Grabbing The Hot Gate - Episode 17

Stella was so sure things would work out fine when she got home. There was this tiredness that came after freedom. All one would want to do at that time was to rest, a lot; then, proceed to rejoicing for a long time. She planned on doing it, but she first needed to destroy everything that had ever tied her down to witchcraft. Her total freedom would require a lot of processes. Not only for her sake, so that everyone she would later meet would have a good life, at least something near it. No doubt, she had a lot of money with which she could easily get new things, but there was no way she could live in that haunted house anymore. Only God knew how many demons operated in that house. 
The bible said that everything about her was new. For that reason, she would start by getting Papa out of the house, burning her powerhouse and her house and never ever return to her old way of life. Then, get a new house.
She made calls to different people to inquire about available houses for sale. However, they couldn't tell her any tangible thing. Yet, she wasn't perturbed. She would surely get a new one. In the case she didn't get one early, she could live in hotels for years without ever having a need of money. As much as she would have loved to leave the money, claiming it belonged to the devil, she knew that once sanctified, it had become one that was of God.
Not taking anything, she carried Jigg's cage, opened it, swept away the raven within, and locked the cage again

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/grabbing-the-hot-gate

. Whenever they left the house, she would pray to God to rid her and her pet of any demons that might have infested them. She dropped the cage on the center table, and hurried to her father's room to wake him. She wondered what was wrong with him with the way he kept sleeping even though she repeatedly woke him since he wasn't a deep sleeper. She dragged him out to her car. Of her numerous cars, she would leave with her Camry. As she dragged him to the car, she felt compelled to use some incantation to wake him, but she refused blatantly. The urge would definitely increase, but she must learn how to start relying on God for her needs. 
Returning to the main building, she kept singing gleefully as she boogied into the store to carry one more cylinder of gas. She packed some of her clothes, and made sure she was ready to face whatever would come out of this new experience.
Then, she opened the gas cylinder in the kitchen. As she did so, she didn't feel any remorse or regret; instead, she felt peace and free. One can never know the true meaning of freedom if such person had never been in bondage. She crumbled to her chair and cried as the memory of the wasted years flooded back. God was kind enough to give her the freedom she had so much desired. Right now, she was so happy. 'Thank you lord. You're my salvation. Thank you for my freedom. Devil you're a liar. I have found a glorious light. Wow'.
 Heetah was no longer causing her to have pain for saying the truth. She was finally getting blessed. With this same ecstasy, she rolled the gas cylinder to her power room. She didn't need the bloodshed anymore; she didn't need Heetah to survive. Although she had lived over nine centuries with him as her guide, she was sure God would help her. The holy spirit had been guiding people before now.
Upon waltzing into the dungeon, she was surprised to see a big pentagram operational at the center of the room. She saw the smoke and hoped she was wrong about what she was seeing. A demon, probably the same size as Heetah swayed within the pentagram. From the look of things, Gladys was elated to have pulled a feat none of her contemporary- rather, a thing a two-week-old witch shouldn't be able to do. Stella was dumbfounded, and had to close her mouth as the smoke began to choke her. The can of gas rolled out of her hands to the ground, rattling the unbalanced silence in the room. She hurriedly stopped it before it even went near the candles in the room.
'Gladys what are you doing?'
'I finally found human blood'.
'But, I told you to wait'. 
'I did wait but waiting can be killing'.
'Gladys I found Christ. You have to go back to Christ. There's freedom there'.
Gladys gawked at her like a wolf who had recently torn a prey apart. Blood dripped from her hands, and was splattered everywhere in the room. Her face was smeared with blood in a hideous way. Despite the fact that Stella had witnessed a lot of blood bath, she was surprised at the propensity of Gladys, a greenhorn, a serious Christian, who was deceived into being a witch, to carry such terrible act of decapitating the gentle man on the ground. Stella always made sure she cleaned out the rotten smell and the murkiness that came with demons. 
'Stop staining the floor...' Stella shook her head and beckoned to Gladys to move towards her, away from the enticing power of the demon in the pentagram. 'Come nearer'.
'You see? You can't be a Christian. You made me a witch. I didn't want it. You made me a witch'.
Stella ran excitedly to her. 'Don't you see. We can undo it. In Christ, there's liberty. God knew we would sin someday again and that was why he gave us Jesus. Our future sins are forgiven. Meaning we can come back to confess his forgiveness'.
 'You were the devil's wife. You have the power. You were the eyes of Fortune City's Black Town. But you're becoming as blurry as glasses on the face of a 100-year-old grandma. I'll rip you out. I want your power'.
Gladys moved nearer and Stella shifted back. 'I'm not letting you be a Christian'.
She conjured a small demon and directed them towards Stella. Stella stared at her and conjured a bigger demon, which immediately tormented Gladys. No matter who this girl thought she was, she met her in this business. Her strength would never be compared to her in the world of the spirit. She was a giant, while Gladys was a molecule.
'So you think you this cankerworm can take me. I'll crush you. You can't suck out my power'.
Suddenly, Heetah popped out and laugh uncontrollably. She stared at it and released her hold on Gladys, who was now crying in pain like a baby. Stella felt the power surge through her again. It felt good.
'Yea. It felt good. You're not a Christian. You're still under the influence of my power', Heetah roared.
 She cringed backward. That was so true. She had just fought Gladys with the authority of the devil. How was that even possible? The power in her ought to have stopped. Then, it occurred to her that the devil's power was more of conjuring and she was definitely good at that. What she just did was a minor conjuring? She scrubbed her hands as if she had dipped it into a bowl of acid.
Gladys, weak and writhing in pain, rose and joined Heetah in laughter.
'I detest you. You're bunch of fools. I'm a Christian', Stella cried as she scampered out of the room. Gladys and Heetah rushed after her. She carried her bag and ran out of the house. She was definitely knowing no peace if she stayed near the house, and that was why she should have sent it into its burning phase. She should have incinerated the house, happily watch it dance in ashes and see the evil that surrounded it fizzle out like the light they wanted her to quench. The house was a demon on its own. Anybody that bought it would have years of fighting demons. She ran off the house and looked back. She shouldn't have left Gladys in the house, the demons would suck out any chance of being good that was in her. But there was nothing she could do at that time than to run away from the house, and she couldn't possibly kill Gladys all in the name of burning the bridges.
'Are you not forgetting something?' Gladys shouted from the top of the balcony. Stella glanced up to see her parrot, dangling from Gladys' hand. It squeaked and made all the terrible noises it could, wriggling. 
'Don't. Gladys, don't do this?'
'What are you talking about. This is what happens to neglected students. They do crazy things'.
'I'm not neglecting Don't Oh God. No Jiggs', she screamed and crumbled to the floor. Gladys wriggled the neck of her parrot and allowed its corpse crash on the tiles. 
'God does know how to punish people', Stella yelled in tears.
'He would start with the elder witch. Heetah too had a message from Lord Lucifer'.
Heetah growled and, with a click of its fingers, set the car on fire. Her father laid inside, still sleeping as he burnt to death.

Read " The Thorny Path to Europe " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. She cried and edged towards the burning car, and screamed 'Jesus' repeatedly. Now, at this time, she was compelled to try to conjure magic.
'Come on, try it', Heetah shrieked as he repeatedly disappeared and reappeared at her side. His stench overpowered her for those short period of his being near her.
'Do it. Come on'.
She panted heavily. If she conjured another magic, she would give the devil the doorway to her again. She cried as she grabbed her bag from the floor, and ran out, weeping. She had lost two of the things she loved. 
'If you don't come back, I swear I will tell the church', Gladys screamed after her.

Stella knew she was in a deep trouble. The first point of call should be Japheth. She tutored him. He had to understand her before he heard about her from others. 
'Japheth where are you?'
'Home'.
'Okay. I'm coming'.