Beyond Fiction

By Alpha Dominion

SADRSouth Atlantic Democratic Republicwas to become a theater of war from the first day General Jumial Jafar (JCOS) set his eyes on Silverstone Ankersine in a passing out parade at a military academy, and that became the seedbed of vendetta. Jumial Jafar, who later became a civilian president of SADR, takes his personal vendetta against Silverstone Ankersine to a ridiculous extreme. He scuttles a blooming romance between his daughter and Silverstone Ankersine.

Banished from SADR, Silverstone Ankersine fights from outside the country and survived the senseless war. In a surprised turnaround, this same Silverstone Ankersine eventually married his enemys daughter, Aishatu Jumial Jafar, in a bid to ensure peace between them and put an end to the blood feud, but it was to no avail.

Follow this never-say-die ex-marine as he outwits his oppressor, Jumial Jafar, in several grueling warring encounters. Eventually, the entire Jumial Jafars family finds its waterloo at the hands of their nemesis Captain Silverstone Ankersine on his return from exile.

In a power play advantage following the inadvertent murder of an elected President Shitabay Mamara by unknown gunmen on the inauguration day, the way was paved for Captain Silverstone Ankersine to become the President of SADR against all odds in a sudden twist of fate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Sep 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514463222

Alpha Dominion

Prince Alpha Dominion holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. At various times, he studied English at the former University of Ife, Ile-Ife in 1975 and later, Local Government Administration at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria in 1981. He is well traveled. An avid reader and a prolific writer. Mister Dominion is the creator’s literary gift to this generation. He retired meritoriously in 2013 as a top bureaucrat in the Unified Local Government Service of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. He is happily married to Deaconess Margaret Prince Dominion and they are blessed with three children. Mister Dominion hails from Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Alpha Dominion.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 09/02/2015

Xlibris

800-056-3182

www.Xlibrispublishing.co.uk

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Author’s Note

Synopsis

Chapter 1   The Seedbed Of Vendetta

Chapter 2   The Secret Bargain

Chapter 3   The Return Of The Forgotten

Chapter 4   Second Assault On Koma

Chapter 5   The Winds Of Change

Chapter 6   The Day Before Nightfall

Chapter 7   The Aftermath Of Goodnight

Chapter 8   The Reprisal Attacks

Chapter 9   The Kill Switch

Chapter 10 The Twist Of Fate

Chapter 11 Upsetting The Apple Cart

Chapter 12 The New Beginning

Chapter 13 A Summer Dream Come True

Chapter 14 The End Of Days

Other Books By The Same Author.

1. The Day After The Kill.

2. Emmanuella (A Complicated Affair).

3. Hard Tackle.

4. Dog Day Rage.

5. The Dream Street.

Acknowledgements

My unending thanks and appreciation goes to my heavenly father, the Almighty God who has spared my life all through the afflictions of the trying years of my adulthood and has made it possible for me to be alive and complete yet another epic book project. To Him be all the glory and honor.

I cannot fail to mention the immeasurable support of my dear wife Margaret and my children Margaret Jnr, Victory and Samuel, who have always been my bastion of continuous hope and inspiration.

To every other person who has helped in one way or the other in the completeion of my sixth novel, I owe them a debt of gratitude. God bless them richly.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to God for the seemingly endless inspiration which has enabled me to continue and complete yet another book project, and to my beloved wife and children for their immeasurable support.

Author’s Note

This novel is a crime-based romantic fiction and it is not related to any real life experiences; therefore, any similarities in names of characters and place names are mere coincidences and it is highly regretted.

Synopsis

South Atlantic Democratic Republic (SADR) was passing out another batch of successful trainees from its Military Academy and the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jumial Jafar was assigned to represent the President Ananto Atillah Samoza at the prestigious passing out ceremony.

Aishatu Jumial Jafar was in her father’s company as he wanted her to see things for herself and make up her mind to enlist in the Military Academy like other courageous young women of her age.

Silverstone Ankersine was the toast of the celeberation as he was adjudged the best all round graduant. As he stepped forward to receive his commendation medal for overall outstanding performance from General Jumial Jafar, his eyes and that of Aishatu Jumial Jafar met and he caught her fancy. It also ignited a fire and a passion that was to propel them into an unbreakable romantic pursuit to the chagrin of her father General Jumial Jafar.

Meeting with General Jumial Jafar for the first time in his life, Lieutenant Silverstone Ankersine instantly reminded him of the bad blood that had existed between General Jumial Jafar and retired Major General Bonnie Ankersine, Silverstone’s father and yet he was oblivious of it.

When retired General Jumial Jafar became a civilian President he deliberately made life a hellacious experience for Silverstone Ankersine the son of his arch enemy. Jumial Jafar’s mission was simple and that was to carry on a vendetta against his perceived enemy and annihilate him at all cost.

Silverstone Ankersine and Aishatu Jafar’s romance hit the rocks as Jumial Jafar put them miserably asunder. It so happened that thereafter Silverstone Ankersine was marooned at a ghost asylum popularly called Silverstone Anchorage for seven torrid and unpleasant years.

At the eventual return of the forgotten after seven years, it was an opportunity for President Jumial Jafar to resume his hatred and proclivity towards retributive justice against Silverstone Ankersine for what his father late Major General Bonnie Ankersine had done wrong against Jumial Jafar in the past. Silverstone Ankersine’s return after seven years paved the way for him to reunite with Aishatu Jumial Jafar his heartthrob.

The vendetta is carried to a ridiculous extent by President Jumial Jafar who orders a siege on Koma City, the homeland of Captain Silverstone. In the aftermath Captain Silverstone Ankersine established the Koma Peoples Militia and with it he showed defiance against the aggression by the federal government under President Jumial Jafar.

SADR became a theater of war. Collateral damage of lives and properties became the order of the day in a never-say-die resistance by Captain Silverstone Ankersine and his warriors. In an arranged truce to end the bloodshed and save President Jumial Jafar from disgraceful defeats upon deafeats at the battle ground, his antagonist Captain Silverstone Ankersine is forced to go into exile for seven years to save Koma from burning from the fury and calculated destruction imagined by a vindictive, wicked ruler Jumial Jafar.

While in exile, Silverstone Ankersine joins up with his lover Aishatu Jumial Jafar and the daring effort at an unfettered romance brings to birth a love child between them.

While in exile in neighboring Equatorial Guinea, the determination of President Jumial Jafar to crush his enemy Captain Silverstone continued ferociously and unabated.

Using the instrument of government, Jumial Jafar succeeded to have Captain Silverstone Ankersine banished and prohibited from re-entry into SADR for another ten years. It was the height of personal aggression. From his base in Equatorial Guinea, Captain Silverstone engages in a blow-by-blow counter measure to scuttle President Jumial Jafar’s militarism. Captain Silverstone Ankersine records more and more defeats against SADR’s military incursion into his territory on Patriot Island.

Captain Silverstone Ankersine’s romantic affair with Aishatu Jumial Jafar culminates in an arranged marriage. It was a move expected to have brought about lasting peace between the two warring families but it did not. And despite the fact that the birth of more children between the two should have ensured goodwill, it rather aggravated the discord.

Captain Silverstone Ankersine is granted state pardon after seventeen years in exile and he returns to SADR.

In a turn around of events, Captain Silverstone Ankersine murdered the former President Jumial Jafar under mysterious circumstances and the man died with his secrets. Ishiaku Jumial Jafar who tried to avenge his father’s death also died at the hands of Silverstone Ankersine. Hajiya Mariana, Jumial Jafar’s widow followed suit, dying in a stance rather difficult to understand.

Following the sequential deaths of members of her family, Aishatu turns against her husband Silverstone Ankersine. In broad day light she shoots her husband seven times. This was the craziest thing to do in a bid to snuff out her husband’s life. It was some creapy stuff and in a plea bargain, she earned banishment for twenty years in exchange for her to walk free from SADR.

Making a deliberate advantageously practical move Silverstone Ankersine became a member of the mafia organization. Arising from extrincic causes, love beckoned on Silverstone Ankersine again as Dame Virgy Dannables captures not only his attention but also his heart. To ensure lasting peace Silverstone Ankersine unrepentantly murders his former wife Aishatu Jafar through a parcel bomb at her residence in Port of Spain. It was like he was created to kill, as he silences his last two adversaries, Alban DeMarco (the mafia godfather) and Kalifa Jumial Jafar the last scion of the Jafar’s family.

The coast was clear and through Dame Virgy’s positive contributions, she drafts her lover Silverstone Ankersine into politics after their marriage and it yielded Silverstone Ankersine the prestigious position of Vice President of SADR.

In a twist of fate, the President elect Shitabay Mamara is assassinated and Silverstone Ankersine becomes President of South Atlantic Democratic Republic (SADR) contrary to the predictions of bookmakers and against all odds. Thus, the stone that the builders once rejected finally became the head corner stone.

The patriarch of the greater Ankersine family retires and returns home to become king of the Anchorage municipalty. He is elected prelate of the All Saints Church of Anchorage. Silverstone Ankersine lived to a ripe old age of one hundred and twenty years.

CHAPTER ONE

The Seedbed Of Vendetta

At the passing out ceremony of the 57th batch of gruaduands from the South Atlantic Democratin Republic’s (SADR) Military Academy, General Jumial Jafar, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff stood in for the President Ananto Atilla Samoza who was unavoidably absent at the passing out ceremony.

It was at that instance that Silverstone Ankersine, the best all round graduating student met face to face with General Jumial Jafar who decorated him with the medal of outstanding achievement.

‘Congratulations,’ he said and shook hands with the young cadet turned commission officer.

‘Thank you General,’ Silvertone said and saluted dutifully.

‘Are you by any means the son of retired Major General Bonnie Nkomo Ankersine?’

‘Sir, yes sir. I am his son,’ he responded sharply.

‘Once again congratulations… Keep it up,’ the General said.

To the young officer Silverstone Ankersine he thought that the General was well pleased with him by his accomplishment but little did he know that he had come face to face with someone who was later to become a sticky, cruel, mortal thorn in his flesh.

Silverstone Ankersine was worried and unsettled throughout the passing out ceremony because that morning he had received a disarming, pitiful news that his father King Bonnie Nkomo Ankersine had been bizarrely hacked to death by one of his mentally unstable nephews.

It was this thought that was almost driving him crazy while he endured through the event. Now that the ceremony was concluded, he packed his bag and baggage and was returning home straightway to Koma.

When General Jumial Jafar arrived home that day, he called his wife and shared with her his experience.

‘Hajiya guess what?… I found out my enemy’s son.’

‘Is that why you look so overexcited. Which of your enemy is that?’

‘Retired Major General Bonnie Nkomo Ankersine. He was the recruiting officer once upon a time in the SADR’s Military Academy… And something happened during his era, and what happened is something I will never forgive the Ankersine family even on my death bed.’

‘The man is bloody retired, so let him be… Forget about the past.’

‘Hajiya… That man Bonnie Nkomo Ankersine caused me unforgiving grief. I have pointed him out to my daughter Aishatu.’

‘But Jumial, you have never told me about him, ever.’

‘It’s a long story Hajiya.’

Aishatu who was eaves dropping strolled into their presence and took over the initiative.

‘But papa, that Lieutenant Silverstone is a fine soldier… He’s my kind of man.’

‘Quit talking thrash… What do you know about a man,’ Jumial cautioned his daughter.

‘Papa but one day I am growing into a woman and it is said that every woman needs a man,’ Aishatu expressed.

‘There you go Jumial… Your daughter is educating you. You better watch it and tell her in plain language why she should not consort with our enemies,’ Hajiya Mariana stated sarcastically.

‘Yes papa has told me that he is the son of his enemy… And so what? It isn’t Lieutenant Silverstone that you have a grouse with but his dead father… Is it papa?’

‘Hajiya put your daughter in check or else I will do to her something she would not like hereafter,’ Jumial Jafar threatened.

‘Jumial is she not also your daughter? Come off it… She could as well be in love,’ Hajiya retorted.

‘Are you out of your mind Hajiya. Is that how people fall in love? And who is Aishatu to start talking this nonsense she is spewing out of her guts.’

‘Papa how did you and mama start falling in love with each other. Was it not that you were attracted to each other?’

‘Oh yeah, tell him Aishatu,’

‘Bloody ass,’ Jumial Jafar cursed.

‘Jumial that’s your daughter you are referring to,’ Hajiya cautioned.

‘Aishatu go to your room,’ he ordered.

‘No papa… Tell me why you don’t like him because I kind of like him a lot.’

‘Aishatu… Lieutenant Silverstone or whatever you call him might not have even noticed you.’

‘No mama… He ogled me right when he was standing to receive his commendation medal and it was an unmiskaking suggestion that he had a strong interest in me,’ Aishatu retorted.

‘Jumial, why can’t you explain to your daughter why she cannot drive her luck that far?’

‘Yes papa, mother is right… Explain to me why the both of us can’t be friends.’

‘Enough of your baloney. I am your father and I generally disagree that you make any acquaintance with him.’

‘Why papa?’

‘That man is the son of my enemy. His father did something against my family that I had sworn to take revenge,’ Jumial Jafar made a veiled reference to something in his past.

‘Is that all… And what did his father do to you that you cannot forgive. Papa if there is a better reason than that then say it.’

‘I am not bound to answer to you Aishatu… That man is a bloody infidel,’ he diminished Silverstone Ankersine.

‘Screw religion… All of you pretentious and religious bigot,’

‘Aishatu… Damn you. How dare you disparage our religion?’

‘Papa and how in the hell do you dehumanized another human like you all in the name of religion?’ she fired back.

General Jumial Jafar moved swiftly and smacked his daughter with a powerful backhand that sent her reeling. She crashed to the ground and picked herself up quickly and rushed away towards her room.

‘You won’t dare take advantage of my simplicity… Not in this house. This is my house and you are under my authority,’ Jumial cursed.

‘Jumial, you shouldn’t have treated her like that,’ Hajiya reacted.

‘Shut your trap woman. That is how you mothers over indulge your daughters and end up spoiling them.’

‘She was only asking for an explanation which you refused to give to her. What did Lieutenant Silverstone’s father do to you?… That is what she wanted to know.’

‘And you think that my little girl has such temerity to question me?’

‘But you Jumial drew her attention to that You should not have taken her to the passing out ceremony in the first place… It’s your fault.’

‘Hajiya what did I do wrong… She’s my first child and I thought that when she sees other young women pass out of the Academy, it would ginger her to enroll but rather she had her eyes somewhere else.’

‘What if in her curiosity she later on finds him out and runs away with him… And the next thing you know is that she is pregnant, what will you do?… Tell me Jumial?’

‘Allah be merciful… I will skin them both alive,’ he cursed.

‘Just praw that it does not happen. Don’t be surprised if he comes after her because I think they are prone to fall in love eventually,’ Hajiya was predictive.

‘Let that happen and you shall see with your two naked eyes, what I will do to them… Bunkum,’ Jumial fumed.

Armed with his service pistol given to him at the passing out ceremony as part of the SADR’S military tradition, he was confused as to what would be his real intention and what he hoped to accomplish when he arrived home. As he traveled in the company of his bosom friend Sotho Ambrose they talked tardily about the unfortunate circumstances in which the malicious murder had occurred.

‘For hacking my father to death, I am going to shoot that son-of-a-bitch to death the moment I set my eyes on him,’ Silverstone commented.

‘And you will die by hanging for it. Is that what your five years at the Acadely is worth. For once be sensible Silver… You are better than that. Let the law take care of that,’ Sotho advised.

‘Sotho you got to be kidding me. You know that the law is an ass. By the time the authorities will get about to prosecuting him, some screwed up Attorney will plead that his client is suffering from mental instability and as such can not stand trial. That is how skewed our justice system is,’ Silverstone Ankersine commented.

‘Isn’t it said that the law is blind?’

‘Blind ass law you would say, Sotho. Whatever you say I am going to find a way and kill that pathetic lunatic fringe.’

‘Let’s talk about something positive. Where do you want to belong… The marine commando or special forces… That is between the green or red beret?’

‘Sotho of course you know my first love… It’s the green beret… The marine corps is it.’

‘I will go with the special forces. What a shame we are not going to paddy together any more. So once I drop you off in Koma city that would be it.’

‘Sotho we will still meet one way or the other… You can never say.’

‘I am going to miss you bro Silverstone.’

‘Not for all times… And I will miss you too.’

‘What is it the General said to you back there at the ceremony grounds?’

‘He wanted to know if I am the son of retired Major General Bonnie Nkomo Ankersine and I said yes… He said I was a chip of the old.’

‘Has your father ever talked about him?’

‘No, we had not really been talking… You know that I school abroad before I returned to study in the Academy.’

‘Alright but don’t get carried away because he took a liking for you.’

‘Trust me to keep my distance and out of trouble. Man, did you notice the General’s sexy looking and very charming daughter?’

‘Hmmh Silverstone… Don’t even think about it.’

‘Sotho believe it… She’s taken.’

‘What a big laugh my friend Silver… She might not even have noticed you.’

‘Of course she did because she ogled me,’ Silverstone asserted.

‘Ogled you? Could you have been dreaming?’

‘Of the truth she ogled me and I know that she is interested in me.’

‘She is a Muslim you know?’

‘So when did religion become the yardstick for determining love, Sotho answer me?’

‘Silver… You and your penchant for fishing in troubled waters. Don’t go chasing waterfalls… You better stick to the rivers that you are used to… That’s the wordings of a popular song,’ Sotho joked.

‘Cowards die many times before their deaths they say…’

‘It’s not a matter of they say… Stay away from the General’s daughter if you know what is good for you, I have warned you.’

‘Sotho believe it or not… I will send you a postcard when we eventually come together.’

‘Until then… And gird your loins and be ready to face what General Jumial Jafar will do to you.’

‘Sotho my bro, haven’t you heard that love conquers all?’

‘Don’t bet on it Silver. So what happens to your girl Massai?’

‘I think it is the end of the road for the both of us. She will be going back to her native home Equatorial Guinea as she has already indicated to me that she does not want to remain and be married to a foreigner.’

‘Man, you and that girl were real tight. What a shame… Such beautiful romance turns soar.’

‘There is nothing soar about it… She will always be a frien.’

‘Granted you have lost her, period.’

‘Sotho that’s why I am looking for a new romance.’

‘Silver, I sincerely wish you luck.’

It was almost a whole day’s journey and they arrived Koma before sunset. When Sotho Ambrose dropped Silverstone at his father’s house in Koma City, he rerouted and headed farther east to Aberden the South Eastern State capital.

He was received by members of the extended family and they were happy seeing that he had made it successfully through the Military Academy.

‘So you are a commission officer of the Army now my boy?’

‘Yes uncle. I am a first Lieutenant now.’

‘Accept my sympathy… I wish your father could have been alive to see you finally become a commissioned officer. My brother always looked forward to this day,’ his uncle Soratio noted.

‘I came as fast as I could because the news was very disturbing, I barely made it through the passing out ceremony.’

‘Silverstone why don’t you rest, then we will talk about it.’

‘Uncle, I have all the time in the world to rest later on… I just need to know what happened?’

‘I have been in want of a good reason why your cousin Duncan did what he did. He just woke up early this morning and started beheading people… Just anybody that crossed his path. He fell seven members of your immediate family… Your step mother, step brothers and sisters all of them, then he went for the king. After beheading your father… Duncan went on to hack him into pieces,’ Soratio explained.

‘And what happened thereafter?’

‘He came out of the palace, sat at its entrance and waited for anybody who would dare to accost him. It was the quick intervention of the police that saved further mayhem. When the police arrived, they overpowered and disarmed him and took him away to the precincts. Since after that we have not heard anything.’

‘Uncle Soratio… I will like to go and see him and ask him why he did what he did?’

‘No Silverstone I beg of you… Don’t go.’

‘Why uncle… If he is a complete lunatic then I like to know because they should send him to a psychiatric asylum… Otherwise if they let him walk again free amongst men, then I am going to put a bullet in his head.’

‘No Silverstone, don’t do anything foolish, just let it be for now.’

‘So where was my father buried?’

‘They were given mass burial and the police supervised it.’

‘There must be a posthumous celebration. And that will be done immediately before I return to my beat.’

‘Silverstone how long are you staying?’

‘We have been given just two weeks, thereafter I report at the boot camp.’

‘Where have you been enlisted?’

‘Marine Corps.’

‘When you go there do your best. I am proud of you Silverstone.’

‘Uncle Soratio thank you.’

That same day, Aishatu Jumial Jafar ran a check in the Facebook and searched out Lieutenant Silverstone Ankersine and immediately sent a friend request to him which he wasted no time to confirm. By the following day, she sent him a straight forward message and told him she would want them to meet. So he checked into her profile page in the Facebook and got her details and put a call to her. That was how Silverstone Ankersine got acquainted and like Hajiya Mariana Jumial Jafar feared, a relationship was already in the offing.

Aishatu Jumial Jafar meant to dare her father. It was indirectly an affront by her behavior and there was no stopping to consider the consequences. On the other hand her initial show of regard for Silverstone Ankersine was later to force her father the General to take drastic steps to nip the apparent challenge in the bud. He had changed his mind about enticing her to enroll in the Military Academy for fear that she may become acquainted with the man she had fancied.

For many years after his retirement from the Army, the Major General turned King Bonnie Nkomo Ankersine held to the reins of power in Koma City with crude iron clad dictatorship, ruling with absolute power and authority and nobody dared to make sustained dissention until the unfortunate incident.

‘Silver get a hold of yourself and don’t act grumpily. Your father and family have been murdered and for now there is nothing you can do about it… Just let the law take it’s due course,’ Sabrina his father’s only surviving sister cautioned.

‘Oh yeah? You think there is nothing I will do about it? I will skin that son-of-a-bitch alive and then wring his head from off his shoulders… Just wait till I get to see him,’ Silverstone Ankersine retorted and fumed.

‘By the time you let your ire simmer down, you might have changed your mind on what you are contemplating doing.’

‘Aunty you think it is mere wishful boast.’

‘Silverstone I am not saying so. I wish I can make you see the futility in wanting to die… Do you really have a death wish on your hands?’

‘Are you mocking me aunty Sabrina?’

‘No that is not what I means. All I am saying is that as it stands… You can’t touch that son-of-a-bitch… Understand? Except perhaps you want to take the law into your own hands. If you do the crime then be also prepaid to do the time. And you want to go to prison for that piece of shit?… He is not worth the trouble.’

‘Alright aunty, I should be leaving. I just came to pay my homage and show myself to you.’

‘I am proud of you my nephew. Your father would have been proud to see you in that uniform and with those commendation medals on your chest. You are a true son of your father… And you have done the whole of Koma City proud,’ Sabrina appreciated.

‘Aunty thank you for those compliments.’

‘Don’t forget anything I have told you.’

‘I won’t. Bye bye aunty.’

Silverstone Ankersine had gone to the State Police Headquaters where the murder suspect was being held and interacted with the police authorities who said they would charge him to court. Somehow they agreed to let him see the suspect.

‘Duncan I had to come and see you arising from what happened. I have been told about how you murdered my whole family and hacked my father to pieces… What really happened?’

‘You are asking me Silverstone… Why don’t you go and ask him?’

‘How can I go and ask him when you know that you had killed him. Dead persons tell no tales and you know that.’

‘Well he got what he deserved.’

‘Are you saying that to my face Duncan?’

‘Sure, and doubly sure,’ he retorted in a rascally manner.

‘What did he and other members of my family do to you for you to have beheaded them the way you did?’

‘So what are you going to do about it Silverstone? And what is this… An inquisition or something?’

‘They say that you are mentally deranged…’

‘God punish your mother for calling me a lunatic,’ Duncan charged.

‘Alright then, so you know the difference between insanity and sanity. Let’s hope the government will keep you behind bars for always… Otherwise if they set you free, I am coming after you.’

‘That is foolish boasting. Do you think that I am scared of you because of that Army uniform you are putting on. Listen to me Silverstone… If you want my head then come for it,’ Duncan dared his cousin Silverstone.

‘You can bet on that. Whether you are a free man or you are still in chains by the time I return… I will have your head and that is a promise, my cousin.’

‘I will be waiting Silverstone.’

‘Duncan they say that you call yourself mighty… When I am finished with you believe me… You won’t be so mighty any more.’

‘Alright we shall be seeng Silverstone.’

When Silverstone Ankersine returned to Koma City, he met with government officials in the City Council and the Traditional Ruler’s Council who consented by Silverstone’s request to put a regent to oversee the throne and to hold forth the traditional crown of Koma in person of his uncle Soratio Ankersine.

‘Uncle Soratio… You will appreciate the fact that this is my crown I have willingly handed over to you to hold in trust for me until such a time that I will return finally to rule over my people on the throne of my forebears.’

‘I clearly understand you. Being your father’s younger brother, I wouldn’t want to bring bad blood between us,’ Soratio affirmed.

‘Let me add that if you renage in your commitment… I wouldn’t have it on my conscience… Killing you and hanging you on the big Iroko tree at the city square for the whole world to see. And that is a promise. Don’t forget that to be forewarned is to be forearmed,’ Silverstone warned.

‘Remain comforted Silverstone that I wouldn’t like to die for a simple crown,’ Soratio was defensive.

‘Don’t you call It a simple crown… The crown the way it is… is a metaphor for our identity as a people, can’t you understand that?’ Silverstone argued.

‘It is understood and there is no cause for alarm,’ Soratio assured.

‘Alright uncle Soratio… I will hurry back to the capital, I’ve got some unfinished business to take care of.’

‘I bid you God’s speed my nephew.’

With that set and done, Silverstone Ankersine left with the understanding that Soratio being his immediate blood relation would not ever consider cheating him out of his birthright. And he was happy that he had warned his uncle of what to expect in case he tried to play smart.

The fall out of that arrangement was to give Silverstone Ankersine the opportunity to go and continue in his military service until such a time he was ready to return home and assume the kingship over Koma and its people.

With that arrangement in place, he was to hurry back to Atlantic City earlier than envisaged because he was very desirous to meet secretly with Aishatu Jumial Jafar to enable the two interested party to formalize their fledging romance. Silverstone Ankersine called up Aishatu and they met in a secluded out-of-town resort away from home. She had been meeting him for a full one week and in between, they shared love together without any inhibitions, expressing their emotions with luxurious passion.

Aishatu Jumial Jafar held nothing back and Silverstone Ankersine loved her with a strong love and devotion oblivious of the hatred of the General against him. When they parted ways eventually, it was painful but they held a promise to eventually consummate their love relationship but their tomorrow together was very uncertain. Aishatu hid the secret of her father’s disgust for Silverstone away from him and rather gave the impression that all was well. The truth of the situation was that they were living in a past time paradise. As it seemed at this onset, Aishatu did not know that she was in big trouble even though her conscience did not in any way prick her. Before they finally parted, he bought her a large box of chocolate and a dozen colored artificial roses for her hair to always remind her of him.

‘Aithy… What about if your father does not approve of our relationship?’

‘Don’t spoil the fun Silver. It’s our last day together so let’s just enjoy ourselves to the fullest. Whatever will be will be… Just rest assured that I love you and that’s the truth.’

‘I love you too Aithy but you are exposed.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘It’s likely we have overstepped the bounds of decency by throwing caution to the winds… You may have gotten pregnant and your father would never forgive me. Honestly I don’t want to be in the bad books of the General.’

‘There you go again Silverstone… You and your negativity. Silver nothing will happen to me. Moreover I intend to tell my mother about it.’

‘If you do, she will tell your father… And apart from the serious flogging from your father, he might resort to doing everything to foreclose the possibility of our ever meeting again,’ Silverstone was predictive.

‘Firstly, I would gladly take a thousand stripes for you Silverstone… There won’t be any price too high to pay for love. Don’t be afraid… This love is unbreakable,’ Aishatu affirmed.

They finally kissed sorrowfully before he made the run for it. As he turned, he could see tears in her eyes and he stopped for a minute.

‘Don’t cry for me Aithy. I promise to see you again when I return in six months time after the boot camp training.’

She rushed into his embrace again and held unto him as if she would not let go.

‘Kiss me again,’ she requested and he complied.

‘Think of me while I am gone… Always remember that I am the one who loves you, Aishatu.’

‘I will my love.’

Reluctantly she let him go and cluched unto his photograph which he had left with her.

When Silverstone Ankersine eventually reported at the the marine corps boot camp he carried with him the memory of Aishatu and night and day he pined after her love, wishing that they could be together again. He was to join others for six months of gruesome bush training before the final selection. He endured the sickening tactical maneuvers and what seemed a crap endurance test. But all that was to prepare him for the vicissitudes that he was to face later on in life.

When Hajiya Mariana had learnt of her daughter’s contact with Silverstone Ankersine several months after, her father did not only thrash the living daylights out of her but the General ensured that Aishatu’s early pregnancy was aborted as he would not tolerate his daughter’s intransigence. And when he was sure that his daughter was save and far from danger, he did the unthinkable. He hurridly packaged her and sent her to Oxford University hostel in London where she was to remain for the next four years to undergo an undergraduate programe in Law.

So when Silverstone Ankersine eventually learnt about what General Jumial Jafar had done he felt heartbroken and sorrowful for several days and refused to be comforted. If he thought he had gone scott free and unpunished by the General, he had not guessed or thought rightly.

Barely two months after he returned from the boot camp, Silverstone Ankersine was drafted as part of SADR’s contingent to the United Nations peace keeping operations in Somalia. It was General Jumial Jafar’s pre-emptive measure to put Silverstone in harm’s way peradventure he would meet his untimely death at the hands of the Al-Shabab muhajedeens fighting government troops in the horn of Africa.

For Silverstone Ankersine it was an opportunity to exhibit the highest sense of martial gallantry. He accepted his selection as an honor and was ready and willing to do his country SADR proud. Three years he battled against all odds, escaped death several times by the whiskers and was numbered amongst the few survivors that returned safely back to SADR. As he would have loved to tell anybody who cared to listen, it was the thought of meeting with Aishatu again that kept his spirit alive.

On the return from the peace keeping operations he was honored by the President for outstanding bravery and battlefield exploits. And on that occasion, General Jumial Jafar looked on him with disdain and his inner anger burned to the brim. It was the first time they were meeting since after the bad treatment he had meted out to his daughter because of Silverstone Ankersine.

Instead of Lieutenant Silverstone Ankersine being sent back to his unit, the General ordered for him to be drafted into SADR’s contingent to the United Nations Observer Mission (UNISOM) in the Philippines. Strangely enough the colleagues of Silverstone who passed out with him and joined the marine corps and special forces were never selected along with him. For two difficult years, avoiding several near death experiences at the hands of the rebels allied with ISIL, it was only providence that guided and sustained Silverstone Ankersine.

When Silverstone Ankersine’s stint with UNISOM was over, he returned to his unit. As if that was not enough, he was next made part of the African Union Intervention Force (AFRUIFO) in Bakassi and their onerous task was constantly patrolling the demilitarized buffer zone between Nigeria and Cameroon. Once again the hand of General Jumial Jafar was evident as the hand of Esau with the marine corps d’ elite’s high command being the voice that gave vent to every of the Chairman Joint Chief of Staff’s whims and caprices.

On this particular day the heavy duty frigate staggered like a drunken whore on the stormy sea as the rains continued to tumble down in a monstrous deluge, almost flooding the boat. Fearing the boat might sink, the commander ordered that the team headed towards the nearest lighthouse along Victoria estuary, where the Cross River meets the Atlantic Ocean close to the Republic of Cameroon, Nigeria’s eastern neighbor.

Loud reverberating thunder, rising storm and endless lightening scared the night clouds into steep blackness that made visibility almost alarmingly impossible. The crew of ‘Dragon Head’ feared they would sink and be washed into the angry, grumbling ocean tide. And just then the unexpected happened.

The next heavy thunder blast fell like a canon bolt on the deck of the patrol boat and tore the huge boat into two, sinking it in a flash within a twinkling of an eye. As Silverstone Ankersine tried to swim against the current he rather found himself being sucked into the vortex of the swirling sea current, which strangely was dragging him further downwards into the belly of the deep.

His head spurned in a twirl and he tried to keep afloat but there was no chance. Silverstone saw a distant light down below in the deep of the sea and unbelievably he was able to swim towards it with renewed courage and anxiety. Initially he thought it was the headlight of the sunken boat but as he was sinking further down to the bottom of the ocean he realized that he was mistaken. Mysteriously he arrived at the portals of a fenced city and was courteously received by the gate keepers.

It was as if in a dream but when he pinched himself again and again, he felt pain and was all the same confused finding himself in a strange environment, a seemingly earthly dwelling, so familiar but unknown to him. He could not recollect ever seeing such a place before. He surveyed his immediate presence and remembered to his chagrin that the last thing he could recollect was when the thunder stone hit the deck of the boat and tore the boat like in a massive explosion.

‘Welcome our prince… Your mother the queen is awaiting your presence and your father the king too,’ one of the gate keepers intimated.

‘Where is this place, if I may ask?’ Silverstone was insipid.

‘You are at home,’ it was a short and sharp response.

‘Really! Are you out of your freaking mind? You know what… Just cut the crap and lead me to her, will you?’ Silverstone ordered.

And the young man led him on and he followed closely in exasperation and anxiety. He wondered how he got to where he had now found himself and raked his head severally, trying to second-guess what happened to his colleagues on the patrol boat and what was going to happen to him next as the unexpected was beginning to unfold right before his eyes.

The sight and sound of where he had now found himself was not real to Silverstone and nothing in his wildest dreams compared to what he was now getting acquainted with. He assured himself that it was not a dream, neither was it a fantasy. His mind was fired up and he was about to ask another question except that when he looked up into a short distance, there she stood, resplendently dressed in fine eye catching, brilliantly shining purple linen that flowed to her ankle.

As he approached her, he started to discern her face rightly for the first time. It was the woman he had been seeing in his dreams for all of his life. The reality was beginning to unfold right before his eyes and he shuddered in disbelief and fear.

‘Welcome home my son,’ she said as she took him into her embrace.

‘You caused the mishap on the boat at sea… Isn’t it?’ Silverstone queried.

‘Am afraid so my son. There was no way I could take you away from them peacefully,’ she retorted.

‘Those were innocent lives lost at sea and that boat was a great and invaluable treasure to the marine corps where I belong,’ Silverstone argued.

‘What shall I say my son… It was a hostile takeover, I couldn’t wait to see you and take you again into my arms. It’s quite a long while since you have been away from me and I was dying to have you back again. Your earthly people must be missing you but they are all safe, as they were rescued ashore by the crew of a fishing trawler,’ she added.

‘Are you sure of what you have just said?’ he asked curiously.

‘I wouldn’t lie to you my son. Come, your sisters and father are waiting for you,’ she said delightfully.

She took him by the hand gently and led him along. As they walked along he was beginning to perceive a glimpse of a former life in the new environment he had found himself.

‘You call me your son… How is that?’ he asked politely.

‘Patience… Patience, your many questions will be answered when you are fully rested. Your father has blamed me eternally for ever letting you go. You are now home, so don’t be anxious because you are not going back tomorrow,’ Zanandril intimated.

A glistening white haired man welcomed him with an embrace and as tears came to his eyes, he wiped them away as swiftly as it crashed unto his cheeks.

‘Welcome my son… I thought I would never see you again,’ he spoke with heavy grief in his tone.

‘How are you old man? I still don’t get it? You are my father and how come that I have forgotten every recollection of you?’ he questioned adroitly.

‘Yes I am your father,’ he responded and turned and made a gesture with his hand and added,

‘Your sisters. Adita, Sagina and Risa,’ he introduced the shy young women.

‘He does not seem to recognize us anymore,’ Adita said and the girls giggled.

‘Come on, get a hug all of you… Are these not angels? They look sanguinely sturdy,’ Silverstone remarked.

‘Brother what name did they call you over there in your earthly abode?’

‘Silverstone?’

‘Silverstone? That’s strange,’ Adita said.

‘How strange do you mean? It’s the name my mother gave to me,’ he explained.

‘This place is called Silverstone Anchorage. It dates back to creation and it has provided many sea farers a sanctuary from the fierceness of the sea storm. I wonder how your mother had the wisdom to call you by that name…’ king Parydinisa remarked.

‘My mother did not tell me why she christened me as such,’ Silverstone argued.

‘Perhaps it was a way of reminding you of where you actually came from,’ the old man explained.

‘Where is this place?’ he was still confounded by the real images staring him in the face.

‘By way of explanation it is the marine kingdom or water world but by what you people in the earthly world explain in terms of geography, it’s an anchorage in the small estuary by the great divide between Nigeria and Cameroon Republics, where Cross River and Victoria River confluences and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. On the world map it is South South of the Atlantic.’ the king his father explained.

‘If I must be honest, I am more confused now than before I got here.’

‘You seem confused my son. Don’t be… All in good time you will get used to life here. It’s peaceful and quiet,’ the woman who claimed she was his mother explained.

A royal banquet awaited him as several guest were summoned at short notice and it seemed like in a dream. Silverstone Ankersine was wondering when he would wake up from the dream. It bothered him that all did not seem right at all. Maybe he was dead and had translated already and was living out life in another plain, he reasoned. Even that too, living life in another world was not a logical way of explaining his present state of captivity.

Many people gathered and as they came gaily dressed, they welcomed him heartily and gladly with beautiful smiles. Beautiful young maidens made seductive glances at him but he ignored them as if they were not there.

‘Cheer up my son… And don’t be like that. While you have come back, there will be need to select one of them to be your wife,’ Zanandril explained.

‘Me marry one of them? I sincerely doubt such possibility,’ Silverstone argued but she ignored him, seeing he was still in his confused state.

The eldest of the three so called sisters of his brought a ravishingly charming young girl to introduce to him. As he looked into her eyes, he thought he saw double. She was like nothing he could adequately describe. To say she was beautiful would defy her true description.

‘Gethilina is the most beautiful girl here in Silverstone Anchorage and such a girl is usually reserved for a prince such as you are. Gethilina… Meet my long lost brother and the king’s son,’ Adita impressed.

‘Glad to make your acquaintance Gethilina. You look really sweet to behold but right now I am not really interested… In fact getting intimate so to say with a woman is the least of my concerns because I already have a woman who I hope to marry,’ Silverstone made a commentary that did not go down well with the girls.

Somehow Silverstone Ankersine accepted her company and she sat besides him all through the reception ceremony. Something he did which his so called parents watched with dismay was that he refused to eat nor drink anything that was presented to him.

‘You are not eating anything?’ Gethilina queried.

‘I am not hungry.’

‘At this rate you will staff to death.’

‘Gethilina I want to return home, if you don’t mind.’

‘Silverstone just follow your mind… But think out something fast as to what you want to do to remain alive. If you want my help, don’t hesitate to ask,’ she offered.

What Gethilina said to him was an impressive desire of friendship and it endeared her to him and he was willing to give her a chance. He wanted to get to know her better and ask for her help believing that she could sincerely help him.

Starting from the very next day, Gethilina came to Silverstone and in his company they walked the fields and into the wood forest on a daily basis and got acquainted more amd more. They two had found love and had opportunity to share same without any inhibtions.

‘This must be an excruciating experience for you Silverstone.’

‘It is agonizing. See Gethilina… I am starving.’

‘Silverstone if you want to retain your memory of your earthly life… Don’t eat whatsoever your mother cooks for you.’

‘Are you saying she might deliberately want to wipe my memory away?’

‘Exactly. Whatever food you will be fed with while you are here are foods meant for immortals because she won’t like to let you go… not on your life.’

‘Gethilina… So what will I be eating to stay alive and still possess my retentive memory?’

‘Do you like wild honey?’

‘Yes… But I cannot live on honey alone,’ he replied.

‘We will hunt for crabs and mollusk… That is snails and clams… They provide good source of edible meat and combined with wild oat and sea grapes will make for pleasant meal. You can live on that, if it is a temporary regiment.’

‘Gethilina how can you say a thing like that when you know that there is no way of escape for me even in the foreseeable future.’

‘Don’t lose hope Silverstone. Maybe your mother will change her mind and let you return to your earthly abode.’

CHAPTER TWO

The Secret Bargain

It dawned on Silverstone Ankersine that his sojourn at the Anchorage was not going to come to an end very soon as he expected. He was becoming more and more frustrated by each passing day, although at this point he had lost the sense of time. So far he did not recollect how many days or months he had so far spent at the present location and as it seemed nobody was going to help him out of his precarious tribulation.

Silverstone Ankersine wanted to return home back to his earthly abode. Mostly of great concern was his separation from Aishatu Jumial Jafar his lover, his father’s estate and his throne. For this he feared the unknown awaiting his return whenever that would become possible.

‘I see that you are worried to death and you want to go away… But your mother won’t let you,’ Gethilina said while smoothing his shoulders.

‘It is a terrible mistake… In fact it is a great disaster, I shouldn’t have been here. Why didn’t I just get drowned out there at sea?’

‘Your mother wouldn’t have allowed the waters to take you because it was she that raised the fury of the storm and the thunderbolt that sank the boat… It was her idea in the first place to bring you home back to herself,’ Gethilina exposed.

‘Why is she doing this to me Gethilina?’ he asked worriedly.

‘Silverstone… You will never understand the love of a mother and the passion felt at loosing one that is truly beloved,’ Gethilina explained.

‘But it’s her fault for giving me out in the first place… I never asked for it,’ he argued.

‘Here you will never be alone,’ she consoled him.

‘How do you mean Gethilina?’

‘Here you can expect that I will always be by your side forever… That’s the good thing about immortality, you never have to be alone nor to lose your dear ones ever,’ she gave an awkward response that did not satisfy him.

‘But Gethilina, I prefer life in my earthly abode as a human being than life in the water world as a marine being… Immortality not withstanding,’ Silverstone reflected.

‘You don’t really seem to like me… Do you Silverstone?’ she looked sternly into his face and asked.

‘Gethilina, in spite of myself, I like you a lot. And I am not saying that because I have lost all options,’ he gave her an honest answer.

‘Then if you do, marry me and give your mother another son or sons, perhaps it will make her comforted that if perchance you find a way of escape from her she would at least find something to remember you by.’

‘Is that so? My mother won’t still let me go… I know her, she’s not any person to convince easily. I can remember her now more vividly in my youthful days in this god damned place.’

‘While you are here, do make the best of your time.’

‘Is that your honest advice Gethilina?’

‘That is my candid opinion, if you don’t mind. It’s for your good. I promise to love you if you would love me.’

‘I definitely would like to see what stuff you are made of Gethilina.’

‘Don’t tease me Silverstone…’

‘Silver will do, that’s what my friends call me in our earthly world. And if you need a confession… I think that I have already fallen in love with you.’

‘You were saying…’

‘No it’s your call.’

‘So how is she like?’ Gethilina changed the topic abruptly.

‘You mean my lover Aishatu Jumial Jafar? Oh, she is the sweetest taboo. Her father won’t let me associate with her freely so we are secret lovers.’

‘That’s the big difference. With me you won’t have any problem because I was already reserved for you by your mother… And your father the king would be happy… And my parent’s too would be extremely excited. Well it is said that the taste of the pudding is in the eating. After you have married me, you can teach me everything you want me to know and how I can please you.’

‘It’s such a strange feeling.’

‘I am a woman for crying out loud.’

Just at that material moment Zanandril walked into their presence apparently having been eaves dropping on their conversation.

‘I am happy that you two are getting to know yourselves and being intimate… And I am really glad about it. Silverstone my son… You really want to go back to your earthly abode?’

‘Mother is that a question or an answer?’

‘You and Gethilina seem to be getting along fine. Let’s put it this way my son… There should be a replacement if you want to go back and never return except perhaps at death,’ she oferred.

‘What do you mean, mother?’

‘Gethilina loves you quite a lot, I suppose you already know that by now. So why don’t you take her for a wife and you two give me a son to be your replacement in case you run away this time on your own volition.’

‘You are not saying that you would let me go wherever I want…’

‘That is if you are so anxious to leave us your parents once again.’

‘Mother… You are not serious,’ he was skeptical.

‘Yes I am son. I am more than serious. I can’t bear the thought of losing you again forever. I went through great length to bring you back to me… And the moment you had enlisted in the marine corps, that moment was your undoing. So I waited patiently until time and tide was propitious enough,’ Zanandril explained.

‘Listen to me mother… Back there in my earthly abode, my father was king… And I want to become king in my father’s stead. They murdered him so that they can usurp his throne but no, it’s not going to happen. Please mother you have to let me go back to my earthly abode,’ Silverstone explained and pleaded for his mother’s understanding.

‘Save yourself what you would term as frustration and give me what I want… Another son to take your place, and I promise to let you go. I now see that I had made a mistake all at the first time by giving you out to your earthly mother… And I want to correct that mistake once and for all,’ Zanzndril quipped deceitfully and Silverstone saw in her eyes that she did not mean a word that she was saying.

‘I am surprised that you think the way you do, mother. What if I am ready to take Gethilina for a wife and after we have given you a replacement son… You still don’t let me go?’

‘Are you kidding me? If you think you can do otherwise then you will be postponing your day of freedom.’

‘Mother I want to go back and reclaim my inheritance,’ Silverstone insisted.

‘You will my son. Since you want to be a king… A king you shall become. If you need my help, all you need to do is ask,’ Zanandril sort of assured.

‘I can certainly use some help, if you would be so willing to grant me my request,’ Silverstone insisted.

‘Son I have already said that. Take Gethilina and make her a wife and a mother… and the rest of your expectations will just work out fine.’

‘Silverstone listen to your mother, she means well,’ Gethilina cut in tenderly.

‘So what’s it going to be my son?’ Zanandrill asked with interest.

‘I guess there’s no other option. I will do as you have suggested. You and father will do the necessary marriage arrangements,’ Silverstone conceded to his mother’s request.

Zanandril left almost immediately.

‘So Silverstone what’s it going to be?’

‘It leaves me with no option… I will take you for a wife.’

‘Do you love me at all?’ Gethilina asked.

‘I find it difficult to resist your charms… I find you adorable Gethilina.’

‘Come out straight and say it the way it’s supposed to be said. We have been more than familiar so to say for a long while now… So tell me what I want to hear Silverstone.’

‘Could you be loved Gethilina? Then I want to love you… How about that?’

‘Somewhat but not good enough, Silverstone.’

‘Gethilina I love you,’

‘That’s better and I love you too, Silverstone.’

When the news of Silverstone Ankersine’s death reached the Army authorities General Jumial Jafar was the most joyous but as soon as Hajiya Mariana related the sad news to her daughter Aishatu she went into a state of depression. She did not eat for days and became ill and her mother had to be sent for after she was admitted into the hospital.

Hajiya Mariana Jafar traveled immediately to London and met her daughter Aishatu in a very bad shape and had to make spirited effort to get her treated the best way possible while at the same time consoling her on her loss.

‘Aishatu you too won’t die because Silverstone has died.’

‘Mama you don’t seem to understand what it is to lose someone you loved so dearly. Silverstone was my first real love. He gave me so much joy and I had hope that one day we would be together… But now all my hope have crashed and I am left alone in tears, sorrow and pain.’

‘Be that as it may, you still have your life to live. So be comforted that he loved you dearly too.’

‘Mama I think that there was something funny that happened out there on the high sea. Why was it only Silverstone that was unaccounted for. Don’t you see that there must have been some foul play?’

‘Are you accusing your father indirectly of complicity in the death of your lover?’

‘Yes, I suspect that my father must have given the order for hin to be killed to foreclose the future possibility of our getting married. He intentionally instructed that a young commissioned officer was listed and sent on peace keeping operations when it ought not to have been the case… And because he did not die, he was again got him drafted into the intervention force. Why did my father have to do all of that?’

‘Believe me Aishatu my daughter… There are more questions than answers. Get a hold of yourself. You have a world of goodness ahead of you. If your father had any hand in what happened you can never say… And you cannot condemn him eternally. He is still your father and you are still his daughter.’

‘But mama, I won’t marry my father and you know that. Silverstone was the man that captured my heart and I loved him the way I would never love any other man.’

‘Aishatu you loved him contrary to your father’s wish and it angered him dearly and ever since that last incident, you two have not been on speaking terms… So now is the most auspicious time to get reconciled to your father,’ Hajiya advised,

‘Mama let that wait. Papa treated me dishonorably… It is going to take a while before I can overcome the shame. By bringing me out here he literally threw me out of his house, so I don’t know what will make me return to that house.’

‘Don’t talk like that Aishatu. You must forgive you father.’

‘Did he forgive Silverstone? Come to think about it, what did he ever