Immolation Ex: The Knower (COMPLETED)

Chapter XLI

An aging Native American man opened the front door of a modest single story home that appeared to be recently constructed. The front yard was filled with cacti and river rock. He smiled upon seeing Gadreel in the crowd of strange faces standing before him.

"Guys, let me introduce you to Simon Irateba of the Mojave tribe. I call him Birdman," Gadreel said with a large grin. "He and I go way back, don't we Birdman?"

"You could definitely say that Mustamho," the old man replied. "Please, everyone, come in," he said, holding the door open for everyone to enter.

"You can see them?" Louisa asked, pointing a finger at Michael and the two Watchers.

"Oh, yes. I have always seen them. I also see the golden ones that take the dead, but I pretend I don't. I also know what all of you are."

Carter and Angel shot each other looks of amazement.

"Would you like some water?" the old man asked, his voice gruff with age.

The Original Souls all nodded.

The old man set about retrieving mason jars from the new cabinets and filled three of them with the clear liquid. He turned and handed them over to Louisa, Carter, and Angel.

"Thank you," they said in chorus.

Simon nodded and then walked across the living room of his small house to sit in a leather recliner. He sat back into the plush seat with a grunt and pointed at a sofa across the room from him. "Everyone, please have a seat."

Azazel found a spot on the floor and sat cross-legged. Carter, Angel, and Louisa plopped down on the couch. Michael and Gadreel stood against the wall.

"It has been a long time since you and I sat together," the aging Native American man said with a narrow smile. His face and hands were marked by deep weathered lines. The old man's dark eyes were filled with a strong ethereal presence that Michael instantly recognized as an Original Soul of Creation.

"You were called Mustamho, earlier, Gadreel" Carter said. "What does that mean?"

"I'll let my friend Simon here explain it. He does a much better job than I do," Gadreel replied, walking over and placing his long arm around the elderly man to give him a hug.

Birdman patted Gadreel on the face and sat forward, placing his hands together. "I must start from the beginning of time, when the Sky and the Earth first met in the west. The Creator, Matevilye, born of the Sky and the Earth, offended his daughter, the Frog woman, who then killed him by witchcraft ..."

"You all might know that bitch as Bezaliel," Gadreel interrupted, taking a seat next to Simon. "Sorry, my friend, I had to throw that out there."

"It's alright. Well, next came Mustamho, the younger son," the old man said, looking over at Gadreel.

Michael and Azazel glanced at each other and then back toward their brother with narrowed eyes.

Gadreel grinned a large cheesy smile and then shrugged his shoulders with his hands in the air.

"...after Matevilye's death, his body was to be burned, the fire for the funeral pyre provided by the Coyote. But, the Coyote was not true and stole Matevilye's heart. The Coyote jumped over the Badger, took the heart from the fire, and escaped with it. Mustamho and my people then made the very first mourning ceremony in the world for the death of Matevilye." Birdman sat back in his chair and raised his hands. "Mustamho tried to kill the Frog woman and remove her from the land but could not. So, Mustamho took the people north away from her..."