Chapter 19: A Secret Room and Obscure Messages
2107words
She shut down her PC, and the sound echoed in the silent room. Feeling defeated, she stood up slowly, stretching out the stiffness from her back. An unexpected squeak, scarcely perceptible over the city's far off murmur, grabbed her eye.
Eki frowned, staring at the shelf hidden in a dimly lit corner. The noise seemed to come from that direction. Feeling curious, she walked to the shelf and touched the rough spines of books bound in cowhide.
Another squeak, this time stronger and more particular. Eki's heart skirted a thump. Could it be the old house adjusting itself? Or possibly there was additional meaning to that noise?
Pushed by a feeling of wanting to explore, she leaned on a specific part of the shelf and was surprised when it moved with a soft click. A narrow space behind the shelf appeared, hidden in darkness.
Eki stopped for a moment, feeling doubt mixing with her curiosity. Iya Wura's warnings about hidden secrets echoed in her mind. Taking deep breath, she grabbed heavy bookend from desk and, holding it above head like makeshift lantern, stepped into unknown world.
The area was small and dusty, with a light smell of mold and forgotten items. As she moved through the darkness, spider webs touched her face. The only sound breaking the silence was the beating of her own heart.
After a very long time that seemed endless, the passageway opened into a hidden room. Eki was breathing heavily as her makeshift light showed a space unlike anything she had ever seen before.
The room was like a treasure chest of the past. There were old wooden boxes all around, some opened with things from ancient Yoruba times coming out—beaded necklaces, detailed carved staffs, and shiny bronze statues. Blurred embroidered works of art portraying scenes of a former period decorated the walls.
But what really made Eki feel chills were the writings on the walls in a flowing script she couldn't understand. Were these drawings, or maybe some ancient language?
Eki carefully walked to the wall, feeling her heart pounding. With the flickering light of her poor flashlight, she traced the message with her finger. It felt oddly familiar, like a memory cooking just below the surface of her mind.
Coming closer, she tried hard to understand the pictures. They seemed to show two people, a man and a woman, with their hands joined together. Underneath the figures, a solitary word was rehashed on different occasions - "Orisha."
Eki's breath trapped in her throat. Orisha - a reference to the Yoruba gods. What was going on with these images? Who were these individuals in the message?
Unexpectedly, a profound voice frightened her from her dream.
"Eki? What are you doing down here?"
Eki spun around, her heart pounding. Standing in the doorway, Dapo's face was frozen with surprise.
"Dapo!" she shouted, alleviation and disarray doing combating inside her. "How did you… "
Before her inquiry could finish, Dapo entered the room. His eyes widened as he saw the antiques and strange writings on the wall.
"This… " he stammered, his voice strangely stressed. "This ought not be here."
Eki watched him, her initial amazement slowly turning into doubt. His reaction seemed too extreme, very… personal.
"What is this spot, Dapo?" she requested, her voice firm. "Furthermore, messages' meaning could be a little more obvious."
Dapo hesitated, his eyes moving around the room before finally settling on her. He took a deep breath, and his voice was filled with a new sense of sincerity.
"Eki," he began, "this room keeps secret things about the chateau's history. Stories of love, sadness, and a forbidden group."
Eki felt a shock of fervor blended in with worry. A prohibited romantic tale? Was this in some way associated with Iya Wura's admonitions about the past?
Before Dapo could explain more, a loud noise echoed from somewhere inside the large house. Both Eki and Dapo stopped moving, their eyes quickly turning towards where the sound came from.
"What was that?" Eki murmured, her voice bound with dread.
Dapo's face solidified. He got her hand, his grasp shockingly close. "We really want to leave," he said critically. "Presently."
He pulled her toward the entry, but before they could escape, another sound broke the silence—a voice, deep and husky, speaking in a strange language. The words echoed through the hidden room, making Eki feel very scared.
Dapo stopped suddenly, his grip tightening on her hand. His eyes moved quickly to the source of the chanting, a hidden door at the back of the room covered by a heavy tapestry.
"Who's there?" he called out, his voice a low snarl. In any case, the reciting just strengthened, the words acquiring a cadenced earnestness.
Eki's psyche dashed. Who was reciting? Could it be said they made the noise earlier? More importantly, were they dangerous?
Fear held her tight, but seeing Dapo's strong and firm face calmed her down. He was there with her, and for some reason she could not explain, she had a strange feeling that everything would be okay when he is around.
Similarly as Eki assembled her boldness to pose her inquiries, the embroidery covering the secret entryway tore open, uncovering a narrow passage washed in an eerie red glow.
A hidden figure came out from the entrance, face wrapped in darkness. The chanting stopped and was replaced by a gloomy silence. The air popped with a peculiar energy, making Eki's hair stand on end.
Dapo ventured forward, his voice firm however edged with alert.
"Who are you?" he requested. "What is it that you need?"
The figure remained silent, its presence giving off a disturbing sense of power. Eki couldn't see the face, but she could feel its gaze—intense and merciless—scanning the room.
Suddenly, the figure moved its head and a single word escaped from its mouth - a name spoken in the same strange language used in messages on wall.
"Orisha..." it spoke with a scratchy voice, the one word echoing in the room like a faint prophecy.
Eki's heart pounded in her chest. Orisha. The very word that showed on wall, the same word looking like it held key to secret room's mysteries. Did this figure somehow know her connection with message?
Dapo's eyes restricted. "What do you are familiar Orisha?" he countered, his voice taking on a hazardous edge.
The figure stayed silent, but a moment of surprise seemed to pass over its hidden face. Then suddenly, with swift motion, it raised its hand, showing an old pendant hanging from a worn-out rope.
The pendant was a roughly shaped wooden figure, its form strikingly similar to the one shown in the messages on the wall. Eki gasped, feeling a wave of recognition hit her suddenly.
It was a similar figure - the one holding hands with another. The same one linked to that forbidden love story.
But what did the figure require? And how could it know that Eki and Dapo were in the hidden room?
Before Eki could ask her questions, the figure moved quickly ahead, its hand reaching for the pendant on Dapo's neck. Eki tried to shout but couldn't as she noticed a hidden shine of a blade attached to the figure's wrist.
Dapo answered very quickly, almost like lightning. He pushed Eki away and blocked the attack from the mysterious person. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed loudly in the room.
Eki mixed back, her thoughts swirling in a storm of fear and confusion. She wanted to assist Dapo, but how could she? She didn't have anything to guard herself with, nothing to stop this shrouded assailant.
Once again, as the figure stumbled, an idea came to Eki. One of the old objects in sight in the room - a heavy bronze staff leaning against a wall.
Feeling a rush of adrenaline, she leapt for the staff and grabbed it just in time to swing at the figure's legs. The strike made the attacker stumble backward, quickly turning its focus away from Dapo.
Dapo, he immediately take the opportunity, using a swift kick to disable the person. The bladed pendant clattered across the floor. He moved fast, forcing the figure onto ground with strength Eki did not expect at all.
"Who are you?" Dapo requested, his voice bound with scarcely controlled anger. "For what reason would you say you are after this?"
The person wiggled under him but remained silent. Eki hurried to Dapo's side, her heart pounding in her chest.
"We want to leave," she breathed heavily, her voice stuck in her throat. "This place not safe anymore."
Dapo glanced at her, his eyes not changing for a moment. Then he nodded shortly, gripping the struggling person more tightly.
"Hang on," he said, his voice troubling. "We really want replies before we leave."
Eki gulped nervously, feeling a knot of fear tightening in her stomach. Responses were crucial, however her innate need for survival urged her to leave the concealed chamber, and the mansion altogether. The singing had stopped, replaced by an eerie calm that felt even more disturbing.
"Dapo," she begged, barely whispering. "Time is running out." We must leave.
Beneath Dapo, the figure, aware of their indecision, resumed fighting. It let out a quiet grunt but continued to stay silent.
All of a sudden, a slight vibration traveled across the ground, hardly noticeable at the beginning but becoming more intense with each moment that went by. Dust fell from above, causing the concealed chamber to feel charged with an uneasy energy.
"Tremor!" Eki cried out, feeling panic overwhelm her. "We must leave immediately!"
Dapo quickly looked at the tremor, then turned his gaze back to the figure. His face showed a mix of frustration and a slight touch of fear. With reluctance, he let go of the assailant, who quickly got up and hurried back into the red-lit passage, vanishing just as suddenly as it had come.
Without hesitating, Dapo seized Eki's hand and they raced towards the secret entrance, feeling the vibrations grow stronger. They hurried through the tight corridor, forcing their way past the bookshelf in a frantic hurry.
Upon re-entering the study, the tremors reached the highest point. The room trembled intensely, causing books to fall off shelves and pictures to crash onto the floor. Eki yelled while clutching onto Dapo for assistance.
Just as suddenly, the shaking stopped, and an eerie silence filled the air. Eki breathed deeply, her legs on the verge of collapsing.
Dapo tugged her towards the window, his gaze quickly moving around the room. "We must leave this place," he exclaimed, his voice filled with urgency.
Eki gave a nod, her thoughts moving quickly. The earthquake, the mysterious figure, the secret room - the entire situation seemed unreal, almost like something from a dream. The adrenaline rushing through her veins confirmed to her that it was completely genuine.
Dapo opened the window and a blast of chilly night breeze came inside. There was an unusual calmness in the ground outside, with no apparent visible effects of the earthquake.
"What about the rest?" Eki inquired, a hint of worry for Mama Bola and Aunty Kemi appearing in her thoughts.
"We will follow up with them later," Dapo responded with a sense of urgency in his voice. "At this moment, we must leave this house."
He assisted her in getting out of the window, then joined her on the balcony. In the distance, faint sirens wailed, hinting at the potential chaos the earthquake could bring.
Eki turned her head to the study, feeling a mix of sadness and fear in her heart. The concealed chamber, the mysterious notes, the undisclosed information it contained – everything ready to be investigated. However, at the moment, prioritizing survival was the main focus.
Dapo took hold of her hand, his grasp strong but comforting. "Let's go," he whispered quietly. "Time to leave."
They vanished into the darkness as one, abandoning the shaking and mysteries of the concealed chamber. However, the meeting had inevitably altered them forever. Their minds were filled with swirling questions - about the past, the cloaked figure, and their own link to the enigmatic word: Orisha. The search for solutions had just started, and the secret chamber in the Moonlight Glow mansion contained the crucial key, ready to be discovered.
