Mia
Beauty is not caused. It is.
The colorful neon lights of the city bathed the sidewalk in an array of flamboyance. I moved past the crowd gathering near the entryways of various clubs, everyone dressed up in shimmering outfits ready to enjoy the nightlife that I was quickly hell-bent on escaping. I pulled my jacket tighter over my body as I crossed the walkway between Mission and 21st.
Madness stirred restlessly within me, wanting nothing more than to get out. Tonight shocked both of us, so I understood her anxiety. But unfortunately, she was going to have to wait a bit longer.
My ancestor's words rang endlessly in my head, leaving me much to think about. But with it, posed a much greater problem.
I hadn't made a choice.
I thought that by leaving with Alex, I would learn, become stronger, and survive. I thought that I was close to this being over. That I could go back home, like my sister promised. Back to Merida, to the life I finally built for myself.
But after tonight, I've realized that everything I've done hadn't even put me remotely close to one of the paths my Father told me about. I haven't even crossed the damn starting line.
"What is your strength for then?" My ancestor asked me. But Madam Abb shook me awake before I could answer her. Apparently, angering one Orisha can be felt within the other Laibon. But who am I kidding? I didn't even have an answer to give her. Abb only saved me from embarrassing myself further.
Thankfully, Madam Abb, a storyteller of Anansi, is old and wise enough to know when to stop a person from stupidly killing themselves. If she were anyone else, I doubt the Orishas would've allowed her to pull me out safely.
From what she told me over our weeks of training is that regardless of how complex the 'Wise Spider' may seem, people respect him. Apparently, that respect grants his people an interesting number of benefits.
Closing my eyes, I remember the worry that immediately flooded over Abb the moment I awoke in the middle of her office. Throwing her fingers through her hair in the similar fashion that Merida often does, she scolded me for my ignorance all the while holding me tightly against her.
She apologized profusely for her sudden behavior, leaving me more curious than upset.
'To pull you out of a trance like that, it cuts the line between you and them. Like a spider thread. Doing it without knowing how to navigate the tie... I could've killed you.' She said. 'The entirety of the Laibon would've descended upon me…even the ones that went against us.'
Many questions arose from that statement but Abb cut the lesson short, urging me to go home.
Rounding the corner of 17th, I received a quick flash of red from Madness as we immediately crashed into a man. Well, one that appeared to be a normal human man at first glance.
The guy was slender and wore a silver button up with black slacks, small diamond earrings hung in both ears. He wore a gentle smokey eye makeup style that seemed to complement his silver eyebrow piercing. But, it wasn't the look that sent us on edge, it was his presence.
Spending so much time with Madam Abb helped me sense the presence of other forms of magic unlike before. It allowed me quickly decipher friend from foe. So with just one look, I knew this man had some form of magic within him, something similar to Madam Abb yet, different in its own unique way.
His ethereal beauty was like magic that pulled me in at the same time that Madness pull me away. Like a charm potentially laced with poison. He was dark skinned with a short buzz cut and chestnut eyes that oddly appeared silver-ish under the streetlights, his jaw was chiseled, and his cheekbones were high. If not for the presence of his magic... and my constant thoughts of Merida, I would have blushed at the sight of him. He was the pure definition of strange beauty.
He looked down at me first with shock and then with a gaze that can only be described as flirtatious. Madness internally yanked us back from him with a bitter distaste as the man threw his head back and laughed. He was the first Laibon I've met besides Madam Abb and this interaction was already getting strange.
"They were right about you." His voice dripped with honey.
I snapped out of whatever stupid trance he put me in, "Who?"
"The others." He replied, reaching out his hand. "I'm Jabari, Butterfly of Ishtar." From my lessons, I knew that the 'Butterflies' or rather the Ishtarri were one of the bloodlines of the Laibon. Well, I guess that answered my earlier question.
I took the hand he offered to me. "Mia," I thought about my title, considering the terms I've learned over the weeks. "Uhh...Judge of Ṣangó."
Jabari smiled as he let go of my hand, "You seem, conflicted. Sadden almost."
Madness growled within me at his insight of my emotional state, she didn't like him. He must have caught on to it so he backtracked. "Apologies, I just meant the look in your eyes. My magic is different than yours, I don't look into the hearts of people."
Okay, this was something. "It's just.... been a long day." I tell him.
"Wanna talk about it?" He asked genuinely as he leaned a shoulder against the brick wall, settling into it. Something about the way he presented himself, made me feel like I could trust him. But Madam Abb's statement earlier buzzed around in my head. Some of the Laibon are going against the others. Would that mean we're at war with each other? In case, should I trust him?
"Well, I'm sure you know by now." I respond, juggling my words carefully.
He nods, "I do. We all do."
Well, that gives me nothing. "I'm...learning. And it's difficult."
"Hmm."
"And you're right. I am conflicted." I sigh, my shoulders slightly relaxing. "It's hard to understand and it's not like there are others to teach me. Which...makes me think?" I trail off, remembering my ancestors. Remembering the children, my ancestors collective anger.
A hint a silver flashes behind his eyes. "You wonder why there aren't more of you."
"My... the other Laibon said us Judges are supposed to be protected?" I questioned.
"You are." He responds, once again giving me nothing.
I sigh, "So, if we're protected, then why are there so few of us?" I ask, bringing my voice a bit louder than intended. "Why were there so many children on the other side?" I ask him like he has all the answers. This man couldn't be any younger than nineteen, maybe twenty at least. He's not like Abb, who's in her fifties, there's no way he would know.
Jabari puts a finger to his lips, signalling me and then moves it to his ear. "Careful, there's people listening." He says silently. He beckons me with his finger where he takes us up the road to a quiet park.
The questions bubble up in me along the way and the moment we stop they burst out like tears.
"Why is everyone so secretive?"
"Why are my Father and I the only shamans?"
"Are we at war?"
"Why can't seem to make one good decision?"
"And why me, why am I being hunted down by Darkness?"
Jabari watches me with sorrow in his eyes as I go through my list of questions, fighting my emotions as my frustration forces me to pace around the small space next to the bench he's sat on. After I manage to settle down, he picks out the first question from my list and begins his list of answers.
"Mia," He says peacefully, "according to my grandparents, the Laibon had a sanctuary. However, even we weren't so lucky as to avoid the cruelty of the world. We hide because we have to survive. We keep secret because we fear they might come back and take more from us. And they always do, without fail.
But, it's not like we can just go back. We don't have anything to go back to. They destroyed it all, the temples, the shrines, the palaces. We have nothing but the life we've built here." He replies pointing to the earth beneath him as emphasis.
"Who are they?" I say throwing my arms up.
"The same ones who are the reason that your Father and you are the last Judges left." He responds, chilling me to the core. So, there are things he knows. "The covens, well more specifically, one coven. We know them as the Blue Moon."
I turn towards him. "What?" Blue Moon?
"Yes, Mia, we are at war." He continues, "There's two powerful families among us, who've been fighting since the very beginning."
"Xi Dundu and the Guruhi." I answer.
"The Xi Dundu, the Night Lords, were discovered to be working with the coven. It was how the witches figured out where we were. Where the Judges were."
"The Blue Moon Coven killed my family." I heard about this coven many times. Peter married into it, into the ones that basically worshipped him. Merida... and her brother, were born into it. A sense of betrayal and conflict rose within me making me shake my head. "Why--"
"Power." Jabari said simply. "Going after the Judges was a tactic they knew would weaken the rest of us. It happened so quickly, before any of us knew what was going on."
He stood then. Turning over his wrist, he formed what looked like a plain black credit card with his hand. "As for your last concerns, no matter what path you take, it'll always lead back to the Laibon. We'll always protect you no matter what." He promised. "This is a card, it grants access to the Social Butterfly. Show it to an Osebo, and they'll let you in."
"Where would I even find this club?"
Jabari smiled as he passed me the card, the moment my fingers touched it, my full name and title appeared in thick silver cursive.
MIA AGRINYA : SHAMAN OF ṢANGÓ.
"We have portal locations throughout the country. Lift the card to the sky like this." He showed me by lifting his own. Suddenly, a flash of light shot out in front of it like a beam of light, pointing east-ward. "It'll lead you to one of our doorways. But all the paths lead straight to the Social Butterfly!"He exclaimed.
I stared at the card as a familiar feeling grew in my chest. I'd just met this guy less than an hour ago yet, I knew somehow that I could trust him. From him, I know I have a place among the Laibon.
That maybe he was right, they could protect me. My mind tracked back to the vampire attack and then flipped to my ancestors words. Currently, I walked a path that they didn't like, one that would led to my own destruction. It was a path that I was currently on alone. But maybe, I didn't have to be alone. I didn't have to fight Darkness by myself.
"Jabari, could I ask something of you?"
I took note of the strange look that brushed his eyes before fading into softness. "Of course."
"I have this problem," I begin, "There's a presence, they call him Darkness. Someone... said he's been trying to keep me blind from the truth, from my power. But now, he's coming after me. And I don't know what I should do. I want to end this. But after today--" I trail off, unsure of how to explain.
Jabari breathed out sharply and looked up at the sky for a moment. "There's something you're hiding."
Madness growls as she pushes forward instantly, hell-bent on protecting her mate. My vision goes red as I lock my arms around myself.
Madness, we're okay.
The last thing we need is to kill one of our allies. The color of Jabari's eyes shift to silver as he watches me. My neck cracks sharply to the left as I grunt against the pain. "Sorry," I tensed, "I just need-"
For my wolf to calm the fuck down.
"You want to protect someone. By the anger of your wolf, a mate." He reads.
Red.
His intinution only serves to piss Madness off further as she strains against my hold. I thought we had this under control. Madness hadn't lashed out like this since we fought against the witch. We were always on the same page since then.
Maybe I needed that run more than I thought.
I step back as he steps closer, his silver eyes bare into me as if he's sensing my inner turmoil. "It's okay. Just explain."
"I have a mate that's related to him." I take a shaky breath every few words, as Madness and I play a stupid game of tug-of-war with my body. "But, we don't want her caught in the cross-fire."71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgID1On0TM
Jabari nods. "No harm comes to her." He repeats, agreeing. "But her relative intends to harm you?"
I reel my wolf back just enough to keep her at bay. "Yes."
Jabari's eyes go back to normal and I feel myself relax once again. "That's one hell of a reaction, you've had." He mutters.
"Darkness is trying to kill me, my mate would possibly protect him, and my wolf will protect her. Which leaves me - "
"Vulnerable," He finishes. "but only if you fight him."
I look at him confused.
"If you fight him in your current situation, you'll be vulnerable. You'll probably even die, and the Laibon will likely retaliate." He quietly speaks the last part. "So meaning.. if you don't go against him, find another way perhaps, then you'll survive."
"Find another way. Without fighting him." I speak, more to myself as a string of hope weaves its way through me.
********************************************
"Alex." I call out, shutting the door to our apartment. Maybe she's working late.
The Butterfly Jabari gave me something close to the answers I needed tonight. Perhaps that's what they meant the whole time, to not act rashly.
Was that what I was doing? Acting rashly. Possibly running head first into my own demise. Maybe Jabari was right. There was more to this situation than just Darkness. Maybe my fight wasn't with Darkness after all.
Maybe there was another way to handle this.
I walk past the island table and make a left into the hallway. Heading into the second door to my right, I enter my bedroom. It's smaller and more modern than the old floral and wooden decor that accompanied my spacious room back at the pack house, but I still find it cosy in an odd way.
Madness, fortunately, calmed down after I took her on a quick run shortly after we separated from Jabari. Now, all that was left to do was likely apologize to my ancestors after my fuck-up earlier tonight.
One shower and a quick change later, I place the last lavender candle down on the floor. Taking a deep breath, I make sure to identify the scents in the room. Lavender, apple wood, and vanilla.
It's not ideal compared to Madam Abb's set up. But it'll still be enough to tether me.
Taking my place behind the candles, I sit down and close my eyes. With a deep breath I begin to focus.
Suddenly, Madness growls from within breaking the trance I was close to connecting with. Opening my eyes, I immediately sense another's presence here.
"Greetings, Shaman." A familiar purr rings from behind me.
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