Moonlit Chapters 3-4

Moonlit-chapter3
It was night. And Lupita stood in the middle of her cornfield. “I am grateful for this bountiful harvest you have given onto me, I thank you for your kind blessings Cinteotl.” She reached out towards a corn stalk and plucked an ear of corn from it, placing it into her basket. She quickly turned her head towards the south as the sudden sound of drums went off into the air.
“Boom boom boom.” She saw the yellow, green, and red colored flag waving high into the air. She knew already what that meant.
He walked out of his house and saw her standing on edge. “How many drum hits did you hear,” he asked out loud. “Five,” she replied. “Interesting, want to come,” he said smiling. “So what does five hits mean?” “It means they found themselves a captive,” he said. “And that means, what?” “They’ll be a beating all right,” he said laughing. “Why though, why are they always fighting,” she asked. “Hmmmm, this was a war that started many years ago, I’ve forgotten why but they just are people aligned against one another.”
They both walked up to the stone built building and he banged at the door as hard as he could. The loud voice of a man with a thick Fon accent asked out loud, “Who brought you here?” “Mawu,” he yelled out. “Under what being,” the man asked. “Gu,” he yelled out again. The door was opened and there stood a tall black man, shirtless and wearing a typical vodun dress. “You’re no vodun,” the man said. “I know,” he said smiling as he tried to sneak past him. The man grabbed his shoulder pushing him back and said, “And what’s this little girl doing here?” “Mmmm, well….” he said as his eyes scanned side to side as if looking for an answer. “Let them in,” yelled another man from afar. “Very well then,” he said as he stepped aside from the door. “Hahaha, thanks Jarome they almost didn’t let me in this time,” he said chuckling. “Oooh, I see you brought your student along eh,” he replied with an odd look on his face. “Yeah, she’s never been here before, so what y’all got yourselves this time,” he asked with a grin on his face. “Some common Thelemic girl,” he said as he nudged his head upwards towards her direction. He turned towards her and was surprised by what he saw. “It’s her,” he whispered to himself.
They started gathering around her as one of the men walked up towards her saying, “It is our wish, that one day all of you Thelemics will be brought down to bring an end to your ridiculous concepts of your Thelema and to atone for the wrongs you have committed against us in the past.” “Why is she tied to that tree,” Lupita asked anxiously tugging at his shirt. “So she don’t escape,” he said laughing. The man pulled down a branch from the tree and broke it off. In the fraction of a second he whipped the branch swiftly across her thighs. Her mouth fell wide open as her legs began to tremble. He handed the branch to another man who came rushing in with another swing across her knees. He ran around the tree yelling out in Ewe as he handed the branch to another woman who screamed out, “May Sakpata strike you down,” swinging the branch viciously across her chest. She clenched her jaw tightly as she felt the hits burn and throb intensely. The woman shook her head and swung the branch as hard as she could across her stomach. Her skin tore open and slowly began to seep blood, as she yelled out, her body trembled in shock.
The man walked up to her again and said, “So, you will tell us now what it is we need to know.” He lifted a branding iron in the shape of an X burning brightly orange and placed it near her wrist. Lupita suddenly ran out in front yelling at the man, “Stop it; stop hurting her.” She started kicking away at the man’s legs. “Who brought this little girl here,” he yelled out to the crowd. “What the hell Arthur, why’d you bring her here,” Jarome growled at him. He ran out and pulled Lupita away from him, still kicking wildly into the air. He pushed her back into the crowd placing his hands onto her shoulders he said, “Just stay here and keep still alright, I’ll make them stop.” He walked up to the chief and turned towards the woman tied to the tree. He lifted the woman’s head up and scoffed. He turned back to the man and said, “She isn’t even of Thelema.” “But she bears the mark of a Thelemic,” he said as he gripped her wrist showing the tattoo of the unicursal hexagram. “Haah, it’s just for show, a little favor she carried out for her boyfriend; she’s nothing more then a common Wiccan,” he said to him. “Fuck her, we don’t have time to mess with ignorant Wiccans,” yelled out a man from the crowd. “Very well then, let her go,” he said raising his hand into the air. Arthur placed his face beside her head and whispered into her ear, “You should be grateful I saved your ass this time,” as he patted her cheek. The man came quickly forth and placed the searing iron onto her wrist shooting smoke and the aroma of burning flesh into the air as she groaned deeply falling to her knees. “You’re free to go now, Wiccan,” said the man. She lifted herself up and walked up to Lupita, smiled at her saying, “Thanks, little girl,” as she placed her hand upon her head. Instantly her arm was slapped away by Arthur as he gazed at her with a stoic expression. “I didn’t need your help,” she said angrily looking back at him.
There was a sudden banging at the door. They opened it then rushed in a longhaired man wearing a long black trench coat. “Brandy,” yelled out the man coming towards her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her tightly towards him. He started backing away towards the door then pulled out a gun from his coat as he yelled, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” In an instant all of the people’s eyes glared onto him. The doorman instantly struck the man down unconscious from behind throwing him to the ground followed by one of the men who threw the woman out and shut the door. “Oooh, we better leave now,” he said to Lupita laughing. He walked out towards the backdoor as she followed him outside. “Why did we leave,” she asked. “Well, I’m pretty sure you won’t want to know what they’ll be doing to him,” he said laughing. “Some pretty bad stuff.” “Why,” she immediately asked. “Because he is a Thelemic,” he simply replied. “And how do they know that?” “Well they didn’t have to find that out cause the idiot said it himself.” “No he didn’t,” replied Lupita with a serious expression. “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law….Love is the law, love under will…There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt, these are Crowleyan Thelemic phrases, not to mention that he had to pull out a gun there; that there is a direct threat he’s committed, it was a serious offense; not only that but also on high vodun grounds, so simply said he’s a dead man now.” “Why do you go there,” she asked in a sudden rush. “The vodun are good people, men you can trust and whenever I can, I lend out a hand to them if they ever need my help.” “But how can you just stand there and watch them hurt people; do you enjoy watching that,” she asked looking at him with disgust. “There’s much more to this world then you think you know, Lupita,” he said dully. “To me this has nothing to do with only Thelemics, it’s about every neo-paganistic faith that people are being turned towards to. We, the voduns, the natives, the nahual; we’ve all stuck to our traditions and never swayed or changed it in anyway.
These newcomers of faith just stop by and listen to steal our sacred knowledge to use it to their own liking and completely disregard the true origin of such truths. They do not respect and they dishonor what the ancients have always and have long since known.” “And what have the Thelemics dishonored,” she asked. He began laughing at her then kept silent for a while. “Well,” she asked irritated for an answer.
“The Egyptians,” he said. “Anyways, enough of this pointless banter,” he said yawning. Jarome quickly came rushing up behind them yelling, “Oh, hey Jarome,” he replied back. He finally caught up to him placing his arms onto his shoulders saying, “Boy they are giving that poor sucker one hell of a thrashing.” “Yeah, well the fucker had to walk in all commando style huh,” he said laughing back at him. “Indeed very true,” he said as he pulled out a joint from his pocket and lit it up taking in a huge drag. He handed the joint to him; he grabbed it and took a drag from it twice handing it back to him. “So man, what you say we chill out and have some drinks, huh,” he said as he took another long drag. “I’m way ahead of you, haha,” he said pulling out two twenty-dollar bills from his coat handing it to him.
They walked up to an old worn down house. He knocked on the door. A man opened the door quickly, holding a bottle of vodka in his hand. “What you need,” said the man, his voice slow and slurred. “Yeah, give me a bottle of Jaegermeister and ummm.” “Tequila,” interrupted Arthur with a big grin. The man rubbed his lowering baldhead saying, “I’m all out of Jaeger.” “Damn, then I guess I’ll have a flask of gin,” he said nodding. “Alright,” the man said closing the door. Jarome kept sucking away at the joint looking at him saying, “We going somewhere tonight.” The man opened the door handing the bottles over to him, as he passed him the money. He pulled out a bundle of crumpled dollars and opened his eyes wide open counting the money then handed it over to him. The man then looked down at Lupita with a serious look in his eyes. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the house. “Alright, now you boys go have yourself some good times,” he said chuckling then shutting the door.
“All out of Jaeger man, you believe that shit…that sucks,” he said handing the joint to him. He took another two drags from the joint and started walking back towards his home. “Hey, I know some fine ass ladies that’d be willing to come chill with us if you’re interested,” he said as he started dancing out in front of him taking in another drag from the joint. He laughed, and then spontaneously busted out in an uncontrollable bout of laughter. “What, come on man I’m serious,” he said laughing and shaking his shoulder. He snatched the joint from his hand and took in another drag still laughing uncontrollably. They walked into his room. Jarome threw himself onto the chair as Arthur just lied down on his bed. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and made a call. “Oh, hey Natasha what you up to, girl? You know, I’m just here chilling with my pal Arthur; just kicking it back having a couple of drinks. Just thought maybe you could come down her to just chill with us you know, maybe you could bring a friend over. We could just relax and just have a good time. Yea, alright well you already know where I’m at, so we’ll be waiting here.” “Alright, I got them to come,” he said smiling as he opened the bottle of gin, “Hey, light up another joint will you,” he said as he tossed the joint bud into his mouth and chewed on it. He pulled out two joints from his pocket and handed one to him and tossed him the lighter. He took in a deep drag from the joint as he then opened his bottle of tequila quickly and drank a gulp down. Jarome tilted his head back and poured the gin full into his mouth, guzzling it down he wiped his lips and said, “Well, anyways about your sombra, you seriously need to get yourself a better student, man. If you couldn’t reach Omeyocan what the hell makes you think a little girl could, ha?” “Well, what would you have me do then,” he said gulping down more tequila. “Go find yourself some middle-aged woman, I mean that’s what you told me long ago right; it’s all about that balance,” he said lighting his joint. “God damn, I got the munchies, you got anything to eat,” he asked laughing. “Yeah go check the fridge.” He walked out and opened up the fridge.
He lied there on his bed and stared at the paper pinned to his ceiling. “The giver of life make us live,” he uttered to himself taking in another deep drag.
He walked back into the room with a bag of chips and a jar of pickled peppers, he opened the jar and pulled out a pepper and bit down into it then grabbed some chips and threw them into his mouth. “Hey, hey punk don’t finish all my chips eh,” he said laughing. “Hell I’m trying not to, but these bitches taste so damn good,” he replied as he voraciously masticated away at the chips. He got up from his bed and drank some more tequila down then shoved his hand into the bag and pulled out a handful of chips with his eyes wide open growling, “Son……….miiiiiyoooooos!” They both bursted out in laughter. Jarome took in another drag from his joint and held it in as long as he could then exhaled, coughing out violently.
The sound of a vehicle approached, followed by the sound of two door slams. There was a knock on the door. Jarome opened the door, saying, “Welcome fellow ladies, come on in, don’t mind the mess that’s just how my pal trips, haha.” He quickly handed the bottle to Natasha saying, “Here you go; take a sip.” She grabbed the bottle and poured a bit into her mouth. “Hey Arthur why don’t you offer Natasha’s friend a bit of your tequila eh,” he said to him as he walked out of his room. “Alright,” he said slurring as he threw his arm out offering the bottle to her. She looked at him smiling and slightly laughing as she said, “You don’t have any cups around, do you?” “Huh, what….cups, naah come on now,” he said chuckling. She grabbed the bottle from his hand and started drinking it down. “Arthur this is Irie, Irie this is Arthur,” she said to them smiling. He pouted his lips and lifted the joint to her face saying, you want some?” “No, thanks; I don’t like smoking weed,” she said shaking her head and drinking more tequila down. They all sat down on the couch and began talking with one another.
Lupita walked into the bathroom then shut the door. She opened the curtains and turned on the shower. She removed her clothes then stepped inside and lied down in the tub. She sighed as she looked towards the white ceiling. The water came raining down on her face, like warm drops of sensation coming alive in her skin. Her father walked into the bathroom and sat himself down on the floor quickly chugging more vodka down his throat. “I made you sandwiches, if you’re hungry, they’re there on the table,” he said slowly, barely managing to keep his eyes open. “Okay,” she quietly said. He placed his hand on the curtain and slid it open as he sat there looking at her. She reluctantly turned towards him then quickly turned away. He got on his knees and placed his arms onto the tub. He slowly placed his hand on her face and looked at her with a frowning look. “You know, you look so much like your mother; you remind me of her a lot you know,” he said as his voice began to break. “Same long black hair, same dark brown eyes, same light brown skin,” he said while tears dripped from his face as he lowered his head, sobbing out loud. She closed her eyes.
He gripped the bottleneck tightly and threw it against the wall shattering out loud as he leisurely lifted himself up and slowly stumbled out the door, then falling back down unconsciously onto the floor. She closed her eyes tightly as she placed her hands on her temples. She began breathing deeply as she held back herself from weeping. “Jurame que voy a llegar, jurame que puedo llegar, jurame que si puedo alcansar; jurame lo Arturo juramelo,” she whispered to herself over and over.
Jarome and Natasha were in the vehicle kissing each other as Arthur took another drag from the joint watching her drink more tequila down. “Haha, well you sure as hell can drink, huh,” he said to her. “Yup,” she said laughing as she laid her head on the couch. “So, what do you do?” “What do you mean what do I do,” he asked confused. “Yeah, like what’s your life like, what do you do for a living; like you got a job,” she asked with her voice slurring. “Yeah I do, I help my father out working demolition,” he said in a dull tone, lazily lifting his head up.
She stood up and grabbed his wrist saying, “Come on let’s go outside, it’s stuffy in here.” He lifted himself up from the couch and walked with her outside. He leaned against the wall and slid down onto the ground. She sat down beside him, her pale skin glowing under the moonlight, her blonde hair gleaming with every movement. She lifted his head up and kissed his lips. He lowered his eyes and kept silent. “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking,” she said tilting her head looking to him. “I’m eighteen,” he replied. “Would you like to go out with me sometime,” she asked smiling. He chugged the rest of the tequila down and said, “I refuse your offer, but I am grateful that you asked.” He placed his hands on her face and kissed her forehead and smiled. She started to cry. “Oh, maybe that was too much tequila for you,” he said slightly laughing. She looked at him furiously mad and smacked his face. He sighed then laid himself flat down on the ground closing his eyes. She stormed into the car. Jarome came out smiling and said, “God damn man, you need to work on your gentleman skills, haha.” He took a deep breath in and said, “What does it matter, you know I’m bound to the laws as an Aztec priest.” “Come on man the Aztecs are long gone now, live a little huh,” he said with a worried look on his face. Animosity filled his mind with a sudden rush, as he quickly grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him towards himself shouting out, “You know….you…that’s all….you ever…” “Alright man, calm the fuck down, okay; get a grip of yourself,” he said pulling his arms off of him, lifting himself up, walking towards the car. The car door slammed and it roared alive then slowly drove away. And he remained lying there on the ground looking to the crescent moon.
It was noon, and she sat there timidly, looking at him curiously lying on the floor. He opened his eyes; the sun shined down brightly on his face. He lifted his hand up covering the sun, while he turned his head and saw her sitting upright with her hands on her lap. “Jeez, how long have you been waiting there,” he asked lifting himself up. “Since the dawn,” she answered. “Mmmm, get a life will you; your making me look bad here,” he said laughing, walking towards her. “What’s that supposed to mean,” she asked. “Nothing, just a joke,” he said as he grabbed the top of her head and wiggled it around. “What’s that,” he asked as he noticed a basket lying behind her. “Oh, I got some corn, you want some,” she said smiling, lifting the basket into the air. “Okay, I’ll eat one later,” he said as he grabbed an ear of corn and placed it into his coat pocket.
“Well now, today is the day eh,” he said seriously. A smile crept on her face as she asked, “What god is next.” “The smoking mirror, our god of darkness; Tezcatlipoca.” Her mouth fell open as she hastily asked, “Really, do you think I’m ready to see him now?” “Yes, it is time for you to meet him,” he said nodding with reassurance. “But this séance will not be carried out in the bosques.” “Oooh, then where will it be,” she asked in surprise. “Worry about that later, for now we must prepare for what is to come,” he said. “Okay, okay let’s do this then,” she said with anticipation. “Remember this is not something to take lightly, this is will be a high god we are calling upon here.”

Moonlit-chapter4
The winds stirred alive with force, darting across the air. He sat there with his back leaning upon a Jerusalem thorn tree. The sky was a deep dark blue as behemoth clouds of white grey shades silently crept above. He reached into his coat and pulled out some dark green leaves, placing them into his mouth chewing away. She sat there beside him, staring far off into the distance gazing at the radio tower from afar flickering its red light from atop. She held her hand out, saying nothing. He placed a few of the green leaves into her hand. She opened her mouth and laid the leaf flat on her tongue then chewed on it. He lifted a wooden bowl from the ground, holding it in his two hands he took a drink from it. He dipped his fingers into the bowl and pulled out a brown stone and tossed it into his mouth and drank it down with the brackish water. He passed the bowl over to her she then took a small sip from the bowl and dipped her fingers into the water and retrieved a black seed and slipped it through her lips then drank it down. And they sat there in silence staring onward.
She placed her hand upon the tree looking up at it. She lifted herself up and climbed on. He lifted his head asking, “What’s in your thoughts.” She looked back down at him saying, “Why can’t I do this on my own; all you’ve taught me is Aztec craft, but I want to know more…much more than that.” His mouth fell open, shocked at what he had just heard. “Well now, you’re starting to sound like my previous sombra, eh,” he replied back in a serious tone. “Well, why did she leave your teachings,” she asked. “Love,” he replied briefly. “What about love,” she asked unknowingly. “We have our duties to uphold; and it is one of our responsibilities as a guide and as a shadow to keep our distances from human indulgences,” he said in a grave tone. “The other reason as to why I had to dismiss her from our journey is simply because she kept secrets from me; always silent, she hardly ever asked many questions and because of that she just had to make her own postulations and wrong ideas as to how all of this had come to be. This is also why I always encourage you to ask me as many questions that can come to your mind. You know, there aren’t very many guides like me out there to teach ancient ways. Many men and women guide their sombras as if they were cats toying with mice; letting them know so little and leaving their students in the dark and in chaos, until they find it convenient to tell them what it is they need to know.” “ And how are you different from these other men and women,” she asked. “I am an open book, anything your mind desires to know of and comprehend, I am there to ease your thoughts and enlighten you; I hold no secrets from you and I don’t hold back on how much I let you know, I am not a greedy soul who only cares if he knows,” he said grinning. “Then she must’ve been stupid to abandon such a good teacher,” she said laughing. “Well, love can make all creatures blind at times,” he said nodding. “So, tell me more about Tezcatlipoca,” she demanded. “Tezcatlipoca, he is the night sky, obsidian, enmity, discord, ruler-ship, divination, temptation, sorcery, and strife. He reigned as the first-born sun, but because he lost his foot during the struggle between the gods and Cipactli in the beginning, he reigned as only as half a sun. But there was a rivalry between Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl, and out of anger he knocked his brother down from the sky; and it is after that, his brother of light Quetzalcoatl reigned as the second sun. But what happened to the people that lived at that time,” she asked as if she had missed something. “Ah, yes it is said that Tezcatlipoca turned himself into Tepeyollotl, the jaguar god and swallowed all of his people out of anger,” he said rubbing his face. “After years had passed under Quetzalcoatl’s reign the new people whom the gods created grew less and less civilized and stopped showing proper honor to the gods; as a result Tezcatlipoca expressed his power and dominance as a god of sorcery and judgment by turning all of the people into monkeys.” “That’s a mean god,” she said out loud interrupting him. “Mmhmm, that he is; so don’t be expecting him to be treating you quite so easily,” he said.
He walked down the alley and turned at the corner and saw a lady sitting down, wearing fishnet stockings, in a tight skirt, shirtless and wearing a leather jacket. “Necesito hablar con Vicente,” he said out loud looking to the door. The lady lifted herself up and grabbed a hold of his belt as she said, “Pues no hay halgo que yo te puedo ofrecer?” “Patricia, para le jugando sus juegos esta ayi o no,” he said frustrated jerking his head at the door. She pulled out a cigarette from her jacket and lit it up saying, “Si, ayi esta la cabron.” “Pues deja me entrar,” he said in a rush. She rolled her eyes and sighed as she pulled out a key from her boot and unlocked the door. A woman walked out from one of the doors inside; her eyes, red with tears, and her cheeks swollen pink. He opened the door and saw him sitting there on the couch with a big wad of hundred dollar bills in his hand. “Aaah, Arthur what brings you here,” he asked as he shoved the money into his pocket. “I need some Datura,” he said in a serious tone. “Esta bien,” he said as he lifted himself up and walked towards a metal cabinet pulling out a black pouch and tossing it at him. “How much,” he asked. “Two hundred,” he replied walking towards him. He pulled out his wallet and yanked out two hundred dollar bills, handing it over to him. “Can I interest you in anything else,” he asked with a big grin. “No, thanks; this is all I needed,” he said as he walked out the door.
She arrived at her house, slowly opening the door. Her dad was lying there on the couch drunk and watching TV. She walked into her room pulled out a box of matches and lit four candles, each one on their own side of the room. She reached into her pant pocket and pulled out hard bits of dried asphalt, dropping them into a metal tray that was strung to the ceiling hanging right above the candle flame. In an instant the asphalt began to melt, releasing a strong petrol odor into the air. She walked towards the sink and grabbed the tin cup sitting on the floor and filled it up with water. She reached into the shelf above the sink and pulled out a purple Crown royal bag. She opened the small bag up and pulled out four green leaves. “Chacruna,” she said smiling as she dropped the leaves into the cup. She walked up towards another candle, which had a cylindrical steel frame attached above it, also strung to the ceiling. She placed the cup into the frame. She pulled out the rest of the coca leaves Arthur had given her and tossed them into her mouth and chewed. She laughed as she felt her mouth turn pleasantly numb, as it gave off a nice pungent taste. She reached into her drawer and pulled out a lime, digging her little fingers into it and ripping it open; she grabbed it and squeezed the juice into her mouth. She threw herself on the mattress and laid her hands behind her head. She pouted her lips and took a deep breath in. “Tezcatlipoca….hmm.” She got up from the bed and walked towards the window, she opened the curtain and looked outside. It suddenly began to rain. “Stupid Tlaloc,” she said angrily as she threw the curtain back over the window. She walked back towards the shelf and grabbed a small brown box and opened it, pulling out four balls of dried mud, about the size of her palm. She stood facing the east and placed the balls of mud, each in their own cardinal direction. She pulled out a small pocketknife from her shoe, placing it onto her right palm she cut into her skin drawing blood. She walked up towards the northern one and made a fist squeezing two drops of blood onto it. She then did the same for the southern one. She then placed the blade onto her left palm and cut into it, she walked towards the eastern ball and dripped droplets onto it, she walked towards the western one and squeezed her hand tightly but no blood fell; grabbing a hard grip on the knife she poked the tip of the blade at the end of the cut and sliced further downward to the side of her hand. She squeezed her fist and it dripped onto it. Chewing on the leaves, she then spit onto her palms and rubbed them together. She felt her hands then go numb. She walked towards the corner of her room and grabbed the thick tall branch that was lying there. She grabbed a hold of it and laid it over her left shoulder. She went up to the candle holding the cup and removed it from its frame and wrapped a cloth from her pocket around it, she put the cup to her lips and drank it down quickly, placing the cup back onto the floor. She ran back to the mud balls, grabbing a hold of the branch she slammed it downwards onto each of them as she called out their names, “Xaman, Nohol, Lakin, Chikin!” She pulled out a pocket watch from her left pocket and opened it up. The interior of the watch had been emptied out; all that was inside of it were four seeds. A white, yellow, red, and black seed lied within. She placed the white seed onto the northern pile of dust, placed the yellow seed onto the southern pile, the red seed over the eastern pile, and the black seed onto the western pile. She sat down in the center on her knees, closing her eyes and waited.
She saw a pulsing white light as she felt her eyes budge. She opened her eyes and saw the images begin to lose intricacy. Their edges smoothened and melded onto one another as if it were a painting. She turned her head and saw the images slowly twitching forth, keeping up with her motion. She took in a deep breath standing up, she said, “Bacabs, guide me,” as she walked out the door. She saw her dad’s body wriggling and bending out of shape. She turned away and walked outside into the rain. The rain fell like small cold droplets of mass colliding onto her skin. The sky was covered in a uniform light grey blanket of clouds. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a bell attached to a white string and wrapped it around her wrist. The wind blew wet onto her face as she walked towards the back of her house. She gazed upon her maize crop. They were glistening and swaying in the rainy wind. Touching one another whispering loudly into the air. Her eyes fell upon a hackberry tree as she jumped as hard as she could grabbing a hold of one of the branches pulling herself up; she climbed upward towards the very tip of the highest tree branch. She looked upward at the sky, her eyes wide open, bombarded with raindrops. Her mouth fell open as she extended her arm outward up towards the clouds. In an instant lightning struck the tree. Splitting it almost in half. She screamed out in fear as the aroma of burnt wood flew into the air. She was fine, still clinging onto the branch. She felt her heart racing, pounding away frantically. She then exploded in laughter. She climbed back down and jumped off, she saw the burn marks of the lightning strike upon the tree. She laughed out even louder as she ran around the tree and throwing herself onto the ground. “Owww,” she said as she rubbed her shoulder laughing. “Xolotl is a playful dog today,” she said giggling. She looked back at the tree and saw it glowing, brightly pulsing, then fading away. She saw the rainfall like descending static. “Fuzzy,” she said as she swept her hand into the air as if she could clear the air. She looked at her arms and saw the winds pushing the images away as if it were an after motion. She lifted her hand into the air and started rapidly twisting her wrist side to side, rattling the bell. She fell amazed as she saw her hand flicker away like the shadow of a flying moth. The sound of the bell clicking away tapped away at her eardrum like small rapid pulses of bright sounds. She felt the motion tremor down her forearm. She felt her muscles begin to tighten up, forcing her to stop, her arm irritatingly tickled. She looked down onto the ground saw a snake coiled up extending its body, kissing the tip of her fingers. She looked at it with amazement and curiosity. “I, didn’t mean to call you…I’m sorry,” she said as she lifted the snake up and kissed it’s head, laying it back down onto the ground.
She took in another deep breath as she started running furiously towards the bosques, the bells tinkling with every swing of her arm. She arrived at the séance ground and walked up towards the tree and opened the box full of garter snakes. She grabbed a handful of them and tossed them to the ground saying, “Now, get the hell out of here, before you become god food.” She looked at the duck in the cage, saying nothing then walking away. The duck quacked. She turned back rolling her eyes and pulled the duck out of its cage. She walked toward the creek kneeling down then splashing the water onto her face she said, “I wonder, why we wont meet Tezcatlipoca here…hmm.” She laid her back upon a tree and closed her eyes.
“Gods damn, Lupita, why did you let them out,” Arthur said. She opened her eyes, not knowing what to say. “Mmm, good thing I managed to catch me some on my way over here,” he said shaking his head. He grabbed her hand pulling her up saying, “It’s time Lupita, let’s go.” “Where are we going,” she asked. “To the sugarcane fields,” he said grinning. He walked on with Lupita trailing behind him.
He quickly started going over the séance as they quickly walked towards the sugarcane fields. “Alright, now keep in mind; we wont be doing this under the guidance of the bacabs, the cardinals this time will be orientated under Aztec creation laws, and thus it will be lain out under the four Tezcatlipocas of origin. Our main cardinal focusing point will be directed towards the north, cause that’s where our Tezcatlipoca lies; you got that,” he asked looking forth ward walking in a rush. “Uuuhm, nope, don’t get it,” she said laughing. “Well, that’s all right you just leave it to me then,” he replied laughing back.
They arrived a cleared area with where a large circled black rope was lying on the ground. He removed his backpack and pulled out a long cylindrical wooden container and removed the lid, pouring a thick black liquid onto his hands, saying, “Close you eyes.” She closed them; he rubbed the liquid onto her face, ears, and neck, painting her skin black. “Put out your hands,” he said. She extended her arms and he began to coat them in the liquid. “Opening the eyes of the bacabs I see,” he said as he noticed the cuts on her palm. “Yup,” she said smiling. He began quickly untying and removing her shoes. “Que haces,” she asked puzzled, as he began to remove her socks. You must walk bare, and I need to paint your feet too,” he said pouring more of the liquid into his hands and lathering it onto her feet. He grabbed her hand and ripped the stringed bell off her wrist. “Hey, why’d you have to do that,” she yelled mad at him. “Sorry, I’m in a hurry right now,” he said smiling. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a black cloak that had obviously been cut into a smaller size. “Here, put this on,” he said as he handed it to her and reached into the backpack again pulling out some black strings and four flat obsidian stones. He grabbed her arms and placed the stones into her palms and tied them to her hand, tightly. “Lift your left foot,” he said. He placed the stone underneath it and tied it, and did the same to her other foot. He reached into his coat and pulled out two black incense sticks and told her, “Here, hold this in between your fingers, one in each hand.” He lit the incense sticks. He then reached into the backpack and pulled out a small jar covered in black tape. He opened it and pulled out two black joints. He placed one in between her lips and lit it. She sucked on it till it burned brightly. “In,” he said as he slipped his fingers down his throat. She inhaled it deeply. He then lit his and started breathing it in.
He then walked around the circle four times and stopped towards the northern direction. “Xipe Totec, Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca; break this barrier and let us through,” he yelled out. Lupita stood there looking at him as she kept on smoking away. He stepped into the circle and started stomping around with his back hunched over, turning his head left to right with every step. She started laughing out loud as she saw him doing this. “Is that what people call dancing,” she said erupting into full-blown laughter. “This is how you summon teotl,” he replied. He then closed his eyes saying, “Te, llamamos dios de la norte, el gran negro.” He then took the joint in between his lips, inhaling as deep as he could. He lifted his head skyward and blew the smoke straight up into the air. In instant shards of ash began to fall from the sky. She finished smoking the joint and walked towards the edge of the circle. He walked up to her lifted his head and said, “Enter.” She stepped over the rope and looked up and saw black currents of air rushing across the cloudy night sky. Suddenly a black wind spiraled downward as the shards of ashes gently touched her passing by, like black plumes falling from above. He looked at her eyes closely as he began to notice her pupils slowly dilate. He smiled as he said, “She’s finally there.”
She saw the ground beginning to smoke upward. The smoke was deeply black. Suddenly from the smoke appeared a melanistic jaguar, as it slowly walked towards her. She felt her heart race with sudden fear. In an instant the jaguar pounced on her, digging its claws into her shoulders. She quickly lifted herself up trying to run, when it then jumped on her back and bit down on her head. The jaguar pulled her back onto the ground snarling as it bit down tighter and tighter the more she attempted to struggle. As she heard the sound of her skull cracking, she felt its fangs pierce into her brain.
The smoke began to slowly fade away, unveiling an enormous black obsidian mirror floating above her. She felt her body begin to be pulled upwards through it. She was in complete darkness, with no light in sight. An obsidian disk appeared on the ground. It stepped forth unveiling its face, black and yellow stripes running across its face, expressing a vicious grinning frown, baring its teeth. Smoke spewed forth through his teeth, nostrils, and ears, horribly stinging her nose and eyes. It then lowered its face closer to her. Opening its mouth and sticking its tongue out, it slowly licked her forehead. She gasped in shock as it felt as though razors were scraping along the surface of her brain. Rays of light shot out from her body draining into the encompassing darkness that surrounded her. It slithered across her skin permeating her nerves, making her visions, her thoughts, and her feelings all negate. The sudden rush of darkness shot through her every being. It soaked into her and she felt it embrace her, in comfort and in solace.
He saw her standing holding the incense close to her chest as the smoke glided upwards across her face, bending to its shape. He looked at Tezcatlipoca staring right at her, as the space between them was incredibly dark and impenetrable. She felt as though she was within a dreamless black sleep. The feeling was familiar, as if she knew this place long before. She felt the smoke faintly warm her face as her eyes welled blood shot red, stinging and burning yet somehow pleasant and calming. She looked upward and saw a halo of black clouds above her. She fell on her back with her arms extended outward holding still the burnt out incense sticks in her fingers. The smoke began to fade away and the ashes stopped falling.
He walked up to her and lied beside her. “How you feeling,” he said to her. “I’m feeling….good,” she said turning her head to him with a sedated look on her face. “Tomorrow, we will find your tonal,” he said. “Really,” she asked excitedly. “Yep, that we will do.” “How will finding my tonal help me,” she asked. “Your tonal can help guide you in its own ways by showing you the similarities and good attributes that both of you carry as beings of life,” he said. “To do this it will require of you that you keep strong concentration and will, clarity of mind is also important, to do this.” “Can you tell me, what’s your tonal,” she asked smiling. “Tomorrow, we’ll speak of this; for now you’ve taken another great step forward towards Omeyocan,” he said patting her head. “Did you see him too,” she asked with her eyes wide open. “Yes of course, I’ve seen them all already, except the one…” She sighed and looked back up at the halo of black clouds still hovering above them.