Yesterday, I had the honor of attending a Yule dinner at the Phoenix Coop. It was a full fledged Pagan feast hosted by Ravyn, organized by Katherine, and run with drill sergeant-like precision by the Frau and her dreaded sauce-covered Wooden Spoon of Doom.
The Coop was jam-packed with the entire extended family of Casters that had trained under Ravyn’s patient tutelage in addition to all of the folks who become family over the last almost two years of adventure.
Of course, my entire family, including my daughter Alexa and her mother, Naomi were present. Alexa, as she always seemed to be, was the center of attention. Her infectious smile and peals of giggling laughter caused more than her share of bright smiles and tears of joy. At nearly 18 months old, Alexa toddled and scoot around the house and through the legs of unsuspecting adults with the agility of a house cat. Somehow, she managed to find the time and energy to spend time with each person in the house, crawling into laps, playing games, and just plain cuddling in a way that left everyone at the party marveling at her.
Naomi kept herself close to our daughter wherever she went, keeping one watchful eye on her in the way that mothers everywhere do while making polite, but distracted small talk with other guests. She lit up and basked in the praise that was heaped upon her for our beautiful daughter, but she also radiant in her own right. She had made great strides in discovering and mastering her talents under the tutelage of Ravyn and it showed in her newly found self-confidence.
Jim tried to keep a fairly low profile, as he was always uncomfortable in large groups, but all of that ended when Alexa crawled up into his lap with a book in hand. It was a tradition that had been going on now for the last six months whenever she saw him. Somehow Alexa knew that the one surefire way to draw the Professor out of his self-imposed shell was to offer him the opportunity read out loud to her. It didn’t matter what the book was about, this particular book was an illustrated children’s version of Bulfinch’s Mythology. A small crowd that included the beaming Naomi gathered as Jim opened the book and threw himself into a rousing impersonation of Zeus’s voice thundering down from Mount Olympus.
Cerrydwen was the next victim of Alexa’s tour. After having been shooed from the kitchen Hurricane Frau, Cerrydwen found herself standing at the back of the crowd as the Professor finished his tale to a round of applause. He looked up in red-faced amazement to see that he was surrounded by an appreciative audience. With a quick smooch on the cheek for Jim, Alexa was up and bouncing through the forest of adult legs before a path could clear for her. A quick, mischievous giggle was all of the warning that Cerrydwen had before she found herself with an armful of wriggling, giggling happiness.
Cerrdywen’s normally dour demeanor melted away as she was smothered in an avalanche of Alexa’s hugs and kisses. But even as the onlookers were treated to an ever-so-rare smile from Cerrydwen, she was led away, hand in hand, by Alexa to enjoy some quiet time with Alexa in her room, Naomi trailing behind at a discrete distance.
I found Katherine, Kenny and Jasmine catching up on as they nibbled on vegetables from a party tray. Jasmine leaped up from her seat and buried me in a huge bear hug, to be joined shortly by the strong arms of Kenny. Katherine stayed back, watching as the kids and I spent a few moments together bonding.
I looked up to her, and saw for the first time in a very long time that she was the strong, independent woman that I had fallen in love with so long ago. She had a presence, the strength of Will, of a person who was now confident that she could take on any potential foe, any challenge, head-on. She nodded towards the backdoor and extended a welcoming hand towards me. “Let’s take a walk, Jason.”
I nodded, hugged the kids once again and took her small hand in mine as she led me towards the backdoor and the quiet darkness of the unseasonably warm northern Illinois night. Silently, she led me out the door and towards the small stone circle that was so familiar.
She took a seat on the metal bench and motioned for me to join her, which I did.
“So what’s up? You’re looking very good, by the way.”
She smiled, brought a hand up to my cheek. “I just wanted a private moment with you, Jason. There’s something I wanted to share with you, I was just waiting for the right moment.”
“What’s that?”
Her hand dropped to her lap as she looked away briefly before looking me in the eye again. “I’m sorry that things had to end the way they did…” Tears were rolling down her cheek as she sobbed.
I reached out and touched her hand gently. “Hey, I think that’s all water under the bridge now Kate. I know I certainly wasn’t the perfect husband that you deserved.”
She waved me quiet with her other hand, took a deep breath and composed herself once more. “Jason, I know that we were both at fault in how things ended between us, and I also know that Drake made things worse so that things would break down between us. I know all of that. I’m sorry though, for everything that you’ve had to give up to make all of this happen, but I also want you to know how much I appreciate that things did work out this way.” She squeezed my hand as she paused. “I can’t tell you how happy I am now for the way things have worked out. I have finally found some of what I had been searching for all of my life. For all of the hard times we went through, the sacrifices that had to be made, I want to thank you for being the man who I loved, and still, with all of my heart and soul.”
I didn’t know how to respond. It had been so long since we had talked, really talked to each other like this.
She held up her hand again, forestalling the stuttering words I was trying to find. She leaned close to me, looking up into my eyes with an expression I hadn’t seen from her in years, the expression of love. “I also wanted to tell you that I have been working with someone and that I can now travel to that place where you describe the Tree. I’ve been there and seen it.” Her eyes narrowed into a very sultry ‘come hither’ look. “I would like to see just how magickal that place can be, if you know what I mean.”
“You mean…”
She nodded. “I’ll bet spirit sex in that place would be mind-blowing. I want you, Jason Smith.”
“Uh…um…now?”
“No, not right this instant, but soon. And I won’t take no for an answer.”
I gave her hand a squeeze before pulling closer in an embrace. “Count on it babe. You name the time, and I’ll be there.”
We were still hugging when a bundled up, but exuberant Alexa came bouncing outside, followed closely by a hurrying Naomi, a regal Ravyn, and a gaggle of followers who seemed curious as to why they had been told to come out in the balmy December night.
Soon we were joined by nearly everyone who had come to mean so much me over the last year and half. The crowd gathered around the edges of the stone circle that Alexa had moved to the center of, dancing and cooing in the nonsensical baby-talk language that she used.
As each person joined the circle they gripped the hand of the two people next to them. Naomi was to might right, and Katherine to my left. Kenny and Jasmine stood next in line from their mother, followed by Jim, the Frau, Cerrydwen and Ravyn almost directly across from me. Moira and Herne, the FBI agent Jenny Wilson and then Zenny Al Farhan and T’tubah filled in the final spaces of the circle.
When the circle was closed, everyone fell silent, as did Alexa. With supernatural ease for a toddler who normally seemed to have trouble walking in a straight line, she stood tall and straight, raising both of her arms to starlit night. We all followed her gaze and gasped in amazement at the sight of a shooting star streaking across the sky at that exact moment.
The comet blazed with a pure, brilliant blue light with an enormous tail that stretched half way across the sky, bathing the whole scene in a pearlescent blue light for nearly a minute. But none of were paying any attention to the light shed by the comet anymore as a clear, sweet voice came forth from the child at the center of our gathering.
“Dearest loved ones; take a brief moment to give thanks for the blessings that have been bestowed upon us in this time of death and rebirth. Know that it is from Death that new Life may spring forth brighter and more vibrant, stronger and more resilient. Know that this time that we have together is all too brief, but that the Love that we share is Eternal. Know that the times of great trial will soon be upon us and that great sacrifices will be required before the Dawn of New Hope will brighten our sky once again. Know though, that when all else seems lost and the night becomes darkest, that Hope and Love will see you through the time of travails. Know that my Love for each of you is as boundless as the night sky above us.”
As the strange blue light faded, Alexa’s arms came back down to her sides. She giggled once and took off at a staggering, stumbling run right into Ravyn’s arms.
Ravyn gathered up the child and stood back up. Looking at each of us in turn, Ravyn finally broke the awed silence. “Let us each remember this night. We have each glimpsed something of the person this child will become. Let us also hold onto the hope of which she spoke so eloquently. It may be that Hope and our Love for her and for each other that sees us through the coming time.” She paused for effect, before breaking into a huge grin. “But tonight, tonight we give thanks for the blessings that we have right now, right here. The Frau has managed to put together an impressive feast. So let us celebrate Yule this night in peace and love. Let’s go eat!”
(No post next weekend due to family obligations--next post to come in the weekend of New Year's.)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Drake's Tale--#2...Cosmology Primer
You will have to pardon me for the diversion I am about to go into, but some things must be said before I can continue with my tale.
Let it be noted for the record that I will not tolerate such a long delay in my narrative again. If my ‘son’ wants to avoid any further nasty defeats against creatures that he has only dreamed existed, he would be well advised to pay heed to my story and learn what it is I have to offer.
My father is one of the three most powerful lords among the An’girasii. He commands Spirits both great and small. He will stop at nothing to regain the worship and admiration of millions of human subjects. It is his birthright, his destiny, and his most ardent desire.
The scrolls that his servant left with Rusty are but a mere hint at the tactics to which he will resort, once he has laid the groundwork he feels is necessary.
As much as I might want to let the full nature of the An’girasii be revealed throughout the course of my story, it appears that I will have to be far less subtle in my storytelling.
So let me start at the beginning. Not my beginning, mind you, but the very beginning…
Your modern scientific theories of the beginning of the universe are actually not that far off from how it all actually began, of course I might have played a hand in or two in helping guide the right individuals along a bit, but I digress…
In the beginning, the universe, including the various worlds and dimensions of both physical and the Spiritual existence, was a very tiny, very compressed ball containing enormous amounts of energy, matter and Spirit that were bound together into The One.
There are almost as many names for The One as there are languages to say it in…YHWH, Jehovah, Allah, Dios, God, the Holy Spirit, etc.
Everything, everyone, that has ever existed in this Universe, and that ever will exist, was contained within The One, all bound together for untold countless eons as one omnipotent, omniscient entity.
But just as a living body is comprised of millions of living cells and countless billions of atoms of matter, The One was also comprised of trillions of unique Spirits, an unfathomable amount of compressed matter, and nearly limitless amounts of energy.
For reasons unknown to (but often guessed at) any individual Spirit that I know of, The One erupted in a massive conflagration that your scientists call the Big Bang, creating the ‘multiverse’ as we know it now.
Each of the Spirits that had been previously part of The One were now free entities to explore this new universe, to try and make sense of the maelstrom of Chaos that existed in those early moments after the Big Bang.
Just as matter and energy scattered and then later coalesced into galaxies and stars, planets and asteroids, Spirits also first scattered and then began coming back together, for the most part bringing Order to the Chaos of the Big Bang.
Your modern science can measure and quantify both matter and energy (at least most of the common forms of each), but human science has not yet been able to come to grips with the existence of the third, and most important aspect of existence, Spirit. It is fairly well understood that neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. Matter can be converted into energy and energy can be converted into matter, but the motivating ‘force’ for any of that to happen is Spirit.
Only once humans begin to truly grasp this concept and begin to apply it on a regular basis, will they be able to make the breakthroughs to become fully engaged in this Universe of ours.
As time progressed, Spirits were able to find expression within the physical world by manipulating both energy and matter in such a way as to develop Life. Once living organisms became developed to such as degree as to be useful, Spirits began to invest themselves into those living organisms.
In the process of doing so, however, something strange and wonderful happened…once they became attached to living organisms, almost all Spirits lost (at least temporarily) the conscious knowledge of their own true existence, becoming instead, fully invested in the struggle to survive in the physical environment in which they found themselves.
Oh, the more advanced the biological form was, the higher the level of consciousness became, but it was only the rare living being that remained even partially cognizant of the existence of their own, or anyone else’s, Spirit. But, it was often not until the death of the living organism was imminent that the Spirit within that organism began to recall its true nature and could begin to incorporate the lessons and knowledge it had gained by living. By participating in the drama of life and death in the physical world, Spirits gain invaluable knowledge and experience and forge relationships that help them to learn and grow.
Many Spirits choose to enter this cycle of life and death many, many times. Each time they do so, they enter a new body, immediately prior to the birth (or hatching, etc.) of that creature. Most of the time the kind of Spirit that is attracted to that life form is the same kind of Spirit that inhabits the bodies of most members of that species. In those rare instances when the ‘wrong’ kind of Spirit is attracted to the new life form, interesting things may happen.
Now, let’s get refocused just a little bit from this grander picture that I have been painting and bring us back a little bit towards the portrait at hand.
Just as each cell in your body is individually unique, there a clearly groups of similar cells that perform similar functions with each other, and have similar needs. It was the same within The One. Each Spirit and each seed of a Spirit contained within The One was a unique individual, but there were, at minimum, several dozen different Orders of Spirits.
The vast majority of Spirits are rather small and inconsequential beings that don’t have the self awareness or the power to manifest any changes upon the physical world. They are the lowest level of spiritual entities.
I will try not to bore you overly much with the details of this, but suffice it to say that the kinds of Spirits that inhabit human bodies, are for the most part, middling level entities that are neither particularly high nor particularly low on the pecking order of Spirit existence.
To shorten this up a bit, let me just state that the An’girasii are Spirits that are of a significantly higher Order than the Spirits that are called into human bodies. (To be continued in my next permitted installment.)
Let it be noted for the record that I will not tolerate such a long delay in my narrative again. If my ‘son’ wants to avoid any further nasty defeats against creatures that he has only dreamed existed, he would be well advised to pay heed to my story and learn what it is I have to offer.
My father is one of the three most powerful lords among the An’girasii. He commands Spirits both great and small. He will stop at nothing to regain the worship and admiration of millions of human subjects. It is his birthright, his destiny, and his most ardent desire.
The scrolls that his servant left with Rusty are but a mere hint at the tactics to which he will resort, once he has laid the groundwork he feels is necessary.
As much as I might want to let the full nature of the An’girasii be revealed throughout the course of my story, it appears that I will have to be far less subtle in my storytelling.
So let me start at the beginning. Not my beginning, mind you, but the very beginning…
Your modern scientific theories of the beginning of the universe are actually not that far off from how it all actually began, of course I might have played a hand in or two in helping guide the right individuals along a bit, but I digress…
In the beginning, the universe, including the various worlds and dimensions of both physical and the Spiritual existence, was a very tiny, very compressed ball containing enormous amounts of energy, matter and Spirit that were bound together into The One.
There are almost as many names for The One as there are languages to say it in…YHWH, Jehovah, Allah, Dios, God, the Holy Spirit, etc.
Everything, everyone, that has ever existed in this Universe, and that ever will exist, was contained within The One, all bound together for untold countless eons as one omnipotent, omniscient entity.
But just as a living body is comprised of millions of living cells and countless billions of atoms of matter, The One was also comprised of trillions of unique Spirits, an unfathomable amount of compressed matter, and nearly limitless amounts of energy.
For reasons unknown to (but often guessed at) any individual Spirit that I know of, The One erupted in a massive conflagration that your scientists call the Big Bang, creating the ‘multiverse’ as we know it now.
Each of the Spirits that had been previously part of The One were now free entities to explore this new universe, to try and make sense of the maelstrom of Chaos that existed in those early moments after the Big Bang.
Just as matter and energy scattered and then later coalesced into galaxies and stars, planets and asteroids, Spirits also first scattered and then began coming back together, for the most part bringing Order to the Chaos of the Big Bang.
Your modern science can measure and quantify both matter and energy (at least most of the common forms of each), but human science has not yet been able to come to grips with the existence of the third, and most important aspect of existence, Spirit. It is fairly well understood that neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. Matter can be converted into energy and energy can be converted into matter, but the motivating ‘force’ for any of that to happen is Spirit.
Only once humans begin to truly grasp this concept and begin to apply it on a regular basis, will they be able to make the breakthroughs to become fully engaged in this Universe of ours.
As time progressed, Spirits were able to find expression within the physical world by manipulating both energy and matter in such a way as to develop Life. Once living organisms became developed to such as degree as to be useful, Spirits began to invest themselves into those living organisms.
In the process of doing so, however, something strange and wonderful happened…once they became attached to living organisms, almost all Spirits lost (at least temporarily) the conscious knowledge of their own true existence, becoming instead, fully invested in the struggle to survive in the physical environment in which they found themselves.
Oh, the more advanced the biological form was, the higher the level of consciousness became, but it was only the rare living being that remained even partially cognizant of the existence of their own, or anyone else’s, Spirit. But, it was often not until the death of the living organism was imminent that the Spirit within that organism began to recall its true nature and could begin to incorporate the lessons and knowledge it had gained by living. By participating in the drama of life and death in the physical world, Spirits gain invaluable knowledge and experience and forge relationships that help them to learn and grow.
Many Spirits choose to enter this cycle of life and death many, many times. Each time they do so, they enter a new body, immediately prior to the birth (or hatching, etc.) of that creature. Most of the time the kind of Spirit that is attracted to that life form is the same kind of Spirit that inhabits the bodies of most members of that species. In those rare instances when the ‘wrong’ kind of Spirit is attracted to the new life form, interesting things may happen.
Now, let’s get refocused just a little bit from this grander picture that I have been painting and bring us back a little bit towards the portrait at hand.
Just as each cell in your body is individually unique, there a clearly groups of similar cells that perform similar functions with each other, and have similar needs. It was the same within The One. Each Spirit and each seed of a Spirit contained within The One was a unique individual, but there were, at minimum, several dozen different Orders of Spirits.
The vast majority of Spirits are rather small and inconsequential beings that don’t have the self awareness or the power to manifest any changes upon the physical world. They are the lowest level of spiritual entities.
I will try not to bore you overly much with the details of this, but suffice it to say that the kinds of Spirits that inhabit human bodies, are for the most part, middling level entities that are neither particularly high nor particularly low on the pecking order of Spirit existence.
To shorten this up a bit, let me just state that the An’girasii are Spirits that are of a significantly higher Order than the Spirits that are called into human bodies. (To be continued in my next permitted installment.)
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Dracaar's Scrolls
(I discovered that what appeared to be one scroll was actually two. The contents of the top scroll have been translated from the original An’girasii language by me. I have made every attempt to translate this message as accurately as possible. My mastery of this language, however, is incomplete. The second scroll was a more personal message, also written in his original language, although it was far less formal, and thus easier to translate.—RB)
The First Scroll
“Rejoice, O’ Sons and Daughters of Man, Rejoice! For the Son of God walks among you once more! Rejoice!
“Know ye, one and all, that I have returned after lo’ these many years to fulfill the Prophecies of Old!
“Let it be known far and wide that the Lord has returned! I come bearing the Sword of Truth and the Shield of Justice. I have returned to lead my true and faithful Servants to battle against the Forces of Darkness that seek to deprive you of my Majesty, my Mercy!
“Know ye, one and all, that Witches and Sorcerers—Servants of Darkness, one and all—walk amongst you, unseen and unknown except to those who remain True and Faithful to the Lord, your God!
“Rise up! Cast down the Wicked amongst you! Those without Faith in the Lord must be cast down into the Lake of Fire, so that their Sins might be purified, their Souls cleansed of the Darkness that they serve!
“The Daughter of Death has been born! She preaches a False Faith and offers a False Hope. She is the Enemy of Enemies! She will be cast down with all who serve her!
“The End is near! The Enemy is Strong! The Time of Tribulation is upon you!”
The Second Scroll
“Whelp,
Thank you for releasing me from the prison that my traitorous son had devised for me. I have taken some time to get to know this new world, this new era in which I now find myself.
I marvel both at how much humans have changed and how much they have changed their world, yet how weak and gullible they continue to be! I will very much enjoy our time together. It will be so easy to bend the multitudes to my Will. Even in this singular nation, the pinnacle of achievement in human civilization, the multitudes cry out for true leadership. They seek succor of the soul that only I and my siblings can offer. With all of your technology, your science, your vaunted and illusory freedoms, humanity still fears that which goes bump in the night.
The time is not yet ripe for my Call to be heard by your people. When that time arrives, whole nations will tremble and fall before me. At my word, whole populations will bend to my Will, eager to serve as whatever fodder I may need.
Your time grows short whelp. Learn quickly from your father if you wish to engage me or my servants in battle.
--Dracaar”
The First Scroll
“Rejoice, O’ Sons and Daughters of Man, Rejoice! For the Son of God walks among you once more! Rejoice!
“Know ye, one and all, that I have returned after lo’ these many years to fulfill the Prophecies of Old!
“Let it be known far and wide that the Lord has returned! I come bearing the Sword of Truth and the Shield of Justice. I have returned to lead my true and faithful Servants to battle against the Forces of Darkness that seek to deprive you of my Majesty, my Mercy!
“Know ye, one and all, that Witches and Sorcerers—Servants of Darkness, one and all—walk amongst you, unseen and unknown except to those who remain True and Faithful to the Lord, your God!
“Rise up! Cast down the Wicked amongst you! Those without Faith in the Lord must be cast down into the Lake of Fire, so that their Sins might be purified, their Souls cleansed of the Darkness that they serve!
“The Daughter of Death has been born! She preaches a False Faith and offers a False Hope. She is the Enemy of Enemies! She will be cast down with all who serve her!
“The End is near! The Enemy is Strong! The Time of Tribulation is upon you!”
The Second Scroll
“Whelp,
Thank you for releasing me from the prison that my traitorous son had devised for me. I have taken some time to get to know this new world, this new era in which I now find myself.
I marvel both at how much humans have changed and how much they have changed their world, yet how weak and gullible they continue to be! I will very much enjoy our time together. It will be so easy to bend the multitudes to my Will. Even in this singular nation, the pinnacle of achievement in human civilization, the multitudes cry out for true leadership. They seek succor of the soul that only I and my siblings can offer. With all of your technology, your science, your vaunted and illusory freedoms, humanity still fears that which goes bump in the night.
The time is not yet ripe for my Call to be heard by your people. When that time arrives, whole nations will tremble and fall before me. At my word, whole populations will bend to my Will, eager to serve as whatever fodder I may need.
Your time grows short whelp. Learn quickly from your father if you wish to engage me or my servants in battle.
--Dracaar”
Sunday, December 03, 2006
South Beach Diet...Epilogue
I stood, arms folded across my chest, as I watched the discussion taking place in the room behind the one way mirror.
Special Agent Jennifer Wilson paced behind me, flailing her arms as she spoke. “How can Corrales possibly think that he is the real killer? That man is stark raving mad!”
“Who is, Corrales?” I continued to focus my attention on the face of the man I knocked out.
His face was still stained with the blood from the victim’s kidney that he had nearly finished. His eyes were wide open, his pupils dilated. The dark circles beneath his eyes indicated that he had been running on little sleep for quite some time.
He was speaking in short, quick sentences that were nearly incoherent, especially if, like Corrales, you didn’t understand the babbled references he was throwing out like barbs to me.
“It’s been a great run man. I love the beach. It’s a perfect place for a midnight meal with the Beast. Blood never tasted so good.”
Corrales was overwhelmed, trying to take an intelligible statement form this guy, but he kept pressing anyway. “George, why did you kill these five victims?”
George shook his head. “I didn’t kill them, man. The Beast did. Oh, I suppose that I helped. Especially with that last one. She was a wild one, that one. I don’t know why the Beast wanted them dead, dude, but they sure were tasty.”
“Who is this Beast you keep referring to?”
George smiled; his bloody lips curling back as he did so. “It’s here watching you, so you better treat me right, Detective. It’s always here watching, learning, judging. The Beast is you, me, all of us.”
Corrales nodded, seemingly glad to have received an answer that he could use. “So you are the Beast, right George?”
George just smiled.
I had seen enough. I turned to face the still pacing Jennifer and touched her lightly at her elbow. When she turned to face me, I leaned in close and spoke softly nearly her left ear.
“Don’t worry Jennifer, your profile was impeccable. This man is not the killer of these people, but the creature that led me to him left him to take the fall for those killings. All of the forensic evidence will be made to fit this guy. There is nothing that you or I can do to stop that now. This whole series of killings was meant to solely to draw me here.”
She pulled back at that. “But why would…?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know enough yet to say for sure, other than that I was given a message. I message I haven’t had time to read yet.”
She looked shaken. “I have pictures of the symbols that were left next to each body. Do you want me to give you copies? Maybe they were part of the message too?”
“Yeah, you can send them to me via e-mail. I need to go, now.” I looked back through the one-way glass into the interrogation room to see that Corrales was putting the papers he had been filling out back into a folder. A group of burly officers from the Metro-Dade Police Department had entered the room to escort the soon-to-be-famous serial killer du jour to his cell. I leaned in close to Jennifer again. “Keep an eye out for strange profiles like this one. Let me know ASAP when you encounter another one.”
“There will be more?” Her eyes had grown wide with shock.
I nodded. “It’s just a matter of time. You can count on that. Tell Corrales that I’ve left. He won’t get, or need, any testimony from me for this nutcase.”
I left her to her own thoughts and Corrales’ likely wrath at my failure to stick around. I found a nice, darkened office just off the main hall and slipped into the Shadowland for the brief trip home.
I emerged in my meditation chamber, a particularly dark room that had no actual door into it in the mundane world. It was here that I came when I needed to be alone with my own thoughts.
I touched a small orb that lit up the small room with a bright, clear blue light. I pulled the rolled up scroll from the pocket I had kept it in and began examining it as I sat down at the small roll top desk that served as my only work surface for writing.
The leather of the scroll had a strange look to it and felt thinner and lighter than new leather should have. The scroll was held closed by a thick wax seal that was embossed with the symbol of a dragon with three heads…Dracaar’s sigil.
I cracked open the seal, letting the pieces of wax crumble onto the desk. I unrolled the scroll carefully.
The language of the letters and symbols of the scroll gave me pause for a moment as I searched the memories of Ma Grendel to come up with meanings. When it clicked into place, I drew an instinctive breath. This was no human language, but the original script of the An’girasii.
The message contained within those words was chilling…(to be revealed in the next post.)
Special Agent Jennifer Wilson paced behind me, flailing her arms as she spoke. “How can Corrales possibly think that he is the real killer? That man is stark raving mad!”
“Who is, Corrales?” I continued to focus my attention on the face of the man I knocked out.
His face was still stained with the blood from the victim’s kidney that he had nearly finished. His eyes were wide open, his pupils dilated. The dark circles beneath his eyes indicated that he had been running on little sleep for quite some time.
He was speaking in short, quick sentences that were nearly incoherent, especially if, like Corrales, you didn’t understand the babbled references he was throwing out like barbs to me.
“It’s been a great run man. I love the beach. It’s a perfect place for a midnight meal with the Beast. Blood never tasted so good.”
Corrales was overwhelmed, trying to take an intelligible statement form this guy, but he kept pressing anyway. “George, why did you kill these five victims?”
George shook his head. “I didn’t kill them, man. The Beast did. Oh, I suppose that I helped. Especially with that last one. She was a wild one, that one. I don’t know why the Beast wanted them dead, dude, but they sure were tasty.”
“Who is this Beast you keep referring to?”
George smiled; his bloody lips curling back as he did so. “It’s here watching you, so you better treat me right, Detective. It’s always here watching, learning, judging. The Beast is you, me, all of us.”
Corrales nodded, seemingly glad to have received an answer that he could use. “So you are the Beast, right George?”
George just smiled.
I had seen enough. I turned to face the still pacing Jennifer and touched her lightly at her elbow. When she turned to face me, I leaned in close and spoke softly nearly her left ear.
“Don’t worry Jennifer, your profile was impeccable. This man is not the killer of these people, but the creature that led me to him left him to take the fall for those killings. All of the forensic evidence will be made to fit this guy. There is nothing that you or I can do to stop that now. This whole series of killings was meant to solely to draw me here.”
She pulled back at that. “But why would…?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know enough yet to say for sure, other than that I was given a message. I message I haven’t had time to read yet.”
She looked shaken. “I have pictures of the symbols that were left next to each body. Do you want me to give you copies? Maybe they were part of the message too?”
“Yeah, you can send them to me via e-mail. I need to go, now.” I looked back through the one-way glass into the interrogation room to see that Corrales was putting the papers he had been filling out back into a folder. A group of burly officers from the Metro-Dade Police Department had entered the room to escort the soon-to-be-famous serial killer du jour to his cell. I leaned in close to Jennifer again. “Keep an eye out for strange profiles like this one. Let me know ASAP when you encounter another one.”
“There will be more?” Her eyes had grown wide with shock.
I nodded. “It’s just a matter of time. You can count on that. Tell Corrales that I’ve left. He won’t get, or need, any testimony from me for this nutcase.”
I left her to her own thoughts and Corrales’ likely wrath at my failure to stick around. I found a nice, darkened office just off the main hall and slipped into the Shadowland for the brief trip home.
I emerged in my meditation chamber, a particularly dark room that had no actual door into it in the mundane world. It was here that I came when I needed to be alone with my own thoughts.
I touched a small orb that lit up the small room with a bright, clear blue light. I pulled the rolled up scroll from the pocket I had kept it in and began examining it as I sat down at the small roll top desk that served as my only work surface for writing.
The leather of the scroll had a strange look to it and felt thinner and lighter than new leather should have. The scroll was held closed by a thick wax seal that was embossed with the symbol of a dragon with three heads…Dracaar’s sigil.
I cracked open the seal, letting the pieces of wax crumble onto the desk. I unrolled the scroll carefully.
The language of the letters and symbols of the scroll gave me pause for a moment as I searched the memories of Ma Grendel to come up with meanings. When it clicked into place, I drew an instinctive breath. This was no human language, but the original script of the An’girasii.
The message contained within those words was chilling…(to be revealed in the next post.)
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