Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright

Author:Kenya Wright
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Dragonfairy Press
Published: 2012-01-15T23:00:00+00:00

It took me five minutes to avoid the news people, photographers, and habitat police barreling into the Blood Harvest Festival; twenty minutes to get to my house and mentally calm myself down, while Nona guarded me; ten to change into unripped and clean clothes; and barely another ten to arrive at the Enchanted Drummer. But a whole hour passed before I could gain access to the nightclub.

An Earth Witch bouncer guarded the door with his life. He’d spotted my X brand and had dedicated his evening to not letting me in. I explained to Nona, in my jumbled version of Lib Lib, that killing the Earthie would not be an improvement on the situation. Hearing our conversation, he’d threatened to call the police. I’d reluctantly phoned MeShack, interrupting his practice session. He had stomped out, snarled at the Witch, threatened the lives of his loved ones, and then marched back in.

“You sit in the back,” the Earthie spat out the words as his green eyes lit up with disgust. “You bother the Purebloods, and we’ll kick you out.”

Nona’s pupils expanded. “No, mon. She no sit—”

“It’s not a big deal, Nona.” I raised my hand and put it on her shoulder.

I didn’t want any more problems tonight. MeShack performed at this venue at least once a month. I’d expected the delay and disrespect. However, tonight was the Goddess Oshun’s feast day, MeShack’s biggest gig. He’d been practicing for months. I couldn’t ruin it.

Nona remained quiet as we entered the Enchanted Drummer.

The name referred to the first time Shango met his wife, Oshun. A massive mural of the gods was painted on the door, depicting Shango as he drummed with brown, bulging muscles, fire swirling around him, and Oshun dancing completely nude.

“Me no like this place already,” Nona complained. “It’s full of oppressors. We sit in the front.”

“Don’t worry. I usually sit where I want to, once the music starts—nobody notices.”

She squinted her eyes at me.

Zulu said she had a decent grasp of English, but I wasn’t sure if she understood everything I was saying.

Perfume mixed with cigarette smoke greeted us. The lounge area glowed in gold light, while shimmering scarlet paper draped the walls. We walked by Supes that wore gold dresses and suits. It was Oshun’s favorite color. They sat at tables with amber vases full of sunflowers, laughing and enjoying themselves.

A waiter halted in front us. “Mixbreeds sit on the benches against the back wall.” He pointed several feet beyond the audience. “There’s no Mixbreed bathroom, so you’ll have to go next door to either Flame nightclub or Herbal Remedies.”

“She will go here, mon.” Nona intercepted him and wrapped her huge fingers around his tiny neck.

He gasped, shaking in fear as his face flushed red.

“Nona, no fighting.” I tapped her back. “Not here.”

Removing her hand, she leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He glanced at me and raced in the other direction.

“Look. We’ll sit near the stage, but the first time someone tries to move us, we leave.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.