"What were you doing within the hours of midnight and above!?" Chief Aderinsola asked Leo. He was furious inside but his expression remained calm.
His anger was not towards Leo. No! He taught his grandson well. He knew even though Leo might be wild sometimes, he would still never, on a whim indulge in something he doesn't understand its consequences.
Just as he had thought in the past? His enemies, whoever they were have resurfaced and they just made their move on his grandson.
"I was with a girl... But I didn't have any blood whatever with her grandpa, you have to believe me!" Leo pleaded. His eyes begging his grandfather to understand that he was saying the truth.
"Who is the girl!?" Aderinsola asked further.
"I don't know her. I picked her up at the club...
"Haa Leo!..." His mom tearfully exclaimed, cutting him off mid-sentence. Her tears now running freely down her eyes. "How could you pick a str..."
"Lara enough!" Aderinsola said curtly towards his daughter-in-law. They were all surprised that he was calm and not ranting towards Leo yet. Rather he directed his gaze back to Leo and continue calmly asking his questions.
"Did you sleep with her without a condom!?"
"Yes sir!... But I.." Leo wanted to explain further before he was cut off mid-sentence.
"You know better than to be giving an unnecessary explanation, Leonard! Only answer the questions I asked you, okay?"
"Yes, grandpa!"
Aderinsola nodded towards the chair nearest to him. Leo's eyes widen with surprise. Same with every other person in the room. They expected grandpa to blew off his top on hearing Leo's admission but the reverse was the case. He offered him a sit!
"Was she a virgin!?" He asked after Leo had sat down.
"Grandpa, I honestly can't answer that because I had no recollection of how it all went down."
"Okay, tell me how you met and everything that you can remember then"
"I saw her at the bar inside the private lounge that my friends and I were sitting. We thought she was a call girl and I approached her... I don't know... When I laid eyes on her, I was immediately attracted to her. I don't know how to explain this but it just kinda felt right to be with her.
I felt a strong pull towards her that I couldn't resist. I couldnt take my hands of her right from the bar either. The pleasure was great, it felt like magic. I suggested we get a room and she agreed. I remembered entering the room... And the rest after that was all blurry."
"How are you then sure you did anything with her if you can't remember clearly?" His mom asked hoping Leo would say he was not sure if he did anything with the girl.
Her heart became more saddened when she heard what Leo and her father-in-law said in reply to her question.
"I'm very sure I did something with her... The act might be blurry but I'm certain mom."
"Oh, he did something with her all right..." Aderinsola said and laughed. "And it happened exactly on the stroke of midnight. I know because I felt it immediately it happened. Their plan was perfectly timed and well-executed."
"Their plan? Who are they?" Leo's mom asked in confusion?
"We will find out soon, don't worry. All I know is their plan would surely fail." He replied to his daughter-in-law and directed his gaze back towards Leo.
"So you couldn't tell if she was a virgin!?"
"I think she was because there was bloodstain on the bed..."
"It was certainly a blood covenant alright." Adesinsola said with conviction and smiled knowingly to himself."
"But grandpa, Isn't there something we can do about this, since he was not conscious when the covenant was done!?" His mom asked worriedly.
"Breaking a blood oath comes with a very high cost and you won't know what it's going to cost you right away. Breaking the oath with this particular woman Leo was involved with is not going to be easy, I'm afraid."
"Hmmn..." Hearing this, Leo's mother grunted deeply, furiously shaking her legs where she was sitting.
"What are we going to do then?... We can't just sit and fold our arms right!?" She said pleadingly to her father-in-law and sighed deeply.
"No, we certainly can't! I'm sure of some of the solution but I will need to consult with my friend Oracle before I know the rest."
"What are the ones you're sure of then..." Leo asked desperately. Eager to find out how he could get out of the mess he found himself in.
"For you to have sex with her exactly on the stroke of midnight, the girl must be a chime child." Aderinsola started explaining the solutions to them.
"What's a chime child?" Leo asked again curiously.
"Chime children are born exactly on the stroke of midnight. That time at which one day ends and a new one begins. As special as these individuals are, it's easy for those who know what to do to end their lives just like that" He explained with a snap of his finger.
"They are weakest at midnight. The time they came to the world was also the easiest time to send them back to the spirit world."
"Then what's stopping us from ending her life exactly at that moment grandpa!?" Tola the eldest of Leo's sister asked. The more she learned about this girl the more she wishes she knew what it takes to end her life.
Leo was her only brother and his girlfriend was her best friend. So she couldn't just understand why grandpa was not already preparing to kill the bitch as soon as possible.
"Tola!..." Chief Aderinsola called his granddaughter's name in surprise and laughed at what she said.
"Why are you always impatient!?" He asked looking seriously into her eyes.
"I have always told you to think before you act... Not the other way round. We cannot do what you suggested Tola because your brother's life is now tied with this person's life.
In fact, we'll have to start praying that nothing bad happens to her because if she dies now, then it's just a matter of seven days before the same faith happens to Leo."
"God forbid bad thing!"
"God forbid that in Jesus' name!"
"I will not cry over any of my children by God's grace!"
All the women said at once, snapping their fingers over their heads to ward off all intending evil that might be looming over their heads.
"Now to your first question..." Chief Aderinsola brought his attention back to Leo.
"The first thing I'm certain of is that you will have to be with her for a particular period to be able to separate from her finally."
"Be with her?... I don't understand what you're saying, grandpa..." Leo asked in confusion.
"You will have to marry her as soon as..."
"Ehn!" Leo's mom exclaimed without allowing her father in law finish what he was about to say. "Marry her how grandpa!?"
"But grandpa he already has a girlfriend which you know! Her name is Fola. She's my best friend and..." Leo's sister interjected with her protest.
"If only you all will just allow me to finish what I was saying before rudely interrupting me! I thought I raised you better than that!?" Chief Aderinsola's voice boomed out as he looked at all of them one after the other in annoyance, shutting down all the protests in one go.
"Now everybody listens up!" He said authoritatively. "To be able to break this covenant the first thing I know that is very sure is that Leo must get married to this girl.
The good news is that It is going to be a short marriage as we will file for divorce immediately after the covenant is finally broken... And this marriage doesn't mean Leo would stop living his normal life. He can still be with his girlfriend if he wishes.
So many things are riding on this marriage... Number one is that she might be with child right now, which we can easily take away from her as soon as the divorce is final.
Number two, I suspect whoever is behind this knows a lot about or might even be your father's killer. You all know how I've always felt concerning his death. I want to know this person or persons and I want to do to them what they did to my son!
Leo, I'm sorry that this had to happen to you... Whenever you're angry about this just remember that we would finally know who killed your father and who our hidden enemies are.
In my own opinion, two or three years of your life is nothing compared to what we are getting from this deal... Do we all now understand!?"
Aderinsola asked finally and they all answered and nodded in affirmation.
Leo, please do whatever it takes to find her as soon a possible. This marriage has to hold before seven days come to an end.