Extinction. Exactly what the Guhruhi wanted; a stronger negative vortex to usher chaos and shift the balance of power.
“My daughter is lost. I will find a way to bring her back to us. To coax her return to our mission,” Mawu stated plainly.
Was that a sigh? Mawu strained to hear.
Nana Buluku’s voice whispered. “You must choose another path. Your daughter sided with the Guhruhi, and negativity has grown stronger in the last universe. We are losing all three.”
After four hundred years, Mawu witnessed the demise of her priestesses at the hands of the children of Loki and the followers of Eshu. They systematically hunted down the power she bequeathed on her chosen women and stole it. To make matters worse, her daughter’s decision to join the Guhruhi placed an unfair advantage on the side of the negative waves. She had underestimated the power of her daughter’s grief.
“Great Mother. I choose a different path.” Mawu was sickened by the conversation. “Nana Buluku?” Mawu called, but there was only silence.
Over the years, Mawu had done what she could to convince her sweet Iniko to release her treacherous ways and rejoin the side of good. Mawu understood how difficult it was for Iniko to let her daughter pass away, but what Iniko didn’t know was Nwandi’s soul was trapped inside the soul eater with the other priestesses.
Mawu tried to use her Traveler to get close enough to kill him and release the souls, but over the years, the priest had become cunning. He was, after all, a child of Loki. Hard to battle chaos.
Mawu was frustrated. Loki had tricked her in the most heinous way.
Mawu remembered.
Tyr, her beloved, and his wolf battled two gods. It seemed as if he were at a disadvantage because of his one arm, but he swung his hammer with deadly intentions. Loki and Hades toppled over when his hammer crunched the palace floors. Mawu tried to come to Tyr’s aid, but he forbade her. She was far in her pregnancy and must protect their child. Mawu watched in horror as Hades burned Tyr’s wolf and moved in close for the kill. Tyr fought with valor, but in trickery, Loki dealt him a death blow he could not withstand.
Tyr fell. Mawu screamed.
Loki laughed like a jester. “Why do you cry over this one when it is I who am the father of your sweet child?”
Loki floated to Mawu and tried to stroke her face as if they were lovers. Then he grabbed her arm tightly and shared a vision with her of the night her child was conceived. She fell into the vision where Tyr’s eyes were a strange color. She remembered it as odd. The realization dawned on her.
“No! This cannot be!” Mawu looked at the body of Tyr, and her anger exploded. She called forth and unleashed an earthquake that shook the entire African continent. Using her air magic, she plunged and sealed Loki and Hades into a prison within the core of the earth.
Mawu ran to her love, kissed his forehead, placed his bloody head in her lap and sobbed. She cursed her stupidity and rubbed her belly. She had wished for the father of her child to be admirable, but Loki’s trickery had been her undoing.
Her water broke.
Her heart cracked every time she thought of how Loki and Hades murdered her beloved Tyr. But the final blow—Loki slipping into her bed and tricking her—Iniko, now one of his children. Mawu had placed a Sankofa spell on Iniko to help her remember her true self, but it must be released at the right time.
Mawu’s thoughts returned to the veil. She slid around in the dream heavens while creating a plan. Would the little one be able to resurrect her body? Very unlikely. Mawu should be able to retrieve the Akofena war sword that could kill immortals—killing the soul eater would slow down the Guhruhi’s plan. It’s what she needed to put everything semi-back in order.
Mawu hovered close to Iniko’s cold universe. The veil between the evil universe and the dream world was frozen thick, but in the air, Mawu drew the Adinkra symbol of the two-headed crocodile sharing a stomach.
She chanted, “Funtummireku-Denkyemmireku, wonafuru bom, nso wodidi a na wo pere so. The two-headed crocodile which struggles over food though it goes to a common stomach.”
She closed her eyes, blowing the words through a small pinhole within the veil, hoping for her daughter to return to their common destiny.
Iniko’s song floated to her ears. Her daughter sang the lullaby Mawu had sung to her when she was a baby. Mawu was happy that hope still resided within her child, but grieved. If only Mawu could have saved the universe and kept her child. Mawu wanted to comfort Iniko. The loss of her only child became a wound that would never heal.
Mawu joined her voice with Iniko’s, singing the lullaby. “Nkwihoreze ikobondo humm, hum, ayiwe ayiwe. Take away your sorrow, my little one, my little chick. The nights are calm with you at my side, my baby.”
Iniko stopped singing. Could Mawu coax her child away from the evil Guhuruhi in this dream state? Iniko’s soul floated toward her. Her daughter’s eyes closed, and the beast on the other side rested. The spell worked.
Iniko’s soul crossed the veiled wall and floated to Mawu.
“Why have you summoned me?” Iniko’s words harsh, cruel.
Mawu wanted to hold her daughter and be her protector, be her mother. Mawu drew the symbol of Mpata pow, the knot of reconciliation, peace, and pacification.
“Return to the light. Give up your plan, remember who you are and fight against evil.”
“Never!” Iniko’s eyes blazed and her voice boomed, shaking the dream realm.
Mawu continued to draw symbols around Iniko, but this time she whispered, “Anibre a enso Gya. No matter how red-eyed one becomes, one’s eyes will not spark flames.”
“As long as my daughter can be returned to me, I will never abandon her as you did me.” Iniko swiped the symbol away with her clawed hands.
“Our champion has been chosen. She will restore the light of good to one of the three universes. Goodness moves fast, and will bring the other two back into positive alignment.”
Mawu talked while she drew the symbol of two fishes attempting to bite each other’s tails “Obi Nka Bi. Advocacy, harmony, forgiveness” around Iniko, hoping the magic would coax her daughter back from the evil.
“That weak, pitiful fool?” Iniko spat. “We will crush her and use her daughter’s soul to return my baabaa. Then, we will destroy you and Nana Buluku forever.”
Mawu stopped drawing the symbols. Her gut lurched. She loved her child. She only wanted what was best, but her best-laid plans were shambles. She tried one more symbol for parental discipline “Akoko Nan. Hen’s feet.” She whispered the words, “Akoko nan tia ne ba na enkum ba. If a hen treads on her young ones, she does not mean to kill them.”
Mawu understood Iniko’s grief spiraled into shortsightedness. Her daughter was emotionally flawed and a child of Loki. Mawu did not know what chaotic mission resided deep inside her daughter’s heart, but she wanted desperately to reconnect.
Iniko’s eyes sparked. Her abilities had grown. Mawu realized her child tried to control the dream realm. Iniko materialized in front of Mawu’s face. Mawu popped away to avoid conflict.
“Mother, we will do what it takes to return our Nwandi, even if it means sacrificing other’s souls. Isn’t that your belief? You sacrificed me for your cause...”
Iniko’s teeth became elongated, and Mawu perceived the beast awakening. Mawu’s thoughts unraveled; the beast twisted Iniko’s understanding of what happened into an untruth.
“I love you. My decision was never meant to harm you. But, my granddaughter, Nwandi, is trapped inside—”
“Don’t speak of my Nwandi!” Iniko’s voice boomed as the woman translocated to Mawu, using her clawed hand to grab her mother’s throat.
“We will crush you!”
Mawu allowed the tears to release. Her daughter was too far gone in grief…despair. The beast’s influence was complete. She broke her daughter’s hold and drew the Adinkra symbol of “Sunsum. Spiritual purity and sanctity of the soul.”
Holding a ball of powerful light, Mawu blast
ed her daughter back into the darkness.
“Evil, return to your plane.”
Mawu wept.
She’d have to give the wandering warrior a weapon that could kill immortals…that could kill Iniko.
Mawu settled down. She needed to connect with her vessel on Earth. She needed to witness the unfolding of this timeline. She concentrated, and descended into Mama Stiles’s sleeping form. The woman was a powerful ally and they had worked together for years.
Mama Stiles was singing “Go down, Moses” in her dreams.
“Is it you, goddess?”
Mawu heard Jeannette as if they were talking to one another. It was hard not to want to stay in Jeannette’s body and take her over completely. Mawu wanted to live again, to be reborn. That’s why she tried not to stay too long. The temptation was too hard, especially since evil had begun to dominate this universe.
“It is I.” Mawu allowed her voice to resonate inside Jeannette’s subconscious.
“We have work to do, Sister Stiles.” Mawu took a deep breath. “We must lead the wandering warrior to a portal inside my throne palace. She must retrieve an Akofena war sword with immense power.”
“I understand.” Jeannette always trusted Mawu. If the woman knew the damage Mawu had done over the years, she wouldn’t be so supportive.
Mawu used her energy to boost Jeannette’s African elemental abilities. She’d need the woman to use her power of thunder, light, and spirit soon. There was a lot to be done.
Iniko slammed into her corporeal form. The body she shared with the Guhruhi was cold, but now it was natural for her to coexist with evil. She scanned the hazy room and went back to singing the lullaby to her daughter…her sweet, precious Nwandi…with her mother, Mawu, easily forgotten. Iniko studied Nwandi’s face. Every white line she’d painted on her child’s face must be perfect. When Nwandi awoke, they would celebrate her daughter’s initiation as a diviner, priestess, and warrior. Iniko smoothed Nwandi’s kente cloth dress. Perfection.
It seemed that she’d been in this dead parallel universe for a short time, but then it often seemed an eternity. Her heart ached with all that had gone on in her life. Self-doubt, pain, and conflicting emotions. The other side of her body and mind spoke within.
“We are one now. We are transmuted into a power. We will save our daughter and then we will take over this universe.”
Iniko’s side of the heart cringed. She’d made a deal and said yes to the evil she swore to fight, but she had to do it. If she hadn’t decided to become one with the Guhruhi, she’d never have a chance to resurrect her beautiful baby girl.
She continued to hum her tune Nkwihoreze ibyandongo ayiwe, ayiweibyandongo. I will comfort you, my baby.
The one she sang to keep her Nwandi calm when they were hiding from her husband’s minions. Her mission to save her child kept her sane. Once Iniko realized her mother abandoned her because her father was Loki, she knew she’d never abandon her child.
The Guhruhi spoke through their bond. “One of our minions has attained the tiny priestess. Soon we will rise from this realm and be back on Earth. It will be different than remembered, but we will be victorious.”
Iniko clenched her hand to her side of her chest. Finally, her daughter would be returned to her. She continued to sing her mother’s song. A glimmer of the African goddess flashed. She pushed the memory away. Soon her child would return to her.
She touched Nwandi’s face, but the child’s ear crumbled away.
Iniko wailed. “No!” They were so close. Her daughter needed more energy to sustain her. The Guhruhi used the bond between them to speak, “We have dispatched our soul eater. He will replenish our daughter until the priestess arrives.”
“Yes.Yes. Have him bring us another, immediately!” Iniko’s voice cracked.
She gulped a deep breath. She hoped he picked a soul with stronger magic than the last one. Her poor baabaa needed more energy. She needed to be whole until resurrection day.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Deacon
Inside the sheriff’s station, Deacon made the technician play the footage from the beginning. He wanted to see all that had transpired. He watched intently, searching for clues. Anything to help them track down the kidnappers.
Deacon studied the footage, rubbing his chin. His stomach turned while watching the female drug Shania and her little girl.
Unusual way to drug someone. After the drug took effect, the kidnapper went for Lydia but the dog attacked. Deacon flinched when the abductor shot him. He thought of his dog, Hercules. Who shoots a dog? Then another car pulled up across the road. Wait, he recognized the car. The brother who got away the first time!
“Do you know him?” he asked.
Deacon could tell Shania had checked out. She clutched her grandmother’s box, stared into space, and slowly repeated that this was the same man who chased her from Tennessee to Georgia, but she never met him. Deacon rubbed his hands through his hair. He wanted to ask more, but she appeared disconnected. Drugs must still be in her system.
Rashad asked the tech to keep playing the footage. Deacon’s attention refocused on his task. The female kidnapper returned to retrieve Shania, but the woman touched the box and gave a bloodcurdling yell. The cam video turned to static. What happened?
He examined Shania. He still felt intense love for her. She sat in the chair, tightly holding the box, rocking back and forth. It didn’t make any sense. He closed his eyes and opened that part of himself. Shania’s emotions crashed in on him. Fear, anxiety, stress. His stomach knotted, but he explored deeper. A haunting darkness brewed within Shania. It snapped the connection between them.
Deacon’s eyes popped open. Wrong! All of this was wrong!
His vision clouded. He had an edgy feeling. Deacon gripped the side of the table. He wanted to kill someone. He was outraged at all of this, but especially that he couldn’t have prevented Shania’s daughter from being abducted. He should’ve been able to protect the little girl. He breathed. Need to focus.
The tech yelled. “Got something! Tracked the Lexus down and a second car—looks like a limo.” They viewed the footage. Deacon turned, scrutinizing Shania. He released a slow breath then returned to the camera, studying it closer. Was that the guy from Shania’s MyFace page in the limo? Was he the father of Shania’s daughter?
“He’s taking Lydia.” Shania spurred to life. “Oh my God. Corbin.” She broke into tears. Deacon moved to soothe her but hesitated.
Agent Moss moved into action.
“We need to generate another Amber Alert.” The FBI agent got on his walkie-talkie and issued the alert. Everyone’s cell phones buzzed. They knew the abductor was in a black limo, but they missed the license plate.
“Damn,” the agent said. “Female sheriff. I knew I didn’t remember her.”
Deacon allowed the anger to surge but pushed it down—Shania needed him to be her emotional rock.
Deacon pursed his lips as his jaw hardened. He didn’t know what to do. The traffic video kept playing. He realized Corbin not only tried to take her daughter, but he also tried to abduct Shania. Who was this dude?
Deacon crossed his arms, tight. He needed clarification.
“Shania, is this your daughter’s father?” It pained him to ask her this question. Inside he was jealous and enraged that she’d had a child with another man. He was angry she’d been with anyone else, but he knew she’d aborted their baby, and the agony of it stung.
Shania shrank. “No, he’s not my child’s father.”
Deacon allowed the words to sink in. She’d been with someone else? He knew his feelings were unwarranted.
“So, who is the father?” Deacon fixated on her eyes.
“You are,” Shania said plainly.
Rashad in the background. “What did she just say?”
Deacon’s eyebrows lifted as the emotions ripped through him, but he kept cool. “Me? But I thought you told me you—”
“I lied to you. I didn’t want to
ruin both of our lives.” Shania’s words sent him over the edge.
Deacon’s body quickly tensed; for a split second, his breathing suspended. His eyes widened. He turned away and clamped down, using his military training to show nerves of steel. He released his arms and shook out his hands to allow the shock to pass. He wouldn’t allow this to take him over. Relief? Anger? He wasn’t sure what to feel.
Rashad said, “Shit, D, you’re a father.”
Deacon wanted to scream.
This man had just stolen his baby girl. He needed to save his child; the beautiful girl with his mother’s violet eyes. His posture stiffened, but he needed to stand by Shania and save his daughter. After this was over, he’d figure out how to make this all work.
Deacon didn’t want to leave Shania, but she insisted that she stay with Maddie. He would pick her up later. Deacon drove Rashad to the office. The car was silent. Rashad was giving him space to think. He gripped the steering wheel, his mind clouded. A sudden coldness hit him in his core—a dizzying torrent of feelings.
His muscles stiffened into anger, hurt, and distress.
He ground his bottom lip. Why would Shania do this?
The other side of him was glad. He didn’t think he’d ever have a family. Not alone...
He breathed relief.
None of that excused Shania. His ears rang as he retreated inward. He could never forgive her for taking away his child. He rubbed his temple. He didn’t understand. He’d always adored Shania.
Why?
Deacon drove past a nearby park but decided to whip the car around, cutting quick to make the Georgia U-turn.
Rashad didn’t say a word. Deacon parked, leaving the air on, and they sat still.
Breathe!
He needed to be alone.
Deacon popped the trunk and hopped out.
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