THE FARM

CHAPTER ONE: THE FARM

 

I GREW UP ON FELISTER'S FARM, THAT SICK BASTARD SADIST WHO COULD DO NOTHING BUT CASTRATE PIGS. AND THEY PAID HIM TOO WELL TO CASTRATE THEM. IMAGINE THE LITTLE PINK ANIMALS AND THE PERVERTED FELISTER WHO LONGED TO TAKE AWAY THE LITTLE DANGLING PINK LEATHER BALLS HANGING BETWEEN THEIR HOOVES. HE ALSO HAD TO DEAL WITH SOME SPECIFIC PROBLEMS LIKE SORES OR INGUINAL HERNIAS, AND THAT GENERALLY REQUIRED A CERTAIN MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. AND HIS FAVORITE TIME TO PERFORM THIS SERIOUS MANIPULATION WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING.

HOW HE JUST ENJOYED THEIR SCREAMS. IT'S STRANGE WHEN YOU HAVE TO LIVE IN SUCH A REALITY.

LITTLE BY LITTLE YOU LEARN TO BE ANOTHER PERSON! AND YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND WHY THEY CONSIDER PIGS YOUR BROTHERS!

FELISTER, WHO RAISED AND FED THEM, CAREFULLY OBSERVED THEIR BEHAVIOR AND THE MANIFESTATIONS OF CERTAIN ACTIONS, AS HE CALLED THEM - LEFT TO THEIR OWN DEVICES, THEIR LEADERSHIP HIERARCHY WAS SIMPLE AND OBVIOUS, BUT IN CONFINED SPACES THINGS CHANGED - THE STRONGER ONES DOMINATED THE WEAKER ONES AND CONSEQUENTLY RECEIVED MORE BENEFITS SUCH AS FOOD AND TREATMENT. IN BETWEEN, BY THE WAY, I NOW REMEMBER THAT FEW COULD APPRECIATE THE PIG'S NATURE WITH DIGNITY. PIGS WERE INDIVIDUALS AND EACH DEALT WITH THEIR PROBLEMS IN THEIR OWN WAY. THE PIG WAS OMNIVOROUS, IT COULD HIDE IN ITS CAMOUFLAGE OF SLIME, WAITING FOR AN OPPORTUNE MOMENT TO POP OUT OF ITS HIDING PLACE AND GO ON THE ATTACK. IT WAS UNDOUBTEDLY A STRATEGIST - OR RATHER A TACTICIAN - AND OCCUPIED THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN OR THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID IN LIFE - OR SO IT THOUGHT. MOST WARS IN HUMAN HISTORY HAVE BEEN FOUGHT BY PIGS, MOST EMPIRES HAVE BEEN RULED BY PIGS, AND SOMETIMES PIGS HAVE BEEN NOMENCLATURES - PIG BUSINESS IN GENERAL. ONLY THE WORLD AND LIFE WERE CHANGING AND MOVING ON UNSTOPPABLY, AND THE ILLUSION OF A BLUE SPRING CREATED BY EMPTY PROMISES OF DROWNING MEN COULD NOT COMPENSATE FOR THE HARSH REALITY! THIS SYSTEM WAS SIMPLY DOOMED TO PERISH!

FELISTER WAS A VERY PECULIAR SORT OF MAN - GLOOMY AND SUBDUED! SO LOATHSOME, YET BEWITCHING! AS IF HE COULD ONLY EXIST IN THIS DIM REALITY WHICH HE CONTROLLED WITH A SKILFUL HAND!

THE PROCEDURE OF CASTRATING THE PIGS WAS SOMEWHAT TEDIOUS, BUT FELISTER DID HIS WORK WITH DUE CARE AND DILIGENCE-THERE WERE SO MANY ANIMALS TO BE SERVED BY HIS EXPERIENCED HAND HOLDING THE CASTRATION APPARATUS. PIG-KEEPING ITSELF WAS AN EXCELLENT AND LUCRATIVE BUSINESS!

I DID NOT THINK I SHOULD EVER HAVE COME HERE-THIS PLACE HAD STRANGE TRADITIONS, AND MANY OF THE MOST INTELLIGENT PEOPLE HAD DECLARED TO CLOSE IT FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. BUT WHAT TO DO? THE MORE TIME I SPENT HERE I BECAME CONVINCED THAT SOMETHING SEEMED TO BE WRONG... THE DAYS PASSED TOO MONOTONOUSLY AND THERE WAS ENOUGH WORK TO GET CAUGHT UP IN TRYING TO ESCAPE REALITY!

FELISTER WAS NO EGOTIST, AND WOULD OCCASIONALLY FILL US IN ON SOME OF THE INTRICACIES OF HIS CRAFT - AND THEY WERE NOT FEW.

ONE CHANGES WITH TIME. AND LOOKING AT THE POOR ANIMALS I BECAME MORE AND MORE CONVINCED THAT THIS WAS MY REFUGE FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

IN A VERY STRANGE WAY I HAD ENDED UP HERE, AND NOW I WAS CLEARLY AWARE THAT SOONER OR LATER I WOULD HAVE TO GET OUT - THE QUESTION WAS EXACTLY HOW I WAS GOING TO DO IT.

BUT FELISTER SHOWED ABSOLUTELY NO PREJUDICE AS TO HIS OCCUPATIONS - AND HE HARDLY CARED MUCH AS LONG AS HE GOT HIS MONEY'S WORTH FOR HIS NOT VERY DIFFICULT WORK.

ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE CAME AND WENT, BUT THE WORK WAS THE SAME - MONOTONOUS AND FULL OF A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TENSION.

FELISTER EMBANKS REALISED THAT HE WAS UNLIKELY TO DO THE SAME THING ALL HIS LIFE, BUT AS THEY USED TO SAY AT MY END, HE PRETENDED NOT TO CARE.

PLUS, IN THIS CRISIS AND WITH THE HUGE UNEMPLOYMENT, HE HAD TO BE HAPPY IN THIS JOB TOO.

I MIGHT HAVE MENTIONED THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TOO MANY FRIENDS WHEN I WAS GROWING UP.

I GREW UP IN THE POOR SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF A LARGE METROPOLIS IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI ABOUT THIRTY-FIVE OR FORTY MILES FROM FELISTER'S FARM.

WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I HAD STRANGE VISIONS, AND AFTER A WHILE THE EVENTS OF MY LIFE BEGAN TO OCCUR IN A STRANGE SEQUENCE THAT WAS GENERALLY COMPLETELY DEVOID OF ANY REAL LOGIC. OVER TIME, THINGS ROUGHLY SPEAKING GOT COMPLETELY OUT OF HAND AND I REALIZED THAT WORKING AS A CASTRATOR WAS MY ONLY SEEMING OUTLET TO DEAL WITH MY INNER DEMONS. HOWEVER, THE MORE TIME I SPENT IN THE STRANGE ATMOSPHERE, I REALIZED THAT MY PATH WAS DOWN RATHER THAN UP.

I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT MY CHILDHOOD BECAUSE IT WAS FILLED WITH STRANGE EXPERIENCES AND A LACK OF TRUE FRIENDS. I WOULD SAY THAT IN MY PERSON FELISTER HAD FOUND THE IDEAL HELPER - SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT BAD FOR HIM AT ALL. ALL THAT WAS REQUIRED OF ME WAS TO KEEP QUIET AND MIND MY OWN BUSINESS. AND THAT.

THE STATE OF MISSOURI IN THE SEVENTIES WAS A SPECIAL PLACE. THE BIG CITIES WERE KANSAS CITY AND SPRINGFIELD. EACH OFFERING GOOD CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. I DIDN'T CARE, THOUGH, BECAUSE I KNEW THAT'S WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING - CASTRATING PIGS!

LITTLE BY LITTLE, FELISTER'S CONFIDENCE IN ME GREW AND HE ENTRUSTED ME WITH SOME AUTHORITY WITHIN THE FARM. THEN MY STORY BEGAN, AND I WITNESSED THINGS BEYOND MY WILDEST IMAGINATION. BUT MORE ON THAT LATER.

YOU HAVE ALL HEARD OF THE SO-CALLED MIDWESTERN STATES AND THE FACT THAT THESE TERRITORIES ARE COVERED WITH GRASSY PLAINS THAT STRETCH ALONG FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES. IT WAS A TRULY MAGICAL PLACE THAT I WON'T HAVE TIME TO TELL YOU ABOUT. I ALSO REALIZE THAT MY NARRATIVE DIGRESSES A BIT.

HOW MANY TIMES HAD I NOT COME TO MY SENSES AND TRIED TO THROW IT ALL AWAY.

THE BRUTAL ABUSE OF ANIMALS PUT ME IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE - THAT OF THE LONELY AND CONFUSED SOCIOPATH WHO WAS UNABLE TO THRIVE IN A NORMAL HUMAN ENVIRONMENT.

FELISTER OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T CARE MUCH AND HADN'T SET MANY RULES FOR ME TO STAY ON THE FARM AND GET A BOWL OF HOT SOUP AND A PIECE OF BREAD. IT WAS ONLY WELCOME AND I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HIS KINDNESS WISELY.

OVER TIME, PERCEPTIONS OF THE SURROUNDING REALITY BECOME A BIT TEDIOUS, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU REALIZE WHAT WAS ACTUALLY GOING ON - THERE WERE SO FEW PEOPLE WHO REALLY LOOKED DEEPLY INTO ITS AMBIGUOUS AND DECEPTIVE NATURE, AND THAT WAS SORELY NEEDED.

FELISTER WAS ALSO A DARK AND ANTISOCIAL TYPE WHO GAVE HER WHOLE HEART TO FORGET EXTERNAL REALITY AND TRY TO FIND A SOLUTION FOR HER CONFUSED AND STRANGE LIFE. BUT HERE HE SEEMED TO BE COMPLETELY IN HIS PLACE AND HAD NO DESIRE TO CHANGE AT ALL!

THESE PIGS WERE A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS FOR SOMEONE OF HIS LINEAGE AND ABILITY, SO HE HAD NO INTENTION OF ABANDONING IT AND LOOKING ELSEWHERE FOR A LIVING.

THE CASTRATION OF THE PIG WAS A LABORIOUS OPERATION THAT SOUGHT TO PREVENT THE UNPLEASANT ODOR OF THE MEAT. WHAT'S MORE, CASTRATED PIGS NEEDED LESS FEED, WHICH WAS A REAL BONUS FOR FARMERS WHO WERE GENERALLY LOOKING TO CUT THEIR COSTS - ESPECIALLY ON THE CRUEL ECONOMIC CRISIS.

FELISTER WAS NO MODERNIST, SO HE USED WHAT HE CALLED A FIXATOR CRATE TO HANDLE THE ANIMALS AND MAKE THE HANDLING COMPLETELY SEAMLESS.

THE VOLUNTEERS WHO WORKED FOR FELISTER WERE MADE OF STAKE AND ROPE, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS THAT THEY COULD REALLY HOLD THEIR TONGUES. AS HARD AS IT WAS TO ACCEPT, THIS PLACE EXISTED BY ITS OWN LAWS THAT HAD TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR.

AN ANCIENT LATIN MAXIM WAS "IN THE WINE IS THE TRUTH!" BUT FELISTER NEVER LICKED A DROP, AND THAT WAS QUITE TELLING.

WHEN SOMEONE ASKED HIM WHAT HE DID FOR A LIVING, THE ANSWER ON HIS PART WAS RATHER EVASIVE, AND HE DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY, FOR PIGS WERE A COMMODITY OF SOMEWHAT OBSCURE ORIGIN.

THE TRUTH WAS, UNDER COVER OF NIGHT, THE CASTRATED HOGS WERE BEING STUFFED WITH ENOUGH DRUGS TO GET ACROSS THE MEXICAN BORDER, AND FELISTER'S FARM WAS JUST ONE OF MANY DISTRIBUTION POINTS. NO ONE WAS GOING TO TEST LIVE ANIMALS FOR SUCH SUBSTANCES OR EVEN RAISE THE ISSUE WITH STATE AUTHORITIES, BUT FELISTER'S CONSCIENCE WAS SUCH A STRETCH. HE WASN'T DOING THIS FOR THE MONEY, BUT FOR THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THIS WAS THE ONLY PLACE HE COULD EXIST AND BE HIMSELF.

WHEN HE CONTACTED THE MOST POWERFUL DRUG CARTELS, THEY REALIZED THEY COULD TRUST HIM, AND HE PURCHASED NUMEROUS FARMS THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE STATES WHERE DRUGS WERE SEPARATED FROM THE BLOOD OF ANIMALS IN SPECIAL LABORATORIES. WHAT WAS MORE INTERESTING, THOUGH, WAS THAT SOMEWHERE IN THERE, FELISTER'S INNER MOTIVATION WAS CLEARLY VISIBLE. THIS WAS OF COURSE A CUMBERSOME AND EXPENSIVE PROCESS. BUT HE WAS WILLING TO TAKE THE MOST ACTIVE PART AND TO POINT OUT TO HIS CUSTOMERS THAT HE WAS THEIR TRUE SUPPLIER.

FELISTER'S DREAM WAS DRIVEN BY SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY. HE WAS ALL ALONE IN THIS WORLD, AND HE WAS CLEARLY AWARE THAT HE HAD NO ONE TO SUFFER FOR, OR, TO PUT IT BLUNTLY, TO MISS. THE FRIENDSHIPS HE HAD MADE WERE IN THE PAST-COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY AND DISOWNED.

EVEN ONCE THE FELISTER HIMSELF REMEMBERED SOMETHING STRANGE. OF HIS YOUTH, WHICH HAD BEEN FULL OF A KIND OF ROMANCE.

A VERSE ABOUT FRIENDSHIP SPRANG INTO HIS MIND, WHICH READ AS FOLLOWS:

''FRIENDS GOOD

LIKE BRIGHT STARS,

THERE ALL IS SEEN,

BUT ALAS THAT IS THE END!''

FELISTER WANTED TO BE GOOD, BUT HE WAS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS-HIS GRIEF WAS SO INTENSE THAT HE HAD NO EQUAL. NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY SWORE ALLEGIANCE, HIS MEN WERE JUST MERCENARIES WHO WOULD MOST LIKELY GO TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO OFFERED THEM MORE AND MORE FAVORABLE TERMS. AND THAT WAS ACCEPTABLE - EVEN IN FELISTER'S EYES. AFTER ALL, THE WORLD WAS ONE HELL OF A WHEEL, AND SOME FELL OFF IT SOONER AND OTHERS LATER.

WHEN I, ELIZANDER BARNAYNE, SAW CLEARLY THE PROSPECTS BEFORE ME, IT BECAME CLEAR THAT FELISTER HAD HAD A PROFOUND PLAN FROM THE BEGINNING AND HAD FOLLOWED IT STEADFASTLY. BUT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DIDN'T ACCEPT IT AND DIDN'T REALIZE HOW WRONG THEY WERE.

FELISTER DIDN'T BELIEVE IN SALVATION IN THE AFTERLIFE, OR IN ANY SIMPLE STUFF ABOUT VAMPIRES OR WEREWOLVES. HE KNEW THAT THE ESSENTIAL PROPERTY OF LIFE WAS ITS INEVITABLE AND ETERNAL CHANGE, FULL OF AN INFINITE RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES, WHICH, HOWEVER, DID NOT SEEM SO LIMITLESS UPON CLOSER INSPECTION.

THE WAVES OF LIFE HAD TAKEN HIM OVER AND BATTERED HIM MERCILESSLY, AND HE HAD GROWN DESPERATE FROM SO MANY SETBACKS. IT WAS HARD AND NOT SO REALISTIC TO THINK THAT FELISTER WOULD HAVE A HAPPY ENDING.

THE MEXICAN CARTELS WANTED THE GOODS TO BE TRANSPORTED BY MEANS OF FELISTER'S PROPERLY CASTRATED PIGS, AND THIS WAS DONE ON THE BASIS OF BARTER DEALS BETWEEN DUMMY COMPANIES AND THEN SO-CALLED RE-EXPORTS.

FELISTER WAS A CRANKY AND SICK BASTARD WHO UNDERSTOOD ENOUGH ABOUT BUSINESS AND FINANCE TO DO THE MATH ON THE DRUG CARTELS' MAJOR POSITIONS.

THE U.S. DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY WAS BREATHING DOWN HIS NECK, BUT UNLIKE MANY OTHERS, HE INTENDED TO GET OUT OF THIS BUSINESS COMPLETELY CLEAN, SIMPLY BECAUSE HE STOOD FOR THE LIVING - NO ONE HAD EVER CONSIDERED HIM HUMAN, OR EVEN HIS EQUAL. THE AMERICAN AGENCY WAS A SUPER-STRUCTURE THAT HAD TENTACLES EVERYWHERE AND EMPLOYED THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AND WAS ONE OF THE BEST INSURED AND PROVIDED FOR IN EVERY RESPECT.

FELISTER HAD ONE THOUGHT - WHEN HE STOPPED WITH THIS BUSINESS, TO LIVE AND SEE THE WORLD. CASTRATING PIGS HAD TAKEN AWAY ALL CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD. THE INITIATION OF THE SOUL WAS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE, AND SO FELISTER PRACTICED ESOTERIC ARTS THAT COULD OPEN THE DOORS OF THE UNSEEN WORLD TO HIM, BUT WAS THIS THE RIGHT WAY FOR HIM TO PENETRATE THIS FORBIDDEN PLACE?

FELISTER WAS CONSULTED BY A VARIETY OF SUPERNATURAL CREATURES , WHO HELPED HIM SOLVE HIS OWN PROBLEMS, AND HE WAS THEIR LINK TO THIS WORLD! HE COULD TRAVEL BETWEEN WORLDS TOO! OF COURSE IT WAS A RATHER EXHAUSTING OCCUPATION, AND FOR THAT VERY REASON, AND THE FACT THAT HE WAS DEALING WITH SOME OF THE MOST BRUTAL THUGS AND REPEAT OFFENDERS, HE WAS ALWAYS GRIM - WITH THAT PARTICULAR NOTE OF EXTREMELY CLEVERLY DISGUISED TREACHERY AND BRUTALITY THAT COULD BE THE ONLY DRIVING FORCE FOR A PLACE LIKE THIS. AND FRANKLY EVERYTHING WAS GOING GREAT FOR A WHILE AT LEAST!

ONCE THE GREEDY AND BRUTAL FELISTER ASKED ME:

- ELIZANDER, YOU'VE BEEN WORKING THE LONGEST OF ANYONE HERE. WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES YOU TO GO ON AND ACHIEVE YOUR DREAM? I NOTICE YOU ARE TOO LOYAL AND CONSCIENTIOUS, BUT THIS JOB STINKS, DAMN IT! EVEN THE LOWLIEST BASTARDS FROM TEXAS DON'T WANT TO DO IT AND SOMETIMES I HAVE A REAL PROBLEM FINDING PEOPLE. SOON THE RULES OF THE GAME WILL CHANGE AND THEN WE WILL BE OUT OF A JOB AND HONESTLY I DON'T WANT TO LECTURE YOU BUT IF YOU LOOK AROUND OUR STATE IS NOT THE MOST PROMISING. WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

HIS QUESTION WAS NOT AT ALL UNREASONABLE. MOST OF THE PEOPLE ON FELISTER HAD NO EDUCATION AND WISHED TO STAY HERE AS LONG AS POSSIBLE - HIDDEN FROM SOCIETY AND ITS PREJUDICES. ONE PARTICULARLY FRACTIOUS EXAMPLE WAS AN EX-CONVICT FROM A FEDERAL PRISON IN CALIFORNIA WHO PREFERRED HIDING HERE, ILLEGALLY EMPLOYED, TO SERVING HIS LIFE SENTENCE.

- FEW CAN DO THIS JOB LIKE YOU, ELIZANDER - FELISTER WAS CLEARLY TRYING TO POUR HIS SOUL OUT, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND LET'S BE REALISTIC. - THE MORE WE TRY TO ESCAPE OURSELVES, THE MORE WE GET STUCK IN OUR OWN SHIT. HELL IS AN EMOTIONAL STATE OF THE SOUL AND YOU KNOW IT NO WORSE THAN I DO! AND THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE MAJOR DRUG CARTELS IS GETTING FIERCER AND SOON WE WILL BE THE TARGET. FOR NOW WE ARE LEFT TO EXIST PEACEFULLY AND WITHOUT MUCH PREJUDICE, BUT WHO KNOWS?

- LOOK, FELISTER, I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO KEEP YOUR SOUL PURE, AND IT ALL COMES AT A PRICE. WE MAKE A LOT OF MONEY, BUT NOT SO MUCH THAT WE FORGET WHAT WE'RE DOING. AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS EXTREMELY WRONG AND DANGEROUS! AND SOON THE AUTHORITIES AND GONNA START SNIFFING AT ALMOST ALL THE FARMS WE USE FOR COVER, BUT I'LL STILL STICK WITH YOU TO THE END, BUDDY! AFTER ALL, EVERYONE HAS TO PAY THEIR DEBTS IN LIFE, RIGHT?

IF THERE WAS ANYONE WHO WOULD HAVE LOOKED OUT FOR ME ALL THIS TIME, IT WAS THE CRAZY BREEDER.

- "WHY?," THE FELISTER LOOKED AT ME IN AMAZEMENT, 'ISN'T THE FACT THAT YOU COULD TAKE A BULLET IN THE HEAD REPEATEDLY FROM THE REST OF YOUR COLLEAGUES ENOUGH FOR YOU? AND ARE YOU AT ALL AWARE THAT EVEN PRISONERS WITH THREE LIFE SENTENCES WORK FOR US NOW - THEY ALL KNOW THAT EVERY DAY COULD BE THEIR LAST, BUT THEY DO IT FOR THE SPORT. THAT IS THEIR DESTINY.

FELISTER TOOK OUT A CIGARETTE AND LIT IT. IT WAS A SULTRY MAY EVENING. THERE WERE SO MANY STRANGE NOISES OUTSIDE, COMING FROM THE GRASS, WHICH MIGHT EVEN HAVE BEEN HIDDEN AGENTS, OR SOME WILD ANIMAL, FOR IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON FOR SUCH TO HANG ABOUT THE FARM. BUT FELISTER DIDN'T SEEM TO CARE AT ALL. ON THE CONTRARY, HE TOLD ME UNEQUIVOCALLY:

- WHEN YOU SHOW YOUR TRUE FACE AND PEOPLE SEE IT, YOU SHOULD RUN AWAY AND NOT EXPECT THANKS! REMEMBER ONE THING - WE ARE ONLY TEMPORARY VISITORS AND NOTHING MORE! SO IF IT GETS HAIRY YOU'LL HAVE TO SAVE YOUR OWN ASS! AND FORGET THAT SHIT ABOUT LOYALTY YOU TOLD ME LAST NIGHT!

I BIT MY LIP - HE WAS RIGHT.

AFTER ONLY A FEW MONTHS WE REALLY CAME UNDER SIEGE AND BRUTAL ATTACK BY DETECTIVE JAKE DONOVAN'S MEN WHO WERE DETERMINED TO WIPE US OUT. IT WASN'T EASY OR ELEMENTARY TO DEAL WITH HIS TRAINED COPS AND BRUTAL THUGS. MANY OF MY FRIENDS WERE KILLED, AND I RAN AWAY TO SAVE MY HUMBLE HIDE AND NOT FALL SHOT LIKE A DOG. HOW ONLY DID THOSE TRAINED CREEPS SHOOT! THEIR BULLETS MADE THE FARM OF A FELISTER A SIEVE.

FELISTER FELL SOMEWHERE WHEN THE FARM WAS STORMED WITH GRENADE LAUNCHERS BY THE POLICE FORCE, WHO HAD GIVEN THEIR WORD TO WIPE OUT THESE MALIGNANT ENTITIES, AS THEY CALLED US, ONCE AND FOR ALL.

WELL, I CAN'T DENY THAT THE DETECTIVE MANAGED TO DEAL WITH US IN IMPRESSIVE FASHION.

THE MISSOURI POLICE GAVE HIM IMPRESSIVE DECORATIONS TO HIS NAME AND GOT HIM A HUGE AND LUCRATIVE PROMOTION. EVEN MR. DONOVAN HAD A MEETING WITH THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE WHERE HE WAS HINTED AT A FRUITFUL POLITICAL CAREER UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS AND ONLY IF HE LISTENED TO THE POWERFUL OF THE DAY.

DONOVAN WAS NO FOOL AND GAVE SWEETLY AND DEARLY TO BE NOTICED AND THAT IS WHY HE DEFINITELY SUCCEEDED.

THE ONLY POSITIVE THING WAS THAT THE HEADHUNTERS HAD SET HIM A LITTLE CHALLENGE, NAMELY IN GETTING OFF THE FARM A LANDMINE HAD BLOWN OFF BOTH HIS LEGS AND HE HAD TO HAVE PROSTHESES FITTED. EVEN FROM THE GRAVE FELISTER COULD REPAY HIS ENEMIES PROPERLY.

I MAY HAVE NEGLECTED TO MENTION THAT, ALONG WITH CASTRATING PIGS AND WORKING FOR THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL, FELISTER DABBLED IN MAGIC AND THE OCCULT, AND ALSO IN PURE WITCHCRAFT - HE WAS A CROTCHETY AND BRUTAL BASTARD, AS IF HE HAD STEPPED OUT OF HELL. THAT'S WHY WE LIKED EACH OTHER IN OUR LIFETIMES.

HE COULD SUMMON THROUGH DIVINATION ALL SORTS OF MONSTERS AND SPIRITS WHO GAVE HIM SUPERNATURAL PROTECTION, OR SO HE THOUGHT BEFORE HE WAS SENT TO THE OTHER WORLD.

SALVATION

CHAPTER TWO: SALVATION

 

AFTER THE DETECTIVE'S OPERATION, THE SURVIVORS WERE SENT TO A CORRECTIONAL "SESSION" IN SOME OF THE PRISONS IN THE STATES OF COLORADO AND CALIFORNIA. THE ONE WITH THE THREE LIFE SENTENCES WAS OUT OF LUCK, FOR HE FELL DEAD IN THE VERY POLICE RAID ON THE FARM.

BY SOME MIRACLE I SURVIVED AND MANAGED TO GET THROUGH THE SWAMPS BEHIND THE FELISTER HOUSE. THEY ORGANIZED A RAID TO LOOK FOR ME, BUT I CROSSED THE RIVER THAT RAN NEARBY AND THANKED MY HEART FOR THE FORESIGHT OF MY NOW DEAD EMPLOYER.

TOO LONG HAD THE UNFORTUNATE EVENTS DRAGGED ON, LEADING THE WHOLE STORY TO THIS SCENARIO. I DIDN'T WANT TO COMPLAIN BECAUSE I WAS STILL ALIVE AND WITH ALL FOUR LIMBS UNLIKE MY OTHER COLLEAGUES.

THE NIGHT I SPENT IN THE SWAMPS WAS TERRIBLE AND I HAD TO SHOW GREAT INGENUITY TO MANAGE TO KEEP MY STRENGTH AND RECOVER FOR THE NEW LIFE THAT AWAITED ME IN THE FUTURE.

FRANKLY THE OPTIONS BEFORE ME WERE NOT TOO MANY, NOR PARTICULARLY PLEASANT, AND I HAD TO TAKE EVERYTHING INTO CONSIDERATION IF I WANTED TO SURVIVE.

I HAVE HEARD THAT THOSE CAPTURED AND SENT TO STRICT PRISON CONDITIONS WERE BRUTALLY FORCED TO "WELCOME". ONE EVEN HAD HIS HEAD SMASHED IN WITH ONE OF THE CHAIR SEATS.

I HAD AVOIDED ALL OF THESE THINGS, BUT THE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT AND NOT VERY CLEAR SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF HOW TO SLIP AWAY AND ILLEGALLY CROSS THE MEXICAN BORDER WAS AHEAD. MAYBE THERE I WOULD GET SOME HELP FROM THE LOCALS, OR MAYBE NOT. I WAS SPANISH BY MOTHER, BUT BECAUSE OF POLITICS IN THE STATES I HAD ADOPTED AN ANGLO SAXON NAME, WHICH SEEMED FAR MORE PRAGMATIC.

YET WHEN THEY REGISTERED ME AFTER BIRTH ACCORDING TO MY PARENTS' STORY THEY CHOSE THAT NAME FOR ME AND OVERALL I THANK THEM FOR THAT!

FOR ALL THOSE FAMILIAR WITH THE HIGHWAY NETWORK IN THE U.S. I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE MAIN THOROUGHFARES ARE OVER A HUNDRED IN NUMBER AND GO BY THE NAME OF FEDERAL HIGHWAYS, BUT I HAD TO TAKE THE PANAMERICAN HIGHWAY WHICH STARTED FROM THE NORTHERNMOST PARTS OF CANADA AND REACHED THE SOUTHERNMOST PARTS OF SOUTH AMERICA.

IF I STUCK TO THAT ROUTE, HOWEVER, I INVARIABLY HAD TO GO THROUGH SAN ANTONIO. THIS HIGHWAY WAS THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD AND WAS OVER 48 000 KILOMETRES LONG.

THE REASON I WENT TO SAN ANTONIO IN THE STATE OF TEXAS RATHER THAN, FOR EXAMPLE, PHOENIX IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA WAS THAT THE HISTORY OF VICE WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PAST AND THE LOCALS KNEW WELL THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATIONS HAD FOCUSED MORE ON ACTIVITIES SUCH AS PROSTITUTION, GAMBLING, DRUGS AND PORNOGRAPHY RATHER THAN JUST DRUGS. IT WAS TRUE THAT THE VALLEY OF THE SUN, WHICH ENCOMPASSED THE SEVEN MILLION METROPOLIS ITSELF AND ALSO SCOTTSDALE, MESA, AND TEMPE, WAS CHARACTERIZED BY AREAS OF PARTICULARLY LOW CRIME, BUT I'D ATTRACTED TOO MUCH ATTENTION THERE. SO I DECIDED TO AVOID THOSE COMMUNITIES. AND YET CRIME IN PHOENIX WAS BOOMING DESPITE OFFICIAL STATISTICS THAT THERE HAD BEEN A DECLINE SINCE THE NINETIES. BUT THAT'S WHAT TABLOIDS WERE FOR - TO SPOUT HEADLINES AND TO BELIEVE THE TRIPE THAT FILLED THEIR PAGES, AND WITH THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA THINGS WERE DOWNRIGHT SHOCKING. THE SECOND AND NO LESS IMPORTANT REASON FOR HEADING TO THIS PARTICULAR DESTINATION WAS THE FACT THAT ONE OF THE UNOFFICIAL ROUTES THAT WERE PART OF THIS SAME HIGHWAY PASSED THROUGH SAN ANTONIO. OF COURSE, I SHOULDN'T HAVE FAILED TO MENTION THAT THE ORIGINAL HIGHWAY STARTED JUST ACROSS THE BORDER FROM SAN ANTONIO, AND THIS WAS RELEVANT TO MY ESCAPE ATTEMPT.

FIRST I HAD TO MAKE MY WAY TO THE MISSOURI STATE LINE, WHERE I COULD DEFINITELY GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE FEDERAL AUTHORITIES DUE TO MY LACK OF PAPERS, AND MY SCRUFFY APPEARANCE. I HAD AT LEAST MADE AN EFFORT TO WASH OFF THE BLOOD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND THUS DEAL WITH ANY SUSPICIONS THAT MIGHT ARISE FROM SOME UNEXPECTED CHECK BY A HIDDEN ROADSIDE POLICE POST.

IT WASN'T PARTICULARLY EASY RELIVING THE NIGHTMARES THAT FLOODED MY MIND. THERE WAS DEFINITELY TOO MUCH TO DEAL WITH. THE NIGHTMARES OF FALLING INTO A BOTTOMLESS DARK SHAFT, OR JUST SOME STRANGE AND MALEVOLENT CREATURE APPROACHING YOU IN THE DARKNESS, AND YOU TRYING TO KEEP IT AT BAY BY MEANS OF YOUR LIT BEDSIDE LAMP WERE NOTHING COMPARED TO THE ABYSS OF DESPAIR INTO WHICH I WAS PLUNGED. I HAD ONCE READ IN SPECIALIST PUBLICATIONS, SUCH AS WERE FOUND ON FELISTER'S FARM, BUT HE KEPT THEM UNDER LOCK AND KEY IN A WELL-INSULATED UNDERGROUND CLOSET, WHERE THEY WERE LOCKED IN A SPECIAL VAULT BURIED IN THE GROUND. FROM TIME TO TIME, FELISTER WOULD PULL IT OUT AND MANAGE TO ABSORB SOME OF THE NEW DEMONIC KNOWLEDGE, WITH WHICH HE WAS ABLE TO PSYCHOLOGICALLY HOLD THE OTHER ABNORMALS WHO WERE MIMICKING ACTIVITY WITHIN THE CONFINES OF HIS DOMAIN. IT WAS FROM THERE THAT I LEARNED MANY SUBTLE THINGS ABOUT THAT WORLD THAT I WOULD NOT EVEN WISH TO NAME - ONE OF THEM, HOWEVER, WAS THAT ONCE A PERSON IS MARKED IT IS MOST LIKELY FOR LIFE.

IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT ON MY WAY TO THE BORDER I COULD NOT MOVE THROUGH OPEN SPACES AND HAD TO WALK THROUGH SOME DIFFICULT WOODED TERRAIN WHERE TREE SPECIES SUCH AS OAK, WALNUT AND RED CEDAR WERE PREVALENT. OF COURSE, SOMETIMES I WOULD STOP BY SOME OF THE LARGER TOWNS TO GET FOOD OR EVEN THE MOST BASIC THINGS LIKE DRINKING WATER. YOU ASK WHERE I GOT THE MONEY! WELL, I HAD TO APPLY SOME TRICKS, BECAUSE AS THE EASTERN PEOPLES USED TO SAY "TO LOSE FACE" WAS ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS CRIMES AND COULD REALLY COST YOU YOUR HEAD IN THE LITERAL SENSE.

I DON'T WANT TO BORE YOU WITH THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF MISSOURI, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE WHO RESIDES IN THIS STATE SHOULD KNOW. THE CRIME RATES WERE HUGE! SO THERE WAS NO REASON TO MISS GETTING OUT OF THAT HOLE!

THE FELISTER HOUSE WAS CREEPY ENOUGH, BUT THE PEACE I FOUND THERE WAS SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO ME - I REALIZED THAT ONCE I CROSSED THE BORDER, I WOULD BE STARTING A WHOLE NEW LIFE IN MEXICO AND MOST LIKELY UNDER A FOREIGN IDENTITY. IT WASN'T EASY TO BREAK WITH THE PAST, BUT I ALSO HAD TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE.

SOMEONE ELSE IN MY PLACE MIGHT HAVE JUST CROSSED THE OZARK MOUNTAINS OR THE OZARK PLATEAU - CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL, OR STAYED IN A TERRITORY THAT WOULD GUARANTEE HIM PEACE FOR A LONGER TIME, BUT IN MY CASE THINGS WERE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

YES, IN THE END, IT DID TAKE SPENDING SOME TIME IN AN OLD BARN BEFORE THINGS REALLY SETTLED DOWN.

I THEN HEADED TO OKLAHOMA, WHERE I WAS ABLE TO CONNECT WITH SOME OTHER MEMBERS OF THE WELL ESTABLISHED FELISTER NETWORK. IT TURNED OUT HE WAS TOO SMART AND THE MONEY WAS IN OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS SCATTERED ALL OVER THE PLACE. HE HAD NAMED THIS MONEY "FELISTER'S LEGACY". ALL OF THIS, OF COURSE, I FOUND OUT FROM ONE OF THE MORE SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION. THE IDEA WAS TO START A SIMILAR ACTIVITY LATER IF SOMEONE DUG UP THE PIGS.

FELISTER WAS PRESCIENT AND I UNDERSTOOD THAT HE PRAYED NOT ONLY TO THE DEMONS BUT ALSO RELIED ON HIS OWN BRAIN.

THE SENIOR MEMBER OF "FELISTER'S FARM," AS OUR ORGANIZATION WAS KNOWN, WAS UNWILLING TO GIVE ME ANY MORE SERIOUS HELP, BUT ONLY WARNED ME TO BEWARE BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED SCRUTINY BETWEEN THE BORDER BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES.

I DIDN'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO WANDER AROUND SAN ANTONIO, BUT I FOUND THE PLACE GOOD AND QUIET ENOUGH BY MY STANDARDS.

HOWEVER, THE MORE I LEARNED ABOUT THE HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE OF FELISTER'S ORGANIZATION, THE MORE I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING MORE LURKING THERE THAT WAS PERHAPS BEYOND MY WILDEST DREAMS.

BUT I STILL WASN'T READY TO ACCEPT THE HARD TRUTH!

TO DO BETTER, THOUGH, I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE STASHED MONEY I HAD WHILE TOURING THE COUNTRY. SUCH ACTIONS WERE WISE ENOUGH IN HARD TIMES LIKE THESE! THE THING WAS THAT THE NEUTERED ANIMALS WERE TAKING A VERY STRANGE ROUTE AND WERE BEING REPLACED JUST BEFORE THE BORDER ITSELF, WHILE ANOTHER TRUCK OF ORDINARY NEUTERED SHOPARS WAS PASSING THROUGH A BIT EARLIER AND BEING CHECKED BY CUSTOMS OFFICIALS. IN THE CASE OF THE SECOND TRUCK, WHERE THE FELISTER GOODS WERE, OR RATHER THE MEXICAN CARTEL GOODS, THE INSPECTION WAS CONSIDERABLY SHORTER, AND THE INJECTED PIGS WERE PUT IN A SPECIAL CAPSULE WHICH WAS UNDER THE BODY - A SORT OF DOUBLE BOTTOM. THE DESIGN OF THE TRUCKS WAS ALSO FELISTER'S WORK, WHICH MADE ME THINK HE WAS TOO FARSIGHTED AND TECHNICALLY LITERATE ENOUGH TO HANDLE SUCH PROBLEMS.

WELL, IT WAS NOT IMPOSSIBLE THAT THE GOODS MIGHT OCCASIONALLY GET CAUGHT, BUT IN GENERAL MR. EMBANKS WAS AWARE OF THESE RISKS AND COULD AFFORD TO LOSE EVEN THIRTY PER CENT OF THE FINAL SHIPMENT AS LONG AS THE OTHER SEVENTY ARRIVED AT THEIR FINAL DESTINATION. WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE REVERSE MOVEMENT - VERY SIMPLY THE INJECTED SUBSTANCES WERE BLANKS THAT WERE USED TO PRODUCE THE FINAL SUBSTANCE, AND A HUGE PRODUCTION COULD VERY EASILY BE ACHIEVED IN A FINITE TIME FRAME, WHICH WAS THEN RE-IMPORTED BY OTHER ROUTES.

BUT I WASN'T GOING TO FURTHER MY CAREER AS A GANGSTER, I WAS GOING TO FIND ANSWERS FOR MY OWN EXISTENCE.

THE KIND FACES OF THE PAST WERE BUT PALE MEMORIES, REPLACED BY THE BRUTAL REALITY AND SUFFERING THAT SURROUNDED US. YES IN THE ORPHANAGE, AS HORRIBLE AS IT WAS, FOR A SHORT TIME I HAD SOME SEMBLANCE OF FRIENDS. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME I LEARNED TO JUDGE PEOPLE.

AFTER I TRANSFERRED TO MEXICO AND GOT A FAKE PASSPORT FOR MY MONEY, I SET ABOUT CONTEMPLATING MY NEXT STEPS.

THINGS DIDN'T LOOK ROSY, BUT FELISTER HAD TOLD ME TO RELY ON MYSELF AND ONLY MYSELF. I STILL REMEMBERED HIS ALL TOO THOUGHTFUL MESSAGE THAT WE WERE ONLY TEMPORARY VISITORS TO THIS WORLD.

I GUESSED THAT FELISTER HAD BEEN THROWING HIS MONEY AROUND IN VARIOUS OFFSHORE COMPANIES THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PRETTY HARD TO FIGURE OUT, BUT I WAS ALSO SURE OF SOMETHING ELSE. EMBANX HAD MADE SOME MISTAKE - NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL OR HE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SHOT LIKE A DOG ON HIS OWN PORCH.

BUT WHO WAS MY FORMER EMPLOYER, REALLY, AND WHAT DID I KNOW ABOUT HIM?

ALMOST NOTHING - EXCEPT THAT HE HAD TAKEN ME UNDER HIS WING FROM AN ORPHANAGE IN KANSAS CITY WHERE I HAD BEEN DUMPED BY MY PARENTS, WHO, ON TOP OF THAT, I DIDN'T EVEN REMEMBER.

FELISTER WAS LIKE MY FATHER OR STEPFATHER OR GUARDIAN OR I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT ANYMORE EITHER... BUT HE WAS LONG GONE!

I KNEW THAT MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS WERE FAMOUS FOR THEIR CRUELTY AND UNSCRUPULOUSNESS, AND I DIDN'T PARTICULARLY CARE, SINCE I WAS ABOUT TO WALK RIGHT INTO THE LION'S MOUTH. SOMETIMES SERIOUS CONFLICTS WOULD LITERALLY BREAK OUT BETWEEN LOCAL GROUPS OR SEPARATE FACTIONS, EACH FIGHTING FOR SUPREMACY. THE MAJOR PLAYERS WERE FEW AND EACH WIELDED ENORMOUS POWER AND CONTROL.

IN ANY SERIOUS ORGANIZATION WHERE OPIOID SUBSTANCES WERE PREPARED, THERE WAS ALWAYS A COOK, HELPERS, AND AN OVERSEER.

BUT I DID NOT GO AS A PARLIAMENTARIAN OR AS A PERSON SEEKING DIRECT FINANCIAL GAIN AS THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF THE BRUTAL POGROM ON THE FARM. NOR WAS I GOING AS A REFUGEE. I WASN'T GOING AS A ROMANTIC. I WAS GOING AS A LOST SOUL YEARNING TO FIND MYSELF.

THE STREETS OF MONTEREY, WHERE I DECIDED TO STOP FOR A WHILE, WERE HOT AS HELL. AND I DECIDED I REALLY NEEDED TO STAY SOMEPLACE FOR A WHILE LONGER. PERHAPS AFTER ALL THESE EXPLANATIONS MANY HAD WONDERED JUST WHAT ANSWERS I NEEDED? THE MOSQUITOES WERE ALSO A HUGE AND BRUTAL PLAGUE. BUT APPARENTLY YOU COULDN'T DO WITHOUT THEM! APPARENTLY THE EARTH WAS THEIR PARADISE!

"IT WAS GOOD AGAIN THAT I BYPASSED THE SYUDAD HUARES, WHERE THE NUMBER OF MURDERS PER YEAR IS SEVERAL THOUSAND," I THOUGHT TO MYSELF. "EVEN THE MILITARY GARRISONS DEPLOYED ARE UNABLE TO CURB THE BRUTAL ARBITRARINESS AND VIOLENCE. I'VE HEARD THAT SOMETIMES THE BLOOD IN THE STREETS IS ALMOST LIKE A RIVER! IF THERE IS A HELL, IT IS HERE ON THIS EARTH!"

THE CITY WAS IMPRESSIVE FOR ITS ATMOSPHERE AND NOT LEAST ITS ARCHITECTURE, WHERE SO MANY STYLES MINGLED.

AND THEN I SAW HER - DRESSED IN RED, WITH A GENTLE AND BEAUTIFUL FACE. I HEADED OVER AND NOTICED THAT THIS WOMAN'S IMAGE WAS PRINTED ON A HUGE BANNER, AND UNDERNEATH SOME HAND HAD SCRAWLED THE RATHER UNREMARKABLE "CALL!". THERE WAS SOME NUMBER SCRAWLED ON IT, AND AFTER LOOKING AT MY HAND, I REALIZED IT WAS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE ONE ON THE BANNER.

I DECIDED TO DO IT AND THAT ACTION OF MINE TURNED MY LIFE AROUND.

NEW FRIENDS

CHAPTER THREE: NEW FRIENDS

 

DROVE ME TO ONE OF THE SUBURBS THAT WERE FULL OF LIFE. BY THE WAY, MONTERREY WAS THE CAPITAL OF THE NORTHEASTERN MEXICAN STATE OF NUEVO LEÓN AND WAS AN IMPORTANT ADMINISTRATIVE AND DISTRIBUTION CENTER. FROM WHAT MY EYES COULD SEE I FELT THAT I WAS ABOUT TO LEARN SOME INTERESTING THINGS.

THE DEPTH OF MY CONSCIOUSNESS WHISPERED TO ME THAT THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK. AND NOW I HAD NO USE FOR ANYONE. FELISTER HAD OBVIOUSLY REALISED THAT PERHAPS THINGS WERE ABOUT TO REACH A SIMILAR BOILING POINT, BUT HE HAD NEVER GIVEN US ANY INSTRUCTIONS ON WHAT TO DO IF WE HAPPENED TO SINK UP TO OUR NECKS IN SHIT.

THE VOICE ON THE OTHER SIDE WHISPERED TO ME NOT TO THINK, BUT TO JUST FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS, AND NOT TO ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS. TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I DECIDED ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT TO TAKE IT COMPLETELY SERIOUSLY.

I WON'T DESCRIBE HOW I GOT TO ONE OF THE EXTREME NEIGHBORHOODS OF THE METROPOLIS, NAMELY SANTA CATARINA. I WAS TOLD TO WAIT THERE FOR A WHILE AND THEN LEAVE MONTEREY FOR GOOD. THIS DISCOURAGED ME. I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH FINANCES, AND I WASN'T QUITE SURE WHAT ELSE I WAS SUPPOSED TO COME UP WITH, AND THEN I SAW HER AGAIN - IT WAS THE SAME WOMAN FROM THE BANNER. IT TURNED OUT TO BE SOME LOCAL MANNEQUIN - NOT VERY FAMOUS, BUT STILL WILLING TO HELP.

I ASKED HER, QUITE FRANKLY, AFTER WE SAT DOWN IN ONE OF THE LOCAL RESTAURANTS IN A PLACE THAT WAS THE LEAST CONSPICUOUS, WHAT THE HELL SHE WAS DOING ANYTHING FOR ME.

- "FELISTER, HE WAS MY UNCLE," SHE REPLIED SIMPLY.

"IF I WASN'T IN SUCH A WRETCHED STATE, I'D PROBABLY HAVE LAUGHED MYSELF HEALTHY. I WOULDN'T HAVE SCREAMED - LIKE AN INFERNAL CREATURE. I WOULD HOWL LIKE A WILD WOLF. LIKE A MORTALLY WOUNDED ANIMAL! SO THE EXISTENCE OF A MAN LIKE A FELISTER EVEN DEFIED THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.

- "I KNOW HE WAS VERY PARTICULAR," SHE LAUGHED SOURLY.

- "BUT I WONDER WHAT THE MATHEMATICAL PROBABILITY IS OF US GETTING STUCK IN A PLACE LIKE THIS," I ASKED HER, TRYING TO SOUND AS CASUAL AS POSSIBLE.

I DIDN'T BELIEVE IN CHANCE. FELISTER - THAT SICK, DERANGED, BRUTAL AND ARROGANT BASTARD MUST HAVE HAD SOME DASTARDLY PLAN AND CLEARLY HIS DIABOLICAL GAME WAS STARTING TO BEAR SOME FRUIT. "FILTHY SADIST!" THOUGHT I. "PITIFUL SEMBLANCE OF A MAN! AN ANIMAL! DEVILISH FREAK! DAMNED SATAN!"

- "YOUR CHANCE OF SALVATION IS ME," LAUGHED HIS NIECE AGAIN. "YOU MAY NOT LIKE TO BELIEVE IT, BUT FELISTER LOVED YOU LIKE A SON-WELL, IN HIS OWN WAY. AND IF I AM DOING THIS NOW IT IS NOT OUT OF LOVE FOR YOU, OR BECAUSE YOU ARE VERY AGREEABLE TO ME, BUT BECAUSE I AM SIMPLY DOING MY JOB."

- "Y-YES," SHE PRONOUNCED, LINGERINGLY, "YOU MUST BE WONDERING HOW I FOUND YOU. WELL, MORE ACCURATELY, YOU FOUND ME UNKNOWINGLY, FOLLOWING YOUR GUARDIAN'S INSTRUCTIONS."

I LOOKED AT HER GLASSY EYES AND IF I DIDN'T CONSIDER MYSELF A SOLID LITTLE MAN I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SCREAMED. THERE WAS SOMETHING PARTICULARLY STRANGE ABOUT HER WHOLE AURA.

- "YOU MEAN THE STRANGE AURA AROUND FELISTER LED ME HERE?," I ADDRESSED HER DIRECTLY.

- 'WELL, HIS DEATH WASN'T ENTIRELY UNEXPECTED," SHE ANSWERED ME UNPERTURBED.

I THOUGHT SHE WAS A BIT TOO SASSY, AND I WAS DEFINITELY A BIT ANNOYED. THE PLACE, WHICH MIGHT OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN FULL, WAS NOW STRANGELY QUIET AND YOU COULD TELL THERE WAS NO ONE THERE.

- "I SENT THE STAFF AWAY," SHE YAWNED, AS IF READING MY THOUGHTS. - YOU PROBABLY EXPECT SOME ANSWERS, BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO GET THEM YOURSELF. FELISTER WAS LIKE THAT. HE DIDN'T LIKE WEAKLINGS, MUCH LESS COWARDS. AND DIED SHROUDED IN MYSTERY!

I LISTENED TO HER AS IF SPELLBOUND. I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO THINK, NOR HOW FAR I COULD TRUST HER.

HER LIPS WHISPERED ENCHANTING WORDS WHICH AT THE SAME TIME WERE NOT AT ALL DEVOID OF MEANING AND CONTENT.

- "THE MAIN CARTELS IN MEXICO ARE SIX AND YOU KNOW THAT VERY WELL. BUT WHAT YOU DON'T SUSPECT IS THAT FELISTER WORKED FOR ALL OF THEM, AND NEVER HAD ANY SCRUPLES ABOUT IT!," SHE STARED AT ME AS SHE SAID THE LAST.

- "SO HE'S BEEN PLAYING HIS GAME ALL ALONG," I SMILED, 'AND I'VE GOT TO LEAN THE PAWN FOR HIM.

- "LOOK, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WORLD YOU COME FROM, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE HERE," SHE TURNED TO ME CRYPTICALLY, "DON'T IGNORE THE BRUTALITY WITH WHICH THE MAIN DRUG CARTELS PUT DOWN THE RESISTANCE AGAINST THEM. MANY DIED FAR TOO YOUNG. THE FACT THAT YOU GOT AWAY IS A BLESSING ON THE ONE HAND AND A CURSE ON THE OTHER. BUT YOU WILL CARRY IT WITH YOU TO THE END."

I LISTENED TO HER TOO CAREFULLY AND DIDN'T SAY A WORD.

- "I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING FOR SURE," SHE DECIDED TO END HER CONVERSATION WITH ME, "ONCE YOU GET INTO THIS GAME, THERE IS NO GETTING OUT. MANY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE MORE EFFECTIVE CARTELS HAVE LONG BEEN TRAINED PARAMILITARIES OF THE MEXICAN ARMY, WHICH HAS STRONG CONTROL HERE IN MEXICO. PORTS LIKE LAZARO CARDENAS ARE KEY TO SOME OF THEM. BUT YOU DIDN'T ACTUALLY COME TO HEAR ALL THIS!"

- "I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHY THEY KILLED MY PATRON, FELISTER," I SAID.

- "WELL, IT'S A DELICATE SUBJECT. IF YOU'RE WITH EVERYONE, YOU'RE WITH ABSOLUTELY NO ONE. 'AND THAT MEANS A HUNDRED YEARS OF LONELINESS," SHE JOKED.

- "THANKS FOR QUOTING MARQUES, BUT IT'S NOT UP TO ME, HONEST," I HUNG MY HEAD.

- "LOOK, IF YOU WANT TO LIVE JUST A LITTLE LONGER, YOU'LL HAVE TO THINK ABOUT MY WORDS COMPLETELY SERIOUSLY," SHE FINALLY ENDED HER CONVERSATION WITH ME.

THEN SHE JUST TURNED AND WALKED OUT OF THE RESTAURANT. I ASSUMED THERE WERE ENOUGH GUARDS AROUND TO BREAK MY NECK IN CASE OF NEED.

I WAS BACK ON THE STREET AGAIN WITH NO MONEY AND NO INFORMATION WHATSOEVER - I HAD REMAINED A LONE WOLF ALL THESE YEARS, WELL AWARE OF SOME THINGS, BUT ULTIMATELY AT A DEAD END.

IT HAD STARTED TO DRIZZLE A FINE RAIN, AND IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES IT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE BEEN ROMANTIC, BUT IN THE CURRENT ONE I WASN'T FEELING PARTICULARLY ENTHUSIASTIC.

AND THEN I WAS STUFFED INTO A TRUNK AND WE WERE OFF IN AN UNKNOWN DIRECTION.

APPARENTLY I WAS REALLY ABOUT TO SEE HOW DEEP THE RABBIT HOLE WAS, AS THE LINE IN THAT FAMOUS TV MOVIE WENT.

THE JOB WAS THAT THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT HAD MADE IT A POINT TO DEAL WITH ALL THOSE WHO WERE MUDDYING ITS WATERS.

IT WAS VERY EASY FOR THEM, BUT THE ANSWERS I WAS LOOKING FOR WERE STILL TOO VAGUE.

AND THEN I REALIZED THAT THE WOMAN I HAD MET HAD ACTUALLY TOLD ME A LOT MORE THAN I THOUGHT SHE HAD.

I WALKED THROUGH THE STREETS OF THE CITY, LOST IN UNHAPPY THOUGHTS, FULLY AWARE OF WHAT MIGHT LIE AHEAD. THIS WAS THE ROAD TO HELL, OR MAYBE EVEN A MUCH WORSE PLACE - ONLY IT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE ROAD FOR NOW.

AFTER ALL, MONTEREY WASN'T EXACTLY A SAFE PLACE, AND SOME PARTS OF IT HELD ENOUGH RISKS TO KEEP ONE FROM WALKING RIGHT THERE WITH HANDS IN POCKETS. ANYWAY I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT EXACTLY WHERE I WANTED TO GET TO. EVEN WITH THE MONEY I HAD COLLECTED FROM THAT "HELPER" OF FELISTER'S AND MY OWN, I HAD A LITTLE OVER TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS.

I DECIDED THAT THE SMART THING TO DO WAS TO INVEST IT IN A COMMODITY THAT COULD BE BOUGHT AT DISCOUNTED PRICES. BUT I HAD TO CONTACT SOMEONE.

I MUST HAVE MADE A NAME FOR MYSELF AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BECAUSE IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE THE WOMAN IN THE RED DRESS SOUGHT ME OUT AGAIN, THIS TIME WITH A SERIOUS ENOUGH EXPRESSION ON HER FACE.

- "YOU CAN'T SELL THAT STUFF ON OUR TERRITORY," SHE REPLIED, "IF YOU KEEP DOING THAT, WE'LL JUST CLEAN YOU OUT - AND BADLY. AND FELISTER HAS EVIDENTLY NOT EXPLAINED TO YOU THE REAL RULES OF THE BUSINESS. THAT, I THINK, IS RATHER SAD. BY THE WAY, FELISTER LEFT A LEGACY, AS FAR AS I KNOW. IT'S UP TO YOU WHETHER YOU WANT TO ACCEPT IT, AND YOUR DECISION WILL PROLONG YOUR LIFE, PERHAPS."

- "I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THAT WHOLE DEMON THING WAS ALL ABOUT?," I ASKED. "AFTER ALL, FELISTER WORSHIPPED SOME DEMON CULT OR SOMETHING."

- WELL, ALL IN ALL, THAT'S TOO WEIRD. HE BELIEVED HE WOULD BE KILLED SOONER OR LATER. AND IT HAPPENED.

- "WELL, IF I ACCEPT THE FELISTER'S LEGACY, SO WHAT?," I WONDERED.

THEN SHE STOOD UP AGAIN AND MADE A SIGN WITH HER HAND FOR ME TO FOLLOW HER.

DETECTIVE DONOVAN

CHAPTER FOUR: DETECTIVE DONOVAN

 

DETECTIVE DONOVAN WAS FEELING GREAT AFTER HIS PROMOTION. HE'D GOTTEN HIMSELF INTO A FIGHT WITH AN AWESOMELY DANGEROUS THUG. NOW CAME THE ENJOYABLE PART - HE HAD SOMETHING TOO MEANINGFUL TO DEAL WITH, BUT THERE WASN'T MUCH TO DEAL WITH. AND JUST THEN HE THOUGHT OF THE MOST UNPLEASANT PART. YES, THEY HAD MANAGED TO DEAL WITH THE BRUTAL AND CUNNING CASTRATOR. YES, THEY HAD MISSED SOMETHING IN THERE SOMEWHERE. WHERE WAS HIS MONEY? THEY'D FOUND A LOT OF MERCHANDISE, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, A LOT OF SHOPAHOLICS, THEY'D CAPTURED HIS MEN, AND SO ON.

THE KANSAS CITY COP FELT LIKE A ROUND FOOL. THEY HAD ALSO FOUND THE DEMON ALTAR OF A FELISTER, BUT HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND SUCH THINGS, SO HE DECIDED TO COMMISSION A LOCAL PRIEST TO INVESTIGATE THE MATTER MORE SERIOUSLY AND REPORT BACK TO HIM.

AFTER A WHILE HE RECEIVED STARTLING INFORMATION BEYOND HIS WILDEST DREAMS.

- "YOUR MAN, DETECTIVE, HAS MEDDLED WITH DEMONS MORE THAN YOU KNOW," SAID FATHER TOBIAS GRIMLY.

- "I DON'T BELIEVE IN AN AFTERLIFE, NOR DO I BELIEVE IN ANY DEMONS," THE DETECTIVE SNAPPED.

- "YOU WILL HAVE TO," THE PRIEST SCRATCHED THE BACK OF HIS HEAD, "OR YOU WILL NEVER UNRAVEL THE DEMONIC ILLUSION."

- "THE DEMONIC ...?," THE DETECTIVE REPEATED.

- "EXACTLY," CONFIRMED THE FATHER.

- "SO FELISTER WASN'T CONTENT JUST TO COLLECT THE MANGIES, HE WANTED SOMETHING MORE. A GREEDY SCOUNDREL, AND A REAL DOWNRIGHT WICKED MAN," FUMED THE COP.

- "DON'T USE SUCH LANGUAGE IN MY PRESENCE, IF YOU PLEASE," FATHER TOBIAS ASKED HIM STERNLY. "HE WANTED TO ACQUIRE CERTAIN POWERS, AND THAT WAS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO HIM. IN THE END, HE MADE IT ALL THESE YEARS, WHICH IS MORE THAN COMMENDABLE."

- "YOU MEAN SOMEONE WOULD STORM HIS HOME FOR A REASON OTHER THAN DRUGS," DONOVAN WAS AMAZED.

- "EXACTLY," LAUGHED THE FATHER, "BUT THIS JOB IS RESPONSIBLE AND DANGEROUS. LOOK, I'M NOT AN EXORCIST - ALTHOUGH I UNDERSTAND THIS MATTER AND MY TASK IS TOO SIMPLE. I HAD TO INFORM YOU AND NOTHING MORE."

THIS TIME THE DETECTIVE WAS GLOWING. HE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT GHOSTS, DEMONS AND SO ON, BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE ACCUSED OF DOING HIS JOB THROUGH HIS FINGERS. THAT WAS UNACCEPTABLE. NO MATTER HOW MUCH HE TRIED TO CLEAR HIS MIND, HE KEPT COMING TO THE SAME IDEA.

- "WELL, WELL," HE FINALLY COULDN'T HELP HIMSELF, "WHO IS THIS FELISTER?,“

- THAT, MY DEAR DETECTIVE, YOU WILL FIND OUT, OR PERHAPS YOU WILL PERISH.

DETECTIVE DONOVAN DID NOT BELIEVE IN CURSES, SUPERSTITIONS, OR IDLE TALK AND THREATS. BUT HE DECIDED TO TAKE THINGS TO HEART FROM A PROFESSIONAL STANDPOINT. AND ONE THING WAS GIVING HIM PEACE OF MIND - NO, IT WASN'T THE MONEY, IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE.

FELISTER WAS A MEAN AND BRUTAL BASTARD WHO DEFINITELY KNEW WHAT HE WANTED AND HOW TO GET IT. PERHAPS THERE REALLY WAS SOME CRUEL AFTERLIFE CURSE, AND THE POLICE OFFICER HIMSELF WAS ABOUT TO FALL VICTIM TO IT.

THE DETECTIVE DECIDED TO LOOK THROUGH THE DEMONIC ARTIFACTS OF FELISTER AND SAW SOME GRIMOIRES AND OTHER STRANGE AND OCCULT LITERATURE.

"JUST A BRUTAL QUITTER AND CON MAN, AND A PIG CASTRATOR TO BOOT!"

DONOVAN HAD SERIOUSLY FELT THE PLUSES OF HIS IMPRESSIVE PROMOTION AND WAS TRYING TO CASH THEM IN AS BEST HE COULD.

THE BOSSES FROM THE STATE CAPITAL HAD SUGGESTED TO HIM THAT NOTHING AMAZING WAS EXPECTED OF HIM EXCEPT TO BE ON THE SPOT AND DEAL WITH THE GROWING CURIOSITY SURROUNDING THE TOMB. THAT, OF COURSE, WAS HIS REAL JOB.

THERE WAS SOME SORT OF ANCIENT PAGAN TOMB UNDERNEATH FELISTER'S FARM, AND APPARENTLY THERE WERE ARTIFACTS OF DEMONIC ORIGIN THERE.

FELISTER WAS ONE HELL OF A FUCKING VINDICTIVE SON OF A BITCH WHO KNEW DAMN WELL THE COPS HAD WIPED OUT THE WRONG GUY.

DONOVAN EXAMINED THE STRANGE SHAPE OF THE OBJECTS - AMONG THEM WERE, IN ADDITION TO THE AFOREMENTIONED GRIMOIRES - SOME OF THEM OF TOO GOOD A QUALITY, OCCULT SIGNS AND MEDALLIONS FOR SUMMONING THE APPROPRIATE DEMONIC POWERS.

THE DETECTIVE WAS NOT PARTICULARLY IMPRESSED, FOR WHAT HE HAD SEEN WAS NOT UNHEARD OF.

BUT HE PAUSED OVER A PARTICULAR PASSAGE IN ONE OF THE GRIMOIRES.

''THE ANCIENT OF THE ANCIENT LAND,

OLDER THAN I COULD HAVE GUESSED,

GIVE ME MIGHT AT THY COMMAND,

TO WORK MY SPELL.''

DETECTIVE DONOVAN WONDERED WHAT THIS CHILDISH NONSENSE WAS, BUT IN TIME BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THINGS WERE MUCH MORE SERIOUS. IT LOOKED LIKE WICCAN MAGIC TO HIM - NOT ANYTHING TOO COMPLICATED, BUT FROM WHAT HE REALIZED WAS THAT THE SPIRITUAL POWERS OF A FELISTER HAD APPARENTLY PLACED CERTAIN CURSES AFTER HIM.

AFTER SUMMONING A FEW TRUSTED PEOPLE, HE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS AN ENTIRE UNDERGROUND COMPLEX BENEATH THE RUINS OF FELISTER'S HOUSE, AND BEHIND HIS SMALL, WELL-INSULATED CLOSET BEGAN UNDERGROUND PASSAGES THAT LED WHO KNEW WHERE.

- THAT SICK BASTARD KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING. AND PLAYED COMPLETELY APART FROM HIS PATRONS.

THE COMPOUND BENEATH THE FARM, AND MORE PRECISELY BENEATH FELISTER'S HOUSE ITSELF, MUST HAVE COVERED SEVERAL ACRES, AND PERHAPS MUCH MORE.

- "HOW COULD A HUMAN HAND HAVE BUILT SUCH A THING?," THE DETECTIVE WAS AMAZED. "I THINK IT'S TOO LATE TO GO BACK, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THINGS HAVE GONE TOO FAR. HE WAS WORKING ENTIRELY FOR HIMSELF, AND WAS ONLY RETURNING SOME OF THE GOODS TO MEXICO."

THEY HAD TOURED THE ENTIRE UNDERGROUND COMPLEX, WHICH WAS MORE THAN GORGEOUS - THAT'S HOW IMPRESSIVE AND GOOD IT WAS. BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT BOTHERED HIM. HE STILL COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT KIND OF PERSON FELISTER WAS. HE LOOKED LIKE SOMEONE WITH NOT A DOUBLE BOTTOM, BUT EVEN A TRIPLE BOTTOM. A COMPLETE MYSTERY.

IN ONE OF THE WELL-INSULATED ROOMS OF THE HUGE UNDERGROUND DRUG LAB OF FELISTER THERE WAS A SMALL INSCRIPTION IN A SORT OF CHAPEL "WHOEVER IS WORTHY, HE SHALL TAKE THE INHERITANCE! AND THEN HE WILL KNOW WELL WHAT TO DO WITH IT. TO THOSE WHO WOULD TRY TO REMOVE ME, I WILL SAY THAT THEY WON'T GET TOO FAR EITHER!"

HERE DONOVAN NO LONGER FELT A SHRED OF DOUBT THAT THE JOB WAS SERIOUS, AND DECIDED TO SET A TRAP AROUND THE PSYCHOPATH'S HOUSE - THAT WAS HOW HE QUALIFIED FELISTER. MAYBE THEY HADN'T CAUGHT EVERYONE IN THE ORGANIZED POLICE RAID, OR MAYBE THIS DEMONIC ILLUSION WAS BEYOND HIS CONCEPTION OF WHAT WAS POSSIBLE - EITHER WAY IT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

WALKING AROUND THE UNDERGROUND FACILITY, THE DETECTIVE NOTICED THAT AS LARGE AS IT WAS, HE SEEMED TO SEE NEW AND UNEXPLAINED THINGS EACH TIME, AND IN THE END HE KEPT RETURNING TO THE PREVIOUS LOCATION. MAYBE THIS PLACE HAD A SOUL OF ITS OWN?

THEY WANTED THE APPROPRIATE BALLISTICS EXPERTISE TO DEAL WITH ANY SUSPICIONS THEY MIGHT HAVE. IN THEIR OPINION, FELISTER HADN'T USED ANY WEAPONS, BUT THAT WASN'T EXACTLY HOW THINGS STOOD DOWN HERE. THERE WERE OBVIOUS TRACES OF THE ARSENAL THAT HAD BEEN USED BY THE BRUTAL FARMER.

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH I'VE ALWAYS LOVED DOGS MORE THAN PEOPLE - AT LEAST THEY DON'T WANT TO TAKE YOURS. BUT HUMANS ARE AS HYPOCRITICAL AS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE ROAD IN FRONT OF YOU WAS COMPLETELY BROKEN AND NOTHING COULD FIX IT? YOU CAN'T FIX IT, SO TO SPEAK!

FELISTER HAD GATHERED THESE CONDEMNED SOULS TOGETHER, AND WISHED TO FIND A KIND OF SOLACE FOR HIS SOUL, WHICH LONGED TO GET AWAY FROM THIS LOATHSOME LIFE! ONCE AND FOR ALL!

I SOMETIMES DREAMED OF A BLACK HAND REACHING OUT TO ME AND TRYING TO SNATCH ME AWAY AS I SLEPT. IT WAS BLOODY STUPID AND DISGUSTING! WHY ARE WE HERE? BECAUSE WE HAD MORE WORK TO DO! WHEN SHE WAS DONE, WE'D LEAVE QUIETLY - WITHOUT DISTURBING ANYONE.

I PRAYED TO GOD, BUT IN TIME I CLEARLY REALIZED THAT IT WAS OF LITTLE USE - I WAS POURING OUT MY SOUL AGAINST A PICTURE. THE PICTURE AROUND ME WAS EVEN UGLIER. I DON'T THINK THAT SO MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE SAID THAT THEY MISSED ME, OR THAT THEY COULDN'T GO ON WITHOUT ME.

DONOVAN CLEARLY SENSED THE CHANGE IN THE SITUATION, BUT DIDN'T WANT TO INDULGE HIS SENSE OF SHAME. HE KNEW THAT FELISTER HAD BEEN DRIVEN BY HIS INNER DEMONS TO TAKE THIS DECISIVE STEP, BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP HIM FROM ADMITTING THAT FELISTER HAD TURNED OUT TO BE A MUCH BIGGER MAN THAN HE HAD EVER LET ON. HE WASN'T A SAINT, BUT A MAN WILLING TO EXIST IN HIS OWN LITTLE WELL-BUILT WORLD, AND WHEN THAT WORLD WAS DESTROYED, HE WAS SIMPLY GONE - LIKE SO MANY OTHERS BEFORE HIM!

USUALLY THE REBEL IMAGINES HIS DEMISE IN HEROIC TERMS, BUT FROM THE SIDE HE MAY SEEM TOO PATHETIC FOR MANY. SUCH WAS FELISTER. A FALSE KNIGHT!

HIS FAMILY WAS ONE OF THE STRANGEST THAT COULD HAVE EXISTED. HIS FATHER-THAT WRETCH! WAS A DRUNKARD AND A BRUTAL RUFFIAN-A FREQUENT GUEST OF THE POLICE. AND HIS MOTHER A LOST SOUL! FELISTER FELT SO WRETCHED AND FORSAKEN! SAD AND GLOOMY THAT HE WAS NOT LIKE THE REST! SOMEWHERE IN THE DEPTHS OF HIS TWISTED MIND HE FELT THAT ALL MEN WERE CREATURES OF LIGHT, BUT IN REALITY THE REALITY WAS OTHERWISE - AND IT TORMENTED HIM GREATLY. NOT EVERYONE GOT THE SAME CHANCE - AND THAT WAS TRUE.

DONOVAN WAS DISGUSTED - SO FELISTER MIGHT EVEN HAVE BEEN GOOD AS A CHILD! HE HAD A SIMILAR CHANCE, BUT NEVER GOT A CHANCE TO SHOW HIS DISTINCTIVE QUALITIES!

DEMON CULTS WERE A STRANGE BUSINESS - THEY COULD BURN YOUR SOUL, BUT THEY COULD ALSO GIVE YOU A SENSE THAT YOU'D GOTTEN HELP FROM SOMEWHERE.

FELISTER WAS DOOMED FROM A YOUNG AGE - JUST A LOST SOUL.

IT WAS SAID THAT THE SOULS OF PEOPLE WHO HAD UNFINISHED BUSINESS IN THIS WORLD WENT AROUND THE EARTH FOREVER, SUFFERING AND PRAYING TO BE FORGIVEN AND GIVEN THE RIGHT TO A NEW LIFE.

MANY ASPIRED TO RECEIVE SOME FORM OF SPIRITUAL VINDICATION, BUT FEW WOULD SUCCEED IN EARNING IT.

A NEW LIFE? NEW LIFE? NEW LIFE? WHAT WAS THAT?

THE DEMONIC CULT SEEMED TO BE SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE WASTING SOME PEOPLE'S TIME, BUT IT WAS BY NO MEANS AN ANNOYING DETAIL THAT DONOVAN WAS GOING TO LEAVE JUST LIKE THAT.

THEY FOUND MANY ARTIFACTS, BUT DONOVAN DIDN'T BOTHER TO DESCRIBE THEM OR VERIFY THEIR SIGNIFICANCE. HE JUST DECIDED HE HAD PEOPLE FOR THE JOB. APPARENTLY HIS BOSSES WOULD HAVE BEEN PLEASED.

AFTER SURFACING AGAIN, HE TOOK A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! WHAT A RELIEF!

MISSOURI WAS ONE HELL OF A DANGEROUS AND BRUTAL STATE! MU MOM! EVERYTHING HAD TO BE SORTED OUT SOMEHOW!

THE DETECTIVE GAZED AT THE BEAUTIFUL SUNSET-BRUTALLY REAL AND SENSITIVE, TOUCHING HIS SOUL! HE LOOKED AND LOOKED, AND FELT THAT SOMETHING WAS LEFT UNSAID-PERHAPS HE HAD FAILED TO CATCH THE SOUL OF THIS MAN. MAYBE...

FELISTER KNEW HOW TO REPAY HIS ENEMIES EVEN FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE!

I COULD SENSE THAT SOMEWHERE IN THERE, SOMETHING WAS CHANGING DRASTICALLY. AND EVEN THOUGH I COULDN'T WITNESS DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S FEELINGS, I COULD SEE EVERYTHING CLEARLY ENOUGH.

THE WOMAN IN RED

CHAPTER FIVE: THE WOMAN IN RED

 

THE DEAL I HAD STRUCK WITH THE WOMAN IN RED WAS IMPRESSIVE. SHE WAS GOING TO GRANT ME THE LEGACY OF A FELISTER, AND I WAS GOING TO BE THE CONDUIT BETWEEN IT AND THE AFTERLIFE AND THIS WORLD. IT SOUNDED SHADY, BUT I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS MY DESTINY.

OVER TIME, THIS WOMAN GAVE ME THE IMPRESSION THAT SHE WAS PECULIAR TO SAY THE LEAST. I DIDN'T WANT TO ASK HER WHERE SHE HAD ACTUALLY GOTTEN THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FELISTER HIMSELF, NOR WHAT WAS BEHIND THE PLOT.

- YOU KNOW THAT FELISTER LOVED YOU-IN HIS OWN WAY, BUT HE LOVED YOU ALL THE SAME! YOU WERE HIS ESCAPE FROM REALITY.

I GRITTED MY TEETH! SHE WAS RIGHT. I AGREED TO DO A SPIRITUALIST SÉANCE AND CONTACT HIS SPIRIT FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE TO REVEAL THE DETAILS I NEEDED, INCLUDING HOW TO GET TO HIS HIDDEN TREASURE.

WE PREPARED A SPIRIT BOARD AND I FRANKLY ASKED HER:

- DO YOU BELIEVE IN THIS NONSENSE? THIS SEEMS LIKE A GIANT SCHMECKER TO ME. BUT I HOPE IT WORKS! AND MAYBE I SHOULD!

I SOON FELT A SPECIFIC WARMTH AND SMELL OF INCENSE. PERHAPS SOME DEMON HAD GOTTEN IN, OR PERHAPS I WAS UNABLE TO SENSE THE SUBTLE VIBRATIONS OF THE SOUL.

THE SPIRITUALIST SESSION WAS NOT GOING VERY SMOOTHLY AND AS I MOVED THE PLANCHETTE ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE BOARD I BEGAN TO HESITATE.

THE WOMAN IN RED OPENLY STATED:

- SPIRIT OF FELISTER, WE WISH YOU TO REVEAL TO US WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT! AND WHAT MADE YOU TAKE THOSE ACTIONS!

A VERY SIGNIFICANT SILENCE FOLLOWED, AND LITTLE BY LITTLE THE ANSWER TO THIS ENTITE WAS REVEALED TO US. I FELT HIS PRESENCE IN THE ROOM AND INVOLUNTARILY SHUDDERED. IT WAS MY FORMER EMPLOYER-HE WAS DEAD NOW.

- "THE ETERNAL PURGE BETWEEN THE CARTELS IS NOT FROM YESTERDAY. BUT IT'S THE SAME IN LIFE," THE GHOST REPLIED IN A DRAWL, USING THE LETTERS ON THE BOARD.

THE GHOST STOOD IN SILENCE. BUT I KNEW HE WAS HIDING IN THE SHADOWS.

- "WHERE IS YOUR INHERITANCE?,“ THE WOMAN REPEATED LESS CONFIDENTLY, TRYING TO FIND OUT AS MUCH AS SHE COULD FROM THE SPIRIT.

- "WELL, THAT'S A QUESTION THAT HAS NO EXACT ANSWER," THE GHOST STAMMERED.

- "AT LEAST TRY TO DIRECT US," SHE INSISTED.

- "IF YOU WANT THE MONEY," THE GHOST CONTINUED IN THE SAME MONOTONE STYLE, - "THEN, YOU WILL EASILY TAKE IT. THEY ARE IN... "

JUST THEN SOMETHING FEATHERED THE SPIRIT-BOARD. AND THE SESSION BROKE UP.

- "SHALL WE LOOK FOR IT AGAIN?,“, I WONDERED HYPOCRITICALLY, "PERHAPS HE HAS SOME PLANS AND DOESN'T WANT TO SHARE THEM WITH US."

- "OPPOSITE. 'I'M CONVINCED HE'LL SAY ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING," THE WOMAN IN RED TURNED TO ME.

WE TRIED AGAIN.

THIS TIME THE GHOST REALLY POINTED THE PLACE OUT TO US. IT WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MISSOURI AND OHIO.

- "IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LONG TIME TO GET THERE," I TURNED TO HER.

- "DON'T WORRY, WE HAVE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE," WAS HER CURT REPLY. "WHERE FELISTER LEFT SOMETHING, THERE'S PROBABLY SOMETHING ELSE HIDING."

THEN THE FOLLOWING SONG WAS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND:

''WEARING A THONG,

WHEREVER I GO,

I HAVE NOT A MOMENT'S REST,

MY SPIRIT IS NOT FOR HERE.

YOU FORGOT ME,

BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER

THE GOOD OLD DAYS!''

I LOOKED AROUND AND NOTICED NO ONE AROUND. IT WAS DAMN DESERTED. THEN THE WOMAN IN RED TURNED TO ME AND SAID.

- WE'RE GOING TO FIND FELISTER'S WILL AND HIS LEGACY. WE WILL SOON REGAIN OUR POSITION AND EVERYTHING WILL GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS!

- "IT SOUNDS LIKE AN ADVENTURE, ONLY I'VE NOT BEEN A FAN OF THAT SORT OF NONSENSE FOR A LONG TIME," I UTTERED, TORTURED AND DRAWN OUT, "WHAT I WANT IS AN ANSWER TO MY QUESTIONS."

SHE LOOKED AT ME QUESTIONINGLY - FOR THE THIRD TIME:

- OK!

MEANWHILE, THIS WHOLE SPIRITUALIST SESSION HAD BEEN TAKING PLACE IN HER HACIENDA, AS SHE CALLED IT.

LIKE ANY HACIENDA, THE VAST ESTATE HAD EVERYTHING AND ALSO HAD ITS STABLES, BARNS AND STOREROOMS.

- "NOW GO AND REST," SAID MY STEWARDESS TO ME, "TONIGHT WE WILL TALK IN MORE DETAIL."

I FELT THE ADRENALINE RUSH. APPARENTLY, WE WERE GOING TO GO SEARCHING FOR FELISTER'S REAL FACE.

"WILL YOU GROW UP WITH ME?," LIKE THE REFRAIN OF SOME FORGOTTEN SONG.

SADNESS HAS THE FOLLOWING PROPERTY. IT LINGERS IN OUR SOUL ONLY IF WE LET IT. THROUGH THE EYES OF SADNESS WE SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY.

THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE DONE, I RETIRED TO MY GUARDIAN'S CHAMBERS. I REALIZED THAT MY LIFE WAS A COMPLETE LIE AND FELT LIKE I WAS IN A MOVIE THAT WAS JUST GOING TO END - WHETHER SOONER OR LATER DIDN'T REALLY MATTER.

I FELL ASLEEP AND HAD A DISGUSTING NIGHTMARE. SOMEWHERE THERE WAS A RIVERBED - THE MOON REFLECTED IN ITS MIRRORED SURFACE. THERE WERE PEOPLE AROUND, BUT THEY WERE SOMEWHERE FAR AWAY - LIKE BARELY NOTICEABLE SPECKS. I WAS ALONE. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND PLEASANT, BUT I COULD TASTE THE STRANGE TASTE IN MY MOUTH. WAS THAT THE GHOST?

THOSE WHO WERE INVOLVED IN DEMONOLOGY AND OCCULTISM KNEW THIS. THE WHOLE ESSENCE OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE AFTERLIFE, BASED ON OUR DESIRE TO LEARN MORE AND FEEL SOMETHING THAT IS MOST LIKELY NOT THERE.

I SLEPT LIKE A SLAUGHTERED MAN. I'M SIMPLY UNABLE TO GIVE A DIFFERENT DEFINITION FOR THE TIME SPENT DURING WHICH MY SENSES HAD TIME TO RELAX AND EXPECT SOMEONE TO POINT A GUN AT MY TEMPLE. AND DESPITE THE NIGHTMARES, WHEN MY BEAUTIFUL GUARDIAN CAME TO WAKE ME, I WAS SUFFICIENTLY RESTED.

- "BRACE YOURSELF," SHE INSTRUCTED ME GRAVELY. "WE HAVEN'T MUCH TIME TO LOSE."

WE HAD RECEIVED INFORMATION THAT SOME OF THE CARTELS OPERATING OFF THE GULF OF MEXICO COULD HARM OUR SECURITY. A LITTLE LATER WE LEFT THE MANSION.

BUT, THEN I REALIZED ONE THING - I COULD TRUST THIS WOMAN. SHE KNEW WHERE SHE WAS GOING AND WHAT SHE WANTED OUT OF LIFE, AND I DIDN'T.

FELISTER WAS MY STARTING POINT FOR SO MANY THINGS THAT MADE ME FEEL LIKE PART OF A BADLY ORDERED PUZZLE. BUT IN TIME, I REALIZED IT WAS NOT OKAY TO BE OVERLY CRITICAL OF MY LATE BENEFACTOR. FELISTER WAS AN ANGEL TO SOME AND A DEVIL TO OTHERS!

I FIGURED THAT GETTING US ACROSS THE BORDER WAS GOING TO BE TRICKIER THIS TIME.

THE MEXICAN BORDER IS ONE OF THE MOST PICTURESQUE PLACES. BUT ALSO ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS. USUALLY THE MERCHANDISE TRAVELED TO PHOENIX ARIZONA AS THE SONORA DESERT, WHICH WAS IN MEXICAN TERRITORY, WAS ALSO CONDUCIVE TO DRUG TRAFFICKING. TUCSON, YOU COULD SAY, WAS ALSO PART OF THE ROUTE, BUT WE COULDN'T STAY THERE AS MANY OF THE PEOPLE KNEW ME. THERE WERE A LOT OF FORMER FELISTER ASSOCIATES THERE. IT WOULDN'T HAVE DONE ME ANY GOOD IF ANY OF THEM HAD BAD MEMORIES OF ME.

I HAD HEARD THAT SOME OF THE MOST BRUTAL KILLERS, DESTROYED THE BODIES OF THE INCONVENIENT IN BARRELS OF ACID. BUT STILL, WE WERE ON AMERICAN SOIL. THE LAWS OF CIVILIZATION WERE AT WORK HERE!

AND THE IDEA OF A DRUG DISTRIBUTION ZONE WAS HARDLY A COMPLETE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM EITHER.

DON'T ASK ME HOW THE CORRUPT CUSTOMS OFFICIALS MISSED US BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER TOPIC. BUT APPARENTLY MY PATRON HAD CONNECTIONS ALL OVER THE PLACE AND HER WORD OPENED TOO MANY DOORS. OF COURSE, I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW FAR HER INFLUENCE EXTENDED.

I KNEW, HOWEVER, THAT SHE WAS COUNTING ON US TO FIND THE INHERITANCE AND WOULD MAKE A DEFINITE EFFORT TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN. I COULD NOT, HOWEVER, IMAGINE WHAT THAT "OTHER" SHE HAD HINTED AT WOULD BE.

FELIX WAS ALSO MORE DANGEROUS THAN A VIPER SNAKE - SO ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING COULD BE EXPECTED OF HIM. EVEN FROM THE CURSED GRAVE THEY'D SHOVED HIM INTO!

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, AT THAT MOMENT I IMAGINED WORMS WORKING THEIR WAY THROUGH HIS GNAWED EYEBALLS AND I FELT SICK.

THE ZONE LOOKED AT ME KIND OF SOURLY.

- I'M NAMED AFTER THAT MOTH THAT DESTROYS EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES - SO FELISTER WILL TEST MY TEMPER.

I DIDN'T WANT TO CONTRADICT HER. SHE HAD EVIDENTLY MADE UP HER MIND TO DO AS SHE PLEASED, AND WOULD DO IT IN SPITE OF MY OPINION OR ATTITUDE.

IT ONLY MADE ONE THING CLEAR TO ME. FELISTER'S ROAD DOWN WAS EVIDENTLY A VERY, VERY LONG ONE. AND IN FOLLOWING THAT PATH HE WAS COMPLETELY ALONE.

SEE, ALTHOUGH I LOVED FELISTER I COULDN'T SAY MY TEARS FOR HIM WERE SINCERE. IN THE END HE HAD ENDED UP WHERE HE HAD WISHED TO BE! AND THIS IN HIS CONFUSED MIND WAS APPARENTLY PERFECTLY LOGICAL!

I WOULD DESCRIBE THE SITUATION IN THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS AS VIOLENCE WITHOUT END, WHERE THE STATE WAS CLEARLY LOSING THE WAR AGAINST THE MORE POWERFUL GANGS.

FELISTER, HOWEVER, WAS ALSO A DEMONIC FOLLOWER. HE HAD PAID WITH HIS SOUL FOR SOME AFTERLIFE KNOWLEDGE THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY MORE VALUABLE AND INTERESTING TO HIM THAN SOME PAPERS.

AS I WATCHED ZONARA'S ENTHUSIASM I COULD SEE WHY SHE WAS SO INTRIGUED. WE WERE OBVIOUSLY INTERESTED IN SOME OF THAT KNOWLEDGE, AND MAYBE EVEN ALL OF IT.

SHE MENTIONED TO ME THAT DETECTIVE DONOVAN HAD RECEIVED SOME OF THE FELISTER'S OWN WORKINGS, AND CLEARLY FELT A KEEN INTEREST IN WHAT HE WAS UP TO.

THE NON-PUKISM WITH WHICH SHE SPOKE OF INSTITUTIONS WAS MORE THAN IMPRESSIVE. SHE HAD BEEN BORN TO IT!

WE DECIDED TO DETOUR OUR ORIGINAL ROUTE BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE SOME DRUG CARTEL MEMBERS ON OUR TRAIL, AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO GET HAMMERED FOR ANYTHING!

SOMEWHERE IN THERE I SENSED SOMETHING ELSE.

I REMEMBERED THAT ZONARA HAD TALKED TO ME ABOUT SOME GIANT CRASH THAT MEMBERS OF A RIVAL CARTEL HAD ORCHESTRATED. AND THEN, GETTING OUT OF THE CARS, THEY THREW COCKTAILS OF INCENDIARY LIQUID AT MEMBERS OF A RIVAL GANG, SMASHING THE WINDOWS OF THE CARS WITH CLUBS.

SOME OF THE PEOPLE BURNED LIKE LIVE COALS!

- "THEY REALLY KNOW NO MERCY!," ZONARA LAUGHED MYSTERIOUSLY, BUT I KNEW THERE WAS SOME SADNESS IN HER SMILE, "THEY LOST THEIR ABILITY TO LOVE SO LONG AGO! AND WHO CAN TELL YOU WHAT NEED OF LOVE IS BUT ONE WHO HAS LONG BEEN HOPELESSLY DOOMED?,“

- "TELL ME ABOUT THIS DEMONIC CULT," I INQUIRED. "I'M SURE THE CUNNING FELISTER HAS OTHER SECRETS UP HIS SLEEVE. THIS MAN IS A REAL DEVIL. PEACE BE UPON HIM!"

SHE LAUGHED, SHOWING ME HER EVEN WHITE TEETH. SHE LOOKED YOUNGER SOMEHOW, AND SOME STRANGE THOUGHT SHADOWED HER BROW. WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE EXPECTED FROM ME!

- "FELISTER'S LEGACY IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS," SHE TOLD ME, "BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY HIS GAME BY HIS RULES."

- "AND WHAT WILL BE OUR USE?," SAID I, ASTONISHED. "THAT SOUNDS UTTERLY MAD!"

- "YOU SEE THERE ARE TOO MANY LOST SOULS IN THIS WORLD?," ZONARA TURNED TO ME COMPLETELY SERIOUSLY, "OUR JOB IS TO BRING THEM BACK AND SUCCEED IN CLAIMING THEM THE RIGHT TO A NEW LIFE!"

- 'SO THAT SOUNDS BLOODY CRAZY TO ME,' I SMILED, 'WHY SHOULD WE HELP ANY SOULS OF OUR OWN? WHAT GOOD IS IT TO US ANYWAY? AND WHERE WILL ALL THIS WORK GO?

- THE PROBLEM IS THAT TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE NO REAL DESIRE TO LIVE. SOME OF THEM DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT THEY'VE BEEN WALKING AROUND LIKE THE LIVING DEAD ALL THEIR LIVES, AND THAT'S TOO DAMAGING TO THEIR ASTRAL DEVELOPMENT. I THINK THAT'S WHAT FELISTER WAS GETTING AT. HE WANTED TO SAVE THEIR SOULS, AND HE USED THE DRUG MONEY TO DO JUST THAT.

I HAD A FEELING THAT ZONARA HAD COMPLETELY LOST IT. SO IF IT WAS ALL TRUE, IT MEANT ONLY ONE THING - WE WOULD BE TRYING TO REHABILITATE THE MONSTER FELISTER, AND IN A WAY THAT MANY WOULD NOT PERCEIVE - EVEN AMONG FORMER DRUG LORDS, THERE WAS SOME FORM OF CODE OF HONOR BEFORE EVERYTHING COLLAPSED AND WENT TO HELL. THEN EVERYONE DECLARED TOTAL WAR ON EACH OTHER. THERE WAS NO LONGER ANY PREDICTABILITY IN THEIR RELATIONSHIPS AND THE KILLINGS GOT COMPLETELY OUT OF HAND. AFTER ALL, MANY OF THE DRUG CARTELS WERE FOUNDED BY EX-MILITARY MEN EAGER TO GRAB SOME OF THE DRUG MARKET. AND WHEN THE SITUATION CHANGED, THEY HAD TO ADAPT TO IT.

MEXICAN COOKS HAD RAISED THEIR LEVEL AS THEIR CHINESE COUNTERPARTS HAD TAUGHT THEM SOME TRICKS AND COULD KNEAD HEROIN AND FENTANYL, WHICH MADE IT MANY TIMES STRONGER. THIS POWERFUL OPIOID GREATLY ALTERED ITS PROPERTIES AND MADE IT MUCH MORE DESIRABLE ON THE US MARKET, AND HENCE PROFITS SKYROCKETED.

BUT ZONARA DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THE DRUG MARKET AT ALL. NO, SHE WANTED TO GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH FELISTER, THE MONSTER WHO WAS THE FACE OF ALL THE POWERFUL CARTELS IN THE US. THE BRUTAL BASTARD WHO LIVED LIKE A RABID DOG AND QUITE RIGHTLY TOOK A BULLET IN THE FOREHEAD.

- "THE WAY OF SOULS IS PARTICULAR," ZONARA TOLD ME, ALL TOO CONFIDENTLY. "NOT EVERYONE BELIEVES IN ORTHODOXY. BUT THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN IN BATTLE WILL BE REBORN, AND THIS HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN. BUT FELISTER WAS DEALING WITH SOMETHING PARTICULARLY INTERESTING. HE HAS SUMMONED DEMONS TO AID HIM AND GIVE HIM POWERS TO GUIDE THESE SOULS ON THEIR JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE."

- "BUT WHY DID HE DO IT AT ALL?,“, I WONDERED, "IT WAS BRUTALLY DANGEROUS AND HIS BODY WAS IN DANGER OF BEING POSSESSED."

- "THAT WASN'T HIS ULTIMATE GOAL," ZONARA ASSURED ME, "FELISTER WAS UTTERLY DEVOTED TO HIS CAUSE, AND THE FINANCES FROM THE CARTELS SIMPLY HELPED HIM SURVIVE. REMEMBER HIS UNDERGROUND CLOSET THAT WAS BROKEN INTO BY DETECTIVE DONOVAN. FELISTER DIDN'T SET OUT TO DESTROY ENERGY, AS THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE IN PRINCIPLE, BUT ONLY TO PROCESS IT, OR AT LEAST TRY TO."

I LISTENED RAPTLY TO HER STRANGE RAMBLINGS, THE WORDS OF A WOMAN POSSESSED WHO HAD RESOLUTELY MADE UP HER MIND TO GO ALL THE WAY IN HER QUEST, AND I WAS TO BE HER HELPER.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE CASTRATOR

CHAPTER SIX: THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE CASTRATOR

 

TO BREATHE FREE AIR HAD ALWAYS BEEN ATTRACTIVE TO ME, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE ROMANTIC YEARS ON FELISTER'S FARM. HE LONGED TO SHOW US THE RIGHT WAY, THOUGH THIS WAY WAS TOO FLEETING.

- "ROMANCE," FELISTER WAS SAYING, "IS GOOD FOR A TIME, BUT IN THE END, ASK YOURSELF WHO NEEDS YOU IN THIS LIFE. MOST OF YOU ONLY KNOW THE PETTY THEFTS IN THE MISSOURI AREA, OR SOME OF THE BETTER CONCEIVED HYPERMARKET ROBBERIES AND SUCH. YOU'RE USED TO THE POLICE CHASING YOU, SIRENS BLARING, AND YOU FEELING LIKE HEROES WHO ARE CARRYING OUT SOME IMPORTANT MISSION, AND AT THE END REPORTING THE MONEY TO YOUR BOSS. SOME OF YOU HAVE ALSO BEEN ARRESTED AS DRUG DEALERS, WHICH ELEVATED THEM TO THE RANK OF ASSISTANT CASTRATORS ON MY FARM."

THE HARDENED CATTLE WATCHED HIM IN RAPT FASCINATION, EAGER TO FEEL THAT THRILL OF BLUE SPRING THAT WAS TO REVIVE THEM. THEY KNEW NOT HOW TO GO ON WITH THEIR LIVES, FOR THEY KNEW HOW TO DO NOTHING BUT CRIME. BUT THERE WAS A PSYCHOLOGICAL POINT HERE, WHICH FELISTER, AS A SUBTLE AND ADROIT PSYCHOLOGIST, USED ADMIRABLY. HE DID NOT GIVE THEM THE HOPE THAT HE WAS THEIR FATHER, OR THEIR MENTOR, OR THEIR SPIRITUAL TEACHER, BUT AN EQUAL PARTNER - A KIND OF COMMON WORK BOUND THEM TOGETHER, AND THEY BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE ALMOST GOD-CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY HAD FALLEN INTO THE NET OF THE CARTELS THAT HELD SUCH IMPORTANT PORTS AS THE ALREADY MENTIONED LAZARO CARDENAS.

THE SADNESS IN FELISTER'S EYES WAS VAGUELY EVIDENT, AND HE SOUGHT TO GAIN FORGIVENESS FROM THOSE DEMONS WHOM HE THOUGHT MIGHT HOLD THE REINS FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING. HE WORKED THROUGH SPIRITUALISTIC SEANCES WITH MARBAS, ABRAXIS, AGARES AND MANY OTHER DEMONS, BUT HE ALSO LIKED TO DO WHAT WAS CALLED CHANNELING ENERGY, WHICH MEANT THAT WHILE HE WAS IN CAPTIVITY THE SPIRIT COULD "FULFILL" SOME OF HIS WISHES. IT WASN'T PARTICULARLY ACCURATE TO SAY, BUT IN PRACTICE, FELISTER COULD RECEIVE SOME INFORMATION THAT HE THOUGHT MIGHT HELP HIM IN HIS WORK WITH THE AFTERLIFE.

HIS COMPANIONS DIDN'T EVEN SUSPECT HIS OCCUPATIONS THOUGH SOME VAGUELY GUESSED AND CRAVED SOME FORM OF COMPENSATION ESPECIALLY WHEN THE FARM WORK WAS IN EXCESS. THE STARTLING THING WAS THAT FAR TOO MANY OF THEM WERE WILLING TO STAY EVEN OVERTIME, WHICH WAS SUSPICIOUS TO SAY THE LEAST. FELISTER HAD BEEN PARTICULARLY ATTENTIVE TO HIS GRIMOIRES, WHICH HE HAD BOUGHT AT SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING BOOK AUCTIONS - USUALLY MOST OF THEM COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. THE PRICE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE OF THEM RAN TO OVER THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, AND FELISTER HAD SERIOUS CONCERNS THAT SOMEONE MIGHT BLOW THE BOOK IN THE MOST BRUTAL WAY, SO HE HAD TAKEN MEASURES AGAINST ITS THEFT. THE SIMPLEST AND RATHER CRUDE METHOD WAS THAT HE HAD LEFT A SPIRIT-BOARD NEAR THE GRIMOIRES, THE SUMMONED DEMON BEING TRICKED BY THE VIOLENT SHAKING OF THE SPIRIT-BOARD AND ITS SYMBOLIC RITUAL BURNING - SO HE COULD NOT LEAVE THIS WORLD. BUT FELISTER WAS ALSO SKILLED IN NECROMANCY, AND HAD DONE SOME ADDITIONAL SPELLS WHERE HE USED THE DEAD AS WEAPONS - IT WASN'T VERY ORIGINAL, BUT THEN AGAIN, DEMONS SOMETIMES HAD A HABIT OF BLOWING AWAY AFTER A WEEK OR SO, SO HE PREFERRED TO RELY ON HUMAN SOULS FOR HIS PURPOSES AS WELL.

FELISTER HAD STRANGE FEELINGS AND ATTRACTIONS TO LIFE - A COMPLETE ASCETIC, HE WAS CONSIDERED TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF A TRULY CLEVER GANGSTER BY THE REST OF THE KATHILI WHO OBEYED HIM. SOMETIMES FELISTER HAD TO BRIBE SOME SERIOUS CONGRESSMEN WHO TRIED TO BE HIS EYES AND EARS TO THE AUTHORITIES TRYING TO PEEP INTO HIS BUSINESS, BUT SOMEWHERE IN THERE A STRANGE FELLOW BY THE NAME OF STEINER SHOWED UP. THE GERMAN FAMILY NAME WAS A GUARANTEE OF HIS DEEP PRECISION IN HIS WORK AND HIS WILLINGNESS TO GO INTO DETAIL.

AS WE MIGHT GUESS, HE LOVED THE FOLLOWING FORMULATION "IF MY LIFE IS A LIE, MY DEATH WILL BE A LIE TOO!" AND WISHED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT FELISTER AND DETECTIVE DONOVAN, WHO HAD SOMEHOW STRANGELY INTERFERED IN HIS AFFAIRS DESPITE THE POWERFUL BUREAUCRATIC UMBRELLA THAT WAS STRETCHED WIDE OVER FELISTER.

THE PEOPLE WHO PROTECTED HIM KNEW FULL WELL THAT HE NOT ONLY COULD PAY FOR THEIR NEXT ELECTION CAMPAIGNS, BUT WAS DEEPLY CONNECTED TO THE BUREAUCRATIC MACHINE IN THE STATE.

AS A STATE, MISSOURI WAS ALSO PART OF THE SO-CALLED STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRACY, WHICH PROVIDED DIRECT JOB CONTACT BETWEEN PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND THE PUBLIC. FELISTER HAD ANTICIPATED SOME MOVES, AND POLITICIANS AND CITIZENS WORKED IN HIS FAVOR. PUBLIC OPINION AS A RESULT OF CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED PR WAS VERY IMPORTANT.

TO TIE HIS PANTS, FELISTER HAD BUILT UP AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF FARMS WHERE ANIMAL CASTRATION TOOK PLACE. PERHAPS OVER TWO HUNDRED DIFFERENT FARMS AROUND THE COUNTRY WERE DOING JUST THAT. BUT HIS SLOGAN WAS ACTUALLY THAT THEY WERE DEVELOPING ANIMAL HUSBANDRY.

LIFE'S FELISTER HAD UNDERSTOOD THAT NOTHING CAME FOR FREE AND THAT EVERY THING CAME AT A PRICE. HIS CATTLE KNEW IT TOO. ANY MISDEMEANOUR ON THEIR PART COULD COST THEM HANGING FROM THE BARN DOOR. SOME WERE EVEN BEATEN WITH A BROOM HANDLE. BUT FELISTER WAS - LIKE A TRUE EDUCATOR - ALL TOO AWARE THAT HIS EDUCATIONAL METHODS WOULD HAVE MADE THEM DO THEIR JOBS EVEN BETTER. YES, THOSE BASTARDS HATED HIM AND WANTED TO DRAG HIS GUTS ALL THE WAY TO KANSAS CITY ON THE ASPHALT. BUT FELISTER WAS JUST MINDING HIS OWN BUSINESS! AND THE DAYS WENT BY MONOTONOUSLY.

FELISTER WAS ALSO A HISTORY BUFF AND READ HISTORY BOOKS VORACIOUSLY - NOT THAT HE HAD MUCH TIME FOR THAT. THE CARTELS REQUIRED THE FARM TO WORK TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR SHIFTS TO ENSURE HIGHER TURNOVER AND PROFIT. IN ONE OF THESE BOOKS HE HAD READ THE FOLLOWING FORMULATION "THERE IS NONE OF YOU BUT WILL HANG ME, I KNOW, WHENEVER YOU CAN TOUCH ME IN YOUR POWER.[1]" SO HE TRIED TO MAKE SURE THE FORCES WERE NEVER EQUAL. AND THAT HELD THE SITUATION.

FELISTER ALSO UNDERSTOOD HOW TO MANAGE HIS BUSINESS, AND HE ALSO UNDERSTOOD FINANCE. AND HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE WHOLE WORLD ENDED THERE. BUT HE DIDN'T NEED MORE. HE WAS SELF-SUFFICIENT. NO MATTER HOW HARD THEY TRIED AND HOW MUCH THEY SAW HIS QUIRKS, HIS SUBORDINATES KEPT QUIET, KNOWING THAT HE WAS GIVING THEM THEIR BREAD AND ALSO PROVIDING THEM WITH A STABLE BACK FROM A FORMAL POINT OF VIEW. NO MATTER HOW THEY SPUN HIM WITH THEIR QUESTIONS, FELISTER WAS UNRUFFLED AND DID NOT GIVE IN TO ANYONE'S PROVOCATIONS. HIS SIMPLE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE WAS THAT HE HAD COME INTO THIS WORLD ON A MISSION AND IT WOULD SOON BE OVER.

DETECTIVE DONOVAN HAD IDENTIFIED HIM IN THE MORGUE IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, AS THERE WASN'T MUCH LEFT OF HIM. A FRAGMENTATION GRENADE THROWN BY ONE OF THE STORMTROOPERS HAD TORN HIS LEGS OFF TO ABOVE THE KNEE, AND ALSO PARTS OF HIS TORSO.

THE MORGUE WAS CRAMPED AND OPPRESSIVE ENOUGH, AND EVEN THE WALLS THEMSELVES SEEMED TO WHISPER SECRETS. IT WAS AS IF THEY WERE SAYING TO DONOVAN "YOU KILLED HIM! YOU WERE! YOU! YOU! YOU! YOU! YOU!"

DONOVAN WAS GOING TO THROW UP. HE WISHED TO GET OUT INTO THE FRESH AIR. HE WASN'T GETTING ANY IN THE GOVERNMENT EITHER, AND HE KNEW HE STILL HAD SOME ACTIVITY TO REPORT AND NOT LIE ON THOSE OLD LAURELS FOREVER.

HE HAD BEEN GIVEN A PRIVATE OFFICE WHERE HE COULD DO WHATEVER HE WANTED AND HAD RECEIVED ALMOST DOUBLE HIS SALARY, AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR HE COULD HOPE FOR SOME PRETTY FAT BONUS. WHAT MORE COULD HE ASK FOR?

HE COULD BOSS AROUND THOSE LOWER THAN HIM AND GET THE SATISFACTION OF HIS COMPARATIVELY GREAT POWER AS CHIEF OF POLICE. SO MANY AND BRUTAL GAINS OBTAINED AT THE PRICE OF A NOTHING AND NO DEATH OF A NOXIOUS CRIMINAL SCOUNDREL!

YES, DONOVAN AS A PROFESSIONAL WAS TRAINED TO SEE THOSE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LAW THAT WAY. OF THOSE HEINOUS OFFENDERS WHO, LIKE A BRUTAL CATERPILLAR

AND YET SOMETHING BOTHERED HIM.

HE HAD PROPERLY ORDERED A BALLISTICS EXAMINATION OF THE WEAPON THAT HAD KILLED FELISTER - NOT THAT HE NEEDED TO, BUT HE DECIDED TO DO IT JUST IN CASE BECAUSE HE FEARED FELISTER WOULD HAVE NO POWERFUL PATRONS HOLDING HIM TO ACCOUNT. HE WANTED TO LOOK IMPRESSIVE, AND HE WAS PUMPED TO STAY AT THE VERY TOP, WHERE MAYBE FORTUNE WOULD SMILE ON HIM AND EVEN ONE DAY ELEVATE HIM EVEN FURTHER.

THEN HE ORDERED A STUDY OF THE GRIMOIRES OF HIS ENEMY, WHOM HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW PERSONALLY, BUT THANKS TO WHOM HE HAD GOTTEN ALL THAT HE HAD AT THE MOMENT, DONOVAN SEEMED TO CALM DOWN FOR A MOMENT. HAD HE BEEN A SMOKER, HE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE LIT UP A GIANT CIGAR AND PROUDLY LEANED BACK IN HIS HUGE AND RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE LEATHER CHAIR. BUT THE PROBLEM WAS, HE WASN'T A SMOKER. AND HE DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS FOR CIGARS LIKE "KOHIBA," WHERE THE DEEP AND DELICATE AROMA CARESSED NOT ONLY YOUR LUNGS BUT YOUR OVERACHIEVING PARVENU EGO. WELL, HE HAD BEEN DENOUNCED AT THE GOVERNMENT TROUGH LONG AGO, BUT HE LIKED TO THINK OF HIMSELF AS A PARVENU IN HIS OWN IMAGINATION. THE DETECTIVE MIGHT HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED A CAPABLE COP, BUT IN PRACTICE HE HAD BUILT HIS IMAGE THANKS TO A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO STOOD BEHIND HIM AND BACKED HIM UP IN EARNEST.

FOR MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS NOW, HE'D BEEN LANGUISHING IN THE SMELLY OFFICE, WHERE HE'D WAITED ANXIOUSLY FOR A MORE SERIOUS CASE-BUT THERE HADN'T BEEN ONE. WHATEVER HE SAID, DONOVAN WAS AMBITIOUS AND WANTED MORE FOR HIMSELF THAN HE DESERVED.

AFTER A WHILE, SOMEONE CAME TO TELL HIM HOW FAR THEY HAD GOTTEN WITH THE RELIANCE ON THE GRIMOIRES. IT TURNED OUT TO BE OLD BOOKS. IT WAS THE ORIGINAL OF "ARS ALMADEL," WHICH WAS TO HELP FELISTER SECURE COMMUNICATION WITH THE ANGELS WHO COULD AID HIM IN HIS UNDERTAKINGS. THIS WAS PRACTICALLY THE FOURTH BOOK OF SOLOMON'S LITTLE KEY, WHICH GAVE PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE TO THE PRACTITIONER.

DONOVAN JUST SCRATCHED HIS HEAD. THESE SIMPLE THINGS WERE CLEARLY GETTING TO HIM. BUT HE NOTICED SOMETHING - NONE OF THE CONGRESSMEN CAME TO CONGRATULATE HIM ON A JOB SO WELL DONE. ALL HE GOT WAS AN OFFICIAL CONGRATULATIONS AND NOTHING MORE - NOT THAT HE EXPECTED THOSE GOD-ANOINTED SOULS TO PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO HIM, BUT THE SPECIAL OPERATION HE HAD ORGANIZED WAS CARRIED OUT LIKE A TEXTBOOK. NOT TO MENTION THAT HE HAD PUT HIS WHOLE SOUL INTO IT.

IT SEEMED TO HIM THAT THE OTHER ASSISTANTS IN THE POLICE FORCE ALSO HAD LITTLE PARTICULAR REGARD FOR HIS ASPIRATIONS FOR PROMOTION. DONOVAN, HOWEVER, DID NOT CARE. HE ALWAYS ARRIVED AT WORK IN A PERFECTLY PRESSED SUIT AND WAS VERY ATTENTIVE TO DETAIL.

DONOVAN LOOKED FORWARD TO THE END OF THE WORKDAY SO HE COULD GET HOME FROM WORK AND GET SOME SLEEP. EVEN IN HIS OFFICE HE WAS ALERT, BECAUSE SOMETIMES REPORTS CAME IN OF SOME BRUTAL CRIMES, SUCH AS BEATINGS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ROBBERY OR EVEN ARSON.

DONOVAN KNEW THAT KANSAS CITY WAS NOT A BAD PLACE TO INDULGE IN A BIT OF FUN, BUT ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL RANKINGS IT WAS THE FIFTH MOST DANGEROUS CITY IN THE US.

THE COP HAD A SMALL CABIN NOT FAR FROM KANSAS CITY-MAYBE THIRTY MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE METROPOLIS. IT WAS A MASSIVE TWO-STORY STRUCTURE, AND BECAUSE HE HAD SOME CONNECTIONS, DONOVAN DECIDED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION AND STAKE OUT THE LAND AROUND IT. IT WASN'T MUCH LAND MAYBE ABOUT THREE OR FOUR ACRES BUT HE WAS EAGER TO DO SOMETHING AND DIDN'T WANT ANYONE WATCHING HIM.

WHY HAD FELISTER ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE CAPTURED? WHY HAD NO ONE DEMANDED AN ACCOUNT OF THE DONOVAN? WERE THE PEOPLE BEHIND THIS GIGANTIC DRUG DEAL NOT LISTENING?

SOMETHING DIDN'T ADD UP HERE AND IT DIDN'T ADD UP AT ALL. NO MATTER HOW HARD HE TRIED TO FIGURE IT OUT, DONOVAN WAS UNABLE TO ARRIVE AT THE FULL TRUTH ON HIS OWN.

- "FELISTER SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN A REAL MAVERICK," HE MUTTERED, STARING INTO THE FIREPLACE, WHICH WAS CRACKLING MERRILY.

IT WAS A HELLISH HEAT, BUT THE HUT WAS SOMEHOW COOL, AND YET THE DETECTIVE'S SEEMINGLY MADE-UP STORY WAS FICTIONAL, BUT HE WANTED TO REACH THE INSIGHTS OF FELISTER, HIS MORTAL AND RUTHLESS ENEMY, FOR HIMSELF.

- "FIRE PURIFIES," HE SAID, AS IF IN A TRANCE, AND BEGAN TO UNWRAP THE GRIMOIRE WHICH, WHO KNEW WHY, WAS IN HIS HANDS.

YES, THAT'S RIGHT, HE HAD TAKEN IT BECAUSE HE WAS CLEARLY AWARE THAT HE NEEDED IT. THE SAME BOOK WAS KEPT AS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE, BUT DONOVAN HAD PHOTOGRAPHED IT WITH A SPECIAL

CAMERA AND HAD ASSEMBLED THE PRINTED MATERIAL, SHAPING IT CAREFULLY INTO A BOOK.

IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE HE REALIZED THE MOST IMPORTANT THING - FELISTER HADN'T BEEN TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEMONS HE'D BEEN COMMUNICATING WITH ALL HIS LIFE, BUT WITH THE ANGELS WHO SEEMED TO HAVE FORGOTTEN HIM.

THE COP WONDERED WHY FELISTER WAS SO DETERMINED TO HELP THE OTHERS. PERHAPS SOME OF THE SOULS WERE IN FACT IN NEED, BUT IT WASN'T THE CASTRATOR WHO WAS BEST SUITED FOR THIS.

DONOVAN HAD ALSO TAKEN SOME OF THE SHRUNKEN MAGE'S NOTES, WHICH HAD ALSO BEEN DUTIFULLY SCANNED WITHOUT HIS COLLEAGUES' KNOWLEDGE. HE WANTED TO EXAMINE THEM IN PEACE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS BEHIND IT ALL.

 

[1] Words of the famous Samuel Bellamy, known as "Black Sam", who was the richest pirate of all time.

THE FELISTER'S LEGACY

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE FELISTER'S LEGACY

 

THE MORE HE CONSIDERED DONOVAN, THE MORE HE FOUND THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING VERY, VERY ROTTEN HERE. JUST TO KEEP YOU GUESSING. NOWHERE COULD HE CATCH THE LOGIC OF FELISTER'S THOUGHT, AND HE WAS SURE THERE WAS ONE. THEN, UNEXPECTEDLY, IN ONE OF THE MANY PASSAGES, HE CAME ACROSS SOME VERY DISTANT HINT OF HIS HERITAGE. ACCORDING TO FELISTER'S INSTRUCTIONS, IT WAS LOCATED SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE STATES OF MISSOURI AND OHIO - THE SAME INFORMATION ZONARA HAD SHARED WITH ME.

THE MESSAGE SAID THE FOLLOWING:

"WHOEVER FINDS THE INHERITANCE WILL ALSO INHERIT MY SORROW. HE WHO FACES DEATH WILL REALIZE HIS INNER STRENGTH. AND HE WHO GOES AGAINST THE WILL OF THE GODS WILL SUFFER!"

DETECTIVE DONOVAN DID NOT SEE HOW THE CONFUSED INSTRUCTIONS COULD BE OF ANY USE TO HIM. ILLINOIS AND INDIANA WERE LOCATED BETWEEN MISSOURI AND OHIO, BUT EVEN THAT INFORMATION WAS TOO GENERAL.

- "DAMN IT!" ROARED DONOVAN. "THAT DIRTY BASTARD SURE KNOWS HOW TO PLAY THOSE GAMES!"

AND WITH A FURIOUS SHOUT HE SENT THE REMAINING PAPERS INTO THE FIREPLACE. FLAMES ROSE UP, ALMOST SETTING THE FLOOR ON FIRE.

DONOVAN WAS BEGINNING TO SUSPECT THAT FELISTER'S LEGACY WAS TO GET THEM INTO A GAME THAT WAS PLAYED BY SOME RULES OF HIS OWN, BUT WHAT EXACTLY?

THE SEARCH OF THE COTTAGE HAD FOUND ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY, NOR ANY PARTICULAR VALUABLES, LET ALONE HUNTING TROPHIES OR ANYTHING ELSE. ALL THAT WAS LEFT WAS THE MERCHANDISE, WHICH HAD TO BE DISPOSED OF IN DUE ORDER.

- "SICK BRAIN!," SHOUTED DONOVAN, "THERE IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING MUCH DEEPER HERE!"

ALL THE TIME THE WOMAN IN RED WAS TRYING TO CONVINCE ME THAT I SHOULD ACCEPT HER OFFER.

- "WE'LL SPLIT FIFTY-FIFTY," SHE TOLD ME CONFIDENTLY.

I WAS UNABLE TO FATHOM WHAT WAS THE POINT OF USING ME FOR CANNON FODDER EXCEPT TO SAVE MY OWN SKIN.

- "I ASSUME DETECTIVE DONOVAN WILL BE HOT ON OUR HEELS AS WELL, AND WE'LL HAVE TO BEAT HIM TO IT," SHE ADDED, TRYING TO IGNORE MY PROTESTS TO JOIN IN, PROMPTED BY MY BEWILDERMENT.

- "HOW LITTLE IT TAKES FOR A MAN TO BE HAPPY," I SAID QUIETLY IN AN ATTEMPT TO CONVINCE EVEN MYSELF.

AS WE BREATHED THE FREE AMERICAN AIR, WE HAD LONG SINCE LEFT PHOENIX, ARIZONA, AND WERE NOW ENTERING ANOTHER STATE, BUT SOMETHING WAS BOTHERING ME. THERE WAS NO TAIL ON OUR HEELS, AND ZONARA HADN'T EVEN TAKEN A GUARD TO PROTECT US IN CASE OF ACCIDENTS.

- "WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?," I DIDN'T FLINCH. "THINGS MIGHT GET OUT OF HAND.

- "RELAX, YOU'RE TRAVELLING BACK TO YOUR ROOTS, WHICH ISN'T SO BAD," SHE TOLD ME WITH SOME COMPASSION.

I KNEW ZONARA WAS CAPABLE OF ALL SORTS OF CRUELTY AND RAMPAGES. SHE'D PROBABLY ALSO ORDERED SOMEONE TO BE SOAKED IN A VAT OF ACID, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO QUESTION HER.

- "YOU KNOW, ONE GETS NUMB AND STARTS TO FEEL LIFE DIFFERENTLY?," SHE TOLD ME. "DON'T TELL ME YOUR MIND DOESN'T FEEL ANY REMORSE."

I THOUGHT. FELISTER HAD FLOGGED HIS MISCREANTS, ONCE EVEN CRUSHING A PRISONER'S HEAD WITH A ROCK, BUT HE WAS NEVER LATE IN DELIVERING DOPE TO THE MEXICAN CARTELS.

- "OKAY, LET'S PLAY CARDS," I TRIED TO BE SERIOUS, "WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME? I'M SURE SOMEWHERE DEEP DOWN YOU'RE HARBORING SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT FELISTER, BUT YOU'RE NOT SHARING IT."

WE HAD ALREADY ENTERED UTAH, AND IT WAS A PLACE THAT RARELY OCCURRED TO EVEN THE AMERICANS THEMSELVES. THIS STATE REPRESENTED THE FAR WILD WEST - SUCH AS IT WAS! HERE THERE WERE CANYONS AND MANY BIZARRE ROCK FORMATIONS.

WE HAD TO STOP FOR A MOMENT TO REFUEL.

WE PULLED OFF ON HIGHWAY SEVENTY, BUT WE WERE MAKING FALSE TURNS THAT WERE MEANT TO DOUBLE CHECK WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS A QUEUE BEHIND US.

HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME ZONARA GOT RESTLESS AND I COULD CLEARLY SENSE THAT SOMETHING WAS BOTHERING HER. APPARENTLY IT WASN'T JUST THE SECRET SHE WAS GUARDING TOO JEALOUSLY FROM ME, AND WHICH I WOULD PROBABLY NEVER, EVER KNOW.

- THE TRUTH WAS, FELISTER OWED TOO MUCH MONEY TO RIVAL CARTELS. SOME OF THEM WANTED HIM TO CHANGE HIS TRADE POLICY TOWARD THEM, BUT HE WAS STRETCHING. THEY WERE WILLING TO FORGIVE HIM IF ONLY FOR THAT AND KEEP WORKING WITH HIM. BUT HE CRINGED AND POINTED OUT THAT NOTHING COULD CHANGE HIS MIND, AND DEMONIC CONTROL OVER THOSE ENTITIES WOULD HAVE HIS BACK.

I WAS STARTING TO GET CONFUSED - WE WERE SUPPOSEDLY LOOKING FOR FELISTER'S LEGACY, AND HE PROBABLY HAD DEBTS. SOMETHING DIDN'T QUITE ADD UP.

- "SEE," ZONARA TURNED BACK TO ME, "FELISTER PAID OFF EVERYTHING HE OWED AND EVERYTHING IS FINE. HE IS NOT INDEBTED TO ANYONE. AT LEAST NOT IN THIS WORLD! IF HE HAS TO PAY, HE WILL PAY IN THE AFTERLIFE!"

WE DROVE ALONG THE HIGHWAY, WHICH WAS QUITE DESERTED. THE STERN DESOLATION OF NATURE WAS REVEALED AROUND US, WHICH SUGGESTED THAT SADNESS OF WHICH FELISTER SPOKE.

AT ONE TIME, HOWEVER, WE REALIZED THAT WE DID HAVE A TAIL - HOW THEY HAD BEEN HIDING FROM US ALL THIS TIME WE NEVER KNEW.

THE VEHICLE WAS A BLACK CHEVY, WHICH WAS SO BRUTALLY EQUIPPED FOR THESE DESERT CONDITIONS THAT YOUR MIND BOGGLES!

THEY TRIED TO RUN US OFF THE ROAD, BUT ULTIMATELY FAILED. APPARENTLY THEIR GOAL WAS TO GET BETWEEN US AND THE OPPOSITE LANE AND PUSH US OUT OF THE WAY, LIKE THEY DID IN THE MOVIES.

THEN SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENED. THE WOMAN IN RED LOADED HER SECRET CURSES, WHICH SHE MIGHT HAVE LEARNED FROM FELISTER, AND THE CAR LAGGED SLIGHTLY BEHIND - APPARENTLY THE DRIVER HAD FALLEN VICTIM TO HER ENERGY INTERFERENCE.

WE PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER AND SHE TURNED TO ME:

- YOU SEE FOR YOURSELF THAT THE PARTY HAS BEGUN. THEY ARE UNLIKELY TO LEAVE US LOCATED.

- "IF UTAH'S LIQUOR LAWS WEREN'T SO RESTRICTIVE, I'D INVITE YOU OUT FOR A DRINK," I JOKED, BUT REMAINED SERIOUS.

MY JOKE SEEMED TO ANNOY HER A LITTLE, BUT SHE ORDERED ME TO TIGHTEN UP ANYWAY AND WE BOTH HEADED TO A ROADSIDE MOTEL. IT SEEMED CALM AND TRUSTWORTHY ENOUGH, BUT I HAD LEARNED LONG AGO NOT TO TRUST WHAT MY EYES SAW.

NO ONE WAS FOLLOWING US FROM ANYWHERE ANYMORE, BUT TO MAKE SURE WE WERE SAFE FOR THE NIGHT ZONARA GOT HER REVOLVER READY. IT WAS A LOVELY SMITH & WESSON THAT WAS OF SUCH HIGH QUALITY YOU JUST WANTED TO STROKE IT WITH YOUR HAND. YOU WANTED TO HOLD IT, TO PRESS THE HAMMER GENTLY IN READINESS TO REPRODUCE THE DEADLY SHOT.

ZONARA TUCKED IT UNDER HIS PILLOW AND FELL ASLEEP LIKE A STUMP, BUT WARNED ME TO STAY PUT. SOMETIME DURING THE NIGHT WE SWITCHED.

WHEN DAWN BEGAN TO BREAK, SHE TOLD ME QUITE SERIOUSLY:

- NOW THE TIME HAS TRULY COME TO LEARN THE TRUTH THAT HAS BEEN BEFORE YOUR EYES ALL ALONG. TOO MANY PEOPLE HATED FELISTER, AND I WAS THE TRUE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DRUG CARTELS, ONLY I WAS WORKING IN THE SHADOWS - I WAS FELISTER'S RIGHT HAND MAN. AND YES, MY DEAR, I AM FELISTER'S LEGACY. OR AT LEAST THAT'S HOW IT WOULD NORMALLY BE! BUT FELISTER WAS NEVER NORMAL!

FRANKLY, I COULD ALMOST HAVE HAD A NERVOUS TIC. I KNEW THAT THINGS WERE UNPLEASANT TO SAY THE LEAST, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND I WAS AWARE THAT THERE WERE SOME OTHER SITUATIONS THAT ALSO HAD TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. ZONARA WAS ANYTHING BUT A HYSTERICAL, SCHEMING, OR EVEN A FRUMP, SHE WAS A VERY SERIOUS PERSON.

- "WHAT NEXT?," I ASKED HER.

- IF WE JUST KEPT GOING ON HIGHWAY SEVENTY IT WOULDN'T BE A BIG PROBLEM, ONLY THERE WAS SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

ZONARA TOOK MY HAND AND WE SLOWLY WALKED THROUGH SOME ENDLESS GRASSES THAT WERE BEHIND THE MOTEL. WE WALKED FOR A BIT AND STOPPED. THERE WAS A ROCKY AND SANDY ROAD WINDING THROUGH THERE, AND THE SKY ABOVE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL - WITH PURPLE HUES, AND THE STARS - THEY WERE JUST BRILLIANT AND EACH SPARKLED WITH THEIR OWN BEAUTY. SOON MORNING WOULD HIDE THEM FROM OUR EYES, BUT I WAS MORE THAN SURE THAT THE ZONAR WAS NOT AT ALL EXCITED BY ANY ROMANTIC SIGHTS OR OTHER WILDNESS. APPARENTLY HE WASN'T PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT MONEY EITHER, BECAUSE HE LEFT A TIP OF MORE THAN FIFTY DOLLARS, WHICH WAS ENOUGH TO EMBARRASS HIMSELF AND NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TO MAKE TOO MUCH OF AN IMPRESSION.

- "FELISTER'S REAL AIM AND LEGACY, I THINK," SHE BEGAN CAUTIOUSLY, "WAS TO ACHIEVE GREAT HEIGHTS IN THE MAGICAL ART. HAVE YOU HEARD OF ABRAMELIN'S BOOK?,“

- "ABRA...," I STAMMERED, "IT SEEMED LIKE A JOKE, BUT MY FACE DIDN'T FLINCH.'BUT WHY WAS HE DOING IT..."

- "IT IS SAID," SHE BEGAN CONFIDENTIALLY, "THAT THIS BOOK CONTAINS ONLY A SINGLE RITUAL, WHICH IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE ADEPT TO PERFORM, BUT WHOEVER IS PIOUS AND HUMBLE ENOUGH CAN COME INTO CONTACT WITH HIS OWN GUARDIAN ANGEL AND HE WILL GIVE HIM GREAT POWERS."

- "YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT THE TRUE LEGACY OF A FELISTER IS PURELY AND SIMPLY A BOOK?," THAT FINISHED ME OFF DEFINITIVELY.

- I SUPPOSE WE MIGHT FIND OTHER VALUABLES, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I SET OUT FOR. FELISTER HAD A CONSIDERABLE FORTUNE, AND BY MY RECKONING HAD SAVED AT LEAST TOWARDS A HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLIONS OF PURE MONEY, IF NOT MORE. BUT LET'S FACE IT, I CAN'T DO IT ALONE, SO THOSE WHO DIDN'T MAKE US A PITA ON THE HIGHWAY FOR A WHILE MIGHT FIND US AND THEN IT WOULD GET SCARY. DONOVAN IS NO FOOL EITHER, AND HE'LL GET THE MESSAGE SOONER OR LATER WHAT THE WHOLE THING WAS ABOUT - THAT THE OTHER GRIMOIRES WERE LIKE CHILD'S PLAY COMPARED TO THIS ONE.

- "SO FELISTER WASN'T QUITE THE MERCIFUL SAMARITAN WE THOUGHT HIM TO BE AFTER ALL, AND HE WANTED IMMENSE POWER!," I DIDN'T HOLD BACK THIS TIME. "BUT WHY DID HE NEED ME?,“

- "I'LL TELL YOU THIS TOO," ZONARA REASSURED ME, "FELISTER WAS TOO OLD ALREADY, AND THIS RITUAL NEEDS YOUNGER BOYS WHO ARE PERFECTLY SUITED TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE GUARDIAN ANGEL. THE POWERS AN ANGEL IS CAPABLE OF BESTOWING UPON YOU REALLY GO BEYOND CONVENTIONAL NOTIONS."

NOW THE PICTURE IS BEGINNING TO CLEAR UP FOR ME. I, THE MARGINALIZED CHILD TAKEN IN BY MISTER EMBANKS, WAS BEING GROOMED AS A SACRIFICIAL LAMB TO SATISFY THIS PSYCHOPATH'S DESIRE FOR INEXHAUSTIBLE POWER. I REALIZED THAT MY PATHS WITH ZONARA HAD NOT CROSSED BY ACCIDENT AND THAT SHE WAS JUST ANOTHER PIECE OF THE PUZZLE. I ALSO REALIZED THAT DETECTIVE DONOVAN HADN'T JUST WIPED OUT FELISTER.

- "I WANTED TO REMOVE HIM," ZONARA REVEALED HER CARDS FURTHER, "SO THAT AFTER EMBANX'S DEATH OUR PATH WOULD BE COMPLETELY CLEAR AND WE COULD PERFORM THE RITUAL UNDISTURBED!"

WE WERE WALKING THROUGH THE FIELDS OF SOUTHERN UTAH, FULL AND DOTTED WITH BEAUTIFUL, BLOOMING CACTI, AND SUDDENLY ZONARA TURNED TO ME, ASKING ME HIS NEXT QUESTION:

- ARE YOU READY TO DO THIS? YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL...

I UNDERSTOOD THAT THE OTHER SIDE WAS WAITING FOR MY FINAL ANSWER.

- "YOU KNOW?," I TURNED TO HER IN TURN, THE WIND RUFFLING HER HAIR AS THE LIGHT BREEZE, AND THE LIGHT BREEZE HAD RUFFLED HER HAIR. I WALKED BACK TO AMERICA TO BREATHE THE FRESH AIR OF FREEDOM.

MY WORDS SEEMED TO STING HER.

- "I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU," SHE MURMURED TIMIDLY, TRYING TO MAINTAIN HER PSYCHOLOGICAL EDGE.

- "FELISTER HAS LONG BEEN A PART OF A PAST THAT WILL NOT RETURN. OF ANOTHER LIFE THAT WON'T REPEAT ITSELF," I SPOKE, STRIDING TOWARDS HER.

THE SITUATION WAS RATHER STRANGE.

IT DIDN'T MAKE MUCH IMPRESSION ON US THAT THERE MIGHT BE COYOTES AROUND WHO WOULD BE HAPPY TO HAVE UNINVITED GUESTS. AND YES COYOTES DEFINITELY ATTACKED PEOPLE WHEN THEY WERE HUNGRY!

- "YOU MEAN...," HER VOICE QUIVERED AND SHE LOOKED AT ME KIND OF FUNNY, "THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY LIFE YOU WOULD LIVE."

- "NOT QUITE," I INTERRUPTED HER, "I ONLY SAID THAT IT WAS FELISTER WHO STARTED THE WHOLE STORY."

MY WORDS SEEMED TO SOBER HER. SHE ONLY NERVOUSLY TAPPED HER FINGERS, OBVIOUSLY AS THOUGHTFUL AS I WAS. SHE WENT ON THINKING-THAT BRIEF MOMENT SEEMED TO LAST AN ETERNITY, AND I WOULD HAVE DIED FOR IT. FOR THAT MOMENT I WATCHED HER EYES, READY AND COLD AS GLASS, BUT FIXED ON INFINITY.

- "WELL, WELL, PARTNER," SHE MURMURED.

- "I'LL PARTICIPATE," I ENDED THE SUBJECT.

DEMONIC POWER

CHAPTER EIGHT: DEMONIC POWER

 

DETECTIVE DONOVAN DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE A FOOL OF HIMSELF BY TRYING TO GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH EVERYTHING HIMSELF. TO DEAL WITH IT, HE CALLED IN ONE OF THE MOST EXPERIENCED DEMONOLOGISTS - ESANDNER FAWKES.

THE DEMONOLOGIST WAS A SPECIALIST IN ALL THESE GRIMOIRES AND WAS WILLING TO HELP THE DETECTIVE FROM THE BOTTOM OF HIS HEART, AS HE KNEW THE MATTER WAS TOO SPECIFIC. BUT SOMEWHERE IN THERE SOMETHING UNFORESEEN HAPPENED. DETECTIVE DONOVAN SUDDENLY DIED. HE HAD CALLED THE DEMONOLOGIST WHEN HE HEARD A SLIGHT RUSTLING AND AN INVISIBLE HAND GRABBED HIM BY THE THROAT. HE SQUEEZED UNTIL HIS EYES WERE ABOUT TO POP OUT OF THEIR ORBITS. BUT WHEN THAT BRUTAL, INVISIBLE HAND RELEASED ITS POWERFUL GRIP ON HIS NECK THERE WERE NO SCARS. THE DETECTIVE HAD SIMPLY INADVERTENTLY ACTIVATED ONE OF FELISTER'S PROTECTIVE SPELLS, THROWING THE PAPER PAGES INTO THE FIREPLACE FIRE.

WHEN THE DEMONOLOGIST ARRIVED HE WITNESSED A MONSTROUS MESS THAT IN NO FORM COULD BE SAID TO HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF CLUING HIM INTO WHAT EXACTLY HAD HAPPENED, BUT ESANDNER FAWKES WAS NOT YESTERDAY'S MAN - HE KNEW THAT DEMONIC CREATURES ACTED IN A SIMILAR FASHION. THE DEMONOLOGIST WAS ASTUTE ENOUGH TO REALIZE THAT DONOVAN WAS NOT PARTICULARLY FAMILIAR WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AFTERLIFE AND HAD BROUGHT ABOUT HIS DEMISE THROUGH IGNORANCE. ALL THAT REMAINED WAS TO INVESTIGATE WHAT EXACTLY HAD ATTACKED THE DETECTIVE AND WHY.

FAWKES KNEW THAT DONOVAN WAS A SERIOUS MAN WHO WOULDN'T JUST GO OFF AND PICK A FIGHT WITH FELISTER EMBANKS.

THE FAME OF THE PORK CASTRATOR WAS SPREADING FAR AND WIDE, AND THERE WERE TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO WANTED HIM DEAD. HE WAS BUYING UNION INFLUENCE IN SURROUNDING STATES WHERE THE LOCAL POPULATION WAS SUFFERING FROM UNEMPLOYMENT. AND SO THERE WAS, AND IT ONLY WORKED TO HIS ADVANTAGE.

WHEN TALKING ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT, IT ALSO HAD TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT FELISTER WAS A SUBTLE MANIPULATOR - ESPECIALLY WHEN IT CAME TO SPECIFIC LABOR DONE AT NIGHT. THERE WERE TOO MANY WILLING TO BECOME PART OF HIS FRAUDULENT SCHEMES. OF COURSE, FELISTER COULDN'T ACCEPT EVERYONE.

HE NEEDED REAL CRIMINAL ELEMENTS WHO HAD EXPERIENCE BOTH ON THE STREET AND ON THE BATTLEFIELD. AND THERE WERE FEW OF THEM. HE WANTED TO RAISE STANDARDS ACCORDING TO WHAT THE SITUATION DEMANDED.

FELISTER IN HIS LIFETIME WAS EVEN IN THE HABIT OF TAKING OUT SOME OF THE PRISONERS ON THE PRETEXT THAT THEY WOULD DO A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WORK UNDER A RELAXED REGIME ON HIS FARM. SO HE SECONDED THE OVERSEERS TOO-THOSE VENAL AND UNSCRUPULOUS BASTARDS!

THE PRISON AUTHORITIES PRETENDED NOT TO CARE - NATURALLY, FOR A PARTICULARLY HEFTY BRIBE.

- WHAT A MAN THE FELISTER IS!" EXCLAIMED ONE OF THE PRISONERS NAMED VINCE REGINALD, WHO WAS TO WORK ON HIS FARM, "SO HE GIVES US A SECOND CHANCE!

TO THOSE MORE FAMILIAR, THIS WAS NOT EXACTLY SO. SOMETIMES THE BRUTAL FELISTER HAD TO DISTRIBUTE ADDITIONAL SHIPMENTS OF THE GOODS AROUND THE STATES, AND FOR THIS REASON THE MEAT OF SOME OF THE MURDERED PRISONERS WAS BRUTALLY INTERFERED WITH THE PORK.

YES, SOME OF FELISTER'S FARM CUSTOMERS HAD ACTUALLY EATEN IT AND HAD EVEN SAID THAT THEY PARTICULARLY LIKED THE COMBINATION OF FLAVOUR AND AROMA BETWEEN PORK AND CHICKEN AND THAT THIS OWNER DEFINITELY UNDERSTOOD LIVESTOCK FARMING. STILL, FELISTER WAS CAREFUL NOT TO OVERDO IT, AND ONLY THOSE THAT ACTUALLY DESERVED IT WENT INTO THE MEAT GRINDER. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF THEM WAS VINCE REGINALD, WHO HAD TRIED TO SHRINK A KILO OF THE STUFF AND RETAIL IT ON THE STREETS OF KANSAS CITY - AND THAT WAS BEFORE THEY ADDED FENTANYL. FELISTER INTERPRETED IT NOT ONLY AS POOR PROFESSIONAL ETHICS, BUT AS A DISPLAY OF VERY, VERY BAD TASTE IN GENERAL! THIS INGRATE WAS BEATEN WITH METAL PIPES AND BRUTALLY CASTRATED, AND LATER SKINNED ALIVE AND MINCED, ALONG WITH THE FLESH OF SOME OF THE BOARS THAT HAD BEEN EATEN.

AT SOME TIME, FELISTER DECIDED IT WAS FAR MORE INTERESTING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOME TAX BREAKS FOR HIS PERVERTED BUSINESS. TAX LAW IN THE STATES WAS FAR TOO COMPLEX, AND ONE COULDN'T JUST FIDDLE WITH IT - ONE HAD TO HIRE A TAX SPECIALIST, AND ALSO A SEPARATE ACCOUNTANT TO HANDLE JUST THAT PART OF RUNNING THE FINANCIAL OPERATIONS - OF COURSE, THIS APPLIED TO SOME OF THE LARGER ENTERPRISES, AS FELISTER'S WAS IN PRACTICE. BETWEEN, BY THE WAY, MR. EMBANKS TRUSTED ONE OF THE EX-CONVICTS, WHO HAD STEPPED INTO THE ROLE OF THE REAL ACCOUNTANT, AND FELISTER HAD HIRED AS A FRONT SOME GRANDMOTHER FROM SOME VERY BACKWOODS TOWN-A LONG WAY FROM KANSAS CITY. HIS FARM'S REGISTRATION ITSELF WAS AS A STOCK CORPORATION, WHICH IN EFFECT HAD TO PAY QUALIFIED DIVIDENDS TO ITS FELLOW STOCKHOLDERS, AND THEY FELL INTO THE LOWER TAX BRACKET AND COULD OFTEN GET EVEN A ZERO TAX RATE. BUT HERE AGAIN, FELISTER HAD FOUND A LOOPHOLE. THE LISTED CO-SHAREHOLDERS WERE EFFECTIVELY HIS FORMER WORKERS WHO HAD EXTENSIVE CRIMINAL RECORDS AND HE WAS VISITING THEM TO POCKET SOME OF THE PROFITS - HOW DID THAT WORK? WELL, THE CASTRATOR WAS WORKING MAINLY WITH PRISONERS UNDER HOUSE ARREST WHILE ON PROBATION AND TRANSFERRING SUPPOSEDLY INHERITED SHARES OF HIS ENTERPRISE FROM THE FORMER "BALLERS" WHO HAD FALLEN FOR HIS BAIT. AND SO THE CAROUSEL WAS ENDLESS. THIS WAY BOTH SIDES BENEFITED - NO ONE WAS HARMED, BECAUSE USUALLY THE PRISONERS COULDN'T GET A NORMAL JOB, AND USUALLY THEY COULDN'T COMMIT CRIMES, AND THE FENCE'S DECENT DIVIDENDS COULD BRING THEM FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING FOR THEM!

TO AVOID UNNECESSARY BLATANCY, FELISTER MADE THE LAWYERS WHO HANDLED THEIR CASES PROVIDE THEM WITH SPECIAL POWERS OF ATTORNEY, WHICH THEY SIGNED WILLINGLY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CRIMINAL SCHEME. OF COURSE, THEY ALSO RECEIVED A FAT FEE, WHICH WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF A LONG SERIES OF FRUITFUL COOPERATION.

IN BETWEEN, THE TAXMEN WERE SNIFFING AROUND ALL OF THEM FOR A LONG TIME, BUT FELISTER MANAGED TO GAG THEM!

FELISTER MANAGED TO SAVE BETWEEN A MILLION AND A HALF A MONTH OUTSIDE THE OFFICIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THE CARTELS, WHICH USUALLY PROVIDED HIM WITH ABOUT THREE OR FOUR MILLION. SOON HE SAW HIMSELF WITH TOO MUCH FRESH FINANCIAL RESOURCE, AND BEGAN TO CONSTRUCT A PLAN HOW TO GET HOLD OF THE MYTHICAL GRIMOIRE ON THE TRAIL OF WHICH ZONARA AND I HAD SET OUT.

THE BOOK SCARED HIM WITH THE POSSIBILITIES OF POWER IT COULD PROVIDE. HE CRAVED TO BE INFLUENTIAL AND SIGNIFICANT. HE COULD EVEN SCREW THE MEXICANS THEMSELVES, USING HIS KNOWLEDGE OF NECROMANCY GRANTED TO HIM BY THE HIGHER POWERS.

BY THE WAY, THE KNOWLEDGE OF NECROMANCY WAS NECESSARY TO FELISTER FOR ANOTHER REASON, NAMELY TO SUCCEED IN HIS CHERISHED GOAL. NECROMANCY, WAS A MAGIC ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORLD OF THE DEAD, AND FELISTER KNEW THAT THE ENERGY OF DEATH WAS NEITHER GOOD NOR EVIL! THE INTERESTING THING WAS THAT AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH, SUCH A LARGE AMOUNT OF NEGATIVE ENERGY COULD BE RELEASED THAT COULD KILL DOZENS AND DOZENS OF PEOPLE. THAT WAS WHY HE HAD TO HANDLE DANGEROUS KNOWLEDGE WITH AN INCREASED AMOUNT OF CAUTION, AS IT COULD CAUSE SOME UNPREDICTABLE CONSEQUENCES.

THIS TIME HE HOPED TO GET HOLD OF THE ABRAMELIN GRIMOIRE, WHICH, BY THE WAY, WAS ALSO USED AT ONE TIME BY THE FAMOUS ALISTER CROWLEY[1].

FELISTER LONGED TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING THAT NO ONE BEFORE HIM HAD DONE IN RECENT TIMES - TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL THIS ENERGY OF DEATH, BUT THERE WAS A CATCH - HE HAD TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT.

FELISTER HAD OBTAINED THE GRIMOIRE AFTER A VERY LONG SEARCH, AND FRANKLY HE HADN'T BEEN PARTICULARLY ENTHRALLED WHEN IT FIRST FELL INTO HIS HANDS.

FOR SUCH A HEFTY SUM HE HAD EXPECTED MORE, BUT LATER HIS OPINION CHANGED CONSIDERABLY. THE GRIMOIRE COULD HAVE OPENED THE DOORS TO KABBALAH, THAT ANCIENT TEACHING AROUND WHICH THERE WAS SO MUCH MYSTERY, BUT IT COULD ALSO HAVE POINTED HIM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION TOWARDS TRUE MAGIC, WHICH COULD TRULY GIVE HIM LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES.

FELISTER ALSO HAD YOUNG BOYS ON HIS TEAM - SOME OF THEM WERE REALLY TOO YOUNG, SO MUCH SO THAT THEY HAD HARDLY LIVED. THAT BEAUTIFUL SENSE OF "BLUE SPRING" THAT THEY WERE DESPERATELY SEEKING BUT WAS REALLY THE ROAD TO NOWHERE. FELISTER CALLED THEM THE LOST GENERATION - A YOUNG, IMPETUOUS GENERATION THAT WANTED TO DO SOMETHING WITH THEIR LIVES BUT DIDN'T KNOW WHAT, AND MR. EMBANKS WAS GIVING THEM A CHANCE TO GET INTO THE BIG GAME - AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE WHILE, OR MORE ACCURATELY TO THINK THEY DID. THEY NEEDED HIM TO FIND THE PERFECT ADEPT TO PERFORM THE RITUAL, AND THAT TOOK TIME. AND FELISTER HAD TOO MUCH TO DEAL WITH.

FELYSTER CRAVED DEATH, BUT HE WANTED TO GET ALL HIS AFFAIRS IN ORDER BEFORE THAT, AND THEY WERE NOT FEW. HOW MANY TIMES HAD HE TRIED TO REALIZE HIS OWN CURSE WAS SLOWLY PUSHING HIM TO THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS?

AND WHAT CAME NEXT? TO GAIN UNLIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD, OR OF THE NETHERWORLD ITSELF? OF THOSE BOUNDS WHERE NO MAN COULD TREAD!

FOR THE INITIATION, FELISTER FOUND A TRUE PRACTITIONER OF MAGIC WHOM HE HAD BROUGHT HOME FROM ALMOST THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD-ALL THE WAY FROM EGYPT.

ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS, THEY WERE TO DO THE INITIATION OF FELISTER HIMSELF IN THE GRAVEYARDS, AND THEY WEREN'T THAT FAR AWAY. BUT BEFORE THEY STARTED THERE, THE MAGICIAN TOLD HIM:

- "IF THE SO-CALLED "WORDS OF POWER," PUT INTO THE DEAD MAN'S MOUTH ARE USED, EVEN THE GODS THEMSELVES WILL OBEY HIM!

- "THEN MAKE ALL MY MALEFACTORS GO AWAY," LAUGHED FELISTER WITH HIS IMPISH GRIN. HE WAS JUST A LOOSE PSYCHOPATH!

EVEN THE EGYPTIAN MAGE WAS SLIGHTLY TAKEN ABACK - NOT BECAUSE HIS WORDS WERE UNUSUAL, BUT BECAUSE OF THE CASUALNESS OF THE MAN WHO HAD SPOKEN THEM.

ON A RAINY MORNING, FELISTER SIMPLY WALKED WITH THE EGYPTIAN IN THE AGREED DIRECTION, AS THE LOCATION WAS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE FOR PERFORMING THE RITUAL:

- "AND REMEMBER THAT THE NECROMANCER LIVES HALF HIS LIFE, AND WILL DIE AS HE WAS MEANT TO DIE," RATHER STRANGELY ANSWERED THE

FELISTER NEEDED AN INTERPRETER TO UNDERSTAND HIS CONFUSED RAMBLINGS. BUT STILL HE MANAGED TO KEEP UP AND GRASP HIS INTERLOCUTOR'S MEANING. HAVING BEEN INITIATED, HE FINALLY UNDERSTOOD THAT HE HAD TO PERFORM THE SECOND PART OF HIS JOB OF INITIATING THE ADEPT AS WELL.

SOON THE CEREMONY COULD BEGIN AND HE MADE THE BOY FOLLOW THE RITUAL - IT TOOK HIM A FULL EIGHTEEN MONTHS AND A HUGE AMOUNT OF DISCIPLINE.

IT WAS ME HE HAD CHOSEN, BUT ACCORDING TO THE REQUIREMENTS, I WAS NOT PURE ENOUGH - AFTER ALL, I HAD KILLED INNOCENT ANIMALS!

THIS HAD PUZZLED FELISTER, BUT HE HAD NOT REVEALED HIS DESIGN TO ME, ONLY THAT HE INTENDED TO MAKE ME THE ADEPT WHO WOULD SUCCEED HIM.

HE HAD QUITE OFTEN TAKEN ME TO THE CEMETERIES, WHERE HE TOLD ME

- IF YOU TREAT THE DEAD WITH RESPECT, THEY WILL BE YOUR FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY. THEY WILL WANT TO HELP YOU FOR HAVING TREATED THEM WITH DUE RESPECT AND THUS ALLEVIATED THEIR SUFFERING IN THE AFTERLIFE.

SO MY DUTIES INCLUDED THE MAINTENANCE OF MANY OF THEM. FELISTER'S CEMETERY WAS PRIVATE, MAINLY BECAUSE OF LEGAL RESTRICTIONS THAT PREVENTED OUTSIDE OBSERVERS FROM SEEING EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON IN IT.

IN TIME, FELISTER BECAME CONVINCED THAT THE USE OF SERIOUS SECURITY WAS NOT AT ALL UNNECESSARY BECAUSE THERE WERE SEVERAL SERIOUS CASES OF ROBBED GRAVES!

AFTER A WHILE, HE PICKED UP ON ANOTHER BOY WHO WAS A NEWCOMER AND WAS THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A CRIMINAL RECORD - HE HAD ALSO BEEN PICKED UP FROM SOME ORPHANAGE!

BUT HE DIDN'T HAVE MY QUALITIES - LIKE UNSCRUPULOUSNESS AND INTELLIGENCE!

SOME OF THE INMATES RESENTED SEEING WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO THEIR COMRADES, AND ALL THIS WAS HAPPENING AT A TIME WHEN THE TAXMEN WERE ALSO BEGINNING TO TIGHTEN THE CIRCLE AROUND FELISTER. AND A LITTLE LATER DETECTIVE DONOVAN APPEARED AND ENDED HIS LIFE THROUGH HIS WELL ORGANIZED OPERATION.

 

[1] Alistair Crowley - famous English occultist and Kabbalist, ceremonial magician.

DEADLY PURSUIT

CHAPTER NINE: DEADLY PURSUIT

 

THE TWO OF US WITH ZONARA WERE TO CONTINUE OUR WANDERINGS, AND CROSSING THE DESERT FIELDS OF UTAH WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING. THERE WAS STILL NO ONE AFTER US.

- "IT'S STRANGE REALLY," THE GIRL TURNED TO ME, "BUT PERHAPS ..."

SHE SEEMED TO CATCH HERSELF BY THE HEART.

- "APPARENTLY SOMEONE HAS DIED," SHE SAID WITH HIDDEN SORROW. "IT'S SO SAD, AND I EXPECTED TO MEET OTHER PEOPLE AT THE END. 'THE ROAD IS DARK AND NOT FOR EVERYONE," SHE FINISHED AMBIGUOUSLY.

WE CONTINUED ALONG THE GRITTY PATH, WHICH WAS LOST IN INFINITY.

I HAD THE STRANGEST FEELING THAT SOMETHING ABOUT THIS GIRL WAS NOT RIGHT AT ALL. BUT THE MORE TIME PASSED, THE MORE I BECAME CONVINCED THAT THE SITUATION REALLY COULD SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL. SOMETHING ABOUT THE WHOLE STORY SO FAR DIDN'T ADD UP AT ALL.

IF SHE HAD ACTUALLY KILLED, OR HAD ORDERED THE MURDER OF, FELISTER HIMSELF, THEN WHAT WAS THE MISSING PIECE IN THE PUZZLE? WHAT EXACTLY WAS ESCAPING MY OWN AND I CLAIM DISCERNING GAZE?

THAT QUESTION REALLY DESERVED SOME ANSWER!

AFTER MUCH CONTEMPLATION, I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THE SITUATION WAS PERHAPS EVEN MORE BIZARRE THAN I HAD ACTUALLY IMAGINED IT - ZONARA WAS THE TRUE CLAIMANT TO THE FELISTER'S LEGACY - SHE WANTED TO MASTER HIS SECRET KNOWLEDGE, AND I WAS TO BE SACRIFICED ONCE AGAIN. BUT I WASN'T GOING TO GIVE HER THAT OPPORTUNITY!

I TRIED TO KEEP MY FACE FROM SHOWING IN ANY WAY EXACTLY WHAT I INTENDED TO DO, AS THAT WOULD ONLY GIVE ME AWAY AND CREATE UNNECESSARY TENSION IN OUR ALREADY STRAINED RELATIONSHIP.

ZONARA WALKED CONFIDENTLY, BUT THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US WAS NOT TOO GREAT. MAYBE JUST A FEW STEPS. THE BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES ALL AROUND HAD BECOME EVEN MORE NOSTALGIC. IT WAS ANOTHER TIME!

HOWEVER, WE HAD YET TO BUILD A MORE SERIOUS PLAN OF ACTION, AS IN THE FUTURE THE SUDDEN QUEUE THAT HAD CAUGHT US ON HIGHWAY SEVENTY ON OUR WAY TO ...

WHERE WERE WE ACTUALLY HEADED? THE TWO STATES BETWEEN MISSOURI AND OHIO WERE TOO GENERAL A CONCEPT - THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE HERE.

PERHAPS THE OLD FELISTER'S NON-ACCEPTANCE OF ME AS A FULL-FLEDGED ADEPT HAD ALSO MADE HER FEEL MORE SPECIAL ABOUT MY HUMBLE PERSONA, BUT THEN I REALIZED I COULD OUTWIT HER - JUST AS I HAD DONE WITH THE OLD FELISTER AND HE HAD TAKEN ME UNDER HIS WING.

DURING MY SPARE TIME AT FELISTER'S FARM I COULD READ. VERY RARELY DID I HAVE SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT I HAD IT ANYWAY, AND THAT MADE ME HAPPY ENOUGH - FROM ONE OF THE MANY BOOKS I HAD LEARNED THE TECHNIQUE THAT IF YOU CLEARED YOUR MIND OF ALL THOUGHTS, YOUR ENERGY FIELD WOULDN'T BE SENSED BY OTHERS AND THEY SIMPLY WOULDN'T NOTICE YOU. BUT, ALAS, ZONARA WAS A PRETTY BONY NUT!

ACCOMPANYING HER, I GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT THE HIGHWAY CHASE HADN'T SURPRISED HER ALL THAT MUCH - APPARENTLY FAR SCARIER AND MORE DANGEROUS THINGS WERE ABOUT TO HAPPEN. THINGS THAT WERE OUT OF THE ORDINARY FIELD OF NORMAL EXPLANATIONS.

THE SANDY ROAD CONTINUED AND ENDED WITH AN OLD CABIN AND SHEER REDDISH CLIFFS. FROM WHAT MY EYES COULD SEE WE EITHER HAD TO CLIMB UP OR CHOOSE THE HUT FOR THE NIGHT.

ZONARA HAD GONE SILENT, AND APPARENTLY MY RATHER CRAFTY STRATEGY WAS PAYING OFF.

OF COURSE IN MY MIND WERE ALSO THE WORDS OF THE OLD FELISTER:

- IF YOU TREAT THE DEAD WITH RESPECT, THEY WILL BE YOUR FRIENDS ON THE ROAD.

THE WHOLE PRE-LONG SCENE WE'D SEEN THANKS TO ZONARA HERSELF GAVE ME SOME ADVANTAGES, BUT I DIDN'T WANT HER TO GET THE IMPRESSION THAT I WAS GOING TO UNDERTAKE A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF HER QUICKLY SPOKEN WORDS IN THE SHORT SPACE OF JUST A FEW SECONDS.

BEFORE ENTERING THE HUT, SHE HESITATED.

- "WE MUST TREAT EVERY THING IN THIS LIFE WITH A CERTAIN RESPECT - AS IF IT WERE A RITUAL," SHE TOLD ME GRAVELY, "OR THE LEGACY OF FELISTER WILL NEVER BE OURS."

THE HUT WAS EMPTY, AND FRANKLY I DIDN'T LIKE IT. I WONDERED WHY ZONARA CHOSE THIS BACKWATER. IF THOSE GUYS WANTED TO STOP US, WE HAD NOWHERE TO RUN, AND WE HAD TO FIGHT.

ANYWAY WE SPENT THE NIGHT AND THEN I FELT THE STRANGE RADIATION OF ZONARA.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, HER PECULIAR AURA REACHED MY SENSES - SHE HAD A SLIGHT SMELL OF INCENSE AND HER EYES WERE CLOSED AS SHE SLEPT SWEETLY. BUT HER BODY LOOKED FUNNY LITTLE UNDER THE COVERS - AS IF THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO ONE THERE!

"MAYBE ZONARA IS A LIVING DEAD!", I SAID TO MYSELF IN MY MIND, BUT SOME PARTICULAR "SCRAPING" ON MY CONSCIOUSNESS MADE ME SUSPEND ANY FURTHER ANALYTICAL ACTIVITY AND JUST LET THE DREAM OVERTURN ME.

THIS TIME I HAD NO NIGHTMARES AND IN THE MORNING WHEN I WOKE UP IT WAS GONE - I TOOK A QUICK TOUR AROUND THE HUT. SHE HAD DEFINITELY GOTTEN OUT OF THERE BEFORE ME! THE HUT ONLY HAD ONE LARGE ROOM WITH A SMALL KITCHENETTE WHICH WAS QUITE MODEST.

BUT WHEN I WENT OUTSIDE, SHE WAS WAITING FOR ME:

- "COME ON, WHERE ARE YOU GOING. FELISTER IS THE ONE WE HAVE TO FIND, OR RATHER HIS LEGACY, REMEMBER? I FELT YOU WERE TRYING TO TINKER AROUND IN MY MIND DURING THE NIGHT, WHICH FRANKLY I KIND OF DIDN'T LIKE, BUT THAT'S ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM," SHE SAID CALMLY, "IT'S PERFECTLY NATURAL TO HAVE SOME DOUBTS, AND IN GENERAL I HAVEN'T TOLD YOU ALL MY SECRETS YET, AND MAYBE I NEVER WILL, BUT YOU'RE VERY SPECIAL AND THAT'S WHY YOU'RE STILL WITH ME. WE HAVE YET TO LOCATE THE EXACT SPOT WHERE FELISTER WANTED TO PERFORM HIS RITUAL."

- "I THOUGHT IT WAS IN THE GRAVEYARD," I LOOKED AT HER, SOMEWHAT STRANGELY, "AND, NOW I REALISE IT'S QUITE, QUITE DIFFERENT..."

- "ACTUALLY, FELISTER'S REAL GOAL WAS TO GET OUT OF THAT CURSED PLACE," SHE STARTED TO EXPLAIN TO ME, "IF HE GOT OUT, IT COULD ONLY MEAN ONE THING, HE HAD A CHANCE TO BEG SALVATION FOR HIMSELF!

I COULD BELIEVE HER NOW. BUT WHY DID THEY WANT TO SACRIFICE ME! WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THEIR GAIN?

ZONARA WAS ALSO CARRYING A BAG FULL OF MONEY, AS MANY OF THE ROADSIDE MOTELS DIDN'T ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF CASHLESS PAYMENT.

AT ONE TIME, IT EVEN CROSSED MY MIND TO COLLECT THE MONEY AND TAKE MY TURN WALKING AWAY. I WAS GOING TO LIVE OUT MY OWN LIFE WITH ALL THAT MONEY THAT THE GREY CARDINAL OF FELISTER HAD DIVERTED TO HIMSELF, BUT THEN I CHANGED MY MIND. FIRST, SHE CARRIED A HUGE GUN, AND SECOND, FELISTER HAD ALWAYS KEPT HIS WORD. HE ALWAYS MADE SURE THAT HIS ACTIONS WERE FULL OF MEANING AND HE DIDN'T LIKE TRAITORS, AND SOMETHING TOLD ME THAT WE WERE VERY CLOSE TO UNCOVERING HIS FATEFUL SECRET, AND FRANKLY THAT FLATTERED ME! WE WERE IN FOR THE GREATEST ADVENTURE ANYONE COULD GET INTO!

ZONARA SEEMED TO SOFTEN HER TONE TOWARDS ME, BUT I COULD STILL SENSE HINTS OF SUPERIORITY.

- WE HAVE NO TIME TO LOSE. COME!

AND BEGAN TO CLIMB UP THE ROCKS. TIME PASSED SLOWLY AS WE DIDN'T HAVE THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT, ONLY A PAIR OF GLOVES AND A ROPE. WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY BELAY GEAR OR EXTRA BELAY ROPES.

- "EVEN IF THEY HAD TRACKED US TO THE MOTEL AND REACHED THE HUT, THEY WOULD HARDLY ADMIT THAT WE WERE CAPABLE OF CLIMBING THESE ROCKS," SHE TOLD ME IN A SUFFICIENTLY CONFIDENT TONE.

I WAS NOT SURE THAT HER ARGUMENTS WERE VERY CORRECT, BUT I DID NOT WISH TO ARGUE.

THE CLIFFS WERE SO SHEER YOU COULD HAVE FELT DIZZY. FEAR OF HEIGHTS WAS NOT THE MOST CHARACTERISTIC THING FOR ME. BUT WE COULD STILL PISS OUR BONES - EVEN IF WE MADE ONE WRONG MOVE.

WE WERE FINALLY AT THE TOP OF THE CLIFF AND ZONARA TURNED TO ME:

- "THIS IS WHERE THE HARD PART STARTS!," SHE LAUGHED, BUT I THOUGHT HER SMILE WAS A BIT EXAGGERATED.

THE FURTHER WE PROGRESSED ALONG THE PATH, I WAS CAPTIVATED BY THE ZONAR'S MAGIC. THERE WAS SOMETHING AND SOME REMNANTS OF A HIDDEN SADNESS ABOUT HER - SO OVERWHELMING AS TO BE INDESCRIBABLE.

I COULD CLEARLY SENSE THAT SHE DIDN'T WANT US TO MOVE ALONG THE MAIN THOROUGHFARES WHERE WE COULD EASILY BE SPOTTED.

I DIDN'T WANT TO BOTHER HER EITHER. SO FRAGILE, AND WITH SUCH A FIGHTING SPIRIT WAS ZONARA. I FELT NOSTALGIC FOR THE GOOD OLD DAYS. A HIDDEN SADNESS THAT CONDITIONED ALL THE DOOM OF AN UNCERTAIN AND BRUTAL FUTURE!

THE YEAR WAS 2045 AND THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND WAS A BIT LIKE CYBERPUNK. BUT ZONARA WAS NOT IMPRESSED BY THE FUTURE, BUT WANTED TO TURN HIS GAZE TO THE IRRETRIEVABLY LOST PAST.

WHAT HAD CHANGED IN THOSE TWENTY YEARS - SAY ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

THE SOULLESSNESS OF THE PEOPLE WAS BECOMING MORE AND MORE OBVIOUS. FOR THOSE ACCUSTOMED TO POST-APOCALYPTIC LANDSCAPES, THE SIGHT WOULD NOT BE SUITABLE.

- "PEOPLE'S VALUES HAVE CHANGED A LOT. FELISTER WANTED TO HELP PEOPLE AT LEAST FIND WORK," ZONARA SAID SADLY.

I LISTENED TO HER IN SILENCE, PUZZLING OVER THE FINAL DESTINATION OF OUR JOURNEY.

SUDDENLY WE HEARD VOICES BEHIND OUR BACKS - THEY WERE HARSH AND ROUGH - AS IF READY TO FIGHT US AT ANY MOMENT.

- "WE USED TO RUN ON ROOFTOPS AS CHILDREN, BUT NOW YOU WON'T ESCAPE US," SNARLED A LARGE BANDIT WHO WAS OBVIOUSLY TOO EXPERIENCED IN FIGHTING.

I HAD NO IDEA IF ZONARA HAD THE SKILLS OF A FIGHTER, AND I DIDN'T WANT TO PUT IT TO THE TEST IN PRACTICE, BUT BEFORE FELISTER HIRED ME, I'D DONE SOME BOXING AND JIU-JITSU TRAINING - SO I COULD DEFEND MYSELF AGAINST THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOOLIGANS.

THE FIRST ONE STEPPED UP AND WANTED TO PUNCH ME IN THE FACE - HE WAS VERY PUMPED TO OVERPOWER ME.

I GRACEFULLY GRABBED HIS WRIST AND GAVE HIM AN UNDERCUT AND EVEN AS HE WAS FALLING I MANAGED TO PUT A KNEE ON HIS TEMPLE. I FELT HIS SKULL START TO CRUNCH FROM THE PRESSURE.

THE ZONE HAD OBVIOUSLY BEEN PRACTICING SOME SEMBLANCE OF AIKIDO, BECAUSE IT WAS TOSSING THEM AROUND LIKE SACKS, BUT THEIR NUMERICAL SUPERIORITY WAS CLEARLY GOING TO BREAK IT SOON.

- "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THE FELISTER’S LEGACY UNDER OUR NOSES," ANOTHER THUG WHO WAS SO UGLY HE WAS HARD TO DRAW SNARLED, "WE'RE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE DRUG CARTELS AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SHARE WITH US EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO. WE HAD YOUR BACK, SO..."

HIS VOICE WAS MENACING AND HIS FISTS WERE IRON. HE PROBABLY COULD HAVE KNOCKED DOWN EVEN A HORSE WITH HIS POWERFUL FISTS.

HONESTLY, THIS KIND OF CHILDISH BEHAVIOR DIDN'T SIT WELL WITH ME. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS TOLERATED ON THE STREETS OF MONTERREY OR IN SUIDAD JUAREZ, WHICH BY THE WAY WAS ALSO A STARTING POINT FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING TO THE US, BUT HERE WE WERE ON US SOIL AND IT WAS MORE THAN I LIKED. I WISHED TO CRUSH THIS ARROGANT AND ARROGANT REPTILE WHO MOST LIKELY WANTED TO DEPRIVE ME OF MY OWN SHARE - OF WHAT DUPLICITOUS FATE HAD ORDAINED TO BE MINE!

- "IT WON'T HAPPEN!," I ROARED WITH A FIRMNESS IN MY VOICE THAT I HADN'T EVEN EXPECTED FROM MYSELF. - "THE LOOT WILL BE OURS, OR IF YOU WANT IT SO MUCH YOU WILL HAVE TO KILL US."

THE OTHERS SAW WHAT HAPPENED AND BROUGHT OUT CLUBS AND KNIVES. IT FELT LIKE A DUMB HOLLYWOOD ACTION MOVIE - ONLY THIS TIME IT WAS REAL. THERE WERE SIX OF THEM - WELL, FIVE NOW, SINCE I'D ALREADY KNOCKED OUT ONE OF THEM, AND ONLY TWO OF US, BUT BY THE TIME I CAME TO MY SENSES, ZONARA HAD PULLED OUT HIS GUN AND OPENED FIRE. THEY DIDN'T EXPECT SUCH A DEVELOPMENT AND DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO LIE DOWN.

BUT ONE OF THEM SWUNG HIS BAT AT HER AND MANAGED TO WOUND HER. HE MIGHT HAVE SMASHED HER HEAD IN AND HER BLOOD LEAKED OUT. HER BRAIN WASN'T HARD TO MAKE OUT UNDER THE PIECES OF HER SHATTERED SKULL EITHER - OR SO IT SEEMED TO ME, FOR I COULD SEE EVERYTHING AS IF IN A DREAM.

I JUMPED TOWARD HER, GRABBED HER GUN BEFORE IT FELL INTO ANYONE ELSE'S HANDS, AND SHOT THE OTHERS. I KILLED THOSE DOGS!

I APPROACHED HER. HER FACE WAS COVERED IN BLOOD. I TRIED TO CLEAN IT OFF AND LOOK HER IN THE EYE ONE LAST TIME. I HAD NO TIME TO LOSE, FOR LIKE ANYTHING MORE OF THEM WOULD SOON COME AND THEN THE VULTURES WOULD BE GNAWING AT MY BONES ON THOSE INHOSPITABLE ROCKS.

BUT SHE WAS DEAD. IRRETRIEVABLY DEAD. I HAD LOST MY ONLY COMPANION. THEN I FELT TRULY ALONE. SO ALONE AND LOST THAT I FELT LIKE CRYING OUT LOUD. TO SCREAM AND TEAR MY FLESH IN THE WILD SUFFERING OF A MARTYR!

AND THOSE DUMB ROCKS WERE WITNESSES TO MY FALL. I WENT AND MISTOOK THE INSOLENT TRASH FOR MONEY OR SOME OTHER WEAPONS. THERE WAS NOT MUCH, BUT I DID NOT EXPECT TO FIND ANY. I REMEMBERED THE MONEY BAG ON ZONARA. THERE, HOWEVER, I FOUND SOMETHING THAT ALMOST MADE ME SCREAM - THERE WERE THE PIECES OF ABRAMELIN MAGE'S GRIMOIRE. THAT'S WHY SHE WAS SO NERVOUS THE WHOLE TIME - SHE WAS AFRAID I'D TAKE IT FROM HER AND DUMP HER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WASTELAND.

I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO THINK, BUT STILL A RATHER FRIGHTENING THOUGHT CROSSED MY MIND - ZONARA WAS OBVIOUSLY A DOOMED SOUL, MORE UNHAPPY THAN MYSELF.

I KNEW IT WAS POINTLESS, BUT WE WERE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL THAT IF YOU PETITIONED THE MOST HIGH, YOU WOULD RECEIVE SOME FORM OF FORGIVENESS THAT WOULD BRING PEACE TO YOUR SOUL.

BUT EVEN BEFORE I FOLDED MY ARMS SOMETHING DETERRED ME. MY COMPANION'S DEATH WAS IN VAIN? WHAT SHE DID FOR ME WAS UNHEARD OF - SHE OPENED MY WAY.

I ALSO FOUND SOME INSTRUCTIONS TO THE GRIMOIRE, BUT DECIDED IT WASN'T THE RIGHT TIME TO GO THROUGH THEM RIGHT HERE.

THEN SUDDENLY SHE PERKED UP. APPARENTLY SHE WAS ALIVE. I THANKED BOTH HELL AND HEAVEN FOR THAT! SHE WAS WITH ME!

- "I PULLED A LUCKY BREAK," SHE TOLD ME. "THE PROTECTION SPELL I DID KEPT ME FROM CERTAIN DEATH. I MUST LOOK TERRIBLE, DON'T I?,“

I APPROACHED HER WITH SOME RELUCTANCE, BUT REALIZED SOMETHING VERY CLEARLY - FOR SOME REASON HER SKULL WASN'T SHATTERED, ONLY HER CHEEKBONES WERE SCRAPED. APPARENTLY THE DEMONIC VISIONS HAD TURNED ME INTO A QUITTER.

- "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?," I SCREAMED, "HOW ARE YOU ALIVE WHEN YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!"

- "I'M A NECROMANCER," SHE REPLIED SIMPLY, "AND MY GIFT IS COMMUNICATING WITH THE DEAD. THIS OPENED SOME DOORS OF KNOWLEDGE FOR ME, BUT I PAID WITH MY SOUL. I WILL NEVER BE ALLOWED TO GO TO HEAVEN. WELL, I PROBABLY WON'T GO TO HELL EITHER, BUT WHO KNOWS," SHE FINISHED, SPITTING BLOOD."

I TRIED TO BANDAGE HER WOUNDS AND GIVE HER SOME PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP. BUT SHE SEEMED TO RECOVER QUICKLY WITHOUT ME.

- "WE ARE SO CLOSE,' SHE TOLD ME DREAMILY. "ALL YOU NEED IS A LITTLE MORE PATIENCE AND YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU CRAVE SO MUCH. BUT REMEMBER THE CURSE BOUND US BOTH. THE CURSE THAT HAS HAUNTED YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR COMPLICATED TANGLE OF LIVES UP TO THIS ONE. THE CURSE THAT ..." - SHE DID NOT FINISH.

I LOOKED AT HER AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I FELT THE OVERWHELMING URGE TO HUG HER TIGHTLY. I WOULD NOT SAY THAT I LOVED HER, BUT OUR COMMON SITUATION ADDED TO OUR AFFECTION.

- "IT'S TIME TO GO," I TOLD HER, "WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN WILL JUST HAPPEN AND CAN HARDLY BE AVOIDED! BUT WE SHALL BE TOGETHER-TWO DOOMED SOULS!"

WE BREAKFASTED UNDER THE SCORCHING SUN THAT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN BURNING.

THEN SHE SHARED HER FINAL INTENTIONS WITH ME.

- THE RITUAL WHICH FELISTER HAD UNDERTAKEN TO PERFORM MIGHT HAVE BEEN PERFORMED BY A YOUNG BOY OR A VIRGIN. HOWEVER, THE BOY DID NOT HAVE THE PSYCHE TO DEAL WITH THE DEMONS. GENERALLY, IT WENT SACRIFICE AND HAD TO THWART HIS INFERNAL PLANS. BUT I DECIDED TO FINISH THINGS OFF!

- "WHERE EXACTLY ARE WE GOING?," I ASKED HER IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, WITHOUT ANY MORE PRELIMINARIES.

- WHEREVER IS THE BEST PLACE TO PERFORM THE RITUAL. BUT BEFORE THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO DO THAT WILL SLOW US DOWN A BIT.

I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK NOW. SHE WAS AS INSCRUTABLE AS SHE HAD BEEN AT THE BEGINNING, BUT I COULD SENSE HER DOOM AND DESIRE TO SAVE HERSELF - SOMETHING I DIDN'T THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. IN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT!

THAT DOOMED ROMANCE OF THE GOOD OLD DAYS! THAT THORNY ROAD THAT LED NOWHERE!

ZONARA WAS QUITE BEAUTIFUL AFTER ALL - A SLENDER YOUNG WOMAN DRESSED IN HER FRUMPY RED DRESS THE COLOR OF FRESHLY DRIED BLOOD. SHE SEEMED READY FOR ANYTHING!

THIS WOMAN URGED ME TO FIGHT, TO GO FORWARD INTO THE UNKNOWN, AND HER SCENT GAVE ME THE STRANGE FEELING THAT OUR DESTINIES WERE INEVITABLY INTERTWINED IN A WAY THAT EVEN I COULD HARDLY EXPLAIN.

- "BEAUTY IN LIFE IS A RELATIVE THING," ZONARA TURNED TO ME, WHISPERING WITH AN EFFORT BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD SHE HAD LOST, "BUT I SHALL RECOVER ONCE YOU ARE BY MY SIDE, MY LOVE!"

I'M BACK! THAT MEANS SHE LOVED ME! THAT MEANT SHE WANTED US TO SHARE OUR WAY TOGETHER! MEANING...

I WASN'T SOME NAIVE KID WHO WOULD FALL FOR BULLSHIT, BUT IN THIS CASE, MAYBE THERE WAS SOMETHING IN HER VOICE. SOMETHING ENCHANTING THAT MADE ME FEEL WHAT SHE WANTED TO TELL ME!

OF THE TIME I SPENT A LONG TIME IN THE OLD FELISTER'S LIBRARY - AS WE HAVE SAID, BESIDES BOOKS RELATING TO DEMONS, HE LOVED TOO MANY DIVERSE THINGS THAT COULD EXPAND HIS KNOWLEDGE OF WORLD HISTORY AND ITS DIFFERENT ERAS. FELISTER WASN'T EXACTLY A HISTORIAN, BUT HE WAS AWARE OF THE WHOLE NAIVETY OF THE SOCIAL ORDER, WHICH, FRANKLY, SEEMED RIDICULOUS TO HIM. THE MONEY FROM HIS MERCHANDISE FUNDED ENTIRE SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY, AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVES MADE HIGH-FLOWN SPEECHES ABOUT MORALITY AND HUMAN EQUALITY, AND ALSO ABOUT THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIALITY THEY REPRESENTED.

FELISTER WAS READY TO SPIT IN THEIR FACE FOR THE HYPOCRISY THEY HAD SHOWN.

AND ZONARA DID NOT SEEM HYPOCRITICAL, BUT ON THE CONTRARY, SHE WAS TOO GENTLE-NATURED AND READY FOR ADVENTURE.

I TRIED TO HELP HER THROUGH THE DIFFICULT TRANSITION, BUT SHE SOON GOT BETTER AND MY HELP WAS ALMOST UNNECESSARY. APPARENTLY, HER MAGICAL ABILITIES, OR DEVIL KNOWS WHAT, WERE HELPING HER TO SHARE HER PAIN AND MOVE ON.

MY ZONARA! WONDERFUL PARTNER AND THE ONE WHO OPENED MY EYES! FOR A NEW LIFE!

WE CONTINUED ON, AND I NOTICED THAT SHE WAS NOW SHOWING A GREATER DESIRE FOR WHAT LAY AHEAD.

- "WE MUST ALSO COLLECT SOME OF THE OLD MAN'S MONEY," SHE SAID TO ME, MATTER-OF-FACTLY. - "MIND YOU, THE GRIMOIRE ISN'T WORTH FIVEPENCE IF WE DON'T GET ENOUGH FINANCE, TOO. SOME OF THE THINGS CONNECTED WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE RITUAL ARE TERRIBLY EXPENSIVE."

I TOOK HER WORDS SERIOUSLY.

- HOW MUCH SUFFERING HAS FELISTER CAUSED IN HIS LIFETIME?

- "TOO MUCH," WAS HER REPLY. "FELISTER WAS A MAN WHO WOULD STOP AT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AND AT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. HE WAS PREPARED TO KILL THE ENTIRE STAFF OF HIS OWN FARM, BUT TO MANAGE TO CHEAT THE CARTELS AND FUND HIS DEMONOLOGY CLASSES."

I LOOKED AT HER AGAIN. SHE SPOKE WITH AN EASE THAT WAS UNCHARACTERISTIC OF SOMEONE WHO WAS GOING TO DIE A LITTLE EARLY - AND TODAY, OF ALL DAYS.

NOW WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND THE REAL PLACE FOR THE RITUAL, AND IT SEEMED TO ME THAT WASN'T GOING TO GO PAINLESSLY OR WITHOUT FURTHER ACCIDENTS.

ZONARA DIDN'T SEEM TO BE AVOIDING THEM EITHER. HE DIDN'T SHOW AN OUNCE OF SYMPATHY FOR THOSE WE HAD DEALT WITH. EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE EAGER TO ELIMINATE HER AND ACTED LIKE A WELL-TRAINED STREET GANG.

- "WHO EXACTLY WERE THEY?," I ASKED HER.

- MEXICAN CARTELS USUALLY HAD DEBT COLLECTORS WHO WERE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME SECONDARY ROUTES OF TRAFFICKING THE GOODS. BASICALLY, THESE GUYS SEEMED TO BE PART OF THOSE GROUPS, AND YET THEY WERE DANGEROUS ENOUGH. BUT YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET!

I ALWAYS WONDERED ABOUT THE PSYCHE OF THESE THUGS, READY TO KILL YOU FOR PENNIES.

IN MY WORLD FELISTER DISPENSED JUSTICE DIRECTLY - HE DIDN'T CARE AND PUNISHED JUST FINE. WHEN HE HAD TO, HE EVEN CUT THE HANDS OF HIS DEALERS, SO NO ONE DARED TO STEAL FROM HIM OR HIDE ANY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM HIM.

FELISTER'S FARM WAS A LIVING HELL - IT WAS A VERITABLE FACTORY OF DEATH!

IN SEARCH OF SUPPORT

CHAPTER TEN: IN SEARCH OF SUPPORT

 

THE NEXT PART OF OUR ITINERARY WITH ZONARA WAS TO TAKE A PISS IN SALT LAKE CITY BEFORE WE LEFT FOR DENVER IN THE STATE OF COLORADO. THERE WE WERE ABLE TO REST AND EAT.

OVER THE YEARS I HAD WITNESSED THAT ALL THE SO-CALLED PSEUDO-FRIENDS WHO HAD COME INTO MY LIFE HAD DONE SO ONLY FOR PROFIT, BUT FORTUNATELY FOR ME, THE POSITION OF ASSISTANT CASTRATO AT THE FELISTER FARM GAVE ME A MEASURE OF PROTECTION.

SALT LAKE CITY WAS TRULY MAGNIFICENT - IT WAS THE CAPITAL OF UTAH, WHERE THE MAJESTIC RIDGES OF THE MOUNTAINS STOOD OUT BEHIND THE SO-CALLED DOWNTOWN[1], WHERE THE ENTERPRISING CITY GOVERNMENT BUILT MORE AND MORE NEW BUILDINGS.

HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE AND BATHE, STAYING IN ONE OF THE BEST HOTELS.

- "WE CAN'T STAY HERE TOO LONG," I TOLD HER. "I HAVE A FEELING WE'LL SOON BE IN TROUBLE."

BUT SO FAR, NOTHING PORTENDED A STORM ON THE HORIZON. THE SKY WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR, AND THE PLEASANT LIGHT BREEZE BLOWING IN FROM THE MOUNTAINS WAS DOWNRIGHT LOVELY. NEXT TO THIS TOWN WAS THE FAMOUS LAKE, WHOSE GENTLE WAVES WHISPERED ENCHANTINGLY. DO YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE ARE SO SELF-ABSORBED THAT THEY MISS THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE? AND THAT IS TO LIVE!

SALT LAKE CITY WAS FOR A LONG TIME A FAMOUS CENTRE WHERE EXTREMELY USEFUL AND VALUABLE CONTACTS COULD BE MADE. FORTUNATELY FOR ME, THE ZONE HAD THEM IN ABUNDANCE, AND THAT WAS ONLY WELCOME FOR US.

WE CONTACTED A YUPPIE NAMED JAKE, A WELL-EDUCATED YOUNG PARVENU, WHO EXPLAINED THAT IN ORDER TO MOVE AROUND MORE SAFELY GIVEN THE FACTS LAID OUT BEFORE HIM, IT WAS NOT A BAD IDEA TO SEEK POLICE PROTECTION. BOTH ZONARA AND I REJECTED HIS OFFER FLATLY.

GOOD YUPPIES ARE ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP YOU IF YOU PAY THEM WELL ENOUGH, AND ZONARA HAD A BAG FULL OF MONEY. I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERFERE IN THAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP. I ALSO DIDN'T WANT TO PRY, AS A LOT OF THINGS HADN'T BEEN THE SAME SINCE I LEFT FELISTER'S FARM, AND I WAS PROBABLY THE ONLY SURVIVOR WHILE FELISTER'S BODY LAY ON THE AUTOPSY TABLE AND WAS PROBABLY IN THE CEMETERY LONG AGO.

HE THEN TURNED TO US SAYING:

- YOU KNOW, YOU'RE THE STRANGEST CLIENTS I'VE EVER HAD, BUT YOU'RE DEFINITELY INTERESTING TO ME! SO I'LL DO SOMETHING FOR YOU, BUT IN RETURN YOU'LL TAKE ME TO THE RITUAL AND I GET TO TALK TO THE GHOST!

ZONARA WAS RELUCTANT TO AGREE, BUT AFTER SOME THOUGHT, SHE RELENTED.

HE EVEN AGREED TO DRIVE US IN HIS OWN CAR.

- YOU WILL ATTRACT UNNECESSARY ATTENTION, PLUS SOME OF THE THOROUGHFARES ARE NOW UNDER STRICT POLICE CONTROL. NO NEED TO THANK ME. I DO IT FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

HE EXPLAINED TO US HOW HE HAD HELPED MANY TRAFFICKERS IN THE PAST WHO HAD PROBLEMS WITH THE LAW AND WHO DEFINITELY WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED WITHOUT HIS HELP.

- WHEN WE HAVE DONE OUR WORK IN THIS WORLD, WE HAVE TO LEAVE!" HE JOKED, "IT'S PART OF THE CIRCLE OF LIFE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO MAKE YOU MAKE THE WRONG DECISIONS. NOR TO HURRY WITHOUT NEED! SALT LAKE CITY IS NOT SUCH A PLEASANT PLACE, HOWEVER MUCH THE GENTLE BREEZE AND BEAUTIFUL SCENERY MAY IMPRESS YOU. I'VE HAD A REAL STRONG URGE TO MOVE AWAY FOR YEARS TOO. I JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE COMING HERE. MY WHITE COLLAR CAREER IS OVER - EVERYTHING HERE IS SO BRUTALLY FAKE AND POINTLESS - AS IS ALL HUMAN LIFE, BY THE WAY. YOU KNOW, I SPEAK SO FRANKLY TO YOU AS TO FRIENDS I BARELY KNOW, BUT PERHAPS OUR FATES ARE INVARIABLY LINKED AND THIS ADVENTURE IS A SHARED AFFAIR. I AM READY TO BE WITH YOU AND TO GET OUT OF THE DRY AND HECTIC EVERYDAY LIFE. UNEMPLOYMENT IS SKYROCKETING AS IT IS, AND THE BUILDING TRADE UNIONS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE ENTIRE REAL SECTOR - FRANKLY, THEY'RE UNBREATHABLE.

IT WAS SUCH A STUPID DECISION TO PURSUE A LEGAL CAREER. I THOUGHT I WAS HELPING OTHERS, BUT I WAS ACTUALLY LIVING THEIR LIVES. IT WASN'T RIGHT, IT WAS MORE LIKE A MISTAKE. BUT MY PARENTS WERE RICH AND BASICALLY WANTED THE BEST FOR ME. I SOON REALIZED THAT I WAS ON THE WRONG PATH, BUT THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK.

- "I MET ZONARA SOON, AND SHE IS SO IMPRESSIVE," I MUTTERED.

WHEN ZONARA COULDN'T HEAR US, JAKE TURNED TO ME IN A FRIENDLY WAY.

- MANY THINGS IN THIS WORLD ARE TOO DECEPTIVE. I WOULDN'T TRUST HER IF I WERE YOU. NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS. AND MAYBE SHE'S NOT SO WELL-MEANING.

I PONDERED HIS WORDS-PERHAPS THE MODERN MELANCHOLY LOOK OF SALT LAKE CITY HAD GONE TO MY HEAD AND SHIFTED MY FOCUS FROM WHAT WAS TRULY IMPORTANT. HONESTLY, I WONDERED WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE LIVED THERE - TECHNOCRATS, INDIANS, YUPPIES, ATHLETES. AND FINALLY I JUST GOT A HEADACHE.

DROVE US AROUND IN HIS VOLVO - AN SUV SEDAN, AS HE THOUGHT THAT KIND OF CAR WAS MORE MANLY AND RELIABLE ON THE ROAD - ESPECIALLY OFF-ROAD DRIVING. NOT THAT HE WAS A GEEK, BUT HE WANTED HIS CAR TO BE FIT FOR ALL CONDITIONS. I COULD AGREE WITH HIM - WHERE HE WAS TAKING US THOUGH WAS UNKNOWN.

AFTER MORE THAN TWO HOURS WE STOPPED IN FRONT OF A SHACK THAT WAS LOCATED GOD KNOWS WHERE.

 - "THERE ARE A LOT OF INDIANS LIVING IN THIS AREA. WELL, NOT THAT MANY, ACTUALLY," HE ADDED. "MOST OF THEM UNDERSTAND MAGIC, ALTHOUGH WHAT FELISTER DID SEEMED SINISTER ENOUGH. I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT REAL DEMONS LOOK LIKE - IT DOESN'T CROSS MY MIND."

WE ENTERED THE TYPICAL INDIAN TENT, WHICH WAS CALLED A TEPEE, AND WHICH HONESTLY LOOKED PRETTY FUN.

- THE GOVERNMENT GRANTED THEM SOME LAND. IT WASN'T EASY FOR THEM TO GET ENOUGH PRIVILEGES TO SURVIVE. NO ONE WANTED THEM AND IT WAS RUINING THEM, BUT IN THE END SOMEONE NEEDED THEM ANYWAY. ONCE UPON A TIME, FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD, OF COURSE, SOMEWHERE OUT THERE AROUND THE FRESHWATER LAKES AND STREAMS CAME THEIR FIRST DESCENDANTS. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND SALT LAKE CITY WAS FOUNDED BY MORMONS.

THE MORMON FAITH WAS PECULIAR - YES, IT WAS TRUE THAT THERE WERE ALL SORTS OF CHRISTIAN SECTS LIKE THE "BRANCH OF DAVID", THE "SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS" AND SO ON, BUT THE MORMONS HAD A VERY STABLE FAMILY STRUCTURE.

- "WE ARE ALL TEMPORARY VISITORS TO THIS WORLD AND NEED NOT EXPECT APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL FOR OUR ACTIONS. IF YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, ONE MUST BE SELF-SUFFICIENT, AS TRUE LOVE DOES NOT EXIST!" HE REVEALED HIS PHILOSOPHY. "FELISTER LIVED BY HIS OWN RULES AND WITNESSED HIS OWN VERY SAD END INDEED. 'BUT ENERGY IS NOT LOST, IT ONLY PASSES FROM ONE STATE TO ANOTHER," HE SHARED HIS RATHER BANAL VIEWS.

WE THEN WENT INSIDE AND A RATHER ELDERLY INDIAN WOMAN WAS WAITING FOR US - APPARENTLY JAKE HAD BEEN HELPING THEM WITH THIS AND THAT TO ARRANGE THEIR RIGHT OF ABODE. THERE WERE ALSO QUITE A FEW NGOS DEFENDING THEIR RIGHTS AS WELL. OR PRETENDED THEY REALLY DID.

- "I SEE YOU WELL, YOUNG MAN," THE STRANGE WOMAN TURNED TO ME, "YOU ARE NOT LIKE THE OTHERS BECAUSE YOU WERE NEVER BORN. OR YOU WERE BORN DEAD. YOUR LINE OF DESTINY IS RATHER CONFUSED, BUT I SEE INTO THE FUTURE. THERE ARE NO HIDDEN SECRETS FOR ME."

IT WAS VERY QUIET INSIDE FOR A WHILE AND NOTHING COULD BE HEARD.

AND IF ANY MINIMAL LIGHT CAME IN AT ALL, IT WAS FROM THE TWO SMOKE DIRECTIONAL DAMPERS.

HER FACE WAS LINED WITH A MULTITUDE OF WRINKLES, WHICH MUST HAVE BEEN

AFTER A MOMENT'S SILENCE, THE WOMAN CALLED:

- I TRIED TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE SPIRITS AND THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME AN ANSWER - AT LEAST NOT RIGHT AWAY. BUT AFTER A WHILE I MADE CONTACT. OUR MAGIC IS FOR RAIN, FOR BIRTH OR DEATH AND SO ON. BUT HOW CAN I HELP YOU, SINCE YOU WERE NEVER BORN AND NEVER DIED? YOUR SITUATION IS QUITE CONFUSED AND I'M AFRAID MY POWERS AS A SHAMAN WON'T BE ENOUGH TO SAVE YOU. AND MAYBE YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN WAY, BUT I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING FOR SURE - THE GREAT SPIRIT[2] IS ALSO SILENT, AND I DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO SEE THIS AS A BLESSING OR A CURSE! YOU WILL HAVE TO GO ON!

JAKE DIDN'T INTERVENE, BUT ZONARA DECIDED TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

- AND WHAT DO YOU SEE OF THE FELISTER’S LEGACY...

THE WOMAN WAS SILENT FOR A MOMENT AND TURNED AWAY:

- DIFFICULT QUESTION YOU ASK ME. FELISTER WASN'T AS UNCLEAN AS YOU THOUGHT HIM TO BE, BUT HIS COMMUNICATION WITH DEMONS HAD FAILED HIM. THERE IS NO TREASURE IN HIS FARM - EXCEPT THE GRIMOIRE BOOKS, AND THEY ARE A SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE, NOT SO MUCH OF AVARICE AND HATRED OF HUMANS!

I FELT, HOWEVER, A STRANGE PRESENCE IN THIS INDIAN TEPEE - AS IF SOMETHING INVISIBLE WAS FOLLOWING US, AND IT WOULD CAUSE OR INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF LATER EVENTS.

WE BY-PASSED SALT LAKE CITY AND DROVE ON TO DENVER COLORADO, WHERE THE REAL SEARCH FOR THE TRAIL LEADING TO THE PROPER PLACE FOR THE RITUAL WAS TO BEGIN.

I NOTICED THAT ZONARA WASN'T TOO TALKATIVE ON THE WAY, BUT THEN SHE RELAXED. IT WAS AS IF A CERTAIN CHANGE HAD COME OVER HER. I'M NOT CONVINCED THAT SHE BELIEVED ANY SHAMANIC SHENANIGANS THAT COULD FOOL THE MIND AND LEAD YOU TO HELL.

THE THREE OF US MERRILY CHATTED ABOUT WHAT LAY AHEAD TO FIND THE SECRETS OF THE SHADOWY FELISTER.

DENVER COLORADO HAD LONG AGO DECRIMINALIZED THE USE OF HALLUCINOGENIC MUSHROOMS, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE OLD FELISTER LIKED TO SAY:

- WE PRODUCE THE REAL STUFF, BOYS. AND THE CATTLE INDUSTRY IS BOOMING IN THIS COUNTRY! FORGET CROP PRODUCTION! WE CREATE THE REAL VALUE-ADDED!

HE DEFINITELY HAD A PERVERSE ENOUGH SENSE OF HUMOR!

FELISTER'S ANTICS WERE UNIVERSALLY KNOWN, BUT I GUARANTEE YOU THEY WERE FAR FROM CHAOTIC OR MINDLESS! NO THIS MAN WAS A GENIUS OF VIOLENCE AND TERROR!

AFTER A CAREFUL EXAMINATION OF THE MAP OF CRIMES IN DENVER, WE NOTICED THAT THEY WERE CONCENTRATED IN THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN PARTS. WE HAD TO RECRUIT SOMEONE TO HELP US BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THE THREE OF US, AND MAYBE SOMEONE ELSE HAD GONE AFTER US.

THE EXPERIENCE WE HAD GAINED IN OUR THREE-WEEK STAY IN SALT LAKE CITY HAD TAUGHT ME ONE THING. SOMETIMES YOU CAN FIND COLLABORATORS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVELY WHEN YOU POINT OUT TO THEM YOUR COMMON INTERESTS, BECAUSE ANYONE CAN MAKE MONEY!

WE SPENT THE NIGHT AT ONE OF THE MANY HOTELS IN TOWN. NO REASON TO GET INTO TRITE AND REDUNDANT DESCRIPTIONS, BUT WE FOUND JAKE DEAD IN THE MORNING. HE HAD GLAZED OVER HIS EYES LIKE A DOG! IT WAS UNNECESSARY TO TELL ME THAT THE MALIGNANT CURSE OF THE FELISTER HIMSELF MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIRECTED AFTER US.

HE WAS PROBABLY CHASING US FROM THE GRAVE, ANGRY THAT WE WERE SO SLOW TO FIND WHAT WE NEEDED AND COMPLETE THE RITUAL ONCE AND FOR ALL.

CRIME IN A CITY RISES WHEN THE CITY GOVERNMENT IS UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO DEAL WITH IT.

- "WE FOUND JAKE SMILING!," I SAID THOUGHTFULLY. "HE MUST HAVE DIED REALLY HAPPY. HE OBVIOUSLY ENJOYED BEING LEFT ALONE WITH DEATH! MAYBE HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS IN HIS LIFETIME!"

ZONARA SAID NOTHING AGAIN. APPARENTLY, SHE HAD TAKEN SOME STRANGE VOW OF SILENCE. HER FACE REMAINED ABSOLUTELY IMPENETRABLE, AND I WAS UNABLE TO MAKE IT OUT.

JAKE'S OX COULD HAVE BEEN USED AT LEAST A LITTLE LONGER, BUT I STILL DECIDED TO EXAMINE HIS CORPSE BEFORE THE PARAMEDICS ARRIVED, AND THEN HIS BODY WOULD BE SENT TO THE MORGUE TO THE PATHOLOGISTS.

I TOUCHED IT WITH GLOVES SO IT WOULDN'T BE RECOGNIZED. AND ZONARA WASN'T WATCHING ME, BECAUSE AT THAT MOMENT HE WAS ON THE PHONE TO 911, AS WAS HIS TURN.

AFTER EXAMINING HIM CAREFULLY, I FOUND A NOTE IN HIS MOUTH:

- YOU'RE NEXT! BE CAREFUL! FELISTER WARNS YOU! HE LOVED YOU LIKE A NATIVE SON!

THE MENTION OF FELISTER'S NAME ASTONISHED ME, AND I MYSELF HAD NO IDEA HOW FAR THIS WHOLE BUSINESS MIGHT EXTEND.

THE PECULIAR THING ABOUT IT WAS THAT ZONARA HADN'T FOUND THE NOTE, WHICH PUZZLED ME, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND SHE WAS PROBABLY JUST IN SHOCK AND HADN'T MANAGED TO CHECK THE BODY LIKE I HAD.

I QUICKLY BACKED AWAY FROM HIM SO HE WOULDN'T SUSPECT MY FIND. BUT THE FEELING FOR THIS FATAL WOMAN WAS GROWING STRONGER! APPARENTLY SHE COULD HAVE CAUSED A WHOLE SERIES OF MURDERS THAT WERE UNPREDICTABLE!

IT WAS FRIGHTENING TO THINK WHAT WAS HAPPENING ALL THE TIME:

- "MAYBE JAKE WAS GIVEN HIS FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO PASS THROUGH THE LIGHT!," I WHISPERED SO SOFTLY IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE ELSE TO HEAR ME.

ZONARA RETURNED AND WE BOTH WAITED QUIETLY FOR THE POLICE TEAM. HE CAME ALMOST LIKE CLOCKWORK EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN THE CITY AND IT WASN'T UNEXPECTED FOR THINGS LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN TO PEOPLE.

THE DETECTIVE WHO CAME, HOWEVER, WAS PARTICULARLY ROASTED. BUT HE GAVE NO INDICATION THAT HE KNEW ABOUT THIS CASE. DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S DEATH WAS ALL TOO TELLING, AND HE HAD ALREADY LEARNED ABOUT IT FROM HIS COLLEAGUES IN MISSOURI. INFORMATION WAS INDEED MOVING AT SPEEDS MANY TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND.

THE COP LOOKED AROUND THE SCENE MOST APPRECIATIVELY, NOTING JAKE'S APPARENT DEMISE. HE INFORMED US ONLY THAT HE HAD NO PARENTS ACCORDING TO THE POLICE REPORT AND COULD NOT PRACTICALLY BE BURIED WITHOUT MUNICIPAL INTERVENTION, WHICH WOULD PROBABLY DISPOSE OF HIS PROPERTY OR AT LEAST HELP THE STATE TO DO SO.

- "AFTER ALL, JAKE WAS ACTUALLY WEALTHY, ADDING HIS ANNUAL SALARY TO THE JOHNSON LAW FIRM OF APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS PLUS HIS PRIVATE PRACTICE. WELL, MAYBE THIS GUY WAS WORTH ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN HIS LIFETIME. WHEN YOU THINK HOW MANY ORPHANS HE COULD HAVE HELPED WITH THAT KIND OF MONEY - A LOT, REALLY," MUTTERED THE OFFICER, WHO HAD GOTTEN SOME INFORMATION FROM THE POLICE REPORT AND WAS NOW SCRATCHING HIS HEAD IN PUZZLEMENT.

THE OLD COP COUGHED - HE WANTED TO BELIEVE WHAT WAS PROFITABLE TO BELIEVE, AND SEE WHAT WAS PROFITABLE TO SEE, AND THAT WAS HIS DEFENCE MECHANISM. IT WAS HOW HE'D SURVIVED IN THE JUNGLE OF LIFE, AND HE CONSIDERED SUCH BEHAVIOR TO BE PERFECTLY IN ORDER. THE SUBTLE POINT WAS THAT IN THE SOCIAL JUNGLE YOU CANNOT GET ALONG WITHOUT HAVING YOUR OWN SOCIAL IDENTITY, AND WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A REAL ONE YOU ARE FORCED TO HIDE BEHIND THE FORMAL ONE THAT YOUR PROFESSION OR POSITION PROVIDES.

CAREERISM IN THE POLICE WAS NOT LOOKED UPON WITH A KIND EYE, AS IT WAS EVERYWHERE, BUT FRANKLY THERE WERE OTHER METHODS OF DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM.

THE FINGERPRINT TECHNICIANS HAD TO FINGERPRINT THE VICTIM BECAUSE WE WERE AUTOMATICALLY PLACED UNDER SUSPICION, AT LEAST UNTIL THE CASE WAS CLEARED UP. THE SPECIALISTS WOULD USE THE PAPILLARY LINES ON HIS PALM TO REPORT EXACTLY WHAT HE HAD OR HAD NOT TOUCHED. WELL, IT HAD TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR, TOO, THAT THIS DISTINCTIVE FINGER-PAINTING WAS COMPLETELY INDELIBLE.

IT WOULD NOT BE SUPERFLUOUS TO MENTION THAT THE FINGERPRINT FILM ITSELF, SILICONE RESINS AND FLUORESCENT SUBSTANCES WERE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.

THE TWO OF US WITH THE ZONE STOOD IN GRIM ANTICIPATION FOR THE IMMINENT OUTCOME OF THE CASE. BUT THE MORE TIME PASSED, THE MORE I REALIZED THAT NOTHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. EITHER ZONARA HAD BEEN REALLY SNEAKY, OR WE JUST HAD TO STAY AND WATCH HOW FAR THE COPS WOULD GO IN THEIR ZEAL TO FIND CLUES.

NATURALLY, NOTHING HAPPENED AND WE WERE BOTH ALLOWED TO LEAVE, BUT BEFORE THAT WE STOPPED BY THE STATION FOR FURTHER QUESTIONING.

WE WERE THEN FINALLY RELEASED.

OF COURSE, WE COULDN'T USE HIS CAR AS ORIGINALLY INTENDED, AND ZONARA HAD TO IMPLICITLY ADMIT HIS DEFEAT. BUT SHE DIDN'T PARTICULARLY CARE!

- "SHE WANTED US TO COLLECT THE MONEY! THERE THEY ARE!," SHE LAUGHED CHEEKILY.

- "WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?," I WONDERED, ALTHOUGH I HAD A GOOD IDEA WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT.

- "WE MAY NOT TOUCH FELISTER'S MONEY, BUT AT LEAST WE'LL SHRINK JAKE'S," SHE LOOKED AT ME GRAVELY, WITHOUT A DROP OF SHAME.

- "WAS COLLECTING HIS MONEY YOUR TOP PRIORITY?," I STARTED TO QUESTION HER, "IS THAT THE MAIN THING THAT MATTERS?

- "WITHOUT CASH WE CAN'T CONTINUE THE PARTY," ZONARA REPLIED, "AND WE'RE ALREADY APPROACHING MISSOURI AND IT'S GOING TO GET PRETTY FUN THERE."

I WAS AMAZED AT HOW EASILY HE USED THE WORD "FUN" IN HIS VOCABULARY. I'D HATE TO TALK TO HER.

BUT WE BOTH HAD A COMMON GOAL - AND THAT WAS FELISTER.

- "YOU'LL THANK ME LATER, I'M SURE," SHE LAUGHED AGAIN. 'THIS IS REAL LIFE, NOT SOME SIMULATION. HERE, NOW JAKE HAS GONE INTO OVERDRIVE!

 

[1] Downtown - central part of the city.

[2] Kichi Manitou is one of the names of the Great Spirit who is also known as Wakan Tanka.

ARLO

CHAPTER ELEVEN: ARLO

 

GENERAL DENVER WAS TOO VARIED, AND HERE WE COULD FIND WHAT WE NEEDED. SO MANY PEOPLE GATHERED IN ONE PLACE.

I IMMEDIATELY REMEMBERED THAT TWO OF THE MOST MASS SHOOTINGS IN MODERN AMERICAN HISTORY HAD OCCURRED IN THE STATE OF COLORADO. BUT THE BLOOD OF THE VICTIMS WAS STILL HERE, WHICH MADE ME THINK HOW HIGH SCHOOL CRIME WAS IN SOME STATES. IT HAD ALSO LED TO SO-CALLED ZERO TOLERANCE POLICIES IN SCHOOLS, WHICH MAINLY CONSISTED OF THE FACT THAT STUDENTS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO FREELY BRING GUNS INTO SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS - IN GENERAL, THIS EVENT HAD REVERBERATED AROUND THE WORLD AS WELL, AND ITS REVERBERATIONS WOULD NOT BE SILENCED FOR LONG. OVERALL, THERE WAS NO STRONG EVIDENCE THAT THIS INEVITABLY LED TO A DROP IN CRIME, BUT THESE POLICIES DID EXIST.

ZONER AND I HAD BOTH COME TO TERMS WITH AND WERE LEFT WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT VIOLENCE WAS IN THE AIR IN THIS STATE.

WHEN WE STOPPED ON A STRANGE LITTLE STREET, SEEMINGLY STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, I DECIDED TO ASK ZONARA QUITE CALMLY:

- "WHERE ARE WE ACTUALLY GOING?,"  I DECIDED TO PUT THE QUESTION TO HER DIRECTLY. "WE'VE LEFT SO MANY CORPSES ON OUR WAY HERE, AREN'T YOU GOING TO ELABORATE ON WHAT FELISTER'S FAMOUS LEGACY ACTUALLY IS? AND MOST OF ALL, WHAT WILL BE MY USE OF THIS LEGACY?,“

ZONARA TURNED AWAY. LOOKED AT ME RATHER STRANGELY AND TURNED AWAY:

- SOME THINGS IT IS BETTER NOT TO TALK ABOUT AT ALL. BUT I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT VERY SOON YOUR CURIOSITY WILL BE SATISFIED AND THE WHOLE PICTURE WILL BE SETTLED IN YOUR MIND. I AM ALMOST CERTAIN THAT YOU DID NOT EXPECT SUCH AN OUTCOME. HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE CHILDREN OF DEATH?

I SHUDDERED TO HEAR HER UTTER SUCH A DREAD WORD WITH SEEMING LEVITY.

- DO YOU KNOW THAT IN THE LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM OF SOME STATES THERE IS A LOOPHOLE BY WHICH A CRIMINAL CAN EASILY GET AWAY?

I DIDN'T FULLY UNDERSTAND HER, BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME I COULD FEEL WHERE SHE WAS HITTING - SHE WAS A TRUE DEMON OF FLESH AND BLOOD. THAT WAS MY FIRST SIGNAL REACTION TO HER BEHAVIOR.

HADN'T THE FELISTER’S LEGACY BEEN WHAT WE'D SET OUT FOR, AND NOW IT HAD TURNED OUT TO BE SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! WHERE WAS THE TRUTH!

- THE PROBLEM IS, TO COMPLETE THE RITUAL, WE'RE GOING TO NEED A RECRUIT WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND A SINGLE THING ABOUT MAGIC.

I LEARNED! SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE RITUAL IN QUESTION FROM ABRAMELIN'S GRIMOIRE.

- TELL ME MORE! I WANT TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'M UP AGAINST! THIS WILL CHANGE THINGS A LOT! IT WILL GIVE ME A CHANCE TO UNDERSTAND...

- "TO UNDERSTAND WHAT," SHE ASKED ME WITH A STRANGE VEHEMENCE. - "TAKE A GOOD LOOK AROUND, WHAT THIS WORLD IS LIKE AND WHAT IT'S MADE OF! WHETHER THERE IS LOVE IN ITS CREATION, OR GRATITUDE TO TIP THE SCALES IN YOUR FAVOUR! CONSIDER WHETHER THOU THYSELF HAST NOT BEEN THE VICTIM OF SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES!"

I FELT UNEASY. SHE WAS RIGHT. THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THIS GIRL-SOMETHING REMINISCENT OF DÉJÀ VU. AND ANY DÉJÀ VU WAS, ACCORDING TO SOME, SIMPLY CAUSED BY A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE OF THE BRAIN.

- "I'M DYING," ZONARA SAID SADLY, "I HAVE CANCER AND I DON'T HAVE LONG. THIS IS THE TRUTH, MY DEAR. AND I DON'T PLAY ANY GAMES ANYMORE. IT'S JUST THAT MY END WILL BE NEAR. AND FELISTER WANTED TO SAVE THE SOULS OF PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T DESERVE IT. HE WANTED TO PLAY THE ROLE OF JUSTICE WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING ITS TRUE MEANING - I FIND THAT THOUGHT CRITICALLY UNBEARABLE."

I FELT RELIEVED THAT ZONARA WAS FINALLY SHOWING SOME HUMANITY, BUT I DIDN'T FLINCH, I QUESTIONED HER:

- WHY DID YOU KILL JAKE? IT WASN'T HIS FAULT, AND IT DIDN'T DO YOU MUCH GOOD TO DO IT.

- WRONG AGAIN. JAKE DECIDED TO KILL HIMSELF ONCE HE REALIZED HIS OWN ENVIRONMENT WAS TOXIC, AND HE WAS A VICTIM OF IT. ISN'T IT TRAGICOMIC THAT PEOPLE WHO SUPPOSEDLY HAVE EVERYTHING END UP WITH NOTHING? THE LAW OF REDISTRIBUTION IS TOO, TOO SIMPLE!

- "EVEN IF WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS REALLY TRUE," I LOOKED AT HER, FEELING A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SKEPTICISM, "SOMETHING STILL DOESN'T ADD UP. THE MONEY IN THAT BAG PLUS JAKE'S MONEY IS ENOUGH TO DO A TRANSPLANT. YOU CAN PICK ANY CLINIC IN THE WHOLE WORLD AND YOU'LL PROBABLY BE ABLE TO COVER THE TREATMENT IN FULL - WITHOUT SERIOUS EFFORT. THERE ARE MANY DESTINATIONS WHERE THEY DO WONDERS LIKE THE US OR ISRAEL. WOULD YOU CONSIDER IT?,“

- THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE CELLS IN MY BODY ARE DAMAGED TO THE POINT WHERE HARDLY ANY CHEMOTHERAPY WOULD BE OF ANY REAL BENEFIT. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU DON'T REALIZE ALL OF THIS. I WANT TO BEG FOR HELP NOT ONLY FOR MYSELF BUT FOR ALL THOSE KIDS WHO WERE IN THE BOARDING SCHOOL WITH YOU!

- SO, FELISTER...

- MAYBE YOU'RE BEGINNING TO REALIZE WHAT THIS WAS ALL ABOUT. FELISTER WAS A GREEDY TYPE WHO GOT A LOT BUT NEVER USED HIS VAST OPPORTUNITIES. WHERE OTHERS HUNG THEIR HEADS, HE WAS ON THE FRONT LINE. THE DEMONS PROVIDED PROTECTION FOR HIM TO ACHIEVE HIS GOALS.

- AND WHAT EXACTLY WOULD YOU ASK OF A GUARDIAN ANGEL IF HE WAS AT ALL WILLING TO LISTEN AND HELP YOU!

ZONARA SAID NOTHING, JUST TOOK MY HAND AND LOOKED AT ME WITH HIS DEEP, SAD, BLUE EYES. THAT LOOK COULD MELT YOU OR KILL YOU!

- LOOK AROUND AT THE ENORMITY OF HUMAN SUFFERING! WE ARE HERE TO SUFFER - IT IS OUR VOCATION! WE ARE HERE TO LEARN OUR LESSON! BECAUSE THEN WE MAY NOT HAVE A CHANCE TO LIVE AGAIN!

HER FACE WAS COVERED WITH TEARS AND I WANTED TO HUG HER, TO WRAP MY ARMS AROUND HER, TELLING HER I LOVED HER. CRUEL, IRRATIONAL, BRUTAL, UNPREDICTABLE, BUT MY LOVE!

THEN I REMEMBERED EINSTEIN'S WORDS "IN THAT SENSE - I HAVE NEVER LOOKED UPON PEACE AND HAPPINESS AS ENDS IN THEMSELVES - SUCH AN ETHICAL BASE I WOULD DEFINE AS MORE SUITED TO A HERD OF PIGS.[1]"

- YES, THAT WAS FELISTER'S HIDDEN AGENDA! TO SHOW US THAT WE WERE LIKE A HERD OF SWINE! BUT I WANT TO LIVE!

- "THEN, IF WE ARE TO TAKE THE INDIAN'S WORD FOR IT, WHAT IS IT THAT SO HAUNTS US?,“- I PUZZLED GRAVELY-"THE SPIRITS BURNED WITH NO DESIRE TO SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE WITH HER, AND THIS SEEMED TO ME A LITTLE STRANGE."

- "THE INDIAN MAGIC IS TOO STRONG," INTERJECTED ZONARA, "IT HAS HAUNTED US ALL THE WAY HERE! THIS POWER, IT'S IN ME AND IT MAKES ME FEEL IT!"

- DON'T YOU REMEMBER THAT FELISTER STARTED HIS RITUAL WITH ME FIRST, BECAUSE HE COULDN'T FIND A BOY, OR RATHER HE COULDN'T FIND A SUITABLE BOY THAT FIT THE CRITERIA!

- "WELL, IN THAT CASE, WHY SHOULDN'T I BE THAT BOY," I INTERJECTED, "IT'S NOT SOME GAME, IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN SAVE YOU!

- "YOU DON'T NEED TO SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR MY SAKE," SHE TOLD ME SERIOUSLY, "I'M HERE AND MAYBE THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. I SHALL BEAR MY OWN CROSS, AND THAT MUST NOT BE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY."

- WELL THEN, WHY DON'T WE JUST GO TO ONE OF THOSE JOLLY SHOPS[2] .

THE TWO OF US DID VISIT SUCH A PLACE AND THERE WERE QUITE A FEW UNINITIATED TEENAGERS WONDERING WHAT STRAIN OF MARIJUANA WOULD BE BEST SUITED TO THEIR SOPHISTICATED TASTES. I GUESSED A BIT, BUT GENERALLY TOOK THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT IN STRIDE.

I KNEW THAT MARIJUANA CONTAINED THE ACTIVE SUBSTANCE TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL, BUT I ALSO KNEW THAT EXCESSIVE USE COULD LEAD TO A HEART ATTACK. I LEFT THESE LOST SOULS IN THIS SMOKY WORLD THAT WAS THEIR WAY OF ESCAPING REALITY.

WHEN WE WERE GOING OUT THERE WAS A STRANGE GUY CALLED BLUEBIRD.

I THOUGHT THAT THIS YOUNG MAN, AND HE LOOKED MORE LIKE AN ADULT, HAD HAD A GOOD HARD SMOKE AND WAS GETTING INTO CHARACTER, BUT IN FACT WE HAD COME ACROSS A MAN WITH WHOM OUR ADVENTURE WAS JUST ABOUT TO BEGIN. HE TOLD US MANY INTERESTING AND USEFUL THINGS - AND FOR FREE. APPARENTLY HE ALSO FELT A BIT AWKWARD IN A PLACE LIKE THIS.

- "I HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOU. I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING," HE REMARKED. "GRASS IS NOT IMPORTANT, AND YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SOMETHING QUITE DIFFERENT."

LEAVING THE CITY LIMITS, WE CAME UPON A COUNTRY ROAD THAT PROBABLY LED TO NOWHERE.

- "I UNDERSTAND YOU'VE BEEN TO SEE A WOMAN SHAMAN," HE LAUGHED, "AND SHE HASN'T REVEALED A WORD TO YOU, HAS SHE? I'M SURE IT'S ALL PLAIN AS DAY. YOU SPECIAL AND I HELPED YOU."

HE WAS SLURRING HIS WORDS SO STRANGELY THAT I WONDERED WHAT ETHNIC GROUP OF INDIANS HE WAS. HE SEEMED TO GUESS MY THOUGHTS AND HASTENED TO REPLY:

- I AM FROM THE CAYUGA[3] TRIBE AND I CAN TELL YOU FOR A FACT THAT THAT SHAMAN DID NOT REVEAL TO YOU EVEN AS MUCH AS A PEA EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. AND THE NATURE OF THE CURSE THAT IS UPON YOU! FOR A START I CAN INFORM THE HONOURABLE LADY THAT SHE IS NOT A CANCER PATIENT AS SHE THINKS. AND PROBABLY NEVER WAS! AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE!

ZONARA SHRIEKED AND COVERED HER FACE WITH HER HANDS.

- BUT NOT ONLY THAT! THE SACRED PLACE WHERE YOU SHOULD REALLY PERFORM THE RITUAL IS LA POINTE CEMETERY, WHICH IS LOCATED IN WISCONSIN.

- RIGHT BETWEEN MISSOURI AND OHIO - WE BOTH ROARED IN UNISON.

- "BACK IN THE DAY," BLUEBIRD BEGAN, "THERE WERE MAJOR PROBLEMS AND DISORGANIZATIONS WITH THE RECOGNITION OF SACRED INDIAN SITES. FOR US IT IS A SPECIFIC AND DISCREET PLACE THAT CAN BE IDENTIFIED WITH OUR BELIEFS. OF COURSE, THERE ARE ENOUGH SUCH PLACES IN THE US, BUT LA POINTE IS DIFFERENT ENOUGH IN THIS RESPECT." "LOOK," HE PAUSED, "IMAGINE ALL THE PARANORMAL ACTIVITY THAT IS OFTEN THE SUBJECT OF SPECULATION. THERE ARE CHRISTIANS BURIED IN THIS PLACE. AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE. IF YOU PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE YOUR RITUAL, BUT AFTER THAT, A LOT OF DANGERS AWAIT YOU."

A BLUE BIRD TURNED AND WHILE BLINKING WAS GONE. WHO KNOWS WHY THIS FOCUS IMPRESSED ME MORE THAN HIS RATHER INTERESTING WORDS.

IT TOOK US MORE THAN THREE HOURS TO WALK BACK TO THAT SAME DENVER ESTABLISHMENT - BUT TO OUR SURPRISE IT WAS STILL FULL OF PEOPLE!

BOTH ZONARA AND I HAD STRETCHED A FEW CACHACAS OF A RARE DUTCH HEMP VARIETY, BUT OUR THOUGHTS WERE AS CRYSTAL CLEAR AS THEY COULD NOT HAVE BEEN UNDER OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES. I HAD THE FEELING THAT I WAS PRACTICING AS A NOVICE MAGICIAN TO SEE SOME OBJECT IN MAGIC CRYSTAL. BY THE WAY, THE METHODS FOR PROJECTING VISUALIZATION WERE EXACTLY IDENTICAL TO THOSE FOR PROJECTING EMOTION.

- "THAT'S THE KEY!," I SHOUTED. "FELISTER'S REAL POINT. YES, MAYBE LA POINTE IS THE PLACE FOR THE RITUAL, BUT SURELY WE NEED TO PROJECT THE RIGHT EMOTION TO SEE THE REST."

- "WHAT IS THIS SIMPLICITY?," SNIFFED ZONARA. "YES, WISCONSIN IS INDEED LOCATED BETWEEN MISSOURI AND OHIO, BUT THERE WAS ONE MORE CLARIFICATION IN THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FINDING THE INHERITANCE."

- "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT," I ADDED. "REMEMBER THE MESSAGE FELISTER FORMULATED. - "WHOEVER FINDS THE INHERITANCE WILL ALSO INHERIT MY SORROW. HE WHO FACES DEATH WILL REALIZE HIS INNER STRENGTH. AND HE WHO GOES AGAINST THE WILL OF THE GODS WILL SUFFER!"

- "SO SURELY THE PLACE IS LA POINTE, BUT FOR ALL I KNOW THERE ARE VANDALS THERE WHO COULD PROVE DANGEROUS. IT WOULD BE EXTREMELY UNPLEASANT IF WE WERE INTERRUPTED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RITUAL," ZONARA CALLED IN ANNOYANCE.

- "THIS MEANS THAT THE LA POINTE CEMETERY ITSELF IS NOT PURELY INDIAN, AS THE REMAINS OF MANY OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS ARE ALSO LAID THERE," I INTERJECTED, "FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD, SOME OF THE INDIAN GRAVES ARE PROTECTED BY WHAT IS CALLED A 'SPIRIT HOUSE' TO PROTECT THE DECEASED."

- "BUT BLUEBIRD HASN'T REVEALED WHO THIS DEMON IS THAT IS SO ACTIVELY STALKING US?," I SOMEWHAT ODDLY CHALLENGED ZONARA.

- NOR IS IT NECESSARY! WE MAY FIND THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION OURSELVES!

- "HE WHO HAS LEFT THE CHILDREN'S WORLD OF YURAS[4] SUFFERS," I SADLY REPLIED. "DISTANT JOURNEYS INTO THE ASTRAL WORLDS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE. IN A STATE OF SLEEP PARALYSIS ONE CAN REACH THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF THE ASTRAL."

- "WE HAVE TO GO," ZONARA LOOKED AT ME, NOT WITH A DREAMY LOOK, BUT RATHER WITH A MELANCHOLIC ONE THAT I JUST COULDN'T BEAR, "THIS IS THE WAY WE HAVE TO GO! WE ARE COMPANIONS IN THIS WORLD, REMEMBER? WE SHALL FIND THE TRUE HERITAGE OF FELISTER, AND BE HAPPY-TOGETHER! TWO SOULS!"

I SEEMED TO BREAK FROM MY NUMBNESS. SHE KNEW WELL ENOUGH WHAT SHE WAS SAYING TO ME!

WE DECIDED TO ASK THE GUESTS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT JUST WHERE BLUEBIRD - THE GOOD-NATURED INDIAN - LIVED.

AFTER WE HAD SPENT SOME TIME AMONG THESE STONED GRASSMEN ONE OF THEM VENTURED TO DECLARE WITH HALF A MOUTH

- HE COMES AND GOES AS HE PLEASES. HE IS AT ONCE EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE. AND NONE OF US KNOW EXACTLY WHERE HE IS FROM, BUT WE HAVE HEARD THAT HE SPENDS SOME TIME ON AN INDIAN RESERVATION- NOT FAR FROM …

HERE, SOMEONE TUGGED ON HIS ARM AND HE WAS BACK IN THE EUPHORIC GROUP OF OVERZEALOUS HIPPIES WHO COULD HARDLY GET OUT OF THEIR HEDONISTIC LIFESTYLE!

HOWEVER, AFTER A WHILE HE CAME BACK TO US AND SAID SERIOUSLY:

- BLUEBIRD IS ABLE TO TRAVEL BETWEEN WORLDS. HOW HE KNOWS, BUT SOMETIMES RECRUITS DISCIPLES WHOM HE IS WILLING TO TRAIN. I BELIEVE THE MENOMINEE INDIAN RESERVATION, LOCATED IN NORTHEASTERN WISCONSIN, IS WHERE HE RESIDES. BY THE WAY, HIS TERRITORY IS QUITE LARGE, BUT NOT THAT MANY PEOPLE LIVE THERE - MAYBE UNDER FOUR THOUSAND, SO YOU'LL FIND HIM FOR SURE!

THE NAMELESS HIPPAR THEN LEFT THE JOLLY SHOP.

THE ROAD FROM DENVER TO WISCONSIN WAS NOT THE MOST PLEASANT, BUT NOW THE ZONAR AND I WERE MUCH CLOSER. AND MOST UNEXPECTEDLY THE HIPPO[5] DECIDED TO JOIN US BY SAYING:

- I'M FOND OF THE MOST OUTLANDISH ADVENTURES IMAGINABLE, AND I HAVE A FEELING YOU KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING, AND I'M ASKING YOU TO TAKE ME WITH YOU. I THINK I WILL HELP YOU TO FIND MORE EASILY THE MENOMINEE RESERVE, WHERE THE BLUEBIRD IS MOST LIKELY TO BE FOUND, AND PERHAPS THE THREE OF US CAN BE HIS APPRENTICES TO MASTER THE SKILL OF TRAVELING THROUGH THE ASTRAL WORLD. KNOW THAT ONE OF THE POSSIBLE DANGERS IS THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF RETURNING TO THE SOUL'S PHYSICAL BODY, BUT THIS IS KNOWN TO EVERY RECRUIT, SO I'M HARDLY TELLING YOU ANYTHING NEW. BUT GETTING TO THE ASTRAL IS A MUCH MORE DIFFICULT THING THAN RETURNING. THE FAMOUS SILVER THREAD CONNECTS THE SOUL AND THE BODY, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THERE IS ANOTHER PROBLEM, NAMELY THE FEELING OF THE PASSAGE OF TIME IN THIS OTHER AND DIFFERENT DIMENSION, WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TIME THAT PASSES WITH US. AND THE BEST PART IS THAT GETTING PHYSICALLY HARMED IN THE ASTRAL IS NOT VERY LIKELY. BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN ASTRAL CREATURES THAT FEED ON HUMAN ENERGY THAT WILL DRINK FROM US.

GOING TO THE PRESERVE WAS VERY SPECIAL FOR ZONARA, WHO DEEP DOWN WAS BEGINNING TO BELIEVE BLUEBIRD, WHO HAD STATED THAT THE PLACE FOR THE RITUAL WAS THE LA POINTE CEMETERY BECAUSE OF ITS SPECIAL ENERGY, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND THERE WAS SOME DOUBT THAT NOT EVERYTHING HAD BEEN FINISHED. HOW MUCH SHE HAD INVESTED IN THE HOPE OF DISCOVERING FELISTER'S LEGACY - THAT WHICH HER SOUL CRAVED AND HER BODY LONGED FOR. TO RECEIVE THAT RIGHT OF CLEANSING FROM HER SINS WHICH SHE FELT SHE DESERVED.

ARLO - THAT WAS THE NAME OF THE HIPSTER, HAD A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT OPINION ON THE MATTER. IN GENERAL, THE HIPPIE MOVEMENT WAS BASED ON FIGHTING CONFORMITY, AND THAT WAS NOT TO BE IGNORED. IF CONFORMISTS LIKED TO BE PART OF THE HERD, THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE HIPPIE MOVEMENT DID NOT SUFFER FROM SUCH SCRUPLES.

- SOME REPRESENT DIFFERENT IDEOLOGIES, BUT I LIKE BEING PART OF THE WOLF BRIGADE[6], WHICH OBEYS ITS OWN RULES IN ITS SURVIVAL. MOST HIPPARI'S HAVE TURNED TO HINDUISM, OR BUDDHISM, BUT FRANKLY I AM STILL SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS FOR MYSELF.

- "OUR SOCIETY IS SICK," ZONARA AGREED, "BUT THIS IS ONLY THE SURFACE OF THE ICEBERG, AND IT IS BOILING AND SEETHING UNDERNEATH."

WE DECIDED THAT WE COULD HEAD TO WISCONSIN AT DAWN, AS ARLO WAS KEEN TO HAVE SOME MORE OF THE EXCELLENT DUTCH CACHAÇA.

- "A REAL TREAT! WONDERFUL PRODUCT! ONLY HERE IN COLORADO CAN YOU TASTE THIS WONDERFUL WEED," HE SAID CHOKINGLY, "IT FILLS YOUR LUNGS WITH THE DESIRE FOR FRESH AIR, AND KEEPS YOU ON YOUR TOES. IT'S ONLY FOR TRUE CONNOISSEURS, BUT NOT FOR PROFANE!"

- "ACCORDING TO SOME, THERE ARE SEVEN ASTRAL WORLDS," I OBJECTED, "BUT SOME SAY THERE ARE NINE, AND OTHERS SIMPLY SAY NOTHING ABOUT IT!"

- "A BLUEBIRD IS THE RIGHT MAN AND YOUR GUIDE ON THE WAY," THOUGHT ARLO. "WE MUST GET TO THE RESERVE AN HOUR SOONER, FOR THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF DISORDER THERE, AND WE MAY NOT CATCH HIM. HE'S ALWAYS TRAVELLING ABOUT HIS OWN BUSINESS."

THE ROAD FROM COLORADO TO WISCONSIN WAS OVER A THOUSAND AND A HUNDRED MILES, WHICH MEANT THAT WE WOULD BE THERE AT LEAST SIXTEEN OR SEVENTEEN HOURS, IF NOT MORE.

ARLO SUGGESTED THAT WE HITCHHIKE, NOT ONLY BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THAT WAY WAS RATHER ROMANTIC, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT ATTRACT UNDUE ATTENTION.

BEFORE WE LEFT, HOWEVER, HE EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO TELL US A FEW WORDS ABOUT HIMSELF. WE AGREED OUT OF COURTESY AND LISTENED TO HIS BRIEF INTRODUCTION.

- SEE, I'VE LIVED OUTSIDE SOCIETY ALL MY LIFE - WE HIPSTERS WERE PART OF A FADING MOVEMENT THAT GENERALLY LIVED IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. BUT I CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT YOU HAVE A CAUSE THAT BECOMES MINE AS WELL, AND I WILL HELP YOU GET TO THE TRUTH. I HOPE BLUEBIRD GIVES YOU WHAT YOU NEED.

 

[1]   From "How I See the World", a collection of essays and letters by the genius Albert Einstein

[2]  Jolly shops in the state of Colorado have been linked to the legal sale of marijuana, the first state to introduce such a measure.

[3] One of the five main tribes of the Iroquois League.

[4]  In the book "Traces of Souls", Michael Newton describes this first level as the place where souls are born and their energy is infused. It is also where their spirit guides are who guide them.

[5] Hipsterism is a youth movement that emerged as a counterculture in the United States in the 1960s.

[6] An allusion is made to Mamoru Oshi's legendary animation where an elite police group in post-apocalyptic Japan takes justice into their own hands.

GUS BENZOUR

CHAPTER TWELVE: GUS BENZOUR

 

WE WERE TRAVELING ON HIGHWAY EIGHTY AND THERE WE COULD CLEARLY SEE THE HEAVY TRAFFIC FROM CITIES LIKE SACRAMENTO AND AUCKLAND. WE ALSO HAD TO CROSS THE STATES OF NEBRASKA AND IOWA. AS WE TRAVELED, SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTANCE I GLIMPSED SMALL HOUSES SET IN AN ENDLESS FIELD DRAWING ELECTRICITY FROM WIND TURBINES. YES, THE WIND WAS THAT LIBERATING FORCE! THE RURAL IDYLL OF THE MIDDLE STATES WAS NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED - ESPECIALLY SINCE MANY PEOPLE WERE FORCED TO SURVIVE IN NEAR TOTAL SOLITUDE AND SOCIAL ISOLATION. BUT THEN AGAIN, EVERY ONE OF THOSE VILLAGERS HAD GUNS IN ABUNDANCE. BASS INSISTED THAT, IN ADDITION TO GUNS, THEY HAD AT LEAST ONE "WINCHESTER" HANDY.

THE DUDE WHO DROVE US WAS A SERIOUS PLANT TECHNICIAN WHO WAS GOING TO SOME AGRICULTURAL SHOW IN IOWA STATE, WHICH HAD ITS ADVANTAGES, BUT HE PROMISED TO HELP US ORGANIZE OUR TRANSPORTATION FURTHER. HIS PHYSIQUE WAS RELATIVELY LARGE AND HE WAS OVER ONE-EIGHTY TALL, WITH BROAD ENOUGH SHOULDERS TO IMPRESS THE LADIES HE WAS MOST LIKELY HITTING ON AT THE VARIOUS EVENTS. NOT THAT HE WAS A BAD GUY, AND HE WAS A CASUAL WHISTLER WITH HIS MOUTH!

HIS NAME WAS GUS, AND INWARDLY I THOUGHT HE WAS IN ON OUR IDEA OF HITCHHIKING. WHY AND WHY NOT! TOLD US HOW HE HAD WANTED TO DO THE SAME THING ALL HIS LIFE - ESPECIALLY WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER, BUT COINCIDENTALLY HADN'T BEEN ABLE TO.

DECIDED TO GIVE US A SHORT LECTURE AND DEFINITELY WHAT HE TOLD US HELPED US IN OUR FURTHER QUEST:

- CORN WAS REVERED BY THE INDIANS AS A SYMBOL OF LIFE ITSELF! AH, WE STOMP IT WITH OUR FEET!

HE LAUGHED SOMEWHAT SOURLY, BUT CONTINUED TO WATCH THE ROAD AHEAD, DRIVING MOST CAREFULLY. THERE WEREN'T TOO MANY VEHICLES ON THE ROAD AROUND US, BECAUSE SOMEHOW GUS MANAGED TO AVOID THEM AND KEEP A DISTANCE THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED A MORE SERIOUS ACCIDENT.

HIS RED PICKUP LOOKED BRAND NEW AND GLEAMED IN THE CHEERFUL SUN THAT SHONE FROM ABOVE - THOUGH SOMEHOW TOO DISTANT.

- THERE'S TOO MUCH SYMBOLISM IN THIS LIFE," HE SAID, TAKING A DRAG FROM A CIGARETTE THAT HE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO HOLD ON TO WHILE HE DRANK, "FOR INSTANCE, THIS PARTICULAR STATE WAS ONCE A DESERT, AND NOW IT'S ONE OF THE MOST AGRICULTURALLY DEVELOPED. AND THE OGALLALA RESERVOIR PROVIDES WATER FOR THE ENTIRE STATE. BUT YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT'S BEYOND, DON'T YOU?

AFTER A BRIEF REFLECTION, HE DECIDED THAT HE MIGHT AS WELL COME WITH US TO AYOWA, WHERE THERE WERE A VARIETY OF AGRICULTURAL COMPETITIONS, WHERE HE DECIDED TO TEST HIS SKILLS. OF COURSE THAT WOULD HAVE SLOWED US DOWN A BIT, OR SO I THOUGHT, BUT THEN AGAIN, EXPERIENCE HAD TOLD ME SO FAR THAT NO PART OF OUR ODYSSEY WAS THE RESULT OF CHANCE, BUT OF A MUCH DEEPER DESIGN.

- "IN FAIRFIELD THEY DO THESE ODDITIES," HE CALLED, IN THE TYPICAL MIDDLE STATES DRAWL, "IT WILL CERTAINLY BE INTERESTING THERE!"

ON THE WAY, ARLO KEPT UP HIS WITTICISMS, BUT ONLY ENOUGH TO LIFT OUR SPIRITS. IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THE ENTIRE HIPSTER SUBCULTURE WAS BUILT ON THE PRINCIPLE OF BELONGING TO NO ONE, ANYWHERE. THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I FELT AT THAT MOMENT.

IT'S STRANGE HOW ONE TRIES TO EXTRAPOLATE SUCH FEELINGS EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T CORRESPOND TO REALITY.

A SIOUX THOUGHT CAME TO MY MIND THAT FROM WAKAN TANKA COMES ALL POWER. THEN WHERE DID THE POWER OF A FELISTER COME FROM, AROUND WHOM SO MANY DESTINIES WERE INTERTWINED? SO STRANGE A CIRCLE WAS THERE IN THIS LIFE THAT SIMPLY CREATED ITS BEAUTY, BUT WHAT WAS THERE BEYOND IT, AND WAS THERE ANYTHING BEYOND AT ALL?

IT WAS HERE IN NEBRASKA THAT A FENTANYL INJECTION EXECUTION WAS CARRIED OUT, AND IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR ME TO REMEMBER THAT FELISTER HAD ALSO MANAGED TO FIND A PRETTY GOOD USE FOR FENTANYL - ONLY FOR OTHER PURPOSES - AND ON A GRAND SCALE.

THE FURTHER WE WENT, I COULD SENSE THAT THE PEOPLE I WAS MOVING WITH WERE NOT RANDOM AND EACH WAS DRIVEN BY PERSONAL MOTIVES TO DISCOVER THE TRUTH ABOUT THEMSELVES. AND THAT TRUTH COULD PROVE TO BE TOO DANGEROUS!

ONCE WE REACHED OUR FINAL DESTINATION, WHERE GUS BENZOUR HAD TO LEAVE SOME HOUSEKEEPING ORDERS, HE DECIDED TO SHOW US SOMETHING ELSE. I FELT IN MY HEART THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE VITAL IN GETTING US TO THE RESERVE!

- "YOU KNOW?," HE TURNED TO US, "I DON'T THINK THERE'S A SINGLE NORMAL BATHROOM AROUND, SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT TEMASCAL MEANS?,“

- "YOU WANT TO PURIFY OUR SOULS, DON'T YOU," I ADDED SOMEWHAT JOKINGLY, "OR MAYBE MAKE A CONNECTION WITH OUR ANCESTORS?,“

GUS LOOKED KIND OF TIRED, BUT HE WAS COMPLETELY SERIOUS!

- BOTH! YOU HARDLY REALIZE WHAT A GREAT ORDEAL YOU ARE ABOUT TO FACE! YOU MUST BE CONCENTRATING ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!

WE HAD PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AFTER GUS HAD WON A BIG AND TASTY RABBIT IN ONE OF THE RACES AFTER BETTING ON THE OUTCOME WITH SOME RATHER DUBIOUS FELLOW WHO HAD DECIDED TO TAKE THE MISE TO THE SKIES. GUS SUBSEQUENTLY MANAGED TO GET HIS RABBIT, BUT TOOK ENOUGH SWEARING FROM THE GUY.

NOW AFTER THE STEAM BATH OUR MEAL WAS EVEN MORE ENJOYABLE.

- "THESE ANCIENT LANDS," SAID GUS, "HOLD MANY SECRETS. - I HOPE THE ANCIENT RITUAL OF TEMASCAL WILL HELP YOU."

WE ALL FELT REFRESHED AND NODDED APPROVINGLY.

- "THERE'S TOO MUCH SYMBOLISM IN THIS LIFE," HE SAID, TAKING A DRAG FROM A CIGARETTE THAT HE SOMEHOW MANAGED TO HOLD ON TO WHILE HE DRANK, "FOR INSTANCE, THIS PARTICULAR STATE WAS ONCE A DESERT, AND NOW IT'S ONE OF THE MOST AGRICULTURALLY DEVELOPED. AND THE OGALLALA RESERVOIR PROVIDES WATER FOR THE ENTIRE STATE. BUT YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT'S BEYOND, DON'T YOU?,“

AFTER A BRIEF REFLECTION, HE DECIDED THAT HE MIGHT AS WELL COME WITH US TO AYOWA, WHERE THERE WERE A VARIETY OF AGRICULTURAL COMPETITIONS, WHERE HE DECIDED TO TEST HIS SKILLS. OF COURSE THAT WOULD HAVE SLOWED US DOWN A BIT, OR SO I THOUGHT, BUT THEN AGAIN, EXPERIENCE HAD TOLD ME SO FAR THAT NO PART OF OUR ODYSSEY WAS THE RESULT OF CHANCE, BUT OF A MUCH DEEPER DESIGN.

- "IN FAIRFIELD THEY DO THESE ODDITIES," HE CALLED, IN THE TYPICAL MIDDLE STATES DRAWL, "IT WILL CERTAINLY BE INTERESTING THERE!"

ON THE WAY, ARLO KEPT UP HIS WITTICISMS, BUT ONLY ENOUGH TO LIFT OUR SPIRITS. IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THE ENTIRE HIPSTER SUBCULTURE WAS BUILT ON THE PRINCIPLE OF BELONGING TO NO ONE, ANYWHERE. THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I FELT AT THAT MOMENT.

IT'S STRANGE HOW ONE TRIES TO EXTRAPOLATE SUCH FEELINGS EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T CORRESPOND TO REALITY.

A SIOUX THOUGHT CAME TO MY MIND THAT FROM WAKAN TANKA COMES ALL POWER. THEN WHERE DID THE POWER OF A FELISTER COME FROM, AROUND WHOM SO MANY DESTINIES WERE INTERTWINED? SO STRANGE A CIRCLE WAS THERE IN THIS LIFE THAT SIMPLY CREATED ITS BEAUTY, BUT WHAT WAS THERE BEYOND IT, AND WAS THERE ANYTHING BEYOND AT ALL?

IT WAS HERE IN NEBRASKA THAT A FENTANYL INJECTION EXECUTION WAS CARRIED OUT, AND IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR ME TO REMEMBER THAT FELISTER HAD ALSO MANAGED TO FIND A PRETTY GOOD USE FOR FENTANYL - ONLY FOR OTHER PURPOSES - AND ON A GRAND SCALE.

THE FURTHER WE WENT, I COULD SENSE THAT THE PEOPLE I WAS MOVING WITH WERE NOT RANDOM AND EACH WAS DRIVEN BY PERSONAL MOTIVES TO DISCOVER THE TRUTH ABOUT THEMSELVES. AND THAT TRUTH COULD PROVE TO BE TOO DANGEROUS!

ONCE WE REACHED OUR FINAL DESTINATION, WHERE GUS BENZOUR HAD TO LEAVE SOME HOUSEKEEPING ORDERS, HE DECIDED TO SHOW US SOMETHING ELSE. I FELT IN MY HEART THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE VITAL IN GETTING US TO THE RESERVE!

- "YOU KNOW?," HE TURNED TO US, "I DON'T THINK THERE'S A SINGLE NORMAL BATHROOM AROUND, SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT TEMASCAL MEANS?,“

- "YOU WANT TO PURIFY OUR SOULS, DON'T YOU," I ADDED SOMEWHAT JOKINGLY, "OR MAYBE MAKE A CONNECTION WITH OUR ANCESTORS?,“

GUS LOOKED KIND OF TIRED, BUT HE WAS COMPLETELY SERIOUS!

- BOTH! YOU HARDLY REALIZE WHAT A GREAT ORDEAL YOU ARE ABOUT TO FACE! YOU MUST BE CONCENTRATING ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!

WE HAD PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AFTER GUS HAD WON A BIG AND TASTY RABBIT IN ONE OF THE RACES AFTER BETTING ON THE OUTCOME WITH SOME RATHER DUBIOUS FELLOW WHO HAD DECIDED TO TAKE THE MISE TO THE SKIES. GUS SUBSEQUENTLY MANAGED TO GET HIS RABBIT, BUT TOOK ENOUGH SWEARING FROM THE GUY.

NOW AFTER THE STEAM BATH OUR MEAL WAS EVEN MORE ENJOYABLE.

- "THESE ANCIENT LANDS," SAID GUS, "HOLD MANY SECRETS. - I HOPE THE ANCIENT RITUAL OF TEMASCAL WILL HELP YOU."

WE ALL FELT REFRESHED AND NODDED APPROVINGLY.

- RESERVES ARE ONLY A TEMPORARY SOLUTION. WHAT WILL A PERSON DO WHO DOESN'T BELONG ANYWHERE? WHERE WILL HE GO? THEIR ORIGINAL INTENT DEGENERATED, AND BLUEBIRD...

- "A BLUE BIRD? SO YOU KNOW HIM!," EXCLAIMED ARLO EXCITEDLY, "YOU MUST BE AWARE OF HIS ABILITIES."

GUS DID NOT REPLY. HE ONLY TOOK A THOUGHTFUL DRAG FROM HIS CIGARETTE. THE SMOKE FORMED STRANGE SHAPES IN THE AIR THAT LOOKED TO ME AS IF THEY HAD MAGICAL SIGNIFICANCE. I HAD THE FEELING THAT GUS WAS A STRANGE BIRD.

FROM WHERE HE WAS INITIATED INTO THE MAGIC OF TEMASCAL, AND ALSO APPARENTLY ACQUAINTED WITH A BLUEBIRD.

- "YOU KNOW," HE BEGAN HUMBLY, "THIS COUNTRY WAS BUILT WITH GOOD INTENTIONS, BUT IN TODAY'S CHAOTIC WORLD, SURVIVAL FOR ANY OF US IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT. AND NOW IT'S TIME TO SLEEP!"

BY MORNING, GUS HAD DISAPPEARED, AND THE THREE OF US, ZONAR AND ARLO, LOOKED AROUND IN CONFUSION. WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, SO TO SPEAK, AND THE FIRE AROUND US HAD BEEN CAREFULLY PUT OUT.

- "AFTER ALL, GUS DID QUITE ENOUGH FOR US!," ZONARA STARTED TO SAY, BUT AFTER A WHILE WE SAW HIS PICKUP COMING FROM SOMEWHERE.

- "I HAD TO STOP AT A GAS STATION ABOUT FIFTEEN OR TWENTY MILES AWAY TO BUY SOME PROVISIONS. IT'S NOT GOOD TO GO TO THE RESERVE EMPTY-HANDED!," HE EXPLAINED TO US CAREFULLY.

AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS WE BEGAN TO MAKE OUT THE OUTLINE OF A MENOMINEE, WHICH BEGAN TO SLOWLY EMERGE IN FRONT OF US, AND THERE WE HOPED TO FIND A BLUEBIRD.

- "MANY OF THE INDIANS WHO ARE HERE MUST ALSO ENGAGE IN GAMBLING TO SURVIVE, BUT IT IS DONE MAINLY AMONG MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY. BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT THEY ARE VERY GOOD BUSINESSMEN AND THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE DOING WELL ENOUGH, MAYBE EVEN BETTER THAN A LOT OF OTHERS," EXPLAINED GUS. "THE GAMBLING BUSINESS IS THEIRS AND A BLUEBIRD IS A SERIOUS PERSON. KEEP IN MIND THAT THEIR LAWS RULE ON THE RESERVATION," GAS CONCLUDED HIS TIRADE, "BY THE WAY, THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT HAS LEGALIZED THE USE OF MARIJUANA ON THE RESERVATION[1]. IN PRACTICE, THIS RESERVE FUNCTIONS AS A PARALLEL STATE."

ARLO WAS VERY HAPPY WHEN HE HEARD THIS, BECAUSE HE COULD OFFER THE INDIANS RARE VARIETIES OF DUTCH HEMP - IF THEY WERE INTERESTED, OF COURSE, AND THE PRICE SUITED THEM.

AFTER WE HAD WALKED AROUND WITH THE ZONAR AND ARLO, WE QUESTIONED THE NATIVES ABOUT SOME PECULIARITIES OF THE LOCAL CULTURE, AND THEY PROMISED TO NOTIFY BLUEBIRD OF OUR ARRIVAL.

- "IT TURNED OUT THAT THE BLUEBIRD WAS OUT ON BUSINESS SOMEWHERE, BUT WOULD BE BACK AT DUSK," GUS INFORMED US, WHO TO MY AMAZEMENT SPOKE THE LOCAL LANGUAGE QUITE FLUENTLY.

YOU SHOULD HAVE HEARD THOSE EVER SO MELODIOUS SOUNDS, FULL OF MYSTICISM. I THANKED THE ALMIGHTY THAT THERE WERE NO COYOTES HANGING AROUND - OR AT LEAST NOT WHERE WE WERE.

THE PEOPLE SEEMED EXTREMELY CONSIDERATE AND OPEN TO ME, YET WE WERE STRANGERS AND THEY COULD NOT WELCOME US WITH OPEN ARMS.

BLUEBIRD WAS LINGERING, AND NOW NIGHT WAS FALLING, AND WE WONDERED IF WE WOULD EVEN BE ABLE TO SEE HIM OR IF WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MORNING.

GUS SUGGESTED WE EAT SOMETHING FROM HIS PROVISIONS AND I ACCEPTED WHOLEHEARTEDLY - IT WAS BETTER THAN NOTHING.

- "BASICALLY," GUS DECIDED TO USE THE LITTLE TIME HE HAD TO FILL US IN ON SOME DETAILS, "THE SIOUX ARE ONE OF THE MOST PROSPEROUS AND WEALTHY TRIBAL COMMUNITIES IN THE US PRECISELY BECAUSE OF THE GAMBLING BUSINESS, BUT A BLUEBIRD IS A CAYUGA, AND THIS TRIBE ALSO INHABITS ONTARIO IN CANADA, WHERE THEY INHABIT THE SIX NATIONS RESERVE NEAR GRAND RIVER IN CANADA. I'M ASSUMING BLUEBIRD IS SOME SORT OF LIAISON BETWEEN THE TRIBES AND IS GETTING SOME SERIOUS DIVIDENDS FROM THERE."

LATER, GUS MAY HAVE BEEN RIGHT.

MAYBE THERE HAD BEEN SOME SORT OF ALTERCATION OR DISARRAY, BUT BLUEBIRD WAS DEFINITELY NOT COMING, AND IT WAS GETTING LATE. WE WONDERED IF WE SHOULD GO TO BED WITH ZONARA, OR IF ARLO WAS GOING TO CONTINUE SMOKING HIS MARIJUANA, WHICH HAD CAUGHT THE EYE OF THE LOCALS, AND STAND A KIND OF COMBAT DUTY.

NOTHING INTERESTING WAS HAPPENING, AND I WAS STILL EXPECTING SOME SORT OF RESOLUTION.

AT ONE TIME I HEARD THAT A BLUEBIRD HAD RETURNED, AND I LEARNED FROM GUS HIMSELF, WHO COULD TRANSLATE THE INARTICULATE SOUNDS, THAT APPARENTLY HE HAD GONE AS FAR AS A NEW SCOTIA TO BEG FOR SOME PROTECTION FROM INFLUENTIAL POLITICIANS. BUT NOT TOO FAR FROM THE RESERVE HE HAD ENCOUNTERED SOME DRUG CARTEL REPRESENTATIVES HOT ON OUR HEELS WHO HAD WOUNDED HIM AND HE HAD MIRACULOUSLY ESCAPED. HE MIGHT NOT EVEN HAVE SURVIVED.

- "THE MAGIC IS STRONG!" ZONARA PRONOUNCED,"AND I WILL SAVE HIM.

YES, THERE WERE PEOPLE ON THE INDIAN RESERVATION WHO COULD HEAL SO-CALLED INCURABLE WOUNDS INFLICTED BY COLD OR FIREARMS, BUT ZONARA KNEW THE NATURE OF MAGIC ALL TOO DEEPLY AND WAS AWARE THAT THERE WAS ALSO DEMONIC INTERFERENCE HERE THAT MIGHT NOT BE SO WELL KNOWN TO THE NATIVES.

BUT WE WERE ABOUT TO LEARN SOMETHING QUITE INTERESTING LATER!

IT TURNED OUT THAT THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS DESIRED AND CRAVED CONTROL OVER CERTAIN TERRITORIES, SUCH AS THIS ONE, BECAUSE THEY COULD MORE EASILY DISPOSE OF THE DRUGS IN CANADA. APPARENTLY BLUEBIRD DIDN'T PARTICULARLY AGREE WITH THEIR ARGUMENTS AND THEY HAD HIM SHOT. TO MY EXPERIENCED EYE, WHICH WAS QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE FELISTER ARSENAL, THE GUNSHOT WOUND WAS MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY A REVOLVER OF SOME SORT, BUT I HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF BALLISTICS.

BLUEBIRD WAS STILL BREATHING. LIFE SEEMED TO BE LEAVING HIM, AND HE WAS UNWILLING TO GO JUST LIKE THAT - WITHOUT PASSING ON HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE ASTRAL WORLD TO SOMEONE ELSE. AROUND HIM, ZONARA HOVERED, FEELING THE NEED TO HELP HER SPIRIT MENTOR, AS SHE CALLED HIM. THERE WAS A NEED TO PERFORM SOME RITUALS.

- "THERE IS AN INTERESTING CONCEPT IN INDIAN BELIEFS,' GUS BEGAN, 'THEY DON'T BELIEVE THERE IS AN AFTERWORLD, JUST THAT SOULS INHABIT THIS ONE IN A MORE SPECIAL WAY[2]. EACH OF US POSSESSES A 'NAGI'," GUS CONTINUED, "OR IT IS A SHADOW. IT IS TRUE THAT THE INHABITANTS OF THIS RESERVATION ARE NOT OF THE GREAT PLAINS, AND THE VIEWS OF THE TRIBES DIFFER SOMEWHAT. BUT IF BLUEBIRD SURVIVES, YOU WILL HEAR MANY INTERESTING AND USEFUL THINGS FROM HIS OWN LIPS."

 

[1] In fact, the U.S. equivalent of the Department of Justice implements similar authorization for all Indian tribes within the United States.

[2] This concept of death is characteristic of Western Sioux.

SINGING SHADOW

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SINGING SHADOW

 

THE MEMBERS OF THE TRIBE HAD LEARNED JUST WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO BLUEBIRD, WHO WAS HARVESTING A SOUL, AND SOME OF THE MOST EMINENT HEALERS AND SHAMANS EXPRESSED A DESIRE TO HELP HIM.

THE REGULAR INDIAN SHAMANS SOMETIMES HAD A MOST ORDINARY OCCUPATION. THE TIMES HAD LONG BEEN QUITE MODERN.

- "MUST"- ONLY TO DIE, MUTTERED THE OLD INDIAN WISDOM TO THE ARRIVING WOMAN SHAMAN.

ZONARA ALMOST CRIED OUT - SHE WAS THE SAME ONE WHO SENT US AWAY AND DIDN'T REVEAL HER VISION OF THE GREAT SPIRIT, AND THAT WAS HARDLY JUST A COINCIDENCE. IT'S LIKE THE PARABLE OF THE TWO WOLVES[1]- THE ONE YOU FEED WILL WIN.

THE WOMAN WAS FROM THE CAYUGA TRIBE, BUT IT WAS INTERESTING WHAT SHE WAS DOING ON A RESERVATION OF A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MENOMINEE INDIAN GROUP.

- "OUR TRIBE, ALONG WITH THE OTHERS, HAS UNITED UNDER THE GREAT LAW OF PEACE, BUT APPARENTLY THERE ARE THINGS BEYOND OUR CONTROL," THE SHAMAN SAID SADLY.

- "MY NAME IS SINGING SHADOW," SHE SMILED, "AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT MY AGE DOESN'T MATCH MY APPEARANCE. WHEN YOU MAKE AN ALLIANCE WITH THE SPIRITS, THEY CAN DO MANY THINGS FOR YOU AND YOU CAN SEE WORLDS - UNAVAILABLE TO MOST." AND SING A STRANGE SONG:

''WHEN THE ROAD CLOSES,

WHERE WILL YOU RUN, YOU WEIRDO,

THY SOUL IS NOT HERE,

LIFE IS HARD TO REACH.''

ARLO - AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HIPPAR CULTURE AGREED THAT THE LYRICS WERE DEFINITELY NOT CANONICAL TO THOSE OF MOST RELIGIONS, BUT STILL PATIENTLY WAITED FOR THE FEMALE SHAMAN TO SHUT UP.

- "WE SHAMANS COMMUNICATE WITH THE SPIRIT WORLD THROUGH THE EARTH SPIRIT," THE OLD WOMAN EXPLAINED.

WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO LOOK AT THE FACE OF A BLUEBIRD. SHE HAD A FEVER AND PROBABLY WOULDN'T JUMP OVER THE GANGPLANK. HOWEVER, ZONARA ASKED THE OLD WOMAN IF SHE COULD HELP HER IF SHE HERSELF COULD NOT SAVE HER SON. THE OLD WOMAN WAS NOT TOO APPROVING OF THE SUGGESTION, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND SHE SAW ZONARA'S WILLINGNESS TO PROVIDE REAL HELP:

- "THE DEMON WORLD CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS, BUT THE PATH OF ALL OF US IS TOO LONG - WHETHER WE SEE IT OR NOT!," THE OLD WOMAN FOLDED HER ARMS STRANGELY, GIVING HER PLACE TO ZONARA WHO DECIDED TO TRY HER POWER AND BRING THE DYING MAN TO LIFE.

GUS HAD REMAINED BY OUR SIDE AS AN INTERPRETER, NOT TO INTERVENE IF NECESSARY.

- "KAYLAN[2]," THE OLD WOMAN TURNED TO A DOG HOWLING ITS TAIL AROUND, "LET'S LET THEM DO THEIR JOB, AND IF HE'S MEANT TO LIVE, HE'LL JUMP THE GANGPLANK - AND THAT'S THAT. BUT IF NOT, HE SHALL HAVE A DECENT BURIAL!"

ZONARA STAGGERED BY THE DYING MAN - YES HE DEFINITELY LOOKED LIKE HE ALREADY HAD ONE FOOT IN THE AFTERLIFE. IT TOOK HER ONLY A MOMENT TO DISCOVER WHAT WAS REALLY HIS.

- JUST EXHIBITING SIGNS OF DEMONIC POSSESSION, WHICH I THINK MAKE THINGS SEEM NOT EXACTLY WHAT THEY ACTUALLY ARE. THE QUESTION IS, WHO HAD A VESTED INTEREST IN CAUSING THIS TO HIM? APPARENTLY THE CARTELS HAVE SNIFFED US OUT AND KNOW FULL WELL THAT SOONER OR LATER THEY WILL GET TO US AND WE WILL JUST SETTLE THE SCORE ONCE AND FOR ALL.

ZONARA'S FACE LOOKED MANLY AND SHE SPOKE WITH A CONFIDENCE THAT SEEMED TO INSPIRE EVEN ARLO HIMSELF. HE LISTENED TO HER INTENTLY AND SOAKED UP HER WORDS LIKE A DAMP SPONGE. HE COULD SEE HER DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF DEMONIC MAGIC AND HER DESIRE TO USE IT TO HEAL.

- "HE IS SPIRITUALLY DEAD," ZONARA ANNOUNCED, LOOMING OVER THE PALE FACE OF THE INDIAN. "HE HAS LONG SINCE PASSED INTO THE SHADOW WORLD. PLUS, RAISING A DEAD MAN WOULD HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR ME. BUT THEN AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE IF WE WANT TO FIND FELISTER'S LEGACY! I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ARE AWARE THAT THERE IS A PROCESS WHERE WE CAN OPEN TWO HOLES FOR TWO CREATURES FROM THE SPIRIT WORLD TO PASS THROUGH INTO OURS, BUT ONE OF THEM WILL MOST LIKELY BE A DEMON, AND THE TWO SPIRITS WILL BE CONNECTED IN A PARTICULAR WAY."

- "DO IT!" I SHOUTED, AMAZED AT MY OWN COURAGE. - "CAN'T YOU SEE THAT FELISTER HAS LEFT US NO LEGACY EXCEPT THOSE GRIMOIRES! IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT THERE MAY BE NOTHING ELSE, BUT AT LEAST WE CAN BEG OF THE GUARDIAN ANGEL A REAL SALVATION FOR OUR DAMNED SOULS!"

MY DESPERATE FACE AND TONE OF VOICE SEEMED TO HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE ZONAR, AND SHE SET ABOUT PERFORMING THE RITUAL.

- BUT FROM NOW ON, KNOW THAT IT IS TERRIBLY DANGEROUS AND WE CAN EASILY FALL PREY TO SOME MISTAKE IN MATERIALIZING THE DEMON!

ARLO WAS AS IF IN A TRANCE, AND I DISTINCTLY HEARD THE RUSTLING OF THE INDIANS, WHO WERE OUTSIDE THE HUT AND EVIDENTLY FORESEEING THAT SOME PARTICULARLY UNCLEAN POWERS WOULD BE CALLED UPON TO BREATHE LIFE INTO THE DEAD MAN.

- "SHADOW AND SOUL ARE DIFFERENT CONCEPTS," THE ZONAR CONTINUED, "BUT WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT NOW!"

THE PERFORMANCE OF THE RITUAL WAS UNUSUALLY COMPLEX, BUT ZONARA UNDERSTOOD MAGIC AS WELL AS FINANCE. THE DEAD MAN'S MOUTH SEEMED TO MOVE SUBTLY AND HE CLEARLY SEEMED TO CATCH HIS BREATH. IT ALMOST MADE ME LOSE MY OWN SANITY. THE ACTION ITSELF WAS LIKE A SIGH, WHICH WAS A KIND OF IMPACT ON MATTER - AS IF A BLUEBIRD WAS SIMPLY ASKING US TO LEAVE IT ALONE AND WAS EXPRESSING ITS ANNOYANCE IN THIS WAY.

HOWEVER, ZONARA WAS TOO BUSY SAYING THE RIGHT INCANTATIONS AND PRAYERS AND ALSO PERFORMING THE MAGICAL RITUAL ITSELF.

- THE FACT THAT THE DEAD MAN HAD NOT BEEN PLACED UNDER THE SO-CALLED "SPIRIT HOUSE" ALSO GAVE ME GREAT FREEDOM - IT WOULD HAVE MADE MY WORK EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT.

ARLO WANTED TO DRINK SOME WATER AND SOME OF THE LOCALS TOOK HIM OUTSIDE TO QUENCH HIS THIRST, BUT I CLEARLY NOTICED THE DEMONIC SHADOW THAT SEEMED TO APPEAR INSIDE THE INDIAN TEPEE.

- "WHY DID THE OLD WOMAN HAVE SUCH AN ATTITUDE TOWARDS A BLUE BIRD?," ASKED THE ZONORA BLUNTLY. "HER BEHAVIOR SEEMED UNNATURAL AND EVEN A LITTLE STRANGE TO ME - AS IF THIS WAS NOT ACTUALLY HER SON, BUT SOMETHING ELSE SOME UNBORN DEAD PERSON OR EVEN A DEMON."

THE SHADOW REMAINED LIFELESS FOR A WHILE, AND I CLEARLY FELT THE TENT FILL WITH NEGATIVE ENERGY.

- "YOU HAVE GREAT COURAGE, MERE MORTAL," THE DEMON SPOKE, "THOUGH I WAS CREATED BY YOUR MAGICAL INFLUENCE, NEVER FORGET SOMETHING IMPORTANT - I SEE AND FEEL THINGS YOU DO NOT. AND BLUEBIRD WAS NOT WHO HE CLAIMED TO BE."

- IN KAMALOKA[3], ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE - WELL, ALMOST ANYTHING. SOME PARTICULARLY CAPABLE SHAMANS CAN EVEN BUILD THEIR OWN ASTRAL WORLD. AND SOME DO INDEED - THERE THEY CAN MAKE THEIR SPIRITUAL JOURNEYS IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT, AS THEY PUT IT.

THERE SEEMED TO BE SOMETHING BETWEEN NOSTALGIA AND DERISION IN THE DEMON'S INHUMAN VOICE.

- "REVEAL TO US THE TRUTH," ZONARA COMMANDED, AND FOR FURTHER PROTECTION SHE HAD DESCRIBED A MAGICAL TRIANGLE TO KEEP THE SPIRIT IN CHECK, AND SHE HAD CONSTRUCTED A MAGICAL CIRCLE AROUND HERSELF FOR PROTECTION AGAINST ANY NEGATIVE INTERFERENCE OR SUDDEN ATTACK.

- "THE ASTRAL WORLDS ARE SO STRANGE IN THEIR NATURE," THE DEMON REPLIED LAZILY, "GEOMETRICALLY DISPROPORTIONATE, AND THERE IS SPIRITUALITY IN THE ASTRAL AS WELL. BUT YOU ASK ME ABOUT A BLUEBIRD!"

ZONARA WATCHED, SPELLBOUND, THE MYSTIC GAMES OF SHADOW ON THE CANVAS OF THE INDIAN TEPEE. ONE MIGHT EASILY BE MISTAKEN FOR THINKING THAT THIS WAS MERELY A PLAY OF LIGHT, BUT TO THE INITIATED IT WAS ONLY A CONNECTION TO A MORE SPIRITUAL WORLD.

- HE TRIED TO SAVE HIS OWN PEOPLE, BUT HIS CAUSE WAS LOST! HIS PATH HAD TO STOP THERE! HE WANTED SOMETHING THAT WAS BEYOND HIS POWER AND NEVER WAS. IT MAY ALSO BE SAID THAT HE OVERESTIMATED HIMSELF TO SOME EXTENT.

- "AND WHY DID THEY KILL HIM?,“ ZONARA ASKED GENTLY.

- "MURDER ISN'T THE RIGHT WORD," THE DEMON SPOKE WITHOUT BEING AT ALL IMPRESSED, "WE SHOULD ANSWER THE QUESTION OF WHO HAD A STAKE IN LURING THE BLUEBIRD AND HIS DEMISE. YES, YOU HAVE A SPECIAL POWER THAT WILL KEEP HIS SOUL IN YOUR WORLD, BUT I'LL BE AROUND TOO - AT LEAST WITHIN THIS RESURRECTION AND UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. DEMONS CAN'T HEAL," THE SHADOW CONTINUED, AND YOU LIED TO YOUR COMPANIONS ABOUT IT, AS WELL AS THE SHAMAN, WHO IS CLEARLY NOT AS INITIATED INTO DEMONIC MAGIC AS SHE SHOULD BE. 'BUT YOU WALK A THORNY PATH, ZONARA, MY CREATOR, MY LINK TO YOUR WORLD, WHICH IS ALREADY RATHER DULL - AND EVEN SOMEWHAT POINTLESS. THE DRUG CARTELS WILL FIND YOU, AND IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME, BUT THE SECRET YOU WANT TO KNOW, YOU MUST SUFFER - REMEMBER FELISTER'S WORDS THAT THE KEY TO UNLOCKING THE MYSTERY LIES IN HIS HERITAGE."

THE GHOST THEN FELL SILENT - CLEARLY NOT WANTING TO CONTINUE WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS AN UNNECESSARY CONVERSATION.

MORTALS WERE SOMETIMES BIG ASSES, REFUSING TO ACCEPT AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE OBVIOUS, WHICH ONLY CREATED PROBLEMS FOR SUPERNATURAL ENTITIES - EVEN THOSE THAT WERE ARTIFICIALLY CREATED THROUGH ENERGY.

ARLO WAS A LITTLE SHOCKED, BUT HE COULD SEE THE EFFORT ZONARA HAD MADE TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM. AS MUCH AS HE HATED TO ADMIT IT - HER ABILITIES AS A MAGE WERE IMMENSE - AND SOMEWHAT COMPLETELY UNPREDICTABLE.

- "EVEN IF THE DEMON HEALS YOU, IT WILL DAMAGE YOUR IMMORTAL SOUL," ARLO GRUMBLED, DOING HIS BEST NOT TO LET ZONARA HEAR HIM OR UNDERSTAND HIS THOUGHTS, "AND THE DEVIL IS ALWAYS THE DEVIL - THE ENEMY OF MEN!"

THE INDIANS ON THE RESERVATION HAD THE STRANGE FEELING THAT TROUBLE WOULD SOON BE LOOMING OVER THEIR OWN HEADS, AND SO THEY WERE NOT VERY CHEERFUL.

THE RUMOR THAT BLUEBIRD HAD BEEN WOUNDED AND SUBSEQUENTLY DIED OF HIS OWN WOUNDS SPREAD RAPIDLY AMONG THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MENOMINEE TRIBE.

- "THOUGH HE WAS NOT ONE OF OUR OWN, THIS CAYUGA HAD HELPED US A GOOD DEAL, AND PROMINENT POLITICIANS OF INDIAN DESCENT HAD STOOD UP FOR US," MUTTERED AN OLD INDIAN WITH A WRINKLED FACE, "WE TAKE OUR NAMES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WORLD AROUND US."

THIS INDIAN'S NAME WAS BIG BROTHER, AND HE RAN A CONSIDERABLE GAMBLING OPERATION ON THE RESERVATION, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND BLUEBIRD HELPED HIM WITH SOME ADMINISTRATIVE FORMALITIES AND NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE AUTHORITIES BECAUSE OF HIS MORE SERIOUS CONNECTIONS WITH THEM.

BIG BROTHER HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO BECOME BLUEBIRD'S APPRENTICE AND HAVE HIM INITIATE HIM INTO THE SECRETS OF HIS ART. HE'D BEGGED HIM AND EVEN OFFERED HIM FIVE PERCENT OF THE ENTIRE GAMBLING REVENUE OF THE RESERVATION-AND THAT WAS A HELL OF A LOT.

BLUEBIRD HAD ALWAYS TURNED DOWN THE OFFER WITH A SMILE, OBVIOUSLY HAVING SOMETHING ON HIS MIND.

- "TRAVELLING THE ASTRAL WORLDS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS," HE HAD EXPLAINED, "ESPECIALLY FOR THE UNINITIATED - DON'T ASK THAT OF ME, BIG BROTHER!"

AND INDEED BIG BROTHER WAS A FEW YEARS OLDER THAN BLUEBIRD, WHO VOTED HIM SENIORITY.

BIG BROTHER WAS ALWAYS TEMPERATE IN HIS WORDS, WISE, BUT EAGER FOR ADVENTURE, WHICH HAD GOTTEN HIM INTO A LOT OF TROUBLE.

AND BLUEBIRD WAS ALWAYS A PRAGMATIST, HE OFTEN SAID:

- LIFE IS NOT ABOUT LOVE, IT'S ABOUT LIVING.

AND THOUGH THIS WISDOM DIDN'T QUITE FIT INTO INDIAN FOLKLORE - BIG BROTHER KNEW BLUEBIRD WAS RIGHT.

SOCIAL INEQUALITY, TEENAGE PREGNANCY, SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND SO ON STILL REIGNED ON RESERVATIONS.

BUT THE BALANCE WAS PRESERVED WITH GREAT EFFORT AND LIFE WAS STILL POSSIBLE.

BLUEBIRD NEVER ASKED HIM EXACTLY WHY BIG BROTHER WANTED TO GO TO THE ASTRAL WORLDS THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE HUMAN ONE.

NOW BIG BROTHER WAS SMOKING HIS PIPE, WHICH THE INDIANS CALLED THE INDIAN PIPE WAS SYMBOLIC IN NATURE, ITS HEAD REPRESENTING THE EARTH AND THE STONE FROM WHICH THE PLANET EARTH HAD BEEN CREATED AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME, ITS MOUTHPIECE REPRESENTING ALL THE PLANTS, AND THE VARIOUS DECORATIONS SUCH AS BARBED PIG NEEDLES, EAGLE FEATHERS, AND SO ON, THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. THE BIG BROTHER SUCKED THOUGHTFULLY AND MUTTERED:

- HOPEFULLY A BLUEBIRD WILL HOP OVER THE GANGPLANK. ALL IS IN THE HANDS OF THE GREAT SPIRIT.

THE SILENCE OF THE PRESERVE WAS BROKEN BY THE DISTANT HOWL OF A COYOTE THAT HAD APPARENTLY GONE HUNTING.

SINGING SHADOW KNEW THAT EVEN IF HE WERE BROUGHT BACK TO THE LIVING, UNCLEAN FORCES WOULD FOLLOW HER SON ON HIS EARTHLY PATH. SHE HAD TO COME TO TERMS WITH THAT FACT.

- "MY STRENGTH WAS NOT ENOUGH," SHE SHOOK HER HEAD SADLY, "SO IT TOOK SOMEONE ELSE'S INTERVENTION TO SAVE YOU, BUT THIS IS YOUR EARTHLY PATH, BLUEBIRD. YOU GAVE HOPE TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS RESERVE AND TRIED TO MAKE THEIR LIVES EASIER."

ZONARA KNEW THAT SUMMONING THE DEMON TO BE BOUND TO THE SOUL OF THE SUFFERER WAS INEVITABLE. BUT SHE ALSO KNEW THAT THE RITUAL COULD HAVE CONSEQUENCES THAT COULD BE DANGEROUS.

BLUEBIRD STIRRED AND OPENED HIS EYES. HE COULD SEE BLURRILY, BUT COULDN'T MOVE HIS LIPS. HE TRIED TO SAY SOMETHING, BUT THE WORDS COULDN'T COME OUT OF HIS MOUTH CLEARLY. HIS FACE WAS STILL PALE AND TORTURED - AS IF IT BORE THE SEAL OF DEMONIC INTERFERENCE.

- "THEY SAY THE GREAT SPIRIT HEARS OUR PLEAS," THE BLUEBIRD SPOKE WITH ANGUISH, 'BUT ...

ZONARA WATCHED HIM CAREFULLY.

ARLO STOOD WITH AN IMPENETRABLE FACE, ONLY PARTLY VISIBLE BECAUSE OF THE DARKNESS IN THE INDIAN TENT.

- "WHAT HAPPENED?," ZONARA ASKED HIM GENTLY, "WHO WERE THEY?," BLUEBIRD STARED AT HER IN SURPRISE - IT HAD CLEARLY TAKEN HIM SOME TIME TO REALISE EXACTLY WHAT WAS HAPPENING. THIS WORLD AND THIS REALITY HAD ITS OWN LAWS AND HE HAD TO GET USED TO THEM AGAIN - THAT WAS THE PRICE OF HIS SALVATION!

 

[1] A famous Indian parable expressing the inner struggle between good and evil.

[2]   Kaylan - warrior of life.

[3]  Kamaloka - a world of passions.

BLUEBIRD

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: BLUEBIRD

 

AFTER AN IMMENSE EFFORT AND A STAMMER, HE SAID THE FOLLOWING:

- THEY CAUGHT ME ON THE WAY BACK FROM A NEW SCOTIA AS I WAS PASSING THROUGH ONTARIO. AND BEFORE THE BORDER. THEY WERE ENOUGH. THEY WERE STRONG. THEY WERE STRONG! AND THEY WANTED TO LEARN SOMETHING. THEY THOUGHT THEY KNEW IT. AN UNEQUAL BATTLE BEGAN. THERE WERE NINE OR TEN. I KNOCKED DOWN FIVE OR SIX, BUT THE REST HAD GUNS AND STARTED SHOOTING. WHO EVER FOUND ME? SEEMS DAMN STRANGE TO ME! EVEN DEFIES ALL LOGIC.

- "BUT YOU'RE STILL HERE," ZONARA GRUNTED WITHOUT REVEALING ANYTHING.

BLUEBIRD KEPT LYING. ON THE FLORAL INDIAN BLANKET THAT SERVED AS HIS BEDDING.

- "I THINK IT IS FAR MORE APPROPRIATE TO SPEAK OF LIFE AFTER LIFE," HE MUTTERED. "FOR I NEVER DIED! I WAS MERELY A TRAVELLER WHO RETURNED TO A PLACE HE KNEW WELL - FOR GOOD OR ILL! BUT IN ANY CASE THINGS WILL NOT END THERE! AND MAY EVEN BE JUST BEGINNING!"

AT THIS TIME A SINGING SHADOW ENTERED THE TENT, AND BUSIED HIMSELF IN LOOKING AFTER HIS SON, OR WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HIM.

ZONARA WENT OUTSIDE AND LEFT HER TO TEND TO HIS WOUNDS. SHE DIDN'T WANT TO OVERDO THE USE OF FORCE, FOR IT WASN'T RIGHT AND WOULD HARDLY EASE THE SUFFERER'S TORMENT ANY MORE.

THE INDIANS OUTSIDE LOOKED AT HER WITH SOME STRANGE MIXTURE OF DISBELIEF AND RESPECT, FOR THEY NEEDED BLUEBIRD.

ARLO HAD MANAGED TO SELL A GOOD DEAL OF HIS DUTCH WEED TO SOME OF THE MORE INTERESTED CUSTOMERS-YES, THE WEED COULD REPLACE THE TOBACCO THEY HAD PUT IN THEIR PIPES.

SO HADN'T THEIR ANCESTORS SMOKED WEED BEFORE A FIGHT TO KEEP THEM OUT OF PAIN AND FIGHTING LIKE BEASTS!

ARLO DECIDED TO SELL THE REST OF THE WEED AS WELL, TO GET SOME MONEY THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL TO HIM.

THE HIPSTER HAD A VERY STRANGE EFFECT ON THOSE AROUND HIM, FOR SOMEWHERE IN THERE ONE COULD CLEARLY FEEL THE HOPELESS SADNESS THAT SEEMED TO HAVE OVERWHELMED THE MENOMINEES.

- IS THIS THE LEGACY OF A FELISTER? THAT CRAZY, UNHINGED PIG CASTRATOR!

ARLO WAS AS IF SPELLBOUND, GAZING AT THE BEAUTIFUL MOON WITH ITS PALE COLOUR BUT DISTINCT LUNAR CRATERS - A BRIGHT SPOT AGAINST ALL THIS DARKNESS.

THE HIPSTER REALIZED THE AIMLESSNESS OF HIS LIFE. BUT HE HAD LIVED AS A MERCENARY FOR THE DRUG CARTELS-OR RATHER, AS AN INFORMANT FOR SOME PETTY DETAIL. HE'D NEVER GOTTEN INTO THE BIG GAME-HAD NEVER EVEN SNIFFED IT.

- "I'M USELESS AND I DON'T SEE WHY I'M HERE," WHISPERED ARLO. "A LOST SOUL IN THE CYCLE OF EVENTS! SOME SAY THAT WE HIPSTERS ARE JUST GROWN UP KIDS, BUT IS THAT REALLY TRUE! AND WHETHER WE ARE NOT CARRYING THE HUGE BURDEN OF OUR PAST LIVES!"

HE MAY HAVE BEEN ONLY ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE, BUT HIS FACE BETRAYED SOMEONE WHO SEEMED TO HAVE LIVED AT LEAST TWICE THAT LONG. HOWEVER MUCH SUFFERING ARLO ENDURED, HIS FACE REMAINED THE SAME, AND ONLY THE GLEAM IN HIS EYES COULD BETRAY THE DETERMINATION OF HIS INTENTIONS.

I APPROACHED ARLO WITHOUT HIS SENSING ME. I FELT SOMETHING, DAMN IT, I FELT IT. I KNEW THAT THINGS WEREN'T GOING TO END JUST LIKE THIS - AND THAT SOMEWHERE IN THERE WAS SOMETHING MUCH DEEPER, BEQUEATHED TO US BY FELISTER HIMSELF - A SOUL MIRROR THAT WE ALL HAD TO LOOK INTO!

ARLO SEEMED TO SENSE MY PRESENCE:

- I NEVER REMEMBERED YOUR NAME, HONEST!

- "MY NAME IS ELIZANDER BARNAYNE," I RE-INTRODUCED MYSELF, "BUT APPARENTLY THE EVENING IS GOING TO BE TOO LONG, AND THE MOON LOOKS RATHER OUT OF PLACE AGAINST THIS GLOOMY SKY, DOESN'T IT?"

- "IT IS THE SO-CALLED WOLF MOON," ADDED ARLO, WHO SURPRISED ME WITH HIS PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE. "THE MAN IS WISE AND STRONG, BUT ALSO WILD. ENOUGH TIME PASSED FOR US TO REALIZE THAT NOTHING IN OUR JOURNEY THUS FAR WAS ACCIDENTAL. THE DANGERS REPEATED THEMSELVES, BUT WE WERE CONVINCED ENOUGH THAT WE WERE FOLLOWING THE TRUTH."

SUCH PROFOUND WORDS FROM SUCH A YOUNG MAN DEFINITELY SURPRISED ME.

- "WOLVES TRUST ONLY THE MOON WITH THEIR LONELY SOUL," ARLO CONTINUED THOUGHTFULLY. "BUT WHICH WORLD WILL BE ABLE TO HOUSE IT, THE MATERIAL, THE ASTRAL, OR THE SPIRITUAL? SOME OF THEM WILL WANDER UTTERLY ABANDONED FOREVER!"

I COULDN'T MAKE SENSE OF HIS WORDS, BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME I BEGAN TO FEEL AS IF THE PICTURE WAS COMING TOGETHER AND EVERYTHING WAS FALLING INTO PLACE.

- "LIFE CAN RARELY BE CREATED IN AN ASH HEAP,"ARLO CONTINUED, "AND WHO NEEDS IT! IT'S ALL JUST A GIANT MOCKERY."

ZONARA WAS SOMEWHERE IN THE RESERVE. THERE WERE OTHER PATIENTS, AND SOME OF THE INHABITANTS HAD EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT SHE COULD HELP THEM. IT HAD BECOME PART AND PARCEL OF PEOPLE'S CARE AND SUFFERING.

HERE, IN THIS RESERVE, TIME SEEMED TO HAVE STOOD STILL. AND NO ONE SEEMED TO CARE ABOUT ANYTHING OR ANYONE. AND MAYBE THAT'S THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! I AGREED IN MY SOUL THAT PEOPLE INHERENTLY DISLIKED EACH OTHER, AND IT WAS MORE THAN OBVIOUS. LIFE WAS A DIRTY THING, NOT SOME BEAUTIFUL COLLECTION OF WORDS AND DEFINITIONS. NOT THE FALSE REALITY EVERYONE TRIED TO PUSH ON YOU.

- YOU KNOW I ACTUALLY ISSUED A BLUEBIRD, AND THAT'S ALL THE DEBT COLLECTORS WERE WAITING FOR," ARLO MUTTERED. THEY DESCENDED ON HIM LIKE A HERD OF RABID HYENAS WHO WANTED TO TEAR A PIECE OUT OF HIM AND THE KNOWLEDGE HE HAD.

- "BUT WHY?," SAID I WITH DIFFICULTY, "WHERE IS THE CATCH? YOU TOO COULD HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO THEIR CRUELTY."

- "TOO MANY SUMMERS HAVE CHANGED, AND NOW I SEE EVERYTHING MUCH MORE CLEARLY," ADDED ARLO. "THE MEANING IN THE WORDS OF A BLUEBIRD. THE MEANING OF LIFE. THE MEANING OF THE "WOLF'S SOUL."

- "BUT THE "WOLF MOON" RISES IN THE WINTER SEASON," I PERSISTED. "AND WE ARRIVED HERE IN MAY OR JUNE. HOW COULD SO MUCH TIME HAVE PASSED? WHAT HAPPENED? HAVE WE NOT FELT THE CHANGE OF THE TIMES!"

- "IT'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT," ARLO LOOKED AT ME WITH UNDISGUISED IRONY, "AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU FEEL IT NO WORSE THAN I DO. AND WHEN THE PUZZLE IS SET, YOU WILL SEE FELISTER'S HERITAGE AND HIS TRUE FACE PERFECTLY. WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO TELL US BEFORE HE DIED. DAMNED SOULS DON'T GET A SECOND CHANCE AND ARE DOOMED TO WANDER ALONE FOREVER!"

WHO KNOWS WHY THIS TIME HIS WORDS DIDN'T SEEM PARTICULARLY FRIGHTENING TO ME, BUT PERFECTLY LOGICAL AND CONNECTED TO MY PERSONAL DESTINY!

ON REFLECTION, IN ALL MY LIFE I HAD NEVER MET ANOTHER WHO GAVE PEOPLE A CHANCE LIKE FELISTER - HIMSELF REJECTED AND RIDICULED, HE HAD SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH SELF-SERVING FREAKS WHO ONLY SAW IN HIM - NOT SO MUCH A FRIEND OR SPIRITUAL TEACHER, NOT EVEN AN EMPLOYER, BUT A LAST REFUGE IN HIS OWN HOPELESSLY DOOMED LIFE.

- "THE IRONY IS THAT MOST BELIEVE IN NONSENSE AND FOOLISHNESS," ARLO SAID A LITTLE SARCASTICALLY, "AND THE TRUTH IS FAR, FAR TOO SIMPLE..."

COME TO THINK OF IT, THE INDIANS ON THE RESERVATION HAD EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED TO SURVIVE - AT LEAST OSTENSIBLY.

THEY HAD FREE ACCESS TO EDUCATION, THEY HAD MONEY, THEY HAD WELL-REGULATED HOUSING, THEY EVEN HAD THE RIGHT TO GOVERN THEMSELVES BY THEIR OWN LAWS WITHIN THE FEDERAL STATE!

AND YET...

WHAT ELSE WAS NEEDED FOR LIFE TO FLOW NORMALLY? WHAT WAS STILL LACKING! MAYBE JUST A LITTLE...

SINGING SHADOW TURNED TO THE OTHER TRIBE MEMBERS WITH GRATITUDE:

- THANK YOU FOR HOSTING US ALL THESE YEARS WHEN WE NEEDED TO BE HONORED. MY BLUEBIRD SON HAS HELPED YOU ENOUGH. HE LONGED FOR JUSTICE, BUT NOW I SEE THAT LIFE HAS SLIPPED AWAY FROM HIM AND HE IS BUT A PALE SEMBLANCE OF HIS TRUE SELF.

THE HOWLING OF THE COYOTES IN THE DISTANCE SEEMED TO INTENSIFY. MAYBE THEY HADN'T SATIATED THEIR HUNGER. BUT EVEN IF ONE OF THEM DID ENTER THE PRESERVE, WHICH WAS NOT ENTIRELY OUT OF THE QUESTION, WE WOULD SIMPLY SHOOT IT - FOR SUCH WAS THE FATE DESERVED BY ANY FOUL DOG THAT BROKE THE DAMNED RULES OF THE MORALITY OF LIFE AND ITS NATURAL CYCLE!

BIG BROTHER LOOKED CONCERNED, AND SPOKE QUITE AMIABLY OF THE MERITS OF BLUEBIRD, WHO HAD BEEN A TREMENDOUS HELP TO THE TRIBE IN THE NEARLY THIRTY-FIVE YEARS SINCE HE HAD FIRST COME TO MENOMINEE TERRITORY. BUT BIG BROTHER HAD NO REASON NOW TO SHARE THE FIVE PERCENT THAT AMOUNTED TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WITH HIS FELLOW-MORE SO AFTER ALL THAT HAD HAPPENED HERE.

BROTHERHOOD AND EQUALITY WERE RELATIVE CONCEPTS IN THIS WORLD OF LONELINESS AND HOPELESSNESS. WHO CARED ABOUT HIS FELLOW MAN?

ARLO HAD MADE A GOOD LIVING, BUT HE KNEW THAT SOONER OR LATER HIS COVER WOULD FALL.

- "HONOR IS A STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION. EVERYONE HERE IS LIKE HYPNOTIZED," HE TRIED TO CONCLUDE WISELY, AND PUT THE MONEY AWAY.

PERHAPS HIS MATERIALISTIC NATURE SIMPLY PREVENTED HIM FROM SENSING THE FINER LEVELS OF EXISTENCE, OR RATHER ACCEPTING THEM.

HE HAD SOLD NEARLY THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF WEED, WHICH WAS A HUGE SUCCESS. HE WAS CERTAINLY MAKING A SERIOUS PROFIT.

SOON ZONARA TURNED AROUND AND CAME TO US - ELIZANDER BARNAIN AND ARLO - TWO COMPLETE ANTIPODES WHO HAD TO COOPERATE FOR THE SAKE OF A COMMON GOAL. I HAD HEARD ARLO'S CONFESSION, BUT WAS IN NO HURRY TO GIVE IT OUT.

- SOME ROCKERS WERE HANGING AROUND THE RESERVATION AND MAYBE EVEN PEOPLE POSING AS FEDERAL AGENTS WHO WERE PROBABLY ON THE PAYROLL OF THE DRUG CARTELS. I WASTED TOO MUCH TIME WITH THE BLUEBIRD TREATMENT. BUT HE CAN STILL REVEAL TO US EXACTLY HOW HE TRAVELS IN THE ASTRAL WORLD AND WHAT HELPS HIM FIND THE ANSWERS TO HIS QUESTIONS. JUST REMEMBER, THE DEMON IS WITH HIM ALL THE TIME - SO BE CAREFUL! HE WILL HEAR AND SEE EVERYTHING WHILE HERE WITH HIS SOUL IN THIS RESURRECTION!

BLUEBIRD BEGAN TO RECOVER QUICKLY, AND WITH HIM THE DEMON HIMSELF WAS GETTING STRONGER - SO IT WAS NO WONDER AT ALL THAT WE DIDN'T FEEL THE TIME PASS AND BEGIN TO WARM UP AGAIN.

WE HAD SPENT MORE THAN EIGHT MONTHS IN THE RESERVE, DURING WHICH TIME WE HAD LEARNED FAR TOO MUCH ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE NATIVES.

BLUEBIRD WAS NOT EXACTLY A MEMBER OF THE TRIBE, AS HE ETHNICALLY BELONGED TO THE KAYUGA TRIBE, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE RUMOR OF THE DEMON HAD SPIRITUALLY SEPARATED HIM FROM HIS FELLOWS, AND IT COULD BE SAID THAT WE, HIS DISCIPLES, WERE CLOSER TO HIM AT THE TIME, AND WE MIGHT WELL HAVE WITNESSED HIS REPEATED DEMISE.

ACCORDING TO THE ZONAR'S EXPLANATION, IF THERE WAS ONE, THE DEMON WOULD MOST LIKELY CEASE TO EXIST AT HIS NEXT RESURRECTION.

BLUEBIRD HAD STAYED IN THE TENT TOO LONG, BUT SOMETIMES HE WOULD COME OUT AND LOOK AT THE SKY - AS IF TO SAY THAT LIFE WAS HERE ON EARTH. WE DID OUR BEST TO FEED HIM WELL, AND ARLO HIMSELF HAD EVEN SET ASIDE SOME OF THE MONEY FROM THE GOODS WE SOLD, WHICH HE USED TO BUY HIM SOME SMALL PROVISIONS.

ONCE HE WAS STRONGER, BLUEBIRD CALLED US AND BEGAN TO INITIATE US INTO THE ART OF TRAVEL BETWEEN WORLDS. HOWEVER, HE WARNED US THAT WE WOULD PAY FOR IT, MORE OR LESS, AS WE MIGHT ENCOUNTER DARK ENTITIES IN SOME OF THE WORLDS.

- "YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME, NOR WILL YOUR LIFE AFTER THIS," HE MURMURED, "AND SO WE BEGIN."

I DON'T WANT TO OVERLOOK THE WONDERFUL WORK OF GUS, WHOSE TRANSLATION SKILLS WERE SIMPLY WONDERFUL - HE WAS OBVIOUSLY FLUENT IN SEVERAL INDIAN DIALECTS AND DEALT WITH QUITE COMPLEX SOCIAL CONTRADICTIONS, KNOWING THE CULTURE OF THE NATIVES.

GUS EXPRESSED NO DESIRE FOR INITIATION INTO THE MYSTERIES OF BLUEBIRD, BUT I NEVER ASKED HIM THE REAL REASON - IT WAS HIS PERSONAL DECISION, AFTER ALL. GUS DID, HOWEVER, AGREE TO BE OF ASSISTANCE IF ANYTHING UNFORESEEN HAPPENED.

GUS EXPRESSED NO DESIRE FOR INITIATION INTO THE MYSTERIES OF BLUEBIRDING, BUT I NEVER ASKED HIM THE REAL REASON - IT WAS HIS PERSONAL DECISION, AFTER ALL. GUS DID, HOWEVER, AGREE TO BE OF ASSISTANCE IF ANYTHING UNFORESEEN HAPPENED.

DURING OUR TIME AT THE RESERVE, GUS WOULD POP OVER TO HIS FARM, WHICH WAS A HUGE DISTANCE AWAY IN COLORADO, WHERE HE HAD PICKED US UP AND HITCHHIKED. HE HAD ARRANGED FOR HIS WIFE TO HAVE THE CARE OF THE FARM PRODUCE, AND HE DROVE THE HARVEST, HIRING WORKERS TO OVERRIDE HIM FOR THIS PURPOSE, BUT THROUGH VIDEO SURVEILLANCE HE WAS GIVING THEM SOME CONTROL. THEY WERE ALOOF AND HONEST PEOPLE, AND GENERALLY DIDN'T STEAL FROM HIM TOO MUCH - THAT IS, THERE WAS A GASS TO BE HAD. SO SOMETIMES HE WAS ABSENT FROM THE RESERVE FOR ALL TOO UNDERSTANDABLE REASONS. AND WE COULDN'T BLAME HIM FOR THAT. LIFE WENT ON.

BLUEBIRD WAS IN A HURRY TO PASS ON THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF KNOWLEDGE, AS IT WOULD HELP US GET TO OUR DESTINATION:

- ASTRAL WORLDS ARE BUILT DIFFERENTLY THAN OURS, AND SOMETIMES DANGEROUS CREATURES LURK THERE, BUT THEY CAN'T HURT YOU MUCH IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM.

BLUEBIRD SEEMED TO SAY THIS TO REMIND US OF THE DEMON BOUND TO HIS OWN SOUL.

- UNNATURAL INTERRUPTION OF LIFE CAN INDEED BE A PROBLEM, BUT IN THE ASTRAL WORLDS IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DIE - AT LEAST NOT WHILE YOU ARE SOME IN THEM. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT NEVER TO FORGET THAT EACH MATERIAL BODY HAS ITS OWN ASTRAL ENVELOPE AND THAT THE PHYSICAL MATRIX ITSELF IS LOCATED IN THE ASTRAL[1]. THAT IS ENOUGH TO BEGIN WITH.

BLUEBIRD'S FACE, THOUGH STILL YOUNG, LOOKED SOMEWHAT STRANGELY AGED. HE PRONOUNCED THE WORDS AS DISTINCTLY AND SMOOTHLY AS IF HE WERE SINGING, BUT WE COULD ALL SEE CLEARLY WHAT AN EFFORT EACH SPOKEN WORD COST HIM. PERHAPS THE DEMON WAS DRINKING FROM HIS LIFE FORCE, AS EVERY DEMON - EVEN ARTIFICIALLY CREATED ONES NEEDED TO DO THIS TO SURVIVE.

ARLO DECIDED TO ASK ONE MORE QUESTION THOUGH, JUST TO BE ABSOLUTELY SURE BEFORE WE TRIED TO FIND OUR ANSWERS:

- MASTER, WHAT TYPE OF CREATURES EXACTLY INHABIT THIS THIN WORLD[2]? AND HOW EXACTLY SHOULD WE BEWARE OF THEM?

- "YOUR QUESTION IS NOT AT ALL WITHOUT MERIT," A BLUE BIRD CALLED SADLY, "IT'S NOT MUCH OF A SECRET - THESE DIMENSIONS ARE GENERALLY INHABITED BY ANGELS, DEMONS, SUICIDAL SOULS AND ELEMENTALS, AND SOMETIMES EVEN GODS."

ZONARA CLEARLY HAD HIS OWN OPINION ON THE MATTER, BUT DECIDED NOT TO INTERRUPT BLUEBIRD.

- "THE TRICKY PART IS REALLY FINDING THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK IN THESE UNKNOWN WORLDS," HE CONCLUDED, "WE'LL GET STARTED ON YOUR INITIATION SOON, AS I HAVE A FEELING I PROBABLY WON'T BE LONG. THIS WINTER MAY BE MY LAST."

LATELY, GUS HAD BEEN STOPPING BY THE RESERVE TO MEET BLUEBIRD, FOR WHOM HE HAD THE UTMOST RESPECT. THE TWO OF THEM HAD STILL RETAINED THAT FRIENDSHIP THAT MEANT SOMETHING TO THEM. GUS ALSO SOMETIMES BROUGHT VEGETABLES AND FRUIT TO HIS RESURRECTED FRIEND. THE FARMER KNEW THAT TRUST AND SUPPORT REVEALED THE TRUE FROM THE FALSE COMRADE.

- "DEAR GUS," THE RESURRECTED ONE ADDRESSED HIM, "THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN MORE VIRTUOUS DEVELOP A MORE SPECIAL INTUITION IN THE AFTERLIFE."

- "WOULD IT HELP THEM?," ASKED GUS, WHO, THOUGH UNINITIATED, HAD SOME IDEA OF THINGS.

- "SURELY THOSE WHO HAVE LIVED BAD LIVES HAVE A MUCH HIGHER LADDER TO CLIMB UP TO THEIR SPIRITUAL PURIFICATION," BLUEBIRD WISELY CONFIRMED.

ZONARA DIDN'T WANT TO BOTHER THE TWO FRIENDS WHEN THEY WERE HAVING SUCH IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS - ESPECIALLY SINCE GUS SAID THAT HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE RESERVE ANYTIME SOON, BUT HE PROMISED TO SEND SOMEONE TO CARRY BLUEBIRD'S FOOD PROVISIONS. ZONARA UNDERSTOOD THAT THE SO-CALLED FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THEM WAS MORE THAN SIMPLE INTERACTION, AND WAS BUILT ON A SORT OF SURVIVAL BALANCE.

- "YOU MIGHT GET IN TROUBLE FOR COMING HERE AND HELPING ME," THE INDIAN TURNED TO HIM SADLY, "AFTER ALL, I CAME BACK HERE ON AN IMPORTANT MISSION, AND THE GREAT SPIRIT WILL WEIGH MY DEEDS AND DECIDE WHERE TO SEND MY SOUL."

GUS HAD COME FOR THE LAST TIME - HE LONGED TO GIVE SOME COMFORT TO HIS FRIEND, BUT DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO HIM - THE SITUATION COULD NOT BE DESCRIBED SO LIGHTLY AND PLEASANTLY. GUS SEARCHED FOR SOME THREAD TO HIS FORMER MATE, BUT HIS HANDS AND FACE SHOWED THE SCARS OF THE DEMON'S PRESENCE, LURKING QUIETLY IN THE DARKNESS.

- "I WAS OF USE TO THEM AT THE TIME," BLUEBIRD ALMOST CRIED. "I LONGED TO SEE FREEDOM AND TO HAVE MY SOUL SOOTHED. SO MANY DISAPPOINTMENTS, BUT IF THERE IS A DOOMSDAY, I WILL BE OF GOOD CONSCIENCE. MAY THE FOUR DEITIES WHO FORM THE WAKAN TANKA REVEAL THEIR GREAT SECRET IN THE HEREAFTER!"

- "FRIEND, DO NOT STRAIN YOURSELF," GAS TRIED TO REASSURE HIM, "MORE OUT OF RESPECT THAN SYMPATHY OR AFFECTION. THOSE TIMES ARE PAST. PERHAPS BETTER ONES WILL COME, AND THE WHEEL OF HISTORY[3] ..."

BLUEBIRD LOOKED AT HIM CAREFULLY. AND SAID NOTHING. GUS PATTED HIS FRIEND ON THE SHOULDER AND WALKED OUT. HE DIDN'T WANT TO ADD TO HIS SUFFERING, WHICH WAS ALREADY OBVIOUS. HE DIDN'T EVEN DARE TO ASK HOW OUR PREPARATIONS WERE GOING, AND ON THE OTHER HAND BLUEBIRD HAD ALSO BECOME MORE CAUTIOUS, FOR WE WOULD BE HIS LEGACY AND HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THOSE HIDDEN WORLDS WOULD LIVE ON THROUGH US.

 

[1] The proposed explanations are according to the book Man and His Bodies by Annie Besant.

[2] According to some sources, the thin world is a name for the astral world.

[3] The wheel of history is a concept found in Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and also in some Native American tribes.

THE ROCKER GANG

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE ROCKER GANG

 

THEN SUDDENLY THERE WAS A RUMOR THAT IN THE NEARBY KESHENA, WHICH WAS CENTRAL TO THE MENOMINEE RESERVATION AND WHOSE POPULATION WAS ONLY ABOUT ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED, THERE WAS A CERTAIN ENHAR DURAITH WHO WAS ASKING TOO MANY QUESTIONS JUST FOR US-HE DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A GANGSTER, OR EXACTLY LIKE A ROCKER, BUT YES HE HAD COME ON HIS HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE AND VERY NOTICEABLY INSPIRED SOME VAGUE SENSE OF DANGER IN THE LOCALS-HE WAS ALL ALONE. SOME OF THOSE WHO WERE CLOSE TO THE RESERVE MANAGEMENT WONDERED WHETHER THEY SHOULD INFORM BIG BROTHER, OR EVEN THE BLUEBIRD HIMSELF, ALTHOUGH IN HIS PRESENT STATE THEY HAD, SO TO SPEAK, WRITTEN HIM OFF AND HAD NO HOPE OF HIM RECOVERING TO HIS FORMER POSITION. BUT THE STRANGER RATHER UNEXPECTEDLY DECLARED THAT HE WISHED TO MEET NOT THEM IN PERSON, BUT GUS BENZOUR, OUR FAITHFUL PROVIDER OF PROVISIONS, AND THE MAN WITHOUT WHOM WE SHOULD HARDLY HAVE GOT HERE.

QUITE A FEW OF THE LOCALS WERE A BIT WORRIED BECAUSE THIS WAS THE FOREIGNER'S WAY OF TRYING TO CIRCUMVENT SOME OF THE UNWRITTEN RULES FOR ENTERING THE RESERVE. AND YET SOME DARED TO PREEMPT THE GASS.

THEY MET ON NEUTRAL TERRITORY AND GUS EXPLAINED TO THE FOREIGNER THAT IT WAS NOT CUSTOMARY FOR EVERYONE TO ENTER HERE AND THERE WERE SOME RESTRICTIONS EVEN FOR SOME PEOPLE OF INDIAN DESCENT WHO DID NOT BELONG IN THIS AREA. OF COURSE, GUS WASN'T LYING TOO MUCH, BUT THE WAY HE PRESENTED HIMSELF DIDN'T SIT WELL WITH THE ENHAR:

- REMEMBER THAT SHOW? THE ONE YOU HAD NO INTENTION OF EVEN ATTENDING, BUT YOU WON THAT RABBIT - YOU COULD TELL THAT DUREITH HAD SOMETHING SPECIFIC IN MIND.

GUS HAD QUITE GENTLEMANLY OFFERED TO BUY HIM A BEER TO CEMENT SOME FORM OF CONVERSATION BETWEEN THEM.

- LOOK, I MAY HAVE BEEN PART OF THE BIGGEST ROCKER GANG IN THE STATES[1], BUT I CAN AT LEAST TRUST MY EYES AND WHAT YOU DID TO WIN THAT DAMN ANIMAL WAS COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE. YOU PREDICTED THE OUTCOME IN A WAY THAT...

GUS REALIZED HE WASN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET AWAY WITH THE USUAL DODGEBALL, BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO PLAY COMPLETELY OPEN CARDS EITHER.

- "IS THERE ANYONE WITH YOU?," HE ASKED EVASIVELY, THOUGH IT WAS PROBABLY ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THE OTHERS ARRIVED, OR PERHAPS WERE LURKING ABOUT.

- "TELL ME, MATE," DURAITH BEGAN RATHER POLITELY, "CAN'T WE WORK SOMETHING OUT AND BE INCLUDED IN THIS SCHEME. I DON'T MIND LOSING NEARLY FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS BECAUSE OF YOU. I'LL TREAT IT AS AN INITIAL INVESTMENT IN ..."

- "IN?," HE MADE A FACE, BUT HIS MIND WAS WORKING FASTER THAN EVER, AND HE FELT THAT HE MIGHT BE IN FOR A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE.

- "IN THIS," THE ROCKER TRIED TO DESCRIBE IT, BUT COULDN'T FIND THE WORDS TO EXPRESS HIS THOUGHTS.

- "DO YOU WANT TO HAVE THESE POWERS OR JUST MAKE MONEY?," GASPED GUS.

HERE DUREITH WAS PUZZLED. THE HELL'S ANGELS WERE NOT ONLY THE BIGGEST GANG - THEY WERE ALSO A BAND OF OUTLAWS LIVING ON THE FRINGES OF SOCIETY - AND IN MANY COUNTRIES THEY WERE OUTLAWED.

- "I SAW YOU DO THAT TRICK," STAMMERED DUREITH. "TELL ME, HOW DID IT HAPPEN? MAYBE IT WAS SOME KIND OF MAGIC TRICK OR MAYBE IT WAS A TRICK?," GUS LOOKED AT HIM INTENTLY. HE WAS ARMED, BUT NOT WITH A SMITH & WESSON, BUT WITH A BERETTA ARMY PISTOL THAT COULD HAVE PUT THAT COCKY DULLARD ON THE SPOT. BUT THIS WASN'T THE PLACE TO USE FORCE. BTW, HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE SUBCULTURE OF ROCKER GANGS - ESPECIALLY THIS ONE, SINCE MUCH SMALLER GROUPS HAD TO REPORT TO IT, AND THAT IN TURN GAVE RISE TO OBLIGATORY CONFLICTS.

BUT IT SEEMS DWIGHT WAS A LOT SMARTER THAN ANY AVERAGE ROCKER:

- LOOK, I DON'T WANT TO CAUSE TROUBLE. NOT EVEN FOR MY FOUR HUNDRED BUCKS. CAN'T I JOIN YOU? I'M NOT PART OF THAT GANG ANYMORE.

GUS CONTINUED TO STARE AT HIM INTENTLY - OBVIOUSLY EXPECTING TO HEAR SOMETHING ELSE.

- "LISTEN, MAN," HE SAID, JUST A LITTLE SOFTER, "YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SPEND ALL THAT TIME IN A FEDERAL PRISON - IN AN ISOLATION CELL BETWEEN FOUR WALLS WHERE YOU CAN HEAR NOTHING BUT YOUR OWN BREATHING. DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE NOT TO BE ABLE TO FIND A PLACE FOR YOURSELF ALL OVER THE GODDAMN STATES? AND YOU END UP EXPECTING TO WIN A BUCK IN A COUNTRY RACE..."

- "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT," GASPED THE GUY, "YOU'RE FROM ADX IN THE STATE OF COLORADO? THIS "ALCATRAZ OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS" AIN'T A NICE PLACE, EH? THERE'S NO OTHER WAY OUT THEN, IS THERE? EXCEPT ..."

DURAITH'S HAIR BRISTLED. HIS ROCKER BRAID AND DECORATIVE PLATINUM EARRING DEFINITELY ADDED COLOR TO HIS CHARACTER, BUT BENEATH HIS BAND HE WAS SWEATING.

- HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS? AND ...

- "LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING, BUDDY. WHO DO YOU THINK HELPED YOU GET OUT OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, WHERE THEY SOMETIMES SEND THEM DIRECTLY YOU KNOW WHERE?," MUTTERED GUS QUIETLY.

AS ROASTED AS HE WAS, THE ROCKER REALISED THAT HE WAS NO ORDINARY MAN STANDING OPPOSITE HIM.

GUS BENZOUR'S SAD BLUE EYES CAST LIGHTNING, BUT THEY WERE GENTLE AND CALM.

DURAITH WOULD HAVE SWALLOWED HIS TONGUE BEHIND HIS TEETH.

- "DID YOU DRAG ME INTO THE GANG TOO?," HE SAID IN AN INHUMAN VOICE.

GUS NODDED AFFIRMATIVELY.

- "BUT WHY? APPARENTLY YOU NEEDED ME? I'M OBVIOUSLY PART OF SOME SCHEME OF YOURS? TELL ME! SPEAK!," HE UTTERED, ALMOST BESIDE HIMSELF.

HE HAD THE FEELING THAT HIS EYES WERE GLAZING OVER AND THAT HE WAS GOING TO COLLAPSE TO THE GROUND, WHERE HE WOULD NEVER GET UP AGAIN.

- "SEE, COWBOY, YOU'RE IN THE SACRED LAND OF THE SPIRITS," GASPED GUS, "AND THEY'VE BEEN HERE LONG BEFORE YOU AND I BOTH SHOWED UP. DRAW HUMILITY AND YOU MAY GET THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS."

DURAITH NEEDED NO FURTHER PERSUASION - HE WONDERED IF HE'D ATTACK GUS, BUT HIS BLUE EYES MADE HIM UNCOMFORTABLE - HE HADN'T SEEN THE LIKE. SOME SIMPLE FARMER - EVEN IF HE WAS GOOD AT HIS JOB - TO HOLD HIS TONGUE LIKE THAT DESERVED TO HAVE HIM DRAGGED ALL THE WAY TO COLORADO ON HIS BIKE, AND WHY NOT CASTRATE HIM AFTER HE COLDLY BLEW HIS BRAINS OUT WITH HIS MAVERICK PUMP SHOTGUN THAT HUNG HOOKED IN A SPECIAL LEATHER CASE ON THE SIDE OF HIS BIKE, AND THEN GOUGED OUT HIS EYES WITH HIS HUNTING KNIFE, ENJOYING THE POWER LAWLESSNESS GAVE HIM.

WITNESSES TO THE LESS THAN PRETTY SCENE HAD GATHERED AROUND, BUT DURAITH HAD TO ADMIT HE SENSED SOMETHING HE COULDN'T EXPLAIN. IT WAS AS IF AN INVISIBLE HAND OR CREATURE - FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN ANYTHING HIS IMAGINATION COULD HAVE SPAWNED - COULD GRAB HIM AT ANY MOMENT AND THAT WOULD BE THE END OF HIM.

- "IT WAS A PITY THAT WHILE HE WAS IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT HE DID NOT UTTER A WORD OF PRAYER. DID NOT ASK FOR FORGIVENESS," GUS CONTINUED QUIETLY, "PERHAPS YOUR VOICE WOULD HAVE BEEN HEARD. THE THICK METAL DOORS STOPPED EVERY SOUND - SO YOU COULD BE ALONE WITH YOURSELF AND ADMIT THE TRUTH YOU WERE TRYING TO ESCAPE AND TURN YOUR HEAD AWAY FROM."

DURAITH HAD SPENT ENOUGH TIME IN ROCK GANGS AS A WAY TO SURVIVE, KNOWING THAT SOONER OR LATER HE WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR HIS SINS - THE LEADERS OF SUCH GROUPS SOMETIMES DIDN'T LIVE LONG AND THE WHOLE GROUP INDULGED IN VIOLENCE AND LOOTING, SOWING DISORDER IN THEIR PATH.

SOMETIMES THERE WERE MASS SHOOTINGS BETWEEN GANG MEMBERS - AND THE POLICE COULDN'T EVEN ISSUE CONVICTIONS.

DURAITH WASN'T ALONE - OH, NO, BUT THE OTHER GANG MEMBERS WERE A BIT MORE BEHIND AND HAD EVEN BUILT A CONVENIENT COVER. THEY WERE EXPECTED TO BURST IN AT A GIVEN SIGN AND THE ACTION WOULD BEGIN. ONLY, DURAITH GAVE ABSOLUTELY NO SIGN.

MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT OF THE ROCKERS AS KIND OF DUMB THUGS, BUT LITTLE BY LITTLE THEY NOTICED THE IRON MONOPOLY RULES ENFORCED BY THE GANG MEMBERS - SOME OF THEM RAN BUILT A REAL MONEY MACHINE.

WHEN DURAITH HAD JOINED THE HELL'S ANGELS GANG, SOME SAID IT WAS IN A PERIOD OF DECLINE. HE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE JOINED THE SONS OF SILENCE, WHO WERE FAMOUS FOR THEIR HUGE STOCKPILES OF WEAPONS, WITH WHICH THEY STRUCK FEAR FAR AND WIDE, BUT THE REASON HE WENT TO THE HELL'S ANGELS WAS SIMPLE - NO ONE ASKED HIM WHERE HE WAS FROM.

ONLY THAT LEFT ONE QUESTION OPEN? HOW THE HELL HAD GUS BENZOUR GOT HIM OUT OF THAT HELL IN ADX?

THE FEDERAL PENITENTIARY IN COLORADO HAD A REPUTATION FOR BEING THE HIGHEST SECURITY IN THE U.S. IN A PRISON OF THAT RANK, THE SO-CALLED ADMINISTRATIVE MAXIMUM WAS IN EFFECT - IN SIMPLE TERMS, THE WAY OUT WAS USUALLY TO THE GRAVE OR TO TRANSFER TO ANOTHER CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION. BUT THERE WERE PRECEDENTS - IN CASES OF SIGNIFICANT COOPERATION WITH THE AUTHORITIES.

- BETWEEN THE FACT THAT THIS PRISON WAS BUILT FOR PRISONERS WHO WERE UNABLE TO ADAPT IN OTHER PRISONS. 'NO ONE HAS EVER ESCAPED FROM ADX.' MURMURED GUS BENZOUR QUIETLY. 'NO ONE! ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU STAYED FOR A WHILE IN THE ULTRA-SECURE AND ISOLATED "SQUAD 13" WING. YOU WERE UNDER SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES AS YOU WERE ONE OF THE DANGEROUS SPECIAL STATUS PRISONERS. SOME LOST THEIR MINDS, OTHERS COMMITTED SUICIDE, AND SOME, IN A STATE OF INDESCRIBABLE TERROR AND SUFFERING, CLIMBED THE WALLS. SOME EVEN HEARD THE VOICES OF THEIR INNER DEMONS. YOU MANAGED TO PROTECT YOURSELF SOMEHOW. BUT WAS IT AN ACCIDENT?

- "ARE YOU SAYING THAT EVERY DETAIL OF OUR ESCAPE FROM THE PRISON WAS PLANNED BY YOU?," ASKED A COMPLETELY DISBELIEVING DWIGHT.

- IT DIDN'T HAPPEN WITHOUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT AND PERSONAL DESIRE. IN YOUR SOUL YOU WANTED TO BREAK OUT - LIKE A CAGED TIGER, AND THAT UNLOCKS SPECIAL POWERS AND ENERGIES. MOST PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE IN SUCH NONSENSE, BUT THE IMPASSE MADE YOU CLING TO ANYTHING THAT COULD HELP YOU. THEN THE GUARDS STARTED LOOKING AT YOU WITH DIFFERENT EYES AND YOU GOT A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE. YOUR GOOD BEHAVIOUR ALLOWED YOU TO BE MOVED TO WINGS WITH LESS SUPERVISION, AND YOU WERE SUBSEQUENTLY TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER PRISON TO BE

- "BUT HOW DID I SHED MY SKIN?," ASKED DUREITH IN A SHAKY VOICE.

GUS BENZOUR LAUGHED WITH A SMALL BUT FRIGHTENING SMILE:

- WELL, REALLY, DID YOU WANT TO KILL US?

PERHAPS DURAITH WOULD HAVE EATEN HIM ALIVE, BUT UPON REFLECTION, HE REALIZED THAT THE COINCIDENCE WAS SO UNUSUAL AS TO BE NATURAL.

- "SO I OWE YOU MY LIFE?," HE TRIED TO CLARIFY THE SITUATION.

- NOT EXACTLY. BUT YET HERE YOU ARE ... AND YOU SEE THE LIGHT THAT MANY MAY NEVER SEE AGAIN. AND THAT'S SOMETHING - AND NOT AN UNIMPORTANT THING. THE ROCKER GROUP PROVIDED YOU WITH COVER AND GAVE YOU AN OUTLET FOR YOUR TALENT - TO SOW TERROR.

- "BUT HOW DID I GET OUT?," WONDERED DURAITH, "HOW WAS MY TRANSFER ARRANGED?

GUS LIT A CIGARETTE - AND THIS GESTURE FINALLY CONFUSED DURAITH. THE SMOKE DRIFTED THROUGH THE AIR WITH AN ALMOST MAGICAL MOTION.

- "THERE'S THE ANSWER," WHISPERED DUREITH, "SO IT REALLY..."

THE ROCKERS, WHO WERE STANDING IN AMBUSH, DID NOT INTEND TO WAIT TOO LONG, FOR THEY HAD A HUNCH THAT THEY MIGHT FIND SOMETHING IN THE VICINITY - IF NOT MONEY, AT LEAST SOME NICE CLOTHES, VALUABLES AND SO ON, WHICH THE LOOTERS COULD EASILY TURN INTO MONEY AGAIN.  INCIDENTALLY, SOME OF THE MORE INTERESTING INDIAN ARTIFACTS COULD BE WORTH PLENTY, TOO, AND THE BANDITS WEREN'T PICKING UP QUITE AS MUCH.

BUT ONE OF THE GANG LEADERS HAD GUESSED THAT MAYBE THE REAL KICKER WOULD BE THE TURNOVER OF THE CASINO AND SURROUNDING FACILITIES. THE OTHER MEMBERS WERE IN A WILD BARBARIC RAPTURE - LIKE A PACK OF JACKALS AWAITING THEIR FEAST. INDIAN CASINOS WERE A VERITABLE GOLD MINE FOR THOSE LOOTERS WHO CRAVED TO GET REAL LOOT WITH ALMOST MINIMAL EFFORT - WELL, SURE, THERE WOULD BE A SHOOTOUT, BUT SO WHAT?

GUS BENZOUR, HOWEVER, MADE THE SIGN OF A DURAITH:

- TELL YOUR HIDDEN BUDDIES THAT IF THEY PUSH THE CASINO AND EVEN ONE HAIR FALLS OFF THE LOCALS HEAD - THEY WON'T GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE. AND REMEMBER - YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN PATH... WHAT DO YOU DECIDE?

THE ROCKER WAS DOUBTING HIMSELF - THIS WAS NO JOKE AND HE HAD TO GIVE A QUICK SIGNAL TO HIS OWN. THERE WAS NO AVOIDING THE CONFLICT WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GANG, WHO WERE EXPECTING TO CARRY OUT A SERIOUS ROBBERY AND ENJOY THE VIOLENCE AGAINST THE LOCALS. AND BENZOUR'S BLUE EYES WERE BURNING HIM...

HE FINALLY GAVE IN:

- "BUT IF I DON'T GIVE THEM SOMETHING, THEY'LL KILL ME," DURAITH REPLIED GRIMLY.

- DON'T BOTHER. THE FORCES I SERVE AND REPRESENT WILL MAKE IT UP TO YOU, AND SO WILL YOUR FRIENDS. BUT YOU MUST FOLLOW THE RULES.

NOW IT REALLY DAWNED ON DURAITH.

AT THE GIVEN SIGNAL THE ROCKERS BEGAN TO RETREAT THOUGH THEIR SAVAGE INSTINCTS MIGHT HAVE CAUSED THEM TO RETURN AND SCORCH THE PLACE A LITTLE LATER. SOME TIME PASSED. BUT THEY DIDN'T. THEY HAD A REAL DESIRE TO COMPREHEND THAT SOME UNSEEN FORCE, WAS LOOMING OVER THEM.

WILLIE ELLAR WAS THE SECOND LEADER OF THE GANG, AND WAS NOT AT ALL PLEASED THAT THEY HAD MISSED SUCH A CHANCE. BUT HE WAS ALSO AWARE THAT DWIGHT WASN'T GOING TO GIVE THEM THE SIGNAL JUST LIKE THAT.

MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAVE JUST SHOT THAT PARTICULAR FARMER WHO WAS SWEET-TALKING DURAITH.

EACH OF THE ROCKERS HAD A PISTOL, AND MOST HAD MAVERICK PUMP-ACTION SHOTGUNS. THEY COULD HAVE EASILY WRECKED THAT PLACE BEFORE THE STATE POLICE GOT AROUND TO INVESTIGATING EXACTLY WHAT HAD HAPPENED. AND THEY WOULD HARDLY HAVE BEEN CRIMINALLY LIABLE ANYWAY. BUT ELLAR WONDERED WHAT HAD CAUSED DURAITH TO ACT THE WAY HE DID.

WILLIE ELLAR WAS ABOUT FIFTY-FIVE - WITH THE LOOKS OF A DASHING COWBOY, A REAL WOMAN-BREAKER, A PROEDOH BY BIRTH, A PARTY-GOER AT HEART, AND AN EXCELLENT HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT AND WEAPON-HANDLING EXPERT. HE WAS TRULY AN ACCOMPLISHED STREET SOLDIER.

THE ROCKERS RETIRED AND MADE A SORT OF BIVOUAC FIFTEEN MILES FROM THE KESHENA, TAKING CARE NOT TO BE TOO CONSPICUOUS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

GUS HAD INSTRUCTED DURAITH THAT IF THEY JOINED IN THE ADVENTURE, THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO GAIN SOMETHING OF FELISTER'S LEGACY.

THE ENHAR DURAITH DIDN'T SEEM PARTICULARLY PLEASED, BUT THEN AGAIN, HIS MIRACULOUS DELIVERANCE GAVE HIM SOME REASON TO AT LEAST ASSUME THAT THE GHASS POSSESSED POWERS BEYOND ORDINARY HUMAN CAPABILITIES.

- 'YOU'LL HAVE YOUR ANSWERS SOON ENOUGH,' GAS PROMISED HIM, 'BUT YOUR FRIENDS SHOULD HELP ME TOO, OR AT LEAST GIVE IT A TRY.

DURAITH CLIMBED ONTO THE BIKE AND PULLED AWAY. HE WAS ABOUT TO TELL THE SHABBY STORY OF ELER, WHO COULD EVEN FIND HIMSELF HANGED FOR NOT SHOWING ENOUGH MANLINESS - AS THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THIS BREAKAWAY FROM THE SOCIAL NORMS AND LAWS ROCKERS GANG UNDERSTOOD IT.

PERHAPS A QUARTER OF AN HOUR PASSED BEFORE DURAITH ARRIVED AT THE BIVOUAC OF HIS FELLOWS. THE ROCKERS HAD BUILT A FIRE AND HAD STOLEN SOME LAMB FROM A NEARBY FARM, AND NOW THEY WERE WILLINGLY PICKING AT THE CARRION, ENJOYING EVERY BIT OF WHAT THEY HAD CAPTURED.

AS HE DROVE LIKE A MADMAN TO THE BIVOUAC, DWIGHT HAD THE FEELING THAT SOME PERVERTED, INVISIBLE, UNCLEAN CREATURE HAD TOUCHED THE COLD MUZZLE OF A REVOLVER TO HIS TEMPLE, NOT TO PRODUCE A DEADLY SHOT, BUT TO REMEMBER THE ORDER OF BENZOUR, WHO HAD HIRED HIMSELF TO COMPENSATE THEM IN SOME-NOT YET QUITE DEFINITE-WAY.

IT HAD BEGUN TO GET DARK AND THE GRASSES AROUND LOOKED LIKE SOME KIND OF UNCLEAN GHOSTS CASTING BLACKISH-BLUISH-GREEN SHADOWS.

ELLER GREETED THE SECOND GANG LEADER NOT IN A GOOD MOOD, BUT STRANGE AS IT WAS, HE WAS IN NO HURRY TO ATTACK HIM OR ASK THE FIRST QUESTION - JUST MEASURING HIM WITH A LOOK OF THE MOST CARING KIND. THE REST OF THE MOTORCYCLE THUGS WERE PICKING THEIR TEETH AT THE DELICIOUS CHUNKS OF LAMB, AND SOME HAD EVEN TAKEN TO COOKING THEMSELVES A LOVELY LAMB STEAK, AS THEY COULD AT LEAST REST FOR AN HOUR OR TWO BEFORE FINALLY DECIDING WHAT TO DO.

THEY DIDN'T SEEM TO PAY ANY ATTENTION TO DURAITH, BUT IN REALITY THERE WAS A WILD RAGE RAGING IN THEIR SOULS AT BEING MADE FOOLS OF - THEY WERE LIKE BLIND MEN WHO WANTED TO LEARN SOMETHING IMPORTANT, AND DURAITH WAS THEIR MESSENGER.

ELLER WAS DRINKING WATER FROM SOME SORT OF TUBE - LIKE A REAL "DEGREE WOLF" AS SOME MEMBERS OF THE GANG WERE SOMETIMES JOKINGLY CALLED. HE THEN SET ABOUT THOROUGHLY WASHING HIMSELF OF ALL THE SMOKE HE HAD COLLECTED ALONG THE WAY.

INCIDENTALLY, THE GANG'S RIDES WERE OF A WIDE VARIETY OF BRANDS, FROM HARLEY DAVIDSON TO KAWASAKI AND EVEN ROYAL EAGLE. IN GENERAL, THERE WERE SOME REAL CONNOISSEURS AMONG THE GANG MEMBERS, AS THEIR IRON HORSES CRISS-CROSSED THE UNITED STATES FAR AND WIDE, GIVING THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET AWAY QUICKLY AND SAFELY FROM POSSIBLE PURSUIT BY THE AUTHORITIES.

ROCKERS USUALLY DRANK HARD - ESPECIALLY AFTER CARRYING OUT SOME MORE SERIOUS POGROM. BUT ELLER HAD ISSUED ORDERS FOR THEM TO BE AS SOBER AS A HIGH SCHOOL GIRL IF THEY WANTED A PIECE OF THE PIE.

WHEN DURAITH APPROACHED AND BEGAN TO EXPLAIN GUS BENZOUR'S REQUEST, ELLER LISTENED TO HIM CAREFULLY - WITHOUT DROPPING THE USUAL PROFANITIES AND THREATS THAT THOSE BASTARDS WOULD PAY.

THEN SAID TO HIM THOUGHTFULLY:

- "UNLIKE US, WHO COULD BE LEFT AS DOGS IN THE ROAD, KILLED IN SOME RANDOM GUNFIGHT AND NO ONE WOULD REMEMBER US, THE INDIANS TAKE CARE OF THEIR DEAD," HE POINTED WITH HIS HAND INTO THE DARKNESS, "THERE IS AN INDIAN CEMETERY NOT FAR FROM HERE. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE NATIVES SAY? THE SHAWNEE AND HURON INDIAN CEMETERIES IN KANSAS ARE EXAMPLES OF THIS, AND WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR A BULLET IN THE FOREHEAD!"

AFTER STARING INTO THE TWILIGHT, FROM WHICH EVERYTHING SEEMED ABLE TO CRAWL, HE CUT OFF:

- YOUR FRIEND HAS A REALLY UNUSUAL PROPOSITION, BUT WHAT THE HECK, THE LOOT MIGHT BE GOOD. I'VE HEARD THAT THE OLD FELISTER WAS A RATHER SINISTER AND BRUTAL SORT. I'VE ALSO HEARD ABOUT THE POLICE RAID ON HIS FARM. YEAH, APPARENTLY IT'S ALL BLOODY WEIRD?

ELLER WAVED A HAND AT DURAITH SINCE DURAITH WAS MORE SENIOR THAN HIM:

- LET'S GET BACK TO THE OTHERS! WE'LL HEAR THEIR OPINION TOO.

THE GROUP HAD EATEN THE DELICIOUS LAMB, AND SOME OF ITS MEMBERS HAD LIT A CACHAQUE TO PASS THE TIME.

AFTER A BRIEF CONVERSATION BETWEEN THEM, THE TWO HAD LAID OUT THEIR PROPOSED GASSES, WHICH, THOUGH UNUSUAL, ATTRACTED THEIR ATTENTION.

- "FUCK HIM," ROARED A STOUT FAT MAN, "WE'RE FROM HELL, AND IF FELISTER ISN'T AN EXAMPLE OF SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN IN CONTACT WITH HELL, I DON'T KNOW WHO WOULD BE. LET'S SEE WHAT THE FAT FARMER WAS HIDING."

THE OTHERS MUTTERED SOME VAGUE AND NOT VERY CENSORIOUS LINES.

THEY COULDN'T STAY HERE TOO LONG, AND SOME DECIDED TO TAKE A LITTLE NAP, AS GUS HAD OFFERED TO ESCORT THE GROUP TO BLUEBIRD AND OURSELVES, AND IN RETURN THEY COULD CLAIM SOMETHING FROM THE GREAT SPIRIT AND EVEN GET A POSSIBLE CUT OF WHAT THEY FOUND. THE ROCKERS HAD TAKEN THAT RISK - NOT BECAUSE THEY REALLY WANTED TO CHASE SOME IMMINENT CREATURES, BUT BECAUSE THE HINT FROM THE DURAITH HAD GIVEN THEM A CLEAR IDEA THAT IT WAS BETTER TO SUBMIT TO THESE FORCES.

THE NEXT MORNING, VERY EARLY, THEY SET OUT FOR THE MENOMINEE RESERVATION, BUT DID NOT ENTER IT, BUT PRACTICALLY BYPASSED IT, ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS OF GUS BENZOUR HIMSELF.

GUS HAD ALSO EXPLAINED SOMETHING VERY ENTICING TO THEM - EVEN IF THEY FOUND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THEIR SEARCH FOR FELISTER'S INHERITANCE, THEY WERE GOING TO GET A FAT BRIBE FROM SOME OF THE POLITICIANS IN NOVA SCOTIA WHO WERE OF INDIAN DESCENT, IN THE FORM OF AN EXTORTION - AND THIS IDEA APPEALED TO THE BANDITS IMMENSELY, BECAUSE IT ALSO INVOLVED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SPECIFIC INFLUENCE, NOT JUST PLAIN ROBBERY.

 

[1] The Hells Angels are meant.

THE LAST LESSON

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE LAST LESSON

 

ON THAT LAST NIGHT BEFORE THE ANGELS OF HELL CAME, BLUEBIRD GATHERED US TO IMPART HIS FINAL LESSON, FOR IN HIS WORDS IT WAS TOO LIKELY THAT HIS POWERS WOULD LEAVE HIM AT ANY MOMENT, AND THAT MEANT NEW TORMENT FOR ZONARA TO RESURRECT HIM AGAIN - AND HER POWERS WERE EXHAUSTED FROM THE PREVIOUS RITUAL.

- "YOU WILL LEARN TO TRAVEL BY THE MOST ORDINARY ASTRAL PROJECTION," BLUEBIRD DECLARED, "BUT YOU MUST REMEMBER THE VARIOUS PRINCIPLES OF THIS DIMENSION. YOU MAY EVEN COMMUNICATE WITH THE ARTIFICIAL DEMON THAT SUSTAINS MY SOUL HERE, BUT YOU MUST NOT LET THE NEGATIVE ENERGY THESE ETHEREAL CREATURES ENDOWED WITH CONSCIOUSNESS HAVE DESTROY YOU. OTHERWISE YOUR JOURNEY THERE WILL BE IN VAIN."

SOME SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOLLOWED, WHICH OPENED OUR EYES - ZONARA ADMITTED THAT MOST OF THEM WERE KNOWN TO HER, BUT BLUEBIRD WAS A TRUE WIZARD WHO COULD EVEN WAGE AN ENTIRE WAR IN THE ASTRAL WORLD - AFTER ALL, HIS ANCESTORS WERE GREAT WARRIORS WHO HAD SHED THEIR BLOOD IN THE AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE - SO HE HAD HIS FIGHTING SPIRIT TO DRAW FROM.

- "AS I TOLD YOU, TIME PASSES DIFFERENTLY THERE," BLUEBIRD CHIMED IN AGAIN, HIS PURSED LIPS BETRAYING THE PAIN HIS ALREADY CURSED SOUL FELT, "BUT DON'T FORGET THE MATERIAL WORLD. MATERIAL BODIES HAVE THEIR OWN ASTRAL PROJECTION FOLLOWING THEM, AND YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE YOUR JOURNEYS AGAIN - SO ACT WISELY. THIS MAY BE CRUCIAL ON THE PATH OF YOUR SALVATION. WE ARE, AFTER ALL, CHILDREN OF THE MIDDLE WORLD! AND THE YOUNGEST AND OLDEST ARE THE CLOSEST TO THE UNSEEN WORLDS!"

HAVING SAID ALL THIS, BLUEBIRD POINTED OUT THAT WE MUST BE CONFIDENT ENOUGH THAT BEYOND WE MUST RELY SOLELY ON OURSELVES TO FIND A WAY OUT AND BACK INTO THIS WORLD.

ARLO HAD SOBERED UP AND HADN'T TOUCHED HIS DUTCH GOODS IN A FEW DAYS - HE'D REALIZED THAT HIS LIFE HAD A CHANCE TO TURN IN A FAR BETTER DIRECTION, AND IF HE MADE THE EFFORT, MAYBE HE COULD FIND REDEMPTION FOR THE SINS HE'D COMMITTED - THE BETRAYALS, AND ALSO THE FUCKING LIFE OF AN UNDERCOVER INFORMANT HE'D BEEN LEADING.

I HADN'T TOLD ZONARA ABOUT OUR CONVERSATION, BUT SHE WASN'T A CHILD AND I WAS SURE SHE SENSED THINGS NO WORSE THAN I DID. LIKE EVERY NECROMANCER AND BLACK MAGE, SHE HAD A FINE SENSITIVITY AND FEEL FOR THE EMOTIONS OF PEOPLE, AND ALSO FOR THE EMOTIONS OF SPIRITS - IN THE ASTRAL WORLD, THAT COULD ONLY BE OF USE TO HER - IN A WORLD WHERE UNSUSPECTED POSSIBILITIES LURKED.

GUS RETURNED ONLY TO TELL THEM WHAT HAD HAPPENED BETWEEN HIM AND THE LEADER OF THE HELL ANGELS, DURAITH. THEY REMAINED SILENT, AND I, ELIZANDER BARNANE, SAT BY THE CAMPFIRE ON THE RESERVATION. WHO KNOWS WHY I FELT LIKE I WAS IN SOMEONE ELSE'S PLACE.

THE CARVED FACES OF THE NATIVES LOOKED TO ME LIKE SOME MYSTICAL BAS-RELIEF, AND A SINGING SHADOW WAS BUSTLING ABOUT HELPING A BLUEBIRD, THOUGH THE DEMON THAT WAS MOST LIKELY AROUND WAS DISTURBING HER. SHE HAD MADE SOME SORT OF POTION OF HEALING HERBS TO INFUSE STRENGTH INTO HIS BATTERED BODY.

- "AS ARRANGED, THEY'LL ARRIVE TOMORROW," GUS SAID QUIETLY, "IT GETS REALLY SERIOUS FROM HERE."

- "DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THEM?," INTERJECTED ARLO, "THEY ARE LIVING BARBARIANS. DEMONS IN HUMAN SKINS! THEY COULD KILL EVERYONE!"

ZONARA WAS SILENT, QUIETLY SAYING SOME PROTECTIVE SPELL IN HER MIND. IN THE WORLD OF TRUE MAGIC, THE MESSAGE HAD TO BE SINCERE, SMOOTH, AND EVEN-TONED - THAT MADE IT EXTREMELY POWERFUL, AND IT USUALLY WORKED.

- "THEY WILL FOLLOW THE PATH MAPPED OUT FOR THEM BY GUS," A BLUE BIRD APPROACHED, "THEY WILL BE LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN IN YOUR ARMS. PUPPETS WHO FOLLOW ORDERS - AND NOTHING MORE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WILL HAVE THEIR OWN CONSCIOUSNESS AND UNDERSTAND THE BENEFIT OF THEIR INPUT IN FINDING YOUR ANSWERS."

BLUEBIRD WAS KIND OF SCARY, BUT ANYONE WHO KNEW HIM COULD JUST SEE THAT THE OLD DEMON WAS WEARING HIM DOWN QUITE A BIT, AND WE APPRECIATED THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH HE WAS HALF ALIVE AND USING HIS LAST STRENGTH, HE WAS DOING HIS BEST TO HELP US.

- "YOU MUST MAKE YOUR FIRST ASTRAL JOURNEY BEFORE THEY COME," SAID BLUEBIRD.

ZONARA DECIDED TO BE FIRST, BUT ARLO EXPRESSED HIS DESIRE FOR HIM TO IMMERSE HIMSELF IN THIS STRANGE WORLD AND GET A TASTE OF IT.

WE ALL RETURNED TO THE TEPEE, AND ARLO LAY DOWN ON THE SOFT INDIAN BLANKET - BOTH ZONARA AND BLUEBIRD WERE READY TO PROVIDE TIMELY ASSISTANCE IN CASE OF NEED.

- "PLACE AND TIMING ARE VERY IMPORTANT WHEN SENDING YOUR ASTRAL SUBSTANCE," BLUEBIRD GAVE FINAL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE ARLO DOVE BEYOND FOR THE FIRST TIME.

ARLO EJECTED HIS ASTRAL SUBSTANCE THROUGH THE SOLAR PLEXUS, AND FOLLOWING THE CLOUD OF ASTRAL SUBSTANCE THAT FORMED, HE SLOWLY FORMED A SPHERE OF ASTRAL MATTER THAT WAS BOUND TO THE POINT OF EJECTION WITH AN ASTRAL THREAD.

AFTER A WHILE, ARLO HAD REACHED A STATE OF VIBRATION.

HIS ASTRAL BODY SEPARATED FROM HIS PHYSICAL BODY, AND HE FLEW IN HIS IMAGINATION TO WHERE THE INDIAN CEMETERY WAS.

IT ALL SEEMED A LITTLE STRANGE TO HIM - HE COULD NATURALLY OBSERVE HIS PHYSICAL BODY, BUT AS HE WAS IN THE AIR HE COULD FEEL SOME DIFFERENCES. ARLO FELT THAT HIS HEARING HADN'T CARRIED OVER TO THE HIGHER LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, INSTEAD HE WAS PICKING UP SOME FRAGMENTED STATIC EERIE NOISES THAT WOULD STARTLE ANYONE ELSE, BUT HE REMEMBERED BLUEBIRD'S MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF ADVICE - BE THE MASTER OF YOUR FEAR SO THAT YOU CAN RETURN TO YOUR PHYSICAL BODY WITHOUT A PROBLEM.

ARLO HAD MEMORIZED CERTAIN POINTS ON HIS ROUTE, BUT HE WANTED TO SEE HOW MUCH CONTROL HE COULD EXERT OVER THE NEW REALITY - IF HE COULD REALLY CHANGE NIGHT TO DAY, OR IF HE COULD CHANGE SOMETHING ELSE.

THEN HE GLIMPSED THE ETHEREAL ARTIFICIAL DEMON - IT LOOKED LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN FLAME OR SMOKE WITH SUBTLE OUTLINES OF THIN MATTER. IT SEEMED TO BE QUITE CLOSE TO ITS HOST - NO MORE THAN HALF A METER TO A METER AND A HALF AWAY, AND OBVIOUSLY CONNECTED TO ITS SOLAR PLEXUS.

ARLO REALIZED THAT THIS WAS ALL DAMN REAL, AND NOT JUST SOME MOVIE HE WAS WATCHING FROM THE SIDE.

THE DEMON SWAYED LANGUIDLY, AND THE BLUEBIRD'S SOUL WAS LIKE A HOLE IN THE GROUND.

- "SO HE COMMITTED SUICIDE," ARLO WONDERED, "THERE ARE WHOLE CHUNKS OF HIS SPIRIT MISSING THAT EVEN AN ARTIFICIALLY CREATED DEMON CAN'T PATCH UP.

HE HADN'T SMOKED WEED IN A FEW DAYS AND HIS MIND WAS CLEAR ENOUGH, AS IT TOOK AT LEAST A WEEK AND SOMETIMES LONGER FOR THE EFFECTS OF THE HIGH TO WEAR OFF COMPLETELY - SOMETIMES IT TOOK A MONTH OR MORE.

ARLO HAD THE STRANGE FEELING THAT SOMEONE WAS WATCHING HIM AND WANTED TO TELL HIM SOMETHING, BUT SOME INVISIBLE BARRIER WAS STOPPING THE COMMUNICATION.

- "IT'S NOT FEAR," THE YOUNG MAN CONCLUDED, "AFTER ALL, I WAS LIKE A STIFF, AND NOW I'M THE MASTER OF THE SITUATION. I SEE AND FEEL FREELY."

ARLO KNEW THAT USUALLY THE EFFECT OF SMOKING QUALITY CANNABIS LED TO HEADACHES IN ADDITION TO PLEASANT EXPERIENCES, BUT HERE LAY A SERIOUS PROBLEM TIED TO THEIR MENTOR.

- "BLUEBIRD WAS NOT COMMUNICATING WITH HIS HIGHER SELF. BUT WHY? COULD THE DEMON BE THE REASON?," REASONED ARLO. BLUEBIRD NEVER HAD THE DIVINE SPARK. NO THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!

ARLO WAS CONFUSED. HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO REACT, BUT NOTHING SEEMED TO HAPPEN IN THE ASTRAL WORLD WITHOUT SOME REACTION FROM HIM.

ARLO FELT THAT THE BOUNDARIES OF THIS WORLD WERE IMMEASURABLY GREATER THAN THOSE OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD, AND HE BEGAN TO SENSE SOME UNCLEAN ENTITIES TRYING TO GET AT HIS OWN BODY. BUT HE WOULD RESIST.

EVEN THE ARTIFICIAL DEMON SHOWED AN APPETITE, BUT ARLO UTTERED THE BLESSING HE HAD USED AS AN ENERGY SHIELD TO PROTECT HIS BODY FROM ENCROACHMENT ONCE MORE AND HE RETREATED. THOUGH IT SEEMED ALMOST COMICAL - THE DANGER WAS VERY REAL.

- "DO I REALLY POSSESS THE QUALITIES OF AN ASTRAL SEEKER?," WONDERED THE HIPSTER, WHO WASN'T THE MOST RELIGIOUS OF TYPES, BUT WAS IMMERSED IN THIS WORLD IN A WAY THAT FILLED HIM WITH INCREASING CONFIDENCE.

HE TURNED TO THE BLUEBIRD - HIS FACE WAS A BLUR OF HOLES AND HIS ASTRAL BODY LOOKED LIKE SWISS CHEESE.

- "APPARENTLY THE EFFECTS ON HIS SPIRIT ARE IRREPARABLE," ARLO SADLY CONCLUDED, AND EMBARKED ON HIS JOURNEY.

HE HAD TO IDENTIFY THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE LA POINTE CEMETERY AND IN PARTICULAR THAT PLACE WHERE THE RITUAL WAS TO BE PERFORMED.

THE POINT OF THIS JOURNEY WAS THAT HE COULD SPOT SOMETHING HE WOULD NOT SEE IN THE MATERIAL WORLD. ARLO HAD NOT FORGOTTEN THAT THE SINGING SHADOW HAD NOT SHARED EVERYTHING WITH THEM, AND IN ADDITION TO REFUSING TO SPEAK, SHE HAD DECLARED HER POWERLESSNESS TO HELP THEM - APPARENTLY THIS INVISIBLE BARRIER WAS STOPPING HER EFFORTS.

THE PHYSICAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PRESERVE AND THE CEMETERY WAS ON THE ORDER OF A HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES, BUT ARLO FLEW OVER IT MUCH FASTER AND REACHED MADELINE ISLAND, WHERE IT WAS LOCATED.

BUT SUDDENLY HE FELT THE INVISIBLE SPIRIT FOLLOWING HIM - AS IF IT WANTED TO GRAB HIM - NO IT WASN'T THE BLUEBIRD SOUL DEMON - IT WAS SOMETHING MUCH MORE DANGEROUS.

AS HE GOT CLOSER TO THE GRAVEYARD, HE FELT ITS PRESENCE EVEN MORE CLEARLY - IT WASN'T AS OMINOUS BECAUSE IT MIXED WITH THE OTHER AURAS OF DEAD SOULS, DEAD ANIMALS AND WHATNOT.

ARLO GUESSED THAT MADLYN ISLAND HAD LONG BEEN THE SPIRITUAL CENTER OF THIS AREA - HE COULD FEEL THE ENERGY OF THE PLACE ALL TOO PALPABLY.

HE DECIDED TO WALK OVER TO THE CEMETERY ITSELF AND TAKE A LOOK - MAYBE HE'D FIND SOMETHING ELSE THAT WOULD HELP.

HE SAW THE BREAKWATER THAT PROTECTED THE CEMETERY FROM THE WAVES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. GLIMPSED THE SYMBOLS OF CHRISTIANS, THE GRAVES OF OJIBWE[1], AND ALSO THAT MANY OF THE MONUMENTS HAD KEELED OVER, SUBJECT TO TIME.

"REMEMBER THAT TIME IN THE ASTRAL WORLD IS NOT LINEAR!" WAS ONE OF BLUEBIRD'S MOST IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS.

IN INDIAN FOLKLORE FUNERALS OCCUPIED AN IMPORTANT PLACE, AND ON THE OTHER HAND ARLO HAD LISTENED TOO ATTENTIVELY TO THE EXPLANATIONS THAT THE ASTRAL AND SPIRITUAL WORLDS WERE SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THEM WAS NOT TO BE CONFUSED.

ARLO DECIDED TO GO DOWN AND EXAMINE THE GRAVES MORE CAREFULLY. HE SAW QUITE CLEARLY THE SPIRIT HOUSES THAT HAD BEEN BUILT, WHICH WERE AT A SUFFICIENT DISTANCE FROM THE OTHER GRAVES SO THAT THE DEAD COULD ENJOY THEIR AFTERLIFE.

- "HOW STRANGE!" EXCLAIMED ARLO, "AS IF HE HAD LOST TRACK OF TIME. - APPARENTLY THERE ARE NO BARRIERS IN THE SPIRIT WORLD, BUT HERE I CAN STILL FEEL SOMEONE'S PRESENCE.

HE TURNED AND SAW THE GHOST OF DETECTIVE DONOVAN - OR RATHER, HIS ASTRAL PROJECTION.

THE DETECTIVE LOOKED DAZED AND OUT OF PLACE - AS IF HE DIDN'T LIKE THIS WORLD, BUT HAD ENDED UP IN IT IN A NOT VERY PRETTY WAY.

- "HE COMMITTED SUICIDE," ARLO CONCLUDED. "I SHOULD ASK HIM WHAT HE'S LOOKING FOR IN THAT SAME GRAVEYARD."

DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S GHOST DIDN'T ANSWER, HE JUST WALKED BETWEEN THE GRAVES. LA POINTE'S TERRITORY WAS VAST-AT LEAST AN ACRE AND A HALF. DETECTIVE DONOVAN DIDN'T SEEM PARTICULARLY ORIENTED IN HIS MOVEMENT IN THE ASTRAL.

ACCORDING TO SOME UNDERSTANDINGS, THE SOULS OF THE SUICIDED INHABITED PRECISELY THE SECOND ASTRAL PLANE, WHERE THEY COULD VISIT THE LIVING IN THEIR DREAMS.

DETECTIVE DONOVAN LOOKED COMPLETELY DIGNIFIED - JUST AS HE DID AT THE MOMENT OF HIS UNWISELY INDUCED DEATH, BUT HIS FACE WAS AS IF IT HAD BEEN BRIGHTENED - LIKE THAT OF A BLUEBIRD.

- "PERHAPS THERE WAS DEMONIC INTERFERENCE AGAIN," ARLO WHISPERED, BUT DECIDED TO FOLLOW HIS SPIRIT AT A DISTANCE, "HE WILL PROBABLY NEVER TRULY ENTER THE SPIRIT WORLD, WHICH IS DESTINED FOR THOSE WHO TRULY WANTED TO LIVE."

DONOVAN WAS IN HIS TRENCH COAT - TIGHT IN THE MOST PROFESSIONAL WAY AND READY TO DEAL WITH CRIMINALS, OR PERHAPS IN HIS MIND THAT IMAGE WAS THE CLOSEST TO HIS IDEAL OF THE PERFECT COP.

ARLO CONTINUED TO FOLLOW WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON AND SUDDENLY FELT THE SAME BARRIER PREVENTING HIM FROM GOING ANY FURTHER.

DETECTIVE DONOVAN TURNED AND SEEMED TO MOTION FOR HIM TO FOLLOW, BUT ARLO SAW THAT HE WAS LOOKING IMPASSIVELY AS IF INTO NOTHINGNESS. THEN TURNED AND CONTINUED ON HIS WAY, AND ARLO SEEMED TO HAVE TO FOLLOW HIM.

BUT SOMEONE SEEMED TO TOUCH HIM ON THE SHOULDER - NEXT TO HIM WERE ZONARA AND ELIZANDER. BOTH READY TO BACK HIM UP - THEY HAD BEEN FOLLOWING ROUGHLY THE SAME ROUTE FOR SOME TIME, AS THEY MEMORIZED THE NECESSARY ASTRAL POINTS NEEDED FOR THEIR JOURNEY.

AND SUDDENLY THE DETECTIVE STOPPED IN FRONT OF A LONELY GRAVE THAT READ JACK.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" RAN THROUGH MY MIND FOR A SECOND. - "THE COINCIDENCE OF THE NAMES IS HARDLY COINCIDENTAL."

THEN SOME INEXPLICABLE FORCE SEEMED TO KNOCK OUT THE ASTRAL PROJECTIONS OF ZONAR AND ARLO AND I WAS LEFT ALONE.

"I CONTACTED JAKE," JAKE DONOVAN ADDRESSED ME, "HE COMMITTED WHAT IS CALLED AN ASSISTED SUICIDE SO THAT ZONARA COULD COVER HIS TRACKS. SHE'S THE REAL CAUSE OF DEATH, DIDN'T YOU FIGURE IT OUT?

THE DEMON THAT DESTROYED ME IS THE DEMON OF HER OWN SOUL!"

- "YOU MEAN SHE WAS NEVER ALIVE," I STAMMERED.

- SHE ONLY EXISTED BECAUSE OF THE CARTELS, WHOSE MEMBERS, ALONG WITH FELISTER, PRAYED TO HER, AND IN THE RITUAL FOR THE GUARDIAN ANGEL, SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND A NEGATIVE ESSENCE TOOK POSSESSION OF HER. HAVE YOU NOT NOTICED THAT MY SON JAKE, WHO IS ILLEGITIMATE, AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM, AND NEVER EVEN SUSPECTED HIS EXISTENCE," THE SPIRIT OF DONOVAN CONTINUED, "HAS EXPRESSED A GREAT DESIRE TO HELP YOU? WHAT YUPPIE WOULD DO IT UNSELFISHLY! EVEN I THE GUARDIAN OF THE LAW LEVELLED THE INFERNAL HOUSE OF A FELISTER, BUT I GOT SOMETHING! MY REASON FOR HELPING YOU IS THAT I WANT RETRIBUTION, AND I CAN'T HOPE FOR MUCH FROM MY PRESENT POSITION! THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE STILL ALIVE IS BECAUSE ZONARA FEELS SOME DISCOMFORT IN YOUR PRESENCE THAT THREATENS HER. THE DEMON THAT HAS TAKEN UP RESIDENCE WITHIN HER IS VERY CUNNING, BUT NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH YOU. JAKE AND I, HIS FATHER JAKE DONOVAN, FELL FOR A CAUSE THAT WAS NOT WORTH PURSUING, BUT OUR INTERESTS ARE PRACTICALLY COMMON," THE DETECTIVE FINISHED.

- "ANSWER ME JUST WHO ORDERED THE ATTACK ON THE FELISTER?," MORE FORMIDABLE EVEN THAN THE FELISTER HIMSELF," I ASKED HIM.

- THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO DISCOVER FOR YOURSELF. BUT KNOW THIS - THE ANSWER WILL SURPRISE YOU TERRIBLY - YOU HAVE A TRAITOR ON YOUR TEAM IN THE PERSON OF ARLO AND A DEMON-INTRIGUER IN THE PERSON OF THE FATAL ZONARA. THREE ENTITIES FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL.

I READ THE TOMBSTONE CAREFULLY - DONOVAN WASN'T LYING. AND WHY WOULD HE, GIVEN THAT HE WOULD NEVER REACH THE SPIRIT WORLD!

- "MY FATE IS TOO HARD - I AM DOOMED TO BE HERE FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, AND THEN MY SOUL MAY DISAPPEAR," THE DETECTIVE FINISHED. "DON'T LET YOUR COMPANIONS REACH THE GUARDIAN ANGEL BEFORE YOU - OTHERWISE MY HELP FOR YOU HAS BEEN USELESS."

WHEN WE RETURNED TO OUR MATERIAL BODIES, I WAS ACUTELY AWARE THAT THE PHYSICAL TIME I HAD SPENT WITH DONOVAN HAD APPARENTLY BEEN LESS THAN A SECOND - THIS SURREPTITIOUS MOVE MAY HAVE HELPED SOMEWHAT TO JUSTIFY MY LATER RETURN TO THE OTHERS.

BLUEBIRD WATCHED OUR FACES CAREFULLY, BUT MY LATER RETURN DIDN'T SEEM TO MAKE MUCH OF AN IMPRESSION ON HIM - PERHAPS THE ARTIFICIAL DEMON WAS DISTRACTING HIM, AND THAT FACT ONLY WORKED IN MY FAVOR.

I LOOKED AROUND - ZONARA AND ARLO WERE ALSO RECOVERING FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE.

WELL, I HADN'T LEARNED MUCH OF ANYTHING, BUT I FELT THAT BEHIND THE SEEMING LACK OF INFORMATION WAS THE KEY TO MY SURVIVAL.

BLUEBIRD COUGHED FROM THE TOBACCO HE WAS SMOKING AND EXPLAINED TO US THAT THE ROCKERS RECRUITED BY GUS WOULD MOST LIKELY BE ALONG SHORTLY.

IT WAS BETWEEN THREE AND FOUR IN THE MORNING - AND IN MY EXPERIENCE, THAT'S WHEN THE SPIRITS ATTACKED, USUALLY EXPLOITING THE VULNERABILITY OF THE SLEEPING, TRYING TO DRINK THEIR LIFE ENERGY - THIS APPLIED TO DEAD SOULS OF HUMANS, BY THE WAY.

- "WELL, YOU ARE READY FOR YOUR JOURNEY NOW," THE BLUEBIRD CONCLUDED SOMEWHAT SADLY, "OUR PATHS ARE PARTING AND WE MAY NEVER SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN. BUT, IF IT'S NOT A PROBLEM, PRAY TO THE GREAT SPIRIT FOR ME TOO!"

HIS WORDS SURPRISED US A LITTLE, BUT BLUEBIRD HAD DONE A LOT FOR US AND DESERVED TO BE HONORED WITH DIGNITY.

BLUEBIRD THEN SANG:

"WE WILL WATCH THE SHADOWS OF TWILIGHT,

BY THE MOON'S ENDLESS COURSE,

YA, HEH, YO, HEH, YO,

NOW I'LL GO TO MY HUT,

AND WE'LL WATCH THE RISING SUN.

WELL, WELL, WELL, WELL, WELL, WELL[2]."

WE DECIDED WE HAD NO MORE TIME TO WASTE - BLUEBIRD HAD TAUGHT US THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE NEEDED TO KNOW. BEFORE WE LEFT, THOUGH, HE SURREPTITIOUSLY GAVE ME A LITTLE AMULET WITH THE WORDS:

- WHAT YOU SEE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE PATH OF TRUTH. BE IN NO DOUBT THAT YOU MUST BEWARE OF THE REST. SOON YOU WILL SEE THROUGH AND ...

AT THAT MOMENT A BLUE BIRD CRASHED TO THE GROUND - HE WAS DEAD - AT EXACTLY THREE O'CLOCK AND FIFTEEN MINUTES IN THE MORNING.

IT'S SAD THAT SOMETIMES YOU MET GOOD PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE THAT FATE TAKES AWAY FROM YOU. AND THOSE SAME PEOPLE WERE HIDING SCARS IN THEIR SOULS. AND THE WHOLE POINT OF THEIR LIVES WAS TO MAKE OTHERS HAPPY, AND WAS THAT HAPPINESS NOT DECEPTIVE? AND HOW LONG DID ONE HAVE TO SEARCH FOR IT BEFORE FINALLY REALIZING THAT IT WAS AN EXTREMELY SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION!

HIS GESTURES SEEMED TO GO UNNOTICED BY ARLO AND THE ZONAR - AS IF AN INVISIBLE CAPE HAD DESCENDED AND SEPARATED US BY AN UNIMAGINABLY GREAT DISTANCE.

HAVING PREPARED OUR LUGGAGE, WE LEFT THE INDIAN TEPEE AWAITING OUR ESCORT.

 

[1]   The Ojibwe is one of the Indian tribes of North America.

[2] The song was recorded in 1941 by teacher Leah K. Hicks. (Note - the translation is the author's.)

THE MORTAL ENEMY

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE MORTAL ENEMY

 

FATHER TOBIAS HAD RETIRED TO THE ABBEY, WHERE HE USUALLY MINISTERED AND ATTENDED TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE PART OF THE GOVERNMENT OF HIS CONGREGATION. THIS ABBEY WAS IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI. THE BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE OF THE BUILDING WAS IMPRESSIVE AND PROVOKED REFLECTION AND PRAYER AND SERVED TO PRAISE THE CREATOR. THE MOTTO WAS "ORA ET LABORA ET LEGE[1]".

BUT HE HAD HEARD OF DONOVAN'S DEMISE AND HAD SEEN IT ALL - SO HE DEFINITELY HAD INFORMATION ON THE CASE.

HE WAS ALSO AWARE THAT THE STORY WAS UNLIKELY TO STOP THERE. HE HAD A THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF EXORCISM AND DEMONOLOGY AND FELT A REAL DESIRE TO UNRAVEL THE CASE - NOT JUST FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS, BUT BECAUSE HE BELIEVED HE COULD SAVE MANY LIVES THROUGH HIS INTERVENTION.

BUT HE HAD BEEN ORDERED FROM THE HIGHEST PLACE TO STAY AWAY. YES, ONE HAD NO INTEREST IN CERTAIN DETAILS COMING TO LIGHT AND MOREOVER BEING ...

HE DREW HIMSELF UP IN A SPLENDID ARMCHAIR - AS ORNATE AS IT WAS A FAMILY HEIRLOOM.

THE PRIEST WAS AWARE THAT THE INVASION OF THE FELISTER FARM BY DETECTIVE DONOVAN WAS PROBABLY PATRONIZED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, BUT IT WAS UNCLEAR WHAT THE CONNECTION WAS BETWEEN THE DEMONS IN HIS HOME AND THE WHOLE STORY OF THE STRANGE GRIMOIRES.

SOMEWHERE IN THERE, FATHER TOBIAS REALIZED THAT DETECTIVE DONOVAN HAD MADE A WILLING SACRIFICE THAT WOULD GIVE HIM THE RIGHT TO GUIDE OTHERS WILLING TO FOLLOW THE PATH OF TRUTH.

MORALLY SPEAKING, DONOVAN HAD FOREVER LOST HIS RIGHT TO PASS INTO THE SPIRIT WORLD, AND WOULD BE WANDERING THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ASTRAL, TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF THE STRANGE SERIES OF EVENTS THAT HAD LED HIM HERE.

BUT TOBIAS HAD ALSO TOLD HIM THAT THERE WERE NO COINCIDENCES, AND THAT BEFORE ENTERING THIS REALM THE SOUL HAD AGREED TO A CERTAIN BARGAIN WITH THE CREATOR THAT IT WAS OBLIGATED TO FULFILL IN ORDER TO FURTHER ITS SPIRITUAL EXISTENCE AND GROWTH.

DONOVAN HAD ACCEPTED WHAT HE HAD BEEN TOLD WITH PROFESSIONAL RESPECT, BUT HE WAS NOT A TRUE BELIEVER - HE HAD ENLISTED THE SERVICES OF THE PRIEST TO REVEAL SOME OF THE FINER DETAILS OF THE LIFE OF A FELISTER AND WHAT EXACTLY HE WAS UP AGAINST, BUT HE HAD NOT SHOWN THE ATTENTION HE SHOULD HAVE.

THE PRIEST MENTALLY DRIFTED BACK TO HIS BRIEF BUT FATEFUL CONVERSATION WITH THE DETECTIVE AND REMEMBERED ANOTHER PART OF WHAT HE HAD TOLD HIM:

- THE CONTRACT OF EVERY SOUL COMING TO EARTH CONTAINS CERTAIN DETAILS RELATING TO ITS STAY AND EXPERIENCE HERE. AND THE SO-CALLED SYNCHRONICITY OR COINCIDENCE OF EVENTS ...

HERE THE DETECTIVE DONOVAN LOOKED AT THE PRIEST WITH A VAGUE UNEASINESS - IT SEEMED TO HIM THAT THIS CLERGYMAN KNEW MORE ABOUT HIM EVEN THAN HIMSELF.

- "BELIEVE ME, DETECTIVES, THESE LITTLE SIGNS OF FATE ARE OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE," THE CLERGYMAN GRUNTED, "AND THEY ARE NOT COINCIDENTAL BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION - THEY ARE JUST LITTLE GUIDANCE FROM OUR GUARDIANS."

DETECTIVE DONOVAN WAS PLUNGED INTO THE TWILIGHT OF THE BEAUTIFULLY FURNISHED, IF SLIGHTLY SPARSE BY MUNDANE STANDARDS, ROOM.

- "IN FACT, OUR WHOLE JOURNEY IS ONE ENDLESS BIRTH," THE CLERIC CONCLUDED.

DONOVAN THANKED HIM AND POLITELY DECLINED HIS INVITATION TO TAKE SOME OF THE DELICIOUS BISCUITS AND SAMPLE HIS TEA. HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE TAKEN FOR AN INTRUDER - AND ALL THE WHILE HE WAS TAKING THE MOST CAREFUL NOTES ON THOSE THEOLOGICAL COMMENTS THAT MIGHT HAVE ADDED SUBSTANCE TO HIS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION OF THE CASE.

INCIDENTALLY, THE ABBEY WAS IN A RATHER PICTURESQUE LOCATION, AND DONOVAN HAD GONE THERE INCOGNITO SO AS NOT TO ATTRACT UNDUE ATTENTION.

AFTER THE CONVERSATION WAS OVER, DONOVAN SHOOK HANDS RESPECTFULLY WITH THE PRIEST AND LEFT. AND THE TWO SAW NO MORE OF EACH OTHER.

THIS EPISODE PASSED THROUGH THE MIND OF FATHER TOBIAS.

ON HIS WAY OUT, THE FATHER TURNED TO THE DETECTIVE:

- TAKE A WORD OF ADVICE FROM PROFESSIONAL TO PROFESSIONAL - DON'T GAMBLE WITH YOUR FATE DETECTIVES. THESE THINGS ARE BIGGER THAN US.

ZONARA PREPARED TO LEAVE AND TURNED TO ME:

- LET'S GO PACK OUR BAGS - THEY'LL PROBABLY BE HERE ANY MINUTE AND THEY'RE HARDLY IN THE MOOD TO WAIT FOR US.

YES, SHE STILL HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF CASH IN THAT SUITCASE-BAG - THERE WAS PROBABLY ABOUT TWO MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH, AND IN THE OTHER ONE - WERE HER CLOTHES AND ACCESSORIES, WHICH WERE NOT MUCH AT ALL - BUT STILL, SHE WAS A LADY WHO WAS USED TO SPARTAN LIVING CONDITIONS.

ARLO, LIKE EVERY HIPSTER, WORE ALMOST ONLY THE CLOTHES ON HIS BACK AND HAD HIDDEN THE MANY BILLS FROM THE SALE OF MARIJUANA IN SPECIAL SECRET POCKETS.

THEN I WONDERED HOW WELL I ACTUALLY KNEW MY COMPANIONS - YES, THEY HAD HELPED ME THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES. YES, THEY HAD EVEN PARTICIPATED IN THE DREADED ASTRAL JOURNEY TO THE REMOTE INDIAN CEMETERY ON MADELINE ISLAND. EVEN ARLO HAD CARED FOR A BLUEBIRD TO PROVE HIS AFFECTION FOR HIS TEACHER, AND HAD CHANGED THE BANDAGES AND BANDAGES THAT COVERED HIS .38 CALIBER SMITH & WESSON WOUNDS.

ARLO HAD NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT HAVING TO TREAT THE WOUNDS TO PREVENT WHAT HE CALLED PRIMARY TISSUE NECROSIS FROM FORMING, WHICH WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN AMPUTATION OF THE LIMB IN QUESTION.

THE TRUTH WAS THAT BLUEBIRD HAD A SOUL - STRONGER THAN A LARGE PRAIRIE BISON, FOR AFTER SIX GUNSHOT WOUNDS - TWO OF THEM TO THE SUFFERER'S TORSO, HE HAD MANAGED TO SURVIVE.

- "HE HAD BEEN PURSUED BRUTALLY. HIS PICKUP HAD BEEN HIT REPEATEDLY BY THE VILLAINS," ARLO REPEATED THIS MORNING, SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE. "HIS ARMOR WAS HORRIBLY DENTED. IT'S A MIRACLE HE'S STILL WITH US. HE HAS THE SOUL OF A STERN WARRIOR! BUT HIS SPIRIT WILL NEVER ... HE TOLD ME THAT ON THE WAY TO LITTLE CREEK[2] THEY HAD CAUGHT UP WITH HIM AND THE SHOW HAD BEGUN. SOMEWHERE IN THERE, A BRUTAL SHOOTOUT WAS TIED UP. EVEN BLUEBIRD HAD TO USE OKICHITAU[3] TO DEFEND HIMSELF, BUT ONLY PROVIDENCE GOT RID OF THEM AFTERWARDS. THAT'S WHAT HE TOLD ME. HE OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T WANT TO REMEMBER THE WHOLE INCIDENT, BUT PREFERRED TO SHAKE OFF THE PAST."

I THOUGHT ABOUT ARLO'S WORDS - LITTLE CREEK WAS A PICTURESQUE AND RATHER PLEASANT PLACE. A PARADISE FOR THE FAMILY. WHY HAD THOSE THUGS ATTACKED HIM THERE? AND WHO HAD INFORMED THEM THAT A BLUEBIRD WAS GOING TO DROP BY?

UNLESS... BLUEBIRD KNEW EVERYTHING BEFORE WE DID - THAT IS, HE HAD DONE THE JOB...

THE NOISE OF THE ONCOMING MOTORCYCLES DROWNED OUT HIS VOICE. THE ROCKERS WERE RAISING A FOGHORN AND COULD BE SEEN FROM MORE THAN A MILE AWAY, BUT WHO KNOWS WHY I HAD THE VAGUE FEELING THAT SOON THINGS WOULD GO COMPLETELY WRONG AND NOTHING WOULD BE ABLE TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE ANY MORE.

ARLO WASN'T HIGH, NOR WAS HE DRUNK, AND FROM WHAT I'D SEEN, HE'D MASTERED ASTRAL TRAVEL ON A GOOD BASIC LEVEL, AND MAYBE EVEN A MORE ADVANCED LEVEL, BUT WE SHARED A DIRTY SECRET BETWEEN US, THAT OF HIS BETRAYAL.

IT WAS A MATTER OF TIME FOR ANOTHER REARRANGEMENT OF THE DECK OF CARDS. AND THEN EVERYONE WOULD FIGHT FOR THEIR OWN SURVIVAL. AND THE RIGHT TO LIVE!

ZONARA WAS THE MOST INSCRUTABLE OF THE THREE, BUT I SUSPECTED THAT SOONER OR LATER HER SHELL WOULD ALSO CRACK AND THE TRUTH WOULD EMERGE - LIKE A PEELED ONION, ON WHICH WHEN YOU GRADUALLY REMOVE ALL THE LAYERS - IN THE END THERE IS NOTHING LEFT. PERHAPS THERE WAS AN OVERWHELMING EMPTINESS RAGING IN HER SOUL, OR PERHAPS SOMETHING EVEN WORSE. PERHAPS SHE WAS SEEKING TRUE SALVATION FOR HER OWN SOUL AND HER SOUL ALONE?

THE ROCKERS ARRIVED ON THEIR IRON HORSES-EACH OF THEM ARMED-AND EXPRESSED THEIR WILLINGNESS TO ACCOMPANY US, BUT NATURALLY DEMANDED A SMALL ADVANCE-APPROXIMATELY TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

THE ZONE HAD ANTICIPATED SUCH A REQUEST ON THEIR PART AND HAD PREPARED THE KESHENA.

THE ROCKERS DECIDED THAT WE COULD FOLLOW THE MAIN THOROUGHFARES, AND IN ORDER NOT TO BE SO CONSPICUOUS SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FORMATION WOULD LINE UP AND SWITCH PLACES - THAT WAY THE THREE OF US WOULD REMAIN RELATIVELY UNNOTICED. THE IDEA WASN'T BRILLIANT, BUT IT WASN'T THAT BAD EITHER.

WE ALSO HAD A FEW SECONDS TO LOOK AT THE SKULLS, WHICH WERE A DISTINCTIVE FEATURE IN THE SYMBOLISM OF THE HELLS ANGELS. THEIR STORY WAS INTERESTING AS THEY EXPRESSED REBELLION AND RENEGADEISM. THE RENEGADE WAS A KIND OF APOSTATE WHO LIVED BY HIS OWN RULES.

THEN SUDDENLY SOME ARROW STUCK IN THE HEART OF A BLUEBIRD. HE CLUTCHED AT HIS CHEST AND HIS LEGS BUCKLED. IT WAS FROM A CROSSBOW, BUT WE COULD NOT SEE THE ARCHER; HE WAS HARDLY MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED TO FIVE HUNDRED YARDS AWAY. OF COURSE, ZONARA COULD HAVE RESURRECTED HIM AGAIN, BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH HARDER THIS TIME.

BLUEBIRD TURNED TO HER AND ANSWERED:

- DON'T WASTE YOUR STRENGTH WITH ME! YOU WILL NEED IT! WALK THE PATH OF YOUR OWN SALVATION!

AND FELL TO THE GROUND DEAD.

WHOEVER HAD FIRED THE SHOT WAS EXTREMELY TREACHEROUS AND BRUTALLY VILE. THE ROCKERS INSTANTLY DUCKED BEHIND THEIR VEHICLES AND DREW THEIR WEAPONS, AIMING AT THE UNSEEN ENEMY.

I NOW THOUGHT OF THE FEDERAL AGENTS WHO MIGHT WANT TO MAKE SOME SPECIFIC ATTACK AND SOAK THE ROCKERS FOR IT. THAT SOUNDED PRETTY WHACKED OUT, BUT WHO WOULD BELIEVE A BUNCH OF POGROM MONGERS? WHO WAS GOING TO JUSTIFY THEIR SHOWING UP ON AN INDIAN RESERVATION IN THE EARLY WINTER MORNING - ESPECIALLY SINCE BLUEBIRD WAS SHOT WITH A CROSSBOW - THE GOAL BEING THAT THE WEAPON COULD NOT BE USED TO IDENTIFY THE CRIME.

THE KILLER DID NOT PRODUCE THE SO-CALLED CONTROL SHOT PERHAPS FEARING THE NOISE OF THE POLYSPASTIC BOWSTRING WOULD GIVE HIM AWAY. HOW DID I FIND OUT, YOU ASK? WELL, THAT KIND OF SHOT POWER JUST COULDN'T BE ACHIEVED WITH A REGULAR ONE. THE ARROW HAD A SPECIAL CUSTOM CARBON TIP REINFORCED WITH TITANIUM. IT WAS DESIGNED TO BURST THE VICTIM'S HEART.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN LIKE A FUCKING RAMBO[4] MOVIE, BUT IT WASN'T. THIS WAS THE SITUATION WHERE WE FELT THE NOOSE TIGHTENING AND JUST KNEW THE MOMENT TO FACE THE TRUTH WAS COMING.

I THOUGHT THEN THAT TOMORROW MIGHT NEVER COME. WE WERE TEMPORARY VISITORS IN A WORLD WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND AND DIDN'T KNOW IF AT ONE PARTICULAR MOMENT IN TIME IT WOULD BE DESTROYED AND ALL INFORMATION ABOUT EVERYTHING IN IT ERASED FOREVER. I LAY DOWN INSTINCTIVELY TO PROTECT MYSELF.

I WONDERED IF FELISTER HAD ANYTHING IN HIS HEART AT THE MOMENT OF HIS DEATH? DID HE FEEL A TRACE OF SADNESS, HATRED OR REMORSE? FELISTER WAS THE KING OF GLOOM AND THE MOST EXPERIENCED SWINEHERD IN THE LAND, AND ...

WE THREW OURSELVES ON THE ROCKERS, SUPPOSING THERE WOULD BE FURTHER ASSASSINATIONS AGAINST US UNTIL WE REACHED OUR DESTINATION.

DURAITH AND ELLER WERE SKILLED MARKSMEN WHO STUCK AROUND AND OPENED FIRE, BUT THE RANGE OF THE PUMP SHOTGUNS WAS SIMPLY INSUFFICIENT.

SURE THE COPS WOULD COME SOON, BUT WE WERE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, AND EVEN THE KESHENA WAS AT LEAST TWO OR THREE MILES AWAY, MAYBE MORE - SO WE HAD AT LEAST A FEW SECONDS TO REACT.

THE FEELING OF RIDING AN IRON HORSE WAS GREAT - TO FEEL LIKE YOU DIDN'T BELONG ANYWHERE OR TO ANYONE. MOST OF THE GANG MEMBERS KNEW EACH OTHER RELATIVELY VAGUELY, AS SOME MEMBERS DIDN'T LIVE MORE THAN A YEAR OR TWO BEFORE FALLING VICTIM DURING ONE OF THEIR POGROMS. WE DECIDED TO TAKE HIGHWAY 55, AND SOMEWHERE TOWARDS NASHVILLE, CHANGE OUR ROUTE UNPREDICTABLY IN A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO GET AWAY. NOT THAT THE STATE GOVERNMENT WASN'T GOING TO DROP SOME ON OUR HEELS, BUT STILL, WISCONSIN WAS A RELATIVELY LARGE STATE - WITH AN AREA LARGER THAN THAT OF THE CUBE.

ELLER MENTALLY WANTED TO DRAW A SNOTTY CURSE FOR ACCEPTING TO BE INVOLVED AT ALL IN THIS WHOLE RIDICULOUS AND MESSED UP STORY, BUT HE WAS OBLIVIOUS TO THE INVISIBLE HAND THAT STILL SEEMED TO BE HOLDING THEM AND SEEMED TO BE WEIGHING THEIR LIVES IN THE BALANCE. DURAITH RODE BESIDE HIM IN SILENCE, BUT SPARKS SEEMED TO FLY BETWEEN THEM. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE GANG MEMBERS HAD ESCORTED SOMEONE LIKE US, AND DESPITE THE HEFTY PAY AND PROMISE OF BOOTY, I COULDN'T HELP BUT BET THEY MIGHT JUST DUMP US SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY AND FORGET ABOUT THE ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN US. THE ROCKERS' HAIRSTYLES EXPRESSED THEIR INDIVIDUALITY, BUT THEIR REBELLIOUSNESS AND ANARCHISM WERE ALSO CLEARLY EVIDENT.

SURELY A SINGING SHADOW WAS SOBBING UNCONTROLLABLY OVER ITS SON, YET I NOTICED ITS RETREAT EVEN DURING THE RESURRECTION RITUAL. ON THE OTHER HAND, SHE HADN'T EVEN MENTIONED IT TO US.

AS THE ROCKERS RODE US AROUND ON THEIR IMPRESSIVE MOTORCYCLES, I NOTICED THEIR STONY EXPRESSIONS - THEY WERE IMPENETRABLE, AS IF THEY WERE UNEARTHLY BEINGS FROZEN IN SOME STATIC STATE, AND THEY REALLY LOOKED TO ME LIKE DEMONS STRAIGHT OUT OF HELL. BUT I DECIDED TO REMIND MYSELF OF WHAT I ACTUALLY KNEW ABOUT GUS BENZOUR AND BLUEBIRD - YES, THE TWO WERE FRIENDS, BUT THEIR FRIENDSHIP STILL AROUSED SOME SUSPICIONS IN ME. GUS BENZOUR HAD SHOWN NO DESIRE FOR ENLIGHTENMENT, BUT HE'D GOTTEN THE ROCKER GANG TO FOLLOW HIM LIKE FRIGHTENED PALLETS DEMONSTRATING LOYALTY TO THEIR MASTER.

A THOUGHT PASSED MY WAY FROM JACK KEROUAC'S GREAT BOOK, THAT THAT PART OF HIS LIFE BEGAN AFTER A CERTAIN MAN APPEARED - ON THE ROAD. THE WHOLE SITUATION SEEMED LIKE AN OXYMORON, BUT THE REALITY WAS MORE THAN FRIGHTENING.

I KNEW THAT NASHVILLE WASN'T THAT FAR FROM THE KESHENA, BUT IT WAS UP AND DOWN THE MIDDLE OF OUR JOURNEY - ABOUT SIXTY MILES AWAY.

AGAIN ANOTHER PASSAGE FROM KEROUAC[5] PASSED THROUGH MY MIND, NAMELY, THAT HE FELT THE ROAD IN ITS IMMENSITY.

DID IT MATTER, THEN, ALL THOSE FACES THAT PASSED US BY, AND FROM WHOM WE SOMETIMES DREW ENERGY TO LIVE. IT WAS DAMNED STRANGE, BUT ZONARA SHED NOT A TEAR FOR THE BLUEBIRD, AND SHORTLY BEFORE THE SKIRMISH BETWEEN THE ROCKERS AND THE INVISIBLE ENEMY WAS TIED UP, THE MENOMINEE INDIANS HAD PROMISED TO BURY HIM ON THE RESERVATION, AS IT WAS MOST FITTING.

ELLER RODE WITH DIGNITY, BUT ALSO WITH THE UNDERSTANDING AND CLEAR SENSE THAT SOMETHING WAS AMISS, TO SAY THE LEAST. USUALLY IT WASN'T OUT OF THE QUESTION FOR EVEN THE FEDS TO GET INVOLVED, AND IN THIS CASE, THERE WAS NOTHING BUT THE WIND RUFFLING HIS BLOND HAIR.

ELLER WAS A LONER, AND HIS RISE TO SECOND IN COMMAND OF THE GANG WAS THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT OF HIS LIFE, BUT HE REMEMBERED WHAT DURAITH HAD TOLD HIM ABOUT GUS BENZOUR'S STRANGE PROPOSITION.

"DAMN THE FARMER!" HE THOUGHT, BUT THEN STEELED HIMSELF, "AND HOW DO THEY KNOW DURAITH! WELL, IF EVEN OUR VERY THOUGHTS DRAW THE REALITY, THEN WE MUST BE VERY CAREFUL!"

IN COMPARATIVE PROXIMITY TO NASHVILLE WAS PELICAN LAKE, WHICH WAS PRACTICALLY UNCEDED TERRITORY, AND CERTAINLY OF PECULIAR STATUS. SOMETHING INSIDE SEEMED TO PUSH HIM TO STOP THERE TO CLEAR UP THE MATTER OF THE DURAITH, BUT THE INVISIBLE HAND WAS PUSHING HIM TO DRIVE ON. THERE WAS STILL A WAYS TO GO TO NASHVILLE, AND THE MOTORCYCLES WERE MOVING AT A DEVILISH SPEED.

WITHIN THE CONFINES OF NASHVILLE, HOWEVER, WAS ANOTHER INDIAN RESERVATION THAT BORE THE NAME OF MOLE LAKE. IT WAS WORTH ASKING AROUND, AND SURELY THEY WOULD HAVE HEARD THIS OR THAT, BUT THEY WERE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR COMPANIONS. ELLER SUSPECTED SOMETHING WAS STIRRING, AND WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED AT ALL IF GUS AND DURAITH HIMSELF HAD CONSPIRED TO REMOVE IT AND COLLECT THE LOOT.

BUT WHERE WERE HIS SUCH DELUSIONAL THOUGHTS COMING FROM? PERHAPS THE UNSEEN DEMON WAS INSTILLING THEM IN HIM, DESIRING TO DIVERT HIM FROM HIS PATH AND DESTROY HIM-TO DESTROY HIS IMMORTAL SOUL IN ONE FELL SWOOP.

- "A MAN CAN ONLY LOVE ONCE, BUT HOW TRUE IS THAT LOVE?," WHISPERED ELLER, DRIVING LIKE A MADMAN, "AND WHERE WILL FALSEHOOD AND LIES LEAD US?

AT ONE TIME THEY HEARD THE POLICE SIREN SOMEWHERE NOT FAR FROM THEM, AND DECIDED TO SWERVE DOWN A SIDE ROAD - AND THAT SAVED THEM.

THERE WAS A SMALL GROVE - THE ROCKERS RAN STRAIGHT INTO IT. THE GANG WAS TOO BIG, BUT SOMEHOW THEY MANAGED TO GET IN THERE.

THE ENORMOUS RISK MADE ELLER WONDER IF IT WAS WORTH DYING FOR SOME MEASLY TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS - THAT, DIVIDED AMONG THE GANG MEMBERS, WAS JUST PALTRY COMPENSATION, BUT AGAIN HE REMEMBERED THE HIDDEN POWER.

THEN SOME VOICE IN HIS HEAD SPOKE THAT HE SHOULD JUST REMOVE THE DURAITH HIMSELF - YES, THAT CUNNING AND BRUTAL TYPE WAS THE CULPRIT FOR ALL HIS SUFFERING. NATURALLY, WE WERE AROUND PELICAN LAKE.

THEN, AS IF OUT OF NOWHERE, A CRAZY ARGUMENT BROKE OUT BETWEEN ELLER AND DUREITH - THEY CLEARLY HATED EACH OTHER TO DEATH AND ONE HAD TO DIE FOR THE OTHER TO LIVE.

DURAITH USED OKICHITAU, WHICH HE HAD APPARENTLY ACQUIRED AS KNOWLEDGE WITH THE INDIANS, AND WHAT IS CALLED PRISON ROCK - A BRUTAL HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT METHOD - IN ORDER TO KNOCK THE TEETH OUT OF HIS OPPONENT. ELLER WAS A LITTLE MORE ROBUST, BUT HIS SKILL AT FIGHTING WAS SHAPED IN STIFF STREET FIGHTING.

THE TWO OF THEM LOCKED LIPS TO OUR SURPRISE, WHILE THE REST OF THE GROUP AWAITED THE DENOUEMENT - FRANKLY, EVEN THEY WERE SURPRISED THAT THE MELEE HAD BROKEN OUT AT THIS PRECISE MOMENT, BUT APPARENTLY NO ONE CARED ALL THAT MUCH. THEY WERE OVERCOME WITH A STRANGE EUPHORIA - THEY WANTED BLOOD! THE BLOOD OF ONE OF THE TWO!

ELLER WAS ALSO SLIGHTLY TALLER THAN DURAITH, BUT THE DIFFERENCE IN HEIGHT WAS OFFSET BY THE LATTER'S AGILITY. WHAT HAPPENED, HOWEVER, SURPRISED EVERYONE. SUDDENLY, ELLER STOPPED AND, AS IF TO JUSTIFY HIMSELF, SAID:

- FORGET IT! IT WAS OBVIOUSLY MY FAULT!

SUCH A FALL COULD NOT BE FORGIVEN BY THE OTHERS AND ELER WAS SIMPLY IMPALED BY THEIR WEAPONS.

- "HOW DID DURAITH, WHO SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BY THE GANG, AFTER HIS EXIT FROM ADMAX, MANAGE TO DO THIS?," WAS MY OPINION.

ZONARA AND ARLO WERE AS IF PINCHED. NOW DURAITH WAS GOING TO BE THE SOLE DECISION MAKER.

FOR EDIFICATION, THE DEAD ELER WAS IMPALED ON A STAKE, A BARBARIC CUSTOM MORE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE POPULATION ALONG THE AMAZON THAN OF A BRUTAL MOTORCYCLE GANG.

INTESTINES PROTRUDED FROM HIS STOMACH, AND THEN THE GANG SET FIRE TO HIS CORPSE WITH A TUBE OF GASOLINE - THE STENCH WAS INCREDIBLE, DOWNRIGHT INTOLERABLE. ACCORDING TO SCIENTIFIC CIRCLES, THE DECOMPOSED HUMAN FLESH HAD SOME SORT OF SMELL THAT WAS A STRANGE MIXTURE OF GRASS CLIPPINGS AND FRESH FISH, BUT THE SMELL OF ALE WAS INCENTIVE ENOUGH FOR US TO FLEE IN AN ATTEMPT TO SAVE OURSELVES. THE TWO CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS CADAVERINE AND PUTRESCINE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SPECIFIC SMELL OF DEATH - THE AROMA OF DECAY AND DECAY.

DURAITH APPROACHED, CLEARLY FEELING DISPLEASED AND INDESCRIBABLY ANGRY WITH US, THE IMAGINARY CONSPIRATORS WHO WERE, HOWEVER, VERY, VERY MUCH IN TUNE WITH THE PARANORMAL:

- YOU WANTED TO DESTROY ME! 'YOU AND YOUR DUBIOUS SPELLS AND CHARMS DON'T WORK AGAINST DURAITH BENSERCRUTER,' HE MUTTERED, HIS WORDS REMINISCENT OF THE FRICTION OF BARE STEEL AGAINST ANOTHER METAL, 'LET ME SEE YOU DIE, BUT FIRST GIVE ME THE REST OF THE MONEY - IT MUST BE ENOUGH. THE PROVISO FALLS AWAY. FELISTER MAY HAVE LEFT NOTHING! DORI AND PETAK! WHY DRIVE YOU NEARLY A HUNDRED MORE MILES AND RISK A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OVER SOME STUPID GHOSTS OR WORSE, DEMONS? IN THAT CASE, THE COPS WILL JUST BEAT US TO DEATH WITH A MOTIVE OF RESISTING!

WITH THOSE WORDS, HE TUCKED AWAY ZONARA'S BAG WITH A SHARP MOVEMENT AND GASPED - THERE WERE PILES OF MONEY INSIDE, EVEN SMALL BARS OF COLLECTIBLE GOLD - AS MANY AS EIGHT IN NUMBER.

HE SHOWED IT TO THE GANG, WHO, HOWEVER, WERE NOT PARTICULARLY CHARMED. AT FIRST, THOUGH, THEY HAD WINNING SMILES ON THEIR FACES - THEY HAD OBVIOUSLY UN-CONSPIRED US - THIS WAS MUCH MORE INTERESTING TO THEM. IF THEY LOST THEIR REPUTATION AS TERRIBLE ROBBERS AND RAPISTS, THEIR LIVES WERE OVER!

THE ROCKERS REALIZED THAT MANY OF THEM WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ENTITLED TO EVEN THE LAST MEAL THAT DEATH ROW INMATES USUALLY HOPED FOR WITHOUT THE RIGHT TO APPEAL IF THE STATE POLICE HAD FELT LIKE SEARCHING THE LITTLE GROVE - FORTUNATELY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN. THIS AGAIN WAS COMPLETELY INEXPLICABLE.

USUALLY THE POLICE WOULDN'T EVEN NEED MUCH OF AN EXCUSE TO SHOOT THEM LIKE DOGS, AND SOME OF THE EASIEST EXCUSES MIGHT HAVE BEEN MAKING THREATS OR EVEN A TRAFFIC VIOLATION. THERE WAS A SO-CALLED SCIENCE OF "KILLOLOGY[6]" THAT HAD DEVELOPED THE PERFECT INSTINCTS IN THE POLICE IN THIS REGARD.

IN GENERAL, DWIGHT WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD ESCAPED DEATH MORE THAN ONCE OR TWICE. IT WAS A BASIC PRACTICE THAT IF SOME EX-CONVICT OR INMATE JOINED THE GROUP, HE WOULD DESCRIBE IN THE MOST GENERAL TERMS HIS PREVIOUS CRIMES. JEREMY EIL HAD ALSO GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT, ESCAPING WITH ROBERT CHAMPS FROM SAN QUENTIN, A MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. BOTH REMEMBERED SHARING A CELL WHERE VIOLENCE AND PAIN WERE A DAILY OCCURRENCE. THE GUARDS WERE HORRIBLE AND VIOLATED THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS WITH A RELISH THAT WAS ENDEMIC TO BEASTS. STILL THERE THEY VOWED THAT IF THEY EVER MANAGED TO GET FREE THEY WOULD ABIDE BY ABSOLUTELY NO SOCIAL OR SOCIETAL NORMS - THEY WERE ALSO TWO OF THE BLADES OF THE MOTORCYCLE GANG WHO HAD PROVEN THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN OPERATIONS.

EIL AND CHAMPS HAD SHARED A CELL WITH PSYCHOPATHS, SERIAL KILLERS AND ABSOLUTE MANIACS - WITH ONE OF THEIR CELLMATES EVEN ATTEMPTING TO DETONATE A HOMEMADE BOMB IN THE PRISON DORMITORY - AND UNTIL NOW THERE HAD BEEN LITTLE CLARITY ON EXACTLY HOW THIS HAD HAPPENED DESPITE DRACONIAN SECURITY MEASURES.

THE TWO MEN HAD SEEN ALL SORTS OF SADISTS AND GANGSTERS, BUT THEY HAD NEVER WITNESSED A TOUGH GUY LIKE ELLER GIVE UP FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE JUST LIKE THAT. NO, IT WASN'T FEAR! IT WAS JUST IMPOSSIBLE! HERE LAY SOMETHING ELSE!

THEY REMEMBERED HOW, IN THE SAME WAY, DURAITH HIMSELF HAD YIELDED TO GUS BENZOUR.

THERE WAS EVEN A SERIAL KILLER IN THE ROCKER GROUP, JEFFREY BANDOW, WHO HAD THREE MURDERS OF POLICEMEN AND BY SOME MIRACLE HAD NOT YET BEEN SHOT. THEY HAD PUT A HUGE BOUNTY ON HIS HEAD, AND HIS FACE ADORNED QUITE A FEW ROADSIDE POLES IN AT LEAST FIFTEEN STATES.

AS THEY WATCHED THE UNRESOLVED CLASH BETWEEN THEIR LEADERS, THESE SAVAGE DEMIHUMANS REALIZED THAT SOME ATROCITY WAS ABOUT TO OCCUR THAT WOULD GO BEYOND THE REALM OF THE NORMAL.

IN SUCH A SITUATION, A GANGSTER GANG COULD EASILY HAVE BROKEN UP, BUT SOMETHING INEXPLICABLE SEEMED TO HOLD THEM TOGETHER. THEY DIDN'T PULL OUT THEIR GUNS IN AN ATTEMPT TO SEIZE THE LOOT - THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN STUPID AND POINTLESS.

WE ONLY WATCHED THEIR STRANGE, HALF-HUMAN, HALF-DEMONIC REACTIONS OF BAKED RECIDIVISTS.

SUDDENLY, SOMEONE TURNED TO DURAITH AND GAVE HIM A PARTICULAR LOOK:

- IF YOU'VE ARRANGED WITH GUS HIMSELF TO SHARE. AND EVENTUALLY THE COPS WILL BRAZENLY NAIL US. THESE DOGS! BETTER DEATH THAN TO ...

DURAITH REALIZED HE'D HAVE TO SAVE HIS LIFE - HE COULDN'T FACE EVERYONE ALONE. DESPITE THE MORAL SUPERIORITY HE IMAGINED HE POSSESSED. THE MACHIAVELLIAN SYNDROME WAS PERFECTLY APPLICABLE TO THIS SORT OF PERSON, SINCE HONESTY LED NOWHERE AND DECEIT CARRIED AT LEAST SOME CHANCE OF SURVIVAL.

THE OTHERS DIDN'T ATTACK HIM, BUT THEY DIDN'T DARE APPROACH HIM EITHER. IT SEEMED ABSOLUTELY UNNATURAL. PERHAPS THEY WERE LIKE A PACK OF HYENAS, AFRAID TO ATTACK A DOOMED LION THAT MIGHT WELL PROVE VERY DANGEROUS? BUT DURAITH GAVE NO SIGN OF WANTING TO FIGHT - YET HIS WEAPON WAS AT HAND.

AT ONE TIME THE ROCKERS DID NOT ENDURE, AND IT WAS JEREMY EIL, THE OUTLAW OF SAN QUENTIN, WHO ASKED HIM SIMPLY

- ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP LEADING US OR NOT?

HE LOOKED EVEN MORE HAGGARD. THE MEN DIDN'T EVEN LOOK AT EACH OTHER. THEY JUST GOT ON THEIR MOTORCYCLES AND CONTINUED ON, BEFORE LETTING TWO OF THE FORMATION CHECK FOR A POLICE AMBUSH.

ARLO'S MIND CRYSTALLIZED THE CORPSE OF ELLAR, STRUNG LIKE A PIECE OF FOOD ON A SKEWER. THE CONSUMERIST NATURE OF SOCIETY HAD PERHAPS LED TO THIS DOWNFALL? ALTHOUGH THESE SOCIETIES HAD THEIR ORIGINS IN THE 1930S IN THE PRESENT TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED TIMES THIS TENDENCY HAD INCREASED ENORMOUSLY.

ARLO'S MIND CRYSTALLIZED THE CORPSE OF AN ELLAR, STRUNG LIKE A PIECE OF FOOD ON A SKEWER. THE CONSUMERIST NATURE OF SOCIETY HAD PERHAPS LED TO THIS DOWNFALL? ALTHOUGH THESE SOCIETIES HAD THEIR ORIGINS IN THE 1930S IN THE PRESENT TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED TIMES THIS TENDENCY HAD INCREASED ENORMOUSLY.

WE THEN WENT OUT ON A CIRCUITOUS ROUTE AND DECIDED FOR EXTRA SECURITY NOT TO REFUEL FOR NOW.

WE MANAGED TO REPLENISH OUR WATER SUPPLY FROM PELICAN LAKE ITSELF, WHICH HAD NO VISITORS AT THE TIME, AS WE WERE AFRAID OF BEING RECOGNIZED AT A GAS STATION.

MANY PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE BELIEVED IT, BUT I WONDERED WHERE THE GAS STAYED. IN THE END THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING KEEPING HIM ON THE RESERVATION, AND HIS FRIEND WAS FATALLY SHOT. HE COULD HARDLY DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THE LOCALS ANYMORE EITHER - SO HIS PRESENCE THERE WAS RATHER IRRELEVANT.

YES, BLUEBIRD'S WORDS THAT "THIS WINTER WOULD BE HIS LAST" PROVED PROPHETIC.

I WONDERED IF EACH OF US HAD SIMPLY BUILT A MICRO-WORLD OF OUR OWN IN WHICH TO SURVIVE - MUCH LIKE THE HOSPITAL WALLS OF A MENTAL INSTITUTION. WE FELT COMFORTABLE JUST FINDING EXCUSES.

ZONARE DIDN'T HAVE A PETAC NOW, AND THE GROUP HAD DECIDED TO EAT, SINCE TAKING THE WHOLE DISTANCE TO LA POINTE MIGHT HAVE PREVENTED THEM FROM KEEPING BETTER TRACK OF THEIR SAFETY.

SO WE FORCED OURSELVES TO SPEND THE EVENING LISTENING TO FAT JOKES AND BREATHING IN THE FLAVOR OF REAL NOMADIC LIFE.

IN THE MORNING, HOWEVER, DURAITH HAD WANDERED OFF TO PARTS UNKNOWN, AND THE MEMBERS OF THE GANG WERE GREATLY DISTURBED BY HIS ABSENCE. THEY ASSUMED THAT HE WOULD GIVE THEM AWAY, BUT A LITTLE LATER IT WAS LEARNED THAT EIL AND SHAMS HAD TRACKED HIM DOWN AND KILLED HIM IN THE NEARBY WOODS. STRANGE WHY, BUT THIS TIME THEY HAD BURIED HIS CORPSE SHALLOWLY, DOUSING IT WITH GASOLINE TO PREVENT WILD ANIMALS FROM CARRYING THE PIECES OF HIS CORPSE IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS - AND IT MADE THE BODY ROT MUCH MORE QUICKLY AND EASILY.

FORTUNATELY, NO ONE WAS PAYING ATTENTION - SO I HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO EXAMINE THE BLUEBIRD MASCOT. IT WAS VERY SPECIAL AND OBVIOUSLY SERVED AS PROTECTION.

- "USE IT WISELY," THE INDIAN HAD CONCLUDED. "IN LIFE, EVERYONE USUALLY HAS ONE CHANCE, BUT MANY OF US DON'T EVEN HAVE THAT. AND THE GREAT SPIRIT ..."

THE BLUEBIRD'S EYES WERE STRANGE AS HE HAD IMPARTED THIS MAGICAL REMEDY - LIKE BOTTOMLESS WELLS IN WHICH YOUR PLUNGE MIGHT BE ENDLESS AND A SKY IN WHICH NOT A STAR REMAINED AND A MISTY GLOOM REIGNED.

IT WAS A MOST ORDINARY INDIAN DREAM-TRAP, WHICH WAS MADE OF BRIGHTLY COLOURED FEATHERS SUSPENDED UNDER A MASSIVE WOODEN RING DECORATED WITH BEADS - IN THE MIDDLE OF WHICH WAS VISIBLE THE WELL-TANGLED MANDALA THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO CATCH BAD DREAMS.

- IN YOUR DREAMS YOU WILL FIND THE TRUE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTIONS. AND THE ASTRAL WORLD WAS ONLY A TEST OF YOUR LEVEL OF SENSITIVITY - HIS MOUTH STRETCHED INTO A SEMBLANCE OF A FRIENDLY SMILE, WHICH FOR WHO KNOWS WHY I DIDN'T FIND SO FRIGHTENING.

AFTER THE MURDER OF DURAITH, APPARENTLY THE BIKERS NEEDED A NEW LEADER WHO HAD TO BE LESS PETTY ABOUT DIVIDING THE SPOILS AND THE "ADMINISTRATIVE" FORMALITIES.

THEY DECIDED TO VOTE LIKE A PRIMITIVE RABBLE ON WHO WAS THE WORTHIEST, AND SO THAT THERE WOULD BE NO MORE MURDERS - THEY ESTABLISHED A NEW SIMPLE RULE - THE ONE AMONG THEM WITH THE MOST SERIOUS CRIMES COULD BE CALLED A TRUE HELL ANGEL.

AFTER SOME HESITATION, THEY DECIDED THAT EIL HIMSELF MET THE STANDARD FOR SUCH AN HONOR - HE HAD A RECORD SO LONG THAT EVEN JUST LISTING THE CRIMES AT THE BEGINNING SUGGESTED THAT HE MIGHT BE THE TRUE INCARNATION OF THE ANTICHRIST - HE HAD MORE THAN A DOZEN MURDERS, TWO ROBBERIES, A BURGLARY, A DISTURBING THE PEACE, AND INVOLVEMENT IN A RACKETEERING RING - THAT WAS ENOUGH TO DECLARE HIM A WORTHY CANDIDATE.

FATE HAD SURPRISES IN STORE FOR US...

THERE WASN'T TOO MUCH LEFT ON OUR ROUTE, AND NOW I NOTICED THAT THE FACES OF THE OTHER MOTORCYCLISTS HAD BECOME MORE PECULIAR.

THAT NIGHT THEY WERE BUSY DISTRIBUTING THE SPOILS - AND THEY WERE VERY INTERESTING. THEY DECIDED BECAUSE OF EIL'S ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE LIQUIDATION OF THE DURIGHT - HE WOULD GET THE EIGHT SMALL GOLD BARS AND ALL THE OTHER MONEY WAS LEFT FOR THE OTHERS.

ROBERT CHAMPS - HIS AVER RATHER ODDLY SHUFFLED OFF AND SAID NOTHING.

THEY HAD BOTH SHARED THE ADVERSITY AT SAN QUENTIN, WHICH WAS PRACTICALLY THE OLDEST PRISON IN CALIFORNIA. IT ALSO HOUSED THE SO-CALLED DEATH CHAMBER. BUT BOTH CHAMPS AND EIL PREFERRED TO FORGET THIS EPISODE IN THEIR LIVES. IN THEIR DREAMS, GLIMPSES SOMETIMES APPEARED OF THE OUTLINE OF THE HUGE PRISON THAT HAD BEEN THEIR HOME FOR MORE THAN SIXTEEN YEARS.

THERE WERE NO DISSATISFIED PRISONERS.

BUT ZONARA HAD BECOME SIMPLY UNRECOGNIZABLE, AND ARLO HAD MANAGED TO KEEP HIS MONEY BY INEXPLICABLY INSERTING IT INTO THE BARK OF A TREE. YES, HE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THEM SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE, BUT HIS WIDE CLOTHES WITH MANY POCKETS WERE AN EXCELLENT HIDING PLACE.

NATURALLY, ARLO HADN'T BEEN SEARCHED FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT, AS A HIPSTER AND A RATHER DEFT MANIPULATOR, HE WAS ADEPT AT MAKING CONTACTS WHEREVER HE WENT - GENERALLY, THE WEED HE'D SMOKED WITH THE OTHER GANG MEMBERS HAD CEMENTED HIS CONTACTS FURTHER.

ON THE MORROW WE SET OFF, AND NOW HAD THE LAST PART OF THE JOURNEY BEFORE REACHING OUR FINAL DESTINATION, AS WE THEN THOUGHT, THE LA POINTE CEMETERY.

THE ROCKERS DECIDED TO TAKE ROUTE EIGHT, THEN FIFTY-ONE, BUT OUR GROUP WOULD SPLIT INTO TWO SEPARATE SUB-GROUPS TO REASSEMBLE AT IRISHWOOD - OF COURSE, THIS WAS ONE OF THE MORE OBVIOUS ROUTES, BUT IT HAD TO BE CONSIDERED AS WE WOULD NOT BE SUCH EASY TARGETS THIS WAY.

WE SET OFF AGAIN. THIS TIME I DIDN'T FEEL ANYTHING - THERE WAS NOTHING SO STRANGE. I ASSUMED THAT ARLO HAD MANAGED TO COLLECT HIS SMALL FORTUNE FROM THE BARK OF THE TREE WITHOUT THOSE BANDITS SENSING IT - THE TAREKAT COULD STEP LIKE A CAT ON TIPTOE.

BUT AFTER THAT ASTRAL WALK IN THE PRESENCE OF THE NOW-DECEASED BLUEBIRD, I WAS CLEARLY AWARE THAT SOME PART OF THE WHOLE PICTURE WAS STILL SLIPPING AWAY.

I DID MY BEST TO KEEP MY FACE IMPENETRABLE, AND THE ZONAR NEVER ONCE LOOKED AT ME. THERE WERE SOME QUIRKS THAT DEFINITELY SEEMED TO HAVE BUILT A NEW MICROWORLD - THE EXTREMELY UNEVENTFUL MURDER OF THE DURAITH WAS JUST ONE OF THEM.

AT THE END OF THE DAY WE WERE IN AYRENWOOD - HERE THE HELL'S ANGELS GATHERED IN ONE OF THE LOCAL PUBS AND BEHAVED MORE THAN MANNERLY - THEY COULD AFFORD A BIT OF A 'HOLIDAY' AFTER THE HUGE HIT ZONARA'S MONEY HAD TAKEN. THEN I SENSED THAT AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT WAS BEING MADE AGAINST ME - AFTER ALL, ARLO AND ZONARA WERE IN A SEPARATE LEAGUE, AND I'D BEEN GIVEN THE BLUEBIRD AMULET, AND HE'D PROMISED THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING WOULD BE REVEALED TO ME VERY SOON.

THE ROCKERS ENTERED AN INTERESTING BREWPUB, WHERE AS MUCH AS IT WAS NOT TO BE BELIEVED, THEY TRIED TO OBSERVE SOME DISCRETION THAT WOULD MAKE THE OWNER'S EYES GLAZE OVER AND HE WOULD NOT ACCIDENTALLY PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON.

ARLO, ZONER AND I HADN'T SAID A WORD TO EACH OTHER THE ENTIRE TRIP, BUT I FELT I HAD TO RELY ON MORE THAN THE BLUEBIRD MEDALLION. SO TONIGHT I WAS GOING TO GET READY AND STAY ONE STEP AHEAD OF THEM.

THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE BIG BROTHER WAS GOING TO GAIN EVEN MORE POWER AFTER BLUEBIRD'S DEMISE - SO THE UNKNOWNS IN THE EQUATION WERE BECOMING TOO MANY AND ANY PREDICTIONS WERE TOO DANGEROUS. MAYBE BIG BROTHER HAD A DARK SIDE THAT HE WAS JEALOUSLY HIDING FROM ALL OF US, AND A SINGING SHADOW WAS GOING TO ATONE FOR WALKING AWAY FROM HIS SON IN SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE. YES, LIFE WAS FOR LIVING AND IT WAS NOT ABOUT LOVE!

I SUSPECTED, HOWEVER, THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE BESIDES THE INVISIBLE SUPERNATURAL HAND THAT WAS AFTER US - AND THIS ENTITY WAS OF A PURELY HUMAN NATURE.

ZONARA WAS NOT HELPLESS AT ALL - THOUGH WITHOUT FINANCIAL MEANS, SHE STILL HAD MASTERY OF HER MAGICAL RITUALS, AND ARLO COULD TIP THE SCALES AT THE APPROPRIATE MOMENT, OR EVEN PLAY SOLO, WHICH WAS ALL TOO LIKELY.

THE LOCALS PRETENDED NOT TO NOTICE THE RESPECTABLE APPEARANCE OF THE MEN WHO JUST PASSED BY. AS FAR AS I CAN REMEMBER NO ONE BOOED EITHER. IT WAS AS IF SOME CHILL HAD PASSED THROUGH THE TOWN AND LIFE WAS ONLY POSSIBLE IN THOSE THIN ETHEREAL LAYERS WHERE THOSE EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES DWELT. THE WIDE STREETS WERE UNUSUALLY DESERTED, BUT THE AIR REMINDED ME OF THAT BLUE SPRING I HAD EXPERIENCED ON FELISTER'S FARM - EVEN THOUGH THE TEMPERATURES OUTSIDE WERE BELOW FREEZING AND IT WAS FEBRUARY. THE FEW PEOPLE WE MET AT ALL, CRUISING BY ON THEIR POWERFUL MOTORCYCLES, HAD THEIR HEADS BOWED - AS IF AWAITING THE DREADED JUDGMENT.

I HAD ONCE WATCHED SOME ALIEN ON A TV SHOW WHO SAID THAT THE UNIVERSE DIDN'T WANT OUR SURVIVAL, AND WE HAD TO ESCAPE TO ANOTHER UNIVERSE IF NECESSARY - AND SO ON AD INFINITUM, AND IF WE COULDN'T GET THERE BEFORE THE END OF THE CURRENT ONE, OR THERE WAS NO SUCH UNIVERSE YET, WE WOULD PERISH. QUANTUM PHYSICS HAD SIMILAR EXPLANATIONS, AND A NUMBER OF PROMINENT SCIENTISTS TALKED ALONG SIMILAR LINES.

WE DECIDED TO STAY IN A MOTEL, WHERE I TRIED MY HARDEST TO CLOSE MY EYES IN AN ATTEMPT TO SLEEP. THE ROOM WAS SPARTANLY FURNISHED, AND I BEGAN TO APPRECIATE FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT FELISTER HAD NEVER SPARED ANY EXPENSE TO KEEP HIS WORKERS WELL-EACH OF THEM HAD ACCESS TO A SPECIAL BATHROOM TO WASH AWAY THE PIG FILTH-BUT COULD WE WASH THE FILTH FROM OUR SOULS? I DIDN'T AT FIRST. I TRIED NOT TO LOOK AT THE DARKNESS ABOVE ME, AS I KNEW IT WOULDN'T HELP. THEN I GOT CARRIED AWAY. AND I DID INDEED GLIMPSE GUS BENZOUR - HIS FACE WAS CHANGED AND HE MOVED STRANGELY - AS IF NOT TO BE FELT. AND DAMN THAT LOOKED LIKE LA POINTE. THE STRANGE FARMER WHO I COULD EVEN ASSUME WAS SATAN HIMSELF CONTINUED HIS WALK AMONG THE GRAVES.

ALL THE DEMON MYTHS MAY HAVE BEEN EXAGGERATED, BUT SOMEWHERE IN THERE I SENSED THAT GUS BENZOIR PROBABLY KNEW A LOT MORE THAN HE WAS LETTING ON - DIDN'T BLUEBIRD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK UP AND REVEAL THE WHOLE TRUTH TO ME? SURELY THIS WAS PART OF THE RITUAL, OR MY ROAD TO NOWHERE, OR TO THE LEGACY OF A FELISTER!

IN LA POINTE THERE WAS UTTER DARKNESS, WHICH HAD LAYERED ITSELF SO THICKLY THAT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN NO EMPTY SPACE LEFT BETWEEN THE MOLECULES - AS IF SOMETHING WANTED TO EXIST BY ITSELF IN ALL THAT DARKNESS, RESEMBLING A KIND OF STATIC SMOKE.

IN MY DREAM SOMETHING MADE ME ASK MYSELF WHAT DID I REALLY KNOW ABOUT MY COMPANIONS? ZONARA WAS A SKILLED NECROMANCER REPRESENTING THE DRUG CARTELS AND ... ARLO, A HIPSTER SELLING WEED FOR A LIVING, LIVING IN HIS OWN SICK AND DEGENERATE REALITY CREATED BY THE MAGIC SMOKE OF HIS DUTCH PRODUCT AND ... THEN?

SO I HAD NO IDEA WHO THEY WERE OR WHAT THEIR INTENTIONS WERE! THEY COULD HAVE KILLED ME EVEN WHILE I SLEPT, AND THE ROCKERS COULD HAVE SLIT MY THROAT AND EVEN MOCKED MY CORPSE - AFTER ALL, I REMEMBERED THE END OF THE DURIGHT THAT HAD USED THE "POWER" HE HAD GOTTEN FROM GAS BENZOUR.

IN MY DREAM I SAW AN ENDLESS FIELD COVERED WITH GREEN GRASS, AND THERE IN THE DISTANCE WERE CORN CROPS - THEY WERE SWAYING IN THE WIND. IT WAS HERE THAT OUR JOURNEY WITH GUS BEGAN.

I RETURNED TO THE CEMETERY AGAIN - THE DREAM TRAP HUNG AROUND MY NECK - EVEN IN THIS DREAM. IT WAS MAGICAL, BUT ALSO SCARY. IT WAS LIKE AN EMISSARY OF SOME DISTANT KINGDOM - OR PERHAPS HE HAD CREATED THE INVISIBLE WALL THAT HAD STOPPED ME ON MY ASTRAL JOURNEY WHEN I WAS FORCED, ALONG WITH ZONAR AND ARLO, TO GET AWAY BECAUSE

WHEN YOU'RE ON TOP OF THE WALL IT SEEMS SCARY, BUT WOULD YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO JUMP? IT WAS LIKE GUS WAS MAKING ME DO JUST THAT! TO JUMP, AND MY PLUMMET WOULD BE ENDLESS. BUT WHERE WOULD I END UP? OR WAS GUS BENZOUR GOING ON A PILGRIMAGE! HIS PATH SEEMED INDESCRIBABLY LONG, AND HE HAD HARDLY GONE MORE THAN TEN OR FIFTEEN YARDS. WHAT WAS HAPPENING! AGAIN I BEGAN TO FEEL THE UNSEEN PRESENCE.

FELISTER HAD ALSO THE FIVE PARTS OF THE BOOK OF SOLOMON-THE SO-CALLED PENTATEUCH-AND HAD DEVOTED HOURS OF HIS TIME TO STUDYING EVERY LINE AND EVERY WORD, PUTTING A PECULIAR MEANING INTO WHAT HE READ. THIS WAS NOT SOME HOBBY OR PLEASURABLE PASTIME FOR HIM, BUT A DESPERATE SEARCH FOR THE ANSWER AS HIS TIME ON THIS EARTH WAS RUNNING OUT. DEVIL OR ANGEL, THE MERE PRESENCE OF GUS BENZOUR HAD LEFT AN INDELIBLE MARK ON MY LIFE, AND I KNEW HE WOULD BRING ME AT LEAST ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE TRUTH. HOW I LONGED TO SPEAK TO HIM, BUT BLUEBIRD WAS ADAMANT THAT I HAD TO BEWARE OF THE OTHERS-PERHAPS HE MEANT ALL OF THEM. ONE OF THE GREAT SECRETS OF TRUE MAGIC WAS THAT WHEN IT OCCURRED, A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY WAS RELEASED THAT WAS POORLY UNDERSTOOD, AND THIS WAS TRUE OF TRUE MAGIC - THIS ENERGY HAD THE ABILITY TO KILL, AND THE PRINCIPLE WAS LIKE A CHAIN REACTION - THE SOULS SUBDUED WERE DOOMED. TO THE UNINITIATED IT MIGHT HAVE SEEMED AMUSING, BUT I WAS BECOMING INCREASINGLY CONVINCED THAT THE HUGE NUMBER OF DEATHS ALONG THE ROUTE I WAS TRAVERSING WAS NO ACCIDENT AT ALL - I INITIALLY SUSPECTED THE DRUG CARTELS, THE POLICE, SOME SPOILED YUPPIES AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE DERELICTS WHO HADN'T EVEN SMELLED LIFE, THEN THE VARIOUS BANDITS OR ROCKERS WHO WERE ON OUR HEELS, THE INDIANS, MY OWN COMPANIONS - YES, THE CIRCLE WAS GRADUALLY CLOSING AND GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER. UNTIL FINALLY...

STRAKE!

GUS BENZOUR TURNED ON HIS FLASHLIGHT - IT WAS DEFINITELY VERY POWERFUL, BUT WHO KNOWS WHY THE SURROUNDING DARKNESS SEEMED TO ABSORB THE LIGHT AND PREVENT IT FROM SPREADING.

GUS STARTED WHISPERING SOME INARTICULATE WORDS. THEY WERE SO PECULIAR - HE COULDN'T SEEM TO PRONOUNCE THE WORDS PROPERLY, OR HE WAS JUST SPEAKING IN SOME CORRUPTED LANGUAGE OR ONE THAT DIDN'T EXIST AND WAS MADE UP BY HIM. HE REPEATED THE WORDS WITH GREAT EARNESTNESS, AND HIS FACE FOR THE FIRST TIME WAS TERRIBLY CONCERNED, EVEN AS IF SOME SUBTLE WRINKLES HAD APPEARED ON IT. IT WAS SO UNCHARACTERISTIC. HIS FLASHLIGHT WAS OF A RATHER HIGH QUALITY, BUT THE DARKNESS ALL AROUND THREATENED TO ENGULF HIM. THERE WAS A SOFT WARMTH AND A PECULIAR SMELL OF INCENSE - PERHAPS UNCLEAN FORCES OR FALLEN SOULS LURKED ABOUT. THEN I REALIZED SOMETHING - THE BRAVE GHAST, THE UNPLUCKY GHAST HAD NOT UTTERED SOME INCANTATION, NOR HAD HE TRIED TO SUMMON ANYONE'S SPIRIT - HE WAS PRAYING FOR HIS DOOMED SOUL. A SOUL THAT WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE LOST, BUT WOULD BE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH FOR ALL TIME. THIS PUZZLED ME GREATLY, SINCE LA POINTE HAD BOTH A CHRISTIAN AND AN INDIAN PART, IF WE COULD TALK AT ALL ABOUT ANY ARRANGEMENT OF A PLACE LIKE THIS.

- WHEN YOU'RE LOCKED IN A SILO ALL YOUR LIFE, YOU CAN'T SEE THE WORLD OUTSIDE. AND IT'S NOT FRIENDLY, AND IT MIGHT NOT EVEN BE THERE TOMORROW.

I THOUGHT GUS WASN'T WITH EVERYONE. HIS PICKUP TRUCK WAS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN.

GUS'S PICKUP WAS A FORD BRAND, IT WAS BLUE AND BIG IN A TYPICAL AMERICAN WAY, WITH A HUGE LONG OPEN TRUNK, AND ITS TIRES WERE 4X4 - CAPABLE OF GOING THROUGH ANYTHING. WITH IT, GUS USUALLY DROVE HIS FARM PRODUCE, OR SOMETIMES EVEN TRADED IN FERTILIZER, WHICH WAS IN DEMAND BY SOME SMALLER FARMS WHOSE OWNERS COULDN'T AFFORD TO TRAVEL TOO FAR. THEY USUALLY HAD VERY SMALL GARDENS - JUST ENOUGH TO FEED THEMSELVES AND PUT SOMETHING ON THEIR TABLE. AND GASS GENEROUSLY SUPPLIED IT TO THEM AT LOWER PRICES. I WONDERED WHERE THE CAR WAS? AND IF GUS WAS WALKING AMONG THE GRAVES TO DO SOMETHING THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY OF A VITAL NATURE, WHY HADN'T HE BROUGHT AT LEAST ONE STRAIGHT SHOVEL? THE USE OF SUCH A TOOL WAS PERFECTLY NATURAL, FOR OTHERWISE HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO KICK WITH HIS CLAWS LIKE SOME EVIL SPIRIT WHO WANTED TO GET AT THE CORPSE OF THE DEAD - BY THE WAY, THE EVIL SPIRITS OR DJINN, WHICH WERE SOMETIMES USED EVEN BY THE FELISTER HIMSELF, HAD A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF SPIRITUAL ENERGY THAT HELPED THEM TO REMAIN IN THE REALM OF THE LIVING, AND BORE ALL SORTS OF NAMES - HADALI, JAIKINS, MANTRICS[7], AND SO ON. THE LATTER, OF COURSE, WERE THE TOP OF THE HIERARCHY OF SPIRITS AND WERE ABLE TO KILL WITH EASE. THEIR ABILITY TO GENERATE BLACK ENERGY WAS PROVERBIAL. BUT GUS DID NOT SUMMON DEMONS, HE DID NOT CALL EVIL SPIRITS, HE DID NOT WANT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEAD, HE JUST STOOD THERE - AS IF HE HAD COMPLETELY LOST HOPE.

"HOPE DIES LAST!," THOUGHT I.

HE TURNED SUDDENLY - AS IF HE HAD DETECTED MY VOICE COMING AS IF FROM UNDER WATER. BUT THEN I REALIZED IT WAS JUST SOME UNNATURAL MOVEMENT HE WAS APPARENTLY PERFORMING TO BE IN TUNE WITH THE REALITY AROUND HIM. COULD IT BE THAT GUS WANTED TO BE INVISIBLE? SO, EVERY WIZARD AND EVEN CONVENTIONAL SCIENTIST KNEW THAT COMPLETE INVISIBILITY WAS NOT POSSIBLE AND WAS A PRODUCT OF INSUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE OF MAGICAL SCIENCE. HADN'T GUS BENZOUR SIMPLY LOST HIS MIND AND WASTED HIS TIME SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING THAT SIMPLY DIDN'T EXIST?

JUST THEN, I FELT THE FAMILIAR SOFT WARMTH AND DISTINCT SENSE OF PRESENCE, AND GUS'S FLASHLIGHT ILLUMINATED A TOMBSTONE - IT TOOK ME A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE THE NAME ON IT. THE FONT WAS SLIGHTLY GOTHIC AND SPECKLED WITH SOME ORNAMENTATION, BUT ... IT WAS MY NAME - ELIZANDER BARNAYNE.

DAMN IT, GAS BENZOOR! WHAT WAS THAT BASTARD DOING? DIRTY SON OF A BITCH! GODDAMN FARMER! TRAITOR!

GUS BENZOUR STOOD LIKE THAT FOR A WHILE AND WENT SOMEWHERE. LIKE I SAID, HIS PICKUP WAS ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE TO BE SEEN, AND IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE THAT HE'D COME HERE JUST LIKE THAT - SOMETHING HAD TO HAVE BROUGHT HIM HERE. HE RETURNED A FEW MINUTES LATER, AND THIS TIME THE CHERISHED SHOVEL WAS IN HIS HANDS, AND HE SET TO DIGGING. HE WAS DOING IT WITH HIS EYES CLOSED, MUMBLING SOME UNINTELLIGIBLE MANTRA, AND EVEN HIS LIPS WEREN'T MOVING - I WAS CLEARLY AWARE THAT HE WAS OBVIOUSLY TRYING TO STRENGTHEN HIS ENERGY FIELD OR ELSE REACH HIS TARGET. THE GROUND WAS LOOSE, AND THE SHOVEL WAS REACHING DEEPER AND DEEPER. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW DEEP THEY DUG THEM GRAVES IN WISCONSIN, BUT ... SUDDENLY THERE WAS THE SOUND OF A THUD - THE SHOVEL MUST HAVE HIT A TREE.

IT REVEALED A COFFIN OF SOLID MAHOGANY THAT LOOKED IMPRESSIVE - ALMOST LIKE NEW. BUT AFTER LOOKING CLOSELY, I NOTICED THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY QUITE WEATHERED AND EVEN SOME OF ITS HANDLES MUST HAVE FALLEN OFF. WHAT WAS HIDING INSIDE?

FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON GUS BENZOUR WAS IN NO HURRY TO OPEN IT. HE WAITED A WHILE. THEN HE SET TO WORK CLEARING AWAY THE DIRT AND ATTEMPTED TO USE THE SHOVEL AS A LEVER TO FACILITATE HIS EFFORTS.

FINALLY, THE LID GAVE WAY AND THERE WAS NOTHING INSIDE THE COFFIN. I LOOKED... IT WASN'T POSSIBLE GUS BENZOUR WAS ANYTHING BUT A FOOL. HE WASN'T GOING TO MAKE THAT MUCH EFFORT, AND AT NIGHT, AT THE RISK OF EVEN BEING CAUGHT, TO OPEN AN EMPTY COFFIN. THERE HAD TO BE SOMETHING-EVEN IF I COULDN'T SEE WHAT IT WAS.

GUS WAS ONCE AGAIN LEFT STARING INTO NOTHINGNESS. THEN HE HELD OUT HIS HAND. INSIDE, IN PERFECTLY PRESERVED CONDITION, WAS ABRAMELIN'S GRIMOIRE.

GUS BENZOIR GRINNED A FRIGHTENING SMILE, BUT IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT IT DID NOT BETRAY THE SPIRITUAL SUPERIORITY HE HAD POSSESSED IN HIS ENCOUNTER WITH DURAITH. SOMETHING DIDN'T ADD UP.

MOISTURE IN THE SOIL COULD EASILY DAMAGE THE BOOK - UNLESS...

MAYBE IT WAS PUT THERE RECENTLY... BUT BY WHOM?

- "IT WILL ALL FALL INTO PLACE SOON," GAS BENZOUR STATED, EYES CLOSED, "THIS CYCLE HAD TO BE BROKEN ONCE AND FOR ALL."

AT THAT TIME, I FELT SOME COOL BREEZE. DID I DREAM? NO THE COOL BLADE WAS AT MY THROAT. IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO REALIZE WHAT WAS HAPPENING...

MAYBE THAT BLADE AROUND MY NECK WAS TOTALLY REAL AND IN THAT LINE OF THOUGHT SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO CLEANSE ME.

BUT WHO KNOWS WHY I WANTED TO STAY WHERE I WAS. GUS BENZOUR HESITATED, BUT EVENTUALLY DECIDED TO OPEN UP.

IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT MACHIAVELLI WAS RIGHT, AND GUS BENZOIR WAS A FINE EXAMPLE OF THAT.

THE GRIMOIRE SLOWLY DISSOLVED AND I FELT MY HAIR STAND ON END. GUS BENZOUR JUST CHECKED SOMETHING QUICKLY AND CLOSED IT, THEN SET TO WORK PAINSTAKINGLY BURYING THE GRAVE. IT WOULD BE COMICAL IF THE SITUATION WASN'T SO SERIOUS. THE SHOVEL WAS THROWING THE DIRT BACK AND BURYING THE TRUTH...

BUT NOW I COULD FEEL THE ANNOYING BLADE THAT WAS PROBABLY ALREADY CUTTING MY THROAT, OR WOULD SOON DO SO. I DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING UNHEARD OF, IF I HAD TO HIDE FROM EVERYONE AND BE INCONSPICUOUS, WASN'T IT SMARTER TO STAY IN THIS PLACE... JUST A LITTLE LONGER...

THEN I REALIZED SOMETHING INTERESTING... IF THE BLADE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL ME WAS AIMED THAT WAY, IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT IT WAS A BALANCED WEIGHT - THEN THE SLIGHTEST RESISTANCE ON MY PART WOULD BE FATAL. SUCH STEALTH KNIVES EXISTED, MADE IN THE USA, AND WERE USED IN MILITARY CONFLICTS AROUND THE WORLD, BUT IN PRACTICE COULD BE BOUGHT IN CERTAIN PLACES. ZONARA HAD ALREADY DEALT WITH JAKE, OR AT LEAST I ASSUMED THAT THEORY, WHY NOT KILL ME IN MY SLEEP TOO? HOW FAR COULD THIS WOMAN'S UNSCRUPULOUSNESS GO?

THEN I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING INTERESTING, WHAT IF I USED MY OWN MIND AND CAUSED A BACKLASH AND TURNED THE KNIFE ON HER. IT SOUNDED STUPID AND NOT VERY PROFESSIONAL, BUT IT WAS VERY POSSIBLE IT WOULD WORK. THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOMEONE ELSE IN THE DARK. YES, THE ROCKERS HAD TAKEN OVER THE ENTIRE MOTEL, BUT IT WAS FAR FROM JUST THAT. ZONER AND ARLO AND I WERE IN THE SAME ROOM ON THE SECOND FLOOR - SO IF ANYTHING WENT WRONG, SOME PRETTY TOUGH GUYS WOULD BE COMING AND I'D HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO JUMP OUT THE WINDOW IF I DIDN'T GET SHOT FIRST.

I WAS ABOUT TO MAKE WHAT I CALLED A "CONSCIOUS SWITCH" AND I HOPED THAT WOULD SAVE ME.

I REMEMBERED THAT THE ANSWER WAS TO BE FOUND IN MY DREAM - THE WHISPERING OF THE WIND IN LA POINTE CEMETERY. THIS WAS THE KEY TO AWARENESS! THIS WAS SALVATION.

I SAW THAT GUS BENZOUR HAD ALREADY FINISHED REBURYING THE GRAVE AND ...

THEN I INSTANTLY USED THE WIND FROM MY ASTRAL JOURNEY - IT COULD SAVE ME. I FELT MOVEMENT IN MY SOLAR PLEXUS, MAYBE I HAD SUMMONED SOME DEMON OR MAYBE THAT INVISIBLE COMPANION WAS GOING TO HELP ME AND THEN I JUST OPENED MY EYES. THE KNIFE LIKE MORE MAGIC TURNED AND AT THE SLIGHTEST PRESSURE ON MY PART STUCK ITSELF IN THE NECK OF ... GUS BENZOUR!

IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.

BEFORE HE GASPED, I MANAGED TO READ HIS MIND. "I USED THE SHADOWS TO GET TO YOU, ELIZANDER, YOU'VE LEARNED TOO MUCH, AND YOU MAY SOON DEFEAT THE GREAT DESIGN! AND THAT IS INTOLERABLE. WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING-EVEN IF YOU GET THERE, YOU'LL FIND YOUR PATH LEADS NOWHERE!"

HIS BLOOD STAINED ME AND I LOOKED LIKE A SACRIFICIAL LAMB IN SOME LOW-GRADE HORROR MOVIE. I KNEW THAT THE REAL INCANTATIONS FROM ABRAMELIN'S BOOK INCLUDED VARIOUS TECHNIQUES FOR TRANSFORMING AND BECOMING AN ANIMAL AND SO ON, BUT SIMILAR IDEAS WERE FOUND IN THE TEACHINGS OF DON JUAN CASTANEDA. FOR REAL MAGIC, SOMETHING MUCH MORE WAS NEEDED... FAITH WAS NEEDED, AND THIS FAITH WAS CONNECTED WITH SURVIVAL AND WITH LIFE ITSELF! FAITH WAS NOT TAUGHT - YOU EITHER HAD IT OR YOU DIDN'T... WITHOUT IT, EVEN ABRAMELIN'S GRIMOIRE WAS JUST A PILE OF USELESS PAGES, ALTHOUGH IN MEDIEVAL TIMES, WHEN THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN, ANIMAL SKINS WERE USED FOR THE PAGES, WHICH USUALLY MADE THEM INCREDIBLY HEAVY AND REQUIRED SEVERAL MEN TO CARRY THEM.

GUS BENZOUR JUST COLLAPSED TO THE GROUND WITH A DULL THUD, BUT MAYBE HE'D CREATED A SPECIAL CURSE TO CATCH UP WITH ME LATER. I WONDERED IF HE HAD EVER BEEN A FARMER! THIS BRUTAL TYPE AND FREAK!

THEN I SAW THE IMAGE OF AN ANGEL - HE WAS COVERED IN BLOOD. AND HE HAD TEARS IN HIS EYES. MAYBE THERE WAS SALVATION AFTER ALL... OR MAYBE I WAS JUST GOING TO BE ESCORTED BY A SO-CALLED GUARDIAN ANGEL TO MY VERY END BEFORE I WAS FINALLY SENT WHERE I NEEDED TO GO.

ZONARA AND ARLO SLEPT FITFULLY. I DECIDED TO GET UP, BUT IT WAS LIKE I WAS NUMB. SOMETHING WAS DEFINITELY WRONG HERE!

I KNEW THAT THE ANGEL OF DEATH WAS COMING FOR EVERYONE - FOR SOME HE WAS AN ANGEL, FOR OTHERS A DEMON, AND THAT GENERALLY DEPENDED ON HOW RIGHTEOUS HIS SOUL WAS. EVEN THE ALMIGHTY GAVE THE RIGHT OF REPENTANCE AND THE EVENTUAL POSSIBILITY OF SALVATION TO THE REPENTANT.

THEN I WONDERED HOW GUS BENZOUR HAD PASSED THROUGH THE SLEEPERS BELOW WITHOUT EVER BEING SEEN OR FELT. IT WAS POINTLESS TO ASK FOR SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE - FIRSTLY I HAD NO RIGHT TO DO SO AND SECONDLY I WOULD HAVE AROUSED HUGE SUSPICIONS EVEN IF I HAD FABRICATED SOME TAIL LIE.

GUS'S EYES WERE THE SAME AS A BLUEBIRD'S - THEY SEEMED TO BE MISSING AND I FOUND THAT NOT SO MUCH FRIGHTENING AS SAD. SO GUS WAS JUST ANOTHER FALLEN SOUL WHO ...

I TURNED AROUND - ARLO AND ZONARA WERE STILL SLEEPING FITFULLY, BUT THE INTUITION MY ASTRAL TRAVEL HAD DEVELOPED TOLD ME THAT SOMETHING WAS NOT RIGHT, TO SAY THE LEAST. GUS HAD A HOLE IN HIS HEAD, AS STEALTH KNIVES REQUIRED MINIMAL PRESSURE. I THANKED THE SICK BRAIN THAT HAD INVENTED THEM, THEY HAD ALSO COME INTO USE IN THE WAR IN CHECHNYA - AND WITH PARTICULAR SUCCESS. AND NOW THE SAME TYPE OF KNIFE HAD SAVED MY LIFE.

WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ZONARA AND THE ARLO? WHERE WOULD THEIR SOULS GO? WE WERE TEMPORARY VISITORS ON THIS EARTH - SOONER OR LATER, THE PATHS OF US ALL PART.

ZONARA SHUDDERED. BUT APPARENTLY SOME FORCE WAS PREVENTING HER FROM WAKING. SOMETHING TERRIBLE HELD HER IN ITS CLUTCHES, AND SHE FELT SOME STRANGE MIXTURE OF EMOTIONS. AND WAS ARLO ALIVE?

I'VE HEARD THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVE SEEN SO-CALLED RED EYES IN THEIR SLEEP. MANY CONSIDER THIS A HOAX, BUT I TOO HAD SEEN THEM, AND I SUSPECT THE LATE FELISTER DID AS WELL.

THE NIGHT SEEMED ENDLESS - I LOOKED AT THE CLOCK. EXACTLY 3:15. WHETHER WHOEVER HAD ATTACKED ME WAS THE REAL GUS. I LOOKED AROUND THE ROOM CAREFULLY. THERE WAS NO CORPSE, BUT THE KNIFE IN MY HAND WAS REAL. WHERE HAD IT COME FROM THEN. ZONARA HAD NO WEAPON OTHER THAN THE GUN, BUT I SUSPECTED THE ROCKERS MIGHT HAVE TAKEN IT FROM HER SO SHE WOULDN'T BE A THREAT TO THEM.

BUT KNOWING ZONARA, SHE MUST HAVE PROVIDED SOME BACKUP. MAYBE SHE WAS HIDING SOME KIND OF POISON NEEDLE IN HER HAIR THAT WOULD STICK IN MY CAROTID ARTERY AND I'D JUST DIE. AND ARLO COULD HAVE BEEN THE BIG WINNER. THAT CONFORMIST! WAS ALWAYS LIKE WATER-SPILLING OUT IN VARIOUS FORMS, AND THIS BROUGHT HIM MANY ADVANTAGES AND OPENED HIS WAY FORWARD.

I REMEMBERED THAT BLUEBIRD HAD TOLD ME ONE OTHER THING AS OF LATE:

- NO MATTER WHAT THE PATH BEFORE YOU, YOU MUST WALK IT IF YOU WANT TO...

"HOW MANY LOST SOULS WILL YOU WOO ELIZANDER! HOW MANY LOST LIVES WILL REMAIN BETWEEN THE INDIFFERENT CONCRETE OF THESE BUILDINGS AND THESE STREETS?"

THE CITY SLEPT QUIETLY! I HAD THE VAGUE FEELING THAT ALL THIS TERRITORY HAD LONG SINCE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY THOSE WHO SIMPLY HAD NOWHERE TO GO-DOOMED SOULS! THEY CONTINUED TO SHOW NO SIGNS OF LIFE. MY GLOOMY THOUGHTS WERE INTERRUPTED - ZONARA YAWNED! IT WAS ALIVE AND BREATHING- MY LOVE AND MY CURSE! MY FRIEND!

OUR EYES MET.

- HERE, AT LAST, I SAW THE LARGER PART OF THE PICTURE. AND THAT IT DIDN'T KILL ME WAS PART OF THE ORDEAL. ONLY I CAN LEAD YOU TO THE REAL PLACE - WHERE THE RITUAL CAN BE PERFORMED, AND PERHAPS OUR WISHES CAN BE GRANTED. IF IT WERE POSSIBLE TO WISH FOR ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD YOU WISH FOR?

HER EYES LOOKED AT ME SLYLY - SHE WAS NEITHER AN ANGEL NOR A DEVIL. AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SHE WAS. ARLO WAS STILL IN MORPHEUS' ARMS[8], SO I DECIDED TO USE THESE FEW MOMENTS TO CLEAR THINGS UP WITH ZONER ONCE AND FOR ALL.

- I HAVE A FEELING THAT THE STRANGE ALIGNMENT OF EVENTS SO FAR IS NO COINCIDENCE AT ALL," I ASKED HER THE QUESTION IN REVERSE, "AND I'M ALMOST CERTAIN THAT EITHER THIS INVISIBLE COMPANION OR YOURSELF HAD A HAND IN IT.”

ZONARA LOOKED UP AT ME WITH HER BEAUTIFUL GLASS EYES - EYES THAT SPELLED DEATH, OR AT THE VERY LEAST, LACK OF SALVATION.

- IT IS NOT! BUT YOU HAD TO CROSS THE ROAD! IT'S THAT SIMPLE! GOOD OR BAD - IT'S YOUR PATH!

- YOU ARE MINE ...

- "YOUR REALITY DOESN'T EXIST ANYWHERE ELSE BUT HERE," SHE TOUCHED A FINGER TO MY FOREHEAD, "IT WAS DECIDED AT ALMOST THE HIGHEST LEVEL, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU, THAT I WILL BE YOUR OVERSEER[9] UNTIL THE VERY END. AND I WILL BE STRICT. I CAN ONLY TELL YOU NOT TO MISTAKE MY SERVICE FOR IDOLATRY - AND TO MAKE IT ABOUT WORK, NOT FEELINGS OR LOVE."

- MMM...

SHE PUT A FINGER TO MY LIPS TO STOP THERE.

- "IF YOU REALLY ARE ... WHY ARE YOU LEADING ME DOWN THE PATH OF SIN?," I ASKED HER, PUZZLED.

- I ONLY ACCOMPANY YOU IN YOUR PATH BECAUSE YOU SHOULD NOT BE LEFT ALONE. THERE IS AT LEAST ONE OF US ATTACHED TO EACH OF YOU. I HAVE ASSUMED THIS FORM SO THAT YOU MAY PERCEIVE ME MORE EASILY AND HAVE SOMEONE TO "SHARE" YOUR SUFFERING.

I LOOKED TO ARLO.

- "IS HE GOING TO WAKE UP?," I ASKED HER AGAIN.

- "IF YOU WANT TO?," WAS THE REPLY. "AFTER ALL, YOU DECIDE WHO YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE."

- "WHO IS HE?," I ASKED AGAIN.

- YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL ...

I LOOKED AT ARLO - IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT ANGELS LOOKED JUST LIKE HIM, BUT I KNEW THAT THEY COULD TAKE HUMAN FORM AND DO WHATEVER THEY WANTED - AS LONG AS THEY HELPED US SINNERS.

I DECIDED TO SEE IF THE ROCKERS WERE DOWN THERE. YES, THE GANG WAS FAST ASLEEP, BUT THEY'D PROBABLY ALL BE UP SOON - BEFORE THE CLOCK HAD STRUCK FOUR IN THE MORNING. THEY PREFERRED TO TRAVEL IN THE DARK - PARTLY TO AVOID THE HEAVIER TRAFFIC IN SOME PLACES, ALTHOUGH THE ROADS WERE UNUSUALLY DESERTED.

ARLO WOKE UP. HE LOOKED AT ME AND FOR THE FIRST TIME I NOTICED HIS STRANGE EYES - THEY WERE INHUMAN.

WE CONTINUED ON OUR WAY TO LA POINTE, BUT SOMETHING WAS GIVING ME NO PEACE. I REALIZED I HAD MY ANGELS WHO WOULD BE MY COMPANIONS AND WATCH OVER ME, BUT THERE WAS NO REASONABLE EXPLANATION REGARDING GUS BENZOUR. WHO WAS HE?

- 'THERE IS ONE WAY TO FIND OUT EVERYTHING,' ZONARA WHISPERED TO ME IN AN INHUMAN VOICE, 'BUT YOU HAVE TO THINK OF IT YOURSELF.

LITTLE BY LITTLE I BEGAN TO REALIZE - GUS WAS A HIGH MAGE MANTRIC WHO HAD TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING - SOMETHING BIG AND KILL THE OTHERS. WHY ELSE WERE HIS SILENT MANTRAS AND STRANGELY WORRIED EXPRESSION? WHY WAS HE COMPLETELY ALONE? AND WHY DID NO ONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM?

I SECRETLY DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING UNHEARD OF - TO CHECK IN THE POLICE ARCHIVES IF SUCH A MAN EVEN EXISTED.

BUT THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE OFFICE HOURS WERE STARTING...

I COULD HAVE DONE IT LATER AND THE RESULTS WERE NOT LATE.

 

[1]  From the Latin it means "Prayer, labour and study".

[2] It's about family camping in Missouri.

[3] Indian martial art.

[4] A famous American action film.

[5] It's about Jack Kerouac's great book "On the Road".

[6] Killology is the science of killing, created by legendary officer Dave Grossman.

[7] Names of various beings inhabiting the thin invisible world and carrying negative energy.

[8] Morpheus - god of sleep.

[9] Author's Note - Usually angels appear in male form to humans, even though they are sexless beings of the spirit world, but in some passages of Holy Scripture, they can also appear as women, for example [Zechariah 5:9-11]

LA POINTE CEMETERY

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: LA POINTE CEMETERY

 

THE STURDY MEN WOKE UP AND HAD A DECENT AMERICAN BREAKFAST, WHICH CONSISTED OF BACON AND EGGS AND WHOLE WHEAT BREAD. THEY ALSO TURNED OVER A DECENT AMOUNT OF BEER. AND JUMPED ON THE BIKES - WE HAD TO FOLLOW THEM FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT I COULDN'T TELL THEM ABOUT THE LITTLE NIGHT INCIDENT, OR MY FIGHT WITH GUS.

"THEN GASS WAS A MIGHTY MANTRIC![1] " THOUGHT I. "THAT'S WHY EVEN BLUEBIRD HAD A FEAR OF HIM. HIS SPIRITUAL POWERS MUST HAVE BEEN IMMENSE!"

AS WE DROVE PAST THE TOWN, OR RATHER LITERALLY FLEW PAST IT, I COULD FEEL THE NOSTALGIA OF THOSE WIDE STREETS THAT SEEMED TO BE A SYMBOL OF FREEDOM. SOME OF THE BUILDINGS WERE IN BEAUTIFUL VICTORIAN STYLE AND WERE DESIGNED FOR HOLIDAY LETS.

I FELT THE WIND IN MY EARS AGAIN. AND THE SAME RELATIVELY UNIFORM LANDSCAPES BEGAN TO CHANGE AROUND ME. SOMEWHERE TOWARDS ASHLAND CITY WE CROSSED ONE OF THOSE STRANGE BRIDGES WITH RUSTY IRONWORK. OUR WHOLE GROUP HAD ASSEMBLED AS INSTRUCTED BACK AT IRONWOOD, BUT OUR PASSAGE THROUGH ASHLAND CITY WAS NOT WITHOUT PROBLEMS. WE HAD TO REFUEL, AND SOME ARROGANT GUY WOULDN'T GIVE ANY TO EVERYONE, AND THEN HE JUST GOT BRUTALLY BEATEN. LUCKILY THERE WERE NO WITNESSES. TO GET TO MADELINE ISLAND, WE JUST HAD TO TAKE THE FERRY FROM THE BAYFIELD TERMINAL - OF COURSE THIS TOOK A WHILE, BUT NOBODY CARED.

WHILE RIDING ON THEIR IRON HORSES, THE MEMBERS OF THE GANG DID NOT SAY A WORD TO EACH OTHER - THEY HAD A LANGUAGE OF THEIR OWN, WHICH THEY UNDERSTOOD PERFECTLY.

IN A COMPARATIVELY SHORT TIME WE WERE TRANSFERRED THROUGH LAKE SUPERIOR.

NOW ALL WE HAD TO DO WAS GET TO THE CEMETERY ITSELF - WHERE WE WOULD GET OUR PLEAS ANSWERED AND FEEL EVERYTHING. BUT IT WAS HERE THAT THE THOUGHT OF WHO HAD PLACED THE GRIMOIRE IN THE GRAVE THAT HAD BEEN DUG BY BENZOUR RAN THROUGH MY MIND AGAIN. THIS QUESTION, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES THUS CREATED, ASSUMED PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE.

WE STOPPED AT MIDPORT IN LA POINTE CITY TO REST FOR A WHILE, AND THE THREE OF US AND ZONAR DECIDED TO TAKE A WALK - NOT WITHOUT THE SUPERVISION OF OUR PATRONS.

WE FINALLY ENTERED THE CEMETERY PARK, ACCOMPANIED BY A FEW OF THE ROCKERS - THE OTHERS PREFERRED TO LOUNGE IN THE AREA, AND WOULD ALSO COME BACK A LITTLE LATER IF NEEDED.

IN AN AMORPHOUS SOCIETY, IT WAS EASY TO SEE THE LACK OF STRUCTURE, AND HENCE EVERYTHING ELSE.

THE ENTRANCE TO THE CEMETERY PARK WAS WIDE OPEN, BUT WE CHOSE TO ENTER ANOTHER WAY - HARDLY THE LATE BENZOUR... WHAT IF THE MANTRIC HAD JUST POSSESSED HIS BODY? SUBTLE SORCERERS WERE UNIVERSALLY KNOWN FOR THEIR SPECIAL PRACTICES THAT COULD MAKE CERTAIN PEOPLE PERFORM CERTAIN ACTIONS. THEY CONCENTRATED A SPECIFIC NEGATIVE ENERGY THAT HELPED THEM MAKE IT HAPPEN, AND THE RITUALS THEY USED WERE KNOWN ONLY TO THEM.

- "KEEP THIS MOMENT, BECAUSE IT IS ALL YOU HAVE - YESTERDAY HAS ALREADY PASSED, AND TOMORROW MAY NOT COME," ARLO TURNED TO ME, "IN FACT, NO ONE WILL REMEMBER YOU - EXCEPT THE ALMIGHTY, AND THE ONLY REASON FOR THAT IS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A COMMON JOB TO DO. IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF LOVE, BUT OF DUTY. THESE ARE THE RULES OF THE GAME! AND YET OUR JOB IS TO LOVE PEOPLE," HE CONCLUDED.

HOW LITTLE I ACTUALLY KNEW THEM!

ARLO KNEW THAT I KNEW.

- "IF YOU REALLY ARE A CREATURE OF GOD, THEN WHY DID YOU COMMIT THAT TREASON," I ASKED HIM WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST FORM OF FEAR.

- 'IT IS NOT GIVEN TO MEN TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE DESIGN OF HEAVEN,' ARLO TURNED TO ME, 'AND YET I SAW SOMETHING IN YOU. I AM THE ANGEL OF BLESSINGS[2].

I WOULD NOT HAVE EXPECTED SUCH WORDS FROM AN ANGEL FOR WHOM THE DURATION OF A HUMAN LIFE WAS TOO FLEETING, BUT I FELT RELIEF IN MY SOUL-EVEN IF I WENT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HELL AND HEAVEN, OR IF MY SOUL DISAPPEARED AFTER A HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS, HAVING BECOME A BLACK SPIRIT, AND MY SPIRIT WAS COVERED BY THE SHADOW OF IGNORANCE. AFTER ALL, EXISTENCE WAS HERE AND NOW! ONLY THIS MOMENT MATTERED!

WE WALKED FORWARD AND ZONARA SHOWED ME THE RIGHT SPOT - IT DIDN'T TAKE HER TOO LONG TO FIND IT. IT WAS LONELY AND UNGAINLY. FORTUNATELY, THE WEATHER WAS CLEAR, NOT LIKE IN MY DREAM.

IT WAS MY GRAVE. BUT HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE, SINCE I HAD NEVER DIED? IT SEEMED I WAS DREAMING IN REALITY OR JUST LOSING MY MIND.

- THE MANTRIC WANTED TO USE YOUR OWN BODY AND THEN TAKE IT TO THE REAL GRAVE HE HAD DUG FOR YOU," ARLO WHISPERED IN MY EAR, "BUT WE PREVENTED HIM. "HE GOT THE KNIFE IN HIS HAND FROM US AGAIN."

- "AND WHERE DID THE GRIMOIRE COME FROM?," WONDERED I.

ZONARA, IN WHICH I RECOGNIZED MY ARCHANGEL OVERSEER AND APPROACHED:

- THY GRAVE WAS DUG IN A TREACHEROUS MANNER. THIS, OF COURSE, DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE PUNISHMENT FOR ALL THE SINS IN YOUR LIFE. YOUR FATE WILL NOT CHANGE MUCH - ON THE CONTRARY, BUT AT LEAST YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO SHOW THE WILL TO DO SOMETHING GOOD.

I KNEW THAT ABRAMELIN'S GRIMOIRE DATED BACK TO SOMEWHERE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY - THERE WERE QUITE A FEW ANTIQUARIAN COPIES, BUT THE REAL GRIMOIRE, WITH PAGES OF ANIMAL SKIN, WAS BOUGHT BY THE BRUTAL FELISTER BECAUSE HE APPARENTLY HAD A PLAN - A PLAN FOR SOMETHING TOO BIG.

- "SO, THE MANTRIC GUS BENZOUR," I BEGAN, BUT ZONARA CUT ME OFF.

- THE MANTRIC'S NAME ISN'T THAT IMPORTANT - HE NEEDS BODIES. BODIES TO MAKE HIS PRESENCE POSSIBLE IN YOUR MATERIAL WORLD. ONES HE CAN POSSESS. BY THE WAY, TO PERFORM SUCH AN ATTACK HE NEEDS A CERTAIN LEVEL OF SPIRITUAL ENERGY.

BUT SOMETHING WASN'T CONNECTING AT ALL. IF EVERYTHING THESE CREATURES HAD TOLD ME WAS TRUE AND IT WAS EXACTLY RIGHT, WHERE THE HELL WOULD BENZOUR HAVE BURIED IT RIGHT THERE. THEN THE BLINDFOLD FELL FROM MY EYES - THE BOOK ALSO CONTAINED TELEPORTATION RITUALS.

THE CEMETERY WAS FULL OF MYSTIQUE AND AS I SAID WE DIDN'T ENTER THROUGH THE FRONT ENTRANCE SO AS NOT TO ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF THE GUARDS WHO WERE KEEPING A WATCHFUL EYE.

WHEN I WAS A KID AT THE ORPHANAGE IN KANSAS CITY WHERE FELISTER TOOK ME, I WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST BULLIES. IT WAS SO COMMON TO SEE BLOOD! IN FACT, UNDER THE GUISE OF WELFARE, MANY CHILDREN THERE WERE PLACED IN THE HANDS OF WEALTHY AND INFLUENTIAL ADOPTIVE PARENTS WHO COULD PROVIDE THEM WITH BETTER CARE. OUR TEACHERS TALKED ABOUT MORAL VALUES - AT LEAST THAT I COULD REMEMBER CLEARLY, BUT WE ALL KNEW WHAT A BLEAK FUTURE AWAITED US.

AND THEN, UNEXPECTEDLY, FELISTER CAME ALONG. HE WENT TO GREAT LENGTHS TO OVERRIDE THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AND GET ME OUT - EVEN WITH SOME UNWARRANTED LAWYERLY GRASPING.

I REMEMBER HOW NANCY DORAIN - THAT WAS THE NAME OF THE LAWYER FOR THE ADOPTION CASES, HAD TOLD HIM THAT MY CASE WAS ALMOST HOPELESS AND HAD EVEN TRIED TO REFER HIM TO ANOTHER CHILD, BUT THAT DIDN'T HELP.

THE BEAUTIFUL LAWYER WITH THE STERN AND PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE MADE IT CLEAR TO HIM THAT THE CASE WOULD BE DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE. FELISTER WOULD NEVER FORGET HER REDDISH AUBURN HAIR AND HER HORN-RIMMED GLASSES THROUGH WHICH SHE SAW HER VERSION OF REALITY, STRIPPED OF ANY UNNECESSARY "DETAILS."

HER OFFICE WAS LOCATED IN CENTRAL KANSAS CITY, AND IN PARTICULAR IN RELATIVE PROXIMITY TO OVERLAND PARK, WHICH WAS A LOVELY AND PEACEFUL PLACE.

FELISTER LOOKED AT HER SOMEWHAT SADLY AND IT WAS PROBABLY THE ONLY TIME HE HAD EVER LOOKED AT SOMEONE LIKE THAT AND ANSWERED:

- MISS, AND HAVE YOU SEEN HOW THEY LIVE IN THE STREET? MANY OF THESE CHILDREN WILL PROBABLY DIE BEFORE THEY EVEN COME OF AGE. THEY HAVE LOST THEIR CHANCE TO DEVELOP BEFORE THEY ARE EVEN BORN!

AFTER GREATLY ASSISTING IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS, THIS SAME NANCY DORAIN HAD SHOT HERSELF JUST FIVE MONTHS LATER UNDER UNEXPLAINED CIRCUMSTANCES IN HER OWN APARTMENT, WHICH WAS NOT FAR FROM HER LAW OFFICE - PERHAPS MR. EMBANKS HAD "HELPED" HER IN THIS REGARD, TO COVER HER TRACKS, OR PERHAPS - WHICH I THINK WAS MUCH MORE LIKELY - SHE HERSELF HAD AT FIRST VAGUELY, AND LATER MORE CLEARLY, FORESEEN THAT THIS WOULD BE HER LAST CASE IN HER LAW PRACTICE EVER - SO SHE HAD SPARED HERSELF THE IGNOMINY. THE WEAPON SHE'D USED TO VIOLATE HER OWN EXISTENCE WAS A MOST ORDINARY .38 CALIBER MAGNUM, AND IT REMINDED ME OF THE WEAPON ZONARA HERSELF HAD USED TO BLUDGEON THOSE BAD GUYS WHO'D CHASED US INTO THOSE WILD DESERT AREAS AND GOTTEN AWAY WITH IT. THIS IMPRESSIVE JURIST HAD PERHAPS MISSED OR SUBCONSCIOUSLY OVERLOOKED THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIVINE AND HUMAN JUSTICE - AND IT WAS NOT SO MUCH IN THE WORDING ITSELF, BUT MORE TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT THE MOST HIGH WAS A ROYAL JUDGE, AND HIS MODEL OF JUSTICE WAS USED BY HIS EARTHLY VICEGERENTS TO BRING ORDER, BUT THEIR POWER WAS LIMITED, AND THEIR ACCUSATIONS WERE RELATED TO SPECIFIC GOALS THAT JUSTICE WAS ABLE TO DEFINE AND PURSUE IN THE PROPER ORDER ESTABLISHED.

THINKING OF THE LATE HON. NANCY DOREEN, I SEEMED TO SOUND LIKE A JURIST MYSELF-GIVEN THE FACT THAT HER SERIOUS INTERVENTION HAD BEEN INFLUENTIAL IN THIS WHOLE CYCLE OF EVENTS AND SEEMING CONTINGENCIES. BUT SHE WAS PERHAPS THE LAST REPRESENTATIVE OF A GENERALLY MORIBUND STRATUM OF PILLARS OF JUSTICE WHO WERE BLIND AND DEAF TO THINGS UNSEEN, AND WHOSE ATTENTION WAS MAINLY CONCENTRATED ON VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE EVIDENCE AND CONCEPTS THAT WERE SUBJECT TO FITTING INTO CERTAIN FRAMEWORKS. IN NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES THEY WOULD PROBABLY HAVE BOTHERED TO INVESTIGATE, BUT FELISTER DELICATELY LET HER TENTACLES GO AND VERY SOON CERTAIN QUARTERS - INCLUDING HER FORMER COLLEAGUES CAME OUT WITH A STATEMENT THAT SHE HAD ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN BECAUSE OF SEVERE DEPRESSION, AND THE EXPERT MEDICAL OPINIONS ABOUT THIS WERE ALSO FORGED RELATIVELY EASILY. AND THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF LOGIC IN THAT, BECAUSE HER ASSOCIATES - WHILE LOSING VALUABLE LEGAL PERSONNEL, ACTUALLY SAW THE PATH BEFORE THEMSELVES AS CLEAR ENOUGH, STRAIGHTFORWARD ENOUGH, AND UNENCUMBERED BY THE VAST KNOWLEDGE OF EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOING ON OR HAD GONE ON AROUND THEM THAT THE LATE NANCY DOREEN POSSESSED. YET ALL SELF-DENIAL BROUGHT SUFFERING. IT WOULD NOT BE SUPERFLUOUS TO SAY THAT I FOUND IT RATHER AMUSING, SINCE THE FAMOUS PARADOX OF ELSBERG[3], WHERE ONE WANTED TO PLAY ON PROBABILITIES, AND HERE IT WAS A MATTER OF INDETERMINACY PRESENTED IN THE SAME WAY, WHICH WAS OF COURSE ONE HELL OF A HUGE MISTAKE, APPLIED WITH FULL FORCE. WELL, DEAR NANCY, YOU COULD SAY YOU WENT EXACTLY WHERE YOU BELONGED! AFTER ALL, ATTACHMENT TO ANYTHING WAS LIABLE TO CAUSE TROUBLE, AND LIFE WAS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.

 

[1] Mantrics are subtle sorcerers.

[2] It is about the archangel Barakiel.

[3] Ellsberg's paradox is mainly expressed in the concept that people tend to act irrationally in making their decisions, preferring a known evil that could be defined in terms of mathematical probability to the uncertainty that generates fear in them.

THE ORPHANAGE

CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE ORPHANAGE

 

I REMEMBER THE UNIQUE LIBRARY OF KANSAS CITY, WHICH WAS MANY LARGE BOOKS STACKED SIDE BY SIDE. ITS WONDERFUL EXTERIOR WAS TRULY FASCINATING AND WAS PROBABLY THE ONLY PLACE I FELT AT HOME WHILE I WAS NOT AT THE ORPHANAGE.

THE REGIME IN THE ORPHANAGE WAS EXTREMELY STRICT AND NO ONE COULD COME IN OR OUT WHENEVER THEY WANTED, AND A SPECIAL PERSON WAS IN CHARGE. I REMEMBERED ONE CASE OF A VIOLATION OF THIS RULE WHERE THE CULPRIT WAS DIRECTLY ASSIGNED TO AN INSTITUTION FOR BEHAVIOR CORRECTION.

I RECALL PUNISHMENTS AND EVEN SOME BRUTAL CASES OF STAFF VIOLENCE. TO THEM WE WERE NOBODIES! TALKING AND WANTING TO LIVE!

FELISTER GOT ME OUT OF THERE, BUT GAVE ME THE CHANCE TO SURVIVE IN A BIGGER HELL HE CONTROLLED - A HELL HE FELT AT HOME IN.

WHERE EXACTLY WAS HELL AND DID IT REALLY REPRESENT A PLACE OF ETERNAL TORMENT? WAS THERE ANY POINT IN LIVING AT ALL? WAS THERE ANY POINT IN DEVELOPING OUR SOUL?

THE DAYS IN THE BOARDING SCHOOL PASSED RATHER UNEVENTFULLY. THE STAFF WERE WELL TRAINED TO TELL US THAT SOONER OR LATER EVERYONE WOULD GET THEIR CHANCE IN LIFE AND THAT WE WERE INDEED WANTED, AS WE REPRESENTED THE FUTURE OF THIS COUNTRY AFTER ALL. EVEN THE SIMPLE STATISTICS PROVED IT - THIS WAS NOT AN ALTRUISTIC ACT AT ALL, BUT A BUSINESS WORTH BILLIONS.

SCRIPTURE SAID SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT THIS, NAMELY THAT THERE WAS NEITHER WORK NOR THOUGHT NOR KNOWLEDGE NOR WISDOM IN THE GRAVE[1]. MEMORIES SENT ME AGAIN DOWN THE DARK CORRIDORS OF THAT HELL. THE BUILDING WAS NOT LARGE, BUT THE CHILDREN THERE, AND THE STAFF WERE DISGUSTING. THAT EMBODIMENT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM WAS EASILY SEEN TO BE NOT WHAT IT WAS SAID TO BE!

ONE NIGHT MILES CAME HOME TO ME, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS A BAN ON UNNECESSARY COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE VARIOUS ADOPTION SITES - AS THEY CALLED US, IT WAS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. I DON'T KNOW HOW THE BOARDING SCHOOL STAFF HADN'T SENSED HIM AS HE CREPT STEALTHILY THROUGH THE CORRIDORS.

- LOOK, ELIZANDER CAN'T SLEEP AND I'M THINKING ABOUT SOME SHIT. IF THEY DON'T REALLY WANT US, WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO ADOPT US FOR? I MEAN, WHAT'S IN IT FOR THEM? THE STREET HAS TAUGHT ME THAT NOTHING IN THIS WORLD IS DONE FOR NOTHING!

I TURNED BARELY PERCEPTIBLY, PROPPED UP ON ONE ELBOW, AND OUR EYES MET IN THE HEAVY DARKNESS OF THE QUIET ROOM:

- DON'T YOU REALLY WANT TO GET OUT OF HERE. JUST FOLLOW THE DAMN RULES AND PLAY THEIR GAME TO THE END!

BY THE TIME I TURNED TO GO TO SLEEP, HE WAS JUST GONE - SO SILENTLY THAT I HADN'T EVEN NOTICED HIM, BUT HIS WORDS GOT ME THINKING.

NEVERTHELESS, THE WAVE OF DISCONTENT COULDN'T PASS ALL THE TORMENTED CREATURES WHO HAD NOWHERE TO GO! MANY OF THEM DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEIR PARENTS! AND ONE DAY MILES JOSEPH JUST BEAT ONE OF THEM TO DEATH. USED A BOARD PULLED OUT OF HIS COT - WE WEREN'T IN A PRISON, BUT WHAT I COULD CLEARLY SEE WAS THE UNHEARD OF BRAINS THE FEMALE OFFICER HAD DISPLAYED.

THERE HAD BEEN A TRIAL AND THEY HAD FOUND THIS SAME MILES GUILTY OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER WITH INTENT TO CAUSE THE DEATH OF THE VICTIM IN A PARTICULARLY PAINFUL MANNER - USUALLY THE SENTENCE WAS LIFE, BUT GIVEN HIS LACK OF PRIOR MISDEMEANORS AND HIS TENDER AGE, THE JUDGE WAS VERY RELUCTANT TO GIVE HIM ONE LAST CHANCE - EITHER GO TO ONE OF THE YOUTH OFFENDER CORRECTIONAL CENTRES OR SERVE HIS SENTENCE IN AN ADULT PRISON, BUT THERE HE WAS LOOKING AT BETWEEN TWENTY AND FORTY YEARS DEPENDING ON HIS BEHAVIOUR - HE WOULD PROBABLY SERVE AT LEAST TWENTY-FIVE THOUGH, MAYBE MORE.

MILES ACCEPTED THE DECISION THAT DOOMED HIM TO CERTAIN DOOM WITHOUT QUESTION, AND CHANGED HIS LIFE BEYOND RECOGNITION, BUT HE STILL OPTED FOR THE CORRECTIONAL CENTRE - IT WAS TOUGH THERE TOO, BUT AT LEAST HE HAD A CHANCE OF SURVIVING WITHOUT THE AGGRESSION OF THE OLDER INMATES WHO WOULD INEVITABLY TAUNT HIM, AND THE CHANCE OF BEING KILLED SOONER OR LATER WAS ALSO SIGNIFICANT.

AT THE TIME I WAS TEXTING WITH A GIRL FROM THE ST. MARY SHELTER IN SAN FRANCISCO. SHE WAS MY FIRST LOVE. WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO USE A COMPUTER OR TABLET, SO I RAN AND DROPPED THE OLD FASHIONED LETTER. BUT A LITTLE LATER I SENSED IN OUR CORRESPONDENCE WITH EACH OTHER THAT SHE WAS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE - JUST TRYING TO GET OUT AND SAVE HERSELF! A LOST SOUL IN A SEA OF HUMAN EMOTIONS! ONCE SHE JUST TOLD ME THAT SHE DREAMED SOMEONE WOULD COME AND GET HER. AND SUCH A FAMILY APPEARED. THEY WERE SOME BIG INDUSTRIALISTS FROM NEW ORLEANS. IN HER LAST LETTER TO ME, SHE HAD WRITTEN THE FOLLOWING:

 "DEAR ELIZANDER, THIS WORLD IS FULL OF FALSEHOOD AND LIES, OF LACK OF LOVE AND MANY HUMAN FAILINGS. PERHAPS WE SHALL ALL ROT IN HELL ONE DAY. BUT WE HAVE TO FORGIVE PEOPLE - NOT OUT OF LOVE, BUT BECAUSE WE JUST HAVE TO GO OUR OWN WAY LIKE THE WORMS IN THE TREE - EACH ACCORDING TO HIS STRENGTH. I HOPE YOU GET SAVED! YOUR JENNY MAGOOD"

LATER, HOWEVER, I REALIZED THAT IN THE MOST UN-AMERICAN OF CITIES, WHERE FRENCH, SPANISH, CREOLE, AND SOUTHERN ARCHITECTURAL STYLES AND CULTURES MINGLED, SHE HAD SIMPLY BECOME THE KEEPER OF A BROTHEL OF SOME SORT.

MY ACQUAINTANCE WITH HER PROVIDED ME WITH A SATISFYING AMOUNT OF CUSTOMERS WHO ENJOYED THE GOODS OF FELISTER'S FARM WHILE SATISFYING THEIR NEEDS.

ON THE WHOLE, SOUTHERN CONSERVATISM WORKED ONLY TO OUR ADVANTAGE. AND WE WERE PROFITING TOO WELL FROM IT!

AND THEN THE ADOPTION BY FELISTER CAME TO ME LIKE A WHISTLE! I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!

HE DID HIS BEST TO TRIGGER THE PROCEDURE TO GET MILES OUT TOO, BUT HE DIDN'T ADOPT HIM. HE NEEDED ONE SON - TWO WAS TOO MANY. FATE WAS A REAL SELFISH AND SELFISH BITCH! BUT MILES WAS HAPPY WITH THAT TOO - IT WAS TOO MUCH FOR HIM AT THAT POINT!

MILES WAS ASSIGNED TO MIX FENTANYL WITH A FIRST-RATE OPIATE THAT MADE HIM LOOK LIKE A TICKING TIME BOMB. AND HE NEVER TOUCHED THE STUFF. HE WAS VERY ACCURATE. A GREAT COOK! NOT EVEN ONE OF THOSE IVY LEAGUE[2] YUPPIES COULD HAVE HANDLED HIS WORK WITH SUCH RESPECT AND PRECISION-IT WAS LIKE A LIVING DEVIL STIRRING HIS VAT OF MAGIC POTIONS.

BY THE WAY, FELISTER HAD AN INTERESTING ATTITUDE TOWARDS ALL THE SYNTHETICS COMING IN FROM CHINA TOO. THE NAMES OF THE PRODUCTS WERE STRANGE, BUT FELISTER WAS NOT NARROW-MINDED. THE SO-CALLED SYNTHETIC CANNOBOIDS WERE THE FUTURE.

THE PROBLEM WITH CANNABOIDS WAS THAT, UNLIKE MORPHINE AND FENTANYL, THEY COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED FOR MEDICAL USE IN ANY WAY, AND THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED FELISTER MORE PROBLEMS WITH THE AUTHORITIES. AND HAVING TO BRIBE INCREASINGLY INFLUENTIAL CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS. SOMETHING HE SUBSEQUENTLY DID WITH GREAT SUBTLETY.

MILES DIED THAT NIGHT, AND HE WAS A GREAT FRIEND AND A CONSCIENTIOUS DUDE. HE SAID SOMETHING TO ME I'LL NEVER FORGET:

- AT THE END OF THE ROAD, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN! REMEMBER HIM! BUT THE TRUTH IS, ROUGHLY SPEAKING, YOU WERE ALWAYS COMPLETELY ALONE. NO MATTER WHAT YOU THOUGHT OR FELT THE WHOLE TIME. BUT FELISTER WAS LIKE A FATHER TO ME - EVEN A FAKE ONE, HE GOT ME OUT OF THAT HOLE. OUT OF THAT CURSED AND HOPELESS CYCLE!

TWO WEEKS LATER WAS DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S FAMOUS POLICE RAID. AND IT WAS ALL OVER FOR HIM ON THAT PORCH ON THAT WARM MAY EVENING. HE WAS ALSO ONE OF THE MEN STANDING CLOSEST TO FELISTER AND DEFENDING HIM TO THE LAST DROP OF BLOOD.

PEACE BE WITH YOU, MILES! MAY YOU FIND PEACE! AND MAY YOU HAVE AT LEAST ONE ANGEL FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE TO ACCOMPANY YOUR SOUL AT LEAST A LITTLE WAY. I HAD HEARD THAT THE SOUL WAITED IN A SPECIAL SECLUDED ROOM UNTIL ITS TIME CAME, AND THENCE BY A SPECIAL CORRIDOR IT WENT TO THE HALL WHERE IT WAS TO HEAR ITS SENTENCE, AND THEN RECEIVE ITS DUE DISTRIBUTION.

 

[1] The quotation in question is from (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

[2] A group of universities and colleges that are renowned as the most prestigious in the United States.

THE DISCOVERY

CHAPTER TWENTY: THE DISCOVERY

 

ONLY A HANDFUL OF EARTH COULD BE FOUND IN THE DISINTERRED COFFIN, MOST PROBABLY THROWN BY THE CARELESS HAND OF GUS BENZOUR.

- "FINGER MAGIC IS CRUEL," ARLO ADDED, AND I FELT HIS ANGELIC AURA. 'BUT THIS DEED IS CONTRARY TO THE CREATOR.

- "THEN THE MANTRIC ..." I BEGAN, BUT I CAUGHT SIGHT OF THE BODY OF BENZOUR.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT HAD FALLEN IN SUCH A WAY IN A CORNER UNDER SOME BUSHES THAT EVEN THOSE PASSING BY WOULD NOT HAVE NOTICED IT. HAD DIED THE NIGHT BEFORE WHEN HE HAD CARRIED OUT HIS ATTACK ON ME.

APPARENTLY, THE MANTRIC HAD SIMULTANEOUSLY PERFORMED THE MAGIC RITUAL AND CARRIED OUT HIS PSYCHOATTACK - SO AT LEAST ONE WAY TO SUCCEED IN STRIKING ME. WELL, GAS BENZOUR, OR WHOEVER YOU ARE - WITH YOUR STONES ON YOUR HEAD.

THE GRIMOIRE WAS RIGHT NEXT TO HIM - NO ONE HAD TOUCHED IT. I LOOKED QUESTIONINGLY AT MY COMPANIONS-NONE OF THEM OBJECTED TO MY TAKING IT. BUT I STILL WONDERED IF IT WAS RIGHT TO LEAVE THE BENZOUR RIGHT HERE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STRANGE.

THEN THE ROCKERS WHO WERE WITH US MADE A SUGGESTION - WE'D INVESTIGATE THE GAS BENZOUR, SNEAKING IT OUT UNNOTICED SO WE COULD SEARCH IT - THE NIGHT CEMETERY GUARDS MIGHT ALSO SWOOP IN AND SURPRISE US. WE AGREED AND BEGAN OUR PREPARATIONS. I HAD TAKEN A SPECIAL PIECE OF CLOTH, WHICH WAS PROTECTED BY A SPELL, FOR READING BY AN ALIEN MIND. I WRAPPED THE GRIMOIRE CAREFULLY AND WE SLIPPED OUT.

MAYBE GUS BENZOUR WAS LAUGHING AT ME FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE! MAYBE IT WAS HELPING ME SINK DEEPER, EVEN THOUGH I WAS DOOMED TO NO END!

I REMEMBERED DURAITH'S EYES AS HE DIED, SHORTLY AFTER HE KILLED ELLER - THEY WERE SOMEHOW EMPTY AND CALLING FOR UNDERSTANDING. HE JUST CLEARLY HADN'T SEEN A WAY OUT TO DO OTHERWISE.

SLOWLY AND SURELY, GUS BENZOUR HAD CREATED A COVER FOR HIMSELF, BUT IN THE END HE HAD FALLEN VICTIM TO HIS OWN MACHINATIONS. OR PERHAPS THAT WAS PART OF HIS PLAN? FOR A MAN LIKE HIM YOU NEVER KNEW!

PART OF THE ROCKER GANG LEFT TO RAM HIS HOUSE, WHICH WAS IN COLORADO - AND IN PARTICULAR IN THE LITTLE TOWN OF YAMPA - A SMALL TOWN NEAR OAK CREEK - THIS PLACE WAS LIKE GODFORSAKEN. THERE THEY LINGERED FOR MORE THAN A WEEK, AND DURING THAT TIME WE SETTLED DOWN WITH THE OTHERS IN BIG BAY TOWN PARK. THE SCENERY HERE WAS SPECTACULAR AND QUITE WILD - AT LEAST TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE AVERAGE METROPOLITAN DWELLER. HONESTLY, I DIDN'T TRUST THEM TO RETURN, SO THE OTHERS AND I STARTED EXPLORING THE SECRETS OF THE GAS. WHEN THEY DID ARRIVE, WHAT WE HEARD MADE MY HAIR STAND ON END.

- 'FUCK HIM, GUS BENZOUR,' BEGAN REGINALD GROVE, A BURLY MAN WHOSE BODY WAS COVERED IN TATTOOS SUCH AS A PHOENIX, SYMBOL OF ASCENSION, AND A BLUEBIRD, SYMBOL OF ETERNAL HAPPINESS, BOTH OF WHICH WERE DONE WITH GREAT SKILL, 'AS IF HE HAD NEVER EXISTED ANYWHERE AT ALL.

- "IMPOSSIBLE," I MARVELLED, 'HOW ...

ZONARA AND ARLO STOOD SILENT, AND THEIR EYES, THOUGH STRANGE, LOOKED AT ME WITH SOME PARTICULAR CURIOSITY - PERHAPS MY SENSES WERE BECOMING CONFUSED TOO, AND I WAS PERCEIVING REALITY DISTORTEDLY, OR PERHAPS IT HAD NOT EXISTED FOR A LONG TIME.

I KNEW THAT THOSE WHO WERE ABOUT TO DIE, OR SINCERELY WISHED TO DO SO, WERE ALLOWED TO SEE THEIR GHOST-DOUBLE, WHICH ENABLED THEM TO BE AWARE OF WHAT LAY AHEAD IN THE AFTERLIFE.

- "WE QUESTIONED MOST CAREFULLY. NO ONE COULD TELL US ANYTHING," REGINALD WENT ON, HIS MASSIVE BODY CRACKLING WITH STRENGTH, FOR HE MUST HAVE BEEN BARELY PAST FIFTY. "DAMN, IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO FIND OUT THAT THE FARM THAT IS SUPPOSEDLY IN HIS NAME…"

I COULD CLEARLY FEEL MYSELF STARTING TO SWEAT. IF GUS WAS PART OF THE FELISTER’S LEGACY, OR MANTRIC, OR ... MAYBE HE WAS THE DEVIL HIMSELF!

- "AND HIS WIFE?," I HINTED LIGHTLY, "HADN'T HE ENTRUSTED HER WITH THE FARMING WORK WHILE HE SUPPLIED THE RESERVE WITH PROVISIONS? HADN'T HE HIRED A HUGE NUMBER OF WORKERS TO DEAL WITH THE GROWING NEED TO HARVEST THE PRODUCE?"

- "ACTUALLY," ERALD MONSER INTERRUPTED, "YAMPA IS MORE OF A SMALL UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITY, AND THE LOCALS DON'T LIKE TO TALK MUCH TO OUTSIDERS, BUT STILL ..."

- "THEN WHOSE BODY IS THIS?," I WAS AMAZED, BUT LITTLE BY LITTLE I BEGAN TO COME TO MYSELF.

"THERE IS LIFE IN CORN..." HE HAD SAID WHEN HE PICKED US UP ALMOST AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR JOURNEY, "AND WE CRUSH IT WITH OUR FEET..."

EVEN THEN I HAD NOTICED THE STRANGE SMELL AND ... THE PECULIAR AURA - IT WAS BY NO MEANS UNPLEASANT, BUT SOMEHOW IT AFFECTED THE MIND. GUS, HOWEVER, HAD GIVEN HIMSELF THE IMPRESSION THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE - APPARENTLY HE REALLY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING, AND THAT WAS HOW HE'D GOTTEN THROUGH LIFE TO THIS VENERABLE AGE. ONE IMPORTANT DETAIL, HOWEVER, MADE A HUGE IMPRESSION ON ME - HE HAD MENTIONED THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD TAKEN THE MOST FERTILE LAND FROM THE INDIANS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE INDIAN TRIBES HAD TO MOVE EVERY FIVE OR TEN YEARS BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED THAT OVERUSING THE SOIL WOULD DESTROY IT.

BUT, NOW I ASSUMED THAT THE CAUSE WAS A LIVING DEMON-MANTRIC THAT SOMEHOW... BUT THEN I REALIZED THAT MY REASONING WAS CHILDISH... NOT THAT IT WAS COMPLETELY WITHOUT MERIT...

DEMONS WEREN'T ABLE TO TAKE HUMAN FORM DIRECTLY - THEY COULD POSSESS, BUT THEY COULD ENTER PIGS - AND THERE WERE PLENTY OF PIGS ON FELISTER'S FARM. WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT GUS BENZOUR HAD VISITED FELISTER'S FARM WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE? OR TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, IN SOME FORM THE DEMON HAD TRANSFERRED ITSELF FROM THE PIG TO GUS BENZOUR. THE IDEA SOUNDED EXTRAVAGANT, BUT DEMONS HAD A HABIT OF JUMPING FROM PERSON TO PERSON OR ...

- "APPARENTLY, THE GUS BENZOUR HAS FAILED TO KEEP ITS SPIRITUAL HOUSE[1] CLEAN," I SAID, THOUGH THE HIDDEN JOKE WAS DAMN FRIGHTENING EVEN IF ONE ONLY TOOK ITS HIDDEN MEANING SERIOUSLY.

I THINK ZONARA AND ARLO UNDERSTOOD ME WELL AND SENSED THE HIDDEN MEANING.

BUT ACCORDING TO THE TEACHINGS OF DON JUAN CASTANEDA, A BRUJO'S SUPREME MAGICAL MASTERY, AS HE CALLED IT, WAS NOT MEASURED BY THE USE OF VARIOUS OBJECTS, SINCE THEY WERE NOT THE SOURCE OF REAL POWER, BUT BY FINDING A POWERFUL PATRON[2] - A REALLY POWERFUL ONE. WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT FELISTER HAD USED THE PIGS AS EXPERIMENTAL MICE FOR THE DEMONS TO POSSESS, SINCE THEY OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T HAVE THE SPIRITUAL RESISTING POWER OF HUMANS EITHER, AND SUBSEQUENTLY THE CUNNING MR. EMBANKS HAD TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE NAIVETY OF SOMEONE LIKE GUS BENZOUR. THIS THEORY SEEMED MORE PLAUSIBLE, BUT AGAIN THERE WERE SOME WEAKNESSES - THE MAIN ONE BEING THAT AS FAR AS I KNEW GUS DIDN'T SEEM LIKE A FOOL, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THE ROCKERS CLAIMED HE DIDN'T EXIST AT ALL - OR AT LEAST THAT WAS THE INFORMATION THEY HAD GOT FROM THE LOCALS. THINGS WERE SOUNDING MORE AND MORE CONFUSED, BUT PERHAPS THEY COULD HAVE BEEN EXPLAINED DIFFERENTLY.

- "AND WHAT IF FELISTER WAS SO ADVANCED IN HIS SEARCH THAT HE HAD DEVELOPED SPECIFIC ISOLATION TECHNIQUES THAT GAVE HIM SOME FORM OF RELIEF OR CONTROL?," I MURMURED QUIETLY. "THERE, BURIED DEEP DOWN THERE, WAS HIS SECRET, HIS SADNESS STEMMED FROM HIS INABILITY TO COPE WITH HIS ALLY, AND HE HAD CLEARLY TRIED SOMETHING EXTREMELY RISKY, WHICH MAY WELL BE HIS TRUE LEGACY... AND, IT COULD EXPLAIN A LOT OF OTHER CONSEQUENCES STEMMING FROM HIS TOO FOCUSED AND DANGEROUS ACTIONS."

EVEN THE ROCKERS - HARD AND RUTHLESS MEN WITHOUT SOULS - LOOKED AT ME AS THOUGHTFULLY AS IF THEY WERE READING THE THOUGHTS BENEATH MY OWN SKULL. AND NO ONE DARED TO CONTRADICT ME. NO ONE CALLED OUT, AND THE FIRE QUIETLY EMPTIED, AS IF TO REMIND US THAT WE WERE NOT ALONE - AND NEVER WOULD BE, THAT WE WERE ETERNALLY WATCHED AND JUDGED, AS ANGELS AND DEMONS ALIKE HAD THEIR OWN CRITERIA, BUT IN THE END WE WERE THE VICTIMS.

- "I BELIEVE THAT FELISTER AS A POSSIBILITY HAS LONG SINCE GONE BEYOND THE STAGE OF CONSCIOUS DREAMING, WHICH ENABLES US TO BECOME AWARE OF THE PRINCIPLE OF REALITY MANAGEMENT, AND TO DEAL WITH THE DEMON HAS RESORTED TO A SPECIFIC RITUAL OR TACTIC THAT MAY HAVE COST HIM HIS LIFE," I CONTINUED.

- "MAKE YOURSELF CLEAR," CALLED REGINALD, WHO LOOKED AS INTRIGUED AS A MEMBER OF THE HELLS ANGELS, "YES, THIS GANG OF GANGSTERS WERE JUST ABOUT TAKEN TO REPRESENT THAT KIND OF POWER."

- WELL, JUST AS IT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR A HANDICAPPED MAN TO HOLD HIS OWN SPOON WHILE EATING, SO IT WAS A MATTER OF HONOR AND SURVIVAL FOR A FELISTER TO ...

SUDDENLY THE WIND INTERRUPTED MY WORDS. HE SQUIRMED SUDDENLY AND BRIEFLY. PERHAPS IT WAS ACCIDENTAL, PERHAPS NOT! MAYBE IT WAS COMING FROM THE WATER TOO! YES, ONE COULD NEVER BE SURE!

- AWARENESS ON YOUR WAY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. NO NEED TO TALK - JUST ACT. THAT'S HOW THINGS WILL HAPPEN FULLY.

ARLO HAD A FACE HALF-OBSCURED BY THE FIRELIGHT - AND FRANKLY LOOKED MORE LIKE A DEMON THAN AN ANGEL, BUT I HAD LEARNED LONG AGO NOT TO TRUST THINGS - NOTHING WAS AS IT SEEMED.

REGINALD WAS A REAL MAN'S MAN, AND HE AND DON SAULER AND CONNIE BRAITH HAD DECIDED TO STAY AND HELP US IN THIS WILDERNESS BECAUSE THEY HAD GIVEN THEIR WORD. YES, AND THE ROCKER WORD MEANT A LOT! EVEN A BANDIT HAD TO HAVE A WORD AND KEEP IT...

I DECIDED TO EXPLAIN TO THEM DEFINITIVELY WHAT I THOUGHT FELISTER'S WHOLE TACTIC HAD BEEN, SINCE HE OBVIOUSLY HADN'T HAD ENOUGH TIME TO WORK THINGS OUT FULLY, OR MAYBE HE HAD JUST DONE IT DELIBERATELY - NO MATTER WHAT HAD MADE HIM DO IT - ONE THING WAS ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN. FELISTER HAD REALLY WANTED TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING THAT WOULD STAY AND BE REMEMBERED.

- "THE FLOW OF ENERGY IN THE UNIVERSE IS QUITE STRANGE," I DECIDED TO EXPLAIN MY POINT DEFINITIVELY, "IF FELISTER REALLY WANTED TO GET RID OF THE DEMON AND CHANNEL IT TO THE OTHERS, HE HAD TO RESORT TO AN EXTERNAL INTERVENTION - LIKE AN EXORCISM OR SOME OTHER METHOD, AND HE HAD QUITE DIFFERENT INTENTIONS. WHILE DREAMING WE HAVE THE FEELING THAT ..."

FELISTER DREAMED CONSCIOUSLY AND MADE THE DEMON PEEP INTO HIS DREAMS IN A WAY THAT HE HIMSELF DESIRED, AND THIS ULTIMATELY PROVED DECISIVE.

- I MEAN, HE DIDN'T JUST WANT TO GET THE DEMON TO JUMP OFF HIM AND LEAVE HIM, HE WANTED TO TRICK HIM INTO FURTHER SEARCHES," ASKED CONNIE BRIGHT, WHO WAS A BIT MORE INTELLIGENT AND HAD BY SOME CHANCE MANAGED TO GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL, WHICH WAS A RARITY AMONG MEMBERS OF ROCKER GANGS.

- "BUT WHAT WAS THE USE OF IT TO HIMSELF?," CALLED BACK DON SALTER. "SO HE WAS DOOMED TO PERISH! DOOMED TO DISAPPEAR FOREVER. BASS I HOLD EVEN THAT NO ONE REMEMBERS HIM EXCEPT THAT HIS NAME APPEARS IN SOME POLICE REPORTS OF THOSE POLICE OFFICERS WHO DEALT WITH HIM. I DON'T BELIEVE ..."

DON SAULER WASN'T LYING. WE ONLY NEEDED FELISTER BECAUSE WE WERE HOPELESSLY DOOMED OURSELVES AND HAD NO OTHER PROSPECT OF EXACTLY WHERE TO GO.

- "THE EXPLANATION FOR THAT," I WENT ON, "MIGHT ACTUALLY BE TOO REASONABLE. FELISTER HAD BEEN TRYING TO SELF-MEDICATE - IN HIS OWN WAY, WHILE INTENDING TO DREAM CONSCIOUSLY AND TO DECEIVE THE DEMON, WHO WAS ABLE TO PENETRATE HIS DREAMS AT HIS DELIBERATE WISH, WHICH THE FARMER HAD BEEN INDUCING SINCE THE OPENING OF THE SECOND DOOR OF DREAMING, THE PURPOSE OF WHICH WAS TO PASS FROM ONE DREAM TO ANOTHER AND NEVER WAKE UP IN A FAMILIAR WORLD, CONTROLLING REALITY IN A VERY SUBTLE WAY, AND ON THE OTHER HAND, THROUGH THAT SAME SECOND DOOR OF DREAMING, HE WAS ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEMON IN THE AFTERLIFE AND CAUSE IT TO LEAP UPON THE PIGS, AND SUBSEQUENTLY UPON GUS BENZOUR HIMSELF, WHO HAD BEEN TRANSPORTING HIM ALL ALONG-WHETHER AWARE OF THIS FACT OR NOT, BUT FELISTER WAS ON THE LOWEST POSSIBLE LEVEL OF HEALING. MISTER EMBANKS HAD SIMPLY BEEN LEANING ON THE DEMON THAT HAD POSSESSED HIM DUE TO HIS IMPURE CONSCIOUSNESS IN HIS ATTEMPTS TO PURSUE SOME SPECIFIC CONDITION, BUT THAT HAD SIMPLY RESULTED IN HIS INABILITY TO USE HIS MAIN CONSCIOUSNESS FOR ITS INTENDED PURPOSE, AND HIS AUXILIARY CONSCIOUSNESS HAD PROVEN TO BE THE LEADING ONE."

DESPITE MY RATHER STRANGE EXPLANATIONS, IT SEEMED TO ME THAT ALL THREE OF THE HEALTHMEN REALIZED THAT FELISTER HAD BEEN CUNNINGLY TRYING TO MANIPULATE THE DEMON, LEADING IT TO BELIEVE, HOWEVER, THAT EVERYTHING IT HAD DONE HAD BEEN ACCIDENTAL AND UNINTENTIONAL, BUT THAT IT HAD ACTUALLY GONE MUCH DEEPER IN ITS QUEST AND HAD INFLUENCED MANY MORE DESTINIES - EVEN THEIR OWN.

- "I MEAN, THAT'S THE REAL LEGACY OF FELISTER," DON SAULER SIGHED. "WELL, I'D SAY IT'S STILL REMARKABLE, BUT I'M FAR FROM RULING OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF SOMETHING ELSE. I MEAN, HE WAS JUMPING FROM DREAM TO DREAM, ALTERING REALITY WITH HIS OWN ENERGY BODY, USING HIS DREAM ATTENTION[3], WHICH HE WAS OBLIGED TO MAINTAIN AT AN EVEN HIGHER LEVEL TO CARRY OUT HIS DESIGN.  BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE WITH THESE DEMONS, MANY SIDE EFFECTS CAN OCCUR," HE ADDED, "YES, WE MUST REMEMBER THOUGH THAT THEY ARE CREATURES OF DARKNESS AND AS SUCH DO NOT LIKE TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE LIGHT. THAT'S WHY FELISTER HAS KEPT HIS EYES CLOSED - TO..."

THE STRANGE WIND WAS HEARD AGAIN, DYING DOWN ALMOST INSTANTLY. WHO KNOWS WHY - ALTHOUGH IT DIDN'T GO UNNOTICED, SOMEHOW IT DIDN'T MAKE SUCH AN IMPRESSION ON US THIS TIME, BECAUSE WE HAD ALL INCREASED OUR ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION - AS IT WAS ON THESE THAT OUR LIVES PRACTICALLY DEPENDED.

NEVERTHELESS, I DECIDED TO CONCLUDE MY FINAL INSIGHTS:

- I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE AWARE OF OUR DREAMS, BUT I AM DEFINITELY NOT OF THE OPINION THAT WE SHOULD ALWAYS ANALYZE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS REALITY - SO IT CAN BE CHANGED AT ANY MOMENT BY SOME LUNATIC LIKE FELISTER WHO WANTS TO ACQUIRE SUPERNATURAL POWER!

ARLO AND ZONARA HAD RATHER SAD FACES - APPARENTLY ANGELIC NOTIONS OF MORALITY WERE DIFFERENT FROM MY OWN. I DIDN'T BLAME THEM - THE VERY FACT THAT THEY HAD ACCOMPANIED ME THIS FAR WAS MORE THAN INDICATIVE THAT I WOULDN'T BE ALONE FOR A WHILE AT LEAST.

- "IT MIGHT JUST BE THAT FELISTER HAD COMMITTED VARIOUS BAD AND CRIMINAL ACTS IN HIS PREVIOUS LIVES, AND BILLS MUST ALWAYS BE PAID - ONE WAY OR ANOTHER," REGINALD SUGGESTED.

FROM A BRUTAL CRIMINAL LIKE HIMSELF IT WOULD HAVE SOUNDED RATHER COMICAL, HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR THE UTTER EARNESTNESS AND SADNESS WITH WHICH HE UTTERED IT. REGINALD HAD BEEN CONFINED AT FORT LEAVENWORTH, WHICH WAS IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF THE STATE OF KANSAS, WHERE CONDITIONS WERE ABOMINABLE-THIS HAD HAPPENED TWENTY-FIVE YEARS BEFORE. IT WAS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT IT WAS A MILITARY PRISON-THAT IS, ITS MANAGEMENT WAS IN THE HANDS OF THE MILITARY. HE HAD MIRACULOUSLY ESCAPED - AS HAD EIL, CHAMPS AND DURIGHT. THEY FOUR HAD THE MOST WEIGHT IN THE ROCKER PACK. AND YET WE HAD TO REMEMBER THAT THIS GANG WAS MADE UP OF EX-MILITARY AIRMEN WHO WERE GENERALLY

THEN I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING BOLD AND BRUTAL. AND IT WAS GETTING DARKER ALL AROUND. THE SURFACE OF THE LAKE WAS UTTERLY BEWITCHING - AS IF TO SUGGEST TO US THAT THE MIRRORED SURFACE OF THE LAKE DID NOT MEAN THAT A STRUGGLE FOR LIFE WAS NOT BREWING BELOW!

- "WHAT IF WE TRIED TO USE A KIND OF EXTRACTION FOR ELEMENTS OF FELISTER'S DREAMS USING THE DEMON ITSELF!," I SUGGESTED.

EVEN THE ROCKERS LOOKED AT ME LIKE I'D LOST MY MIND - THAT SOUNDED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

I MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN TO MENTION THAT WE HAD MANAGED TO PICK UP THE CORPSE OF GUS BENZOUR AND HAD HIDDEN IT UNDER ONE OF THE ROCKER BLANKETS. WHILE WE WERE IN BIG BAY TOWN PARK, WE MANAGED TO LEAVE THE CORPSE IN A PLACE WHERE WE COULD EASILY PICK IT BACK UP LATER, BUT THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE BODY WAS DECOMPOSING, WHICH WAS A NATURAL AND IRREVERSIBLE PROCESS. AND THE SMELL MIGHT HAVE ATTRACTED SOMEONE - IT WASN'T VERY LIKELY, BUT THERE WAS STILL SUCH A DANGER. FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT AWARE, DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BODY CAN ENDURE DIFFERENT LENGTHS OF TIME-USUALLY THE INTERNAL ORGANS DECOMPOSED FROM TWENTY-FOUR TO SEVENTY-TWO HOURS AFTER THE MOMENT OF DEATH, AND THE CHANGE IN THE BODY'S COLORATION OCCURRED AFTER THE FIRST FEW HOURS, WHEN IT TOOK ON A REDDISH-PURPLE COLOR DUE TO THE PRECIPITATION OF BLOOD, AND WITHIN THE FIRST THIRTY-SIX HOURS IT TURNED A WHITISH GREEN DUE TO DECAY. FROM WHAT WE COULD JUDGE, FELISTER HAD DIED LESS THAN THREE DAYS AGO - MOREOVER - THE BODY WAS IN RELATIVELY GOOD CONDITION - ALTHOUGH THE "FIRST LESIONS" WERE ALREADY VISIBLE.

WHILST WORKING ON FELISTER'S FARM I DETESTED OUTSIDE NOISES. THE PATTER OF RAIN ON THE ROOF OF THE BARN OR THE EMBANKS' HOUSE, RANDOM SOUNDS COMING FROM SOMEWHERE. POSSIBLE ATTACKS BY WILD ANIMALS, WHICH WEREN'T EXACTLY RARE. AND I CERTAINLY DIDN'T SUFFER FROM WHAT WAS CALLED MISOPHONIA, WHICH WAS A LOWER TOLERANCE FOR CERTAIN KINDS OF SOUNDS. EACH OF THE WORKERS THERE WAS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN TO SPEAK. FELISTER TAUGHT US THAT OUR WORK WAS PARAMOUNT AND THEREFORE WE WERE NOT TO BE DISTRACTED. THE SLAUGHTERED PIGS WERE PROPERLY SORTED AND THEN RICHLY INJECTED WITH THE ENRICHED OPIATE-FENTANYL SUBSTANCE.

ONE OF THE TRICKS EMPLOYED BY THE INGENIOUS BREEDER WAS TO EXPLOIT THE FACT THAT HE NEVER USED THE SAME GRIP MORE THAN ONCE.

ON A SUMMER MORNING-PERHAPS AT THE BEGINNING OF THAT SUMMER'S POLICE RAID-HE ADDRESSED US WITH THE WORDS:

- SOME OF YOU WILL BECOME STRONG MEN AND WILL HAVE TO FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO LIFE - FIGHT FOR EVERY SECOND OF IT! AND NATURE IS AGAINST YOU. AND YOU WILL HATE YOUR OWN LIFE!  THE GREATEST DELUSION YOU ARE DROWNING IN IS THAT IT IS A GIFT, AND YOU ARE IN DEBT FROM BIRTH!

HIS STRANGE SERMON WAS FILLED WITH SUCH PROFOUND THOUGHT THAT EVEN SOME FORMER RECIDIVISTS WHO HAD JUST ARRIVED AS NEW RECRUITS DARED NOT EVEN RAISE THEIR EYES, REALIZING THE TRAP OF THEIR DOOM.

SINCE THE TURNOVER WAS SOMETIMES ENORMOUS, FELISTER HAD TO RECRUIT HIS STAFF EVEN FROM THE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY CORRECTION CENTERS.

BUT WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF REALITY? THE SECRET WAS THAT IT WAS WILLING TO PLAY WITH ALL SORTS OF MATTER AND ENERGY WITHOUT IMPOSING ITS SENTENCE AND WITHOUT DEPRIVING US OF THE RIGHT TO SEE WHAT LAY BEYOND! BUT IT CAME AT A PRICE! AFTER ALL, THE FOOD OF SOULS WAS THE ACQUIRED AND CONSCIOUS EXPERIENCE, AND THE ECHO OF SOULS...

INTERESTING PART OF THE PROCESS OF KILLING AND CASTRATING THE PIGS WAS THE ACTUAL STUNNING OF THEM. THEY GENERALLY DID NOT HAVE GOOD EYESIGHT, BUT THEY HAD GREAT HEARING AND AN EXCELLENT SENSE OF SMELL - PERHAPS EVEN BETTER THAN THAT OF DOGS. WHAT I REMEMBERED WAS THAT THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE DARK AND SOMETIMES THE MALES COULD BE EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE - SO WE HAD TO TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS FROM HAPPENING. I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER A FRIEND CALLED RAUL HAVING HIS ARM BITTEN OFF JUST BECAUSE OF THE DIRTY BOARS. THAT VERY DAY WE TOOK CRUEL REVENGE ON THEM. AND THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS KILLED ROSE ENORMOUSLY, WHICH ONLY LINED THE POCKETS OF THE BOGUS BREEDER WHO WAS OUR EMPLOYER.

RAOUL WAS SHOT DEAD A SHORT TIME LATER PERSONALLY ON THE ORDERS OF A FELISTER WITH THE SIMPLE ARGUMENT THAT HE COULD NOT WORK EFFECTIVELY WITH ONE HAND.

THE PIGS DID NOT LIKE THE DARK AT ALL, AND ALSO THE SPECIFIC REFLECTIONS OF THE LIGHT THAT COULD DISORIENT THEM, BUT INSTEAD - WE WERE DOING SOMETHING VERY PRACTICAL. WE LET THEM INTO A SPECIAL CORRIDOR WITH WOODEN PARTITIONS ON BOTH SIDES, BEHIND WHICH WE STOOD, WHERE THE FLOOR WAS PRE-TREATED TO MAKE IT SLIPPERY, AND WE USED ELECTRODES. THEN THE POWERFUL CHARGE STUNNED THEM AND THE REST WAS CLEAR...

WHEN THEY SHOT RAUL, I REMEMBER HIS EYES - HE LOOKED A LOT LIKE THE PIGS THAT WERE SCURRYING AROUND WITH NO WAY OUT IN THE SPECIALLY ADAPTED BARN OF DEATH. AND RAUL WAS BY NO MEANS A COWARD - QUITE THE OPPOSITE! HIS COURAGE WAS PROVERBIAL AND ...

REST IN PEACE!

LOOKING BACK, PERHAPS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE WE MADE WAS THAT WE VIEWED THIS "RETURNING" HOME AS THE BEST PART OF OUR TRIP. AND HOW WAS THE CURRENT SITUATION ANY DIFFERENT THAN THEN? WE JUST REPLACED THE FARM WITH AN ANCIENT RITUAL! AND THE PLINTH, OR RATHER OUR JOURNEY, CONTINUED.

THERE WAS NO WAY TO PRESERVE THE CORPSE OF A BENZOUR MORE EFFICIENTLY SINCE WE HAD NO ICE, NOR NITROGEN CHAMBER, NOR ANYTHING ELSE. IT WASN'T A GOOD IDEA TO THROW IT IN THE LAKE EITHER, BECAUSE THE DECOMPOSITION PROCESS HAD STARTED ANYWAY - EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IN A RELATIVELY EARLY STAGE.

AFTER THE NIGHT PASSED AND WE TOOK TURNS LOOKING AT THE HIDDEN CORPSE, WHICH WE HOPED WOULD NOT DECOMPOSE COMPLETELY, I NOW HAD A CLEAR PLAN FOR SUMMONING THE DEMON. I WAS AWARE THAT BOTH DEMONS AND ANGELS WERE CAPABLE OF POSSESSING A DEAD BODY, BUT ANGELS NEEDED SPECIAL PERMISSION FOR THIS PURPOSE.

INCIDENTALLY, ANYONE WHO DEALT SERIOUSLY AND PROFESSIONALLY WITH DIVINATION[4] HAD TO BE AWARE THAT THERE WERE CERTAIN RHYTHMS CONCERNING ENERGY -AND THIS WAS ESPECIALLY TRUE OF DREAM STATES, WHICH COULD BE EXTREMELY SPECIFIC. TO SUMMON THE DEMON, I NEEDED A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PREPARATION, WHICH TOOK TIME, AND FOR THE INVOCATIONS[5] IN GENERAL WE HAD TO GO BACK TO THE CEMETERY LA POINTE - I MAY HAVE FAILED TO MENTION THAT THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PARK AND THE CEMETERY WAS OVER FIVE KILOMETRES, AND AS WE WERE BY THE LAKE IT WAS EVEN GREATER - ON THE ORDER OF ABOUT EIGHT, AND NOW IMAGINE WALKING AROUND WITH A CORPSE WHICH YOU HAD TO CARRY TO THE APPROPRIATE PLACE - THIS WAS NO EASY TASK. THE ONLY THING THAT GENERALLY WORKED IN OUR FAVOUR WAS THE COLD TEMPERATURES, WHICH PROTECTED THE BODY AND SLOWED DOWN THE DECOMPOSITION PROCESS. THE ROCKERS CAME OUT STIFF TYPES AND THE DISGUSTING STENCH OF THE OLD GAS DEFINITELY DID NOT PREVENT THEM FROM DOING THEIR JOB REALLY WELL. AND THE REASON FOR TAKING IT WITH US WAS MORE THAN OBVIOUS -SOMEONE COULD TAKE IT AND THEN EVERYTHING WE HAD FOUGHT FOR SO FAR WAS RUINED. THE DEMON IN GUS BENZOUR'S BODY OR IN HIS CORPSE WOULD GIVE US THE REAL INSTRUCTIONS ON WHAT WE HAD TO DO TO COMPLETE THE RITUAL ONCE AND FOR ALL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO SHARE WHAT THOUGHTS WERE RAGING IN MY MIND, AS I NEVER IMAGINED EXACTLY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN AND THAT I WOULD USE PEOPLE LIKE THE HELLS ANGELS FOR MY PLANS. THE REAL IDEA WAS THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE HELLS ANGELS WERE BORN FOR THIS AND IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO BECOME LIKE THIS - IT WAS A WAY OF LIFE. THEY WERE BIKERS - THAT'S IT! THEIR PATH WAS MAPPED OUT LONG BEFORE THEY EVEN GOT ON THE BIKE.

ANYWAY, SOMEONE HAD ASKED ME ONCE WHAT WAS THE PATH OF THE MAVERICKS? NOW I CERTAINLY KNOW THE ANSWER AND CAN POINT TO A VERY WORTHWHILE ARGUMENT FOR IT. THE SECESSIONISTS HAD THEIR COMMUNITIES FOR THE OBJECTIVE REASON THAT IT WAS THE ONLY WAY THEY COULD THRIVE. REMEMBER THAT BIBLE STORY ABOUT MOLOKH, DAGON, BELIAL, BEELZEBUB AND SATAN HIMSELF. I COULD HARDLY POINT TO A MORE ELOQUENT AND CONCRETE EXAMPLE THAN THAT.

YET THE BODY MIGHT HAVE BEEN CARRIED AWAY IN A VERY TACTFUL MANNER, AS THERE WERE NO VERY GREAT OPPORTUNITIES ON THE ISLAND.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS, OF COURSE, WAS TO BE SURE EXACTLY WHICH DEMON HAD POSSESSED GUS BENZOURE-ONE THING I KNEW FOR SURE-THERE WAS A GOOD CHANCE THAT IT WAS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO "TAKE US AWAY," AND IT WAS NECESSARY TO CONCENTRATE OUR EFFORTS ON GETTING CONTROL OF IT BEFORE IT MADE ANY TROUBLE. DEMONIC CREATURES WERE EXTREMELY CUNNING AND COULD BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, BUT ONE HAD TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THEM PROPERLY. HOWEVER, FEW WERE AWARE THAT THERE WERE SO-CALLED GUARDIAN SPIRITS AND GUARDIAN SPIRITS. MY GUARDIAN SPIRIT WAS BARAKIEL, AND MY GUARDIAN OR OVERSEER WAS THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL.

BUT THE SUBTLE POINT WAS THAT THERE WAS ALSO A GUARDIAN DEMON THAT HAD TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT - IN OTHER WORDS, THE DEMON COULD BE THE GUARDIAN DEMON ITSELF... AND YET THE SUMMONING OF ANY KIND OF DEMON CARRIED THE INEVITABLE DANGER OF DISTORTION OR PERVERSION OF THE SOUL OR POSSESSION OF THE BODY.

BUT DID THAT MEAN THAT GUS BENZOUR WAS THE FELISTER HIMSELF? OR DID HE?

IT WASN'T POSSIBLE-FELISTER HAD BEEN DEAD TOO LONG, AND HIS BONES WERE ROTTEN. IT WAS EVEN IN THE POLICE REPORTS. WHY ON EARTH WOULD HE DO THAT WITH A LIVING PERSON CARRYING HIS VERY CONSCIOUSNESS - THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WASN'T QUITE CLEAR?

WE HAD TO CHOOSE AND GO WITH AN OPTION - EITHER WE'D BE SHIELDED FROM THE FORCES OF LIGHT, WHICH DIDN'T MAKE MUCH SENSE, OR WE COULD STILL MAKE THE DEMON SHOW ITSELF - WHICH WAS STILL SOMETHING - IT DEPENDED ON EXACTLY HOW MUCH HE WAS ABLE TO TELL US!

IT WAS THE TIME AND PLACE THAT WAS IMPORTANT - WE HAD TO BE CAREFULLY READY FOR ALL OF THIS.

THE ROCKERS SEEMED TO BEGIN TO REALIZE THAT THERE WAS NO JOKE - AND WE HAD TO BE VERY CAREFUL. BUT HOW GREAT WAS THE DEPTH OF THE CONSPIRACY?

THE FELISTER GUARDIAN DEMON WAS DEFINITELY SUPPOSED TO BE VERY, VERY BADASS, AND I WAS HONESTLY HESITANT ABOUT WHAT METHOD OF SUMMONING TO USE - THINGS WERE WEIRD AND STRANGE. THEY WERE CHANGING SO FAST.

THE GRAVEYARD ATMOSPHERE WAS CHILLING AND DISGUSTING. APPARENTLY THE GUARD HADN'T PICKED UP THE SMELL OF A CORPSE, OR THE WIND WAS BLOWING IN ANOTHER DIRECTION. ALL IN ALL, WE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT AND SET ABOUT PREPARING THE RITUAL.

REGINALD HAD COME TO REALIZE THAT HE HAD LONG SINCE TRANSCENDED HUMAN BOUNDARIES AND WAS, FOR ALL TOO UNDERSTANDABLE REASONS, TRYING TO FIND HIS PLACE IN THE SUPERNATURAL.

ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN IN SUCH AN INVOCATION, BUT AT THE LAST MOMENT ZONARA STOPPED ME:

- YOU HAVE TO DECIDE IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE SECRET OF THE FELISTER OR IF WE SHOULD DO THE RITUAL WITH THE GUARDIAN ANGEL. CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS - TAKE YOUR PICK.

THERE WAS TOO MUCH TRUTH IN HER WORDS. ARLO WAS FEELING DECIDEDLY UNHAPPY WITH US. I DON'T KNOW IF SOME OUTSIDE FORCES WERE AFFECTING HIM OR IF SOMETHING ELSE HAD HAPPENED, BUT I COULD FEEL THE CHANGE.

ANGELS WERE MORE SPECIAL CREATURES THAN DEMONS - YES, THEY COULD LOVE AND ACCOMPANY YOU TO A CERTAIN PLACE, BUT THEIR NATURE WAS SPECIAL. SOME OF THEM TOOK UP RESIDENCE HERE - ON EARTH. AND THE CYCLE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH WAS ENDLESS.

IF I COULD DESCRIBE MY FEELINGS - I WOULDN'T SAY I FELT HUMILITY, BUT RATHER SADNESS AND A PARTICULAR KIND OF WEIGHTLESSNESS - THE PATH OF SUFFERING... THIS WAS FELISTER - HE WANTED US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE HAD GONE THROUGH IN HIS ATTEMPTS TO FIND DELIVERANCE. PERHAPS HIS SOUL WAS IN HELL, AND PERHAPS EVEN HIS SPIRIT HAD CEASED TO EXIST! BUT ONE THING WAS CERTAIN - THERE I KNEW THAT FELISTER HAD BEEN DOOMED FROM BIRTH - SEEING HIS OWN DISAPPEARANCE AS A MESSAGE FOR OTHERS, MANY, MANY OTHERS.

WE DECIDED TO SUMMON THE GUARDIAN ANGEL AND THEN SOMETHING UNHEARD OF HAPPENED. I LOOKED AT GUS BENZOUR'S FACE - IT EXPRESSED GREAT SADNESS DESPITE ITS DECAY AND DEFORMITY. THEN I CLEARLY FELT THE CHILLS ON MY BODY...

FELISTER'S STRANGE FACE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN, AND GUS BENZOIR HAD MANAGED TO FOOL US WELL - PROBABLY BETTER THAN EVEN HE HIMSELF. BUT SOMETHING DIDN'T ADD UP IN THE WHOLE STORY - IF THERE WAS ACTUALLY A WAY TO SUMMON A GUARDIAN ANGEL - YOU NEEDED A SPIRITUALLY PURE PERSON, AND THEN ZONARA APPLIED THE ARLO HIMSELF - WELL, HE WASN'T EXACTLY AN INFANT, BUT HE WAS OVER TWENTY-FIVE AND ...

TO MY AMAZEMENT, THINGS WORKED OUT AND I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT OTHER THINGS WERE VALUABLE IN ALL THIS - PURITY AND FAITH WERE REQUIRED.

- "I CAN REVEAL UNEARTHLY SECRETS TO YOU," THE GUARDIAN ANGEL REPLIED, "BUT I CAN ALSO SHOW YOU THINGS BEFORE YOUR EYES THAT ARE NOT OF SUCH VALUE, BUT TO MOST MERE MORTALS ARE OF IMPORTANCE."

CERTAINLY THIS CREATURE'S BEARING WAS MAJESTIC. I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE EXTREMELY PURE AURA IT GAVE OFF - IT WAS SIMPLY WONDERFUL AND SPIRITUALIZING, FILLED WITH EXTREMELY POSITIVE VIBES.

THE ROCKERS WERE LIKE FROZEN AND DEFINITELY DARED NOT ROAR, LEST THEY SPOIL THE MAGIC.

- "TELL ME WHERE FELISTER DREW HIS STRENGTH FROM HERE - ON EARTH," I TURNED TO THE ANGEL.

THIS PARTICULAR QUESTION WAS PROMPTED BY THE EXTREMELY LARGE-SCALE GAMES OF FELISTER HIMSELF, WHICH I SUSPECTED WERE MUCH DEEPER THAN THE NORMAL MIND WAS CAPABLE OF ACCEPTING.

- "SINCE YOU HAVE SUMMONED ME ARIGHT, YOU WILL LEARN ALL THIS," REPLIED THE ANGEL SADLY.

SUDDENLY IMPRESSIVE PICTURES BEGAN TO APPEAR IN MY MIND'S EYE, SHOWING THE WHOLE OF FELISTER'S ACTIVITIES IN REGARD TO THE GRAND ORGANIZATION OF HIS KIND OF BUSINESS-SOME OF THEM FAMILIAR TO ME, OTHERS SPRINGING INTO MY MIND FOR THE FIRST TIME.

I EASILY LEARNED THAT THE POLITICIANS IN NOVA SCOTIA WERE NOT ALTOGETHER INDIFFERENT TO HIS MONEY, WHICH APPARENTLY DROVE CERTAIN MECHANISMS WITH THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS. I SAW HOW HE HAD CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS UP HIS SLEEVE AND HOW HE PLAYED THE UNIONS. BUT I ALSO SAW A DIRTY SECRET - FELISTER HAD LOST PARTS OF HIS SOUL THE FIRST TIME HE MISINVOCATION WHEN HE LOST CONTROL. I ALSO SAW THE STRANGE METAMORPHOSIS IN HIS MIND - ALL THE RESULTING SUFFERING AND ANGUISH, AND FELISTER KNEW EVEN THEN THAT HE HAD LOST THE BATTLE. SO MANY VICISSITUDES OF FATE! SO MANY FALSE IDEALS!

AFTER A WHILE MORE THE ANGEL DISAPPEARED, BUT BEFORE HE DID SO HE ADDED THAT THE LATEST FACTS SURROUNDING FELISTER'S LIFE WERE TO BE FOUND IN A NEW SCOTIA IN CANADA.

IT TOOK US TOO LONG TO RECOVER FROM THE SURPRISE - SO MANY DIFFERENT SITUATIONS STRANGELY INTERTWINED. IT CAME OUT THAT FELISTER COULD AFFORD A LOT MORE THAN WHAT WE ASSUMED HE WAS CAPABLE OF.

BUT WHAT THE ANGEL REVEALED TO US CONCERNING OUR DESTINIES EXCEEDED MY WILDEST DREAMS. FELISTER HAD BROUGHT US TOGETHER BECAUSE ONLY AS A TEAM COULD WE REVEAL HIS DESIGN. IT TURNED OUT THAT HE HAD BEEN USING A SECRET MAGICAL CODE, AND IN THE END IT WAS HIS BURNING DESIRE FOR THE DEMON.

TRUTH BE TOLD, I FINALLY REALIZED CLEARLY THAT FELISTER'S LIFE HAD BEEN PRETTY MEANINGLESS, BUT MANY HAD LIVED AND MANAGED TO SURVIVE UNDER HIM - THAT WAS HIS MAIN MERIT.

STILL, MOST LIKELY - BESIDES THE GRIMOIRE, WHICH WAS OBVIOUSLY VALUABLE AND EXPENSIVE, FELISTER HAD PROBABLY LEFT SOMETHING ELSE BEHIND.

THE ROCKERS DIDN'T SEEM DISAPPOINTED AT ALL, THOUGH - ON THE CONTRARY - THEY KNEW THAT THEY WERE GOING TO GET RICH LOOT IN A NEW SCOTIA, BUT THEY ALSO CLEARLY REALIZED THAT SOME OF THE DRUGS HAD BEEN PLACED BY FELISTER HIMSELF.

FELISTER EMBANKS HAD LIVED AND DIED AS HE HAD WISHED, BUT STRANGELY WHY THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE TO THE STORY ELUDED US.

HOW HE HAD ESCAPED THE RETRIBUTION OF THE CARTELS, BUT HAD RECEIVED IT AT THE HAND OF HIS COMPANION, ZONARA. IT WAS ONLY AFTER I UNDERSTOOD HER ANGELIC NATURE THAT THINGS BEGAN TO FALL INTO PLACE. SHE HAD INDEED MANAGED TO PREVENT MANY MORE DISASTERS. THE STRANGE THING WAS THAT THE BANDITS WHO FOLLOWED US, WHETHER WILLINGLY OR NOT, WERE AS IF IN A DAZE AND COULD NOT RESIST.

PERHAPS BLUEBIRD HAD WANTED ME TO KNOW THAT, TOO...

OUR DEPARTURE FOR CANADA WAS PROBABLY REALLY THE LAST PART OF OUR JOURNEY, WHICH WAS TO REVEAL THE DARKEST PARTS OF FELISTER'S CHARACTER. HOW MANY FALSE HOPES WERE DASHED IN HIS SLAUGHTERHOUSE? HOW MANY LIVES WERE USED TO FURTHER ...

CANADA WAS WONDERFUL, BUT HERE I REALIZED THAT OF MY COMPANIONS, ONLY ZONARA AND ARLO WERE LEFT. THE MONEY THE ROCKERS GOT THROUGH THE DEMON'S INVOCATION, WHICH POINTED OUT TO US SOME HIDDEN RICHES - AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, WHERE THE BLUEBIRD'S GOLD WAS BURIED, WAS ENOUGH FOR THEM, AND THEY WENT BACK TO THEIR OLD HABITS OF MOTORCYCLE PLUNDER.

- "THAT'LL DO US FOR QUITE A WHILE," REGINALD CALLED, AND THE OTHER TWO AGREED, "YOU MIGHT AS WELL MOVE ON TO A NEW SCOTCH-PLANT ON YOUR OWN."

BLUEBIRD'S GOLD WAS RIGHT IN LA POINTE CEMETERY - UNDER A TREE - ABOUT - THREE OR FOUR FEET DEEP, APPARENTLY THE OUTLAW HAD BURIED IT THERE FAIRLY RECENTLY - MAYBE A YEAR OR SO AGO. WHEN WE CLEARED THE DIRT, WE FOUND IT - IT PROBABLY HAD AT LEAST TEN POUNDS OF NET WEIGHT, WHICH WAS ESTIMATED AT OVER SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. IN THE PAST, FEW OF HIS ANCESTORS HAD CONSIDERED GOLD TO BE OF ANY VALUE AT ALL, BUT IN THESE TIMES, BLUEBIRD HAD DECIDED TO REASSURE HIMSELF BY SECURING CAPITAL AND LEAVING THE RESERVATION LANDS FOR GOOD - YET FROM WHAT THE DEMON HAD SAID, BLUEBIRD COULD TELL THAT BLUEBIRD HAD SENSED THE CHANGING SITUATION AND BIG BROTHER'S AMBITIONS TO COMPLETELY SUPPLANT HIM IN RUNNING THE GAMBLING BUSINESS.

BY A STRANGE COINCIDENCE WE LEARNED THAT SINGING SHADOW HAD DIED AND BEEN BURIED ACCORDING TO INDIAN TRADITIONS.

NO MATTER HOW MUCH I BEAT MY HEAD, I DIDN'T REALIZE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. WHY RAUL HAD BECOME THE SCAPEGOAT AND WHAT HAD PROMPTED FELISTER TO HAVE THEM SHOOT AT HIM. BUT A SUDDEN MEMORY THAT POPPED INTO MY MIND GAVE ME A REASONABLE ENOUGH EXPLANATION.

- "LIFE IS NOT FOR THE WEAK," HE HAD PRONOUNCED HIMSELF. "WE MUST DO OUR PART AND THAT IS PARAMOUNT TO OUR SURVIVAL. TAKE A CUE FROM THE PIGS THEMSELVES - THEY ARE SO EMOTIONALLY INTENSE! AND THEY KNOW HOW TO GET THEIRS!"

ONE OF THE STRANGEST TRICKS THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED BY THE GREEDY BREEDER WAS TO GIVE MARIJUANA TO HIS PIGS. THIS PRACTICE WAS NOT UNIQUE, BUT IT WAS BY NO MEANS COMMON - GAINING WEIGHT ON THE ANIMAL ITSELF MEANT MORE FENTANYL-OPIATE INJECTIONS TO DRIVE THE BUSINESS FURTHER AND FURTHER. FELISTER HAD ELEVATED THIS PRACTICE INTO A VERITABLE CULT!

 

[1] Don Dickerman's book "Keep the Pigs Out: How to Slam the Door on Satan and His Demons and Keep Your Spiritual House Clean" is about such things.

[2]  Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan talks about this.

[3] Elizander's explanations are a carefully researched and acted upon real technique that is a combination of Falun Dafa's understanding of some specific qigong practices and more specifically possible deviations from them, Don Juan's Teachings on Dreaming Doors, and Frank and Ida Mae Hammond's related to demonic possession and the very nature of demons as described in their book Pigs in the Living Room and specifically in Chapter Ten Demonic Manifestations.

[4] Divination is a form of communicating with the afterlife by summoning the spirits of dead people, demons, angels and so on, and is commonly used by practitioners of magic.

[5] Invocation means summoning.

THE RESIDENCY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: THE RESIDENCY

 

IN CANADA, THE THREE OF US DECIDED TO PART WAYS-BUT THERE WAS A PLACE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, AND THAT'S WHERE WE REUNITED. EVERY DETAIL OF THE BREEDER'S PAST LIFE WAS CAPTURED IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THAT PLACE - IT WAS THE FACE OF THE TOWN OF KAMLOOPS.

AND FROM ALL THAT WE HAD COME TO, WE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT FELISTER HAD BRIEFLY RESIDED HERE, AND FROM THEN ON HIS TRAIL WAS IRRETRIEVABLY LOST. AND NO ONE COULD REMEMBER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT HIMSELF.

THERE WAS AN OLD BUILDING ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE TOWN THAT MIGHT HAVE BELONGED TO HIM-YOU ASK HOW WE KNEW. HERE THE INTUITION OF ARLO, WHO HAD RESOLVED TO TAKE A MORE ACTIVE PART IN DISCOVERING HIS SECRET, HELPED EXCEEDINGLY.

THE HOUSE WAS IN TYPICAL VICTORIAN STYLE - QUITE BEAUTIFUL AND BLOOD-CHILLING. WE WALKED AROUND IT SEVERAL TIMES FROM A VERY DISCREET DISTANCE SO AS NOT TO ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF THE NEIGHBOURS.

IT WOULD NOT BE SUPERFLUOUS TO MENTION THE IMPRESSIVE THREE-STOREY BUILDING WITH A BRICK FACADE, WHICH WAS NOW RATHER RUN DOWN AND YET ITS APPEARANCE WAS A PECULIAR MIX BETWEEN NOSTALGIC ATMOSPHERE AND MELANCHOLY. APPARENTLY WE HAD TO GET INSIDE, BUT WE STILL DIDN'T KNOW HOW, AND THERE WAS NO DOORMAN ANYWHERE. HER GARDEN WAS DEFINITELY NEGLECTED, AND HER LAWN WAS MOWED REGULARLY ONLY THANKS TO THE

- "A TRUE SEEKER SHOULD HAVE A SENSE OF THIS," ARLO SAID, WRINKLING HIS NOSE, "I SMELL FELISTER HAS BEEN HERE A LONG TIME - HIS AURA IS STILL IN THE AIR."

FATHER TOBIAS DIDN'T WANT TO STAND THERE WITH HIS ARMS FOLDED, BUT HAD DECIDED TO HELP US. WE CONTACTED HIM IN A VERY SPECIFIC WAY. THE ANGELIC AURA OF MY COMPANIONS WAS APPARENTLY TRANSMITTED EVEN THROUGH THE TELEPHONE RECEIVER. THIS FIELD OF RADIANT LIGHT WAS IMPRESSIVE.

IT WAS INTERESTING THAT FATHER TOBIAS'S INITIALLY STERN VOICE GRADUALLY SOFTENED AND HE AGREED TO TELL US SOME THINGS HE HAD ASSUMED ABOUT THE FELISTER.

- THIS CONVERSATION IS NOT FOR OVER THE PHONE, HE HAD SAID BUSINESSLIKE, BUT WHEN WE EXPLAINED THAT WE WERE NOW AT A GREAT DISTANCE FROM THE ABBEY AND HAD FOLLOWED FELISTER'S STORY SOMEWHAT, HE FELL SILENT FOR A MOMENT AND ... SAID VERY CAREFULLY:

- I FEEL A STRANGE MIXING OF ENERGIES, POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE, WHICH BOTH PASS THROUGH AND SEEM TO FLOW INTO ME. I WILL SEND YOU A CODED MESSAGE LATER AND THAT IS ALL I CAN DO FOR YOU. THE TRUE SPIRITUAL SEEKER MUST TAKE CARE OF HIS OWN SALVATION.

WHILE WAITING FOR THE CODED MESSAGE THE ABBOT PROMISED TO SEND AFTER ALL, WE SLIPPED IN THROUGH THE BACK ENTRANCE - ME, ZONARA AND ARLO. IT WAS NOT SO MUCH EXCITING AS DANGEROUS. PERHAPS FELISTER HAD CAST PROTECTIVE SPELLS THAT WERE STILL IN EFFECT, OR PERHAPS THERE WAS SOMETHING TRULY DANGEROUS AND MALEVOLENT IN THE HOUSE. BUT THAT WAS PURE CONJECTURE. FROM THE ROCKERS I HAD EQUIPPED MYSELF WITH A SPECIAL SPITZER WITH WHICH I COULD OPEN VARIOUS LOCKS, AND THIS PROVED DECISIVE FOR LATER ON.

I LOOKED UP AT THE SKY FOR A MOMENT - I DON'T KNOW IF I WAS MYSELF AT THAT MOMENT! BUT THERE WAS NO SIGN OF ANY BLUEBIRDS, FOR THERE WERE SOME GULLS SOARING IN THE GREYISH AND HEAVY SKY, WHICH HAD COME FROM WHO KNOWS WHERE. THEIR SYMBOLIC NATURE ALMOST MADE ME SMILE, AS THEY REVEALED THAT IN THE FREEDOM AND CAREFREE WAY OF LIFE.

ALAS, I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO PONDER, FOR ZONARA TUGGED AT MY SLEEVE:

- WHAT HAVE YOU GOT YOURSELF INTO? WE SHOULD USE SPURS! FASTER!

- "SEE," I ANSWERED HER, "EVEN THE SKY IS GIVING US A SIGN."

I NEED NOT DESCRIBE HER STRANGE GRIMACE - IT WAS UNTRANSLATABLE IN WORDS.

BUT WE SOON GOT INTO FELISTER'S HOUSE-THE REAL ONE HE HAD INHABITED. IT APPEARED THAT HE HAD NOT LIVED BADLY AT ALL, NOR SO SCANTILY AS WE HAD SUPPOSED.

ARLO WAS STARING AT SOME OF THE ARTIFACTS THAT HAD COLLECTED A THICK LAYER OF DUST.

BUT WE HADN'T COME TO LOOK, WE HAD COME TO SEEK ANSWERS.

AFTER A METICULOUS SURVEY, WE HAD SECURED THE ALARM SYSTEM, AND THEN MY GAZE MOST UNEXPECTEDLY FELL UPON A REPRODUCTION OF THE "SECRET SUPPER" - THE EPIC WORK OF THE LEGENDARY LEONARDO DA VINCI HUNG ON ONE OF THE SIDE STAIRCASES OF THE FORMER RESIDENCE OF THE FELISTER - IT WAS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS PAINTING WAS FULL OF CODES AND SYMBOLISM, AND WHAT BETTER PLACE THAN TO PICK UP A TRAIL TO FOLLOW.

WHO WAS BETRAYING JESUS? WHO WANTED TO TAKE HIS PLACE? HE WHO WAS MOST TRUSTED. I LOOKED INTO THE EYES OF JUDAS... PERHAPS THEREIN LAY THE ANSWER.

COME TO THINK OF IT, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE SURVIVED THE RAID EXCEPT ME, BUT THEN AGAIN, AS WE SAID, RAUL WAS EXECUTED A LITTLE EARLY. SO STRANGE...

FATHER TOBIAS SUDDENLY CALLED - WE'D BOUGHT AN ENCRYPTED PHONE THAT WAS HARDER TO TRACE, BUT WE'D SOON BE RID OF IT, AND THE ROCKERS HADN'T CONFISCATED IT IN THE SEARCH OF ZONARA'S BAG. I MAY HAVE NEGLECTED TO MENTION THAT ARLO WAS FUNDING OUR ONWARD JOURNEY WITH THE LITTLE MONEY HE HAD LEFT FROM SELLING THE WEED.

HE INFORMED US THAT THE FELISTER CODE WAS HIDDEN IN SOME PICTURE - HE HAD CRACKED SOME OF DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S DOCUMENTS - AND THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE HAD TO GO ON THE TRAIL OF THE REAL TRAITOR WAS JUSTIFIED.

RAOUL WAS IN CHARGE OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PIGS - IT MAY SOUND FUNNY, BUT THE DESIGNATED BATCHES WENT BY THEIR RESPECTIVE DIFFERENT ROUTES, WHICH FURTHER CONFUSED THE AUTHORITIES, AND FELISTER WAS A MANIAC ABOUT USING CODES - EACH BATCH HAD ITS OWN, AND THE COMBINATIONS WERE CONSTANTLY CHANGING. THIS INNOVATION APPEALED TO HIM AS IT CREATED MUCH GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR FLEXIBILITY.

RAUL WAS A POOR MEXICAN BOY, BORN IN GUADALAJARA MEXICO, WHO HAD BEEN ADOPTED BY FOSTER PARENTS AND TURNED INTO A NATURALIZED AMERICAN, AND FELISTER HAD TAKEN HIM IN, BUT HE HAD TURNED OUT TO BE THE DRUG CARTELS' HIDDEN MOLE - ZONARA WAS OPERATING FROM MEXICAN SOIL AND RAUL FROM AMERICAN SOIL. FELISTER WOULD HARDLY HAVE SUSPECTED HIM UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

WHEN RAUL HAD BEEN LEFT WITHOUT AN ARM, FELISTER HAD NEARLY SHED A TEAR - NOT FROM PITY, BUT FROM THE FACT THAT HE WAS LOSING A VALUABLE SHOT.

DURING HIS LIFETIME, RAUL HAD EXECUTED SOME UNRULY FARM SERVANTS, STRANGLING THEM WITH HIS BARE HANDS AS THEIR LIVES SLOWLY LEFT THEM - ALTHOUGH SUCH AN ACT WAS BRUTAL TO SAY THE LEAST, IT HAD RESULTED IN A LIFTING OF DISCIPLINE WITHIN THE TROOP AND HAD NOT GONE UNNOTICED BY THE EXPERIENCED EYE OF THE BREEDER.

WE HAD ASSUMED THAT FINGERPRINT POWDER COULD BE USED, AND USED, TO UNCOVER RELEVANT ONES - AND THE RESULT WAS NOT LONG IN COMING. MECHANICAL STAINING SOON REVEALED THE TYPICAL PAPILLARY PATTERNS ON THE FINGER PADS - APPARENTLY THE PRINTS WERE LEFT SOON. WE WERE ABLE TO GET A FAIRLY CLEAR SPECIMEN FROM A THUMB - ONCE WE HAD IT, WE COULD SEND IT TO FATHER TOBIAS, WHO HAD SECRETLY TAKEN IT UPON HIMSELF TO HELP US, SO THAT HE COULD FORWARD IT FOR ANALYSIS.

WE COULDN'T STAY TOO LONG IN THE HOUSE, AS WE WERE ALREADY DELAYED ENOUGH - I DIDN'T CLAIM TO BE COUNTING THE MINUTES, BUT I THINK WE WERE HERE FOR ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN HOUR, WHICH POSED DANGERS.

I DIDN'T NOTICE ANY EQUIPMENT RECORDING, WHICH SURPRISED ME, BUT WE WERE WEARING MASKS AND GLOVES - JUST IN CASE.

THEN WE HAD TO SPEND A LONG AND NOT VERY PLEASANT EVENING IN THE FIELDS AROUND KAMLOOPS. TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK, EVERYWHERE I WENT I STILL FELT ON FOREIGN SOIL. FATHER TOBIAS'S CALL WAS NOT LONG IN COMING, AND HE INFORMED US THAT THE PRINT DID INDEED BELONG TO RAUL HERNANDEZ - AND THIS COINCIDENCE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN COINCIDENTAL.

WHOEVER HAD TAKEN HIS SEVERED HAND TO DAGOS HIM (HERNANDEZ'S FINGERPRINT HAD BEEN PLACED RIGHT ON THE JEW'S FOREHEAD) AS A TRAITOR - AND IN THE HOUSE OF THE FELISTER HIMSELF, WAS PROBABLY AS MUCH IN THE LOOP AT LEAST AS WE WERE AS TO WHERE EVENTS WERE GOING.

HENCEFORTH WE FELT HOPEFUL AND HEARTENED, AND RESOLVED TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF THE INFORMATION - AND THERE CERTAINLY WAS SOME - EVEN JUST GIVING HIS NAME TO SOME INTERESTED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MEXICAN CARTELS COULD BRING US A HUGE UNOFFICIAL REWARD.

- "SOME SAY THAT TIME ITSELF IS LOCKED UP IN THE SECRET DINNER!," I MUTTERED.

ZONARA AND ARLO LOOKED AT EACH OTHER STRANGELY.

IT MEANT THAT SOMEONE HAD GIVEN FALSE TESTIMONY TO GATHER ENOUGH GROUNDS FOR THE RAID ON FELISTER. AND THEN, LIKE THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, THE SMALL CHANGE HAD LED TO A WHOLE SERIES OF EVENTS UNPREDICTABLE AND ENORMOUS IN THEIR SCALE. AND THIS SOMEBODY MIGHT BE RUBBING PEANUTS IN SOME PRISON - IT REMAINED TO FIND HIM, OR AT LEAST TO FIND OUT WHO HE REALLY WAS

THE CODE WHICH, ACCORDING TO FATHER TOBIAS, WAS HIDDEN IN THE PAINTING, WAS VERY TELLING IN THIS RESPECT. IT CONSISTED OF THE ROMAN NUMERALS - V III IX II, WHICH APPARENTLY HAD SOME MEANING TO THE INITIATED - BUT NOT TO US.

WE RACKED OUR BRAINS FOR A LONG TIME AS TO WHAT THE NUMERALS MIGHT MEAN AND WHY THE FELISTER CODE WAS SPELLED OUT WITH THEM. THEN IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT MAYBE IT WAS THE ALTERED CODING OF ONE OF THE BATCHES OF DOPE, AND THAT WOULD LEAD US TO THE MAN WHO KNEW THAT RAUL HAD COMMITTED THE REAL BETRAYAL, AND SOME UNKNOWN FORCES HAD BEEN ACTIVATED THAT NIGHT AND HAD BROUGHT ABOUT THE DOWNFALL OF THE ENTIRE BREEDER EMPIRE.

I TRIED TO SLEEP. I REMEMBERED THAT THE QUIETEST ROOM IN THE WORLD EXISTED IN THE US AND PEOPLE WENT MAD IF THEY STAYED IN IT TOO LONG, AND THEY MIGHT EVEN DIE - I HONESTLY WISHED I WAS IN THAT ROOM AND THAT WOULD END MY EARTHLY TORMENTS BUT AS SOON AS I CLOSED MY EYES I WAS CLEARLY AWARE THAT I COULD SEE THE FLAMES AROUND THE FARM AND IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THEY WERE BIGGER THAN THE FLAMES OF HELL ITSELF.

TRY AS I MIGHT, I COULD NOT SOLVE THE MYSTERY, WHICH GAVE NO HOPE AT ALL THAT OUR SEARCH WOULD END, BUT SOMETHING TOLD ME WE WERE CONTINUING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I HADN'T EXPECTED IT TO BE ALL TOO EASY - APPARENTLY FELISTER'S SIMPLE LIFE PHILOSOPHY THAT PIGS ARE MULTI-LAYERED ANIMALS HAD BORNE FRUIT.

AND WHAT WAS MULTIPLICITY? PERHAPS A WELL-CONSTRUCTED INTERPLAY BETWEEN DIFFERENT SPHERES OF EXISTENCE BASED ON SUFFERING OR PERHAPS CONFESSION.

I PONDERED THE STRANGE COMBINATION OF FELISTER - THE NUMBERS REVERSED INTO EUROPEAN DIGITS WERE 5, 3, 9, 2. WHAT WAS THEIR HIDDEN MEANING? WHERE WAS THE CRUEL PIGMAN'S MADNESS LEADING...?

THE MORE I WENT INTO HIS SICK AMBITIONS, I FELT THAT THE MOST TERRIBLE THING WAS COMING, AND IT WOULD HAPPEN IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER WITH OR WITHOUT OUR PARTICIPATION. THE CIRCLE WAS NARROWING.

THE CONCEPT OF THE CIRCLE WAS INTERESTING, BUT FELISTER HAD CALCULATED THINGS TO AN UNUSUAL DEPTH.

WE CONTINUED TO UNRAVEL THE MYSTERY, WHICH WAS BECOMING INCREASINGLY OBSCURE.

THAT THREAD WITH THE FEDERAL AGENTS HAD ESCAPED MY MIND. BACK IN HOOVER'S TIME[1], THEY WERE TRAINING REAL GEEKS, AND THEIR TRAINING IN CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE WAS PROVERBIAL. BUT MORE ON THAT LATER.

WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET TO THE MYSTERIOUS PRISONER WHO HAD ACTUALLY GOTTEN THE INFORMATION BEFORE WE DID - AND ESPECIALLY WHO IT WAS WHO HAD GIVEN IT TO HIM.

WE CONTINUED WITH OUR INVESTIGATIONS AND CAME TO A SECRET ROOM IN FELISTER'S HOUSE WHERE THERE WAS A SMALL SAFE, AND THERE ON A NOTE WAS THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE:

 "YOUR BROTHER - DIEGO. I KNOW EVERYTHING. WHO IS HE? THE ROAD IS OVER, AND WE ARE ..."

IF YOU TOOK THE ORDER OF THE WORDS IN THE MESSAGE, IT GENERALLY CAME OUT LIKE THIS - "EVERYTHING IS OVER DIEGO, BROTHER."

APPARENTLY THE SECRET ENTITY WAS MAKING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE REAL PERPETRATOR, BUT THEN RAUL WAS INNOCENT OF THAT CHARGE. HOWEVER, THERE WAS LOGIC IN ANOTHER. RAUL KNEW HE COULDN'T BETRAY THE FELISTER DIRECTLY, AND HE NEEDED SOMEONE TO LIAISE WITH THE DRUG CARTELS - SOMEONE OTHER THAN ZONARA, WHO WAS MORE THE MAIN PERSON DIRECTING THE ATTACKS ON THE BREEDER - HE NEEDED A MOLE INFORMANT.

WELL ... IF IT WAS DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S SON ... IT MADE SENSE ...

THE YOUNG YUPPIE HAD MADE HIS MONEY FROM HIS SUPPOSED LEGAL CAREER AND HAD AGREED TO DRIVE US EVERYWHERE IN THE NAME OF AN OCCULT RITUAL - ONE HAD TO GUESS THAT THERE WERE OTHER ULTERIOR MOTIVES IN HIS INTENTIONS. BUT HE WAS DEAD, AND NO ATTEMPT COULD BE MADE TO MAKE ANY SORT OF PLEA AGAINST THESE CHARGES.

JAKE WAS HIS REAL NAME, BUT WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT HE HAD BEEN ADOPTED BY THE DETECTIVE?

WE DUG AROUND THROUGH A SPECIAL INFORMANT WHO TOLD US THAT INDEED JAKE HAD BEEN SUBJECTED TO A SIMILAR PROCEDURE - AND BY THE FELISTER HIMSELF ONLY THAT THERE HAD BEEN A MIX-UP IN NAMES AND THEY HAD SIMPLY NAMED HIM DIEGO - THAT NAME WAS BEFITTING A MEXICAN AND JAKE WAS MORE ANGLO-SAXON.

DIDN'T FELISTER HAVE A REAL BABY FACTORY? BY THAT LOGIC, THE SECRET SURVIVOR WAS CONNECTED TO FELISTER'S FARM, OR AT LEAST COULD HAVE BEEN AN EMPLOYEE OR ...

THERE WAS SOMETHING I REMEMBERED - THE WAY FELISTER SWITCHED THOSE WHO WERE IN THE PROCESS OF ADOPTION - UNDER STATE LAW SOME ASPECTS OF THE PROCESS COULD BE ONEROUS - AND YET THERE WERE LOOPHOLES FOR ADOPTION TO BE DENIED - THAT'S WHAT HE HAD DONE, AS WE'VE ALREADY SAID, WITH MILES. AND IF THERE WAS ONE OTHER ADOPTEE - BESIDES ME, HOW HAD I NOT NOTICED IT ALL THESE YEARS - IT WAS REAL MADNESS! MAYBE HE'D JUST STAYED HIDDEN AND GUARDED IN CASE OF NEED - OR WORKED IN THE DUNGEONS - WHERE DETECTIVE DONOVAN HAD WALKED AROUND TO INSPECT THE REMAINS OF THE DRUG LAB WITH THE FENTANYL ADDITIVES IN THE OPIATE, OR PROTECTED HIS INTERESTS IN SOME OTHER WAY.

A QUOTE FROM SCRIPTURE POPPED INTO MY MIND THAT READ "THE SPIRIT CLEARLY SPEAKS THAT IN THE LAST TIMES SOME WILL DEPART FROM THE FAITH, BEING LED BY DECEIVING SPIRITS AND DOCTRINES OF DEMONS.[2]"

APPARENTLY FELISTER HAD SET UP AN ELABORATE ADOPTION SYSTEM THAT OPERATED ON A HELLISHLY DECEPTIVE PRINCIPLE - AND HOW IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT THIS SERIOUS FACT HAD ESCAPED MY NOTICE. THE HIERARCHY ON FELISTER'S FARM WAS, ABOVE AND BELOW, AS FOLLOWS: FELISTER, RAOUL, MYSELF - ELIZANDER BARNAYNE, AND THE REST ... THE WHOLE GAGGLE OF CRIMINALS, RECIDIVISTS AND PSYCHOPATHS WHO GOT THEIR LIVING BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CRIMINAL SCHEME.

BUT HOW THE COMPLICATED ADOPTION RELATIONSHIP HAD COME ABOUT - APPARENTLY JAKE OR DIEGO OR WHATEVER HIS REAL NAME WAS HAD BEEN INFILTRATED WITH FELISTER, BUT IN THE END HE WAS JUST PROTECTING HIS CORPORATE INTERESTS. HOWEVER, HOW WAS AN INVESTIGATION NOT RAISED IN SUCH A CASE?

HIS DELICATE POSITION AS AN ADOPTED CHILD OF DETECTIVE DONOVAN AND HIS FORMAL RE-ADOPTION - NOW AS AN ADULT - BY FELISTER GAVE HIM THE ENORMOUS ADVANTAGE OF A MAN STANDING ON TWO 'FEET'. AND WHY HAD HE BETRAYED HIS BENEFACTOR? VERY SIMPLY - BECAUSE BY NATURE HE BELONGED TO NEITHER. BUT THERE WAS ALSO SOMETHING STRANGE-WHY, IF THIS SOMEBODY KNEW OF THE TRAITOR DIEGO'S SORDID AFFAIR, HAD HE NOT INTERROGATED HIM BEFORE US, OR ...

I REMEMBERED THAT JAKE'S FORTUNE WAS NO MORE THAN TWO MILLION AND SOMETHING, BUT IT WAS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT THE REAL AMOUNT OF HIS WEALTH WAS MUCH GREATER. AND THAT WAS MOST LIKELY FELISTER'S TRUE INHERITANCE. AND MAY-MY LOGIC PROVED CORRECT ...

EVEN THE DETECTIVE'S BEHAVIOR AT LA POINTE CEMETERY CONFIRMED IT - IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT ESCAPED MY ATTENTION. THE DETECTIVE WAS HANGING BETWEEN THE GRAVES, BUT

BUT THERE WERE THE FEDERAL AGENTS AGAIN ... WHETHER THEY WERE REAL OR ...

GENERALLY, THESE AGENTS UNDERWENT SERIOUS TRAINING AND ACQUIRED EXTENSIVE SKILLS - SO IF THEY WEREN'T UP TO THE TASK, IT WAS PROBABLY SIMPLY BECAUSE THEIR REAL ASSIGNMENT WAS TO PROTECT SOMEONE - MAYBE THIS UNKNOWN PRISONER. AT THE TRAINING FACILITY, WHICH WAS LOCATED IN CUONTICO, THE TRAINING DIDN'T STOP. USUALLY, IN A SIMULATED SETTING, EVERYTHING WAS PLAYED OUT CAREFULLY. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THIS TIME THE REAL SCENARIO WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. ONE PART WAS CONNECTED TO SOMETHING - SUPERNATURAL AND TOO SPECIAL. THAT SCENARIO SEEMED THE MOST LOGICAL TO ME, BUT IF IT WAS TRUE, I HONESTLY DIDN'T SEE HOW WE COULD GET THERE.

WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS PLACED IN THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM, WHICH GENERALLY GUARANTEED A NEW LIFE AND A LOT OF POSSIBILITIES FOR EXISTENCE UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS UNDER GOVERNMENT PROTECTION AND FUNDING.

THAT WOULD HAVE TAKEN US ... TO THE PRISONER HIMSELF, WHO WOULD HAVE TOLD US THE REST...

THE SECRET WITNESS WAS TORTURING HIMSELF. IN THE DARKNESS OF HIS SOUL. PERHAPS HE WAS SEEKING RETRIBUTION! FORGOTTEN BY ALL! THE TRUE FORMLESS DARKNESS, FROM WHICH IT WAS QUITE POSSIBLE FOR ANYTHING TO CRAWL-THE SOURCE OF IMMEASURABLE TERROR. IT WAS AS IF THE SOUL WERE BEING BUFFETED BY THE WIND OF DEATH, AND ALL THIS HOPELESSNESS LED NOWHERE AND IT WAS LEADING TO THE FALSE HAPPINESS OF LIVING IN A FALSE REALITY! IT WAS AS IF HIS WORLD WAS CONNECTED TO A WELL INSULATED SILO... AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD WAS DEAD.

USUALLY THE NAMES OF THOSE PUT ON THE PROGRAMME WERE INDEED DELETED AND CHANGED REPEATEDLY, SO THAT - EVEN IF WE CAME ACROSS IT, THERE WAS A REAL DANGER THAT WE WOULD GET WRONG INFORMATION AS TO ITS TRUE IDENTITY - UNLESS THE WITNESS IN QUESTION REVEALED HIMSELF AND ASKED TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH US.

THERE WAS ALSO SOME DOUBT AS TO WHAT THE FEDS HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR JUST OFF THE RESERVATION, AND NO ARRESTS OR SOME OTHER OSTENTATIOUSNESS LIKE A SHOOTOUT ENSUED - PERHAPS THEIR INVESTIGATION HAD HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD?

INSIDE FELISTER'S HOUSE, WHERE HE'D BURIED HIS SCARIEST SECRETS, I SENSED A VERY CLEAR NEGATIVE ENERGY. ZONARA AND ARLO COULDN'T TAKE IT TOO WELL, BUT THEY HAD TO PUT UP WITH THIS INCONVENIENCE. STILL, WE HAD GONE TOO FAR, AND PERHAPS ALL WOULD SOON BECOME CLEAR.

AND THEN I HAD A VISION - I HAD SEEN THE SAME INITIALS THERE - FAR AWAY WHERE THOSE WHO HAD REACHED THE END HAD BEEN.

AND WHERE WAS HE?

IT WAS MOSTLY CONNECTED WITH THE SOUL OF FELISTER-IT WAS A STRANGE MIXTURE OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS. AND WAS THERE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS? AND DID THE LIGHT COME FROM THE GOOD ETHEREAL CREATURES?

WE HAD LONG SINCE LEFT THE CONFINES OF KAMLOOPS, WHICH WAS NOT A PLACE TO WHICH I WOULD RETURN AGAIN IF I HAD THE CHANCE. WHEN WE LEFT, I DIDN'T LOOK BACK. IT WAS MARCH AND THE TEMPERATURES OUTSIDE WERE FREEZING. BRITISH COLUMBIA CHARMED US WITH ITS RAW BEAUTY. WE WERE TRAVELLING ON THE TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO CROSS THIS VAST COUNTRY EVER. IT WAS SEVERAL THOUSAND MILES LONG AND WE COULD SEE GLACIERS AND ALL KINDS OF BIZARRE SNOWSCAPES - EVEN SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAIN RIDGES IN THE DISTANCE. KAMLOOPS ALSO LAY ON THE TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY, BUT LATER IT BRANCHED OFF IN TWO MAIN DIRECTIONS, AND WE HAD TO TAKE THE SOUTHERN OR NORTHERN ROUTE. WE DIVERTED ALONG THE SOUTHERN ONE TO ARRIVE WHERE WE NEEDED TO BE, IN THE ONTARIO TOWN OF MILTON. TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY AND WE COULD SEE ALL SORTS OF VEHICLES WEAVING THROUGH THE MANY LANES - LIKE A CATERPILLAR. IT WAS SO MONOTONOUS THAT ONE COULD EASILY FALL ASLEEP AND MISS SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT. AND DESPITE THE DECEPTIVE BEAUTY, I WAS ALERT.

 

[1] Hoover is the most successful FBI director in the United States.

[2]   Timothy 4:1

ON THE ROAD

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: ON THE ROAD

 

WE HITCHHIKED, BUT IN WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, WE HAD TO CHANGE OUR TRANSPORTATION TACTICS - OTHERWISE WE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN NOWHERE.

AT A CAR DEALERSHIP, WE HAD SAVED A RICKETY CAMPER, AS THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY TO GET AROUND THE ENDLESS TERRITORIES OF THIS VAST COUNTRY. BOUGHT IT FOR ARLO, WHO REALLY LIKED IT. EVEN IN SUCH A BATTERED MODEL IT HAD THE STANDARD BATHROOM AND TOILET, A SMALL WARDROBE, A SMALL STOVE ON WHICH WE COULD COOK SOME MEALS, AND ALSO A SINGLE BED - WE COULD MANAGE SOMEHOW. WE COULD TAKE TURNS SLEEPING ON IT WHILE THE OTHERS DROVE.

THE SALESMAN'S NAME WAS ROGERS AND HE WAS A PRETTY GRIZZLED DUDE ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE, TWENTY-SIX, TWENTY-SEVEN AT THE MOST. HE WAS SLATHERED LIKE THE WORLD WITH MACHINE GREASE AND HAD GASOLINE STAINS ON HIS COVERALLS. HE LOOKED LIKE A TROUBLED CHILD WHO HAD GOTTEN HIGH ON STRANGE SAUCES WHILE EATING LUNCH ON HIS LUNCH BREAK.

HIS MOUSEY FACE STILL SHOWED SOME INTELLIGENCE, BUT IT WAS DULLED BY HIS GLASSY EYES. HE WAS IN HIS OWN LITTLE WORLD-SEPARATE FROM EVERYONE AND LONGING FOR A BREATH OF FRESH AIR.

ROGERS WAS NOT ONE OF THOSE ANNOYING SALESMEN WHO BOTHERED HIS CUSTOMERS WITH SUPERFLUOUS CHATTER AND WASTED THEIR TIME WITH USELESS INFORMATION. HE QUICKLY ARRANGED THE PAPERWORK FOR THE CARAVAN, WHICH NEEDED A BIT OF BOLT TIGHTENING - SOMETHING HE DID DUTIFULLY AND ACTUALLY CAME IN AT THE PRICE OF THE WHOLE SERVICE. WE LOOKED AROUND - IT WASN'T TOO BAD. IT LOOKED, BY THE WAY, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CAR WASH ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, BUT THERE WAS A CERTAIN SYMBOLISM TO THIS ONE HERE - ROGERS WAS THE SOUL OF THIS PLACE AND GENERALLY EVEN OFFERED US A LITTLE MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD PAID FOR. GAVE US DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO GET TO ONTARIO AND SPECIFICALLY TO MILTON THE FASTEST. THERE WAS THE MAPLEHURST CORRECTIONAL CENTRE WHERE WE WERE LIKELY TO FIND OUR MAN. A LOT OF REPEAT OFFENDERS WERE LOCKED UP THERE, AND THE STORY SURROUNDING THE OPENING OF THE INSTITUTION ITSELF WAS QUITE INTERESTING. HOW HAD I GUESSED? WELL, THE FELISTER CODE WAS PRETTY TELLING IN THAT REGARD, BUT DETECTIVE LOGIC HELPED ME A LOT TOO - IT WAS MORE THAN CLEAR THAT FELISTER HADN'T GONE TO HEAVEN FOR ALL HIS DEEDS, AND WHAT BETTER BOOK WAS THERE THAN JOHN MILTON'S PARADISE LOST, HENCE I DECIDED TO END MY CHAOTIC IDEAS WITH THE ACTUAL CODE FOUND IN FELISTER'S HOUSE IN CAMPLUPS, WHERE BY THE WAY WE FELT THE NEGATIVE ENERGY ALL TOO CLEARLY. CONVERTING IT - THAT IS, CHANGING THE ROMAN NUMERALS TO ARABIC - YIELDED THE NUMBER 5392, WHICH SURELY MEANT SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST "IT'S ALL OVER DIEGO, BROTHER." PERHAPS INTERPRETING THIS ANGELIC NUMBER WOULD ALSO LEAD US TO THE NAME OF THE MYSTERIOUS PRISONER - I MEAN - HIS TRUE IDENTITY, AND WE'D LEARN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT WHAT KIND OF PERSON HE WAS. IT LOOKED LIKE SOME FORM OF SCRABBLE GAME TO ME, BUT I HAD TO SEE IF I COULD GET ANY NAME AT ALL OUT OF THE AVAILABLE LETTERS, OR AT LEAST SOMETHING MEANINGFUL. IN ENGLISH, YOU COULD GET A FEW MEANINGFUL LETTER COMBINATIONS THAT RESEMBLED WORDS OR SOMETHING. ONE OF THEM WAS "BORN T", WHERE BORN MEANT BORN, AND THE LETTER T HAD A MAGICAL MEANING. I DUG AROUND IN MY FAIRLY DECENT KNOWLEDGE OF MAGICAL ALPHABET AND RUNES, AND TAW OR TAV[1] WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORD FOR TRUTH EMET, WHICH WAS IN HEBREW - YOU GET SOMETHING LIKE BORN TRUTH. EVEN IF THE COMBINATION WAS TRUE, IT DEFINITELY DIDN'T SPEAK TOO MUCH TO ME, BUT I FELT LIKE WE WOULD LEARN MORE SOON.

THE ROAD WAS NOT WITHOUT ACCIDENTS. ROGERS HAD HELPED US - AND HELPED US A LOT. OTHERWISE WE WOULDN'T HAVE GOT WHERE WE WERE GOING AT ALL. I NOTICED HIS GRUBBY HANDS. HE MUST HAVE BEEN HUNGRY AND COLD. I FELT LIKE DOING SOMETHING GOOD FOR HIM AND LEFT HIM A SMALL PRESENT - A MODEST TIP. PERHAPS HE WAS GLAD LATER. BUT WE WERE STILL DRIVING A BRAHMA, WHICH, THOUGH TIGHT, MIGHT HAVE SURPRISED US IN THESE HARSH CONDITIONS.

WE ALSO HAD SOME OTHER PLACES TO CROSS BEFORE WE REACHED MILTON.

FOR THE FIRST TIME I WAS ABLE TO APPRECIATE SOMETHING EXTREMELY SPECIAL, AND IT WAS ROOTED IN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO COUNTRIES - THE US WAS THE ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND MILITARY CENTER, BUT CANADA HAD A STRONGER MIDDLE CLASS. AND IT WAS VISIBLE IN A RATHER UNOBTRUSIVE WAY.

NEITHER ARLO NOR ZONARA GRUMBLED AT THE NEW CONDITIONS, AND WE TOOK THREE HOURS TO SLEEP, AND THEN WHOEVER HAD SLEPT TOOK THE WHEEL. I WOULDN'T SAY DRIVING WAS OUR STRONG SUIT - ESPECIALLY NIGHT DRIVING. IT WAS GENERALLY MORE DANGEROUS THAN DAYTIME DRIVING, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF WASTING TIME. WE STILL HAD A LOT OF ROAD.

AND WHERE WAS THE ALMIGHTY ON THIS DREADED NIGHT IN WHICH WE WERE HEADED FOR THE NEXT LEVEL OF REALITY REVELATION? IF OUR SOULS, IF WE HAD ANY LEFT, HAD NO PULL TO ANYTHING, WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ENDURING IT? BUT WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE PAIN MIGHT HAVE REVEALED TO US WIDER LIMITS OF PERCEPTION AND SENSATION OF SO-CALLED SUBTLE REALITY? I KNEW THAT THE EPICUREAN THEORY OF HAPPINESS FOCUSED ON THE ABSENCE OF PAIN AND SUFFERING, BUT IN MY OPINION, ANYONE WHO DIDN'T FEEL IT-OR PRETENDED IT DIDN'T EXIST-EITHER DIDN'T BELONG IN THIS WORLD OR WAS A COMPLETE IDIOT.

NONE OF US WERE SO EXPERIENCED AT DRIVING AS TO BE AWARE OF EXACTLY HOW TO USE THE LOW AND HIGH BEAMS - ESPECIALLY IN EXTREME CONDITIONS LIKE THESE, SO WE TRIED TO BE CAREFUL IN THIS REGARD LEST WE ACCIDENTALLY MISLEAD ONE OF THE OTHER DRIVERS AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. THERE WAS A HAILSTORM THAT WAS MAKING OUR MOVEMENT EVEN MORE DIFFICULT.

IT HAD BEEN TOO LONG SINCE WE'D LEFT WINNIPEG BEHIND AND THE KINDLY ROGERS' FACE HAD ALMOST BEGUN TO FADE IN MY MIND - WE HAD TO MAKE A PLAN FOR LATER. WHEN WE REACHED THUNDER BAY, WE DEFINITELY NEEDED A LITTLE BREAK TO SOBER US UP - AFTER THE INDESCRIBABLE SNOW HELL ON THE MAIN HIGHWAY. THE SPEED LIMIT ON THE HIGHWAY ALSO MADE THINGS RATHER PECULIAR - WE COULDN'T EXCEED A HUNDRED KILOMETERS PER HOUR, BUT WE WERE ALSO GOING MUCH SLOWER A GOOD DEAL OF THE TIME.

IN TOUNDER BAY WE STAYED IN A SMALL MOTEL AND I LAID OUT MY CONCERNS TO ARLO AND ZONER:

- IF HE HAD BEEN PUT IN THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM, HE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN IN JAIL LONG AGO. AND WE MAY NEVER FIND HIM EITHER!

THEY BOTH NODDED, BUT ZONARA ANSWERED ME QUITE CLEARLY:

- SOMETHING TELLS ME THAT'S WHERE THE TRAIL IS. AND THIS TIME WE WILL GLIMPSE A GREAT DEAL OF THE TRUTH ABOUT FELISTER.

WITH THAT, OUR CONVERSATION WAS FINALIZED AND THE THREE OF US WENT TO SLEEP. WE WERE EXTREMELY TIRED DUE TO THE INSANE DRIVING AND THE IMMENSE LACK OF SLEEP THAT HAD SAPPED OUR STRENGTH. BEFORE HEADING TO BED, HOWEVER, IN ADDITION TO SLEEPING IN SHIFTS TO RESORT TO SOME MORE SERIOUS MAGICAL PROTECTION SUCH AS BUILDING SOME SORT OF MAGICAL FIELD THROUGH THE SEAL OF SOLOMON. IT WAS PLACED ON A MOST ORDINARY RING OF SOLID GOLD THAT I WORE ON ONE OF THE FINGERS OF MY RIGHT HAND, AND WHICH COULD ALSO BE USED TO INVOKE SPIRITS - INCLUDING DEMONS. JUST IN CASE, I ALSO DREW A MAGIC CIRCLE, STARTING ACCORDING TO TRADITION FROM THE NORTH AND MOVING THE INDEX FINGER OF MY RIGHT HAND CLOCKWISE. USUALLY SOME SORT OF PHYSICAL TOOL WAS USED TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, BUT THE BASIC PRINCIPLE WAS TO CONSISTENTLY BUILD UP LARGE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY WITHIN THE CIRCLE TO DO THE REST, AND THE OTHER IMPORTANT ASPECT WAS PREVENTING NEGATIVE ENERGY FROM SEEPING IN, AS IT COULD WREAK HAVOC AND BREAK DOWN ITS EFFECTIVE DEFENSES. WITH THAT, THE OPENING OF THE MAGIC CIRCLE WAS COMPLETE. I DECIDED THERE WAS NO POINT IN OVERDOING IT AND LEFT MYSELF IN THE HANDS OF SLEEP.

HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST TO FIND THE ONE WHO COULD TELL US THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT THE MAIN VILLAIN, WHO ALSO HAPPENED TO BE MY BENEFACTOR. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, I WONDERED IF GOOD AND EVIL WEREN'T JUST TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN - ONLY WE WERE LOOKING AT IT FROM THE WRONG SIDE AND IT WAS DISTORTING OUR PERCEPTIONS OF REALITY.

IT IS REDUNDANT TO DESCRIBE THE DETAILS OF OUR ENTIRE JOURNEY, BUT I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT THERE WERE ALSO MANY LOST SOULS IN THE SNOWY HELL OF CANADA WHO WERE MOST LIKELY SEEKING THEIR SALVATION.

DURING THE REMAINING FEW HUNDRED MILES OF OUR JOURNEY, LITTLE OF NOTE HAPPENED.

WE HAD TO CROSS THE REST OF THE TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY-A DISTANCE OF SOME EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY MILES. THIS TOOK US SEVERAL DAYS, FOR OWING TO THE BAD WEATHER WE WERE MOVING LIKE TORTOISES.

MILTON WAS IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF HALTON, WHICH ITSELF WAS PART OF THE GREATER TORONTO AREA. WHEN WE ARRIVED, I REALIZED SOMETHING WAS WRONG - AND I WAS RIGHT. THE CITY WAS EXTREMELY PICTURESQUE AND IMPRESSIVE. AND ITS ATMOSPHERE WAS INCREDIBLE - THE MODERN SKYSCRAPERS STOOD OUT AGAINST THE CLASSICAL BUILDINGS IN THE BACK, STANDING OUT LIKE PROUD COLOSSI IN THE WINTER NIGHT - THEIR LIGHTS RESEMBLED SOME KIND OF WHIMSICAL FAIRYLAND, AND THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES WERE EXTREMELY LOW. WE ARRIVED LATE IN THE EVENING OF MARCH TWENTY-SECOND VERSUS TWENTY-THIRD. IT WAS STILL BITTER COLD!

THE MAPLEHURST CORRECTIONAL CENTER WASN'T TOO FAR AWAY EITHER, BUT WE DIDN'T WANT TO POKE AROUND.

THE CLOSER WE GOT TO THE FINAL LEG OF OUR JOURNEY, THE MORE DOUBTS I HAD ABOUT FACING THE TRUTH. IT MADE ME KIND OF UNCOMFORTABLE TO HAVE TO ADMIT THAT WE COULD PROBABLY WITNESS STRANGE AND UNEXPLAINED TWISTS AND TURNS REGARDING WHAT WE ALREADY KNEW.

IN THE ANCIENT TEACHINGS OF THE KABBALISTS - FOR FELISTER DEALT WITH ALL ASPECTS OF THIS ART, IT WAS SAID THAT THE FOUR PLANES OF THE UNIVERSE WERE ARCHETYPAL, SPIRITUAL, ASTRAL AND MATERIAL. AND A TRUE MAGICIAN HAD TO HANDLE ALL OF THEM WELL. IN THE SO-CALLED MALKUTH[2], THE ENERGIES OF THE HIGHER PLANES REACHED THE END POINT OF THEIR ROUTE AND ... I WANTED TO RECALL HOW IT ALL BEGAN - THE MOMENT I WORKED ON THE FARM OF A FELISTER, THE MOMENT I RESIDED IN THE BOARDING SCHOOL, AND BEFORE THAT ...?

BUT THE BITING COLD INTERRUPTED MY MUSINGS. ARLO AND ZONARA WERE TOO DEDICATED AND KEPT FOLLOWING ME BECAUSE ALL THREE OF US PLAYED ON THE SAME "TEAM".

IF ANYONE EVEN KNEW A FELISTER IN THIS TOWN, HARDLY THE SMARTEST THING WE COULD HAVE DONE WAS QUESTION ABOUT HIM LEFT AND RIGHT.

IT WAS TOO COLD THAT NIGHT, SO WE DECIDED TO GO INTO A BREWPUB - WHERE WE COULD WARM UP A BIT. AND SOME POOR GUY WALKED PAST US - I WAS AMAZED. I EXPECTED HIM TO ASK US FOR SOMETHING ...

THERE WAS SO MUCH SUFFERING ON EARTH! BUT HE PASSED INTO THE NIGHT AND DISAPPEARED.

IN THE MORNING WE WERE AT MAPLEHURST, WHERE WE HOPED TO GET OUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED. TO SEE A PARTICULAR PRISONER ONE WENT THROUGH A DEFINITE PROCEDURE, AS DIFFERENT RECIDIVISTS WERE CONVICTED OF A VARIETY OF OFFENCES. INCIDENTALLY, THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE IN SUCH A PRISON INSTITUTION WAS QUITE HIGH, AND THE HIGHEST IN THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO - SO SOMETIMES THERE WAS TREMENDOUS PERVERSION GOING ON IN THE PRISON. SEEN FROM A BIRD'S EYE VIEW, THE PRISON WAS ENVELOPED IN GREENERY, AND THE NATIONAL FLAG FLEW PROUDLY OUT FRONT, BUT I GUESSED THAT INSIDE ATROCITIES WERE A DAILY OCCURRENCE, AND THE "FURNISHINGS" IN THE CELLS WERE MORE THAN SPARTAN.

WE DECIDED TO PRETEND TO BE HIS FRIENDS, BUT A LITTLE LATER IT WAS MADE CLEAR TO US THAT SUCH A MAN HAD NEVER EXISTED AND HAD NEVER BEEN HERE.

BUT HOW WAS IT POSSIBLE?

THE WARDENS AND SERVICE STAFF WERE ABSOLUTELY POLITE, BUT THEIR COOPERATION WAS TOO FORMAL FOR ME NOT TO HAVE CERTAIN DOUBTS - THEY WERE JUST EMPLOYEES OF THE SYSTEM. DUMB AND DEAF TO EVERYTHING.

ON THE WAY BACK, WE HAD TO ADMIT THAT WE FOUND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - IT WAS AS IF WE HAD JUST GOTTEN SOMEWHERE AND FROM THERE ON SOME INVISIBLE WALL PREVENTED US FROM CONTINUING - BUT THIS TIME I WONDERED WHAT NATURE IT WAS - WHETHER IT WAS ADMINISTRATIVE, MAGICAL, CRIMINAL, CORPORATE OR WHATEVER.

 

[1] The idea behind the word emet is that it includes the first, fourteenth, and twenty-eighth letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which in other words means that truth encompasses everything.

[2] According to ancient kabbalistic teachings, Malkuth is the tenth sephiroth of the tree of life.

THE STRANGER

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: THE STRANGER

 

AFTER RETURNING TO MILTON AND VISITING THE SAME BREWERY FROM THE NIGHT BEFORE, A STRANGER APPROACHED US AND TOSSED ME A VERY SMALL SEALED ENVELOPE. IT WAS DOWNRIGHT TINY. STRANGE AS IT WAS I COULD NOT SEE HIS FACE NOR SMELL THE STRANGER'S SCENT.

THE THREE OF US PRETENDED NOT TO CARE, BUT AS WE STEPPED OUTSIDE, OUR CURIOSITY GOT THE BETTER OF US. WE WERE CONSTANTLY ON THE LOOKOUT FOR A TAIL THAT MIGHT HAVE SPRUNG A SURPRISE.

THE CONTENTS OF THE NOTE READ AS FOLLOWS:

"YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR. FROM NOW ON THE JOURNEY IS AT YOUR OWN RISK."

THE NOTE CONTAINED NO OTHER INFORMATION AND WAS NEITHER HANDWRITTEN NOR PRINTED, BUT WAS ASSEMBLED FROM ASSORTED CLIPPINGS. I WAS ALSO SURE THAT THERE WERE NO FINGERPRINTS ON THE PAPER, AS THE STRANGER HAD EITHER PUT ON GLOVES OR SIMPLY APPLIED A SPECIAL GLUE TO "MASK" THE PAPILLARY LINES ON THE PADS OF HIS FINGERS AND PALM.

I MADE A VERY BOLD CLAIM, THOUGH - WHAT IF WHOEVER HAD DIED WASN'T THE REAL JAKE, WHAT IF IT WAS SOMEONE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT - THE ONLY SURVIVOR OF THE RAID ON FELISTER'S FARM - BESIDES MYSELF. THAT THEORY DIDN'T INSPIRE ANY CONFIDENCE IN ME, AND I SOON DISMISSED IT. JAKE WAS LYING SOMEWHERE IN LA POINTE CEMETERY - QUITE FAR FROM US, UNDER AT LEAST TWO FEET OF LOOSE EARTH - IF NOT MORE.

I SHARED MY CONCERNS WITH ARLO AND ZONER - WHO KNOWS WHY I SEEMED TO HAVE BECOME MORE ACTIVE IN THE INVESTIGATION THAN THEY WERE.

GOING BACK TO MILTON WAS COMPLETELY POINTLESS. THERE REMAINED THE POSSIBILITY OF GETTING TO THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER WHO HAD HIMSELF GIVEN US THE NEXT TRAIL TO FOLLOW.

AS WE WALKED THROUGH THE STREETS OF MILTON THE NIGHT BEFORE, THE FACES OF THE PEOPLE SEEMED SMILING, BUT SOMEHOW BLANK AND EXPRESSIONLESS - AS IF IT WERE ALL JUST A FALSE FACADE.

THE CITY GOVERNMENT HARDLY FELT ANY REAL CONCERN FOR THAT HOMELESS MAN WE'D SEEN THE NIGHT BEFORE. THERE WAS, OF COURSE, A HOMELESS SHELTER IN MILTON - AS THERE IS EVERYWHERE, SO HE WOULD MOST LIKELY HAVE SPENT THE NIGHT EITHER THERE OR HIDDEN IN A BOX UNDER SOME STREET STAIRCASE, YAWNING AND CURSING HIS LIFE AWAY. A SOUL'S LONELINESS WASN'T DEFINED BY HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE AROUND, AND THIS POOR GUY DIDN'T ASK FOR ANYTHING FROM ANYONE - HE DIDN'T EVEN REACH OUT FOR A HANDOUT! HE QUIETLY DISAPPEARED... AS HE HAD APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE! I COULDN'T EVEN SEE HIS FACE - IT WAS AS IF HE WAS INVISIBLE AND USELESS TO ANYONE!

THE LETTER FROM THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER MUST HAVE HAD SOME CODED MESSAGE IN IT AGAIN - AND I DECIDED TO USE THE SAME CODE WE HAD LEARNED AT THE FELISTER RESIDENCE - 5392.

I STARTED LISTING THE POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS... NOTHING WAS WORKING - IT WAS TOO EASY FOR IT TO WORK. TOO OBVIOUS.

HOWEVER, I DECIDED TO PLAY THE ELIMINATION METHOD - IF THE CIRCLE NARROWED, THE SECRET MEANING OF THE MESSAGE WOULD BE MORE SPECIFIC - NOT THAT IT WAS NECESSARY, BUT I DECIDED TO TRY THAT OPTION AS WELL.

THE SECOND WORD OF THE SECRET MESSAGE WAS "BROTHER" AND IT CORRESPONDED TO THE LAST DIGIT OF THE CODE. THE ONLY ASSOCIATIONS THAT CAME TO MIND WERE BIG BROTHER. BUT AGAIN, THERE WAS SOME UNDERSTATEMENT AND MISCOMMUNICATION. I THINK THERE WAS SOMETHING MISSED AND WE HAD TO FIND IT.

I ASKED ARLO AND ZONARA FOR THEIR OPINIONS - THEY WERE ALSO SILENT AND TRYING TO MAKE SOME KIND OF GUESS.

THEN THE NEXT BOLD GUESS OCCURRED TO ME - BIG BROTHER - WELL YES 222 - THERE WERE TWO WORDS AND THEY BOTH STARTED WITH B IN LATIN, AND THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOME ADDRESS OR PRISONER NUMBER.

HERE WAS MY DETECTIVE LOGIC GIVING SOME ASSOCIATIONS AND PUSHING ME FORWARD ... INTO THE UNKNOWN.

THE NEXT DAY WE WENT TO MAPLEHURST AGAIN - THIS TIME NOT EVEN ENTERING THE TOWN. WE ASKED TO SEE INMATE 222'S FILE, BUT THIS TIME WE HAD PREPARED OURSELVES - WE HAD MORE THAN SIMPLE PLEAS AT OUR DISPOSAL - WE HAD LEGAL GROUNDS. ONE OF THE LAWYERS ADVISED US TO HIRE A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR WHO HAD THE AUTHORITY TO REQUEST CERTAIN INFORMATION UNDER THE APPROPRIATE CHANNEL OF THE LAW. THIS PRODUCED GOOD RESULTS - NOT IMMEDIATELY, OF COURSE.

IT TURNED OUT THAT THE ALLEGED INMATE, 222, HAD NEVER SERVED HIS SENTENCE AT MAPLEHURST - OR, MORE ACCURATELY, HAD ONLY RESIDED THERE FOR ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE BEING PERMANENTLY TRANSFERRED TO A STATE PRISON. THIS TWIST SEEMED LIKE A ROLLER COASTER - I FELT LIKE WE COULDN'T LEAVE SOME WEIRD VICIOUS CIRCLE WHERE EVERYTHING WAS HAPPENING. BUT THE PRISON AUTHORITIES REFUSED TO GIVE US ANY MORE INFORMATION. ALL THEY SAID WAS THAT AS FAR AS THEY WERE INFORMED AFTER THAT HE HAD MADE A DEAL WITH THE FEDS AND FROM THEN ON WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS A COMPLETE MYSTERY. OF COURSE, WE WEREN'T TOLD THE LATTER WITHOUT ZONARA USING ONE OF HER CONNECTIONS - CONGRESSMAN JOHNSTON, WHO WAS INDEBTED TO HER FOR FINANCING HIS ELECTION CAMPAIGN WITH THE UNIONS' DIRTY MONEY - AND IN PARTICULAR THROUGH ZONARA'S ADVOCACY AS WELL AS THE SKILLFUL MANEUVERING OF DETECTIVE JASON SONDER, WHO INVOKED CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN THE LAW AND THREATENED MANAGEMENT INTO REFUSING TO COOPERATE IN SOLVING THE CASE, WHICH IN TURN WITH A LITTLE LUCK COULD HAVE LED DIRECTLY TO A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION - THEY WERE SMART ENOUGH AND FIGURED IT WASN'T WORTH GETTING IN THAT MUCH TROUBLE OVER. DETECTIVE SAUNDERS HAD REFERRED TO CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN THE LAW

- "MAYBE HE'S HERE IN CANADA WAITING FOR US AFTER ALL," I BOLDLY CONCLUDED.

ARLO MURMURED SOMEWHAT THOUGHTFULLY:

- I'M CONVINCED WE HAVE TO GET TO HIM OURSELVES-MAYBE HE'S EVEN CLOSE, OR MAYBE HE'S NOT.

ZONARA DIDN'T TAKE ANY ATTITUDE - AT LEAST NOT WHILE WE WERE IN THE PRISON INSTITUTION. ONLY HER EYES LOOKED AT SOME INDETERMINATE POINT.

I WAS ALREADY USED TO SOME OF THE "QUIRKS" OF MY COMPANIONS - MAYBE THAT'S WHY WE WORKED SO WELL AS A TEAM.

BUT SOMETHING STILL URGED ME NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED AS THE SITUATION BECAME MORE AND MORE ENTANGLED. IT WASN'T AT ALL OBVIOUS WHO WAS HIDING BEHIND THE MASK OF ANONYMITY, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PROMPTING US TO REVEAL HIS IDENTITY - AND WITH THE CONVICTION THAT HE KNEW THE REST OF THE PUZZLE.

I WONDERED, HOWEVER, WHERE WE MIGHT CATCH THE CLUE THAT WOULD LEAD US TO HIM. MILTON WAS A SPECIAL PLACE WITH SPECIAL PEOPLE.

AND AFTER THE INFORMATION DETECTIVE SAUNDERS HAD GIVEN US, WE NOW KNEW ENOUGH TO CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY ON OUR OWN. A JOURNEY TO THE INFINITE...OF THE HUMAN SOUL.

FELISTER TAUGHT US THAT GROWING UP ON THE STREETS WOULD NOT BE SHAMEFUL UNLESS YOU LEARNED ITS LESSONS. IT WAS DOWN TO SURVIVAL. THE SPIRIT OF THE STREET WAS A UNIVERSE THAT WAS UNIQUE. AND PERHAPS THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT THE STRANGER WANTED TO SUGGEST. AFTER ALL, EVEN THE APPARENT LACK OF LOGIC COULD BE EXPLAINED IN SOME FORM-SOONER OR LATER WE WERE GOING TO MEET-EYE TO EYE.

I TRIED TO MAKE SENSE OF WHETHER 222 WAS AN ADDRESS OR SOMETHING ELSE - LIKE THE PRISONER'S OWN NUMBER. WHAT IF IT WAS MUCH SIMPLER AND ELEMENTARY?

AT THE EXIT FROM MILTON WAS HIGHWAY FOUR, WHOSE NUMBER, DIVIDED IN TWO, GAVE THE SAME NUMBER, AND MAPLE AVENUE WAS DIRECTLY OPPOSITE IT, IT WAS THE SECOND WORD, WHICH MEANT A LARGE AVENUE, AND THE LAST TWO WAS PERHAPS THE HOUR AT WHICH WE WERE TO MEET-TWO AT NIGHT. WE DIDN'T HAVE A MAP HANDY, BUT WE LOOKED AT THE AREA ANYWAY, AND IT WAS EASY TO FIND - IT LOOKED LIKE THERE WAS SOME SORT OF WATERING HOLE IN THE AREA OR SOMETHING.

I SHARED WITH ARLO AND ZONER ABOUT MY OBSERVATIONS - IT WAS A RELATIVELY SECLUDED SPOT WHERE WE COULD MEET - COMPLETELY UNDISTURBED AND TACKLE THE NEXT PART OF THE MYSTERY.

THIS TIME THEY BOTH TURNED TO ME AND ASKED:

- WHAT IF IT'S A TRAP? MAYBE HE PURPOSELY WANTS TO DESIGNATE A SIMILAR PLACE TO PULL THE STRINGS.

I THOUGHT ABOUT IT AND CONCEDED THE RIGHTNESS OF THEIR ARGUMENT, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND THERE WAS NO OTHER ULTERIOR MOTIVE AND NO POINT IN BEING PUT THROUGH SO MANY HURDLES TO HAVE A TRAP SET FOR US RIGHT NOW.

I REMEMBERED WELL THAT OLD TALE OF THE DREAM TRAP[1], WHERE EVIL SPIRITS WERE TRYING TO GET AT PEOPLE IN THEIR DREAMS, BUT THE WISE IKTOMI SPUN A WEB FOR THE TRIBE TO CATCH THE POSITIVE ENERGY. APPARENTLY THAT'S WHAT ARLO AND ZONARA WERE TRYING TO TELL ME. AFTER I QUESTIONED THEM, THEY NODDED AFFIRMATIVELY.

IF ALL OF THIS WERE TRUE THE STRANGER WOULD BE WAITING FOR US RIGHT THERE AT EXACTLY TWO IN THE MORNING, BUT WOULD MOST LIKELY BE HARD TO SPOT.

I DIDN'T WANT TO CRAWL AROUND THE AREA BECAUSE HE MIGHT HAVE SPOTTED US OR GUESSED OUR INTENTIONS. WE HAD ALREADY DECIDED TO SELL THE CAMPER BEFORE ENTERING MILTON, AS ALTHOUGH IT WAS COMFORTABLE, IT WAS RELATIVELY SLOW, AND WE NEEDED MORE MANEUVERABILITY.

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE NIGHT, AND IN PARTICULAR THE NUMBER TWO, SUGGESTED TO ME SOME AMBIVALENCE. AT NIGHT THE EVIL FORCES WERE PARTICULARLY ACTIVE - SO AT THE APPOINTED TIME WE PREPARED AND WAITED - IN THIS PART OF THE CITY TRAFFIC WAS FAIRLY ACTIVE, BUT AT GREAT DISTANCES FROM US OF AT LEAST THREE HUNDRED YARDS NOT A LIVING PERSON COULD BE SEEN. THE SNOW CONTINUED TO PILE UP.

AT SOME TIME, THE STRANGER APPEARED. I FELT HIS PRESENCE IN AN UNUSUAL WAY - SO STRANGE AND SUBTLE. THERE WAS NO DOUBT THAT HE WAS COMING TO TELL US AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE.

HE WAS DRESSED IN SOME STYLISH BUT RATHER UNREMARKABLE GREY CLOTHES AND STEPPED VERY LIGHTLY. I COULD NOT YET SEE HIS FACE, BUT MY ATTENTION WAS ATTRACTED CHIEFLY BY THE FACT THAT, FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON, HIS CLOTHES BLENDED IN WITH THE WHITE AND GREY SURROUNDINGS.

WE WERE CLOSE TO THE ROAD THAT LED OUT OF MILTON AND INTO MISSISSAUGA, A CITY THAT OFFERED FAR MORE OPPORTUNITIES THAN MILTON AND WAS RIGHT NEXT TO THE HEART OF TORONTO ITSELF.

IT STRUCK ME THAT THE STRANGER HAD EXCELLENT MANNERS AND SEEMED TO BE IN NO HURRY TO START THE CONVERSATION, AS HE WANTED TO LOOK US OVER BEFOREHAND. HE WAS COMPLETELY ALONE - CONTRARY TO MY EXPECTATION THAT HE WOULD BE BRINGING A WHOLE GANG OF GANGSTERS WITH HIM.

AFTER THE INITIAL MUTUAL EXPLORATION, WE DECIDED TO CUT TO THE CHASE. THE STORY I HEARD FROM THE STRANGER EXCEEDED EVEN MY WILDEST EXPECTATIONS AND DEFINITELY LIVED UP TO ALL THE MISHAPS WE HAD BEEN THROUGH SO FAR. IT WAS EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN I ACTUALLY EXPECTED.

"THEN THERE WAS AN INFORMER AFTER ALL, OR SOME HIDDEN TRUMP OF A FELISTER, AND MY REASONING WAS NOT WRONG IN THAT RESPECT!" THOUGHT I, LISTENING ATTENTIVELY TO THE STRANGER.

FELISTER WAS A DOUBLE-BOTTOMED MAN AND ANYTHING COULD BE EXPECTED FROM HIM - THE VERY INTRICATELY WOVEN WEB OF MANIPULATION THAT WAS THE BASIS OF HIS BUSINESS SUCCESS AND HIS SHREWD BUSINESS MOVES WERE OBVIOUSLY TIED TO SOMETHING EXTREMELY DEEP.

HE TOLD US THAT HE PREFERRED TO TALK IN SOME BETTER PROTECTED PLACE - AND WE ACCEPTED THIS CONDITION OF HIS. THIS TIME THE DRIVING WAS HANDLED BY ZONARA, WHO HAD BECOME MORE CONFIDENT IN THIS REGARD, AND ARLO KEPT A VERY CLOSE EYE OUT FOR ANY POSSIBLE TAIL AND ANY OTHER POSSIBLE THREATS. WE QUICKLY CLIMBED INTO THE CAR AND STARTED MAKING CONFUSING TURNS - THIS TACTIC WORKED FOR SOME AMATEURS, BUT SOMETIMES WELL-TRAINED ODOROLOGISTS[2] COULD USE VERY SPECIFIC TRACKING TECHNIQUES, AND A LITTLE LATER WE STOPPED ABOUT A MILE NORTH OF TOWN - YOU COULD TELL WE WERE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, AND THE SNOW HID US FURTHER. AS A MATTER OF FACT, IN SUCH WEATHER CONDITIONS, WE HAD THE REAL POSSIBILITY OF GETTING HIM TO A SAFER PLACE THAN THIS - A RURAL BARN OR EVEN A TOOL STORAGE SHED, AS UNLIKE OTHER LOCATIONS SUCH AS NEARBY OAKVILLE, THE AREA AROUND MILTON WAS MORE OF A RURAL TYPE AND CONVENIENT PLACES FOR THIS PURPOSE WERE PLENTIFUL, BUT HERE THE SNOWDRIFT ACTED AS A MAGICAL SHROUD, HIDING US FROM EVIL EYES, AND I WANTED TO HEAR SOMETHING CONCRETE FROM THE STRANGER FIRST - AT LEAST A LITTLE, AND TO MAKE SURE DEFINITIVELY THAT WE WEREN'T ON THE WRONG TRAIL AND WASTING OUR TIME WITH HIM FOR NOTHING. IT TURNED OUT THAT HE WAS INDEED THE LATE RAUL'S BROTHER, AND BORE THE NAME OF DIEGO, WHILE THE OTHER - ADOPTED BY FELISTER, WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S SON - WAS ALSO NAMED DIEGO - PURE COINCIDENCE. I DIDN'T THINK SO. AND I WAS RIGHT. RAUL HAD WITNESSED THE SECRET RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FELISTER AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, WHICH WAS INTENDED TO BE HIS CONNECTION TO IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN SALT LAKE CITY, AND THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON. THE SERVICES OF DIEGO HIMSELF - I MEAN DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S LATE SON - WERE NOT AT ALL FREE EITHER, FOR THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THE LEGAL AND ECONOMIC PART OF THE BUSINESS WAS ENTIRELY IN HIS HANDS - AT LEAST IN TERMS OF ALLOCATING THE FINANCES TO THE APPROPRIATE STRANDS, AND RAUL WAS USED AS THE PUNISHING BLADE INSIDE THE FARM. HIS HISTORY WAS MORE THAN CURIOUS, HAVING BEEN CAUGHT ON THE GROUNDS OF A NEW CATTLE RANCH FOR THE PURPOSE OF BRIBING LOCAL POLITICIANS OF INDIAN DESCENT WHILE THE DEALS WERE BEING DONE COURTESY OF BIG BROTHER, AND BLUEBIRD HAD PROVIDED THE POLITICAL CONTACTS HE WOULD NOW USE AT WILL. HE HIMSELF WAS ... THE DOPE WAS SOMETIMES CARRIED IN FUNERAL URNS, WHICH WERE DECORATED AS SOUVENIRS WITH TYPICAL INDIAN MOTIFS AND PLACED INSIDE THE WOODEN COFFINS-ALTHOUGH TRADITIONAL INDIAN BURIAL METHODS ESCHEWED EMBALMING AND EVEN SOME OTHER PRACTICES, AND ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL TRADITIONS EACH FAMILY WAS TO TAKE CARE OF ITS OWN DEAD. BEING A MINORITY GROUP WITH OBVIOUS PRIVILEGES, WITH THE POWERS PROVIDED TO THEM BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT, NO ONE INTERFERED AT THEIR FUNERALS, AND THERE WAS EVEN THE PRACTICE OF RELATIVES OF SOME ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BORDER DEMANDING THAT THE DEAD BE SENT TO THEM TO BE BURIED ON NATIVE SOIL, AND THIS WAS A CONVENIENT OCCASION FOR CASKET REPLACEMENTS - WELL, IT WASN'T A VERY COMMON PRACTICE, BUT IT EXISTED NONETHELESS, AND WAS PERFECTLY IN ORDER. I KNOW IT SOUNDS DISGUSTING AND INHUMANE, BUT IT WAS A GOLD MINE. THE SIMPLE MATH SHOWED THAT HE WAS CONTACTED BY THE FEDS AFTER THAT, BUT NOT BEFORE HE WAS MYSTERIOUSLY PUT INTO MAPLEHURST, WHERE HE WAS QUITE ACCIDENTALLY SET UP FOR ASSASSINATION.

- "THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM IS A COMPLETE LIE," HE SAID DESPERATELY. "THEY PROTECTED ME AT FIRST, BUT SOON THE SITUATION CHANGED AND I WAS FORCED TO LEAVE IT MYSELF - ESPECIALLY WHEN MY TESTIMONY DIDN'T SIT WELL WITH THEM."

THE SITUATION WITH FELISTER TURNED OUT TO BE MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN I HAD EXPECTED - THE MAN WAS REALLY RAUL'S BROTHER, AND HIS NAME WAS DIEGO...

YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT...

- "SO, THE ONE IN LA POINTE CEMETERY COULD HAVE BEEN ANYONE ELSE, BUT NOT ..." - HE CONCLUDED QUIETLY.

HE EXPLAINED THAT HE FELT A REAL FEAR FOR HIS LIFE AND DREAMED OF THE LATE RAÚL EVERY DAY AND EVERY NIGHT, PRAYING TO GO TO HIM. HIS BROTHER WAS A DECENT MAN. BUT HE WAS SIMPLY A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE. EVEN - SOMETHING UTTERLY AND UTTERLY UNCHARACTERISTIC OF ANY MEXICAN - HE REJECTED THE IDEA OF THAT MAN-LOVING GOD WHO PUT PEOPLE FIRST. ACCORDING TO HIM, HUMANS WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FOOD CHAIN, AND ABOVE THEM WERE ALL THE ETHEREAL CREATURES AND SO ON.

- "WE'RE ALL JUST PART OF A GIANT GAME THAT WILL END SOONER OR LATER AND FOR SOME OF US WILL NEVER START AGAIN," HE SAID THROUGH TEARS.

THIS STERN AND BRUTAL MAN SOBBED - BUT NOT FROM GRIEF, BUT FROM A REALIZATION OF THE HARSH REALITY.

THE CONTINUATION OF HIS STORY COULD HAVE MOVED EVEN A ROCK, BUT I, WHO KNEW EXACTLY HOW THINGS WERE, JUST KEPT QUIET AND LISTENED - BECAUSE MY LIFE LITERALLY DEPENDED ON IT.

I FELT THAT SOMETHING MORE WAS LEFT UNSAID, BUT I WAS IN NO HURRY TO BETRAY MY IMPATIENCE, WITH WHICH I COULD SPOIL ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING AND MISS THE NEXT IMPORTANT LINK IN THE GRAND DESIGN.

- RAUL HAD LEFT SOME STRANGE MESSAGE BEFORE HE DIED, AND IT WAS THIS THAT I GAVE YOU. I BELIEVE YOU DECIPHERED IT AND UNDERSTOOD ITS MEANING, BECAUSE FRANKLY, I DIDN'T QUITE. YES, THE WORDS ARE SIMPLE AND OBVIOUS, BUT... RAUL HAD COMMITTED MANY SINS NOT FOR THE SAKE OF FELISTER, BUT SIMPLY TO SURVIVE. BUT HE WASN'T JUST A SINNER, HE WAS A TORTURED SOUL!

BUT WHAT WAS THE SECRET OF SUFFERING? AND DID IT LEAD US ON THE ROAD TO SALVATION? I COULD SEE WHAT HELL DIEGO WAS GOING THROUGH. BUT WHAT WERE THE COLOURS OF HELL? I COULD UNDERSTAND THE CLEAR SPLITTING OF HIS PERSONALITY AND HIS DESIRE TO EMERGE, TO GO BACK, TO SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE, IF THAT WAS EVEN POSSIBLE. I WAS ACUTELY AWARE OF HOW HE FOUGHT FOR SALVATION - EVEN THOUGH THE NEXT TIME THE CARDS WERE DEALT - HE COULD BE WIPED OUT OF THE GAME FOREVER. BY THE WAY, THE SAME RULES APPLIED TO RULE BREAKERS - EVEN ANGELS COULD BE WIPED OUT OF IT TOO.

MEXICANS WERE A TOUGH PEOPLE, USED TO ALL KINDS OF ADVERSITY AND TROUBLE. DIEGO HIMSELF HAD ALMOST LOST HIS LIFE IN PRISON - IT WAS GETTING SCARIER AND SCARIER. BUT AS MUCH AS I BANGED MY HEAD, THE STORY WAS FULL OF SOME OMISSIONS - LIKE WHETHER THE FEDS WERE FOLLOWING HIM HERE IN CANADA.

I DEMANDED THAT HE REVEAL TO ME EXACTLY HOW HE HAD GOTTEN AWAY FROM THE FEDS, BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE BEEN SIMPLE BAIT FOR US TO TAKE LIKE FISH.

- "SHATTERED MY SOUL INTO A THOUSAND PIECES. I CAN'T EVEN FIGURE OUT WHAT MY REAL IDENTITY IS," DIEGO ALMOST CRIED, "I'VE CHANGED IT MORE THAN A HUNDRED TIMES.

I KNEW THAT IN THE PRACTICE OF THE FEDS - AND THE BEST AGENTS AT THAT - INTERROGATIONS COULD GO ON FOR WEEKS AND IT WAS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT HE WOULD BE RECRUITED AND BROKEN.

THE SITUATION IN MEXICO WAS MUCH MORE LIKE A CIVIL WAR, WHICH WAS NOW INTENSIFYING AND NOW WEAKENING ACCORDING TO THE INTERESTS OF THE VARIOUS CAMPS.

IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT SOME TIP HAD BEEN GIVEN TO US ABOUT OUR STRANGE INVESTIGATION AND ... AFTER ALL, THE FACT THAT THE PRISON AUTHORITIES HAD AGREED TO COOPERATE WITH US DID NOT MEAN THAT THEY WERE GRAZING GRASS.

NATURALLY, I MADE SURE THE CONVERSATION WAS BETWEEN THE TWO OF US - NO BYSTANDERS, ARLO AND ZONARA STOOD OFF TO THE SIDE A BIT, BUT I GUESSED THEY PICKED UP ON HIS EMOTIONAL VIBES.

RAUL TOLD US THE SCARIEST PART, THAT FELISTER'S IDEA BEHIND THE DUPLICATE NAMES WAS TO SOAK SOME IN CASE OF NEED - THE SCHEME WAS SIMPLE - THOSE WORKING USUALLY HAD FAKE PAPERS, AND ONLY IF THEY REALLY HAD TO HAVE THEM - FELISTER HAD GOOD AND TRUSTWORTHY FRIENDS IN THAT REGARD, AND SOME HAD ABSOLUTELY NONE AND COULDN'T EVEN MOVE WITHOUT THE OMNIPRESENT BREEDER'S PERMISSION. FELISTER DIDN'T EXPECT HIS EMPLOYEES TO BE INTELLECTUAL COLOSSI, AND IGNORANCE AND LACK OF REAL AMBITION WERE HIGHLY VALUED - ON THE OTHER HAND, FELISTER COULD DEFEND THE FARM AT LEAST BRIEFLY IN A PINCH - HE WAS UNDER NO ILLUSION THAT IF HE HAD A RAID LIKE DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S, HE'D GET AWAY WITH IT.

RAUL HAD A TRACKING CHIP UNDER HIS SKIN - HOW DID I KNOW?

THANKS TO THE ADVANCED MINIATURIZATION OF ELECTRONICS, THERE WERE SPECIAL MICROCHIPS THAT COULD BE INJECTED SUBCUTANEOUSLY WITH THE MOST ORDINARY NEEDLE, AND THE PRINCIPLE OF THEIR OPERATION WAS KNOWN AS "NEURAL DUST" - BY MONITORING NEURAL SIGNALS, CERTAIN SIGNALS WERE SENT TO A RECEIVER THAT REPORTED WHETHER THE RECIPIENT WAS TELLING THE TRUTH OR LYING.

I DECIDED NOT TO GIVE MYSELF AWAY BY SEARCHING THE RAFT FOR HIDDEN DEVICES, AS ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN - THERE WAS A CHANCE WE COULD ALSO BE THE VICTIM OF AN UNAUTHORIZED FEDERAL WIRETAP, BUT I WASN'T ABOUT TO LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT EITHER.

I REALIZED THAT SOMETHING STRANGE WAS GOING ON WITH RAUL - HE WASN'T HIMSELF AND FELT PRESSURED.

- "I CAN'T GO BACK TO MEXICO BECAUSE THEY SEE ME AS A FELISTER'S MAN, I'M NOT ABLE TO STAY HERE EITHER - BECAUSE OF THE FEDERAL AGENTS WHO WILL SOONER OR LATER CLEAR ME, AND IN CANADA - I'M LOOKING AT A HARSH SENTENCE OF AT LEAST FIFTY YEARS UNDER A STRICT REGIME," HE PRONOUNCED WITH UNDISGUISED SADNESS.

I THOUGHT THAT DIEGO WAS GENERALLY QUITE RESPECTABLE IN THE FACT THAT HE HAD KEPT HIS FORMAL LOYALTY TO FELISTER, HAD NOT OF COURSE REFUSED COOPERATION TO THE FEDS. BUT IN EVERY SOCIETY THERE EXISTED WHAT WAS CALLED THE ARCHETYPAL FEAR OF DEATH-IT WAS TOO DEEP AND INERADICABLE.

 

[1] This is a legend of the Lakota Indian tribe, which includes the Sioux and describes the life cycle of life.

[2] Odorology - the science of tracking through odors left in the air.

THE DEMON

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: THE DEMON

 

DECIDED THAT WE MIGHT AS WELL DO SOMETHING FOR HIM-LET HIM GO, SINCE THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY NOTHING ELSE HE COULD DO FOR US. ANOTHER LOST SOUL. BUT SOMETHING INSIDE WOULDN'T LEAVE ME ALONE - I COULD DETECT SOMETHING STRANGE IN HIS EYES - I SOON REALISED IT, DIEGO WASN'T HUMAN, HE WAS A DEMON.

- "YOU KNEW ME," HE SAID QUIETLY, "I FOLLOWED YOU ALL THE TIME AND CAUSED ALMOST ALL THIS SUFFERING, BUT I DIDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP. I JUST JUMPED FROM YOU ONTO THE POOR SOUL OF THIS DIEGO."

- "WELL, IF IT REALLY IS YOU," I SAID QUIETLY, "REALISING THAT MY ONE CONCENTRATED CONSCIOUSNESS - READY TO REACT DEFENSIVELY AND THE LITTLE GOLD RING WITH SOLOMON'S SEAL - WAS THE ONLY THING PROTECTING ME AT THE MOMENT, 'WHY DIDN'T YOU REVEAL YOURSELF SOONER? YOU COULD HAVE SAVED US TOO MUCH TROUBLE AND TROUBLE, AND ALSO..." I DIDN'T FINISH.

- "YES," THE DEMON SPOKE IN AN INHUMAN VOICE, "BUT THAT WAY YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE GONE ON THIS WHOLE JOURNEY, AND YOU WOULDN'T HAVE FELT THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM."

- "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?," I SPOKE IN A COMMANDING VOICE, BUT STILL FILLED WITH ENOUGH RESPECT.

DEMONS WERE POWERFUL SPIRITS WITH LIMITED ENERGY, BUT IT WAS ALWAYS BETTER TO APPROACH THEM WITH RESPECT.

THE DEMON REFUSED TO GIVE A SPECIFIC ANSWER.

I THEN DECIDED TO USE ANOTHER PLOY THAT MIGHT YIELD AN EXCELLENT RESULT - OR SO I HOPED. I WAS AWARE THAT THERE WERE THREE BASIC LEVELS OF DEMONIC POSSESSION, IN THE LAST ONE ONE COULD LOSE EVEN ONE'S MIND, AND THE DEMON USED THE POSSESSED BODY FOR ITS OWN PURPOSES. A QUOTE FROM SCRIPTURE CAME TO MIND THAT WHEN THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT COMES OUT OF A PERSON, IT GOES THROUGH WATERLESS PLACES TO SEEK REST, AND FINDS NONE[1]. PRACTICALLY EVERY DEMON WAS AFRAID OF WATER, AND THERE WAS A BODY OF WATER NEARBY - SO I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO PRY THE INFORMATION OUT THAT WAY. IN GENERAL, THE DEMONS' KNOWLEDGE WAS LIMITED COMPARED TO THE ALMIGHTY, BUT GREATLY EXCEEDED THAT OF HUMANS.

- "I AM," THE DEMON BEGAN, "I AM ..."

- "TELL ME YOUR NAME!," I ORDERED REPEATEDLY.

I SOON LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE NATURE OF THIS DEMON, AND HE REVEALED TO ME SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE DESIGN TO FOLLOW US ALL THIS WAY. DEMONS WERE DIVIDED INTO NINE DISTINCT LEVELS, AND THIS PARTICULAR ONE WAS OF THE FOURTH RANK AND WAS, ASSOCIATED WITH DEALING OUT RETRIBUTION. FROM WHAT HE CONFESSED AFTER I PRESSED HIM WITH SOME TECHNIQUES, FELISTER HAD MORE THAN ONCE CALLED HIM OUT ON HIS INFERNAL PLANS. THIS KIND OF DEMONS WERE TOO SPECIAL AND CONSISTED OF ONLY AIR AND ETHER[2].

AFTER WE GOT THE INFORMATION, WE DECIDED IT WAS POINTLESS TO PUSH ANY FURTHER AND SIMPLY TOOK DIEGO TO A MENTAL CLINIC WHERE HE WAS DEFINITELY IN NO DANGER OF ESCAPING.

THE CLEVER TACTIC OF EXTRACTING THE HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE FROM THE DEMON WAS SOMEWHAT GOOD, BUT THERE WERE QUITE A FEW GAPS IN THE INFORMATION. BESIDES THE FACT THAT HIS NAME REMAINED UNKNOWN - WHICH IN THIS CASE WAS NOT OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE, IT REMAINED AN OPEN QUESTION WHAT HAD PROVOKED RAUL TO TURN A BLIND EYE ALL THIS TIME.

WE TIED UP DIEGO, AND ZONARA AND ARLO KEPT HIM IN THE BACK SEAT - WE HAD TO FIND AN EXORCIST[3] TO EXORCISE THE DEMON - OTHERWISE DIEGO COULD HAVE DIED, AND THAT WAS PROBABLY THE OTHER REASON HE HAD SOUGHT US OUT. WE WERE CURRENTLY IN ONTARIO TERRITORY BETWEEN MILTON AND MISSISSAUGA - NOT FAR FROM BLOOMFIELD CEMETERY - WE HAD TO DRIVE ABOUT A MILE TO GET THERE. WE WERE AWARE THAT THE CEMETERY WAS AN EXCELLENT PLACE TO OBSERVE DEMONIC AND UNCLEAN FORCES, AND DECIDED THAT THE EXORCISM COULD BE PERFORMED THERE. IT WAS UNTHINKABLE TO ASK FATHER TOBIAS TO SEND AN EXORCIST, AS HE HAD DONE ENOUGH FOR US, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THE SPECIALIST IN QUESTION COULD NOT HAVE ARRIVED SO QUICKLY. THEN I REMEMBERED THAT STRANGE TRAMP-I NOTICED THAT HE HAD BEEN FOLLOWING US FROM A DISTANCE THE SECOND TIME WE CROSSED THE MILTON.

I DECIDED TO LEAVE ZONER AND ARLO WITH THE TIGHTLY BOUND DIEGO AT BLOOMFIELD CEMETERY PARK, WHICH BY THE WAY WAS NOT VERY BIG AND HAD AN AREA OF ABOUT TWO ACRES.

I WENT BACK TO MILTON TO FIND THIS GUY, AS I REMEMBERED THAT I HAD SENSED HIS AURA - MAYBE HE WAS A HEALER OR A SHAMAN, BUT HE WAS FINANCIALLY BROKE AND FORCED TO LIVE IN A SHELTER OR RIGHT ON THE STREETS.

BY SOME INEXPLICABLE MIRACLE HE HAD TRACKED US ALL THE WAY TO...

 

[1]  (Matthew 12:43)

[2]  Ether is the name of the material that fills the universe outside the Earth sphere.

[3] An exorcist is a specialist who chases away demons and evil spirits.

THE HEALER

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE HEALER

 

I HONESTLY DIDN'T EXPECT TO FIND HIM IN A TOWN OF OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE, BUT BY SOME STROKE OF FATE, I DID.

I SENSED HIS AURA AGAIN AND MENTALLY PROMPTED HIM TO APPROACH. I WASN'T SURE IF HE SENSED ME. ACTUALLY, I WASN'T SURE OF ANYTHING. AND GOT OUT OF THE CAR MYSELF, WHICH WAS PERHAPS A BIT RECKLESS. IN THE END I WAS COMPLETELY ALONE - I DIDN'T HAVE A WEAPON EITHER. I WAVED TO HIM, BUT I'M SURE HE PRETENDED NOT TO SEE ME. HE SEEMED TO DRIVE OFF TOWARDS A DARK ALLEY WHERE HE SEEMED TO DISAPPEAR.

I FOLLOWED THE TRAIL, BUT FOUND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. IT WAS TOO STRANGE.

I FOLLOWED THE TRAIL, BUT FOUND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. IT WAS TOO STRANGE.

THEN I REALIZED HE WAS A HEALER. A HEALER HAD TO KNOW THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF HEALING AND WAS DIFFERENT FROM A SHAMAN. MENTAL ILLNESS COULD BE INTERPRETED AS THE BIRTH OF A HEALER AND WHETHER HE WAS SOMEHOW CONNECTED TO THE DEMON'S APPEARANCE IN DIEGO.

I KNOW MY WORDS SEEMED STRANGE, BUT I DECIDED TO ASK HIM:

- CAN YOU HEAL DIEGO?

I DIDN'T EXPECT AN ANSWER, BUT I COULD HEAR A STRANGE VOICE IN MY HEAD SAYING THAT THE DEMON WOULD JUST DIE, BUT IT WOULDN'T DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY, AND DIEGO WOULD BE DEAD - IN OTHER WORDS, USELESS TO LEARN ANYTHING FROM. THIS BOTHERED ME A LOT. I ALSO REMEMBERED SINGING SHADOW'S REACTION AND HER INABILITY TO CONTROL THE DEMON IN THE RIGHT WAY, AND SUBSEQUENTLY HER REFUSAL TO HELP US.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAY TO PERSUADE HIM OR WHAT TO OFFER - HE OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T WANT MONEY OR ANYTHING ELSE IN RETURN.

AS I PONDERED, TIME WAS RUNNING OUT AND DIEGO COULD VERY WELL HAVE DIED. YES, THE DEMON WAS DRAWING ON HIS LIFE FORCE, AND THERE WAS NO WAY THAT WASN'T GOING TO BE FATAL.

I HEARD A VOICE IN MY HEAD AGAIN - "WHEN A PERSON DIES, IT'S ACTUALLY GOOD NEWS FROM THE OTHER WORLD![1]"

IN OUR CASE, HOWEVER, THE DEATH WOULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY A DEMON. THE HEALER EXPLAINED SOMETHING ELSE TO ME, NAMELY THAT A PERSON WHO MERGED WITH THE ENERGY FROM THE OTHER WORLD WOULD SIMPLY BE CROSSED OUT. SHAMANS USED SPELLS AND HEALERS HEALED - IT WAS THAT SIMPLE.

EVENTUALLY HE AGREED TO COME WITH ME, BUT HE SET A SERIOUS CONDITION THAT I WAS OBLIGATED TO MEET IF I WANTED TO SAVE DIEGO.

- "YOU MUSTN'T SAY ANYTHING TO THE DEMON ABOUT ME," THE MAN REPLIED. "NEGATIVE ENTITIES ARE VERY CUNNING, AND SO IT WILL BE MUCH HARDER TO DESTROY OR EXPEL IT, AND WE CAN HARM THE DIEGO AS WELL."

THE TWO OF US CLIMBED INTO THE VEHICLE WE'D BOUGHT WITH ARLO AND ZONARA, WHICH WAS A RICKETY FORD RANGER THAT, IN ADDITION TO ITS LARGE TRAILER, BOASTED A FAIR AMOUNT OF OFF-ROAD CAPABILITY. THE SNOW CONTINUED TO PILE UP, AND THE SITUATION COULD HAVE BECOME CRITICAL TOMORROW MORNING, BUT AT THE MOMENT IT WAS AS IF SOME UNSEEN FORCE WAS MAKING IT RAIN A LITTLE MORE MODERATELY.

THE STRANGER, FOR SOME REASON, SHOWED NO DESIRE TO RIDE BESIDE ME, BUT THREW HIMSELF INTO THE BACK OF THE TRAILER, BUT NOT BEFORE TELLING ME FOR THE FIRST TIME:

- JUST AS THE ALMIGHTY HAS MANY NAMES, BUT BEHIND EACH OF THEM THE SAME ESSENCE, SO WE HEALERS KEEP THE COVENANTS OF OUR ART, AND THE PRINCIPLES OF OUR WORK, REGARDLESS OF CULTURE OR GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION, DO NOT DIFFER MUCH. WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT HEALING IS MAINLY DONE ON AN ENERGETIC LEVEL, AS THE DAMAGE IS ALSO DONE ON AN ENERGETIC LEVEL. THINGS HAVE NOT CHANGED MUCH OR HARDLY AT ALL EVEN THOUGH WE ARE IN 2045.

I NOTICED THAT YOU SPOKE OF TIME WITH SOME PARTICULAR DISREGARD - AS IF IT DIDN'T EXIST OR WASN'T THAT IMPORTANT. OR MAYBE IT WAS JUST A PRODUCT OF OUR CONSCIOUSNESS MAKING CONTACT WITH ...

WE CONTINUED ON OUR WAY, DRIVING VERY SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY SO AS NOT TO ENCOUNTER AN UNEXPECTED OBSTACLE.

- THERE IS THAT EGO-DEATH, THAT PARTICULAR FORM OF MADNESS THAT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO GO BEYOND THE NORMAL WORLD IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE REALITY MORE BEAUTIFULLY, MORE EXQUISITELY AND MORE DEEPLY - SO ITS CONTOURS TAKE ON DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS AND EVERYTHING SEEMS SOMEHOW MORE TIMELESS. OF COURSE THIS IS AS TRUE AS IT IS NOT, FOR IN GUIDING THEIR OWN LIVES AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS, THEY WILL INEVITABLY HAVE TO GO THROUGH CERTAIN TRIALS OF VARIOUS KINDS - THAT IS, THEY WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR THEIR KNOWLEDGE. WE HEALERS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ACT DIFFERENTLY BUT NO LESS EFFECTIVELY.

I DIDN'T WANT TO ASK HIM WHERE THE DIFFERENCE WAS MAINLY BECAUSE DRIVING IN SUCH EXTREME CONDITIONS WAS QUITE DIFFICULT - YES WE ONLY HAD ABOUT TWO MILES, BUT FRANKLY THEY SEEMED LIKE TWO HUNDRED.

WHEN A SNOWSTORM WAS OF VERY HIGH INTENSITY, LIKE THE ONE THAT HIT US THEN, AND MADE EVEN DRIVING ON THE STREETS OF MILTON DIFFICULT ENOUGH, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW FREEZING, ONE COULD EASILY BECOME DISORIENTED - YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE ME, BUT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS ONE LOST THE ABILITY TO PERCEIVE ONESELF AS A SOCIAL PERSON. THERE WERE ALSO SIDE SYMPTOMS, SUCH AS LOSS OF SENSE OF SPACE AND TIME, BUT THE KEY POINT WAS THAT THERE WAS A TEMPORARY AND ACTUAL DISORIENTATION - AND THAT TOO WAS PART OF THE LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE AND OF TRUE MAGIC. SNOW ALSO HAD A CERTAIN SYMBOLISM THAT WAS SUFFICIENTLY AMBIGUOUS AND SUBJECT TO CERTAIN INTERPRETATIONS, BUT IN THIS CASE IT SIGNIFIED AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION WITH A LOVED ONE.

I CAST A FLEETING GLANCE AT THE STRANGER - I DON'T KNOW IF I WAS LIVING IN AN ILLUSION, ALTHOUGH I KNEW EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE GOING, BUT THE STRANGER SEEMED TO HAVE HIS FEET VERY FIRMLY PLANTED ON THE GROUND.

THE SNOW CONTINUED TO POUR DOWN IN SHREDS THAT HAD FILLED ALMOST A QUARTER OF OUR PICKUP TRAILER, BUT HE STOOD THERE LIKE AN IDOL - BUT NOT OUT OF PRIDE - AS IF HE DIDN'T CARE AND WASN'T OF THIS WORLD AT ALL.

WE'D LEFT THE OUTLINE OF MILTON AND DAMN OUR ROUTE LOOKED LIKE A CIRCLE - SO WE HAD SOME MAGICAL PROTECTION AFTER ALL - I WASN'T AWARE TO WHAT HEIGHTS THE STRANGER'S POWERS WERE, BUT I ASSUMED HE WAS ON THE LEVEL - IF HE COULD MAINTAIN THE ILLUSION OF INVISIBILITY. INCIDENTALLY, MOST PEOPLE DIDN'T EVEN REALISE THAT COMPLETE INVISIBILITY, WAS POINTLESS AND UNNECESSARY, AND COULD CAUSE A LOT MORE TROUBLE THAN GOOD, BUT I DIGRESS.

- THAT ECSTASY THAT ALLOWS SHAMANS TO ACHIEVE SUCH STATES, AND WHICH HAS TO BE MANAGED ON A MUCH DEEPER LEVEL, AND AT THE SAME TIME IS THE KEY TO

THE BLIZZARD MUFFLED HIS LAST WORDS. I COULD SEE HIM STANDING UNMOVED, FIRMLY GRIPPING WHAT PART OF THE BODY THAT COULD BE HIS SUPPORT AND KEEP HIM FROM FLYING OFF INTO TRAFFIC, GETTING STUCK UPSIDE DOWN IN ONE OF THE HUGE ROADSIDE DRIFTS.

I HARDLY DROVE AT MORE THAN THIRTY MILES AN HOUR, BUT IN THESE CONDITIONS IT COULD HAVE BEEN TANTAMOUNT TO DEATH, OR AT LEAST PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE.

YES, IF ONE WAS HAPPY WITH WHAT ONE SAW IN ONE'S DREAMS, ONE'S WISHES WOULD MOST LIKELY COME TRUE, BUT THERE WERE SOME LIMITATIONS, OR MORE ACCURATELY ADJUSTMENTS, BUT ONE ALSO HAD TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HOW WELL THOSE ADJUSTMENTS FIT WITH REALITY.

AFTER ALL, ALL SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION MEANT WAS AN ADJUSTMENT TO REALITY - THERE WERE MANY LITTLE TRICKS TO BE USED TO BUILD UP SOME MAGICAL PROTECTION UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. LET'S NOT FORGET THAT THE GOD OF DREAMS IN ANCIENT TIMES WAS A MESSENGER OF TRUTH - ONLY NOW EVERYTHING WAS REAL AND WE WEREN'T DREAMING AT ALL. YES, ONE OF THE SIMPLE MAGICAL TECHNIQUES TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM EVIL EYES AND POSSIBLE INTERFERENCE OF SOMEONE ELSE IN OUR ENERGY FIELD WAS TO SIMPLY CLOSE OUR EYES AND IMAGINE, VISUALIZING CLEARLY ENOUGH A MASSIVE BRICK WALL THAT WAS LIT BY THE SUN. I KNOW, IT SOUNDED CRAZY - ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE CLIMATE OUTSIDE.

HONESTLY - I THINK ONLY LACY HELL COULD BE MORE FREEZING THAN WHAT WAS RAMPANT AROUND US - THAT'S HOW DIRE THE SITUATION WAS.

FINALLY, WE APPROACHED THE CEMETERY. I HAD TO MANEUVER VERY SKILLFULLY TO AVOID GETTING THE TIRES OF THE VEHICLE STUCK IN THE BRUTALLY DANGEROUS SNOW BANKS, AND IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT I MIGHT HOOK A STUCK ROCK OR BOULDER THAT WOULD ONLY CAUSE SOME ACCIDENT - WASN'T THIS A LIFE AND DEATH DILEMMA OF WHO WOULD BE SAVED?

THE CEMETERY WAS ENTERED VIA A SIDE TURNOFF FROM THE MAIN ROAD, AND INTERNALLY I HOPED THAT ARLO AND THE ZONKER HADN'T FROZEN TO DEATH. IN ADDITION TO THE AFOREMENTIONED PICKUP TRUCK, WE'D BOUGHT SPECIAL CLOTHES - SOMETHING BETWEEN A JACKET AND A RAINCOAT.

AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE TRIP NEVER ENDED? OR WAS IT OVER BEFORE IT EVEN STARTED? AND WHAT WAS THE POINT OF IT AT ALL?

WE FOUND ZONARA AND ARLO HIDDEN UNDER A TREE AND SURROUNDED BY SNOW DRIFTS. THE SNOW PROVIDED THEM WITH EXCELLENT COVER, BUT THEY HAD BUILT A SMALL FIRE IN SECRET AND HAD PREPARED A GREEN TEA SCENTED WITH MOWN HAY AND WERE DRINKING IT NEAT. THEY HAD EVEN PREPARED A SMALL SHELTER, STRETCHING THE PICKUP'S AWNING TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE SNOW. IT WAS A BIT OF AN ODD QUIRK THAT STILL PROVIDED THEM WITH PARTIAL SHELTER.

THE TWO OF THEM WERE OBVIOUSLY DISCUSSING SOMETHING, AND NOT FAR AWAY WE SAW DIEGO PICKING UP A SOUL - I EVEN WONDERED IF HE WAS STILL ALIVE.

- "HIS CASE SEEMS GRAVE INDEED!," THE STRANGER SPOKE QUIETLY. "THE DEMONIC INTERFERENCE SEEMS TO HAVE ENTERED ITS FINAL STAGES, WHICH WILL MAKE OUR TASK MORE DIFFICULT. BUT WE MAY AS WELL TRY."

- "CLOSE YOUR EYES!," ORDERED THE HEALER, "FOR THAT WAY THE DEMON WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ENTER. THEY USUALLY ENTER THROUGH THE EYES! INCIDENTALLY, THE INTENSIFICATION OF THIS STATE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INITIATION OF AN INNER DIALOGUE REGARDING VARIOUS MATTERS CONCERNING US. THIS RENEGOTIATION IN THE MIND PRACTICALLY PLACES SOME OTHERWORLDLY INTERLOCUTOR, WHICH GRADUALLY BECOMES PART OF THE MIND ITSELF AND THUS OPENS THE WAY FOR ATTACK AND ONE BECOMES HELLISHLY DEFENSELESS. OF COURSE, NOT EVERYTHING IS THE FAULT OF THE OBJECT OF THE ATTACK IN THE CONVENTIONAL CASE, SOMETIMES THE GENERIC CURSE ALSO HAS AN INFLUENCE. BUT I DON'T WANT TO WASTE YOUR TIME WITH PLATITUDES, BECAUSE THE CASE IS SERIOUS. AS IN THAT OLD SAYING THAT IN ALL MADNESS THERE IS CONSISTENCY. HERE ARE SOME OF THE POSSIBLE CAUSES OR CONSEQUENCES. BUT DID GOOD MADNESS EXIST?"

WAS NOT THIS DOOMED LONER A SAINT? THE SILENCE AROUND WAS LIKE MUSIC-THE SOUND OF THE DEAD. BUT IN SPITE OF THE STRANGE THOUGHTS THAT CROSSED MY MIND, I KNEW IT WAS NOT SO. AND YET WHAT ARE YOU WHEN YOU BELONG TO NO ONE? AND THAT WAS THE SAD THING. AS IF EVERYTHING BELONGED TO A BYGONE TIME!

WE HASTENED TO DO HIS BIDDING. DIEGO WAS NOT HIMSELF AT ALL, AND A PECULIAR DEMONIC OBSESSION HAD EVIDENTLY SEIZED HIM, WHICH WOULD SOON DESTROY HIM. WE HAD TO BE CAREFUL, BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY OUR LAST CHANCE TO UNRAVEL THE STORY COMPLETELY, AND IN HIS PRESENT STATE HE COULD HARDLY EVEN REMEMBER HIS OWN NAME.

I HOPED SOMEONE FROM AFAR WOULDN'T NOTICE THE STRANGE RITUAL AND INTERRUPT US BEFORE WE SAVED HIM. THERE WAS NOTHING AROUND THE CEMETERY PARK FOR AT LEAST TWO HUNDRED YARDS. EVERYTHING AROUND LOOKED PRETTY BLEAK AND CRAMPED. THE CADAVERINE AND PUTRESCINE SMELLED OF DECAYED FLESH, AND THE SCATOL ADDED THE SCENT OF FECES. THE TOMBSTONES HAD THOSE BEAUTIFUL HEXAFOIL[2], WHICH SYMBOLIZED MAGICAL PROTECTION FOR THE DEAD. THIS SIGN DATED BACK A LONG TIME AND WAS QUITE TYPICAL EVEN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA IN CANADA. IT WAS DIFFICULT TO BUILD PERSONAL MAGICAL PROTECTION FOR THE UNINITIATED AND FOR THIS REASON THESE HEXAPHOILES WERE A STANDARD TOOL IN THIS REGARD. I GOT INTO THIS REASONING MOSTLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT WAS DIFFICULT TO BUILD LASTING ADDITIONAL DEFENSES ON THE GROUNDS OF THE CEMETERY AND WITH A DEMON ON ITS GROUNDS - SO WE DECIDED TO RELY ON THE ONES ALREADY IN PLACE - NO MATTER HOW STRONG OR WEAK THEY WERE. AS A RULE, CEMETERIES WERE A PLACE WITH A HEIGHTENED LEVEL OF NEGATIVE ENERGY, FROM WHICH PERHAPS THIS DEMON WAS ALSO ABLE TO DRAW STRENGTH, BUT WHAT I KNEW FOR SURE WAS...

THE RITUAL SEEMED DANGEROUS INDEED, AND THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WOULD BE SUCCESSFUL, MUCH LESS THAT DIEGO WOULD SURVIVE. I ALSO KNEW THAT THE VICTIM HAD TO BE APPROACHED CAREFULLY IN THIS REGARD AND THEIR SINS HAD TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, WHICH COULD ALSO BE THE CAUSE OF FURTHER ATTACK FROM THE DEMON[3].

DIEGO WAS DEFINITELY ACTING PECULIAR, BUT SOME OF HIS SYMPTOMS WERE ALL TOO OBVIOUS AND CONSISTED OF FEELING COLD - YES, IT WAS INDEED FREEZING COLD IN MARCH ALL AROUND, BUT NOTHING IN THE SURROUNDINGS COULD BE THE CAUSE, AS DIEGO WAS PLACED NEAR THE FIRE, BUT WAS CLOSELY GUARDED BY ARLO AND ZONAR LEST HE JUMP INTO IT, SPURRED ON BY THE DEMONIC PRESENCE.

- "OPEN YOUR EYES, DIEGO," THE HEALER CLAPPED HIS HANDS AND BEGAN THE PROCEDURE OF FREEING HIM FROM THE DEMON.

HIS WHOLE BODY WAS SHAKING LIKE THAT OF A FEVER PATIENT AND HE HAD GLAZED HIS EYES - IN THEIR MIRRORED SURFACE I SAW THE DARKNESS OF MADNESS, BUT NOT THE ONE EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT, BUT THE OTHER ONE THAT SHOWED THE LACK OF A PATH.

APPARENTLY THE DEMON HAD A FIRM GRIP ON HIM AND WOULDN'T LET GO. HIS HANDS AND FEET MOVED QUICKLY, SURE SIGNS THAT HE HIMSELF WAS TRYING TO RID HIMSELF OF THE ACCURSED FOE. BUT

THEN THE STRANGER RESORTED TO A VERY STRANGE RITUAL TO DEAL WITH THE INSIDIOUS AND UNKNOWN POSSESSOR.

- "WE HAD MANAGED TO LEARN SOMETHING FROM HIM," I MURMURED, "I HOPE THIS WILL HELP SO THAT WE CAN FORCE HIM TO LEAVE THE VICTIM."

THE STRANGER REALIZED EXACTLY WHAT TYPE OF DEMON HE WAS DEALING WITH.

- "LOOK, I'M NOT GOING TO LIE TO YOU - IT'S GOING TO BE HARD," THE STRANGER GROANED. "I'M A HEALER, AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE PLAGUE OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKE THE PLAGUE OF SWINE - ONE COULD EASILY CATCH IT. SOMETIMES IT CAN EVEN BE A WHOLE LEGION OF DEMONS POSING AS A SINGLE ONE, WHICH CAN FURTHER CONFUSE US."

AFTER THE INSTRUCTIONS THUS SPOKEN, HE GOT DOWN TO THE HEALING PART IN EARNEST - THERE WASN'T MUCH TIME, AND IF ANYTHING WENT WRONG THE WHOLE POINT OF EVERYTHING EXPERIENCED SO FAR WAS LOST. THE STAKES WERE HUGE!

IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE DIEGO STARTED SPITTING BLOOD - THINGS WERE TAKING AN ALARMING TURN AND ANY HOPE OF SALVATION WAS DWINDLING.

THE HEALER DIDN'T GIVE UP AND DECIDED TO USE ANOTHER TACTIC - NOW THAT IT WAS AWARE OF THE DEMON'S MAKE-BELIEVE, IT DECIDED TO WEAKEN ITS GRIP BY REDUCING ITS CONCENTRATION BY DIVERTING IT AWAY FROM THE DIEGO'S WEAKNESSES, FROM WHICH IT DREW ENERGY FOR ITS SURVIVAL.

- THIS DEMON WAS NOT REAL, BUT A CONCEIVED FORM CREATED THROUGH MAGICAL RITUAL. I CAN SEE THE SIGNS OF THIS VERY CLEARLY - IT SEEMS KIND OF LAZY AND STIFF TO ME, AND NOT THAT DIVERSE.

I KNEW AN AWFUL LOT ABOUT DEMONIC CREATURES, BUT THIS STRUCK ME AS ODD, IF THE DEMON WAS INDEED ARTIFICIAL, THEN ALL MY ATTENTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT WAS POINTED IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. SUCH ARTIFICIAL CREATURES COULD BE CREATED IN A MORE VARIED WAY THAN VOODOO SORCERERS, EXORCISTS AND SO ON. OR PERHAPS THE SPIRIT ITSELF WAS CLEVERLY USING SOME MENTAL DISORDER OF THE DIEGO ITSELF - SUCH AS A SPLIT PERSONALITY, FOR EXAMPLE - TO DRINK FROM ITS ENERGY AND MANIPULATE IT.

WE DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES TO FIGHT THE DEMON AND LOOK AT WHICH CHAKRA HIS NEGATIVE INFLUENCE WAS DIRECTED AT - I KNOW SUCH AN APPROACH DIDN'T SHINE WITH ORIGINALITY, BUT AT THE MOMENT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO SAVE HIS LIFE.

THE HEALER AGREED TO TRY THIS AND FOUND THAT THE DEMON'S INFLUENCE WAS ON THE FIRST CHAKRA ASSOCIATED WITH SURVIVAL - FEAR, WHICH IN TURN WAS LATCHING ONTO AND CHANNELING THE ENERGY TO OTHER HIGHER LEVEL CHAKRAS - THAT IS, THE DIEGO WOULD SUFFER BOTH FROM THE CORRESPONDING EMOTIONS CHARACTERISTIC OF THOSE CHAKRAS, BUT ALSO FROM SOMETHING MUCH WORSE - HE COULD BE PHYSICALLY AFFECTED IN A VARIETY OF BODY PARTS.

- "I AM WRITING A GREAT RIDDLE," THE HEALER BEGAN IN A TREMBLING VOICE, "WHOEVER CREATED THIS EXTRAORDINARY CONCEIVED FORM WAS A GENIUS, BECAUSE IT COEXISTS WITH THE TRUE DEMON AND EVEN HELPS IT TO MANIPULATE THE MIND OF THE VICTIM. BUT THE IDEA HERE IS MUCH DEEPER - IT WAS TO UNDERMINE THE IDENTITY OF THE CHAKRA, AND MOST OF ALL, THE DIEGO ITSELF. I KNOW IT SOUNDS CONFUSED TO YOU, BUT THE DEMON'S DESIRE TO SURVIVE IS LINKED TO THE ANCIENT, FUNDAMENTAL INSTINCT TO SURVIVE, I.E. THE DEMON'S FEAR ALSO BECOMES THE FEAR OF THE DIEGO ITSELF, AND EVEN, AS TRITE AS IT SOUNDS, THE DIEGO ITSELF WOULD PROBABLY FIGHT MUCH HARDER THAN ITS MALEVOLENT POSSESSOR FOR ITS SURVIVAL, BECAUSE IF IT PERISHED, THE DIEGO ITSELF WOULD PERISH. AND THAT CREATES A RATHER SPECIFIC SITUATION, SINCE WHEN HE FEELS THREATENED HE WILL DOMINATE ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS OF THE VICTIM'S MIND."

IT SOUNDED LOGICAL, BUT ALSO DAMN SAD - WE WERE IN A CIRCLE OF SOME HELLISH DOOM, AND IT WAS GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER.

ME, ARLO AND ZONARA GASPED WHEN WE HEARD THIS. NOT THAT IT WASN'T THEORETICALLY POSSIBLE, BUT SUCH A SUPREME SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN A REAL DEMON AND A CONCEIVED FORM WAS IMPRESSIVE. IT LEFT OPEN THE QUESTION OF WHO COULD DO SOMETHING SO ORIGINAL?

BUT THEN SOMETHING SO BRUTAL OCCURRED TO ME THAT I DIDN'T EVEN WANT IT TO CROSS MY MIND. AND IF IT WAS TRUE THE PICTURE WAS ALMOST STARTING TO BECOME CLEAR TO ME FOR THE FIRST TIME - LET'S BE PRECISE THIS ABOVE AND BELOW CAST A PALL OVER AT LEAST HALF OF IT. IF THE TWO DIEGANS, WHO WERE TWINS BY FATE, WERE ADOPTED, WITH ONE OF THEM SUBSEQUENTLY DISOWNED BY THE GREEDY BREEDER, WASN'T IT POSSIBLE TO CREATE A BOND RIGHT BETWEEN THEM AND THE DEMONIC VISITORS THEMSELVES, AND IF THAT DEMON WAS FEEDING OFF THE DIEGO ITSELF AND HAD TAKEN ALMOST COMPLETE CONTROL OF ITS BODY, WHERE WAS THE BODY OF THE OTHER DIEGO - OR PARVENU JAKE?

BECAUSE IN THAT CASE IT RAISED A HUGE QUESTION MARK THAT COULD HAVE PROVED FATAL FOR ALL OF US.

I REMEMBERED FELISTER'S PROFOUND THOUGHT-WHOEVER FOUND MY INHERITANCE WOULD ...

- "I SCENT," CONTINUED THE HEALER, "THAT HIS SUFFERING HAS BEEN VERY CAREFULLY PLANNED, AND THERE IS A STRONG PROBABILITY THAT HE WILL DIE. BUT THERE ARE STILL SOME THINGS TO DO TO GET RID OF HIM."

IN THE STATE THAT DIEGO WAS IN, IT WAS DOWNRIGHT COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO MOVE HIM, AND WE HAD TO DECIDE HOW TO FIGHT OFF THIS STUBBORN DEMONIC TYRANT, WHO WAS CLEARLY GOING TO PROVE PIVOTAL IN SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF FELISTER'S LEGACY.

THE SNOW CONTINUED TO FALL IN SHREDS, AND I HAD TURNED OFF THE PICKUP'S HEADLIGHTS AND PARKED IT IN A WAY THAT MADE IT BARELY VISIBLE TO THE FLICKERING FIRE IN THE CEMETERY PARK.

ZONER AND ARLO WERE ALL FULLY CONCENTRATED ON ASSISTING THE HEALER. I ALSO HOPED I COULD BE OF SOME USE TO HIM AND MY ENERGY WOULD ADD UP AS WELL.

IF IT HAD BEEN WARM, OR IF IT HAD BEEN DAY, THERE WOULD STILL BE SOME FORM OF LIFE HERE, BUT THE FREEZING NIGHT ONLY SHOWED THE UTTER HOPELESSNESS OF OUR ENDEAVOR.

AND YET THE HEALER WOULD NOT GIVE UP AND WOULD TRY ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING.

AFTER A FEW MORE FRUITLESS ATTEMPTS, WE DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES TO BEAT THE DEMON.

I FIGURED, THOUGH, THAT SOME PROPER LATIN INCANTATION WOULD DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB AND WE COULD GET HIM TO LOOSEN HIS GRIP AND THUS BETTER DEFEAT HIM. IT WAS KNOWN THAT LATIN WAS CONSIDERED JUST ABOUT THE MOST PERFECT LANGUAGE BECAUSE OF A NUMBER OF FEATURES IT POSSESSED, AND THERE WAS TOO MUCH MYSTICISM IN IT, AND BESIDES IT WAS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, AND THAT FACT MADE IT IDEAL FOR THE PURPOSE WE WERE AFTER. THE INCANTATION WAS VERY LONG INDEED, AND QUITE COMPLICATED:

- CRUX SACRA SIT MIHI LUX! NUNQUAM DRACO SIT MIHI DUX. VADE RETRO SATANA! NUNQUAMSUADE MIHI VANA! SUNT MALA QUAE LIBAS. IPSE VENENA BIBAS[4]!

THESE HOLY WORDS SEEMED TO HAVE SOME EFFECT ON THE DEMON, AND I BEGAN TO REPEAT THEM IN A LILTING TONE-YES, THIS INCANTATION WAS ONLY TO BE UTTERED BY A PRIEST, BUT I STILL HOPED IT WOULD WORK.

SUDDENLY I HEARD A VOICE IN MY EARS - "OKAY, I'LL LEAVE, BUT DIEGO HIMSELF WILL REVEAL THE TRUTH TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE IT! SO BE MAD AT YOURSELF!"

KNOWING THE LIES OF THE DEMONS, THERE WAS NO NEED FOR HIM TO TELL ME ALL THIS. BUT TO OUR AMAZEMENT, HE DID LEAVE DIEGO - WELL, NOT QUITE RIGHT AWAY. IT TOOK A FEW MINUTES, BUT HE LEFT ANYWAY.

WHETHER OR NOT, STRANGE AS IT SOUNDED, DIEGO HADN'T CLUNG TO THE DEMON HIMSELF TO KEEP HIM AND HIMSELF FROM SEEING THE TRUTH - SURELY THE SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN THEM WAS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL. BUT HAD THE ARTIFICIAL DEMON STILL REMAINED? I ASKED THE SHAMAN TO CHECK IT OUT, AND HE SAID HE STILL FELT SOME INFLUENCE OF THE CONCEIVED FORM ON DIEGO.

HE SLOWLY OPENED HIS EYES, AND I SAW ALL HIS PAIN AND EXHAUSTION - FOR HIM, THE JOURNEY WAS OVER ANYWAY. THE DEMON WAS JUST HELPING HIM LIVE, OR RATHER EXIST, CONSIDERING THIS TO BE LIFE - FOR A VERY SHORT TIME.

FELISTER WAS RIGHT - HIS LEGACY WAS FULL OF MUCH, MUCH, TOO MUCH SADNESS AND UTTER HOPELESSNESS. WHAT I WAS BEGINNING TO REALISE BETTER AND BETTER, WITH EACH STEP OF DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, WAS JUST HOW ALONE THE MAN REALLY WAS IN LIFE.

DURING THE WHOLE RITUAL OF RELEASING DIEGO FROM THE DEMON - BOTH ARLO AND ZONARA WERE FORMALLY PRESENT, LIKE EMPLOYEES WHO WERE ON THE JOB. THE UNKNOWN HEALER, AFTER THE ENTIRE RITUAL WAS COMPLETED, STATED:

- I CAN DO NO MORE THAN THIS. HE WOULD FOREVER BE SCARRED BY HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE DEMON FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT A SMALL PART OF THE NEGATIVE ESSENCE WOULD REMAIN WITH HIM - AT LEAST UNTIL THE MOMENT OF HIS DEATH. ONLY THEN WILL THE DEMON LEAVE HIM FOREVER.

DIEGO ACCEPTED THE NEWS CALMLY - ALBEIT WITH A PALE FACE, WHICH WAS QUITE HAGGARD FROM ALL THE PURIFICATION RITUALS. I HAD TO REPEAT THE MAGIC FORMULA IN LATIN REPEATEDLY TO GET RID OF HIM. I REPEATED IT A WHOLE SEVENTY-TWO TIMES - NOT THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR SPECIAL SYMBOLISM, ANYWAY, BUT THE NUMBER OF DEMONS IN SOLOMON'S LITTLE KEY WAS SEVENTY-TWO - AND DECIDED THAT NUMBER WASN'T BAD AT ALL. WELL, MAYBE WE WASTED A LITTLE EXTRA TIME, BUT IT WAS STILL A BENEFIT, PLUS DIEGO WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED THE REST OF HIS LIFE A LOT BETTER.

 

[1] The belief is of the Dagara tribe, which is an ethnic group in West Africa -Ghana and Burkina Faso.

[2] The hexafoil is a traditional motif from Gothic architecture that depicts a six-petalled lily.

[3] This rule is laid out in Corey Ten Boom's book "Defeated Enemies" in Chapter Six, Demon Load and Demon Possession.

[4] Let the holy cross be my light! May the dragon never be my guide. Go Satan! Never tempt me with your vanity. What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!

FEDERAL AGENTS

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: FEDERAL AGENTS

 

WE DECIDED TO DRIVE HIM TO ASHGROVE, WHICH WAS PRACTICALLY AN UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITY, TOO, SINCE THE DISTANCE WAS ONLY FOUR OR FIVE MILES IN A NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION. THE SNOWSTORM SEEMED TO HAVE ABATED, BUT THE SITUATION REMAINED AS DIRE AS EVER. THE SNOW DRIFTS WERE BLOWN BY THE WIND ALONG THE ROAD AND FORMED PECULIAR WALLS OVER A FOOT AND A HALF HIGH, BUT WE WERE STILL ABLE TO SEE SOME TREES IN THE DISTANCE. IT WAS AS IF I WAS IN SOME EMPTY SPACE THAT SEEMED ENDLESS AT FIRST GLANCE, BUT IN FACT BY DESIGN IT WASN'T EXACTLY, AND I WAS COMPLETELY ALONE IN SOME FLAT SCENARIO UNFOLDING... MAYBE I WASN'T ON MY OWN. OR?

ARLO AND ZONARA STEPPED INTO THE ROLE OF NAVIGATOR AND PILOT - AS IF WE WERE AT SOME SORT OF OFF-ROAD RACE:

- "NO, NOT HERE. A LITTLE FURTHER ON," ZONARA CALLED SOMEWHAT ABRUPTLY, "WE NEED TO GET TO ASHGROVE ON ROAD THREE, WHICH IS AFTER THE TURN-OFF FOR..."

I THANKED HER MENTALLY FOR THE INFORMATION AS ARLO HAD TAKEN TO DRIVING THAT WAY.

IT TOOK US ABOUT HALF AN HOUR TO GET THERE, AS THE PICKUP, THOUGH INFREQUENT, WOULD SKID AND WE EVEN HAD TO GET OFF AND PUSH IT TWO OR THREE TIMES TO GET IT TO START AGAIN. IT WAS HARD ENOUGH. YEAH, I KNOW, IT SEEMED KIND OF CORNY, BUT IT WAS HELL.

THE UNKNOWN HEALER'S NAME WAS YAKUBA, AND HE INTRODUCED US TO HIS HOMELAND'S IDEAS OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH, WHICH OVERALL I WOULD SAY WAS NOT AT ALL REDUNDANT.

SUDDENLY THE PICKUP PULLED UP...

I GLANCED BACK QUICKLY - LEST FOR SOME REASON DIEGO HAD BEEN RE-POSSESSED - ALTHOUGH AFTER THE BRUTAL SERIES OF EXORCISM RITUALS HE HAD BEEN CONDUCTING, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONSCIOUS. YES, HE WAS INDEED FINE... IT WAS JUST THAT THE PICKUP'S TIRE HAD GONE THROUGH A HUGE CLUMP OF SNOW THAT ARLO HAD NO WAY OF AVOIDING WHILE LISTENING TO ZONARA'S INSTRUCTIONS. THAT CALMED ME DOWN A BIT.

I WAS AWARE THAT THE HEALER HAD SOMETHING ELSE TO SHARE WITH US. WE WERE NOW SO CLOSE TO THE ASHGROVE THAT I COULD ALMOST SEE IT IN FRONT OF MY NOSE.

- ACCORDING TO THE BELIEFS OF MY PEOPLE, HEALING CAN TAKE MANY FORMS. THERE IS A MIND, A SOUL AND A SPIRITUAL PLANE WHERE EVERYTHING HAPPENS. THIS IS THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLD, AND WHEN YOU NEED TO HEAL SOMEONE YOU NEED TO TOUCH EACH OF THESE.

HIS EXPLANATION SEEMED TO ME RELATIVELY SIMPLISTIC, BUT AT THE SAME TIME OF IMMENSE DEPTH OF THOUGHT.

I REMEMBERED THAT FELISTER WAS ALSO READING A PARTICULAR BOOK WHERE IT WAS EXPLAINED THAT A PERSON HAD ONE MAIN CONSCIOUSNESS BUT SEVERAL AUXILIARY CONSCIOUSNESSES, AND THIS AGAIN WAS RELATED TO SPIRITUAL INTERACTIONS ON DIFFERENT LEVELS.

BE THAT AS IT MAY, WE ENTERED THE ASHGROVE, WHICH WAS HUSHED, AND TOOK UP OUR QUARTERS IN A HOUSE, WHERE THE HOSPITABLE LANDLORD SIMPLY MOVED OUT WITH THE EXCUSE THAT HE WAS IN A GREAT HURRY, AND LET US HAVE IT FOR A VERY MODEST RENT. LEST ANYONE GET THE WRONG IMPRESSION, ASHGROVE WAS A VERY SMALL COMMUNITY CONSISTING OF JUST A HANDFUL OF BUILDINGS - SO FOR THE DURATION OF OUR SHORT STAY WITH DIEGO, WE WEREN'T GOING TO HURT ANYONE. WE MIGHT HAVE STAYED HERE ONLY A DAY OR TWO, AND MIGHT EVEN HAVE LEFT IT IN THE EVENING, HAD WE BEEN ABLE TO QUESTION THE DIEGO HIMSELF MORE QUICKLY, IN WHOM WAS NOW ALL OUR HOPE.

WHEN WE CAME OUT INTO WHAT WAS ALMOST HIS ONLY STREET, I HEARD BIRDSONG FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND I HAD NOT HEARD THEM FOR SOME TIME-THEY WERE THE LINK BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH. SOME SPARROWS[1] WERE MURMURING THROUGH THE AIR, AND I WONDERED IF THIS TIME WE WOULD BE RELIEVED OF THE GREAT BURDENS WE CARRIED IN OUR SOULS.

DIEGO WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO TELL US THE REST OF THE STORY, WHICH HAD TO DO WITH FELISTER'S HERITAGE. THERE WAS A SMALL CAFE NEARBY WHERE WE COULD HAVE EATEN, BUT WE DECIDED TO GIVE DIEGO SOME TIME TO REST. AFTER ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN HOUR WE HEADED THERE - FRANKLY THIS KIND OF SETTLEMENTS WERE A COMPLETE DEAD LETTER AND SOMETIMES THERE WERE ONLY A FEW PEOPLE, OR EVEN JUST ONE OR TWO (USUALLY A FAMILY) WHO OWNED THE PLACE AND LIVED OR EXISTED IN THEIR OWN LITTLE WORLD - WELL, THAT WASN'T EXACTLY THE CASE HERE, BUT ...

IN GENERAL, THE SURROUNDINGS OF ASHGROVE WERE NOT BAD AT ALL - IT WAS JUST THAT SOMEHOW I HAD THE FEELING THAT WE OURSELVES WERE EITHER HELL IN THE PLACE OR NOT QUITE.

DIEGO ATE A SANDWICH AND DRANK A COKE WITH OBVIOUS RELISH - I GUESS HE DIDN'T LIKE THE FOOD THAT MUCH, BUT HE HAD CERTAIN CONDITIONED BIOLOGICAL NEEDS THAT SHOULD AT LEAST BE FORMALLY SATISFIED, LIKE SATIATING HIS HUNGER, SINCE EVEN THE CAFE-RESTAURANT'S PROPRIETOR WASN'T AROUND, BUT THERE WERE OBVIOUS SIGNS THAT SHE WAS INDEED AVAILABLE, AND DECIDED TO EXPLAIN THE NEXT PART OF THE STORY, AND FROM THERE ON OUR PATHS DIVERGED. WE DID NOT ASK HIM ABOUT HIS FURTHER INTENTIONS. DIEGO WAS VERY REALISTIC AND PERCEIVED TIME AS A DISCRETE QUANTITY. ACCORDING TO QUANTUM THEORY, THE FACT THAT TIME WAS CONTINUOUS WAS SIMPLY AN ILLUSION, SINCE TIME WAS SIMPLY A CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE CONSISTING OF DISCRETE REPEATING ELEMENTS[2]. BUT, AS AN OLD FRIEND ONCE TOLD ME, "ALL YOU HAVE IS THIS MOMENT. SO LIVE FOR IT AND ONLY IT, AS NOTHING ELSE EXISTS! EVERYTHING ELSE JUST ISN'T REAL AND WHEN YOU FIGURE IT OUT MAYBE YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN OR YOU'LL JUST ACCEPT THINGS AS THEY ARE - PART OF THE BIG GAME AND FOLLOW..."

DIEGO EXPLAINED MANY OF THE MISSING DETAILS OF THE PUZZLE I HAD THOUGHT ALMOST UNSOLVABLE, AND IN FACT FELISTER'S SCHEME, BESIDES BEING DOOMED, HAD TURNED OUT TO BE TRULY INGENIOUS. ZONARA AND ARLO TOOK ALMOST NO NOTICE. ONLY ARLO HAD TAKEN A BITE OUT OF A COOKIE WITH APPARENT RELISH. MAYBE ITS FILLING WAS MORE SPECIAL - WHO KNOWS! YES, THEY WERE IN THE HUMAN WORLD AND HAD TO LOOK HUMAN, OR AT LEAST PRETEND TO LOOK HUMAN - THEY WERE ON THE JOB AFTER ALL AND HAD TO FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE GAME JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!

SUDDENLY THE OWNER APPEARED - SHE LOOKED A RAGGED WOMAN, BUT ONE WHO WOULD DO ANYTHING IN HER POWER TO PLEASE HER GUESTS.

- "I AM MILBETH SARDEN[3]. MY HUSBAND AND I USED TO ROTATE THIS PLACE BUT HE PASSED AWAY RECENTLY - MAYBE THE CLIMATE AROUND HERE DIDN'T AGREE WITH HIM. AND I HONESTLY DON'T BLAME HIM. WITH AGE, ONE GAINS EXPERIENCE, WHICH IS INVALUABLE, AND GENERALLY LEARNS TO LIVE WITH MUCH, MUCH LESS," THE OLD WOMAN MUTTERED MEANINGFULLY.

THEN SHE WALKED AWAY AND HID SOMEWHERE FAR AWAY AND SANK INTO THE SHADOWS OF DARKNESS. IT WAS STARTING TO GET DARK, AS I MAY HAVE NEGLECTED TO MENTION THAT ALL THE PREVIOUS DAY WE'D BEEN TRYING TO SOMEHOW GET SETTLED IN ASHGROVE - AT LEAST FOR A WHILE.

AND SO DIEGO'S NARRATIVE BEGAN:

- AS YOU WELL KNOW, THE MASTER SPIRIT OR CONSCIOUSNESS NEED NOT BE EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE PHYSICAL BODY, BUT THE AUXILIARY CONSCIOUSNESS OR AUXILIARY CONSCIOUSNESSES CAN BE AND USUALLY ARE HIGHER LEVEL SPIRITS, AND SOMETIMES MUCH HIGHER. YOU KNOW, DECISIONS ARE USUALLY MADE BY THE MASTER SPIRIT, BUT THAT IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE AT ALL. SO AS WE SAID, THE MASTER SPIRIT COULD ALSO BE DELUDED, LED ASTRAY BY ITS HUMAN BROTHER, WITH WHOM THEY WERE BORN TOGETHER[4] - BEGAN DIEGO FROM AFAR.

WE LISTENED TO HIM ATTENTIVELY. DIEGO HAD A GIFT FOR WORDS AND TRIED TO CONVEY THINGS AS SIMPLY AND CLEARLY AS POSSIBLE. ONLY I NOTICED THAT ARLO AND ZONARA SEEMED TO FLINCH SLIGHTLY - PERHAPS THE CONVERSATION WAS NOT ENTIRELY PLEASANT TO THEM WITH ITS DIRECTNESS, OR PERHAPS THEY SIMPLY EXISTED ON ANOTHER VIBRATIONAL LEVEL. DIEGO'S WORDS WERE OBVIOUSLY AFFECTING THEM DIRECTLY - MORE OR LESS.

I ALSO HAD THE SUPERNATURAL FEELING THAT SOONER OR LATER THE FEDS WOULD COME - AND THIS TIME THEY REALLY DID. MAYBE THEY WERE WATCHING US - IN SOME INVISIBLE AND UNEXPLAINABLE WAY, OR MAYBE WE WERE JUST LEFT WITH A CLOSED MIND - UNABLE TO SEE CERTAIN THINGS.

- FELISTER NEEDED TWO PEOPLE WITH THE NAME DIEGO AND WITH ROUGHLY THE SAME FATE - WE WERE BOTH ORPHANED DERELICTS WITH UNKNOWN PARENTS, SINCE, AS YOU WELL KNOW - ONE OF US IS DEAD AND MAYBE THAT'S PRACTICALLY THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US. AND WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW IS THAT I SWITCHED BODIES, OR RATHER I MOVED THE DEAD DIEGO'S BODY BECAUSE I SUSPECTED THAT SOONER OR LATER SOMEONE WOULD STILL LOOK FOR HIM AND REGARDLESS OF THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF THE BODY - HIS AURA WOULD BE THERE. AND I THINK I DID THE RIGHT THING - THIS IS THE KEY TO FELISTER'S LEGACY ITSELF, BUT FAR FROM BEING THE END OF THE STORY, IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE END. AND THAT ENDING MAY NOT COME, OR MAY NOT COME EXACTLY AS YOU WISH. HERE'S AN EXAMPLE WITH ME AND THE DEMON...

AGAIN THERE WAS SILENCE.

- THUS HE HAD TWO GOATS TO PLAY THE SAME GAME WITH. FELISTER'S PROBLEM WAS THAT HE WANTED TO PLAY ON BOTH LOW AND HIGH VIBRATIONS, AND THAT MEANT CONTACT AND CONNECTION WITH COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ENERGIES - IT WAS NOT SO EASY TO MAKE THAT SWITCH, AND SO HE CHOSE THE SECOND OPTION, WHICH AS YOU CAN SEE HE CALLED FELISTER'S LEGACY. YOU KNOW, EVERY LITTLE THING IN THIS UNIVERSE REPRESENTS A SPECIFIC VIBRATION THAT IS CONNECTED IN A PARTICULAR WAY TO THE WHOLE. BY ISOLATING HIMSELF IN THIS WAY, FELISTER LOST CONTACT WITH HIS GUARDIAN ANGEL AND THINGS WENT COMPLETELY WRONG. THE KEY TO FELISTER'S UNRAVELLING WAS THAT HE WANTED TO CORRECT REALITY IN A VERY SPECIFIC AND PROFITABLE WAY FOR HIMSELF, WHICH OF COURSE SOONER OR LATER COULD PROVE DANGEROUS. AND THAT INCREASED THE LIKELIHOOD THAT HE HIMSELF IN THE NEW VERSION OF REALITY WOULD ALSO BE ERASED. FELISTER HAD ASSUMED DIFFERENT NAMES AND USED DIFFERENT DEMONS TO COMMUNICATE WITH POLITICIANS AND MOBSTERS - IT WORKED, OR SO IT SEEMED. IT WAS NECESSARY, FOR BUSINESS, FOR THE PRESERVATION OF HIS OWN CONSCIOUSNESS, AND FOR ALL OF US WHO LIVED UNDER HIS WING - FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THIS ENTIRE MICROCOSM. HE HAD CHOSEN TO ASK THE QUESTION OF WHAT LIFE WAS IN A RATHER WRONG WAY...

- "WHAT I DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND IS ... WAS HE TRYING TO PLAY THE ROLE OF THE ALMIGHTY?," I ASKED HIM.

- "NOT EXACTLY. EVEN JUST THE OPPOSITE. NOT AT ALL," DIEGO CHIMED IN, SOMEWHAT ODDLY, "HE WAS TRYING TO SLYLY PASS BETWEEN THE DROPS, AND THE CREATION MODEL DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY - AND NEVER HAS WORKED THAT WAY. AND IT'S UNLIKELY TO WORK."

ZONARA PERHAPS INWARDLY WANTED TO SHOOT ME WITH HER EYES, BUT STOPPED HERSELF. SHE WAS CLEARLY TRYING TO MAINTAIN HER PROFESSIONALISM. ARLO WAS STILL MUNCHING ON THE COOKIE - APPARENTLY IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ON EARTH TO HIM - IT SEEMED TO REMIND HIM OF HOME. A FORGOTTEN FEELING! I WAS BEGINNING TO GET A CLEAR SENSE OF WHERE THE CONVERSATION WAS GOING AND THAT IT WAS STARTING TO GET DANGEROUS - PERHAPS A LOT MORE SO THAN BEFORE.

- FELISTER HAD SIMPLY TRIED TO OPEN THOUSANDS OF ENERGY CHANNELS AND CONTROL THEM, BUT CONTRADICTIONS AROSE BETWEEN THESE SAME LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND IN THIS LINE OF THOUGHT SOMETHING VERY UNPLEASANT AND INAPPROPRIATE RESULTED, WHICH OF COURSE COULD NOT BE FULLY FELT IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE OF THE EXTREME COMPLEXITY OF HIS DESIGN. AT THE LEVEL OF PRACTICE AND CONTROL HE POSSESSED, THERE WAS A LOGICAL TRICK THAT HAD APPARENTLY CREATED A CONTRADICTION FOR HIM, NAMELY, IF CHECKING THE OPERATION OF A SPELL MEANT THAT IT WAS TO BE TERMINATED, THERE WAS A SPECIAL INSTRUCTION TO CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN IT EVEN IN THE EVENT OF A POSITIVE ANSWER TO TERMINATE[5]. IN THAT LINE OF THOUGHT, FELISTER HAD BEEN UNABLE TO SHIFT HIS OWN LINE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND HAD SUBSEQUENTLY ARRIVED AT ... YES, HE HAD MADE THE TRIVIAL MISTAKE, WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE WAS UNINTENTIONAL BY THE WAY, THAT CONSCIOUSNESS IS UNITY RATHER THAN TAKING A MUCH MORE PRACTICAL AND FLEXIBLE APPROACH - THAT IS, HE HAD SOUGHT ANSWERS WITHOUT BEING ENTIRELY SURE WHAT QUESTION THEY REFERRED TO. AND IN HUGE QUANTITIES. THIS IS RATHER REMINISCENT OF THE CASE OF THE FAMOUS DIOPHANTINE EQUATION ABOUT THE MEANING OF LIFE. WELL, IF FELISTER HAD HAD ENOUGH TIME IN THAT RESPECT MAYBE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE DIFFERENT AND HE WOULD HAVE ARRIVED AT THE RIGHT ANSWER - DIEGO PAUSED FOR A MOMENT TO COLLECT HIS THOUGHTS, BUT I SENSED THAT THE MOST INTERESTING PART WAS YET TO COME.

IN ALL HONESTY, WE'D BEEN IN ASHGROVE RELATIVELY RECENTLY, BUT ALREADY THE PLACE FELT COMPLETELY DEVOID OF MEANING - LIKE A BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, AND I EVEN WONDERED HOW REAL ITS SOLE PROPRIETOR WAS, WHO HAD DISCREETLY HIDDEN HERSELF AWAY SOMEWHERE, BUT WOULD OBVIOUSLY TURN UP IF WE ACTUALLY NEEDED HER SERVICES.

- HOWEVER, WHY FELISTER NEEDED TWO BODIES - THE REASON WAS VERY SIMPLE - SOONER OR LATER THE DETECTIVE DONOVAN HIMSELF HAD TO DO WHAT HE HAD TO DO, BUT ONLY IF SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND FELISTER'S END CAME.

- "YOU MEAN THAT FELISTER PROGRAMMED HIS OWN DEATH?,“ THE YAKUBA HEALER, WHO HAD BEEN STANDING ON THE SIDELINES OF THE WHOLE CONVERSATION BUT HADN'T LOST SIGHT OF IT AT ALL, REMARKED SOMEWHAT ODDLY, "OR EVEN MEANT THAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HIM, A SERIES OF RELATIVELY 'PLANNED' CONSEQUENCES WOULD ENSUE AS A RESULT OF IT. SORT OF LIKE THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT."

- SOMETHING LIKE THAT - ONLY MISTER EMBANKS WANTED TO DO IT IN A WELL PLANNED WAY, OR AT LEAST IN A WAY THAT HE COULD GET AWAY WITH. THIS DESIGN WAS OF COURSE QUITE SIMILAR TO THE CHAOS CODE ALREADY MENTIONED, AND WAS ABOUT MINIMAL DEVIATIONS THAT OVER TIME GAVE RISE TO CHAOTIC BUT NOT RANDOM NETWORKS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT THAT COULD ESCALATE AND BECOME GLOBAL. BUT THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE SENSE OF IMPENDING DEATH GOT IN THE WAY. NOW I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND?

ARLO AND ZONARA BOTH NODDED, BARELY PERCEPTIBLY - THEY FELT THAT SUCH AN EXPLANATION BASICALLY EXHAUSTED THE MECHANISM OF THE MAD BREEDER'S WORKINGS.

- FELISTER HAD PLANNED TO TRANSFER HIS CONSCIOUSNESS TO ONE OF THE OTHER BODIES, BUT FAILED, AND THEN THAT THING HAPPENED WITH THE DEMON THAT YOU ALREADY KNOW ALL TOO WELL ABOUT - IT TRANSFERRED INTO THE GAS BENZOUR ITSELF, AND YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH ALL THAT. THE WHOLE SITUATION WAS THAT NO MATTER HOW WELL-HONED HIS BRILLIANT DESIGN WAS, SOMETHING JUST DIDN'T FIT. PERHAPS HE HAD DEVELOPED AN ATTACHMENT TO LIFE, AS HE ALLOWED INTERNALLY THAT THERE WAS STILL UNFINISHED BUSINESS, AND HIS UNTIMELY DEATH WOULD HAVE CUT EVERYTHING SHORT. YOU REMEMBER THAT VERY MEANINGFUL QUOTE FROM SCRIPTURE THAT "THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD; I SHALL NOT BE LEFT IN WANT. IN GREEN PASTURES WILL HE COMFORT ME; BESIDE STILL WATERS WILL HE LEAD ME.[6]" THIS PRINCIPLE OF SUPPLY IS VERY IMPORTANT! WHEN FELISTER INTERACTED WITH VARIOUS CRIMINALS, RECIDIVISTS, AND ALSO PROMINENT POLITICIANS, HE RESORTED TO THE SERVICES OF VARIOUS DEMONS WHO HELPED HIM, BUT NOT FOR FREE - HE GAVE THEM LITTLE PIECES OF HIS SOUL. BUT HOW MANY PIECES DOES THE HUMAN SOUL POSSESS - EVEN THAT OF A MAN LIKE FELISTER EMBANKS? SOME SAY THE SOUL IS A UNIFIED WHOLE, OTHERS SAY IT HAS TWO OR THREE PARTS, BUT ONE THING I CAN SAY FOR SURE - WE ARE ALL BORN WITH SEVEN LIVES AND THAT IS THE THING THAT MATTERS, AND THEN OUR SOUL MOVES ON TO ITS NEXT PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT.

MAYBE WE WERE BORN FOR ANOTHER TIME AND ANOTHER PLACE BECAUSE OURS WAS IRRETRIEVABLY GONE AND WE WOULD PROBABLY NEVER REPEAT AND LIVE THAT LIFE AGAIN. THERE WAS ONLY A VAGUE MEMORY OF SOME DÉJÀ VU THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN WHAT WE REALLY NEEDED.

DIEGO TOOK UP HIS STORY AGAIN AFTER STANDING STILL FOR A LONG TIME:

- THE POLITICIANS HE WAS PANDERING TO WERE OF ALL KINDS - HE NEEDED BOTH CONGRESSMEN IN THE MAIN AMERICAN STATES, BUT ALSO ENOUGH SUPPORT FROM POLITICIANS OF INDIAN DESCENT IN A NEW SCOTIA IN CANADA. THUS HE HAD TAKEN THE BULL BY THE HORNS AND COULD DISPOSE OF AS MUCH AND WHEREVER HE WISHED - AND THE FENTANYL SUBSTANCE VARIETIES WERE GOING TO HIS SLUSH FUND IN OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS WITH WHICH HE CARRIED OUT HIS PLANS. FOR EXAMPLE ...

DIEGO WAS JUST FINISHING HIS STORY WHEN I SENSED SOMETHING WASN'T QUITE RIGHT. YES, IT HAD REVEALED TO US MOST OF FELISTER'S LEGACY, BUT FROM HIS BODY LANGUAGE, ON A SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, I SENSED THAT SOMETHING WAS AMISS. HE WAS A MOLE! VILE, RUTHLESS AND INDIFFERENT! I UNBUTTONED HIS SHIRT, WHICH WAS STAINED WITH BLOOD FROM THE DEMON HIMSELF. IT WAS A REMINDER OF THE FIERCE FIGHT WE HAD TO GET RID OF HIM. THERE WERE SPECIAL MICROPHONES UNDERNEATH AND THE WHOLE CONVERSATION WAS BEING RECORDED ALL THIS TIME. THE AGENTS HAD USED THOSE STUPID MICROPHONES THAT YOU PUT ON YOUR WRIST, BUT THEY ALLOWED SERIOUS FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT, AND ON THE OTHER HAND THE FACT THAT THEY COULD EAVESDROP SO COMFORTABLY FROM A DISTANCE WAS WONDERFUL.

OF COURSE, BETRAYAL COULD ALSO BE SEEN AS POWER, AND THAT POINT OF VIEW WAS PERHAPS ALSO PART OF FELISTER'S HERITAGE. THE TRADITIONAL VIEW WAS THAT TRAITORS WERE OUR ENEMIES, AND WHETHER THAT WAS REALLY THE CASE.

THE OLD WOMAN BEHIND THE BAR WAS APPARENTLY JUST ANOTHER INFORMANT FOR THE FEDS.

AT THAT POINT THE FEDS BARGED IN - THEY WERE QUITE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT HAVING SOMETHING - OR AT LEAST FORMALLY.

THIS WAS THE APPARENT CONFESSION OF DIEGO HIMSELF - STRONG EVIDENCE ACCORDING TO THEMSELVES.

AGENT MORALES BRISTLED:

- EVERYONE ON THE GROUND! NOBODY MOVE!

AND SHOVED US DOWN LIKE RIPE WATERMELONS BRUISED ON THE FLOOR. AFTER HIM, THE OTHERS CAME IN! THEIR WEAPONS WERE DRAWN AND READY TO STRIKE THE TARGET - WHATEVER IT WAS!

THE FEDS TURNED THE QUIET ASHGROVE UPSIDE DOWN. THEY ALSO RANSACKED THE HOUSE WHERE WE WERE STAYING. AND GENERALLY FOUND NOTHING, BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING TO FIND EITHER. IT WAS COMMON PRACTICE FOR THE FEDS TO ILLEGALLY COLLECT THOUSANDS OF CALLS, WHICH THEY WOULD THEN USE AS EVIDENCE AND ALSO TO ELICIT TESTIMONY.

MORALES RUBBED HIS HANDS TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT BETRAYED HIS SATISFACTION THAT ONCE AND FOR ALL HE WOULD BE TRULY APPRECIATED-BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW EVERY THREAD OF DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S STORY, SINCE FATHER TOBIAS HAD REMAINED SILENT ANYWAY.

WHEN THE FEDS LISTENED TO THE TAPES, THEY WERE LEFT OPEN-MOUTHED AND UNABLE TO SAY ANYTHING. AGENT MORALES, JUST SCRATCHING BEHIND HIS EAR LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAD FALLEN INTO AN UNHARVESTED VINEYARD AND WONDERING HOW HE WAS GOING TO JUSTIFY THE PURPOSE OF THE OPERATION, WHICH INVOLVED NEARLY TWO DOZEN FEDERAL AGENTS, VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT - AND IT WAS ALL TAXPAYER MONEY - IT SMELLED LIKE FAILURE TO HIM. A BIG ONE AT THAT! IT MIGHT EVEN HAVE BEEN THE END OF HIS CAREER!

THE AGENTS EXPECTED TO HEAR SOME SUBSTANTIVE INFORMATION, BUT INSTEAD THERE WAS ONLY WHITE NOISE, WHICH WASN'T MUCH. IT WAS AS IF OUR WHOLE CONVERSATION HAD NEVER TAKEN PLACE AND THERE WAS NOTHING UNUSUAL IN IT.

TO BE PRECISE, MORALES WAS AN OLD WOLF, AND NO SUPERNATURAL PHANTASMAGORIAS WERE LOST ON HIM, BUT UNLIKE DETECTIVE DONOVAN, HE WAS IN NO HURRY TO DECLARE VICTORY, AS TOO MANY SUBMARINE STONES MIGHT COME UP IN THE COURSE OF UNRAVELING THE STORY.

MORALES HAD HANDLED THE INVESTIGATION IN A VERY SUBTLE AND CAREFUL MANNER - HE HAD INFILTRATED DIEGO AT FELISTER'S, AND FROM THEN ON THERE WAS NO NEED FOR TELLING, AND NOW THIS PART.

BUT IF DIEGO HAD DONE THIS HOW WAS HE ABLE, POSSESSED BY THE DEMON, NOT TO BREAK THE MICROPHONE. THE QUESTION REMAINED OPEN. IT WAS OBVIOUSLY PURE LUCK! OR MAYBE NOT?

THE FIRST DIEGO OR JAKE WAS ALIVE AND WELL - THAT EXPLAINED THE MYSTERY - DAMN! AND DIEGO HIMSELF - RAUL'S BROTHER HAD THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD WHEN HE POISONED HIM FROM THE GRAVE. AND THEN THE FEDS ARRIVED, RECRUITED HIM, AND TOOK JAKE TO THE MORGUE - AFTER ALL, THIS STORY SEEMED PLAUSIBLE. BUT HOW LONG COULD HIS BODY HAVE BEEN UNDERGROUND?

MATHEMATICALLY CALCULATED, ONE COULD SPEND AT LEAST FIVE AND A HALF HOURS UNDERGROUND BEFORE THE AIR IN THE COFFIN RAN OUT. DIEGO HAD FOUGHT FOR EVERY BREATH TO GET OUT! TO BE BORN AGAIN! TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY! AND TO START ANEW!

DIEGO HAD JUST MANAGED TO SAVE JAKE, AS HE HAD BEEN RECRUITED BY THE FEDS SHORTLY AFTER HE HAD STARTED HIS JOB WITH FELISTER.

AS HARD AS IT WAS TO BELIEVE, FELISTER HAD LEFT SOMETHING BEHIND - TWO CHILDREN WHO WERE NOT HIS, BUT WHO STILL BREATHED THE FRESH AIR OF THIS EARTH. TWO CHILDREN WHO HAD HELPED TO END THE BLOODY TERROR OF THE FARMER!

DETECTIVE MORALES WAS OBVIOUSLY UNHAPPY WITH THE WHITE NOISE, BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.

THEN THE YAKUBA APPROACHED HIM. THE WISE OLD MAN DECIDED TO TALK TO HIM AND REVEAL WHAT HE KNEW:

- "YOU MUST SEE THE SYMBOLS, AGENT MORALES," HE COUGHED, "THE PRESENCE OF A RAINBOW IS A SIGN THAT THE GUARDIAN ANGEL IS WITH THE DIEGO - AND THAT'S NO SMALL THING. LOOK AT THOSE COLORS - THEY TELL YOU EVERYTHING. AND THE SOULS OF SOME WILL CONTINUE TO EXIST ONLY IN THE SO-CALLED BACKGROUND OF THEIR LIVES, WHERE THE OPTION OF LIFE, AND IN PARTICULAR ACCESS TO THEIR VITAL CORE, WILL BE CUT OFF. THIS IS ALSO CALLED LOSING TOUCH WITH YOUR SOUL. PERHAPS HIS ANTACARANA[7] HAS BEEN DAMAGED, BUT STILL."

AGENT MORALES CRINGED. THAT SOUNDED SIMPLE... HE LOOKED AROUND AT THIS AFRICAN HEALER WITH A GREYING HEAD WHO WAS TRYING TO HELP HIM, REVEALING TO HIM THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING.

- "AFTER ALL, THERE IS A TRAITOR IN ALL OF US - EVEN ON AN ENERGETIC LEVEL," THE OLD MAN CONTINUED, "AND HAVE THESE TRAITORS ACTUALLY BETRAYED YOU, OR ARE THEY SIMPLY YOUR HELPERS TO THE HIGHER ENERGIES AND ARE NOT BETRAYING US INTO THE HANDS OF THE MOST HIGH?"

AGENT MORALES ASSUMED THAT SOME SUPERNATURAL FORCES HAD INTERVENED IN THE WHOLE STORY - BUT UNLIKE DETECTIVE DONOVAN, HE HAD EARS TO HIS HEAD AND COULD HEAR AND LISTEN. AND HAD ENOUGH BRAINS TO JUDGE CLEARLY AND SOBERLY WHAT WAS GOING ON.

BEHIND HIS BACK, THE TWO BLOODLESS BROTHERS WITH A COMMON ADOPTIVE FATHER EMBRACED. THEY COULDN'T BELIEVE THEY WERE INTERCONNECTED IN THEIR PATH.

- EVERY DISAPPOINTMENT, AGENT MORALES, LEADS US TO SUBTLER LEVELS. THEN THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR ANY INVESTIGATION. THE QUESTION REMAINS DO YOU REALLY WANT TO LIFT YOUR SOUL?

THE INVESTIGATION WENT ON FOR MONTHS, AND I WENT BACK TO THE OLD HAUNTS WITH THE AGENTS, EXPLAINING TO THEM THE INTRICACIES OF FELISTER'S LEGACY. FINALLY, THE FBR JUST CALLED IT OFF AS IT SEEMED FRUITLESS, BUT NOT BEFORE CHECKING OUT THE CONNECTIONS TO THE POLITICIANS AND MOBSTERS THEY HAD SOME LEADS ON ANYWAY. AGENT MORALES DECIDED NOT TO MEDDLE IN THE WORK OF THE ALMIGHTY - WAS IT RIGHT OR WRONG? WELL, EVERYONE WAS TO JUDGE FOR THEMSELVES.

AFTER DIGGING DEEPER INTO THE MAD FARMER'S SECRETS, IT TURNED OUT THAT HE DID INDEED HAVE SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OF MONEY IN HIS OFFSHORE COMPANY.

SIMPLE STATEMENTS SHOWED THAT IF JAKE HAD OWNED ABOUT TWO MILLION DOLLARS (IT WAS WORTH NOTING THAT HE WAS NOT PROSECUTED FOR HIS TREMENDOUS COOPERATION DURING THE AGENTS' INVESTIGATION, BUT HE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH HIS FORTUNE - AT LEAST NOT UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER!), THEN FELISTER WAS SIMPLY UNBEATABLE. WE HAD A DEAL WITH THE FEDS TO HAND OVER THE BREEDER'S SUMS TO THEM, BUT THIS IS WHERE THINGS WEREN'T SO SIMPLE.

IT WAS INTERESTING THAT FELISTER HAD MADE AN INGENIOUS FINANCIAL SYSTEM, AND BESIDES BEING A SKILLED BUSINESSMAN, HE WAS A GOOD ENOUGH FINANCIER.

ONE PART WAS THAT HE OWNED PHANTOM COMPANIES THAT WERE HIDDEN BEHIND A SERIES OF OFFSHORE COMPANIES THAT WERE IN TURN PARTNERS OF INDIANS WHO OWNED FUNERAL AGENCIES THAT BURIED DEAD INDIANS ON RESERVATIONS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER - AND SINCE A COFFIN COULD HIDE AT LEAST TWENTY POUNDS OF PURE GOODS, THAT MADE FABULOUS SUMS IN THE THIRTY MILLION RANGE. YES, THAT'S RIGHT! IT WAS PURE FENTANYL, AND FELISTER LIKED HIS BEST TO GO TO HIS MOST DEVOTED CUSTOMERS HIS CUSTOMERS. SOMETIMES HE CARRIED TWO COFFINS A YEAR ACROSS THE BORDER, AND THAT THROUGH THIS CHANNEL ALONE.

BUT THE FINANCIAL PART OF ORGANIZED CRIMINAL PROFIT DIVERSION COULD EMBARRASS EVEN HARVARD-EDUCATED YUPPIES.

WITH SOME OF THE MONEY, DONATIONS WERE MADE TO CHURCHES THAT WERE AGAIN CONNECTED WITH HIM IN SOME DEGREE, AND THEY MADE A CAMPAIGN OF DONATIONS, AND THE MONEY CAME BACK TO THE INDIANS AGAIN IN VARIOUS FORMS-WELL, NOT ALL, BUT STILL FELISTER'S IDEA WAS STRAIGHT CONCRETE! EVEN IF HE LOST, IN THE FORM OF VARIOUS FEES AND BRIBES, ABOUT THIRTY PER CENT, THE OTHER SEVENTY REMAINED TO HIM. THE SHOW GOT EVEN BIGGER WHEN THE ELECTION CAMPAIGNS OF CONGRESSMEN AND EVEN SOME SENATORS STARTED - FELISTER OWNED TWO WHOLE ONES, WHO INCIDENTALLY PAID HIM BACK HANDSOMELY IN THE FORM OF LOBBYING, BUT THERE WERE ALSO SOME MORE COMPLICATED INTERCONNECTIONS - BORN IN HIS BRILLIANT HEAD, SUCH AS LAUNDERING SOME OF HIS MONEY.

DETECTIVE MORALES KNEW WELL THAT SOME OF THE THINGS WERE HARD TO PROVE AND HAD TO TINKER DIRECTLY WITH THE CHURCH DIOCESES, WHICH HE DIDN'T LIKE. IF THERE WAS EVEN THE SLIGHTEST SUCKERPUNCH, OR MORE ACCURATELY IF HIS ACTIONS LOOKED LIKE THE TINIEST FAILURE, HE WOULD SIMPLY BE RUINED. THE DIOCESES OF THE CHURCH WERE UNDER SPECIAL JURISDICTION, WHICH MEANT IT WASN'T A GOOD IDEA TO INVESTIGATE A FELISTER RIGHT THERE. BY COMMON CONSENT, FAITH WAS NOT NEGOTIABLE. AND COULD NOT MEASURE THAT JURISDICTION BY THE STANDARDS OF ITS OWN JURISDICTION.

THE LIST OF CHURCHES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WAS ALMOST ENDLESS, AND FELISTER HAD MANAGED TO SQUEEZE INTO EVERY ONE OF THEM. IT WAS A VERITABLE TAX HAVEN OUT THERE, AND IF A PARTICULARLY ENTERPRISING BUSINESSMAN LIKE MR. EMBANKS HAD DEVELOPED A DEFENSIVE STRATEGY - THIS WAS THE PERFECT PLACE TO IMPLEMENT IT. IF WE HAD TO BE SPECIFIC ABOUT THOSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WERE EXEMPT FROM INCOME TAX UNDER IRS CODE SECTION 501(A). THE SITUATION WAS PARTICULARLY AMUSING WITH THE CATHOLIC PRIESTS AS THEY WERE QUITE SUSCEPTIBLE IN THIS REGARD - THEY WERE EXCELLENT COLLABORATORS WITH THE BRUTAL BREEDER AND HE PROFITED HANDSOMELY FROM THEM AS WELL. FELISTER WAS A SUBTLE PSYCHOLOGIST AND UNDERSTOOD HOW THIS DEPRAVED WORLD WORKED - IT WAS THE SAME SLOP WHERE HE CAME FROM.

AGENT MORALES COULD SEE ALL THE FALSENESS ALL AROUND, BUT HIS PROFESSIONAL PRINCIPLES MADE HIM STICK TO THE ORDERS HE HAD RECEIVED FROM ABOVE. HE WAS EVEN THINKING, NOW THAT HE WAS DONE, OF JUST RETIRING - ONCE AND FOR ALL. MORALES WAS FAR FROM BEING A FIRST YOUTH, AND HE KNEW THAT THOSE CHERISHED TWENTY-SEVEN OR SO YEARS OF FEDERAL SERVICE HAD TO BE COVERED IN ORDER TO COUNT ON SOME SORT OF PENSION OF FOUR OR FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH-YES, IT WASN'T BAD. BUT, WAS HE EVER GOING TO LIVE TO FINISH THIS CASE TOO.

AT FIRST, THOUGH PROFOUND, THE AFRICAN HEALER'S REASONING DID NOT SEEM TO HIM TO BE OF MUCH USE IN UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERY, BUT APPARENTLY HE SIMPLY HAD TO CHANGE HIS THINKING - THIS WAS A BASIC RULE IN THE WORK OF ANY PROFESSIONAL.

"DON'T WE ALL STRIVE FOR THE LIGHT?,“ MUSED AGENT MORALES, "AND IT IS OUR PURPOSE TO DISCOVER WHAT A MAN IS THINKING EVEN BY LOOKING AT HIS LIPS! BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGISTS HAD CONVINCED US THAT WE COULD TELL A REAL SMILE FROM A FAKE ONE, BUT NO ONE HAD TAUGHT US HOW TO READ THE SOUL IN THE AFTERLIFE!"

WE HADN'T BEEN TO ASHGROVE FOR A LONG TIME - THAT LITTLE COMMUNITY IRRITATED MY PSYCHE WITH ITS EMPTINESS AND LACK OF PERSPECTIVE, AND MOST OF ALL WITH THE HYPOCRISY OF ITS DECORUM, WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO CATCH OUT THE GULLIBLE OR PEOPLE WHO, JUST LIKE US, WANTED TO GET THE JOB DONE, AND MILBETH SARDON HAD GIVEN THEM HER INPUT IN THE WIRETAPPING - SHE HAD RECORDED US WITH A SPECIAL TAPE RECORDER, AND IN RETURN THE FEDS HAD PROMISED TO SETTLE HER WITH A SMALL PENSION - ESPECIALLY AFTER HER COMPLAINT THAT THIS PLACE JUST WASN'T GOING AND SHE HAD EVEN SUNK CREDITS TO KEEP IT GOING.

I WON'T GO INTO DETAILS, BUT I DO RECALL THAT FELISTER WAS MAKING A HEALTHY PROFIT FROM USURY AS WELL - AND IT WAS MASKED IN A HELLISHLY VILE AND IMMORAL WAY. THAT FARMER'S BASTARD AND INFERNAL SON OF A BITCH! FOR A LONG TIME, THIS BUSINESS WAS KNOWN AS THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS!

FELISTER WOULD BUY BACK NON-REPAYABLE LOANS FROM LARGE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND THEN FORCE THE DEBTORS TO WORK IN ONE OF HIS CRIMINAL SCHEMES, WHERE THEY WERE TECHNICALLY SUPPOSEDLY ON SALARY, BUT IN FACT WERE FORCED TO WITHDRAW - THIS TIME QUITE LEGALLY - SERIOUS SUMS OF MONEY - ALTHOUGH NOT VERY ORIGINAL IT ALSO BROUGHT HIM A SERIOUS INCOME, WITH WHICH HE MAINLY MAINTAINED THE ILLUSION OF THE FARMING IDYLL AND CARRIED OUT VARIOUS "ECO" PROJECTS AROUND THE FARM - SUCH AS WIND TURBINES, FROM WHICH HE AGAIN MADE SERIOUS MONEY, AS HE COULD ALSO SELL TO HIS NEIGHBOURS WHO WERE ALSO EMPLOYEES OF THE FARM - FELISTER COULD EVEN BUILD A SMALL TOWN LARGE ENOUGH TO HOLD A POPULATION OF TWO THOUSAND, BUT HE PREFERRED TO DISPERSE THE CONSUMPTION BETWEEN SEVERAL UNCONNECTED COMMUNITIES THAT HE HIMSELF HAD CREATED AND POPULATED - HE JUST DIDN'T WANT ANYONE SNOOPING AROUND THE FARM AND CAUSING HIM TROUBLE FROM AT LEAST TEN MILES AWAY, AS THIS WAS HIS WORLD! AND HERE HIS LAWS APPLIED! THE MAIN OBSTACLE TO THE EXECUTION OF THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN WAS NOT SO MUCH TECHNICAL, BUT PROVING THE COMMON USE OF THE POWER, SINCE OTHERWISE THE AUTHORITIES WOULD HAVE STOPPED THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE - THAT IS, FELISTER HAD TO RESORT TO THE SERVICES OF A POWERFUL TRUST TO PROVIDE HIM WITH THE TECHNICAL DESIGN, AND THEN TO A WHOLE COHORT OF LAWYERS WHO DEALT WITH POWER MATTERS.

HE SOLD THEM A HUGE AMOUNT OF THE ELECTRICITY HE WAS GENERATING WITH THEIR MONEY.  A SIMPLE WIND TURBINE HAD THE CAPACITY TO PRODUCE AT LEAST A MEGAWATT AND A HALF OF ELECTRICITY - AND THAT WAS ASSUMING THE WIND SPEED WAS WITHIN TWENTY-FIVE MILES A PART, AND THERE WERE OVER A HUNDRED TURBINES NEAR THE FARM, AND YET THEIR NOISE DID NOT DISTURB THE ANIMALS - THE PIGS THEMSELVES COULD WALK FREELY AMONG THEM. THE ELECTRICITY PRODUCED BY ONE ALONE WAS QUITE SUFFICIENT TO SUPPLY ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED HOUSEHOLDS-THAT IS TO SAY, TWO TURBINES WERE AMPLY SUFFICIENT TO SUPPLY THE NEEDS OF THE FARM AND THE ADJOINING UNCONNECTED COMMUNITIES, AND THE POWER THAT WAS GENERATED BY THE REMAINING NINETY-EIGHT WAS DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE ELECTRIC GRID. BUT FOR THE CRAZY FARMER, THIS DUPLICITY WAS PERFECTLY IN ORDER. IF A CURIOUS PERSON DID SHOW UP, WHICH HAD HAPPENED EXACTLY ONCE OR TWICE, THE HISPANIC WORKERS GREETED HIM WITH ANGRY AND FRANTIC SHOUTS:

- ¿QUÉ TRABAJO TIENES AQUÍ? VIVIMOS Y TRABAJAMOS AQUÍ[8].

AFTER THIS "INCIDENT" NO ONE EVER CAME TO THESE PLACES AGAIN. JUST IN CASE, HOWEVER, FELISTER INVENTED SOME BIZARRE CRIME AND OBTAINED A PROSECUTOR'S RESTRAINING ORDER TO STAY AWAY FROM THE FARM. THIS BANAL, BUT SEEMINGLY DOOR-OPENING TO ANOTHER UNIVERSE, FEELING OF UTTER EMPTINESS WAS ALSO KNOWN AS THE "DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL" - AFTER ALL, OUR SALVATION WAS IN OUR OWN HANDS, AND THAT WAS PERHAPS THE DEFINITION OF THE LOVE OF THE ALMIGHTY. AND THE NEXT STEP WAS A COMPLETE VOID OF THE SPIRIT. SOMETIMES, TO BE SURE OF THE PATH WE HAD TAKEN WE JUST HAD TO CLOSE OUR EYES AND TRAVEL IN THE DARKNESS.

- "THE DURATION OF OUR LIVES CONSISTS OF STEALING SOULS - IN OTHER WORDS, FOR US TO LIVE OR EXIST IN THIS WORLD, OTHERS SIMPLY HAVE TO DIE," FELISTER ONCE THOUGHTFULLY ADDED - SUCH WAS HIS SIMPLE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE, WHICH HE DEFENDED WITH ALL HIS MIGHT DURING HIS LIFETIME - "AND EVEN IF SOME ACCUSE ME OF HYPOCRISY - IT WILL BE SO AS LONG AS THE WORLD LASTS!"

WE BOTH STOOD AND WATCHED THE WONDERFUL OVERFLOW OF THE SKY. OVER THE ENDLESS LUSH GREEN GRASSES THAT COULD BE SEEN IN THE DISTANCE, SWAYED BY THE GENTLE TOUCHES OF THE WIND THAT SEEMED TO CARESS THEM, FOLLOWED AN INTERMEDIATE STREAK OF GOLDEN ORANGE THAT SEEMED TO SYMBOLIZE ALL FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, THROUGH WHICH WE HAD TO PASS IN OUR EARTHLY LIVES, AND ABOVE IT, AS IF LOWERED BY AN ALMIGHTY HAND, WAS SEEN A MASSIVE MASS OF GREYISH BLUISH CLOUDS, WHICH PERHAPS SOUGHT TO CRUSH IT ALL, OR PLUNGE IT INTO OBLIVION! WE STOOD GAZING THUS, AND FELISTER TURNED TO ME:

- MY DEAR ELIZANDER, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO OR DON'T DO IN THIS LIFE - ONE DAY IT WILL ALL BE OVER, BUT TRY TO WALK YOUR PATH WITH DIGNITY - AT LEAST FORMALLY. UNTIL THEN, YOU WILL WAIT AND HOPE THAT THE NEXT TIME THE CARDS ARE DEALT, YOU ARE NO MORE SCREWED - IF EVER!

DETECTIVE MORALES WENT THROUGH A SIMILAR PERIOD, REALIZING THAT SOMETHING WAS ELUDING HIM. YES, THEY HAD FOUND MANY CLUES AND REACHED SERIOUS REVELATIONS ABOUT FELISTER'S ABUSES IN THE LABOR UNIONS, HIS ILLEGAL ANNEXATION OF FARMLAND THAT HE USED FOR ALL SORTS OF PURPOSES, HIS INTERFERENCE IN THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INDIAN BURIAL AGENCIES THAT RAN THE DRUG TRADE IN CANADA - BUT NOTHING SEEMED TO HAVE CHANGED.

THEN HE TURNED SPECIFICALLY TO JAKE, ME - ELIZANDER BARNAIN, ZONER AND ARLO.

- "DOES THIS MEAN WE'RE AT THE END OF OUR JOURNEY? THAT WE HAVE NOTHING MORE TO UNCOVER AND DAMAGE TO REPAIR, OR ARE WE JUST GOING TO REPORT SOME ACTIVITY," HE UTTERED IN A STRANGE TONE, "I'M NOT GOING TO HIDE THAT YOUR FORMER BOSS TOOK ME ON THE MOST UNUSUAL TRIP ANYONE COULD EVER HAVE IN THEIR LIFE.

 

[1]  Sparrows are a symbol of hope, fertility and resurrection.

[2]  Mir Faizal, "Time crystals of minimal time uncertainty," published in The European Physical Journal C.

[3] The heroine's name is a play on words - Milbeth means "Lover of Travel" or "Trustworthy," and Sarden means "Honeybee," which symbolizes society.

[4] Li Hongzhi, Zhuan Falun, Sofia, 2013, Ciela Norma AD

[5] The idea comes from British computer scientist Alan Turing, who shows that a certain computer program can stop on its own, but here it is combined with the esoteric idea of spiritual work on many levels.

[6] It is the Psalm of David (23:2) where the allusion is made to the sheep and the shepherd.

[7]   Antakarana is the connection between personality, soul and spirit and is also known as the spiritual bridge.

[8] What job do you have here? We live and work here.

THE CONGRESSMAN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: THE CONGRESSMAN

 

EVEN THOUGH WE WERE COOPERATING, THE FBI STILL HADN'T GOTTEN THEIR SUSPICIONS OFF OF US AND DECIDED TO DOUBLE-CHECK THEIR VERSIONS-JUST IN CASE. FEDERAL HEADQUARTERS HAD MOVED TO WASHINGTON, AND THIS WAS NECESSITATED MAINLY BY THEIR INCREASED STAFF, AND AGENT MORALES COULD NOT AFFORD TO HAVE US SPREAD BACK AND FORTH LIKE UNWASHED PANTIES. THE INTERROGATIONS TOOK PLACE IN ONE OF THEIR MANY OFFICES AROUND THE COUNTRY, WHICH WAS IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. A BASIC PRESUMPTION FOR CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION WAS WHETHER ANY FEDERAL LAW HAD BEEN VIOLATED, AND EVEN THE ROOKIES IN THAT SECTOR KNEW IT. BECAUSE FELISTER'S CRIMES WERE OF A DIFFERENT ORDER OF MAGNITUDE - THEY ALSO HAD A DIFFERENT INVESTIGATIVE STATUS. AGENT MORALES REASONED SOBERLY ENOUGH TO REALIZE THAT, FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER, A GOOD NUMBER OF THE CRIMES COULD NOT BE REOPENED BECAUSE SOME OF THEM HAD LIMITED FIVE-YEAR INVESTIGATIVE STATUS. THERE IT WAS AS IF EVERYTHING STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN AND THE QUESTIONS WERE ENDLESS. BUT AT SOME POINT THE IDEA OCCURRED TO HIM THAT THE BANK FRAUDS HAD A LONGER LIMITATION PERIOD OF TEN YEARS AFTER ALL - HERE HE COULD DIG INTO FELISTER'S SHIFTY AFFAIRS INVOLVING THE BAD LOANS AND THE WHOLE CHAIN OF BUSINESS VENTURES THEREAFTER, AND IT WAS ONE HELL OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE THE WHOLE INVESTIGATION AND HIS CAREER. ON SECOND THOUGHT, HE COULD HAVE TIED THEM IN SOME FORM TO FELISTER'S OFFSHORE COMPANIES, AND HENCE HIS POLITICAL CONNECTIONS TO CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS. YEAH, SOMETHING COULD HAVE COME OF THAT! AGENT MORALES WAS GUIDED BY FBR'S FIRST KEY VALUE - RESPECT! HOWEVER, HE HAD TO CHECK WITH HIS COLLEAGUES IN THE OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DIVISION, ALSO KNOWN AS THE ED, WHERE THEY COULD PROVIDE HIM WITH SOME MORE INFORMATION - PARTICULARLY ON THE ADVANCED ELECTRONIC INTELLIGENCE AND RECONNAISSANCE PART. THEN SOME CONGRESSMAN FROM SALT LAKE CITY CALLED TO SAY HE HAD SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO TELL US - NATURALLY THIS COULD GET ZONARA IN TROUBLE, AS SHE HAD CONNECTIONS IN THAT CITY HERSELF. AGENT MORALES WAS THE MAN ON THE SPOT, HOWEVER, AND WE HOPED HE WOULD AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE HER MERITS IN THE INVESTIGATION SO FAR.

WHEN WE WENT TO THIS CITY, ACCOMPANIED BY A COHORT OF FEDERAL AGENTS, THE CONGRESSMAN WAS HAVING A MOST RELAXED LUNCH AT A FANCY AND EXPENSIVE RESTAURANT - AGENT MORALES HAD PROMISED ZONARA THAT IF SHE COOPERATED, AND FOR THAT MATTER, ANY POSSIBLE CHARGES IN CONNECTION WITH FELISTER EMBANKS WOULD BE DROPPED AND IT WOULD ALL BE OVER ONCE AND FOR ALL.

THE CONGRESSMAN'S NAME WAS CANDOR BRUSHFIELD[1] AND HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS LOBBYIST VIEWS. HE SPOKE VERY MODERATELY AND PROFESSIONALLY AND WAS GENERALLY AN ODD BIRD. FOR CONSIDERATIONS, SUGGESTED THAT WE MEET IN A NEUTRAL PLACE WHERE THERE WOULD BE NO UNDUE RISK TO HIS OWN SAFETY.

AND THIS WAS PRECISELY HIS PRIVATE RESIDENCE, WHERE I ASSUMED HE WOULD HAVE OF THE SO-CALLED ANTI-EAVESDROPPING PLUGS. I HAD NO DOUBT THAT THERE WERE WAYS TO DETECT HIDDEN WEIRLES CAMERAS, LISTENING DEVICES AND WHATNOT IN HIS MANSION! BUT WE ALSO HAD SOME TRUMP CARDS UP OUR SLEEVE.

AFTER GOING TO A GORGEOUS VILLA HIGH ABOVE SALT LAKE CITY, WE SAW HIS GLAMOROUS MANSION. THERE WERE TWO BEAUTIFUL MARBLE STATUES JUST OUTSIDE THE ENTRANCE - ONE SYMBOLISING LOVE AND THE OTHER HOPE. I WONDERED IF THEY EVEN HAD THEM BOTH? AFTER THE INITIAL CURT INTRODUCTION, WHICH LASTED NO MORE THAN A MINUTE, HE BEGAN TO INFORM US OF SOME JUICY DETAILS SURROUNDING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GENIUS BREEDER:

- FELISTER ACTUALLY SUPPORTED ME BACK WHEN I RAN FOR JUNIOR CONGRESSMAN. YOU KNOW, IT'S A REALLY LONG ROAD AND ... I WAS LONELY AND THIS WAS THE CHANCE OF A LIFETIME. THAT JUNIOR SENATE PROGRAM THAT ... HE HAD TO PROVIDE ME WITH EXTRA FACILITIES AS WELL BECAUSE I DIDN'T COME FROM A VERY RICH FAMILY AND THE SO-CALLED USSYP DIDN'T COVER EVERYTHING I NEEDED, BUT HE SAW SOME POTENTIAL IN ME ...

STRANGE WHY, BUT HE SPOKE WITH SOME SPECIFIC SLUR WHICH CONFUSED ME A BIT. THE MEETING WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JUST ZONARA, BUT I REMEMBERED THAT THE CONGRESSMAN REMEMBERED ME FROM THAT TIME ZONARA HAD ASKED HIM FOR HELP. YEAH, THAT SON OF A BITCH HAD IT COMING!

ZONARA FOLLOWED THE AGENTS' PRIOR INSTRUCTIONS NOT TO INTERRUPT HIM OR CREATE UNNECESSARY HYPE[2] DURING THE CONVERSATION TO PREDISPOSE HIM TO SPEAK MORE AND MORE OPENLY.

THE FEDS WERE IN NO HURRY AT ALL TO OFFER HIM THE COVENANT DEAL AND PUT HIM IN THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM - FIRST THEY HAD TO HEAR IF HE COULD REALLY PROVIDE THEM WITH VALUABLE AND SERIOUS INFORMATION ABOUT THE FARMER'S FINANCIAL AFFAIRS.

IN THE COURSE OF THE CONVERSATION, I WAS ABLE TO GAUGE THE STATE OF MIND OF OUR INTERLOCUTOR, WHO WAS GENERALLY EMOTIONALLY BURDENED BY THIS PART OF HIS PAST, BUT ACTED LIKE SOMEONE WHO WAS COMPLETELY IMPERVIOUS - THIS WAS A BIT DISCONCERTING, AS THERE WAS SOME POSSIBILITY THAT HE WAS TRYING TO DRAW US INTO HIS GAME, WHICH HE HAD MASTERED IN THE TWENTY-FIVE YEARS SINCE HE HAD RISEN TO SENIOR CONGRESSMAN.

- "OFFSHORE COMPANIES AREN'T EXACTLY NEW," HE BEGAN DISTANTLY, "BUT FELISTER HAD MASTERED THE SKILL OF TOUCHING MORE DELICATELY AND MAINTAINING A KIND OF WEB OF MYSTIFICATION THAT WOULD HELP HIM REMAIN INCONSPICUOUS - AT LEAST FOR LONG ENOUGH. INSTEAD OF LAUNDERING HIS MONEY IN PERHAPS THE BEST AND MOST CONVENIENT OFFSHORE ZONE IN THE US - THE STATE OF DELAWARE, WHERE INCIDENTALLY ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF THE FORTUNE 500[3] COMPANIES ARE REGISTERED - HE HAD CHOSEN MUCH DEEPER AND QUIETER WAYS OF HIDING HIS FINANCIAL RECEIPTS, BECAUSE HE WANTED TO AVOID PUBLICITY! YOU SEE, EVEN WITH THE COMPLETE CONFIDENTIALITY THEY PROMISED, HE CHOSE COUNTRIES THAT WERE NOT CONSIDERED MONEY LAUNDERERS FROM A LEGISLATIVE STANDPOINT."

- "WHERE'S THE DIFFERENCE?," ZONARA ASKED, SOMEHOW WORRIED IF SHE WAS VIOLATING THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO HER BY THE AGENTS - AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT YOU COULD TELL BY HER EXPRESSION, BUT I KEPT REMEMBERING THAT SHE WAS JUST FOLLOWING THE RULES OF THE GAME.

- "WELL, LOOK, WE'RE GETTING INTO SOME PRETTY SPECIFIC AND SUBTLE STUFF," THE CONGRESSMAN, WHO WAS A LAW AND ECONOMICS GRADUATE AND HAD EARNED HIS PHD FROM RUTGERS UNIVERSITY IN NEW JERSEY, WAS SNIFFING THE GROUND. - "LET'S LOOK AT THIS FROM A PURELY PRAGMATIC POINT OF VIEW - IF YOU OPERATE LARGE BUSINESSES AND REDIRECT THEM TO COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT SO POPULAR FOR INVESTMENT AND ARE NOT ON THE SO-CALLED BLACKLIST OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND ALSO OF CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION, YOU WILL BE IN TAX HAVENS THAT WILL NOT BE BOMBARDED WITH CALLS FOR URGENT TAX REFORMS. AND HERE COMES THE EVEN MORE SPECIAL POINT - INSTEAD OF PAYING HUGE SUMS IN TAXES AND VARIOUS FEES, YOU REGISTER THE PARENT COMPANY IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS MONGOLIA, LATVIA OR ESTONIA, OR EVEN IN A COUNTRY THAT IS A LITTLE-KNOWN ISLAND ARCHIPELAGO, AND REPATRIATE THE PROFITS OF THE SUBSIDIARY AFFILIATES THERE, BECAUSE THE SAME PARENT COMPANY HAS LENT YOU MONEY TO GET STARTED ..."

- "RAISING PIGS," ZONARA HASTENED TO SPECIFY WITH A WELL-DISGUISED SMILE.

- "FOR EXAMPLE," LAUGHED THE CONGRESSMAN - "INGENIOUSLY SIMPLE AND WORKABLE." - "EXCEPT THAT THE PARENT COMPANY, REGISTERED IN AN OFFSHORE TERRITORY, BUT NOT OFFICIALLY KNOWN AS SUCH, HAS AN IMPLICIT OWNER, BEHIND WHICH ARE OTHER - INDEED OFFSHORE - COMPANIES, REGISTERED, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OR IN SOME INTERESTING DESTINATION, AND PART OF THE OWNERSHIP MAY EVEN BE OR MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO SOME NON-PROFIT COMPANY, WHICH IS A VERY INTERESTING COINCIDENCE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN - A GOOD CHOICE WOULD BE AN ADOPTION ORGANIZATION, A CHURCH, A CHARITABLE FOUNDATION OR WHATEVER AND SOMETIMES FELISTER EVEN USED WHAT'S CALLED A CLANDESTINE RE-EXPORT OF THEIR PRODUCE - THAT WAS PRETTY TRICKY, SINCE FENTANYL SUPPLIES COULD BE DELAYED, OR THEY JUST COULDN'T FIND THE NEW RECIPE FOR THE PRODUCT FAST ENOUGH WHEN CUSTOMER DEMAND CHANGED, OR THEY COULDN'T FIND A SKILLED ENOUGH COOK. THE POINT OF THESE CLANDESTINE RE-EXPORT OPERATIONS WAS TO ACCOUNT FOR MARKET CONJUNCTURE, AND FROM THEN ON IT WAS OF EXTREME CONVENIENCE IN THE VARIOUS CUTS AS WELL. THE OPERATION CONSISTED OF THE FOLLOWING - IF THE FENTANYL PRODUCED IN ASIA COULD NOT BE REALISED, FELISTER SIMPLY USED VARIOUS ALTERNATIVES OF IT AND THAT WAS THAT - THEY WERE MARKETED AS LOWER GRADE PRODUCTS, BUT THE FARM SHOULD NOT STOP WORKING. THE FICTITIOUS TRADING COMPANIES IN MEXICO WOULD BUY EVERYTHING AND THEN SEND IT BACK TO CANADA OR THE US. FELISTER ALSO HAD PEOPLE IN DEA SNIFFING OUT SOME THINGS FOR HIM. THEY WERE ALL PLAYING A GAME ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. THE CYCLE WAS ENDLESS!"

- "BUT LET'S FACE IT - EXACTLY HOW MUCH DID FELISTER HAVE?," ASKED ZONARA DIRECTLY.

- IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO CALCULATE A FORTUNE SO DIVERSE, AS ITS STRUCTURE WAS INDEED COMPLEX AND INVOLVED TOO MANY STRANDS, AND ONE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE OVERT ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AS WELL AS THE HIDDEN ONES, BUT IN MY PERSONAL OPINION - PERHAPS OVER FIVE BILLION DOLLARS - THE CONGRESSMAN CALMLY EXPLAINED TO HER, STANDING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A SMALL TABLE IN ONE OF THE HUGE ROOMS OF HIS MANSION, ONLY ABOUT TWO METERS AWAY FROM ZONARA.

- "IT CAN'T BE," ZONARA FEIGNED AMAZEMENT WITH THE PROFESSIONALISM OF A PROFESSIONAL AGENT, "IT'S EVEN MORE THAN THE TURNOVER OF SOME WORLD-FAMOUS INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES."

THE CONGRESSMAN BECAME QUITE SERIOUS.

- FELISTER WAS ACTUALLY OPERATING ON AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. IT IS UNLIKELY THAT MANY FBI AGENTS WOULD HAVE HESITATED TO SEEK HIS CONNECTIONS IN COUNTRIES THAT DID NOT EVEN HAVE A GREAT TRADITION OF DRUG TRAFFICKING, WHICH ALSO WORKED IN HIS FAVOUR. HE ALSO AVOIDED SWITZERLAND BECAUSE HE BELIEVED THAT, HOWEVER ISOLATED IT MIGHT BE, IT WOULD STILL PROVIDE THE NECESSARY ASSISTANCE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT WHEN ABUSE WAS TRULY PROVEN. LOCALLY, MR EMBANKS HAD SECURED ENOUGH SERIOUS SUPPORT - AND IN POLITICAL TERMS, AT THAT - THAT HE HAD NEVER HAD ANY MORE SERIOUS PROBLEMS. AT LEAST ONES THAT I WAS AWARE OF. PLUS, THE BASIC LOBBYING LAWS WERE ALSO LEGALLY BACKED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION, WHICH GUARANTEED FREEDOM OF SPEECH, SO THIS SEEMINGLY SMALL LOOPHOLE UNTIED HIS HANDS TOO MUCH. PLUS, THE LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT, AND ITS AMENDMENT IN THE FORM OF THE HONEST LEADERSHIP AND OPEN GOVERNMENT ACT, REQUIRED ALL REGISTRANTS TO PERIODICALLY REPORT THEIR ACTIVITIES TO THE APPROPRIATE INSTITUTIONS - SOMETHING TOO CONVENIENT FOR HIS BUSINESSES.

- "THAT SOUNDS QUITE INTERESTING," CONFIRMED ZONARA, WHO AGREED WITH HER INTERLOCUTOR, DEMONSTRATING HOW SIMPLY AND LOGICALLY THE GENIAL BREEDER HAD ACTED TO PROTECT HIS INTERESTS.

- "EXACTLY," AGREED THE CONGRESSMAN, "I CAN'T AGREE THAT FELISTER WASN'T A TERRIBLY AMBITIOUS MAN! AND PERHAPS HE SUCCEEDED IN GOING TOO FAR, THOUGH MANY THOUGHT HIM A SIMPLE AND LIMITED FARMER-HE WAS ONE IN A BILLION!"

- "AND HOW DID IT ALWAYS MANAGE?," ASKED ZONARA HIS LAST QUESTION.

- "YOU SEE, MONEY IS AN ILLUSION, AND THE MORE PEOPLE BELIEVE IN IT THE BETTER," HE FINISHED, "AND FELISTER WAS A TRUE MASTER OF ILLUSIONS - IF YOU CREATE SOMETHING GOOD ENOUGH, OR MAKE EVERYONE BELIEVE IT IS GOOD ENOUGH, YOUR TASK WILL NOT BE WHERE TO GET THE MONEY, BUT TO CHOOSE FROM WHOM TO GET IT, AND THE CHOICE OF THE FORM IN WHICH TO DO IT IS ALSO A MATTER OF CHOICE. AND IT WORKS LIKE REAL MAGIC!"

I WAS SURE THE FEDS WOULD HAVE LIKED THIS INFORMATION, AS IT WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO AT LEAST CONTINUE THE INVESTIGATION AND KEEP IT FROM REACHING A DEAD END, AND THUS MISSING THIS EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO UNRAVEL THE TRUTH TO THE END. THE CONGRESSMAN KEPT HIS MANNER CASUAL, BUT I RECOGNIZED IN HIS FACE ONE OF THOSE MANY SUFFERERS WHOM FELISTER HAD HELPED, PULLING THEM OUT OF THE MIRE OF LIFE.

YOU WILL ASK ME HOW I GUESSED? VERY SIMPLY. BY THE AURA HE GAVE OFF. THE AURA NEVER LIED!

LAST TIME WE HAD SPOKEN TO THE SAME MAN AND HE HAD EXPRESSED A WILLINGNESS TO HELP US, AND NOW I WAS SEEING A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BEING. AS IF I DIDN'T KNOW HIM. APPARENTLY, EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD WAS ABOUT BUSINESS - I MEAN - PERSONAL BUSINESS, AND HE WAS ABOUT SURVIVAL AND LIFE.

AGENT MORALES' LONG HOURS OF TRAINING HAD BORNE THEIR FRUIT, AND NOW HE SAW CLEARLY THE SITUATION BEFORE HIM. HE COULD SENSE THE PERFECT SIMPLICITY AND VAST GENIUS OF FELISTER EMBANKS. BUT HOW HARD WAS IT REALLY TO BE A GOD?

AGENT MORALES CONTINUED HIS TIRELESS MARCH TOWARDS THE TRUTH AND HOPED THAT IT WOULD ALL BE OVER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. HE VISITED ALL THOSE COUNTRIES, SAW ALL THOSE CULTURES THAT FELISTER EMBANKS HAD INTERACTED WITH WITHOUT EVEN LEAVING THE CONFINES OF HIS FARM. IT WAS STRANGE HOW HE'D GOTTEN SO MANY SEEMINGLY DISPARATE PEOPLE TO DO HIS WORK.

HE MUST HAVE BEEN USING MAGIC, OR SOME UNAUTHORIZED MEANS OF INFLUENCING OTHERS! MAYBE HE WAS JUST SOME UNEARTHLY BEING WHO HAD ONLY VISITED HERE BRIEFLY - BEFORE HE WAS GONE FOREVER!

IN THE EVENING, AS HE LAY DOWN TO SLEEP, HE HAD A STRANGE DREAM WHICH WAS CONNECTED WITH THE CASE. HIS FOREHEAD WAS DRENCHED IN A COLD SWEAT AND HE WAS SIMPLY DELIRIOUS. HE WAS WALKING ALONG SOME MUDDY COUNTRY ROAD, AND THE COLOURS WERE FADING FROM RED TO BLACK, AS IF SOME UNSTEADY HAND WERE PRESSING THE RED OUTLINES INTO THE INK-BLACK SILHOUETTES, WHICH SEEMED HELLISHLY SURREAL. THE RED BLOOD WOLF MOON WAS GOING TO SINK INTO AN OCEAN OF DARKNESS AT ANY MOMENT. THE BLOOD-RED WOLF MOON, WHICH ACCORDING TO BIBLICAL LORE BROUGHT MISFORTUNE AND EVIL, AND ACCORDING TO SOME, ALMOST SPELLED THE APOCALYPSE, BUT PERHAPS JUST MADE US QUESTION ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT WOULD SHOW US THE EXISTING REALITY FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE. THE DUSKY COUNTRY ROAD CURVED AND PASSED BEHIND THE TREE. THE DREAM SEEMED TO HIM QUITE AS REAL. WHO KNOWS WHY HE DID NOT AVERT HIS EYES FROM THE ROAD, AS THE NEARBY GRASS MIGHT WELL HAVE BEEN HARBOURING SUNDRY VERMIN THAT MIGHT ATTACK HIM, BUT CONTINUED STEADFASTLY FORWARD. THE TREE DIDN'T SEEM TO BE TOO FAR AWAY - IT EVEN SEEMED TO BE WITHIN ARM'S REACH.

AND YET THE PATH SEEMED ENDLESS. BUT HE SOON FOUND HIMSELF ALMOST BESIDE THE TREE ITSELF, AND A BOY AND A GIRL WERE PLAYING UNDER IT-SO IT WAS ELIZANDER AND JEANIE MAGOOD-YES, THE SAME JEANIE WHO WAS THE KEEPER OF A BROTHEL IN NEW ORLEANS. THE SAME ONE WHO HAD EXPLAINED TO BARNAYNE WHAT A DIRTY AND BRUTAL THING LIFE WAS. BUT HOW SHE'D GOTTEN INTO ELIZANDER BARNAYNE'S HEAD AND READ HIS MIND. HOW THE HELL WAS THAT POSSIBLE? WAS HE NOT LOSING HIS OWN REASON!

THEY DIDN'T SEEM TO NOTICE THE DETECTIVE AT ALL AND HE MADE ABSOLUTELY NO IMPRESSION ON THEM. HOW NAÏVE OF HIM TO THINK HE WAS INCONSPICUOUS - BUT INDEED HE WAS. HE WAS DAMN DAMN ALONE - HE HAD THE FEELING THAT HE WAS IN THE SITUATION OF FELISTER EMBANKS HIMSELF - AT LEAST EMOTIONALLY. A WHOLE NEW WORLD! THEN HE REMEMBERED - IT WAS THE CURSE OF THE FELISTER! HE'D JUST BECOME PART OF THE STORY AS HE'D INTERFERED WITH THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MAIN PLAYERS IN IT AND THERE WAS NO GETTING OUT. THE VICIOUS CIRCLE HAD ACTIVATED! AND THE WOLF IN IT SYMBOLIZED GOOD AND EVIL, AND OUTWARDLY SEEMED SO CONTRADICTORY! IT WAS LIKE A FAIRY TALE WITHOUT END! BUT HE DECIDED TO SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING AFTER ALL!

THE BOY AND GIRL'S CONVERSATION WAS NOTHING SPECIAL:

- "YOU MEAN YOU'RE LEAVING?," ELIZANDER TURNED TO HER, KICKING THE GROUND WITH HIS FOOT AS IF IN SYNC WITH HIS INNER THOUGHTS. - I'D SAY I'M GOING TO MISS YOU. THOSE FEW YEARS WHEN WE THOUGHT THE WHOLE WORLD WAS OURS AND LIVED EVERY DAY AS IF FOR THE LAST TIME. IT WAS A GOOD TIME, BUT ALSO KIND OF FAKE. A DISTORTED REALITY!

- "THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS FAKE, BARNAYNE," JUDY RETORTED, "THE LEVEL OF OUR PERCEPTIONS MAKES IT REAL!"

HE LOOKED LIKE SOME INNOCENT BOY, NOT A LIFE-BAKED TARIQA-THOUGH THOSE WHO KNEW HIM WOULD HARDLY DOUBT FOR A MOMENT THAT HE WAS STIFF AND FILLED WITH AN UNBEARABLE SADNESS-THE SADNESS OF THE WOLF SOUL MOVING WITH THE PACK, DRIVEN BY THE INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL AND THE NATURE OF HIS OWN NATURE-GUARDIANSHIP, RITUAL, LOYALTY, AND SPIRIT!

JENNY MAGOOD WOULD HAVE LAUGHED AT ANY OTHER BOY AND DECIDED THAT HE WAS HITTING ON HER, BUT SHE STILL OWED PART OF HER OWN SURVIVAL TO ELIZANDER, WHO HAD SECRETLY HELPED HER MAKE CONTACT WITH VARIOUS ADOPTIVE PARENTS, AND SO SHE GAVE HIM A FRANK AND FRIENDLY ANSWER ABOUT THE PROSPECTS OF HER LATER LIFE AND FINDING HER PLACE IN SOCIETY:

- YES, THIS IS ACTUALLY THE COUNTRY RESIDENCE OF MY NEW GUARDIAN, MR. EDMUND[4], WHICH IS LOCATED IN GOLD LAKE -A PRETTY COOL AND PEACEFUL PLACE. IT'S WHERE HE'S STAYING TO REST AFTER ALL THE STUFF THAT'S GOING ON WITH THE INDUSTRY HIS BUSINESS IS IN - 3D PRINTING HOUSES THAT SELL LIKE HOT BREAD. DID YOU KNOW THAT, WITH GOOD MAINTENANCE, SPECIALISTS GIVE THEM A LIFE SPAN OF FIFTY TO SIXTY YEARS? THE COMPETITION IN THIS SECTOR IS HUGE. MAYBE THAT'S WHERE I'LL FINALLY FIND SOME SEMBLANCE OF A HOME. YOU WILL MISS NOT ME, NOT SO MUCH MY IMAGE, BUT THE EMOTION, THE FEELING, THE SMELL OF YOUTH AND UNCERTAINTY THAT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ME, AND THAT IS DIFFERENT. THIS WHOLE UNIVERSE IN WHICH WE BOTH EXISTED, TWO DOOMED SOULS CRAVING PEACE. IN FACT, AFTER SOME OTHER DAY OR OTHER, I WILL BE BUT A PALE SHADOW AND AN ANNOYING MEMORY - NOTHING MORE. BUT THERE WAS DEFINITELY SOMETHING NOSTALGIC ABOUT YOU - SOMETHING THAT REMINDED ME OF MYSELF IN THE BEGINNING, WHEN I WAS BEING FUCKED BY THE STORM OF LIFE, AND YOU APPEARED QUITE BY CHANCE AND FOR SOME UNKNOWN AND COMPLETELY ILLOGICAL REASON GAVE ME YOUR HAND EVEN THOUGH YOU OWED ME ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. MAYBE YOUR OWN SURVIVAL HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH ME - I DON'T KNOW, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO LOOK THAT DEEP FOR THE ANSWER EITHER - IN THIS WHOLE UNIVERSE THAT ...

- "IT'S THE WOLF MOON, AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT SOMEONE IS WATCHING US," SAID ELIZANDER THOUGHTFULLY, "BUT I WAS STILL OBLIGED TO COME AND SEE WHAT HANDS YOU WERE IN - NOTHING PERSONAL. I HOPE YOU REMEMBER THAT MAGICAL PROTECTION I TAUGHT YOU TO AVOID OBSERVATION, AS I SUSPECT THAT PURELY AND SIMPLY SOME TIME TRAVELER WILL SOONER OR LATER BECOME INTERESTED IN SOMETHING RELATED TO US - IT'S EVEN POSSIBLE... I KNOW THE METHOD OF LOCKING THE FIELD IS ELEMENTARY AND ALL. FURTHERMORE, WE CAN ALSO USE SO CALLED NESTED RINGS[5], TO STRENGTHEN OUR ENERGY PROTECTION FURTHER."

JENNY IMMEDIATELY CROSSED HER ARMS AND LEGS, THUS LOCKING IN HER BIOFIELD, THEN PERFORMED THE REST OF THIS SYMBOLIC RITUAL, WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY, AND YET - SHE TRUSTED BARNAYNE'S INTUITION - THIS STREET DOG HAD SURVIVED ON A HAIR'S BREADTH ALL HER LIFE.

- "ARE WE THAT IMPORTANT?,“ JENNY NODDED RATHER SERIOUSLY, AGREEING WITH HIS POSITION, "WILL ANYONE REMEMBER US? HUMAN MEMORY IS SO PERISHABLE AND NOT EVEN WORTH DESCRIBING AT ALL, YET IT IS AMAZING.

- "I HOPE WE SEE THE SUN ONE LAST TIME, AND THAT IT IS NOT THE SUNSET OF OUR JOURNEY," BARNAYNE WHISPERED SOFTLY. - "WHO KNOWS IT MIGHT EVEN BE THE BEGINNING OF IT!"

- "AT LEAST THIS UNIQUE MOMENT WAS ALL OURS," SHE MURMURED SOFTLY WITH A LITTLE NOSTALGIA, "AND NO ONE CAN TAKE IT AWAY FROM US! AND MAYBE I REALLY DID LOVE YOU - JUST AS I LOVED MYSELF AND MY OWN EXISTENCE, AND MAYBE EVEN MUCH, MUCH MORE!"

BOTH OF THEM HAD YET TO DIVE AGAIN INTO THE STORMY SEA OF LIFE. THEY HUGGED EACH OTHER GOODBYE. JUDY RELAXED HER HEAD ON HIS SHOULDER, HER HAIR DISHEVELED, BLENDING INTO THE BLACK TONE OF EVERYTHING AROUND HER.

THEN THE SCENE ABRUPTLY CHANGED AND BARNAYNE WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND HER ORPHANAGE. HIS BUILDING LOOKED HELLISHLY EMPTY-ALMOST UNINHABITABLE. IT WAS ACTUALLY SO STRANGE FOR SUCH AN INSTITUTION. HAD TRAVELED MORE THAN A THOUSAND MILES BECAUSE HE HAD A PURPOSE TO LIVE FOR - TO REDISCOVER HIMSELF. AND THEN HE BEGAN HIS NEW LIFE ON FELISTER'S FARM-THE HELL OF HIS NEW MASTER AND FATHER. BUT THERE HE FELT OUT OF PLACE!

SAW, TOO, THE CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE GIRL AND ELIZANDER IN THE DISPOSAL OF THE GOODS. EXPERIENCED MADAME AS SHE WAS, JENNY NEVER MARRIED-AS IF SHE HAD BEEN DUMBFOUNDED BY HER ENCOUNTER WITH BARNAYNE, OR SOMETHING ELSE. BUT SHE HAD AMASSED AN ENVIABLE FINANCIAL FORTUNE - SHE HAD EVEN COMMISSIONED SOME MEMBERS OF RIVAL ORGANISATIONS ON BEHALF OF FELISTER, WHICH MADE HER SOMETHING OF HIS AGENT, AND HER VERY NAME INSPIRED AWE AND RESPECT.

THE MEMORIES LINED UP BEFORE AGENT MORALES' EYES. TIME-TRAVELLER, HE SOON FELT A STRANGE INFLUENCE UPON HIS OWN THOUGHTS-AS IF FELISTER HIMSELF WANTED TO DRIVE HIM TO THE GRAVE.

HE ALSO SAW THE GRAVE OF JAKE HIMSELF, WHOM DIEGO HAD UNEARTHED - AND THEN HE AND HIS TEAM HAD PERSONALLY TAKEN HIM TO A SECRET LOCATION WHERE HE WAS GIVEN FIRST AID SO THAT HE COULD TESTIFY LATER.

 

[1]   Candor in English means frankness and directness.

[2] Specific exclamations or emotional intensity that are associated with exaggeration.

[3] List of the five hundred richest companies.

[4]  Edmund means defender.

[5] This is an ancient Indian technique for magical protection.

THE END GAME

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: THE END GAME

 

TIME TRAVEL, OR MORE ACCURATELY, SO-CALLED TIME STREAM MAGIC, REQUIRED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF CONCENTRATION AND A CERTAIN LEVEL OF SKILL ON THE PART OF THE MAGICIAN HIMSELF. NOT EVERYONE WAS UP TO SUCH A CHALLENGE. BUT DEFINING THE RELEVANT TIME SENSE WAS THE CONSCIOUS PERCEPTION OF THE TIME FLOW. IT WAS ALSO THE BEGINNING OF A MAGICIAN'S TRUE AWAKENING TO HIS JOURNEY AS WELL AS TO THE NATURE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AROUND HIM. THE CORRELATION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND THE TRANSCENDENT IN THIS RESPECT WAS MAINLY IN THE FACT THAT IT WAS NOT THE UNITS OF MEASUREMENT THAT WERE A FACTOR FOR TIME ITSELF, BUT ITS SATURATION WITH EVENTS, WHICH IN TURN MEANT THAT WITH MORE EVENTS EXPERIENCED, MORE SUBJECTIVE TIME SHOULD HAVE PASSED. MANY DIFFERENT METHODS EXISTED FOR THIS PURPOSE - BUT THE ONE WHERE THE RELEVANT DISTINCTION WAS MADE BETWEEN SO-CALLED SUBJECTIVE TIME, WHERE THE MAGE WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE HIS OWN POSITION AND HAD A KEEN EYE FOR ALL THOSE ANOMALIES THAT DISTORTED THE FLOW OF TIME WAS GENERALLY THE STARTING POINT FOR MOST TIME TRAVEL - SOME OF WHICH COULD END UP BEING TRULY CATASTROPHIC.

THERE WERE, HOWEVER, A FEW SERIOUS PROBLEMS IN MAKING THE JOURNEY IN QUESTION. THERE WAS A SO-CALLED TIME POLICE THAT COULD PREVENT SOME OF THESE MANIPULATIONS, AND IT CONSISTED OF OTHER PEOPLE WITH MAGICAL KNOWLEDGE WHO COULD EASILY SENSE THE VIBRATIONS INVOLVED, AS THEY WERE AWARE OF WHAT AND WHERE TO LOOK. IN THE METHODOLOGY OF SO-CALLED VISUALIZATION, THE MAGICIAN HAD TO MEMORIZE VERY PRECISELY ALL THE DETAILS OF A GIVEN PLACE AND KEEP IN MIND THAT NEXT TIME THEY MIGHT NOT BE THERE, OR THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING ELSE THAT WAS ALSO TOO SPECIFIC. FOR EXAMPLE, IF HE WANTED TO SUCCESSFULLY MANAGE HIS JOURNEY TO A PLACE, THE MAGE SIMPLY HAD TO IMAGINE ITS OUTLINE IN GENERAL TERMS, AND THEN ADD DETAILS, WHICH WAS ONE OF MANY OPTIONS IN THIS REGARD. THE MOST CRUCIAL POINT IN THIS TECHNIQUE WAS THE ABILITY TO HOLD THE CONSTRUCTED IMAGE IN THE MIND LONG ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED MAGICAL EFFECT. THIS WAS ALSO EXTREMELY USEFUL FOR ASTRAL TRAVEL, WHICH BELONGED TO SPACE TRAVEL.

BUT IN GENERAL, SOME OF THE MAGES DIDN'T DARE TO GO TOO FAR AND DIDN'T HAVE THE KNACK FOR SUPER-SOPHISTICATED REALITY CONTROL, WHICH WOULD MEAN THAT WITH REALLY BOLD MANIPULATIONS OF TIME, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME-SPACE PARADOXES COULD ACCUMULATE, WHICH WERE TO THE MAGE'S DETRIMENT AND AFFECTED AND TAXED HIS PSYCHE CONSIDERABLY, AND ALSO HE HIMSELF COULD BE ERASED THE NEXT TIME REALITY CHANGED. THE SUBTLE POINT IN CALCULATIONS OF ANY ORDER WAS TO TAKE MORE SIGNIFICANT PERIODS OF TIME - IT WAS RATHER POINTLESS TO CHANGE THE MAGICIAN'S PERCEPTIONS IN JUST A FEW SECONDS, WHICH WOULD LATER BE BURDENED BY THE ALTERED PERCEPTION, TIME CHANGED SUBJECTIVELY, AND HENCEFORTH THEIR CHANGE IN THE FUTURE WOULD BE EVEN MORE COMPLICATED. YES, THE MAGICIAN COULD ALSO LIFT A FEW SECONDS AND MAKE A FULL RESTORATION OF EVENTS, BUT THE PARADOX AND FATE BROUGHT ABOUT BY HIS INTERVENTION COULD MAKE THAT TASK MORE DIFFICULT AND CAUSE UNPREDICTABLE RESULTS IN THE FUTURE, AND THAT CARRIED RISKS. THE ULTIMATE MASTERY IN THE USE OF TIME MAGIC, AS OF ANY OTHER MAGIC, WAS THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO - AND WHILE THIS SOUNDED TOO SIMPLE IN THEORY, IN PRACTICE IT WAS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, AND VERY OFTEN ONE HAD TO ACT BLINDLY WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AT ONE'S DISPOSAL, AND ALSO WITH THE PARTICULAR SITUATION ALREADY BURDENED BY MAGICAL MANIPULATIONS. THE MAGICIAN WORE A SENSE OF DÉJÀ VU QUITE OFTEN PRECISELY BECAUSE OF EVERYTHING DESCRIBED ABOVE, AND THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM FELT THAT THE MOMENT ITSELF WAS AS IF PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE WERE COMING TOGETHER AT ONE POINT. MOREOVER, THE IDEA OF A SO-CALLED LINEAR FLOW WAS A VERY ONE-SIDED PERCEPTION OF THE CRAZY UNIVERSE, SINCE EVEN THOSE WHO WERE PROPONENTS OF THIS IDEA COULD NOT DENY THE FACT THAT THE CORRESPONDING EDDIES, STREAMS AND BRANCHES OF THE FLOW WERE MUCH MORE NUMEROUS AND VARIABLE THAN EVEN THE WILDEST HUMAN IMAGINATION WAS CAPABLE OF ASSUMING THEM TO BE. AFTER ALL, IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE AWARENESS OF THE MEANING OF THE MAIN STREAM, AND SUBSEQUENTLY THE UPPER LEVEL OF MANIPULATION WAS THE TRANSFER OF IT TO THE OTHERS. IN A MORE COMPLEX REALITY, A TRULY SKILLED MAGICIAN COULD DIVIDE TIME INTO SEVERAL TIME STREAMS AND EXERT A SPECIFIC DEGREE OF MANIPULATION, BUT THIS WAS ALSO EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND NOT AT ALL ADVISABLE. SOME OF THE HIGHER MAGES WERE ABLE TO DROP A SO-CALLED TIME-SPACE THREAD FOR THEMSELVES THAT WOULD HELP THEM TRAVEL INTO THE PAST AND FUTURE PROVIDED THEY HAD DROPPED ANCHOR IN THE PRESENT, BUT TRAVELING INTO THE FUTURE TOOK A CERTAIN RISK, BUT TRAVELING INTO THE PAST WAS CONSIDERABLY MORE DANGEROUS. THE MERE EXPANSION OF SUBJECTIVE TIME TO EVEN JUST A SINGLE TIME STREAM COULD PRODUCE EXTREMELY POWERFUL EFFECTS. IT WAS ALSO POSSIBLE TO CREATE A SO-CALLED "TIME PAUSE" WHERE THE VICTIM WAS LOCKED WITHOUT EVEN NOTICING THE SNEAK ATTACK BY THE ONE WHO HAD CAST THE CORRESPONDING MAGICAL EFFECT. BUT IT WAS THIS SPECIFIC FORM OF MANIPULATION THAT AGENT MORALES WAS EXPERIENCING.

THE FBR INVESTIGATOR WHO WAS IMMERSED IN THIS WORLD FELT LIKE A SCHOOLBOY WHO COULD DO NOTHING BUT TRY TO FLUSH HIMSELF OUT THERE. TO SLIP BETWEEN TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL INTERCONNECTIONS AND FELT AS IF HE WAS BEING SQUEEZED BY SOME VISE, BUT HE WAS SURE HE HAD TO FIND SOME DEFINITE ANSWER OR TO UNDERSTAND THE DESIGN OF WHOEVER HAD PUT HIM INTO THIS PERVERSE AND SELF-CLOSING SCENARIO.

HE WAS ACUTELY AWARE THAT BARNAYNE HAD UNWITTINGLY OR DELIBERATELY CAUGHT HIM IN THIS TIME-SPACE TRAP, AND HE NEEDED TO UNCOVER THE COMPLEX INTERRELATIONSHIPS, AND PERHAPS EVEN CHANGE SOME OF THE EVENTS AS WELL AS THEIR SEQUENCE. BUT THAT WAS WHY A MAGE HAD TO HAVE WHAT WAS CALLED MAGICAL WEIGHT, AND HE WAS THROWN IN LIKE A NEWLY SIGHTED BLIND MAN, AND IT WAS AS IF THE INVISIBLE CHRONOMETER HAD BEEN ACTIVATED - HE WAS TRAPPED IN HIS OWN MIND AND HAD TO TRY TO SURVIVE. HE ALSO REALIZED SOMETHING ELSE - THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE FELISTER'S LEGACY WAS HIS VERY SURVIVAL, AND NOW AGENT MORALES WOULD FEEL THE CIRCLE TIGHTENING AROUND HIM FOR HIMSELF. BUT HOW MUCH TIME WAS THERE?

AT THAT CRITICAL MOMENT, AGENT MORALES' SUBCONSCIOUS KICKED IN - HE WAS LIKE A CAGED TIGER THAT NEEDED TO BREAK FREE. AND EVERY HUMAN SUBCONSCIOUS HAD THE MARVELOUS PROPERTY, UPON PERCEIVING AN IDEA, OF PUTTING IT INTO ACTION IMMEDIATELY, AS IT WORKED BY ASSOCIATION AND UTILIZED EVERY BIT OF KNOWLEDGE THAT HAD BEEN GATHERED BY A PERSON THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE - SO THAT WITHIN HIM WAS LOCKED INFINITE POTENTIAL. THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND DID NOT ARGUE WITH ITS POSSESSOR, BUT ACCEPTED WHATEVER HE CONSCIOUSLY BELIEVED.

IT OCCURRED TO HIM THAT THE CONDITION IN WHICH THIS UNKNOWN ADVERSARY HAD PLACED HIM WAS QUITE REMINISCENT OF THE LOCKED-IN SYNDROME, WHERE, AFTER CERTAIN TYPES OF DISEASES OF THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AND THE BRAIN, A PERSON WAS UNABLE TO REACT TO EXTERNAL STIMULI AND COULD ONLY MOVE HIS EYES, WHICH WERE HIS ONLY CONNECTION TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD. IF GUIDED BY THIS LOGIC, HE SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE TRUE AND BRUTAL REALITY, NOT THE ONE HE WISHED TO SEE - THE CASE WAS FAR FROM COMPLETE.

FELISTER'S LIMITED TIME WAS NOT AT ALL TO BE UNDERESTIMATED - HE HAD ACHIEVED TOO MUCH AND HAD DEFEATED HIS ENEMIES.

THEN SUDDENLY AGENT MORALES FELT SOMETHING STRANGE - THE PICTURE BEFORE HIS EYES CHANGED AGAIN AND HE SAW ALL THE TORTURED YOUNG REPEAT OFFENDERS, HOMELESS PEOPLE AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER BRUTAL AND PERSPECTIVELESS TYPES, TOSSED ABOUT BY THE WAVES OF LIFE AND WORKING ON FELISTER'S FARM - HE COULD READ THE NOSTALGIC SADNESS IN THEIR EYES FOR A LOST PAST AND A TERRIBLE AND HOPELESS FUTURE - PERHAPS THE ONLY BONUS THEY WERE AFFORDED BY THEIR BRUTAL EMPLOYER WAS THE RIGHT TO SEE THE OCCASIONAL RAY OF SUNSHINE. FAR AWAY IN THE FIELD TO THE WEST HE SAW A HUGE FIELD OF SUNFLOWERS - PROBABLY PART OF THE FARM, WHICH MIGHT HAVE BEEN NECESSARY TO FELISTER, AS SUNFLOWERS WERE USED AS AN INGREDIENT IN THE PIGS' FOOD ALONG WITH RAPE, ALTHOUGH FELISTER HIMSELF HAD SOMETIMES FED THEM HUMAN FLESH AS WELL, AND USUALLY THOSE THUS KILLED DISAPPEARED COMPLETELY WITHOUT A TRACE AS THE PIGS DEVOURED EVERYTHING - EVEN THE BONES OF THE UNFORTUNATE SUFFERERS. FELISTER HAD DONE HIS SUMS WELL, SO AS NOT TO GO TO UNNECESSARY EXPENSE.

AND FOUND THAT ELIZANDER BARNAYNE WAS THE LAST REMNANT OF FELISTER'S INHERITANCE. IT ALL CAME INTO HIS MIND LIKE DÉJÀ VU. HOW STRANGE! AND IF ONE WANTED TO PENETRATE THE MINDS OF OTHERS, ONE'S OWN MIND WOULD HAVE TO BE AWAKE - WITHOUT ANY CRACK!

HE FELT LIKE AN ALIEN IN ANOTHER WORLD! BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO HAD CROSSED OVER WOULD ALWAYS LIVE AMONG THE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF TEMPORAL REALITY - AND PERHAPS WOULD NEVER BELONG TO ANY OF THEM. AND IF THEY WANTED TO BE HAPPY, THEY HAD TO ACCEPT THAT FACT. MAYBE IT WAS APPROPRIATE FOR THEM TO BE SOMETHING LIKE MEDIATORS, OR TO FIX THIS WHOLE MESS CAUSED BY SO MANY INSANE MAGES MANIPULATING MATTER - AND APPARENTLY NOT IN A VERY MORAL WAY.

AS HE WATCHED ALL THESE SCENES, REVEALING TO HIM VARIOUS STAGES OF HISTORY AND THE GENIUS OF FELISTER'S BEING IN SO MANY DIFFERENT PLACES WHILE HE WAS PRACTICALLY BEYOND THE PHYSICAL LAWS OF THIS WORLD, AGENT MORALES[1] REALIZED THE MEANING OF THIS CURSE - FELISTER HAD PAID FOR IT WITH HIS OWN SOUL.

HE REMEMBERED HIS DIVORCE FROM HIS WIFE, WHO HAD GONE IN AN UNKNOWN DIRECTION WITH SOME ONE WHO WAS MUCH YOUNGER THAN HERSELF AND COULD HARDLY OFFER HER A MORE SERIOUS FUTURE. HE WASN'T HANDSOME, HE WASN'T RICH, HE DIDN'T EVEN THINK IT WAS FOR LOVE - BUT, AGAINST ALL LOGIC, HE DID. PERHAPS SHE HAD GROWN BORED WITH THEIR THIRTY-FIVE-YEAR MARRIAGE, OR PERHAPS THAT WAS JUST THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! HIS DAUGHTER WAS A GIFTED STUDENT, BUT SHE WAS IN A HURRY TO GET OUT OF THIS WASP'S NEST AND SAVE HERSELF AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

IT SEEMED LIKE YESTERDAY WHEN SHE HAD TOLD HIM IN THE SERIOUS TONE OF AN ADULT:

- DADDY, I DON'T BELONG TO YOU, WE LIVE IN DIFFERENT WORLDS, AND THERE'S JUST NO ROOM FOR ME IN YOURS. I'LL CHOOSE REAL LIFE, AND IF I CAN OUTGROW MYSELF, I WILL, IF NOT, I'LL JUST DIE.

THEN HE FELT A STRANGE FEELING, FOR SHE HAD REVEALED THE SECRET THAT HE HAD SO CAREFULLY KEPT FROM HER, THAT HE WAS SIMPLY DOING HIS DUTY AS A PARENT - AND, WELL, PERHAPS HE HAD SOME SYMPATHY FOR HER, FOR HER TALENTS SEEMED REALLY PROMISING, AND SHE WAS SUCH A WELL-MANNERED AND SWEET YOUNG LADY, BUT HE HAD NEVER FELT A FATHER'S LOVE FOR HER - NOT EVEN SINCE SHE WAS BORN. HE COULDN'T REMEMBER HIS PARENTS HAVING FELT IT FOR HIM EITHER - HE'D BEEN SENT TO THE FBR ACADEMY RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE, AND FROM THERE ON HIS LIFE HAD BEEN TEXTBOOK.

HIS DAUGHTER WAS BEAUTIFUL AND EVEN ATTRACTIVE - UNLIKE HIS OWN WIFE, WHO WAS RATHER MEDIOCRE. THEY WERE LIKE TWO DIFFERENT UNIVERSES. HER NAME WAS AZARYA[2]. MAYBE IF HE HAD MARRIED SOMEONE LIKE HER ONCE, EVERYTHING WOULD BE DIFFERENT NOW - AND IT WOULDN'T HAVE COME TO THIS STRANGE COINCIDENCE AND ALL THESE PROBLEMS IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE.

APPARENTLY SHE HAD GROWN UP BEFORE HE KNEW IT AND BY THE TIME HE HAD TURNED AROUND AND HIS LIFE HAD GONE ON IN A VERY SAD AND SLOW WAY. AND THIS PARENT'S READINESS WAS LINKED TO AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS, AND WASN'T INTERNAL CONNECTEDNESS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT AND WHY WAS EXTERNAL EXPRESSION NECESSARY AT ALL? AGENT MORALES - THE GUARDIAN OF THE LAW! ONE WHO HAD SUCCEEDED WHERE MANY OTHERS HAD FAILED. HIS THOUGHTS WERE DEFINITELY GOING IN A STRANGE DIRECTION, BUT THE FED REALIZED - THE TIME SCENARIO, OR MORE ACCURATELY THE TIME PAUSE HE WAS LOCKED IN, WAS MAKING HIM FEEL EXTREMELY STRANGE. IT WAS AS IF HIS BODY HAD BEEN PLACED IN A SPECIFIC VACUUM, AND THE TOTALITY OF THE ACCUMULATED TIME-SPACE PARADOXES WAS PUSHING HIM TO CRUSHING. AS IF HE HAD TO RELIVE ALL THIS SUFFERING OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN A NEVER-ENDING CYCLE. WHOEVER HAD CAUGHT HIM IN THIS TRAP WAS BEATING HIMSELF UP A LOT. AND HE WAS DEFINITELY MEAN!

HE SAW ONE OF THE MEETING ROOMS AT FBR HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON. THE ROOM WAS SET ASIDE FOR SPECIAL BRIEFINGS AND EVEN THE ATMOSPHERE WAS REDOLENT OF AN IMPORTANT SPEECH TO COME. HIS OWN COLLEAGUES, WERE PRESENT AT THE SPECIAL CEREMONY, AND THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE F.B.I. HAD DISTRIBUTED PROMOTIONS TO SOME OF THEM FOR THEIR SPECIAL SERVICES IN UNCOVERING THE LAUNDERED MONEY OF THE GREEDY AND BRUTAL BREEDER, FELISTER EMBANKS. THOUGH THE VISION WAS BURDENED BY SOME TEMPORAL DISTURBANCES, STILL MORALES COULD SEE EVERYTHING CLEARLY ENOUGH-AS THROUGH A FOGGED-UP AUTOMOBILE WINDSHIELD, WHICH HE HAD WIPED CLUMSILY WITH THE SLEEVE OF HIS GARMENT IN ORDER TO HAVE SOME VIEW DURING HIS JOURNEY.

THE WHOLE ROOM SPARKLED IN A FAIRY LIGHT AND HAD SOFT, PLEASANT LEATHER-UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIRS, WITH A CONFERENCE TABLE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.

HERE WERE JEKOVICH, THAT HYPOCRITICAL BLUESTOCKING AND CRIMINAL WHO'D EMBEZZLED SUBSTANTIAL SUMS OF MONEY FROM DRUG CARTELS, ERDON KNOX - HE USUALLY HELPED VARIOUS CORRUPT FIGURES OF STAR STATUS SORT OUT THEIR LEGAL STATUS PROBLEMS WHEN THEY HAD CONFLICTS OF INTEREST - ESPECIALLY IF THEY WERE CAUGHT RED-HANDED AND ... BUT THIS WAS DIEGO EMBANKS OR... NO, HIS EYES WEREN'T DECEIVING HIM AT ALL, THOUGH THE VIEW WAS HAZY. HIS HEAD WAS GOING TO EXPLODE. HOW COULD SUCH A PARADOX HAVE HAPPENED.

AND HOW DIEGO[3], WHO HAD DISAPPEARED TO WHO KNEW WHERE, AFTER HE HAD TAKEN UP THE TASK OF COOPERATING PHYSICALLY HE SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THERE - THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO LOGIC IN HIM BEING ANYWHERE. EXISTENCE ITSELF AS AN IDEA HAD TO BE A UNIFIED WHOLE, AND COULD NOT BE MADE UP OF DIFFERENT PARTS. BY THE SAME LOGIC, IF EXISTENCE HAD NO PARTS, IT FOLLOWED THAT IT HAD NO FORM, SINCE ALL FORM WAS MADE OF PARTS. AND THIS SERIOUS PROBLEM OF SEEKING THE TRUTH OF EXISTENCE WAS ALSO RELATED TO THE SETTING OF BOUNDARIES - IF THERE WAS NO FORM, THEN THERE WERE NO BOUNDARIES, AND IT ALSO FOLLOWED THAT THE ABSENCE OF FORM WAS ALSO THE ABSENCE OF BOUNDARIES, BECAUSE IT WAS THE FORM THAT DEFINED THEM. IN THE SAME LINE OF THOUGHT, EXISTENCE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DIVIDED INTO PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, SINCE THEY WERE AGAIN PARTS AND WERE CONTRARY TO THE VERY PRINCIPLE OF EXISTENCE. IF EXISTENCE ITSELF COULD NOT BE FOUND ANYWHERE, THIS WAS RELATED TO THE FACT THAT IT COULD NEVER BE FOUND IN THE SAME PLACE. IN THIS LINE OF THOUGHT, EXISTENCE ITSELF WAS IN MOTION, BUT SINCE THERE IS NOTHING BESIDES IT IN WHICH IT RESIDES, MOTION ITSELF IS NOT POSSIBLE. CONTINUING ALONG THIS PATH OF LOGIC, EXISTENCE SHOULD HAVE NO BEGINNING BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING ELSE BUT IT TO CREATE IT. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS ALSO THAT IN WHICH ALL THAT IS CREATED COMES TO PASS, AND THEREFORE IT WOULD NEVER HAVE AN END FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT THERE WAS NOTHING BUT IT TO OBLITERATE IT. EXISTENCE ITSELF WAS EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE, IT WAS MOVING BUT ALSO NOT MOVING, IT POSSESSED NEITHER TIME NOR BOUNDARIES, IT WAS INFINITE, WITHOUT BEGINNING AND WOULD NEVER REACH ITS END. THE INEVITABLE QUESTION AROSE AS TO WHETHER MAN WAS EVER CAPABLE OF DEVELOPING SUCH DIVINE FACULTIES, USING A PROPER PATH OF DEVELOPMENT INSTEAD OF FALLING INTO AN IMAGINARY STATE OF BLISSFUL CONTEMPLATION OF THE KNOWN NATURE OF THE PSYCHIC. AND THIS WAS THE GREAT QUESTION OF MOVEMENT BETWEEN SPACE AND TIME, WHERE OUR SOULS HAD TO REMAIN FOCUSED ON TASKS RELATED TO THE VERY PURPOSE OF OUR EXISTENCE.

AGENT MORALES REALIZED THIS VERY CLEARLY AS HE WATCHED THE STRANGE CEREMONY, WHICH MIGHT HAVE SEEMED LIKE A FARCE TO SOME, BUT NOT TO HIM, WHO DEEP DOWN HAD SENSED THE PECULIAR INTERCONNECTIONS OF EVERYTHING THAT HAD BROUGHT HIM HERE. AND PERHAPS THAT WAS WHAT FELISTER MEANT TO TELL HIM-HE HAD PURSUED HIM INTO HIS HELL, ONLY TO FIND HIMSELF IN HIS OWN-ENCLOSED IN NOTHING!

THE HEADMASTER CAME IN, AND HIS SPEECH WAS, ABOVE AND BELOW, AS FOLLOWS:

- YOU HAVE PROVED THAT YOU CAN DO SOMETHING NONE OF US HAD THOUGHT POSSIBLE - AN INFINITE POSSIBILITY OF CREATION ITSELF!

AGENT MORALES WAS JUST GOING TO SCREAM! HAD EVERYONE GONE OFF THE DEEP END, OR HAD HE JUST GONE BEYOND? PERHAPS CLARIFYING THIS QUESTION WOULD HAVE HELPED HIM AT LEAST A LITTLE IN ALLEVIATING HIS OWN SUFFERING!

- I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SERVICES FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, AND FOR YOUR TREMENDOUS COOPERATION ...

AGENT MORALES CAST A GLANCE AT WHERE DIEGO WAS, BUT IT WAS EMPTY. PERHAPS HE HAD JUST LEFT EARLY, OR SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED. BUT HE HADN'T LOST SIGHT OF HIM! WAS IT POSSIBLE! HE LOOKED AT HIS OWN. WASN'T IT TOO OBVIOUS THAT ... YES, HIS OWN PLACE WAS EMPTY TOO, BUT HARDLY ANYONE AROUND NOTICED JUST THAT. THEY WERE ALL TOO ENTHUSIASTIC, OBSERVING THE COOL AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS OF SPECIAL AGENTS CHARGED WITH TOO VALID AND SERIOUS FUNCTIONS.

- I WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE TO THANK AND ...

AGENT MORALES HELD HIS BREATH. THE FACES OF EVERYONE PRESENT LOOKED AS STONY AND IMPENETRABLE AS GRANITE[4]. AS IF THEY WERE IN SOME FROZEN STATE, WAITING FOR SOME SPECIFIC EVENT TO ACTIVATE THE CORRESPONDING MAGICAL EFFECT. THEN HE REALIZED - THIS WAS THE REVENGE OF THE DIEGO THAT WAS PART OF FELISTER'S TRUE HERITAGE. HE WAS ABLE TO SHIFT BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT LAYERS OF SPACE-TIME REALITY IN A WAY THAT WAS ADMIRABLE. AND YET HAD HE PUT HIM IN THAT POSITION? AGENT MORALES HAD SOME DOUBTS ABOUT THAT. AND WHETHER TRAVEL THROUGH SPACE-TIME ITSELF WAS POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE ACCUMULATION OF SPACE-TIME PARADOXES, OR WHETHER THERE WAS SOME INGENIOUS MEANS BY WHICH THE TRAVELLER COULD PURGE HIMSELF OF THEM SO THAT THEY DID NOT INTERFERE WITH AND BURDEN HIS CONSCIOUSNESS, BY WHICH HE HAD TO EXERCISE CONTROL OVER REALITY. AND IF DIEGO HAD MASTERED THAT, THEN HE HAD REACHED A LEVEL THAT FELISTER EMBANKS COULD ONLY DREAM OF. HE COULD NOT ONLY GO ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE, BUT HE COULD PURGE HIMSELF OF ALL THAT WEIGHT. THERE WAS A LOT OF SENSE IN THAT. BUT THE ISSUE HERE WAS PRIMARILY ONE OF PERSONAL AWARENESS OF OUR ROLE IN THE SCHEME OF THE HIGHER UNIVERSAL DESIGN. THE WHOLE MEANING OF EXISTENCE AND OF LIFE IN GENERAL WAS EXTREMELY RARE - WAS THAT WHAT FELISTER MEANT? DID OUR CONSCIOUSNESS SHED LIGHT ON THE MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE AND MAKE IT POSSIBLE, OR THE CONNECTION TO THAT SAME UNIVERSE AND TO THE CREATOR HIMSELF? YES, BE EVIL OR BE GOOD, BUT AT LEAST LIVE IN THIS REALITY AND AT LEAST WHILE YOU HAVE IT BEFORE YOU ARE WIPED OUT THE NEXT TIME IT CHANGES. MAYBE THAT WAS FELISTER'S IDEA OR SHOULD I HAVE...? MAYBE THE CRASH WAS GOING TO HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER? "WHAT IF IT WAS ALL JUST ONE GIANT, UNIVERSAL JOKE?,“ THOUGHT AGENT MORALES, "AND IF WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE SO MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT!" THIS SUDDEN THOUGHT SEEMED TO EASE HIS MIND, AND HE LISTENED TO THE DIRECTOR'S SPEECH AGAIN:

- IT'S TIME TO CHANGE POSITIONS, BUT EVERYTHING WILL BE BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS. I WANT TO ...

WHY WAS HE INTERRUPTING IN THE SAME PLACE? "THIS MUST BE SOME KIND OF WORD GAME," AGENT MORALES CONTINUED WITH HIS REASONING, "IT REMAINS FOR ME TO FIGURE IT OUT![5]"

BUT HOW COULD MEMORIES BE PRESERVED DURING TIME TRAVEL, OR WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT MEMORIES COULD BE MINED IF WE WANTED TO PLAY A CONCERNED SOUL WHO WOULD WANT TO PRESERVE HER MEMORIES IN SOME FORM AND HAVE ACCESS TO THEM LATER IN HER JOURNEY OR FORMALLY SPEAKING IN HER DEVELOPMENT IN SOME OTHER WORLD - SUCH SOURCES OF MEMORIES COULD BE ALL SORTS OF PERFUMES, IMAGES OR FRAGMENTS OF OUR LIVES, AND ALSO STORIES THAT HAUNTED OUR DREAMS, AND SOMETIMES A SOUL NEEDED ENOUGH MEMORIES TO FILL HER MEMOIR, AND ALSO NEEDED TO BE ASSURED OF THE CORRECTNESS OF THE MEMORIES THEMSELVES AND TO BE SEPARATED FROM THE CORRESPONDING FALSE MEMORIES THAT THE STREAMS OF MEMORIES WERE VERY IMPORTANT - ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY AROSE UPON ASSOCIATION WITH THE CORRESPONDING SOURCE OF MEMORIES. THE MEMORIES OF OUR PAST BAD HABITS WERE LIKE MINES IMPLANTED IN OUR CONSCIOUSNESS.

PERHAPS AGENT MORALES HAD TO WALK THROUGH THE ENTIRE MINEFIELD AND REMAIN COMPLETELY UNSCATHED - AND WOULD HE SUCCEED?  WOULD HE HAVE HAD THE STRENGTH TO WITHSTAND THIS TREMENDOUS ONSLAUGHT OF NEGATIVE ENERGY LAID DOWN BY THE MAD AND RUTHLESS BREEDER, FELISTER EMBANKS?

AGENT MORALES HAD FACED A LOT OF NEGATIVE ENERGY IN HIS JOURNEY TO THE TOP. SO MANY DIFFERENT AND SPECIFIC VIBRATIONS HAD BEEN SET IN MOTION IN HIS ATTEMPTS TO ACHIEVE PERFECTION IN HIS PROFESSION. THE NATURE OF NEGATIVE ENERGY CONSISTED OF A FEW BASIC SYMPTOMS THAT COULD BE EASILY DETECTED, AND USUALLY LED TO OBSESSION. YES, HE HAD BEEN THROUGH HELL IN HIS LIFETIME.

AFTER LEAVING THE HOUSE, THE LATE AZARYA DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT. SOME CLAIMED SHE WAS VERY DRUNK, BUT NO ONE DESCRIBED THE EXACT CAUSE OF DEATH. LATER, A MEDICAL EXAMINER TOLD HER FATHER, UNDER A SURROGATE'S BREATH, THAT THE PROBABLE CAUSE WAS AN ARTIFICIALLY INDUCED EMBOLISM THAT HAD FINISHED HER OFF. IT WAS A REAL TRAGEDY. EVEN THOUGH HE HAD NOT LOVED HER IN LIFE, HE SIMPLY OUT OF COWARDLY SHAME LEFT FLOWERS ON HER GRAVE. SUCH WAS THE ORDER!

HE REMEMBERED HER WORDS, SPOKEN WITH INEXPRESSIBLE REGRET:

- PAPA, THE HOUSE IS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SELF, BUT I NEVER FELT IT AS MY OWN. TO ME IT SHOULD BE LIKE MY MOTHER'S WOMB, TO WHICH I SHALL NEVER RETURN.

THESE WORDS DID NOT TOUCH HIS HEART, AND AFTER THE LITTLE AND, IN HIS OPINION, QUITE WELL-MANNERED AND SWEET YOUNG LADY WAS GONE, IT SEEMED TO MAKE NO IMPRESSION ON ANYONE. ON THE DAY OF HER FUNERAL A HEAVY RAIN WAS FALLING, AND THE LONELY TOMBSTONE SEEMED TO RECORD ALL THE MEANINGLESSNESS OF HER EXISTENCE. AND WAS HER VERY EXISTENCE REALLY COMPLETELY MEANINGLESS? THE QUESTION WAS, WHAT EXACTLY WAS MEANT BY EXISTENCE?

HER FUNERAL WAS VERY MODEST AND WAS NOT ATTENDED BY ANY RELATIVES OR FRIENDS OF THE DECEASED, ONLY HER SOUL MATE - A COLLEAGUE FROM THE UNIVERSITY WITH WHOM THEY HAD WORKED ON A JOINT PROJECT FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. ONLY HE LEFT FLOWERS TO HONOUR HER MEMORY.

- "PERHAPS HER JOURNEY IS JUST BEGINNING," REPLIED HER VISIBLY UPSET CLASSMATE[6], WHOSE NAME WAS ROGER DIDASCO[7].

A LOT OF CRIMINALS CONSIDERED HIM A REAL DEVIL AND WISHED FOR HIS DEATH WITH ALL THEIR HEARTS. SO HE FELT UTTERLY CONFUSED WHEN HE FOUND HIMSELF CAUGHT IN THE STRANGE TIME-SPACE PARADOX, SQUEEZED INTO THE TIME PAUSE IN QUESTION. UNTIL NOW, HE HAD BEEN THE CUSTODIAN OF MORALITY, BUT SUDDENLY IT APPEARED THAT HE HAD SEEN ITS FLIP SIDE - ANOTHER WORLD WHERE HE WAS TRAPPED IN HIS OWN NIGHTMARES. BUT SUDDENLY HE SAW ELIZANDER BARNAYNE HIMSELF BESIDE HIM. WAS IT POSSIBLE? WERE HIS EYES NOT DECEIVING THEMSELVES. WAS THIS A NEW TIME SPELL, DESIGNED TO ERASE HIM FROM REALITY?

BARNAYNE STOOD WIDE-EYED, ARMS CROSSED IN FRONT OF HIS POWERFUL CHEST. HE LOOKED CONFIDENT AND IMPLACABLE. AND DEVILISHLY BLOODTHIRSTY.

THE DETECTIVE HAD BEEN PLACED IN THIS FROZEN TEMPORAL STATE WHILE ELIZANDER BARNAYNE, WHOSE MAGICAL POWERS WERE UNQUESTIONABLE, HAD GATHERED THE STRENGTH TO DEAL WITH HIM. NOW HE CLEARLY SENSED HIS BRUTAL DEMONIC CAPABILITIES. THAT THIN SCENT OF INCENSE, THAT SMELL OF DEATH. THERE WAS NO WAY THEY COULDN'T BE SMELLED. THOSE EYES THAT KNEW WHAT DOOM MEANT. TIME MAGIC TRANSPORTED HIM TO THE RUINS OF FELISTER EMBANX'S FARM, WHERE HE CLEARLY SAW THE SILHOUETTE OF HIS HIDDEN ENEMY. A FIERCE BATTLE BEGAN BETWEEN THE TWO, IN WHICH ONLY ONE COULD REMAIN.

BARNAYNE DREW HIS POWERFUL PISTOL AND DRILLED THROUGH AGENT MORALES' SKULL BEFORE HE COULD REACT. THE DETECTIVE COLLAPSED AND BLOOD BEGAN TO POUR FROM HIS HEAD LIKE A RED INFERNAL STREAM, WHICH IN TURN SEEMED TO SEEK ITS OWN PATH BEFORE BEING SUCKED INTO THE EARTH - THE ONE THAT GAVE LIFE.

BARNAYNE SURVEYED THE BURNT REMAINS OF FELISTER'S FARM, WHICH WERE STILL WELL ENOUGH PRESERVED AND NOT YET CLEARED AWAY - NO ONE WAS EVEN IN THE HABIT OF WALKING THESE GROUNDS. HE CAST A GLANCE AT THE ABANDONED BARN AS WELL - WHERE THE INFERNAL MANIPULATION WAS CARRIED OUT DAILY. HE LOOKED AROUND AT THE GREY SKY, AND AT HIMSELF IN THE REFLECTION OF A MUD PUDDLE. YES, IN ITS MIRRORED SURFACE HE SAW HIMSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME- AS HE TRULY WAS.

HE TURNED -BEHIND HIM WERE ARLO AND ZONARA- BOTH IN THEIR SPIRIT FORM. THERE WAS NOT A LIVING SOUL AROUND. IT TURNED OUT THAT HE HAD BEEN COMPLETELY ALONE THE WHOLE TIME. AND HAD TRAVELED ALL THIS DISTANCE IN SEARCH OF THE ANSWER TO HIS OWN EXISTENCE.

- "EVEN ANGELS CAN ONLY SEND YOU SO FAR. AND EVERY MAN MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONE TO ACCOMPANY HIM ON HIS FINAL JOURNEY, EVEN TWO. THESE ARE THE SPIRITUAL LAWS OF OUR WORLD," SAID ARLO HUMBLY. "THIS IS OUR WORK."

BARNAYNE REMEMBERED ALL HE HAD BEEN THROUGH. THE RUINS OF THIS WORLD REMINDED HIM OF ANOTHER TIME, IRRETRIEVABLY PAST, WHICH GAVE A PURPOSEFULNESS TO HIS WHOLE BEING. THE MONOTONOUS WAS KILLING THE PIGS! SERVICE TO HIS MASTER! WAS THIS HIS LIFE?

BEFORE HE CAME TO FELISTER'S FARM, HAVING TRAVELLED THIS VAST DISTANCE, HE HAD STOPPED WITH BIG BROTHER. RETRIBUTION WAS TO BE METED OUT!

IN FACT, LIFE ON THE RESERVE HAD NOT CHANGED VERY MUCH, AND EVERYTHING WAS SO MONOTONOUS-BUT SOMEWHERE IN THERE HE REALIZED THAT BLUEBIRD WAS ONE OF A VANISHING SPECIES OF PEOPLE-ONE WHOSE EXISTENCE WAS NOT TO BE REPEATED. FOR GOOD OR ILL, BIG BROTHER HAD TO BE REMOVED. HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TIME TO GASP AS THE BULLET PIERCED HIS HEART AND SLOWLY DESCENDED, REMAINING SO - AS IF IN HIS SILENT SUFFERING HE WAS UNWILLING TO MAKE OTHERS EMPATHIZE WITH HIS OWN PAIN. AND PERHAPS HE WAS RIGHT! THE UNIVERSE STOOD INDIFFERENT TO THIS DEATH!

BARNAYNE SAT ON THE HALF-DESTROYED THRESHOLD, SEIZED WITH THOUGHTS OF EXISTENCE. ALL THE HALF-BURNT RUINS AROUND REMINDED HIM OF SOME BLACK MONSTERS THAT WANTED TO GRAB HIM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THEY WERE A KIND OF SHROUD FOR HIM, AS THE BLACK SYMBOLIZED EVIL, DARKNESS, NIGHT AND DESPAIR AND HID HIM FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD. THE NIGHT WAS BEGINNING TO FALL AND THE GLOOM AROUND MADE THEM SEEM OMINOUS, YET SOMEHOW FLATTERING - READY TO GIVE EVEN A TEMPORARY DEMONIC SHELTER TO A LOST SOUL. AND DID NOT EVIL COME AT NIGHT, AND WAS IT NOT THEN AT ITS HEIGHT?

AND WHY THE PARALYZING AND SLEEPING DEMON WAS STILL ABLE TO POSSESS PEOPLE IN THIS SO ADVANCED HIGH-TECH ERA. EVERYTHING AROUND WAS DEAD - EVEN NATURE. AND IT SEEMED TO BE FROZEN! GONE WAS THE FORMER MAD CARNAGE, BUT ONLY VAGUE MEMORIES OF ALL THAT VIOLENCE THAT WAS NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN THIS WORLD! NO ONE HAD SEEN THE CREATOR, BUT RECEIVED INFORMATION ABOUT HIM FROM HIS OWN EXPERIENCES, AND HIS OWN LIFE WAS ONLY FULL OF PAIN AND ENDLESS SUFFERING! AN UNBEARABLE NIGHTMARE, FROM WHICH IT WAS HIGH TIME TO WAKE UP!

WHEN DIEGO WENT TO SEE HIM, HE FOUND TWO CORPSES, ONE THAT OF ELIZANDER, THE OTHER THAT OF DETECTIVE MORALES. WERE THE ONLY LIVING ONES WHO HAD SENT EACH OTHER INTO THEIR DEADLY BATTLE. DIEGO DECIDED TO LEAVE FLOWERS TO HONOR ELIZANDER'S MEMORY, BUT ALSO SAW FIT TO SCATTER HIS ASHES OVER HIS FINAL HOME - THE FARM OF THE MAD CASTRATOR! MORALES'S WIFE HAD LONG SINCE DIED, AND THERE WAS NO ONE TO SEND HIM AWAY - BUT HE COULD AT LEAST COUNT ON A SERVICE IN THE PROPER MANNER. HE HOPED AT LEAST THE ANGELS WOULD PEEP IN AND ACCOMPANY THEM BOTH TO THE END OF THEIR EARTHLY JOURNEY. AND WHAT HAPPENED TO ABRAMELIN'S GRIMOIRE? THAT GREAT MAGIC BOOK! WELL, IT WAS SAFELY TUCKED AWAY BY JAKE EMBANKS.

THE TWO BROTHERS WERE ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF FELISTER EMBANKS' VAST LEGACY. AND SOME OF THE MONEY FOR THE OFFSHORES WENT TO ORPHANAGES - SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT THIS SMALL GESTURE WOULD BE A KIND OF TRIBUTE TO THEIR MEMORY.

THE ETERNAL WAR FOR LIFE WAS GOING ON EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE, IN MOTION AND STASIS, IN PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE - AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF SOULS, AN ETERNAL STRUGGLE BETWEEN SOUL AND SPIRIT IN THE SAME BODY - A BODY THAT HAD LONG SINCE CEASED TO EXIST BECAUSE IT HAD PASSED ON! ONCE AND FOR ALL!

 

[1] Morales means the son of morality or simply morality, but at the same time it is also associated with the mulberry fruit, which symbolizes spiritual neglect and ignorance.

[2] The name Azarya means assisted by God.

[3] There is a kind of play on words here with the name Diego, signifying a displacement from reality and on the other learning to exist.

[4]  Granite is associated with strength and perfection.

[5] An allusion is made to the Three Yes's associated with ultimate power, community and change as expressed by renowned blogger Seth Barnes.

[6] The word student is an acronym, and each of the letters in its composition stands respectively for learning, truthfulness, unity, discipline, energy, wealth.

[7] Roger Didasco - a play on words that means "Your message has been received, learn!" An allusion is made to the circle of life and how death is an example for the next generation.

Impressum

Texte: Atanas Marinov (A.J.Master)
Bildmaterialien: Atanas Marinov (A.J.Master)
Cover: Atanas Marinov (A.J.Master)
Lektorat: Atanas Marinov (A.J.Master)
Korrektorat: Atanas Marinov (A.J.Master)
Übersetzung: Atanas Marinov (A.J.Master)
Satz: Atanas Marinov (A.J.Master)
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.12.2021

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Widmung:
SHUNNED BY SOCIETY AND RAISED IN AN ORPHANAGE, YOUNG ELIZANDER BARNAYNE FINDS HIS SPIRITUAL HOME WITH THE BRUTAL DRUG LORD FELISTER EMBANKS. THERE HE LEARNS THE MEANING OF LIFE AND WHAT IS GOOD AND EVIL. IN HIS TORTURED MIND, HE UNDERGOES A LONG JOURNEY OF A KIND OF "PURIFICATION" IN HIS JOURNEY THROUGH THE MATERIAL, ASTRAL AND SPIRITUAL WORLDS. CARRYING ONLY SORROW IN HIS SOUL. HIS EVERY ACTION IS CLOSELY WATCHED AND REGISTERED BY HIS ATTENDANT ANGELS, WHO HAVE ASSUMED HUMAN FORM, AS THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO SEND HIM TO THE OTHER WORLD. AT THE END OF HIS JOURNEY, HE MEETS HIS "ANTIPODE", THE INFAMOUS DETECTIVE MORALES, IN WHICH THEY ENGAGE IN A DEADLY STRUGGLE FOR THEIR RIGHT TO EXIST - BUT BOTH ARE DOOMED AND KNOW IT ALL TOO WELL. A LONG JOURNEY ABOUT THE DARKNESS OF THE HUMAN SOUL AND THE SADNESS OF LIVING. IN HIS QUEST, HE LEARNS THE TRUE MEANING OF LOVE AND DISCOVERS ITS ABSENCE, ACHIEVING THE LEGACY OF THE MAD BREEDER, FELISTER EMBANKS.