Chapter 24

 

Joni sent Shelly and Finn back to Fomoria. She told them to let Agwe know she’d be home soon. But for now, she had some loose ends to tie up. She wanted to help. We’d saved her people, she said, so she was going to help us win the war. This world—the world of “land walkers”—was still her world, too.

It was an alliance we frankly needed. I was grateful for it.

I wasn’t sure what we’d find when we approached Casa do Diabo. So many new vampires. Vampires forged from former vodouisants—they’d be formidable, eventually. Once they overcame their bloodlust. If they were on our side. I could only pray they were.

Mercy wasn’t at Casa do Diabo. No surprise there. She had enough to keep her hands full for a while. Everyone else was still waiting there. Roger, Ashley, Ellie and Sauron. Tressa was with us now, too. Mikah stood beside me, and Joni followed close behind. It had been a while since she walked with legs, and she wasn’t exactly surefooted at the moment.

Isabelle had given me back the reins shortly after the beach. Thankfully, I’d still had a few of those herbal anti-headache pills that I needed whenever Isabelle and I exchanged control. I’d stuffed a few of them in my bra for good measure. The downside to going under the sea was that I ended up having to pack a lot of shit in my bra. Hardly the most comfortable thing in the world.

Roger’s jaw practically hit the floor when he saw Joni. I could see that Ashley was mildly uncomfortable by it—nothing like seeing your current boyfriend encounter his long-lost ex to spark the pangs of jealousy. Who could blame her?

Still, Joni was now married to Agwe. Roger and Ashley were inseparable. The past was the past. She had no reason to be jealous, and she knew it—still, it was an admittedly awkward encounter.

I heard a bark.

I turned, and my jaw hit the floor.

Letty! Isabelle shouted—I could hear the tears in her voice.

Letty pounced on me, and I allowed her to tackle me to the ground as she licked my face. Isabelle was giggling. I couldn’t believe it! Letty was alive!

“Letty!” I exclaimed. “How did you make it?”

As I tried to peer past my dog’s face as she showered me with slobbery kisses, I saw Aida-Wedo and Sogbo standing there, grins spanning each of their races. They were the only two Loa who remained after all that went down in Vilokan. Now that Oggie was gone, too.

After a brief wrestle, I stood up and scratched Letty behind the ears.

“Aida-Wedo, ma’am, did you?”

“Child, all lives are valued equally amongst the Loa. I could not bear to allow the animals who had no chance to save themselves perish.”

“She went for the animals first,” Sogbo said. “Then came back and saved as many people as she could.”

I shook my head—not to contest her philosophy of life, but in disbelief. I couldn’t believe it. The pain in my heart, having seen Oggie die, was mildly assuaged at least for a moment by the joy of having Letty back.

Aida-Wedo pulled me aside, along with Mikah and Pauli. She pursed her lips. “You’ve done well, children.”

“Thank you,” I said. “And thank you for saving my dog. But Kalfu is still out there. And he’s still growing his army.”

“And there’s the vampire coven, too,” Mikah said. “Bondye only knows how they’ll pan out in this war.”

“A war…” I said somberly. “We could really use Oggie for this.”

“Yes, child. But you and Mikah both share his aspect, no?”

“We do,” I said.

Aida-Wedo smiled widely. “And from what I understand, you were crowned High Mambo by Agwe himself!”

I nodded. “How’d you know about that?”

“Oggie said Agwe had awarded you the victory.”

I bit my lip. “I’m not sure what such a title means anymore.”

“Child, I’ve saved more than you know. And there are many more vodouisants who were not in Vilokan when it fell.”

“Still, so many were lost.”

“Indeed, child. But the Voodoo world needs someone like you, someone who can unite us all. After all, with my Pauli boy’s help, here, it seems you’ve managed to restore Vilokan.”

“I’m a fraud,” I said. “I never belonged to the Voodoo world.”

“Be that as it may, child, you are their leader now.”

“What about Marie Laveau?” I asked.

“No one has heard from her since Vilokan fell. We do not know if she was in the city or not. Be that as it may, you are the High Mambo. The responsibility that was meant for you as the victor of the Trials remains—you must unite the Voodoo world. The fate of the world depends on you, child.”

I looked at Aida-Wedo incredulously. “The whole world?”

“Kalfu’s influence spreads far and wide. The Bokors are more numerous than you could ever imagine. His hunger for power is endless.”

“I thought he just wanted Isabelle, the power of the Tree of Life, so he could take over Guinee.”

“Yes, child. And if he has to take the whole world hostage to get it, that’s exactly what he’ll do.”

 

To be continued…