Murder On The Air

Friends On The Other Side

It wasn't long before Alastor discovered the secret room behind the bookshelf. Well, he had actually been there before when he was little when his mother had showed it to him. She had talked him through how to request help and guidance from the Loa and the Crowley ancestors. They would practice together in secret.

That was all before Louis became more distant from them...before the death of Alastor's beloved grandmother.

Before Alastor became a lonely adult orphan.

He glanced at the ancestral altar, with the pictures of saints, deities and old photos of his mother and grandmother. The bowls of water and earth were empty, cleaned for the next use.

If his mother were alive, she could do her rituals with everything mostly all set up.

Alastor gathered seven red and black candles and arranged them in a circle, lighting them up. Three were black, three were red and one was both colors. He drew the veves of Papa Legba, Baron Samedi, and Met Kalfu on the floor, red light trailing from his finger. The elaborate symbols were soon complete.

A bag of cookies, a bottle of liquor, and some of Alastor's old toys were positioned around the veve for Papa Legba. The veve for Kalfu had a bottle of rum mixed with gunpowder, a bull figure and a circle of seven leaves.

He sat down and invoked Papa Legba.

"Papa Legba, bridge between here and the other world, open the gate for me. I humbly request your presence and guidance."

A white X shaped portal appeared and the elderly spirit stepped through. He was dressed in his usual farm clothes and overalls, a wooden cane in his left hand. Papa Legba limped over and peered with silvery eyes from underneath his straw hat.

"Greetings, mortal Alastor Crowley," he said.

He glanced around the room. "Usually I'm summoned outside on dirt crossroads, but as this place is close enough to several, I'll make an exception."

Alastor stood up. Papa Legba put a dark cigar pipe into his mouth, then took it out and exhaled smoke. He slowly sat down on one of the comfy chairs. Alastor stood up and grabbed the bottle of liquor, handing it to the Loa. Papa Legba took it and nodded in thanks, opening the bottle with a pop and swallowing several mouthfuls. He ate the cookies and appeared satisfied.

"May I speak now?" Alastor asked, not bothering to ask how he knew his name.

"You may."

"I need some advice," he said. "My father and mother...they're all gone. I'm here all alone in a world that...that shuns people like me. I'm...always hungry it seems. Hungry for power, entertainment, blood...it never ends. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Good question, indeed," Papa Legba replied. "Alas, it will only be up to you to decide what's next." He examined Alastor some more, eyebrows furrowed. "Though based on your recent killings and cannibalism, I don't think your next path will be entirely pleasant."

Alastor kept his smile on his face, despite the uncertainty in his eyes.

"My parents...are they alright?"

"You'll need to ask Baron Samedi that. I'll allow you to speak with him."

Papa Legba waved his hand and a dark purple portal appeared. Baron Samedi walked through, a living skeleton elegantly dressed in a black tailcoat and top hat, carrying a skull topped cane in his bony hands.

"What is it this time, Legba?" he asked, the sounds of grinding teeth splitting through the air. "I'm getting kinda tired of all these mortals calling us day in and day out. Little shit bags don't show any kind of proper reverence anymore."