P’aqo and Jibril – Laka {Ed’s home Day 3 12:30 am}
Cresha and Maria came up to my bed and laid down next to me. Ed came up shortly after and sat at my feet.
“Mi niños, let me tell you a bedtime story about P’aqo.”
“The story begins with P’aqo in the 1800s. P’ago was el jefe, the boss. He had gifted underlings, who had mastered the skills of a shaman, one, a man, and the other, a woman. El jefe had trained them in spiritual warfare, healing, and knowledge of the deadly arts. He blessed his underlings with large territories and a special blessing that their progeny would carry their gifts.”
“One day, Jibril the archangel and teacher of P’aqo came to see the underlings and he is impressed with their abilities. Jibril takes the two under his wing and teaches them destructive techniques, magia negra. When Jibril departed, the underlings wanted to know more about the black arts. They came to P’aqo and pleaded for their teacher to instruct them in black arts. After trying many times, they became bitter because P’aqo refused to teach them these techniques. So the two plotted to kill and replace P’aqo. They decided to work together to eliminate their master.”
“On the day of the attack, the students surprised their master at a special party they arranged to honor him. P’aqo subdued the two, and wept at the prospect of destroying the students he loved. P’aqo came up with an idea and he sewed Chavin coins into their shaman garment with a spell on one side that would cause the two to fall madly in love while also having intense distrust of the other. P’aqo believed this would keep them separated and no longer a threat. P’aqo still wanted to bless his students. On the other side of one of the coins was a spell of stealth and on the other coin, the ability to control emotions. On each coin was the top side with a curse and on the other side, a blessing. P’aqo put the woman on a Spanish Galleon headed to a pickup point near the isthmus of Panama for loading Peruvian gold and silver. Since this time, these two factions have been after each other. Most importantly, they never challenged P’aqo.”
I snapped my fingers. A moment later, they were sleeping.
Laka assumed the form of a Puma and gave Ed a lick on his face. She turned and lept off the bed and disappeared through the house wall, into the early pitch-black morning. Soon after daybreak, Mike was at Ed’s house.
