"Who goes there?" A voice called out, and Ara and Fade froze on the spot.

They heard footsteps coming towards them, so they huddled together and pressed themselves against the wall as best as they could.

They had no idea where they were, for after falling through the dark tunnel they had landed in an even darker place, such that they couldn't even see each other.

"Who goes there?" The voice sounded closer and their hearts pounded with fear.

Within seconds they saw a light appear and then a woman who held a stick with fire burning at the top.

Her nose was long and pointy and her hair was unkempt, flying in all directions. Her eyes looked sharp and her nails were so long they curled round her hands thrice.

The royals gulped as she peered at them.

"And who might you two be?" She asked. "No matter. Come on now, follow me."

She turned and began to walk down the dark path, the light growing dim as she walked away.

The two of them looked at each other, then they both shrugged and followed the woman.

They walked for some time before bursting into an open space that was crowded with objects.

Ara gasped as she saw a mortar hanging from the ceiling by a cobweb, and a man who kept running on a human-sized hamster wheel.

She also noticed that another woman sat on a stool that stood next to a huge pot, using a wooden spoon to mix the green liquid inside. The foul stench of the mixture wafted to her nose as it bubbled over the pot, and she had to fight hard not to throw up.

She shifted closer to Fade who took her hand into his as he also stared at the occupants of the room.

A third woman stood and plaited the hair of a fourth woman, while the woman who brought them here started to talk.

"Look what I found." She told the woman who mixed the pot and the one whose hair was being plaited.

The pot mixer cackled and her yellowed teeth flashed. "We thank the gods. They have blessed us and provided more meat for us."

"Yes." The one whose hair was being plaited rasped. "When last did we eat meat? Ever since word got out that this place was inhabited by witches and sorcerers, no one ever came here again."

The first woman hung her lantern. "We must remember to thank Prince Dipo for this great bounty he has brought us. Certainly, he deserves to be king."

Fade and Ara exchanged panicked glances.

Witches? Bounty? Meat?

Oh no.

In silent agreement they backtracked, hoping the three women wouldn't notice them.

But when they reached the entrance from which they came, their backs hit a solid surface and upon turning they realized that there was now a wall in place such that it looked like they never even passed through the place before. As if it wasn't an entrance and there was no path leading to it.

The three witches cackled all the more, and the nasally sounds grated on Fade's nerves.

"Thought you could escape?" The first woman, Hellaw asked.

"Check the walls, they tell the stories of those who came in here." The pot mixer, Binbuo continued as she stood up from the stool and wiped her hand on a tattered apron.

Fade and Ara's eyes travelled the walls and truly, there were stories there. They saw dried blood splattered on the walls and on looking at the ground they saw dried bones.

Ara leaned against Fade for support, her heart unable to stand what she just saw.

"You can even ask these two. They know it all. Right, Young Man and Woman?" The third woman, Juijui asked.

"Yes. They are right. No one enters and leaves alive."

The man running on wheels and the woman who stood plaiting Juijui's hair said. Their voices came together in a monotonous blend as they looked at Fade and Ara, never stopping their tasks.

Ara gasped once again and this time would have fallen to the ground if not for Fade who caught her.

"What's wrong?" His eyes flashed with concern.

She lifted her eyes to meet his and he could see tears brimming in them.

"What is it, Ara? Is it these witches? Don't worry, we would get out of this situation."

She shook her head and as the first tear slipped down her face, he heard her whisper, "That's my mother and my brother."

___________________

They were both tied up and were now hanging over the large pot of boiling green goo mixed with seasoning cubes.

Fade struggled to untie himself but it was of no use. His back was to Ara so he couldn't see her, but he could hear her muffled sobs.

She hadn't stopped weeping ever since she told him that the man running nonstop on those hamster wheels was her elder brother and the woman plaiting Juijui's hair was her mother.

Fade sighed. Thank God they put salt on their wounds. If not, he wasn't sure he'd still be conscious by now.

What would they do now? How could they ever escape from this situation? Staring them right in the face was imminent death. And not only that, they would also be cooked and eaten by three cannibals.

How would they be saved? Perhaps they should just resign and accept this as their fate.

God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the ocean depths; even if the seas roar and rage, and the hills are shaken by violence.

A Bible scripture rose up in Fade's spirit and for a moment, he stopped trying to untie his hands.

O Lord, you give me light; you dispel my darkness.
You give me strength to attack my enemies and power to overcome their defenses.

This God – how perfect are His deeds!
How dependable His words!
He is like a shield for all who seek His protection.
The Lord alone is God; God alone is our defense.

Another Bible scripture rose up in his spirit and Fade smiled despite his current predicament, because he knew the God he believed in and served would get them out.

Praise the Lord, who carries our burdens day after day; He is the God who saves us.
Our God is a God who saves; He is the Lord, our Lord, who rescues us from death.

More Bible scriptures rose up in his spirit and Fade couldn't help but give thanks to the Holy Spirit for bringing these scriptures to his remembrance.

"Ara? Ara?" He called out to her in a soft voice.

She sniffled and matched his tone. "Yes?"

"Are you a Christian?"

She nodded, then remembered that he couldn't see her. "Yes, I am."

A grin broke out on his face. "Good. Remember the Bible tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us?"

She bit her lip and swallowed. "Yes."

"And that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm sure that God won't let these evil people harm us, and He'll get you, your family and I out of here."

Ara shook her head as fresh tears fell. She admired the confidence she could hear in his voice, but she didn't share it.

"I don't know, Fade. Why did God allow this to happen in the first place? And then my brother and mother–" She choked on a sob, unable to continue.

"I don't know, Ara. But I know that a lot of evil exists, and it is not from God. Instead, He tries to put more good out there to counter the evil. That is why even though this situation looks bad, God who is good will do something about it."

"Quit talking up there!" Binbuo shrieked.

"Woman, go and lower them into the pot." Hellaw instructed Ara's mother.

"Young man, run faster so that the necessary heat we need to boil them would be generated." She commanded Ara's brother, the both of them heeding to her instructions.

A scream tore out of Ara's mouth as they began to get closer to the boiling goo. "Please, no. Stop! Mother, please don't do this. Please!"

The three witches looked at each other, bewildered.

"Mother? Is she your child, Hellaw?" Boubin asked Hellaw who shook her head.

"Is she yours?" She asked Juijui who also shook her head.

"She's not mine either. Who then is she referring to as her Mother?" Boubin asked, and as if controlled their eyes fell on the woman who kept lowering the two humans into the pot.

"Stop!" Hellaw instructed the woman. "Young lady, is that woman your mother?"

Ara nodded, the steam from the boiling liquid burning her and Fade's feet.

The three witches exchanged glances, and then burst out laughing.

"Oh, goodness me! We are going to eat the daughter and the mother would help us with it!" Hellaw said between guffaws.

"Perhaps that young man is also your brother?" Boubin asked as she wiped her eyes.

Ara nodded and they burst out laughing again.

"Oh, this would be so fun. I would certainly remember this for years to come." Juijui opined.

"That won't happen." Fade declared and the three witches looked at him.

"And why is that, boy?" Boubin asked, bored, as she looked at her talons.

This wasn't the first time a captive tried to talk their way out of being eaten. Yet, they still always ended up with the same fate.

Earlier, while the women questioned Ara, Fade remembered something the missionary that led him to Christ always told him. However, he left and never turned. What Fade didn't know was that the missionary left for Ake where he was executed by Ara's grandmother.

There is power in the name of Jesus. There is authority in His name, and He gave that power and authority to His children to use. Therefore, if you ask God for something in the name of Jesus, it will be done for you.
Also, if you command powers of darkness in the name of Jesus, they will obey.

So he'd tried. Speaking under his breath, he said, "In the name of Jesus, I command you three vile women to release us and let us go."

But nothing happened, and for a moment discouragement reigned in his heart.

But thank God for His Holy Spirit!

After being encouraged by the Holy Spirit, Fade spoke again, this time in a loud voice to inform the witches that there would be no remembering for years to come of how they ate him and Ara after being aided by her mother and brother.

"Do you have anything to say or not?" Hellaw asked.

"Yes, get on with it." Juijui said, as the three of them shared a secret smile.

No matter how hard he tried to convince them, they would still get eaten.

But Fade wasn't attempting to convince them. Neither was he going to plead with them. He wasn't even going to negotiate with them. He was going to command them in the name above all names, the name of JESUS.

"In the name of Jesus, I command you three to untie us and let us go." He commanded, his voice unwavering.

The three of them froze in their respective spots, their eyes darting to and fro.

Then they lurched forward and pulled Fade and Ara down. They scrambled to untie them and when they were done, they chanted some words and the wall opened to reveal the pathway.

Fade held Ara and faced the three women. "It is written that, 'In honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'"

The three women trembled as he said this, but this didn't make him stop. "I command your hold over Ara's mother and brother to be broken in the name of Jesus."

"No." They screamed as they put their hands over their ears. "Please, stop!"

Ara's brother came to a stop on the wheels as both he and his mother started to glance around, the dazed look in their eyes gone.

"W–what happened?" Ara's brother asked as he looked down at the tattered clothes on his body.

"Why am I here?" Ara's mother also enquired as she glanced in fear at the blood on the walls and the bones on the floor.

"Oh, mother!" Ara exclaimed and hurried to her side. "Thank God! Thank God!"

"Mother? Ara?" Her brother called out as he moved closer to them.

Ara looked back at her brother and couldn't stop her tears from flowing down her face. "Oh, Tooni! My brother, Tooni!"

The three of them embraced each other, and Fade smiled as he watched the teary reunion.

He cleared his throat. "I'm so sorry to break this up, but we have to leave as soon as possible."

Tooni broke away from the women and looked at him. His voice came out kind when he asked, "Who are you?"

Ara pulled away from her mother. "I'll explain later. We have to leave now."

Mother and Tooni nodded and the four of them passed the witches who remained writhing on the floor. They moved through the pathway and burst out into the open.

Ara was about to ask Fade how they would get out of here when she noticed a boat tied to a tree with Tomi standing beside it while Sewa sat in it.

"Ara! Fade!" Sewa yelled and jumped out of the boat to run towards them.

Tomi's eyes landed on them and he also rushed forward.

"Your Highness." He addressed Prince Fade and then helped Sewa, Ara and her mother into the boat.

Sewa clung to Ara in the boat, while Ara stroked her hair.

Then together with Fade and Tooni, Tomi untied the boat, the three of them heaving as they pushed it back into the water.

Fade and Tooni were both weak, but the fear of remaining on the island made them forget their weakness and join in pushing the boat.

Without wasting anymore time, they jumped into the boat and rowed away from the Enchanted Island.

****************
1st Bible scripture is gotten from Psalm 46:1-3.

2nd Bible scripture is gotten from Psalm 18:28-31

3rd Bible scripture is gotten from Psalm 68:19-20

All scripture quotations are gotten from the GNT (Good News Translation).