31 In the Chief's House

"What's that?!"

The chief who sat by the fire with two guards behind him asked scared.

Pa! Pa

The sound of leg sinking in flesh was heard twice. What followed was the two guards who had turned to check what was happening being thrown onto the other side of the wall. They lay unconsciously on the floor the next minute. The chief rose to his feet, looked at the figure that walked gallantly into his 'manyatta' with fear written on his ugly face.

Chiefs were expected to be very strong warriors. The fact that this fellow would dare walk into his house without fear showed that the man wasn't ordinary. The chief wanted to say something but when he saw two familiar physiques walking in, he nearly keeled over. He was sure these people were here with bad intentions.

"What do you want from me?" He asked horror-stricken.

"You still ask what we want?" Apeleka asked gravely.

The image of this chief lashing her a few years ago started running in her mind. Gritting her teeth tightly, she slapped the chief as hard as she could on his left cheek. The chief saw small stars dancing at his sight before hearing a sharp 'ndiii' sound on his left ear. Before he even processed what was happening, another slap landed on the same cheek. This time it was a little harder. The chief reeled before falling with his arse on his royal stool.

When he came to, he stood up furiously. Since when had he been chagrined that way? Moreover by a woman!

"I will kill you!" He bawled.

"You have to pass through me before you do that."

The chief almost jumped on Apeleka to make her pay for her sins when he heard a cold emotionless voice beside him. It is then that he remembered the women did not come alone. Without warning, he jumped over the fire with the intention of pouncing on the young man.

While still in air, he found himself stuck in some strong grip by his neck. He was then smacked on the wall. The building trembled a little from the impact and dust rained on the trio. Like a bag of potatoes, the chief fell on the floor, with his belly facing downwards. He licked a little cow dung before struggling to get up, coughing endlessly. He was angry but was there anything he could do?

"I have a lot of cattle, please take them and spare my life." seeing that force could not work on these people, the chief turned to softer means.

He was punched on the chest by Ochieng' the moment he finished saying. He was sent flying before falling on his beautiful bed, reducing it to pieces. This time he spurted a mouthful of blood. He tried standing up but saw a soma standing before it.

"Ah"

The chief shouted without knowing. He was scared to his core. He tried screaming to alert everyone but could not find his voice. He tried reaching for his horn to blow it up and alarm his guards but he was all numb.

"Let him go or they both die."

The chief wanted to plead for his life when he heard the voice of one of his guards. Ochieng' turned only to see Apeleka and her mother each held by a guard by the neck with swords pointed at their necks. They panicked and trembled in the arms of the warriors. For Apeleka, dying could not end her life because her body had the ability to rejuvenate but, how about her mother?

"Are you sure about what you are doing?" Ochieng' laughed. It was like the warriors were performing a mirthful drama.

Phuuu! Phuuu!

The warriors did not know when but they heard some piercing sounds coming towards them. They did not have time to react when an ear detached from their heads each. They left the women to nurse their injuries. One even tried squalling but was kicked on his inguen by Apeleka. He dropped near the fire and groaned in pain. On seeing her daughter's reaction, the mother decided to do the same on the other warrior. Though old, her kick was more powerful. The warrior she kicked was petrified and stood there like a stone pillar, his eyes shining brightly reflecting lights from the fire on the center of the house and the torches hanging on the wall.

The chief was not getting along well. Two beatings from the powerful Ochieng'made him feel pain from all over his body. Ochieng' searched the 'manyatta' and found a whip made of hippo's hide hanging at a corner of the building. He handed it over to Apeleka. The lady looked at him confusedly. He nodded and told her,

"Time to collect your debt my dear."

He eyes immediately lit up as she rushed to the chief. She immediately begun wrecking mayhem the moment she arrived before him. The chief tried saying something but was not given a chance.

Whack!

The whip ascended and descended continuously at a high speed. Every time it descended, it landed on the chief's body savagely taking with it some flesh and blood. The person doing this was sweating profusely, punting like a dog that had run a thousand metres. She was getting tired but when she remembered what this chief made her go through, she tried to hit harder and harder with time. The mother was scared stiff by the sight, she covered her face with her hands not to see. The young man only stood beside her crossing his arms nervelessly. It was as if nothing was happening.

This went on until the chief started puffing heavily. Ochieng' walked to Apeleka's side, took the whip and gently pattedher back softly telling her 'it's okay' several times. She then fell on his bosom and wept. The young man continued patting her back repeating 'it's okay' as if she wasn't listening. After around fifteen minutes, she left his embrace and walked to her mother's side wearing a satisfied look on her beautiful face.

The chief's house was always isolated from other buildings. Serving five small clans, his 'manyatta' was constructed at the center. It was also a distance away from these clans and that is why even though there was commotion in the chief's place, nobody outside heard it. The building was heavily guarded, but Ochieng' was someone who had lived with beasts who had senses that human senses could not compare to. He had raided several beasts in their dens without them knowing. Going into the chief's building without alerting someone wasn't a difficult feat. Even when he kicked the door, he did it so discreetly that only the chief and the guards in the 'manyatta' heard it.