The Santeria Stone

He then lifted the cover of the large, old book and began to quickly turn the pages. He was looking for a particular entry, one that he had read before. The last time he had read it, it had seemed a fairy tale, the stuff of legends, anything but truth. Now he was not so sure. He had to read it again. To read the words with the additional knowledge he had gained over the past three days.

He carefully turned the page and paused, staring at the words on the page before him, a sense of foreboding filled him as he began to read. 

The Story of Our Most Honorable Brothers Jose De Pama & Tomas Cabreta

As Recorded By Brother Antonio Fabré y Almerás

In the Presence of His Majesty the King of Spain, Ferdinand VI

On this Seventh Day of April in the Year of Our Lord, 1749

Two Christian Brothers to save the West

To sea, leaving Mother Spain behind

A pilgrimage, a test, a penance

To the heathen, they would go

The Word of the Lord to spread

A long journey across the sea

Oh, the trials they faced

The tribulations they endured

A foothold for Christendom they sought

All in the Name of the Lord Almighty

They found savages

They found Sodom and Gomorrah

Drink and sins of the flesh abound

A Godless people, Heathens and Spaniards alike

Death, Destruction, Despair

On the shores of Hispaniola

They opened their hearts and souls

Only to be spit upon, beaten and robbed

At night they prayed

By day the preached

Souls were saved

A church was built

A congregation at last

Praise be to God, His Will be Done

On the evil isle of Hispaniola

The darkness crept in

Santeria

The Evil

The Brothers and the Word of God

Together they would stand and face the Devil

They faced the heathens

Oh, sinners repent

For the Lord our God despises your evil ways

Repent, join us, cast out the evil demons

You are sinners, you will die in Hell

Yatibwah, the evil Lord

The leader of the Santeria throngs

Angered now was he

As he watched his disciples leave his grasp

And call upon the evil One he did

Into the church he stormed

The parish trembled and wept

Out, Leave Now oh demon

This was the shout from the pulpit

Yatibwah, the evil Lord stood firm

From under his robes, he pulled a Cock

In his hand he held a knife

The Cock struggle to be free

But died as quickly as the knife could move

Blood covered people and place

Kifo na wewe

A tauni utakuwa

Kifo yenuatakaye

Giza moshi na nyekundu jiwe

Makaburi yetu kuwa milele bure

These words he chanted

Three times over

The people fled

The people screamed

Terror filled their hearts

Tomas and Jose were resolute

They knelt and prayed

Fearless in the face of evil

Their Lord Protector on their side

The church now silent as the night

Tomas would find a dark red stone

Upon his pillow, its genesis unknown

Through the night he wove a cradle

That held the stone around his neck

Where it would stay unto his death

Terror would fill the town at night

Dark smoke and death

Blood and tears

The Evil had returned

A vengeance to fulfill

Jose soon found an empty bed

As the Evil spread, Tomas was gone

Yet by morning's light Tomas returned

This he found every night

Never once did the terror show itself to Tomas

Jose did weep such tears of sorrow

Demon possessed was his friend it seemed

An exorcism was begun

To cast out the demons that lived within

Alas poor Tomas, Alas the suffering

He writhed and screamed upon the bed

Drops of holy water upon his head

Prayers and chants

And readings aloud

Would force the demons from his soul

The demons gone

The body broken

The life of Tomas was no more

Jose had won, and yet had lost

Then he saw the dark red stone

Unlike Tomas he saw its evil

Hidden in a darkened drawer

He could feel its evil pull

Spain must help this tortured soul

The Knights Templar would be sent

They arrived and hid the stone

Few know where it lies

It never left the Brother's church

In a place where evil cannot abide

There it must remain for all eternity