CHAPTER 2 — THE ROAD TO BLACK SAND
---
The wind howled like a living creature as Lara stood outside her apartment building, breathing hard, clutching the stone tablet against her chest. Dawn was still far away, but the sky had begun to fade from pitch-black to a bruised purple. Lagos never truly slept, but this hour was different—too quiet, too hollow, as if the city itself knew something dark had awakened.
Her hands trembled slightly. Not from fear—Lara refused to admit fear—but from the memory of that voice rising beneath her feet. The floorboards cracking. The whisper calling her by name, as if it knew her thoughts, her memories, her entire being.
The Golden Boot.
Or rather… one of them.
The idea of a pair chilled her in a way the Seeker had not. Two cursed relics meant two curses. And if just one could call to her from under her apartment, how powerful would the full set be?
A car horn broke her thoughts.
Jabril's old black Jeep pulled up beside her with a rough engine growl. The passenger window rolled down slowly, revealing Maya in the front seat, her hair tied back in a messy bun, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion.
"You ready?" Jabril asked from the driver's seat.
Lara nodded, though every instinct screamed no.
She climbed in. The doors locked automatically—a sharp click that sounded far too final for comfort.
"First stop is the Oguta border road," Maya said. "From there we take the bush path into Edo State. The Valley of Black Sand is beyond Uzanu village."
Lara blinked. "Uzanu? That's real?"
Maya and Jabril exchanged a look.
"Too real," Jabril muttered.
As the Jeep rumbled into motion, Lara glanced back at her apartment.
The lights inside flickered once.
Then went out completely.
A shadow passed behind the curtains.
Something was still inside.
Watching her leave.
---
The roads were empty as Jabril drove through the early morning haze. Rain began to fall lightly, tapping the windshield in a restless rhythm. Lara kept her eyes forward, but her mind replayed every second of the previous night—the fog, the Seeker, the whispering voice under her floor.
"You said your great-grandfather saw the boot?" Lara asked, breaking the silence.
Jabril nodded grimly. "He was a hunter. Knew the forests better than anyone. One day he chased an antelope into a forbidden part of the Uzanu valley… and found a shrine."
"What kind of shrine?" Maya asked.
Jabril hesitated, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel.
"He said it was built from bones."
Maya didn't seem surprised. "Seekers have always built bone shrines around cursed artifacts. They anchor themselves to them."
Lara shivered. "So that thing from yesterday—"
"—is anchored somewhere near the boot," Maya finished.
Jabril's eyes flicked to Lara. "Lara, listen. Whatever you found, whatever footprint is on that stone tablet, it woke something. If the Seekers know your name, it means the Boot chose you."
"The Boot doesn't choose," Lara snapped. "It's an object."
Maya opened her journal and slowly turned it toward Lara.
On the page was a sketch of the Golden Boot surrounded by dozens of stylized figures kneeling, heads bowed.
"The Uzanu believed the Boot carried a soul," Maya said softly. "A ruler trapped inside, crying for release."
Lara's heart dropped.
At that exact moment, the Jeep's headlights flickered.
The rain intensified.
And the road ahead fell into complete darkness.
---
"What happened?" Lara asked, sitting up straighter.
Jabril cursed under his breath. "The lights are gone. Battery was full when we left."
Maya's voice tightened. "It's the curse. Electrical interference is common around marked individuals."
"Marked?" Lara snapped. "What do you mean—marked?"
Maya turned to her slowly.
"Lara… the whisper called you by name. That doesn't happen unless the artifact has imprinted on you. You're connected to it now."
"I never touched it!"
"You touched the imprint," Maya said. "The footprint on the stone tablet. That was enough."
A sudden THUD hit the roof.
The three froze.
Another thud—heavier—like a body dropping onto the metal.
Then a dragging sound, slow and deliberate, moved across the top of the Jeep.
Jabril whispered, "Everyone stay calm."
Something scratched the roof.
Long, slow, scraping claws.
Maya reached into her bag and pulled out a small jar filled with white powder.
"What is that?" Lara whispered.
"Salt and ground bone ash," Maya said. "Spirit deterrent. Sometimes it works."
"Sometimes?" Lara hissed.
Before Maya could answer, the thing on the roof slammed downward, denting the metal.
They all ducked instinctively.
Jabril threw the Jeep into reverse.
The creature screeched—a sound like tearing steel mixed with a human moan.
Lara felt ice crawl up her spine.
"Drive!" Maya yelled.
Jabril hit the accelerator.
The thing rolled off the roof, landing on the road behind them with a sickening thud.
Lara dared to look back.
What she saw made her breath leave her body.
The Seeker was reforming—pulling its limbs together like smoke becoming solid, bones clicking into place.
It stood up slowly.
And started running after the Jeep.
---
The Jeep sped down the road, tires splashing water, engine howling. But the Seeker moved impossibly fast, its long limbs bending in unnatural angles as it ran.
"It's gaining!" Lara shouted.
Jabril swerved violently, nearly losing control on the slippery road.
Maya opened the jar and flung the powder out the window.
A gust of wind caught it, scattering it into the Seeker's path.
The creature shrieked as the powder hit its chest, its form flickering violently like a dying flame.
It staggered.
Slowed.
Then collapsed into a heap of fog and bone fragments.
The Jeep kept moving until the road split and Jabril finally pulled over, breathing hard, hands shaking.
None of them spoke for nearly a full minute.
Finally, Lara broke the silence.
"That thing knew where we were. How?"
"It's tied to you," Maya said quietly. "Once the Boot marks someone, the Seekers track them through their breath, their voice, even their fear."
Lara felt the world tilt slightly.
She wasn't just being hunted.
She was claimed.
Jabril wiped his forehead. "We need protection before we continue."
Maya nodded. "We'll stop at Oba's compound. He owes my family a favor."
"Who's Oba?" Lara asked.
Maya's face darkened.
"A man who deals with things the living shouldn't touch."
---
Oba's compound was located deep within the outskirts of Illushi, surrounded by tall iron spikes decorated with charms, bones, feathers, and strange symbols painted in dark red.
The Jeep rolled to a stop outside the gate.
"I don't want to be here," Lara whispered.
"None of us do," Maya said.
Before anyone could move, the gate creaked open on its own. An elderly man with chalk-painted skin, white dreadlocks, and eyes too sharp for his age stepped out.
He smiled in a way that felt wrong.
"Maya Singh," he said. "It has been a long time since your mother brought you here."
Maya stiffened. "Oba, we need protection. A Seeker is following us."
Oba's smile widened. "Then you should not have come in a car. They can smell gasoline better than blood."
Lara swallowed. "We need safe passage to Uzanu."
Oba's eyes flicked to her.
"You," he said slowly, "are the one it marked."
Lara stepped back. "How do you know?"
Oba raised a finger.
A faint golden glow shimmered at her throat—thin, like a ghostly necklace.
"The Boot has placed its chain on you," Oba said. "You cannot run from it now. Only go toward it."
"That's what we're doing," Jabril said. "Can you help or not?"
Oba nodded once. "I can give you protection. But protection always requires sacrifice."
Lara tensed. "What kind of sacrifice?"
Oba's smile returned.
"That depends on how badly you want to stay alive."
---
Oba led them into a dimly lit hut filled with incense, skulls, and bottles of cloudy liquids. The air smelled of earth and old secrets.
Lara stood stiffly as Oba circled her.
"You carry the whisper," he murmured. "I can hear it."
Lara's heart pounded. "Then silence it."
Oba shook his head. "No one can silence the Boot. But I can make the Seeker slower… weaker."
Maya stepped forward. "What do you need?"
Oba pointed to three items on a table: a black feather, a stone knife, and a small bowl of glistening dark liquid.
"Each of you must give a drop of blood."
Jabril crossed his arms. "Blood magic? No."
"Then you will die by dawn," Oba said simply.
Lara grabbed the knife first. "We don't have time to argue."
She sliced her palm—just a thin cut—and let a drop fall into the bowl. Maya did the same.
Jabril hesitated… then finally cut his skin and added his drop.
The bowl hissed as the blood mixed.
Oba chanted in a language none of them recognized. The liquid rose, forming a faint red mist that settled on their skin, burning cold.
Lara gasped.
The whisper inside her head dimmed—but didn't disappear.
Oba opened his eyes.
"It is done. You have three days of protection. After that… the Seeker will find you again."
"Three days?" Lara said sharply. "We need more time."
Oba leaned close, his breath cold on her ear.
"Then do not waste it."
Lightning flashed outside, illuminating Oba's grin—and revealing that, behind him, dozens of small shadowy figures watched from the corners of the room.
Not dolls.
Not statues.
Spirits.
They all bowed their heads toward Lara.
As if recognizing their new master.
Her stomach twisted.
She was becoming part of this.
Whether she wanted to or not.
---
They left Oba's compound in shaken silence. The road stretched before them, dark and endless. The storm had passed, but the sky remained heavy, as if weighed down by something unseen.
Lara pressed her hand against her chest, feeling the faint burn where the red mist had touched her.
"What happens when the three days are over?" she asked.
Maya answered quietly. "If we haven't reached the Boot… we won't live long enough to worry about it."
Jabril gripped the wheel. "We'll reach it. I swear it."
Lara stared out the window at the passing trees, each one looking more twisted than the last.
Somewhere deep in the forest, a howl echoed.
Not human.
Not animal.
Something in between.
"Jabril," Lara whispered, "how close are we?"
Jabril didn't look at her. His voice was tight.
"Close enough that the dead are starting to wake."
Maya shut her journal with a soft thud.
"Tomorrow morning we enter Uzanu territory. After that… the Valley of Black Sand."
Lara leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes.
The whisper returned—soft, distant, but unmistakable.
"Lara… come to me… complete me…"
She opened her eyes quickly, breathing hard.
The Boot wasn't just calling.
It was waiting.
And something else was waiting with it.
Something older.
Something hungry.
Something that wanted her more than the Seeker did.
The road stretched forward, swallowed by darkness.
Their journey had truly begun.