Raven's Key: A Novel

  Maeve noticed that Owen had found his way outside finally and was looking around for her. She caught his eye and he made his way over to where she was standing.

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about and frankly I don’t care. So fuck off and leave me alone.”

  “You’ll regret it Maeve.”

  “Seriously. I don’t want to have to call the cops. I’m not interested.”

  “Fine.” Raven placed his hand on Maeve’s shoulder. “Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.”

  At the moment Owen arrived.

  “Hey Maeve, sorry it took me so long. It was crazy busy in there.” He handed her a glass of water. “Hey, I’m Owen. Nice to meet you.” He extended a hand to Raven, who ignored it.

  “Good bye Maeve.” Raven looked at Owen and walked away towards the parking lot.

  “Woaah, that was kind of intense.” Owen looked at Maeve. “An old boyfriend?”

  “No, just some jerk trying to pick me up.” Maeve gave Owen a hug. “He gave me the creeps.”

  “I’ll say. Me too”

  “Let’s go back into the bar Owen. I can hear the band starting. And I’m getting a chill out here.”

  The music had started up again and the muffled sound of the band was drifting out on the night air.

  As they made their way back inside, Maeve scanned the parking lot for Raven, hoping that she’d see him peeling into the cold night on his motorcycle or see the tail lights of a car moving into the distance.

  But there was nobody in the parking lot. No motorcycle and no car. Just a pair of eyes, glowing dimly in the shadows across the street.

  Chapter 19

  Paul started driving his small car towards the highway.

  “If time is so precious, why are we driving? Why don’t we just teleport ourselves there or something,” asked Paul sarcastically. “Like in the movies. We could save ourselves a lot of time and gas.”

  “Too obvious,” replied Iyash. “And besides, this is way more stealthy. If we shifted ourselves there dimensionally, Raven would hear us coming. He’s probably monitoring those portals very closely. The last thing he’s going to expect is for us to show up in a car.”

  Iyash had picked up a small trace of the two objects and with Paul and Susan’s help they had been able to isolate the signal to a small village north of the museum.

  “Grandfather, this is our opportunity to retrieve your bag and pipe and confront Raven for the final time. All hope is not lost.” George really believed that they were going to be able to find the objects this time around. “You know as well as I that as long as we have the bag and pipe Ceremony can go ahead as planned. The other items are extra.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m concerned about Grandson.” Iyash wasn’t ready to believe that they were that close to finding his objects. “Without my bag and pipe nothing can happen.”

  “But we’re close Grandfather. Can’t you feel them?”

  “Yes. I can. But I don’t trust Gaagagshiinh. He’s unpredictable. And I’ve got a bad feeling. I’m sensing that there’s some unfinished, messy business here.”

  “Highway looks clear. We should be there soon. I’ll drive fast.”

  Paul drove the car onto the main highway going north to Wakefield. It was getting late so there was virtually no traffic.

  “What are these other objects you’re talking about?” Sue was curious.

  “There are three other very special objects that the council has long protected to be used in this Ceremony to shift us into the new world conciseness,” said George. “Each object represents one of the four basic elements of life; earth, air, fire and water. When all these elements are combined and balanced, they form a powerful vibration of light that we use to call in the new creation.”

  “That sounds really intense,” commented Paul. “So where do the two objects we’re after fit into all this?”

  “They represent the earth element,” answered Iyash. “Inside my bag is the earth used to create the first, second and third world consciousness. In order to call in the creation of the fourth world consciousness, the smoke from my pipe is blown onto the earth to infuse it with the prayers and good intentions of the light. That charged earth is then combined with the other three elements to complete the ceremony.”

  “What about the other objects?” Sue was now very interested.

  Ever since she was a kid she had been interested in antiquities. Growing up in Cairo, she used to spend many hours with her father at Giza, drinking fanta and listening to lectures on the theories of how the great pyramids had been built.

  “Everybody has their own theory Susan,” he would tell her, “some even believe it was extraterrestrials that built Akhet Khufu, the great Pyramid. Of course that is all fantastical. It was only because that most powerful Pharaoh could harness the labour resources of thousands of slaves and those of the worker class that it was possible to build such a magnificent structure! And to think the Roman’s stripped that beautiful shiny, polished limestone which used to cover the whole pyramid to build their roads. What were they thinking?”

  Susan’s father used to take her to Luxor every year so that they could visit the Valley of the Kings. On the train to Luxor, her father always liked to tell the story about how her grandfather worked with the British Egyptologist Howard Carter in the excavation of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922.

  “It was your grandfather who discovered the tomb!” He always got so animated when he told this story. “Carter had no idea where it was! He always thought it would be out in the valley proper. It was your grandfather who suggested they search underneath the remains of the workmen’s huts built during the Ramesside Period. When your grandfather discovered the stairs to the burial chamber, Carter took over completely. It was all very secretive. But your grandfather remembers that first entry. He was Carter’s main assistant. The tomb’s antechamber was so densely packed with the most beautiful items. There were garlands of flowers, which disintegrated when touched, funeral beds, plates in the shape of Hippopotamus, lions and the Goddess Hathor. There were even four chariots stacked up against one wall! It took them over three years to empty that tomb.”

  George’s voice brought her back from the Valley of the Kings.

  “The object representing fire is an ancient Egyptian amulet known as the Isis Knot. This amulet was forged by Re-Akum, Isis husband, using the menstrual blood of his wife to be used as a protection against Set, who wanted to destroy their unborn child. The amulet ensured the safe birth of Osiris and when used for Ceremony it will ensure that humanity is protected from the fire of the new consciousness. But if broken, it will break humanity’s protection against the underworld, plunging the world further into darkness.”

  “She who gives birth to heaven and earth,” Sue murmured, remembering all the stories of Isis he father used to tell her.

  “Exactly,’ said George, “I assume you are familiar with Egyptian history and culture.”

  “Very.”

  “Excellent. You will enjoy meeting Bes then.”

  “The Bes?” Susan didn’t believe what George was suggesting. “You’ve got to be joking. He only exists in myths and stories.”

  “He’s not nearly as ugly as people have always made him out to be,” noted Iyash, “but he is really short and super nice.”

  “So,” George continued, “the object representing air is an ancient Mayan clay flute crafted by his Excellency Kinich Ahau. When played, the flute gives all the sounds of creation: the murmur of the river, the tapping of the rain, the whisper of the wind, the rustle of the leaves, the crashing of the waves, the cracking of the ice, the creaking of the tress, the chirping of the morning birds, the crackling of the fire, the echoes of the darkness.”

  “Sounds like an amazing instrument, “commented Paul.

  “And very rare and expensive,” added Sue. “I’ve seen pictures of that flute. It’s part of the biggest, and rarest, collection of Mayan artifacts at the Nationa
l Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala City. That flute is famous. There’s a huge controversy over the museum’s radio carbon dating data. Nobody believes it can possibly be as old as the museum insists it is. I certainly don’t. It’s impossible.”

  “It is probably the most beautiful sound you’ll ever hear,” said George.

  “If we don’t get to Wakefield soon, you won’t be hearing much of anything.”

  It seemed that the closer they were getting to Wakefield, the more somber Iyash was getting.

  “We’re almost there.” Paul turned the car onto a small two-lane highway.

  “The last object represents water. It is a bone cylinder containing the original waters of the first world consciousness. This water is contained in a fountain outside the palace of the magnificent kingdom of Shambhala. The Tibetans have been the guardians of this cylinder for as long as we have been on this earth. After every shift into a new world, a monk has been chosen to make the special trip to Shambhala to refill the cylinder with the purest water that exists. It is said that if a man takes one drop of that water he will live for two thousand years, the exact amount of time it takes for a great age to pass. If he takes two drops he will gain enlightenment. If he takes three drops he will die a most gruesome and painful death. If he takes four drops, he will be reborn and ascend to the stars transmogrified.”

  “How much water is in the cylinder,” asked Sue.

  “Four drops,” answered Iyash.

  “One for each element,” added George.

  “We’re here.” Paul slowed the car down as they came into the main village of Wakefield. ” Where to?”

  “That way.” Iyash pointed left. “Not far. Drive slowly.”

  Chapter 20

  Coon sat in his black sedan outside the museum watching the colors of the sunset fade in to the night sky. The light of the full moon shone brightly through the window of the cruiser.

  This was going to be his second Christmas without Allison and he was starting to feel really depressed about the prospect of being alone over the holidays.

  Maybe the Commander is right. A few days off at one of those all-inclusive resorts on the ocean might be exactly what I need. It’d be the perfect way to spend Christmas. I’m sure I won’t be the only divorcee trying to avoid the holiday blues. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll meet some tall, leggy blond and we’ll work these holiday blues out between the sheets.

  Coon flipped through his notebook trying to focus on his assignment.

  I better follow-up this crazy lead first so when I tell the commander I’m taking a few days off tomorrow morning I can do so with a clear conscious. I don’t care what that fancy-pants director at Bast Security thinks – she’s got it all wrong. There’s no way that one man could be behind all of these robberies. It’s impossible. It has to be a well-organized and experienced group of thieves, with connections at all of these institutions. There’s always someone on the inside working the system. Maybe it’s twins – or triplets. Wouldn’t be the first time.

  Coon’s phone rang. It was a text message with an attachment.

  He’s definitely there. Security cameras caught him. Don’t let us down Detective. Call as soon as you apprehend him. Felisa.

  Attached to the text message was a still photo from a security camera taken that morning in the museum. Coon plugged his phone into his computer so he could make out the time and date stamped in the bottom of the photo: 12/20/2015 10:01. Although the picture was grainy like all the other photos, Coon could actually make out the face of the suspect.

  Well the composite sketcher sure did a good job. That definitely looks like our man. Strange.

  Coon flipped back through his notebook to check his notes from the interview with the museum security guard.

  That’s right around the same time that the security guard claims he was attacked by the bird in the collections room. Maybe it wasn’t a bird after all? Or maybe our thief likes to bring his pet bird with him on jobs to scare away security.

  Coon checked his watch. It was getting late and he was getting hungry.

  The first week Allison moved out had been the hardest. Coon never learned to cook for himself because Allison had always insisted on cooking for him.

  “If I don’t make good healthy meals for you, I’ll end up with a fat cop with a bad mustache and heart disease for a husband.” She used to like to tease Coon. “So get out of the kitchen, you’re crowding my space.”

  At the time, Coon really appreciated Allison’s insistence on cooking. Now that she wasn’t around, he regretted not learning how to make anything more complicated than opening a box and adding water. On the positive side, he had lost a lot of weight from not eating three square meals a day.

  I can’t believe how stupid I’d been all those years. Thinking Allison was happy playing wifey for me while all along she was out screwing her boss and living a lie. I guess I was asleep all those years, living in a dream of what I wanted and afraid to admit that the woman I chose to spend the rest of my life with was cheating on me.

  Coon was still angry with Allison for refusing to try to work it out through counseling. She had been sleeping with her boss for almost five years and last year just before Christmas she decided to end the lie over breakfast. Coon still remembered that morning so clearly.

  “Brad we need to talk.”

  “I know. We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to get your parents for Christmas.” Coon kept reading the newspaper, oblivious to the tears that were silently rolling down his wife’s cheeks. “Why don’t we just get them a gift basket from that food store they like so much.”

  “Seriously Brad. You’re such a fool. When are you going to get your stupid little head out of your ass for a change.”

  “Come on honey. I don’t have time to fight over Christmas presents with you this morning. I’ve got an important meeting with the Commander this afternoon that I’ve got to prep for.”

  “I’m leaving you Brad.”

  “Nice try. Really low.”

  “I’m serious. Sean and I have been sleeping with each other for the last five years and we want to bring it to the next level.”

  “Sean Manuel, your boss?” Coon put the newspaper down. “Oh my god. You’re not joking.”

  “I love him Brad.” Allison was now sobbing. “He’s a good man and he cares about me. He pays attention to me. He appreciates me.”

  “Come on baby, I care about you, I appreciate you.” Coon tried to comfort his wife, but it just made her angry.

  “You treat me like I don’t exist. It’s over Brad, I’ve made my decision.”

  “But we can’t just throw away ten years without even trying to work it out. We can get counseling. The health plan will cover it, it won’t cost us a thing.”

  “I’m not interested in talking to you or some stupid marriage counselor about our crappy sex life and dysfunctional marriage. It’s over. I’m moving out tonight. I’ve already talked to my lawyer and rented an apartment. You can’t stop me.”

  “But what about all our dreams Allison?”

  “I was young and foolish. I did love you. But you’re not the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.” Allison got up from the table. “Goodbye Brad. Lets make this as easy on us as possible. My lawyer will contact you.”

  Coon’s phone rang and his memories of that morning vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

  “Coon here.”

  “Hey Coon, it’s Robert. Congratulations. It’s final.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Allison’s lawyer just sent me the papers. Everything is in order. She agreed to let you keep the house. All you need to do is come in and sign and you’re a free man! Best Christmas present you could ask for.”

  “Thanks Santa. I’m just on my way up to Wakefield. I’ll pop in first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “The sooner the better Brad. I’ll leave the papers with my assistant. I’m in court all day tomorrow. Some idiot is trying
to file for divorce because she can’t stand to have lunch with her mother-in-law.”

  Coon flipped his phone closed.

  I’m definitely going on holidays tomorrow. I need a break from this crazy world.

  Chapter 21

  It was hard to leave her there with that mousey man when she had been so close. It would have been so easy to break his neck and take what I needed, Raven thought, but there were too many people there. Too risky. Marduk would have be pissed off if I made the front page of the newspaper.

  Raven liked the thought of being in the news. It’d been a long time since anyone had written any stories about him.

  He moved his wings in closer to his body. The temperature was dropping and he needed to stay warm until the Maeve came back from the bar. It was easy enough to find her house. Her vibrational signature was very strong.

  I don’t like the fact that those pesky faeries are hanging around. They always cause me so much trouble. Getting in the way of the work I need to do. It’d be easy enough to deal with them but I don’t want to give them a reason to come after me in retribution. The last time I had a blood debt with them they went too far.

  Raven shifted closer to the trunk of the tree to keep out of the wind.

  Marduk better not be fucking with me. I don’t trust that drugged-out bastard. He’s got himself way too deep into this business for a human. If it wasn’t for that shit he takes he’d be long gone and the world would be a better place for it. As soon as we close this deal I’m going to keep my distance from him. I’m tired of doing this shit work.

  Raven scanned the area around Maeve’s apartment. He could make out the bodies of at least four faeries.

  I’m going to have to be quick with this one. Those bastards are going to be tight on my heels. Lucky for me that the girl is in denial. Makes it harder for them to come through to do their job. If she only knew the whole story she’d snap out of that dreamland she’s created. She wouldn’t be in this position right now and I wouldn’t be out here in this bloody tree freezing my wings off.

  Raven smiled to himself, knowing how happy Marduk was going to be when he delivered the goods. He was also a bit nervous. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. He missed the closeness, the warmth, and the moodiness. But he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to feel those emotions again. The faeries had done a real number on him when they collected on their blood debt. They wanted to make sure he didn’t repeat the mistake he had made.