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pestilence.

    Caleb rose to pour another cup of coffee. He stood by the stove and took a couple of sips before he answered. “I'm thinking there aren't that many of them here. They don't have the power to kill on a grand scale. At least not yet. Their power feeds on pain and suffering, so they will eventually be able to do so, but not yet. It will likely be soon, though.”

    Jacob nodded. With slavery and the Indian Removal Act, the continent was full of pain and suffering. In Jacob's opinion, the two things practically guaranteed that pain and suffering would hold sway in every corner of the country for generations to come. “I agree, Papa. So what do you think their plan is?”

    Caleb looked at him for a long moment and then nodded. “As I said, perhaps there aren't a lot of them here, and maybe that's why they haven't used their full powers yet. I believe they're trying to draw us out and kill us individually.”

    “You think that that's why they took Cameron?”

    “Yes. We need to help him escape. He's not Eshu, but they don't know that. Besides, torturing him will help them get stronger.”

    Jacob automatically thought of the usual protocol, which was not to come to the aid of brethren who were captured, for fear that doing so would undermine the entire network. “But we're not supposed—” He began, but his father interrupted him.

    Caleb shook his head forcefully. “Son, you don't understand. If this is Thakathi, and I don't know who else it could be, all the rules must change. We must eliminate them immediately. This is war.”

    “But aren't we supposed to kill them only on Obaluaye's orders?”

    “Trust me. If everything I've heard about that tricky bastard is true, we won't hear from him until the Thakathi run out of patience and start killing humans. Since they're not exactly known for their forbearance, I expect that to happen at any time. I'd prefer to kill them now rather than wait until they're more powerful.”

    Jacob pursed his lips as he studied his father. He heard his sister and brother on the stairs as they came down for breakfast. “And just how are you proposing to do that?”

    Caleb nodded a greeting as Matthew and Grace entered the kitchen. “Now that is a very good question,” he said as he thoughtfully studied his children.

Chapter Four

     

    The fire blazed brightly in the still of the night. The peace was broken only by the cries of night birds seeking prey and defending their territory. Jacob crouched in the woods near a small clearing, watching the Thakathi through bear's eyes. The bear was his totem, his favored form, but it always took him a moment to adjust to the change in his vision. Although he possessed perfect eyesight in human form, he had to cope with the flat colors and shortsightedness of the bear. His other senses, though, and his claws and fangs more than compensated for the loss of visual acuity. His sense of smell in particular was heightened to such a degree that the stench of sulfur was almost overwhelming and caused his eyes to water. In this case he would have preferred greater vision impairment rather than less; the scene before him was chilling.

    The Thakathi had staked Cameron's nude body to the ground, and using a curved upholsterer's knife, they took turns slicing half-inch strips from his bare back. The man's mouth opened to emit what surely were agonizing screams, yet no sound was forthcoming. The horror of the moment was magnified by the absolute silence. The witches had bespelled the poor man so that his cries remained unheard. Jacob counted the Thakathi again: six. Somehow he'd thought there would only be the three he'd encountered before. His father had warned him that would be unlikely.

    The distinctive loud but low-pitched call of the great horned owl echoed through the clearing. Jacob looked up, grateful to have Matthew with him on this mission. The owl called out again, alerting the Eshu that he was about to strike, but the witches did