I don’t understand these people at all; I have no idea what to do anymore.

Todd was offered a ritual that would help unlock his full potential. By pairing his soul with another, he could offload some of the stress of magic use. The only person who could handle the added stress on the other end was Uncle Deimos. Todd said sure. Then they were teleported deep into the Everglades at sunset. There they had a lovely picnic eating Manatee meat and green corn while others offered store-bought fish to the bears that were attracted to the campsite. That was when Todd lost track.

Now, he sat in a grave on a tree island, surrounded by water and sawgrass that disappeared into the darkness, alongside many members of the group he was kidnapped into. The needle-like bushed-up leaves of bald cypress trees shadowed over the dying moon that would soon be replaced. He was told that was an old way to describe changes in the moon.

The men, including him, were wrapped in deer loincloths while the women wore moss skirts. Both genders had seashell necklaces as the only thing on their upper bodies. Braziers held bowls of burning plants that filled the air with light, warmth, and an intoxicating smoke.

Todd was scratched on his arm by stingray spines and drank the black drink Cassina to purge his body of impurities as it bled, then had corn milk rubbed on the wounds.

Set around Todd in his grave were human skulls as a simulacrum of a charnel pit. Where the bones came from, Todd did not ask.

All of this was to prepare his body for a fake death to trick the Cormorants who would bring his soul to the afterlife.

“Hey there’s no chance of this failing, right? I’m not going to get put into a coma if anything goes wrong in Alligator heaven, right?”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” said Angel, “Everyone is nervous their first time with Uncle Deimos. All you have to do is lay back, relax, and let him take the lead.”

“Yeah, he seems rough but he’s very gentle,” added Auntie Chen.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Did I misunderstand what this ritual was about?

“Don’t worry, I’m going to kill both of those idiots once this is over,” said the Uncle from the next grave over, “but they are right. Your trust in me is the most important component, which is why I was concerned that you wanted to do this so soon.”

“Well… sooner is better than later right?” said Todd. Uncle just let out a sigh. Was that the wrong answer?

“We’ll deal with it soon enough.”

Hopefully, it would be soon, because it was pretty chilly and cramped being near-naked in a grave full of skulls. Then there was the bloodletting that left him panged and dizzy. Little Birdie, the psychic messenger of the gang, was supposed to be tricking the Cormorants so all they could do now was wait on him. Todd took their advice and closed his eyes to relax as he awaited the bungee drop into the afterlife.

The people above ground started singing, though Todd did not understand what Katy Perry had to do with the ritual. The birds probably can’t tell the difference but it was another thing that seemed out of place. Todd didn’t understand what blackjack had to do with the ritual either, but apparently, gambling was as sacred as any god or spirit and was an integral aspect of making the ceremony authentic enough to fool the Cormorants.

They said the same thing about smoking the ganja. Actually, those braziers might really be weed. At least they're not vaping thought Todd.

“Hey, are you Native American?” asked Todd on impulse, opening his eyes, ”I mean I just didn’t really see it.”

“It is a distant relation. The only thing that remains of the tribe whose mask we wear is their knowledge. Even that was taught to them by the tall and slender Visitors that this ceremony was made in remembrance of.”

“...Aliens?”

“Yes. Now be quiet.”

Todd closed his eyes to the waking world. Just in time, he could feel the wet flap of webbed feet that landed on his waist, made their way up his abdomen, and stopped on his chest. He could feel its breath on his neck as it opened its beak and came down to hook its bill around his nape.

As it tugged back up, though it made only a shallow cut, Todd felt like his skeleton was pulled out of his skin. It was not a painful sensation, however, more like a weight he never realized he carried was finally lifted from him. He did not know if the bird or whatever else was happening was ‘real’ and he dare not open his eyes to find out.

The chill wind of the night was replaced with a cool breeze and the hard dirt and bones melted into a bed of water that flowed to the comfort of his body. The intoxicating smoke of burning plants was overtaken by a moist sweetness.