This is the last chapter. I hope you all have enjoyed my Summer Reading Fest. Don’t forget that I’ll blog next week about why I chose to include domestic violence and female genital mutilation in my paranormal romance. This is the last week to participate in the free drawing for Breaking Free so make sure you RT/Tweet, like my FB page, or sign-up for my subscriber’s list.
I’m hoping that you’re on the edge of your seat. Shania’s got that creepy priest after her baby, her memories are all messed up and Corbin’s about to go through an evil awakening. Do you agree that she should run? Finish Chapter Five of Flee.
Chapter Five
“Nana? Is that you?” Shania’s voice echoed.
“Not exactly, but you trust your Nanabaa so I’ve chosen this form to help you believe. I am Mawu, great Mother and Goddess.” Shania watched Mawu smile.
“Like in the folktales that my Nanabaa told me?” Shania said in a state of disbelief.
Mawu put her finger on Shania’s lips. “Shush, you have many questions but we have little time. I can’t hold you in this realm for long.”
“You and my special priestess are in danger. You must flee this place and find where your true love dwells. He is the Guardian and can wield the Akofena war swords.”
Mawu turned her head and gazed in the hazy dim-lit distance. She cocked her head in an unnatural manner while she listened to something that Shania couldn’t hear. Mawu turned back and focused laser attention on Shania.
“You mean find Deacon? I can’t. I know something bad will happen.” Shania slumped in her dream.
Mawu’s eyes swirled with power. “Your memory loss was to protect but now the time has come for you both to remember.” Mawu touched Shania’s forehead and pushed her back into her body.
She heard a whisper. “When the time comes, remember, but for now, flee!”
Shania sat up in Lydia’s bed. Disorientated, she looked around the room for the wood box that she’d moved into Lydia’s room. She realized that a magic spell made it glow and hum. How did she know that? Memories sloshed inside her mind but they were unclear. Shania turned and saw that both her child and dog were safe. Her heart slowed down but her mind got into action. Shania knew what she had to do. She looked at the clock.
“I’ve got to find Deacon in Atlanta. She told me to flee.” Shania scrunched her forehead but who was she? Shania had a hard time remembering but she knew that she had to leave Detroit. A part of her still felt dread but another part was happy that she would be reunited with the love of her life. She prayed that something good would come out of all of this.
Shania dug out her phone. She bit her lip and studied the wood box again. Her memory showed her a special key. She knew that she had to find it, if they were all going to be safe. She dialed her phone with resolve. She’d give her money to whoever could pack her up and move them today.
***
Corbin snuck into Shania’s apartment through a secret passage in the kitchen. It was one of the perks of being the building manager. These old refurbished buildings had plenty of entries. His heart was happy that he could keep tabs on his trophy. He’d figure he’d give Shania a couple of days to rethink what she’d done. He rubbed his sore arm from the dog bite. The anger boiled inside his stomach. He’d tried to do what he could to make her his. He tried to make her forget Deacon. He’d even sabotaged the condom and waited for her to be fertile to get her pregnant. Corbin couldn’t believe that she’d killed his baby. His black child!
He’d make her suffer. Corbin lifted his fire red dashiki and removed the flask from his inside pocket. The flask jiggled. He just needed a little swig to get the edge off. He opened the flask of Jack Daniels and gulped. JD never let him down the way women had, including his white trash mother. He remembered the beatings that he received at the hands of his militant black father. The words echoed in his mind, “Boy, I’ll beat the white side out of you.” Corbin tried everything he could to be tougher and darker. It didn’t work. His hair was always too straight and his skin too light.
Corbin stumbled into Shania’s living room but the place was empty. He panicked. Where had she gone? She’d left him. She’d abandoned him like his mother. His Black American princess left him like a whore in the night.
“No.” Corbin screamed. “I must have you!”
His shoulders slumped when he thought about how Shania filled the emptiness that was his heart. He let out drunken tears.
He’d never be black enough for his father.
“Yes, Master and Mistress.” Corbin heard someone in Lydia’s bedroom. He staggered around as an inebriated mess. He stopped and noticed that Shania’s front door had exploded into splintered pieces. He choked from the residual white dust.
“Shit! I’m not paying for that.” Corbin sobered up and marched into the little girl’s room. He’d find away to make somebody pay in money and blood. He’d beat them into submission. Corbin stomped through the apartment.
“What are you doing here?” He looked into the eyes of a white priest.
“Ah, you purrfect.” The priest said in broken English. “You ‘vill serve the Master and Mistress. Bow slave.”
“Man, I ain’t servin’ no white man! You must be crazy!” Corbin lobbed a drunken swing with his injured arm but the priest was too fast.
Before he realized it, the priest had him pinned on the floor. He blew white dust in his face.
Corbin gagged and coughed.
The priest said words that sounded African but ritualistic. The evil took root deep in Corbin’s soul. It became all that he needed to fill the emptiness.
Shania never made him feel this complete.
“Rise. Obayifo. You ‘vill help me find the great Mother’s little priestess. You now serve my Master and Mistress.”
Corbin sat up and smiled. He no longer needed alcohol. He’d found something more potent. All of his anger and hatefulness were useful in this new awakening. The call of the Obayifo spoke to his sinister soul. The witch spirit whispered deadly history and flooded his mind with dark knowledge. He absorbed the heinous thoughts. His arm miraculously healed. He ripped the bandage off, stood up and cracked his neck. He was reborn in the evil energy. Corbin Mallory had found the true mission for his pitiful life. For the first time, serving the Black Magician/Warrior Goddess twin souls was all that he needed or wanted. He felt powerful.
Corbin laughed deep in his belly as fangs dropped down. He hungered for blood and magical souls.
“Yes, master and mistress. I am ready to do your bidding. Let’s find my ex-girlfriend and make her pay.”
The End
Special Thanks to PharSide Editing, Vershawn Young, Noelle Pierce, Regina Hackett, Delaney Diamond, Donica Herring Crawford, Candace Shaw and Sharon Cooper.
Rise of an African Elemental will be available soon.
Download Flee on your e-reader or go back to the other chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
