Spirit Ran Free
Chapter One / Page Five

"I will bear your son, my prince, this is my dream, my vision through the long days I wait for you to come and take me."

Jaakeem grabbed Lyakena's long silky hair and kissed her savagely. Then abruptly, he backed away and majestically folded his arms. "Go to your mother, little one."

Lyakena stood a moment staring at Jaakeem and with tears, she quietly turned away. In the valley below, she walked into her mother's arms as Ruthena pressed her weeping face into her bosom. Jushetta and all the other indignant women looked up and glared at the prince of Allada with angry eyes.

Prince Jaakeem turned away from the mad women. It was not the time to be concerned about women. He was a warrior. It was time for war. Here in the year 1833, a heated dispute over land was festering this pristine valley. Nabaya Mogamba, chief of the Yoruba tribe who dwelled on the other side of the valley declared war against his father's Dahomey village. Mogamba's army was led by the legendary one known as the great Saibu. It was known throughout West Africa that Saibu was the Supreme God's most beloved warrior beyond all the elite warriors who were blessed, including Prince Jaakeem.

From across the feral valley, Yoruba's talking drums declaring war pierced Allada's lifestyle like a wayward spear. Prince Jaakeem heard the nagging drums thumping across the valley. Still without fear, he went on maneuvering his army through strenuous combat drills as if he heard nothing. Awhile later, the great Abduba Juwana, the tall muscular warrior, who wore his long garish hair à la Jaakeem, was running with him stride for stride, leading the warriors through the dense forest. Their faces were set in stolid stone as they ran on and on. All the warriors were chanting, "Dahomey Allada! Allada warriors!"

Prince Jaakeem and Abduba Juwana were blood brothers. Born on the same day, they asked the gods to bless them with death on the same day as well. The old griot said their fierce blood flowed from the same vein for either life or death.

Cont. / Page 6

the author


Forest Hairston