My Soul to Take

by Amy Sumida

  “So it's a soul pot?” I lifted a brow.

  “Literally; the head pot,” she expounded. “This pot is very important but it's left on an altar in the oumphor, the church, and is guarded by a priest or priestess, known as a houngan if he's a man or a mambo if she's a woman. This is an act of trust between the initiate and their priest because the pot can be used to control a soul.”

  “Whoa, hold on,” Trevor looked back at us from his perch at the counter, where he was brewing a pot of coffee. “You're saying that this pot can be used for mind control but these people just leave them on an altar in the care of some priest?”

  I could understand Trevor's horror. As a bonded Froekn, he was very familiar with the idea of splitting his soul. But the split was only done once, during a Froekn binding ceremony, and the piece of soul was given to the werewolf's mate in exchange for a piece of their mate's soul. This not only bonded the couple but ensured that if one of them were to die, the other wouldn't suffer for long. They would soon follow their mate into the Void. I held a piece of Trevor's soul but he didn't have a piece of mine. I wasn't a froekn and so was unable to give him a full Binding. It was an unusual situation and yet, he seemed perfectly content with it.

  “Soul-control not mind, but yes,” Yemanja answered him. “And there can be issues with that but normally, the priest or priestess is worthy of the trust.”

  “Normally?” I cocked my head.

  “There are, of course, those humans who are lured by greed or power and abuse the trust given to them,” Yemanja sighed. “These people are considered to be evil and are called bokors. They are the dark side of Vodou, the monsters that so many humans believe my people to be.”

  “Right,” I understood monsters. “So you've got your villains, just like everyone else does, but let's get back to this death you were talking about. What happened to make it unusual?”

  “Well, the soul I found was unsettled,” Yemanja swallowed hard. “She said that her pot de tet had been stolen from the oumphor and that a bokor had murdered her shortly afterward. She believed he was the one who'd taken her pot and she feared that she'd be called back from Ginen early, before the traditional year and a day, and forced into a govi pot to serve the bokor.”

  “A govi pot?” Trevor asked as he brought cups of coffee over to the table for us.

  “Thank you,” I whispered to him. He'd already put cream and sugar in mine and it was perfect. Just like him. Oh, give me a break, I was still in the honeymoon phase.

  “The pot de tet is made into a govi pot when a person dies,” Yemanja explained. “I'm sorry this is so complicated. I don't have to go into all of this if you'd rather just skip to the end.”

  “No,” I waved her concern away. “I think I need to understand everything if I'm going to help.”

  “Alright,” she took a sip of her water and then went on. “Normally, after a year and a day goes by, the family's priest conducts a ceremony for them; calling the dead from the low water. This brings a piece of the soul back into the govi pot while the rest of it transitions on to the realm of the dead.”

  “But why would you do that?” Trevor was completely baffled.

  “Because Vodou is not only about serving the lwas, it's about serving the ancestors,” Yemanja smiled gently. “We are generous gods and don't mind sharing our bounty. The govi pot allows the family to keep a connection with their loved one. They can provide energy for the soul through sacrifice, just as they give us offerings. In return, the soul may do things for its family, just as we look after our followers. It's a fair exchange, as all divine interactions were originally meant to be.”

  “It's intended to be a fair exchange,” I was trying to work through the complex information. “But you're saying that this pot could be used to give an evil bokor power over a soul?”

  “Yes,” Yemanja said gravely. “In the hands of a bokor, the govi pot could be used to summon a soul to Earth and force it into servitude.”

  “Okay, I think I get it,” I tapped my coffee cup as I worked it through. “But you said the pot de tet can be used to control the soul. Why go through the hassle of murdering someone and calling back their soul, when you can just steal their pot and control them that way?”

  “A soul can do a lot of things that a human bound to a physical body cannot,” Yemanja said grimly.

  “That sounds like trouble,” I grimaced.

  “I was concerned, to say the least,” Yemanja nodded. “I instantly followed the soul's connection to her pot de tet and discovered that she was right. The pot was within the hands of a bokor.”

  “Can't you take it back?” I asked.

  “He is protected by great magic,” Yemanja sighed. “And here's where it gets really troubling... there were more bokors with him.”

  “What?” Trevor asked.

  “He was just one of a large group of bokors who all seemed to have many pots in their possession,” Yemanja's voice held deep anger. “I could sense the taint in their living bodies and the misery in the enslaved souls.”

  “Sense?” I frowned.

  “I couldn't get close to them,” her jaw clenched. “As I mentioned, this bokor is protected. He lives within a community of bokors and not only do they have strong wards in place but they are all under the protection of another lwa. There was nothing I could do but retreat.”

  “Sounds like this may be an issue for the God Squad,” I observed and then glanced up to see Kirill come into the room from the hallway. “Hey, honey,” I paused to give him a kiss. “Have you met Yemanja?”

  “Nyet,” Kirill held his hand out to the lwa. “I am Vervain's husband, Kirill.”

  “Yes, I know,” Yemanja smiled and shook his hand. “I'm Yemanja, Lwa of the Sea.”

  “It's pleasure to meet you,” Kirill nodded and went to get himself a cup of coffee.

  “Oh, the pleasure is mine,” Yemanja gave him a quick smile. “But back to the souls, Vervain.”

  “Souls?” Kirill returned to the table with his coffee and took the seat between Yemanja and Trevor.

  “I'll fill you in after,” I waved a hand at him and he nodded. “Do you have any more information, Yemanja?”

  “Yes,” she ran an elegant hand through her long, ebony hair and then ended up nervously playing with the strings of silver beads around her neck. “I don't know if you are aware of this but I am a cross-over deity. I am both a lwa of Haitian Vodou and an orisha of Santeria.”

  “No, I didn't know,” I admitted. “Are the Vodou lwas and the Santerian orishas like Roman and Greek gods?”

  “Yes, it's very much like the connection between the Roman and Greek pantheons,” she agreed. “Vodou and Santeria are similar religions and have similar gods but most of our deities are separate individuals. I am one of the few who connect the two.”

  “Is the main god the same?” I thought about how I'd just discovered that Jerry held sway over the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic religions.

  “Yes, our Bon Dieu is the same god,” she grimaced. “And just as with Jehovah, Bon Dieu doesn't bother with humans much.”

  “Ah,” I nodded. “So you can't go to him for help.”

  “No,” she rolled her eyes. “I've already tried. He told me not to interfere, to let the humans determine their own fate. But I can't abandon my children to these evil doers, Vervain... and I come to you on behalf of several lwas.”

  “So this has happened to more than just you?” Trevor asked.

  “Shango, Oshun, Erzulie Freda, and Erzulie Dantor,” she listed. “I could go on and on. We've all lost people. All but a token few of us. The Baron is one of the few who hasn't suffered any losses.”

  “Baron Samedi?” Kirill asked and I looked at him in surprise.

  “Yes, the Baron of the Cemetery has not come forward to report any victims,” Yemanja's jaw hardened.

  “So you think he's behind this?” I concluded.

  “It's possible,” she closed her eyes briefly. “I don't want to believe it of him b
ut it looks as if he may be guilty. The few others who haven't come forward are recluse lwas who tend to keep to themselves. They could be suffering losses and simply not telling us. Whereas Samedi is quite vocal. He would have been the first to speak up and speak loudly. Plus, he's... well he doesn't have the highest morals to begin with and then he consorts with that group of miscreants, the Gede.”

  “The Gede?” I lifted a brow.

  “A family of lwa whom Baron Samedi leads,” Yemanja explained. “They can be kind but also very cruel. In fact, one of them is called the Master of Murderers.”

  “Charming,” I sighed.

  “But isn't zere also Papa Gede?” Kirill asked. “He's good, da?”

  “You know Vodou,” Yemanja said with delight. “Yes, Papa is among them and he's said to never take a life before its time but he is rather outnumbered in that group and as fickle as the rest of them.”

  “So we need to talk to this Baron,” I surmised.

  “It would have to be done delicately,” Yemanja frowned.

  “How does one delicately accuse the Lord of the Graveyard of murdering and betraying his own people?” Trevor rolled his eyes.

  “With tact,” I smiled and my men groaned.

  “Do you have tact, Godhunter?” Yemanja lifted a doubtful dark brow at me.

  “Maybe we should send Hades,” I frowned as I considered. “We'll have to talk to the God Squad anyway. Can you stay awhile, Yemanja? We have plenty of room and I'd like you to be here in case any of the others have questions for you.”

  “As long as you don't mind a mermaid in your moat,” she teased.

  “I don't mind at all,” I chuckled. “As long as you don't mind being chased by a bunch of randy werelions.”

  “We'll just see how fast your cats can swim,” she laughed.

  Chapter Two

  It turns out that my lions can swim pretty darn fast when properly motivated. So Yemanja had lots of social interaction to keep her entertained while I met with the God Squad. I would have invited her to the meeting but we needed to be able to speak freely. There were some things I didn't want non-squaders to know about. The fact that the Greek God of the Underworld could be a bit of a whiner was one of them.

  “Why me?” Had been Hades' response to my suggestion that he be the one to approach Baron Samedi.

  “I thought you might be the most tactful,” I said as Kirill laughed.

  “If you want tact, you should send Teharon,” Hades smirked.

  “But you're a god of the dead,” Teharon pointed out. “You're the better choice.”

  “Is he really so bad that no one wants to go talk to him?” I asked in surprise.

  “Yes,” several gods said at once.

  “I don't see why anyone needs to talk to him,” Torrent mused as he played with Artemis' hand. “When we could just spy on him. Then you don't have to worry about his feelings or if he's lying.”

  “Spying on a god can be difficult. If they trace away, it's hard to follow them,” I looked over to Azrael. He was probably the best suited for spying; what with his ability to make like a ghost and walk through walls while invisible.

  “Unless you have the ability to unmake wards,” Torrent shrugged.

  Torrent had been created from Internet and god magic. It had given him a unique ability to un-make magic. He could see spells like computer code and just decode them. There wasn't a ward in any of the realms that could keep Torrent out. And this was another of those secrets I didn't want Yemanja hearing. A god who could destroy magic was a threat to everyone. So we thought it best to keep Torr's magic a secret for as long as possible.

  “If we could combine you and Az together, we'd have the perfect spy,” Finn mused in his Irish lilt. He'd been spending more time with his siblings lately and it always made his accent stronger.

  “So send them out together,” Horus rolled his eyes at the obviousness of the solution.

  “You know, you don't have to sound like such an ass when you make suggestions,” Horus' fiance Katie, aka Hekate, scowled at him in disapproval.

  “Have I told you today what a wonderful choice you've made in a girlfriend?” I asked Horus as he scowled back at Katie.

  “Twice,” Horus snapped at me.

  “Well, as we witches like to say; third times a charm,” I chirped. “I applaud your wisdom in choosing Hekate.”

  “And I question yours,” Horus said to Odin.

  “Hey,” I huffed as my men narrowed their eyes on Horus.

  “Your gonna get your ass kicked one of these days, babe,” Katie shook her head at Horus. “And I'm going to stand on the side and laugh at you. Possibly point and laugh.”

  “Thanks for the support,” he smiled sweetly at her.

  “Anytime,” she kissed his cheek.

  “What's with the attitude today?” I asked Horus. “I mean the extra attitude.”

  “Gothic Greek Vampires,” Horus huffed.

  “Pardon?” I blinked at him.

  “The lamiai are not vampires,” Katie rolled her eyes.

  “That's what they call themselves,” Hours shrugged.

  “Not after Eztli gave them such a big...deal...about...it,” Katie looked around the suddenly silent table. “What?”

  “What about Eztli?” I pounced. “Was she with Blue? Is he alright? Why didn't you say anything?”

  “Blue is fine,” Horus held up his hands. “We didn't want to say anything because we know very little and we didn't want to worry you.” He cast a sideways accusatory look at Kate.

  “You can't expect me to keep a secret when you don't even tell me it's a secret,” Kate huffed.

  “Tell me what happened,” I growled.

  “My girls were out partying in Greece,” Katie explained. “They went into Ichor, which is a known vampire hang-out, thinking that they'd be welcome.”

  “They weren't,” Horus chuckled and Kate slapped his arm. “What? They weren't welcome. I was emphasizing your statement.”

  “No, they weren't welcome but you don't have to sound so pleased about it,” Katie glared at Horus and then looked back to me. “The vampires of Eztli's line seem to think they're different from my girls and as such, don't want to share their club.”

  “Eztli kicked them out,” Horus said gleefully and got another slap for it. “What?!”

  “She did,” Katie nodded to me. “But it wasn't only her. Blue was there and he made it clear that not only was he with Eztli, they were allies.”

  “I like him so much more now,” Horus smiled as he got another slap from Katie. “Cease with the physical abuse! Those women are harpies and you know it.”

  “No, they're lamiai,” Katie corrected. “Harpies are completely different, which you know very well.”

  “They're blood-sucking, headache-inducing, obnoxious, uppity, mean girls!” Horus shouted and the room went silent.

  “They're my friends,” Katie narrowed his eyes on him.

  “Yes, my darling,” Hours kissed her cheek. “Your friends whom I dislike. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm entitled to my own opinion.”

  “I like your friends,” she huffed.

  “Because my friends are fabulous,” Horus said snidely.

  “We are?” Pan jumped on the comment. “Oh, buddy, I knew you loved me!”

  “Except for Pan,” Horus immediately amended with a straight face. “I have no idea how he got into the Squad.”

  “Uh-uh-uh,” Pan shook his finger at the Falcon God. “No takebacksies.”

  “But Blue's okay?” I asked insistently.

  “They said he looked well but that was months ago,” Kate shrugged.

  “We will tell you if there's any more Huitzilopochtli sightings,” Horus sighed. “But can we get back to your Vodou problem?”

  “Yeah alright,” I grumbled, still a little butt-hurt that my friends had held out on me.

  “I guess now's the time I should mention that I helped Blue out before the lamiai thing,” Torrent muttered.

&
nbsp; “Excuse me?” I gaped at Torrent.

  “He asked me to break through some wards Eztli had up around an apartment in Paris,” Torrent shrugged. “It wasn't a big deal. I just went with him and took down the wards, then I left.”

  “And you didn't think you should mention this to me?” I growled.

  “I didn't think it was important,” he gave me an apologetic look.

  “Ugh,” I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But in the future, I'd rather you keep me informed.”

  “Noted,” Torrent nodded.

  “I could go into his dreams,” Morpheus offered, as if we hadn't strayed from our original topic.

  “Blue's dreams?” Sara whispered to Brahma.

  “Baron Samedi's,” Brahma whispered back. “Remember; the whole reason we're here?”

  “Oh right. Sometimes it's hard to follow along.”

  “You're telling me,” Brahma commiserated.

  I didn't let on to the fact that I'd been just as confused as Sara for a second. And halfway to accepting Morpheus' offer, thinking that he'd meant Blue. I couldn't help it, we hadn't seen nor heard from Blue in a long time and I was deeply concerned for my friend. Not to mention the fact that I'd been the one to encourage him to go after Eztli in the first place. If anything happened to Blue, I'd feel responsible.

  “That won't be proof of anything,” Pan shook his head and his curls flopped around his sweet elvish face. “Even were he to dream about these trapped souls, it doesn't mean that he was the one to trap them.”

  “But thank you for offering,” Thor added.

  “Perhaps we should just send out Torrent and Azrael as a team to spy on him,” Mrs. E said.

  “A scouting party is always a good way to start,” her husband, Mr. T, nodded his agreement.

  “Are you guys up for doing that?” I looked back and forth between Az and Torr. “Azrael can take you through walls with him, Torr, and you could get him into any god territory Samedi might trace into. It's a good idea.”