strength.

“4yà, kún mi nínú!” I cry out to my goddess. The air howls in response. Billowing clouds gather above, blocking out the Blood Moon. The clouds spiral above my head, creating the eye of a hurricane. Rain falls in sheets.

Nothing stands in my way as I race across the seas.

This ends here.

The white glow travels through the ocean as I sprint across the surface, spreading far beyond the horizon. I reach for every spirit that has fallen, every body tossed to the seas by the Skulls. I think of every maji we lost on their ships, every New Gaian left floating in the Black Bay. No life will be lost in vain.

We get our vengeance today.

Baldyr’s carrier sails at me at full speed, the largest craft in his annihilated fleet. The force of the hurricane rips through the clouds surrounding his vessel, allowing me to witness the monster he’s become.

Nearly double the size he was before, I see the effect of the power Baldyr siphoned from our veins. The beast of a king roars in his place, a mess of blood and iron. Red lightning crackles around his deformed metal skeleton. His twisted mask is smelted to his skin. Molten rock swirls through his body, oozing like an open wound. He stands on an elevated platform above an army of Skulls.

Baldyr opens up his arms, and a fissure splits through the seas. Ocean water pours into the divide as giant plumes of lava fly free. I skid to a halt as the molten wave arcs over my head.

“6mí òkú, ? gbé mi w0—”

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