My Soul to Take Read Free Page A

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 but 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