Nights of blood…

A long shadow glided smoothly and silently in the darkness. A cock crowed in the distance. It was a few minutes past 3 in the morning. All was quiet. Even the moon seemed to have shrunken in size. The stars deserted the gloomy clouds leaving the sullen moon lonely. Across the courtyard was eerie silence occasionally broken by deep, resonating snores. The shadow glided past the first hut, the door was ajar. He knew his way around despite the darkness. He made his way towards the deep, throaty snore. He pulled his dagger from its sheath. It felt cold. Not a good sign. He slipped it back and wiped his sweaty palm. A rustle! Silence. Another rustle! The air smelt of danger! He crouched behind a stack of palm fronds. He peered into the darkness. He had carefully mapped out his activities. Who was the intruder? He heard more rustles in quick succession as a cat dove out of the surrounding bush. He heaved in relief. From the distance he could pick the gleaming eyes of the cat. He stood up stealthily. He had business to finish. A few long silent strides saw him at the open hut that the snore emanated from. He had to be quick and precise about this. It was not for nothing that his soon-to-be victim, Okadigbo, was dreaded among the seven clans. If he made a mistake he was a dead man. No two ways. He relied on his speed and deftness to complete his task — kill Okadigbo without raising an alarm. Another cock crowed in the distance. He looked up, the moon had begun to slip into the darkening clouds. This was his chance. Here was a perfect cover….