"Emi, omo Faleke. Emi o ni ta epo si aso ala mi. Owo mi re funfun ni. I, the son of Faleke. I will never soil the white cloth of my character with red palm oil. My hands are clean, I do not commit evil," Niyi said.

He looked into my eyes and added, "Have you forgotten that Jagunlabi acknowledged me as a man who does not do evil? Perhaps you have forgotten that he said if not for how we were together he would have taken your life?"

My breathing slowly normalized. For some strange reason I started to believe him. I tried to search for any signs of deception in his face or tone of voice, but found none. Then again, perhaps I had been enchanted already.

Niyi rolled his eyes, "No, I did not put a spell on you, Teniola."

"I did not say you did."

"You did not have to."

"Why? Because you can already read my mind?" I asked.

He groaned deeply, "Your face is an open book, Teniola. It does not take a seer to discern your thoughts."

When I was at Columbia, some people in my dorm told me the same thing, so I could not argue with that. My fingers twitched with shock, and my muscles ached. The burden of all that information weighed heavily on me.

What about my deep and passionate love for him? Was it constrained by magic? I wondered.

Niyi chuckled and smirked with his signature cockiness, "Ko so eni to ma ri mi ti ko ni so pe okunrin lo duro yii. Ajanaku koja pe no ri nkan firi, ta ba re erin ka so pe a ri erin. There is no one who will see me and not acknowledge that I am an attractive man. An elephant is not something you can claim you might have seen. If you have seen it, you will see it clearly."

I shook my head and pursed my lips. Unable to question how much I simultaneously hated him and found him so insanely attractive when we first met. Each argument kindled passion and fire between us so hot we should have called the fire department.

"We went from enemies to lovers and then had to become friends," Niyi said huskily. "I did not use a magical spell on you, it happened naturally."

"But—"

"Do not try to deny it," Niyi teased.

A smile threatened to burst forth on my lips but I suppressed it.

"By the way, if not for love, why on Earth would I pursue a stubborn girl like you?" he joked.

My hand was quick to whack him playfully on the chest.

"Ooh la la," he growled.

"You are not serious, Niyi."

"I have never been more serious, Teniola. You are very stubborn and you jump to conclusions easily." He drew me closer and hugged me. My body melted into his and was grateful for his warmth.

"You have trust issues, you are—"

"Enough, Niyi! Ah ahn. Ti yin naa n be lara yin. You also have your own shortcomings."

His chest rumbled with laughter as he held me in his arms and buried his face in the crook of my neck.

Since he could make lists so could I. "You are arrogant, domineering and unreasonably possessive and territorial when it comes to me."

Niyi arched an eyebrow.

"To crown it all off, you are a football fanatic, Niyi."

He drew back and clutched his chest, "How dare you? I am not a football fanatic," he declared with a cheeky grin.

My eyes widened as I laughed, "Unbelievable!"

Niyi playfully massaged my fingers, "Seeing is believing, babe."

"What if Jagunlabi interrupts what you are planning to do?" I asked.

"What am I planning to do?" he asked innocently as his strong hands glided up to my forearms. "If you are at war with any force, the best strategy is to resist fear. Fear means forget everything and run."

I nodded my head in agreement. It sounded like a good technique to me. Difficult, but a sensible method. Nevertheless, I still had some unresolved tension and doubt about Niyi and the whole situation.

"Relax, Teniola. I am quite sure that the whole matter will be resolved when we go to Ife. I am also on leave, so we have some time to find a lasting solution to this issue."

His hands wandered to my shoulders and he started to massage them in gentle circles, "There were many things wrong with the way of life of our forefathers, but not all of it is bad, Teniola."

I stiffled a moan. He grinned and continued the massage, "Part of why I did not tell you about who I am is because I did not want you to be afraid of me."

"Because of your cultural beliefs?" I asked.

"Exactly," he confirmed.

We settled into a comfortable silence and he gently shifted to sit behind me. His fingers kneaded my shoulders and his hands glided up and down my back.

"There are some things about you that will become enlightened about eventually, Teniola," he said thoughtfully.

"Like what?" I asked between groans of bliss. He was so good with his hands.

"Have you noticed that you are sensitive to spiritual activity in any way?" he asked.

I froze. He was right. Before the snakes and the dragon manifested, I perceived that something was not right. My sense of intuition was also much sharper than before. With the exception of my encounter with Jagunlabi, more often than not my sense of anticipating things had increased. Even at the hospital.

"Teniola?"

"Yes?"

His chuckle was deep, "You have noticed some unusual things, have you not?"

The day I was discharged from the hospital, Niyi asked a someone at a nearby shop to please help me with my bag. She helped me but fled before I could give her a token of gratitude for her assistance. Before she ran away. I saw an image of her in a black wrapper and shadow of darkness. In hindsight, I realised she must have been evil. At the time I did not take it seriously because of everything that had been happening.

"Yes, I have noticed some things," I admitted.

"You have not started noticing much yet. Your sight has just started to improve," Niyi said.

He continued the massage, and his hands drifted to my waist. I moaned again and leaned back on him. His hands dug deeper into my muscles and slipped into the drawstrings of my dress.

"Is this still a massage, Niyi?" I asked in a daze.

"Yes and no, Teniola."

I giggled.

"Now, my love. Close your eyes and tell us when and how we should depart on our journey to Ife," he said.

"How am I supposed to know?" I enquired.

"Calm down, and do what I said," he replied quietly.

I closed my mind and tried to concentrate. There was a lot on my mind, so it was difficult. The soothing words Niyi whispered into my ears, and the massage which had escalated to a lover's touch, helped me to calm down.

Images suddenly began to flash before my eyes. A digital clock which displayed the time as six a.m. A white bus with an error mark on it, a quiet road with no traffic, an unknown green car and a staff with a barricade around it. My eyes flew open when the flashing images stopped.

"What did you see, babe?" he whispered.

I explained everything I saw. Carefully mentioning each image in the correct order of the visions.

Niyi placed gentle kisses on my back, "We will leave by six a.m in the morning tomorrow. Boarding a public bus will be fatal. We must rent a green car neither of us have seen before and when we reach Ife, visit Opa Oranmiyan," he said. Calmly interpreting the vision.

My body feel charged with a spark from within, it baffled me. Excitement and awe in equal measure.

"What is Opa Oranmiyan," I asked.

"It means the Staff of Oranmiyan.  The staff was installed by Oranmiyan, son of Oduduwa who is the progenitor of Yoruba people."

"Wow! Sorry if it sounds pessimistic, but how can we be sure my vision is accurate," I asked.

Quick as a flash, Niyi put me over his shoulder and carried me upstairs, "What type of cave man are you? You did not even answer my question," I giggled.

By the time Niyi reached the entrance of his room, he paused to carefully open the door and shut it behind us with his foot.

"Niyi, fun mi lesi. Niyi, give me an answer."

He put me down and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. "Is it not obvious?"

I put my hands on my hips and quickly removed them. Suddenly realizing how frequently my hands flew to my hips in frustration since the whole drama had started. "No, it is not obvious. Just tell me, please."

Niyi gave me a pointed look, "My love, you are a seer."