Page 91 of Nita's Redemption

Chapter Twenty Six

NITA KEPT DOWNWIND from the females, waiting for an opening to present itself so she could grab one of them and then... well she hadn’t gotten that far. She could reach for Zeus or one of the demoness females, but there wasn’t a guarantee they’d hear her or come. If she killed the trio of females she was sure were the ringleaders of the crazy crew, then whatever was wrong with B would die with them.

She silently shook herself, wishing she’d thought before she’d rushed headlong into the pits of their evil deeds. For the past two hours, she’d spent her time listening to the two females who had to be sisters, and even worse, were surely related to her mama. They bickered and argued over who was going to tell the other woman that they had to return home. Chloe and Cheryl were beautiful, reminding her of her beloved mama before she’d gone batshit crazy. Too bad the two females had already gone batshit crazy. Or had they? Antoinette had abilities that far exceeded the younger women. Nita had noticed she would pitch her voice a certain way when she spoke to them, and then it would change when she was ordering the group of followers they’d brought from the large bus. She’d also recognized a tapping sound combined with a ticking like one would hear from a huge clock. Her ears had begun buzzing until she shut the sound out.

She focused back on the followers, staring at the slight sway they began doing the louder Antoinette tapped her long claw-like nails against the glass bottle she held. At first, Nita thought it a normal hookah, expecting the female to smoke from it and pass it around. Silly her, she’d assumed that was how she kept them complacent, through drugs. She should’ve known the female was using some sort of dark magic, like a hypnotic would. Not too many were as proficient as Antoinette clearly was. To be able to create a bubble like she was around a couple dozen followers, making sure they were unaware and kept allowing her access to their energy for whatever means she wanted...the female was a danger to them all.

“When do we start, Etta? It’s dark, and the moon is high. We have the altar moved from the other place like you told us to do. I have a weird feeling about this place,” Chloe whispered the last word and wrapped her arms around herself.

“I am the one who is in charge here. When and if we finish our journey is up to me and Papa Legba. He has spoken though.”

There were several gasps at the announcement.

“Ah, you forgot I am a direct descendent to the great one? I guess you all thought this was smoke and mirrors, huh? Do I need to give you another example of the power I wield?” Antoinette lifted the hookah high in the air, smoke billowing from the tip that was long and coiled, like a snake.

Nita shut her eyes, worried the woman was weaving a spell that she too could succumb to. Shit, she needed to retreat and get her shit together. Her eyes snapped open. From her research and the damn memories she’d suppressed, she was pretty positive that Antoinette was in fact not a descendent to the male they called Papa Legba. She pulled up what she’d learned about her mother and her mother’s people in the bayou thanks to her ability to extract information and sift through it with lightning speed. They believed that at one time it was common to see Papa Legba walking the same as any other male down the street. In the images she’d seen within their minds, Legba would be wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat, have a beard, and usually his clothing was tattered. He was still looked upon with awe, even as he’d be spotted smoking a cigar or a pipe or drinking water. Another factor that she’d almost forgotten was that Papa Legba was associated with dogs. Many of the depictions she’d come upon showed him with dogs near him or next to him. Those dogs were much larger than a normal human pet though. Could they have been shifters, she closed her eyes trying to look closer at the memory. Her mind quickly passed by the images, bringing up more knowledge she’d forgotten.

Papa Legba was known to communicate with the lwa or loa, which are the spirits that govern aspects of everyday life.

‘Alana, the spirits that he speaks to, who are they?’ Nita asked her wolf, knowing she was much older than Nita.

‘That is not quite cut and dry. You see, the spirits fall into different families or “nations”, including the Petwo and Rada. They’re said to be children of Bondye, the ultimate creator. This is what gives Papa Legba the ability to perform certain magical connotations,’ Alana told her.

‘So for a human to converse with one of the loa, Papa Legba would have to open the way for them?’ Nita asked.

She felt Alana nod her head, stirring some leaves beneath them. They both froze.

‘Yes, and as such, he is always the first and last deity invoked in religious ceremonies because his assistance is required in order to open and close the gateway between worlds. You see, they believe that without him, any prayer to the loa would go unheard as Legba is the one responsible for taking those prayers across the threshold.’ Alana slowly moved them backward without making another outward sound.

‘I’m going to ask you a question and please tell me the truth. Is this Legba an evil spirit?’ She hadn’t seen fear within her mother when she’d prayed to him, but these females were not good.

‘Although he is not a sinister spirit, Papa Legba still commands respect and requires simple offerings for using his ability, his assistance if you will. These offerings will vary depending on the believers. Usually they would offer up little things like candy, tobacco, dark rum, or coffee. When the offerings are bigger, darker, that is when the spirit they get might not be who they think.’ Alana showed her two sides of the same coin. ‘He who walks with one foot in two worlds tends to walk with a limp, you see. That is why you should never barter for things you have no right asking for.’

Nita thought about all she’d learned from her wolf. So if the female was trying to gain entrance or this being she thinks is Legba, then who the fuck could she possibly be working so hard to bring back to Earth? Shit, she knew better than most exactly what kind of evil being could be brought from the depths of Hell. Those fuckers ain’t right, and she’d be damned if she stood back and let those freaky ass bitches bring another being who should never be allowed to come to her Earth again.

Her wolf sniffed, ears going up and alert. Nita filtered through the smells to see what she was getting worked up about when a heavy weight fell upon her.

“Lookie what I found. This puppy looks like one that Papa Legba would like.”

Nita struggled beneath the weighted blanket, snarling, and snapping, angry at being caught unaware. ‘Sssh, it’s okay. They think we are a dog. Stupid humans, her wolf tried to calm her.’

‘So how are we supposed to act? I have never watched human dogs in captivity.’ Nita was sure dogs got pissed when someone grabbed them.

‘We of course growl and do a bark or two but not too much, or they might zap us. Their electric thing won’t harm us, but it’ll piss me off enough I’ll lose this shape. Trust me to take the lead here.’

Nita felt deep within her soul that Alana had always been a part of her so giving her control was easy. Sort of. ‘If I feel like I need to come forward don’t fight me.’

Alana gave her a regal nod and waited. Nita settled down, giving her wolf the top dog spot, snorting at her own pun.

“Holy shit, that thing looks like it hasn’t bathed in forever, and jumping Jehoshaphat, it’s skinny as hell. I don’t think our deity would have that thing near him.”

Chloe held Nita in wolf form closer to her. “You’ve seen the depictions, Cheryl. He was surrounded by dogs of all sizes. This one has clearly been left out here alone or gotten lost. Either way, we can use it for our ceremony, and if she survives, I’ll keep her.”

Nita kept her snarl to herself as Chloe laid her in front of a stone structure that looked eerily like an altar. Fuck. She’d done jumped right into the fire from the frying pan.

Time slid slowly past with the ring of humans beginning to sway back and forth around a fire pit that Nita was sure hadn’t been sanctioned or permitted, whatever humans needed to light a damn fire in the woods. She’d never wished a bevy of rangers would show up more than she did right then. In her mind, she could see a dozen men and women, because she’s an equal opportunity girl so women would obviously be there with the men, brandishing big ass guns and they’d shut the crazy bitches down.

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