“It is my mandate to oppose it.”
“And what about us? What will we do outside of here? This has been our home for so long.”
“You will continue to serve me, as you have been serving me here, for you are my chosen, the first among those who will flock to my cause.” “Okay, that’s cool, but if that’s the case and we will be opposing the balance, then we will have many powerful enemies and the few abilities I have just will not suffice. I will need more power, a lot more power if I am to serve you well. We both know that outside of Georgia Avenue my relationship with the Mwbiri will change drastically especially since I will not have such easy access to crack. It will take advantage of this and consume me utterly and move on to another host which I do not under any circumstances want to happen, thank you very much.”
“Is that all that you want Shawn, more power? Power I have in abundance so you shall have more power Shawn, as much as you need. I will give you enough power so that you will be the one doing the consuming and this power will free you of your demon once and for all, transforming you into something else, something greater though I know not what exactly. Are you ready now? Good, then prepare yourself for my gift.”
The others stared at Shawn as if he was a madman, and while they all digested the implications of our conversation, I thrust a spike of power into him causing him to cry out in pain and fall to the ground. I calmly watched as Shawn convulsed and spasmed on the ground as my power consumed the Mwbiri demon possessing him transforming its demonic energies and fueling his metamorphoses and fusion with a portion of my own dark powers. My companions looked at me in horror, thinking that I had killed him; Lulu took a step back from me. I floated over to Shawn and stood over him and as I watched him his convulsions stopped. I looked down at his face as his eyes finally opened and smiled at him. “Is that enough power for you, my friend?” I asked him quietly. He stood up quickly, flexing his arms and feeling the new energy within his form. He had grown more robust and a little taller and there was vibrancy in him that previously in his crack addiction he had lacked. He turned and pointed to a lamp which imploded as he spoke a word, surprising everyone including himself. Shawn, now beaming with pleasure, turned to me with an evil smile on his face and knelt before me. “Thank you Lord Alakharu, this is enough power indeed.” I nodded to him and spoke a word in his mind and he quickly stood up and turned to the back wall, speaking an arcane word again and suddenly a rift opened there which showed a clear view into the world outside Georgia Avenue, the real world of humanity where we were travelling to. He grinned at me as I bowed to him, acknowledging his new mastery and said to me, “After you my Lord. Watch your step.” I carefully took two steps into the rift, quickly exiting it on the other side and for the first time in many years I stood once again in the real world, a world that was already preparing to try to destroy me as it had done once before
I stood on the inner edge of the vast green lawn that was the Mall, staring with wonder at the various museums which dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see, suddenly remembering why I loved this city so much. The accumulated wisdom and culture of thousands of years of human history hung palpably in the air and you could see its effect on humanity in the eyes of the many tourists who hungrily flock to Washington DC and its Smithsonian. It reminded me of all the things which I used to love about life on Earth and for a moment I felt the bloody rage in me subside. I took in the sights and sounds that I had been deprived of over the last decade and breathed it in deeply trying desperately to let it fill that part of my soul that was now empty and broken by the loss of my beloved Sunshine. But it could not last, nor would I have wanted this peace and serenity to continue for I had a job to do and this nostalgia was only making it more difficult more me to focus. I turned to my companions, who were all in various stages of enjoyment also, though I had to caution Lulu about openly taking swigs from her bottle. I would get her a drinking flask later.
Many things had changed and that also included my appearance. In my selfabsorption, I was not paying attention to the looks that I was getting from the many people on the Mall. Quite frankly I looked monstrous. First, my skin was a mottled black and grey color now like a leprous Dalmatian, gone was my beautiful chocolate skin tone. Secondly, I was now massive. My power was manifesting itself physically in a world which had very little raw magical power in it anymore, so I had grown and stature. I was bigger than the Nephilim had been now, which was to say that I was immense. And finally, since humanity now mainly worshipped science, this meant that just like an electrical charge that builds in the clouds ultimately discharges itself in some way, usually through lightning strikes to balance the energy differential, my power was constantly discharging because it was endless and it was new in this empty world. The many humans around me saw an almost ten feet tall and scary looking man who seemed to be arcing energy like a Taser and they began to point and stare at me. It was Samantha who took charge of the situation before things got out of hand and gathered all of us in her power and shifted us away from there, just as several Park police officers had begun walking in our direction. Surprised from my reverie, I looked up at my surroundings, annoyed that we were no longer on the Mall, and turned to the others and asked, “Which of you did that? I wasn’t ready to leave yet?” Samantha approached me cautiously, holding a small mirror in her hands. “Alakharu,” she whispered, “look at yourself. We could not stay there; the humans were already looking at us because of your appearance. You must transform into something more suitable for this world.” I considered the mirror that it held up for me and took a step back, shocked at what I saw. I had let my grief consume me and it visibly showed in my appearance. I was not in control of my power, it was in control of me and if I did not get myself under control the results would be disastrous. I reached out and touched Samantha’s face silently thanking it for its quick thinking and then turned my focus inward. I pictured myself happy, laughing and kissing Sunshine, I pictured myself wandering through Europe a joyful vagabond, and I pictured my youth so long ago in Ile-Ife, and little by little I forced my body to change, to transform back to my original form, though with a few improvements. My blazing green eyes I would keep, for the green flame that burned within them would serve to remind others of my true nature. For the sake of mortal sensibilities, I would wear sunglasses to hide them, and I drastically reduced my mass to a more inconspicuous size. Finally, my skin returned to its glorious chocolate tone and I forced my power to retreat into the depths of my inner space, and took back full control of my destiny. No longer would I wallow in self-pity and rage, not when I had a job to do. Vengeance would come eventually, but for now since I was back in the world and I had a few Gods that I needed to see, it must wait. I looked around the beach to which Samantha had transported us and smiled. “This is black volcanic sand. I see you took us to Santorini Samantha. Good thing it’s the off season or we would have a lot of explaining to do. Anyway, as you can see I am back to normal, and I am sure you want to know what the plan is. Well for now this is what we are going to do. I am going to get us the two biggest suites at the Washington Hilton and we are going to take a well-earned break from the madness that has become our lives. We have earned it. Besides things are about to get a lot more complicated so let’s enjoy the peace and quiet while we can. Besides, we have been waiting to come back for a long time so let’s make the most of it. I know I plan on being lazy, eating a great deal, catching up on movies I have missed and doing a little clothes shopping. Is anybody else game for it?” Everyone was smiling now that I seemed to be in control of myself once again, and the old sense of camaraderie between us blossomed the moment I had mentioned hotel suites and shopping. I signaled to my companions that I was ready and then used my power to transport us to the Washington Hilton. As the concierge came and greeted me as if I was a longlost friend, I could not help but smile, for deep inside I knew that this peace and serenity was an illusion, the calm before the storm. Soon I would need to break something and
I knew I would soon get my chance. And as I remembered Raziel’s words to me about Yemoja’s supposed love for me I smiled, for now my mind was clear and unchained I knew understood the manipulations I had undergone for what they were. If I saw Raziel again her and I were going to have a very long talk, one that this time will certainly not end up with me on my back immobilized and in pain. No, this time things would be very different indeed.
The Interloper watched as Alakharu and his group manifested on Earth and immediately felt the sudden shift in the power differential in that realm. Esu had not exaggerated; he had become a force to reckon with. The Interloper had sent an emissary to him as soon as he had sensed their arrival, but somehow the group had shifted their position in space again before the emissary had arrived and once again they were now beyond the Interloper’s sight. Alakharu’s power seemed to express itself differently than that of most of the Gods, and this made sense since he was in opposition to their own mandate to maintain the balance. The Interloper sat down heavily on his throne and called one his most powerful servants to him. The Seraph bowed to him and waited for him to speak. “Soon we shall have a visitor,” the Interloper began, “a visitor that you and your brothers and sisters might in your diligence and duty try to slay because of its nature. That would be a grave mistake and would have terrible consequences. When this power comes, and you will know when it comes, you are to allow it entrance without harassment and escort it politely to me. Then you will all leave my Refuge until I have called for your return. Understood?”
“Yes, my Lord,” it replied flexing its three pairs of wings nervously. “Now go and inform your siblings, for I have a feeling that it will not be too long before this new power arrives.”
The Seraph bowed deeply and flew off to implement his commands and the Interloper shuddered as he cocooned himself in time once more and found his sight blocked. Things had been put into play now and how this would end he could no longer see. All he could do now was sit and wait, for until his own transformation into the second aspect, he was vulnerable, a feeling that he was very uncomfortable with. For yes, even a God could feel fear.
Niño wiped the sweat off his brow as he crested the top of the hill. He had been trekking steadily up this steep incline with a new-found lightness in his step. He had heard the wisdom of his God and knew that he would soon be with him in body as well as in spirit. He could feel the border of Ile-Ife approaching and as he looked out across the valley below him he knew that his journey was at end. Before him rose a shimmering multi-colored curtain, which could only have been created out of the very stuff of dreams, such was its magnificence and impermanence. He could feel the pull of the Gods very strongly as if they walked just beyond the barrier that he stood before. Although he was excited and yearned to run down the hill and breach the border with joy in his heart, he knew that if he were to attempt such a thing he would be obliterated, so for that reason he took a deep breath, remembered what Alade Akeju had taught him and focused not on what he saw before him but instead on what he sensed within the barrier. He carefully anointed his eyes and forehead with Alade’s blood from the flask and then took a deep swallow of the black liquid, shuddering as it wormed its way through his senses and wrenching open what is sometimes called the third eye. He closed his mundane eyes and let this new one guide his actions and as he quietly controlled his breathing he found himself gaining confidence as his energy level began to match that of what he sensed within. The light in the barrier grew softer and the interdiction which he had felt quickly fell away, and Niño, human priest of Orunmila breached the barrier into Ile-Ife and tumbled into another world.
22 I love a large size bed because it means that I can roll all over it in my sleep and place myself in whatever position feels comfortable without having to concern myself with space. But even still a king size bed has only so much space so I found myself using my power to create new space/time at the edges of the mattress so that in my restlessness I would have an infinite amount of space to place my various body parts. Our convalescence at the Hilton did wonders for everyone and more importantly it allowed me to begin to come to grips with the being Akharu and I had become and also it gave my companions the opportunity to lose their new-found fear of me and once again have the confidence that I was the same friend who had journeyed with them all these years. It was amazing to be outside of the confines of Georgia Avenue with my merry band of misfits and seeing the obvious joy in every step that Samantha took was a reward. But just as each moment of levity and laughter amongst me and my friends took me a step closer to healing, the very absence of my beloved Sunshine here in this world continued to feed my rage and hunger for vengeance. I could not put aside my loss not even for Nana Buukun, though from what I understood I could oppose the balance how I saw fit. I watched the Quandisa watching me and continued to pretend that I was oblivious to her treachery, but for now it was important that I meet with her employer for if the order to kill Sunshine had originated from him there would soon be two less Gods in creation. I luxuriated in my reemergence into the world of humanity and continued to explore the boundaries of my power. I knew now that if I so wished it I could crack this world in half with very little effort and in some strange way this gave me a new sense of peace. For I was alone in my opposition to the balance and all the Gods who served the balance were only equal to me if they united against me, which of course would never happen. It gave me a new perspective, after all my powers did not originate from worship and I really did not need the Earth to fuel my power. I could happily blow up the world and not be in the slightest bit affected by it. This gave me leverage over the Orishas and I would use it to the fullest. Though in truth, I was missing an important point because I was so blinded by my desire for vengeance. My counterparts could feel my presence in the world, but I, in my rage had not solved the riddle of Nana Buukun and her revelations in both my youth and in the Cosmic Egg and more importantly I still did not understand the reason for my transformation.
The Quandisa knelt before me awaiting my signal and as soon as I nodded my head my companions closed ranks around me and I snatched the beacon that she had provided me (even though I did not need it) and first threw my own consciousness down its signal while pulling my physical self and those of my companions behind me afterwards. In this way, I made sure that my friends would be safe, because even though I was in no danger they could be used as hostages against my good behavior, a weakness which I planned on rectifying very soon. But for now, I would remain vigilant and even as we floated in the throne room of the Interloper, surrounded by beings of power that were ready to attack us at the slightest signal from their master, I felt at ease. I was sure now that this God was not my enemy, and I somehow felt a strange kinship with him that seemed to grow the longer I remained in his presence. What role he was playing in this celestial drama I needed to know. I ceased our aimless floating and watched the being called the Interloper approach me, his white robes, hair and beard glowing with incandescent fire as his eyes blazed with the stolen power of defeated Gods and I was suitably impressed so much so that I began to laugh. The Interloper stopped his approach and tensed and as he tensed I felt his heavenly choir around us begin to gear for battle. I shook my head with amusement and held up my hand for his forbearance until my laughter had stopped. “My apologies,” I began, “oh mighty Interloper, I meant no insult. It is only that all this pomp and ceremony, plus the two of us sporting such impressive physical forms designed to showcase our respective power seems ridiculous. I did not come here to destroy, at least not yet, I came here to talk. Is all this necessary? If having stepped one foot in your realm I had believed you to be my enemy, you would have no more realm. I am here to hear a story, your story and if I enjoy it perhaps we can come to an accommodation. After all the enemy of my enemy is my friend correct? And by the way, I know that the Quandisa, despite her amateurish attempts at deception, was integral in Sunshine’s murder. Her life is now forfeit, she belongs to me now to do as I wish.
Unless of course you have a problem with that, but why would you, after all you had nothing to do with Sunshine’s death correct?” The Interloper said nothing but watched as the Goddess of lust tried to flee but I had already placed bindings upon her even before we had arrived. She was not going anywhere and I would deal with her later. Besides I had an idea of how to use her and her divine origins to our advantage at the same time taking vengeance for both Mbilia and myself. “You are correct Destroyer, she acted beyond her instructions, and for this I am sorry. Your beloved was not meant to harmed, on the contrary it was in my best interests that you remain happy and in love. If you had, you would not be standing before me now leaking power everywhere” he replied. “But for beings such as us there must always be protocol and order. It is simply the way of things. And I understand that she has violated this. Do as you will with her.”
Alade (Irunmole Saga) Page 23