CITY OF WITCHES

Regina Allen 

Hot metal whizzed past his ear. Warm air filled Iyapo’s aching lungs as he fled the white slaver. The shackles around his neck, hands and ankles fought his limbs, but he pushed against the stiff, unyielding metal that swelled his wrists so they resembled bloated wildebeests.

“Catch him!” came the cries of men following his tracks.

Birds, startled from the sound, shrieked alarm. The waving canopy sent brisk breezes to Iyapo’s strained muscles. Sweat ran down his temples, blinding him. He stumbled, lost his footing and rolled like a pebble until his body smashed against cool stone.

Coarse sand stuck in his throat. Ignoring the pain, Iyapo jumped to his feet. He saw crumbled, decayed huts with malnourished trees, bent and twisted. They heralded a ruinous city of basalt, diseased with rot and tropical growth along crooked walls and cavernous windows.

As a boy, Iyapo had remembered his father’s stories about ancient cities, cities of the afiti – the witches – where poor souls were taken and given to their gods.

Gunshots interrupted his thoughts. Iyapo, a confused antelope, ran to and fro until he found two large worm-eaten wooden gates open just enough to allow him passage. His brain screamed Don’t enter! But fear of the alternative overruled and he slipped inside, just as a bullet nicked the hinge of the gate.

The sand burned his calloused feet. He winced at the sharp pain stabbing his left temple. No songbirds or insects chorused; no flowers or festive colours paraded in windows or doorsteps. The round, whitewashed huts, with gaping doorways and two black sockets for windows, billowed the stench of decayed flesh into his nostrils. Iyapo flinched, covered his nose and made quick searches of the huts for a weapon – any weapon – he could use against the white men.

Iyapo ventured deeper into the city. Hut after hut lay barren, save for bones and smashed skulls scattered on the floor. He didn’t want to think about how they had died, didn’t want to see in his mind’s eye the gruesome dinners held in this city. He just wanted to find a weapon and get out of there.

In the distance, Iyapo saw a dark, towering structure, a termite hill above ant mounds. The sun shone brightly, but the structure absorbed light so it neither reflected nor bathed in the sun’s warmth. This must be a temple or great oba’s palace, Iyapo thought. If so, there should be a cache of weapons, and maybe a few gourds of water, stashed somewhere in the palace rooms. If there was any hope of defending himself, of getting out of here and somehow back home, his answers lay in whatever that structure held.

As Iyapo neared, he noted the palace was composed of basalt like the city’s walls. An oba wouldn’t construct a basalt palace and one with corners. The roof should be round as well as the palace. This is an afiti’s palace, he realized. Yet, he hoped to find something to use as a weapon against the relentless white slavers and break the shackles from his limbs.

A dark-grey current of smoke snaked from the structure’s mouth to slither under his feet. He suddenly felt lightheaded and couldn’t focus his vision. The current licked his feet until he felt a slight tug, as if it wanted to carry him forward, toward the palace. A feeler, Iyapo realized. It meant afiti still lived in the city. They knew he was here.

Carefully, so as not to create ripples in the grey skein of smoke, Iyapo slipped out of the current. Any sudden movement in the smoke would alert afiti to his presence. More grey tendrils flowed from the palace in all directions, searching for more humans within its walls. Iyapo, worried that an afiti would swoop from the skies and spring from the dead huts, strode toward what he now knew to be an afiti temple.

Gems flashed a kaleidoscope of colours that danced along the walls. Spears, javelins, swords – so much weaponry to choose from. Never had he seen such riches in his life! Many weapons he did not recognize. Many foreign headdresses adorned the place. One metal headdress caught his attention. Its faded plume waved like cotton burdened with shoots. There were many shields from the Ashanti, the Fullah and the Bambara. Others were strange. Faces of white men with short hair and crested helmets adorned metal shields. The shields were different shapes: some were round and had strange animals painted on them, while others were long and rectangular, painted red with gold trim. Perhaps these white tribes searched for the ancient city of Kultar.

Kultar was a place of great knowledge, wisdom and riches. Griots told stories of the ancient city along an old caravan route that led to the Northern Kingdom where lions were revered and worshiped. Knowledge was a commodity, and Kultar and the Northern Kingdom exchanged ideas. The griots also told of Kultar’s demise when a traveler from the North brought with him an ancient scroll. The traveler read the scroll aloud to the citizens who, when they heard the words, tore out their hair, wailed and shredded their clothes. Over time, Kultar’s greatness faded; its wisdom dimmed as it decayed into depravity. Its inhabitants forgot the old ways and began to worship gods older than the known gods. The inhabitants soon developed a taste for human flesh. Many poor travelers ended up as cuts of meat in their markets. The Northern Kingdom cut off all ties and alerted other cities of Kultar’s evil. It was the Chezwe, Bringers of Knowledge, who drove them out, drove them away from the cities of men. In the forests, the swamps and caves, the remnants of Kultar worshiped their gods.

Iyapo wondered if this was the ancient city Kultar.

“Captain, William, his tracks lead to those ruins in front of us,” a tall, lanky man, with blond hair plastered to his neck, pointed toward the ancient city.

Captain William Marsh appeared from the brush and let out a low whistle as he surveyed the city. Finding the Negro in the ruins complicated things. “I’ll cover this section of the city and you take that, John. We’ll meet toward the center where that black structure is,” the Captain said.

John sighed. “All this for one Negro? Ain’t we got enough to take back?”

William spat on the ground. “I never leave with half my cargo. It’s all or nothing.”

John and William walked toward the city, rifles cocked and ready in case the Negro should ambush them. John blinked several times; his vision was out of focus. He felt dizzy, caught his breath because it felt as if he were pulled under water. The dark-grey smoke snaked through a set of gates to curl like a pet dog around his feet. He absently kicked at it, watched it dissipate, only to swiftly reform and continue its journey.

“Hmm, William, see this smoke. Ain’t it strange?”

William never looked down. “Just means he’s here. C’mon, we’ve got him now.”

Though William scouted the city, John’s eyes locked on the tall black structure in the city’s center. There must be gold – more gold then he could ever amass in all his voyages to this cursed land for slaves. Besides, half the cargo died in the Middle Passage, so the risk of capturing all the black heathens couldn’t stem the overwhelming debt he’d accrued back in New Orleans. Being brother of the captain didn’t translate to instant wealth. It just meant he got scraps, was all, and he wanted more – much more.

John strode, then ran, toward the temple involuntarily, yet anxious because he hoped to find treasure, treasure that would pay off his gambling debt, buy his own plantation and provide an easy life.

Iyapo’s eyes drank in all the treasures so openly draped in and around the temple. He stepped closer to the altar; dried bloodstains and tufts of hair stuck at the rim. He didn’t want to think about the men, women and children offered upon that gruesome table. He needed a weapon, anything to defend himself against the whites and break the confining chains off his limbs.

He heard the careless footsteps of someone running toward the temple. From the mound of gold and jewels, Iyapo snatched a purple robe and draped it over himself. He found a dark corner behind the altar and pressed his body against the wall until he blended with the shadows.

John followed the trail of gold, silver and gems, stuffing what he could into his boots and shirt. At the altar, he saw a large, golden shield. “Will, come look. You won’t believe –”

He never finished his sentence. A bronze spear lodged in his abdomen. He dropped his rifle and collapsed.

“John? John!” William, more cautious than his brother, stepped slowly toward the altar. The sun’s journey across the sky would end soon and what light the temple held, diminished. William looked down at the great wealth strewn about and knew it was a trap. Poor John lay dead somewhere inside. Stupid fool. The Negro was smart, had spirit. He’d break his spirit so thoroughly he’d have that Negro licking his boots before the end of the voyage. William cocked his rifle. He wasn’t going to be the Negro’s second casualty.

An invisible hand dragged away the dead man’s body. Iyapo’s heart thundered. The blackness melted his silhouette into its fleshy folds. Who or what took the white man’s corpse?

He heard a gun cock outside the temple. Iyapo’s eyes widened. Trembling, he clutched his spear tighter. A shot fired. The bullet hit its mark. A surge of burning metal ripped into Iyapo’s left shoulder followed by a river of pain that rushed down his side. He saw the barrel of the gun floating and, just as quickly as it appeared, the barrel disappeared. Shots shattered the silence, followed by a human cry. Animal and inhuman grunts drowned out the white man’s strangled cries.

A cold finger traced down Iyapo’s spine as a monolithic figure filled the doorway, blocking all light. Cold talons snatched Iyapo’s spear. Lightheaded and feverish, Iyapo consigned himself to his fate. He stumbled to the floor and fainted.

The creature fell upon him like a vulture on carrion.

Iyapo awoke to find himself tied to a stake. The slaver beside him was also bound. The moon lurked in the shadows of the forest. Lit torches lined the huts and the temple’s entrance. A creature that resembled a black hyena loped toward the altar and dropped the dead man’s naked body onto the stone slab. Every bone in Iyapo’s body shook at the sight. The white man whimpered and cried. He glared at Iyapo with dread and hate.

“John didn’t think you were worth tracking. Now, John’s dead. You damn black heathens!”

A laugh, deep and hollow, froze Iyapo’s blood. He struggled fiercely craning his neck to see an afiti.

The afiti, taller than Iyapo, had a nose more vulture than human and a crocodilian grin. He wrapped his muscular body in a black hyena hide.

“You damn – you led us into a trap!”

The afiti turned his head to the white man and approached him until their faces were within a hair’s breath. “Address me as ‘Lumo, afiti to the Most Exalted’.”

“What the hell are you?” William’s voice now wavered.

“Afiti!” Iyapo shouted.

“‘Witch’, in the white man’s language.”

At that, William’s muscles went slack. “That’s it? A witch doctor? Hah! When I get back to the ship, I’ll send more men to hunt you down and kill you for killing John.”

Lumo smiled. “Greed led you to my city. This was your undoing.”

William spat in Lumo’s face.

In the same stern tone, Lumo said, “You whites believe yourselves the supreme masters of our land. There are things of this earth you do not understand.”

“Well, I do know that, one way or another, I’m getting out of here.”

“Perhaps you are right. One way or another, you shall leave.”

Lumo raised an arm, and then let it fall to his side. The drums spoke shadow talk, an ancient and strange language that provoked an involuntary shudder from Iyapo. The talking drums awakened the dead. The skies blackened with afiti on the backs of emaciated owls with membranous wings. They came from the forest; phantoms with insipid hyena laughs shambled toward the temple. Lumo approached the altar. He called for an attendant, who handed him a large, curved knife that caught the glint of firelight. He uttered strange words that Iyapo knew were older than any human language.

Arms outstretched, Lumo cried, “Tonight, our god, the Ancient One, will grace us with his appearance!”

Lumo carved up the body. He placed the pieces in a bowl and passed it around to the crowd. Some ate the meat raw, while others skewered their piece and roasted it over the fires near the huts.

An afiti larger than Lumo strode through the crowd and ascended the steps, swinging an axe. He stood over the dead man and, in one swing, decapitated the corpse. The crowd cheered. Lumo lifted the severed head for all to see. Then he faced the temple with outstretched arms, chanting, calling again the name of his god. The ground quaked from the thing that came from earth’s bowels. Two glowing orbs peered from the blackened temple. Iyapo saw a flash of white, dagger teeth set in a reptilian snout. A tendril snatched the severed head and disappeared back into the temple.

The crowd, lazy from their feast, savoured every scrap and morsel of their first meal in centuries. Then the drums sounded and afiti, beast and human, rose up to dance.

Lumo came to Iyapo. “You are next.”

Iyapo struggled fiercely against the ropes, despite the intensifying pain in his shoulder. William whimpered and cried. He said this was no way for a white man to die. Iyapo stared at him. And this was okay for him?

Lumo laughed as he untied Iyapo. As soon as he was unshackled, Iyapo swung his good arm and struck Lumo across the face with his chain. Lumo staggered from the blow, touched his face and looked at his fingers wet with blood. Iyapo didn’t wait, but struck him repeatedly, keeping Lumo unbalanced until he fell beneath the altar, stunned. Frantically, Iyapo searched for a rifle and saw one of the attendants running towards him with one. The attendant cocked and fired, jerking back several paces from its recoil. No time. He had to flee.

He ran past the slaver and then stopped. The revelers became aware of what had occurred and shouted their alarm. He hated himself for this but ….

Another shot fired. Iyapo ducked from the whizzing bullet as he desperately untied William from the stake. With two people to catch, the afiti would have to split into two hunting parties. A slim chance but a chance, nonetheless. He wasn’t releasing the white man out of sympathy.

William slapped Iyapo on the back. “Let’s get out of here before they roast us, too.”

Both slaver and Iyapo ran through the throng of afiti. William grabbed a javelin and used it to cut a small swath for himself and Iyapo. Iyapo swung his chains overhead, keeping the swooping owls away from them. As soon as they entered the forest, they separated, followed no more by afiti because their god rumbled angrily in the temple. Unbound by Lumo’s words, their god arose from the temple and punished its worshipers.

Iyapo heard strangled cries from the City of Witches. He ran deeper into the forest until the cries disappeared in the forest canopy. When he felt safe, Iyapo stopped to rest against a thick tree. He closed his eyes, listened to his own breathing, the forest sounds, and the cool breeze that tickled his sweaty skin. The lulling sounds of the forest relaxed his muscles and he slumped onto the forest floor, drifting slowly to sleep.

He heard a gun cock. Startled, Iyapo jumped up to face a small group of white men, rifles aimed at his head. Captain William Marsh pushed through, still carrying the javelin that had saved them from the afiti.

“This is the one,” he said to his men.

“You ain’t never said where John was,” one man said.

“He got stupid. A lion killed him. C’mon back to the boat!” Captain William shoved Iyapo with the javelin. The other men grabbed his chains and kicked him forward. They mumbled that they had never seen a lion in this part of Africa.

Iyapo looked behind his shoulder. Captain Marsh walked fast, looking all around like a scared monkey. Iyapo knew, no matter what the Captain might say, that Lumo and his god would follow him and the white man to wherever they journeyed.

Regina Allen lives in upstate New York, where she is attending college full-time in a nursing program and works at a hospital as a patient care associate. When not studying or working, she writes speculative fiction, reads everything she can get her hands on and researches the strangest theories born out of her dreams. She is currently working on a science fiction short story and a novel.

The author speaks: Years ago, I researched American slavery and African kingdoms because I love history and was keenly interested in African mythologies and legends. The result was “City of Witches” and other short stories centered on the main character.