Chapter Twenty-Nine
“You met the Itakupe?” Teharon asked in a shocked, hushed tone—almost reverent.
The rest of the Squad had shown up, and while I was giving them a report on what they'd missed, Re returned from tracing Austin home. Mention of the owls had shifted the conversation slightly.
“I wouldn't saymeet.” I rolled my eyes “The mere fact that I didn't know they're called the Itakupe prove that.”
“Who are the Itakupe?” Torrent asked. “I can't find anything about them online, just some Brazilian graffiti.”
“Itakupe is a Hidatsa Indian word for owls,” Teharon explained. “But they're not Hidatsa, not exactly.”
“They're not of any tribe,” Mrs. E took over. “The Itakupe are ofalltribes. They are a combination of beliefs—a part of all Native American Pantheons and yet bound to none.”
“Nice trick,” Thor noted.
“Some tribes believe owls to be death omens,” Mr. T said solemnly, his obsidian eyes glittering. “Some think they're the spirits of the dead. But other tribes consider them to be protectors and bearers of ancient knowledge. Shamans petition the Itakupe for help achieving mystical wisdom.”
“They're also believed to be healers,” Teharon added. “That is how I know of them—by myths of their great ability to heal.”
“They are all of those things,” Mrs. E said. “Death, protection, wisdom, and healing. They are elusive, even to other gods, but when they decide to reveal themselves, it is indeed a bad omen.”
“Why? They seemed okay.” I shrugged.
“Because the Itakupe only emerge when the need is great,” Teharon declared. “The saying goes that if the Itakupe fly above, evil crawls below.”
“Buttheyaren't evil?” I asked, just to be sure.
“They are as honorable as gods can be,” Mr. T vowed. “You will find no fault in them.”
“Can you contact them?” I asked him.
Mr. T made a face and shifted his stare toward Teharon. The two men grimaced at each other, looking very alike. But I suppose that comes with being related. Teharon is Tsohanoai's grandson.
“I'll take that as a no,” I muttered.
“All right, let's forget about the Itakupe for now. So far, they've been helpful so we don't need to concern ourselves with them yet,” Thor pointed out. “Torrent, did you find any snake gods?”
“Oh, yes!” Torrent leaned forward in his seat eagerly. “There are quite a few Egyptian ones.”
“They'renotEgyptian,” Re stopped him before he could go on.
“Oh.” Torrent deflated a little.
“Re got a good look at one of them,” I explained.
“Tell them about the others,” Artemis urged Torr.
“Oh, yes!” Torrent perked up again. “There are the Mahoraga. They are connected to the Buddhist and Hindu Pantheons.”
“It's not the Mahoraga,” Brahma stated firmly. “There are very few of them left and they never leave the God Realm.”
“Okay,” Torrent muttered. “There's also Damballa and Dan Wedo, both are Vodou lwas.”
“Oh, please don't let them be Vodou,” I whined.
“Neither of those gods has a family of snake-shifters,” Trevor pointed out. “And this god called the snakes his family. We're looking for a large group.”
“What else did the snake god say?” Torrent asked. “Maybe you could help me shorten the list before I go through every name.”
