Conjuring Darkness (3 page)

A good opportunity for sarcasm was never wasted by Lexi, “Do you normally destroy the packages before delivering them, or is that an extra charge?”

“Sorry ma’am. That’s just the way it came to me. You have to sign for it. If anything is damaged, you have to claim it online.”

“I bet it’s a real handy user-friendly process too.” Lexi mumbled, as she looked at the envelope in front of her, curious to see what this could be.

She thought briefly about the delivery man again as his truck careened around the corner and down the street. She turned her attention to the badly damaged package.
What is this?
She thought.
The senders name is Kate, but why is this coming from an address in Israel? That’s how lives are completely turned upside down by mailmen and delivery people, complete strangers going about their business, never knowing what they have left behind in their wake. This could be the door to adventure or to a nightmare.

She yanked the thick paper tab that ripped a thin plastic ribbon from the envelope. Lexi reached into the newly ripped opening and fished out a handwritten letter. It had been largely destroyed by what she imagined was some mechanical T-Rex that was on a strict diet of important packages. Along with the letter, there was an index card that had a couple of phone numbers and a brass key taped to the back.

Hah! The Key to adventure!
Lexi set the letter down in front of her and saw that it looked like her sister’s familiar neat handwriting, but the lines seemed skewed.
Kate would never have skewed her lines like that, unless she was in a hurry.
Lexi flattened it out on the counter and began to read. The mangling machine had damaged the letter so badly that Lexi had a difficult time making out all of the words. Some areas were completely illegible and were at best partial sentences.

Lexi

I hate to ask you this but I really have no choice. Right now I’m in Haifa Israel visiting Dr. Jakub Meier, but I am on my way to Turkey soon to do some research at the Gobekli Tepe site. I need some help. I know you are settled in your new place and very busy, but you are the only one I can trust. I need you to go back to our place in Arlington. The key that you have received came off of my key chain and it is for the drawer in Kurt’s old desk at the house. In there, is a notebook that has the contact information and the instructions on how to get a hold of a man named Kidd. Kurt had once told me he is the only person that he could trust outside of the country. He said if any of us ever got into something serious, to get a hold of Kidd. (This part was badly damaged and unreadable) Mr. Kidd will help you.

Go into the safe in my bedroom closet. I had it set to the same numbers as ALWAYS. Inside, there is a very old coin. That is the thing I need you to bring. Do not let anyone see it. Don’t let anyone know you have it. Take as much cash out of the safe as you need.

That coin is (unreadable) and you need to (unreadable) Haifa Israel.

Once you get a hold of Mr. Kidd, you need to have him escort you with the coin (unreadable). We cannot use our cell phones. Remember what Kurt told us about cell phones?

Kidd. To get ahold of Mr. Kidd. You can only call him from the phone on Kurt’s old desk, because it is secure. Use the instructions that Kurt left in case we ever needed help. Tell him that Kurt said it was time to return a favor. Then (unreadable)

Book a flight (unreadable)

That old coin is actually a (unreadable)

Love you, Sis

“Christ! Really Kate? You can’t call? Were you drunk or asleep when you wrote this?” Lexi shouted loud enough to call Allie to attention and then she looked at the letter again to check the date. Lexi’s heart started to race when she realized that this letter had been written six weeks ago. She grabbed her cell phone and immediately dialed Kate’s cell. A dozen attempts only brought the same response. “Please leave a message after the tone.”
No cell phones? What the hell are you involved in, Kate?
“Kurt! Of course! No cell phones.”

She had always thought Kurt allowed his job to cast a shadow of paranoia over their house. Long before snooping by the NSA became fodder for news outlets and activists, Kurt had told them that if ever they had to hide from someone to never use their cell phones. The new smart phones and tablets with all of their features had been a gift to the NSA, and they exploited them to a greater extent than what the news had even reported.

Kurt told them that the old land lines had been routinely monitored for decades, so they weren’t any better when it came to keeping secrets. He firmly believed that only securely encrypted satellite communications could be trusted, but only to a point.
Oh Kate, you had to go and marry a damn spy. Now he’s gone and I have to go round up another one for you.

For Lexi, this letter was a call to action. She opened her laptop and booked a next day flight to Washington D.C. with a rental car to be ready at the airport. Her next step was to call Marcie.

Lexi’s mind was running faster than her mouth could articulate her thoughts. “Marcie, I need you tonight. I mean—I need you to come over, meet me at my place around seven and be sure to bring whatever you need to stay over tonight.”

“Whoa! Hold on. I thought you knew I was joking around today when I said that leaves just me. Well I-.”

Lexi cut Marcie’s joking voice off in mid-sentence, “Seriously Marcie, something is happening with Kate. I need to fly back to Virginia tomorrow and I could really use your company at my house tonight. Plus, I kind of need you to take care of Allie Cat for me. Not to mention the store and my house. Please?”

“Of course Lexi, I’ll be there. See ya at seven.”

After the call, Lexi thought about Marcie. She realized that Marcie was not just her only friend, but her first true friend. She had always read about friendships like that. Girls that bonded like sisters. It seemed strange, but this was what love felt like. Not in an erotic sense, but in the sense that their lives were becoming intertwined.

She knew that Marcie also brought something special to her life that she had been missing. She showed her that it was just fine to lighten up and express her emotions. They had met one night right after Lexi had bought the bookstore. Lexi was setting up display racks near the front of her new corner bookstore, when a car flew right past the stop sign at the corner. The car slammed directly into the passenger side of a pickup truck.

Lexi ran out to the scene while simultaneously hitting the speed dial key for 911 on her phone. Marcie slipped out of the driver’s seat of the truck apparently unhurt, but badly shaken. The driver of the speeding car was instantly killed. Lexi never saw who she was or what she looked like as her body was crumpled and twisted under the wreckage that had previously been the steering column and dash.

While firefighters and paramedics worked around the badly wrecked car to determine if anyone else had been inside, Lexi sat on the curb with Marcie. She did her best to comfort the sobbing girl, until a paramedic came over and checked on her. Marcie told Lexi that she had just moved to Dillon, just as Lexi had done. Before long Marcie was running the store on the days that Lexi was busy at the college, and on other days she worked as a barista at the coffee shop across the street from the bookstore. To use Marcie’s words, they had literally met by accident and became companions for life.

The next thing for Lexi to do was to start searching the internet for the place that Kate mentioned, Gobekli Tepe. She had heard about it but knew little about it, other than that it was some sort of ancient ruin site in Turkey. After wading through a plethora of UFO and alien theories that frustrated her internet search, she focused on the type of research her sister would have taken into account. From the peer-reviewed archaeology journals available she was surprised to learn that it had only recently been excavated.

All of the experts were still trying to learn exactly what Gobekli Tepe was. So far their conclusions were simply speculation, since the original builders left no written text behind and no other historical records of other cultures mentioned this place. Most of the experts seemed to agree that Gobekli Tepe was at one time a cultic center, inhabited by the religious elite of some unknown culture in the ancient Mesopotamian region that went through Iraq, part of Syria, and part of Turkey. There were mystical and sacred items found within the circular walled structures, including large T-shaped stone monoliths that had been covered with carvings of intricately designed animals, as well as what appeared to be sacrificial altars.

Lexi looked through her inventory list and found a couple of reference books on cultures associated with Mesopotamia. She remembered how her sister would always drone on about the history of the Fertile Crescent and how it was the location of the biblical Garden of Eden. Over the millennia this area was the home to the Sumerians, as well as the Akkadian and the Babylonian Empires.

After feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information Lexi wished she would have paid closer attention to her sister’s incessant lectures, because she still only had a vague memory of hearing about the region and those cultures. By mid-afternoon, Lexi had her fill of history studies and closed her shop. She cradled Allie in her arms, and with a trove of books in her bag, she headed home for the day.

Chapter Two

The setting sun cast its magic spell through the window and Lexi’s living room transformed into a mystical place, bathed in orange light that was tinged with rose and purple. The old drab room was her favorite place to lay back on her couch and daydream, like she did when she was just a young girl. She had been transported back in time to an age where one would expect to find a magical fairy in a mystical forest. Her reverie was abruptly shattered as Marcie’s voice called through the front screen door. “Hi Lex, I’m here!”

“Hey Marcie! Come on in. I’m in the living room.” Lexi invited her to join her on the couch.

Marcie asked “So what is-.”

Lexi cut her off. “Just wait, I love these last few minutes of the day.”

Marcie quietly obliged, until the room darkened. “So, you went home and got stoned?”

“No, goofball! I have always taken just a little time every day to relax my mind and stop thinking. The best I can anyway. It is sort of hypnotic or trancelike and it seems like it pulls the stress out of my head. I guess I’m just weird like that, but it helps me to focus better.”

“Alright Lexi. Well, when you’re done hypnotizing yourself, let me know. Then can you tell me what is going on?”

Lexi went over the events that happened earlier in the day and the mysterious letter that arrived. As Lexi’s best friend, she already knew about Kate and Kurt and had learned the biography of Lexi’s life.

“What is so mysterious about it, Lex? Think about it. She went off on her research trip, realized that the coin back home was something that might fit in over there and wants you to bring it over. You’re the only other person that can get it from the safe or even go into her house. Am I right? She probably doesn’t trust it to go in the mail and she wants you to come over and do a little sisterly bonding over a pile of old rocks. Hey! Maybe that coin is worth millions or something!” 

She thought for a bit and added, “She wants Kurt’s old spy buddy to act as a private security guard to go along and make sure you are okay. You are her only family too, you know. I’m sure she wants to be certain that her little sister will be in good hands.” Marcie thought for a few seconds about the best way to twist her own words to lighten Lexi’s mood. “Who knows? Maybe he will be good with his hands!” 

Lexi smiled and silently let Marcie’s synopsis of the situation seep in to her head, to see if it covered all of her concerns before adding, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Still, it seems odd that she would say that ‘we’ needed this dude along for the trip. I mean, this is the guy that Kurt said we should get ahold of if we were in any trouble. He didn’t recommend him solely as a travel guide.”

With a sassiness only Lexi could pull off, she added “Or as a gigolo for desperate times!”

“Ha! One more thing, and I want to say this in the nicest possible way, Lexi. She knows how you sort of…” Marcie stopped herself short.

“Go on, just say it,” Lexi gave a tight smile.

“Well, let’s face it. You’re always trying to conquer what life throws at you. I think that is actually the most admirable quality about you, but sometimes you have to know when to just let the tide come in and let it wash over you. You never know what good fortune could be coming your way. There was that time when you locked your keys inside your truck with Allie inside, remember? That’s an example of what I’m saying. Remember that hot piece of cop came along to help? When he paid you a compliment and tried to ask you out, you could have just went with the flow, but no. Not you! You turned him in for sexual harassment. The guy ended up moving away. Adam, I think his name was. Wrong conclusion. You possibly thwarted the forces of fate. It’s okay to let the wind push you in a different direction once in a while.”

Lexi laughed and replied, “I know. I wouldn’t say I am a control freak, though. I don’t get hung up on pet peeves, you know what I mean? I’m not annoyed by the little things in life or the habits of other people. I just feel that my entire childhood was left to what you called the forces of fate and fate was not very kind about it. I would rather not have to live like I am on the defensive and trying to shape my life by constantly reacting to things. I want to have control of my destiny, while at the same time I look forward to excitement and adventure. My paradox, I suppose.” Lexi thought more about what Marcie said.

“I’ll keep it in mind and at least try to think ahead a bit, before I do anything that would create a disaster. I promise. About that cop though, let me give you the whole story. You would have been a little leery of that guy too. I never told you the line he laid on me when he got Allie Cat out of the truck. He was holding her and stroking her fur, then he said he would be glad to help me out with my cute pussy anytime I needed. Yeah, that was harassment!”

“What? You never told me that. You’re nuts. Don’t take a cheesy come-on from a guy for sexual harassment. If that were the case, just about everyone I know would be guilty at some point and I’m including myself in that group too. I would’ve been making sure he had my number, my email and my address, not to mention my Facebook, and Twitter info. Hell, I would have thrown a cheesy one-liner right back at him. Something like, ‘Well maybe next time, I’ll let you come over and pet my pussy and maybe even feed her a treat.’ You don’t have to worry about him now. I heard now he is off the market anyway. Married to some damn nurse. Lucky bitch.”

“Oh,
YOU
would say that back to him! It’s not my style, kiddo. Now let’s go over some stuff for the store, and the house. You can stay here if you like. I would really prefer it if you could.”

After they had discussed enough of the details for Marcie to act as Lexi’s proxy, they prepared to head for bed. Marcie was setting up a place to sleep on the couch, while Lexi was in the bedroom changing into her usual nighttime attire, a simple cut off tank top and her underwear. It was perfect for the warm summer night.

Outside the bedroom window Lexi heard the gloomy call of the owl that had been there the night before. The silhouette against the last shade of the evening’s pale light unnerved Lexi. The shape eerily resembled a human head with short horns that slightly curved up. Earlier in the day when she had been flipping through a book about archaeological sites in the Middle East, she remembered seeing the image of an owl on more than one piece of ancient art. Her focus at the time was on the general region and she never took the effort to look up the significance of the owl, but she was certain that it was an important symbol for the people that originally built Gobekli Tepe.

She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from the owl and tried to convince herself that the curved horns were simply the tufts of long feathers and nothing more. Large spooky yellow eyes appeared from the shadow hanging in the tree. They looked directly at her and when another series of lonely notes sang out, she thought that it was communicating a message or perhaps, even chanting a spell.
I have got to quit being so imaginative
.
I’m letting that thing creep me out
now
. She turned away from the window and when she looked back, it had flown away.

Marcie walked in through the door of the bedroom and noticed how Lexi looked shaken by something. She padded over and took Lexi’s hands in hers. As Marcie gently massaged them, Lexi unexpectedly began to blush. “What’s wrong, Lex? Are you getting nervous about this trip? You don’t have to go you know, you always have a choice.”

“No Marcie, it’s not that. There is this owl that shows up outside in the tree every night lately. I’ve never been creeped out by an owl or anything for that matter, but this thing seems like it’s...”

“Like it’s what, Lexi?”

“It’s stupid, really. It seems like it’s watching me...and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it seems like it is trying to say something to me. Weird, right?”

“It’s just a bird, Lex. Of course it seems scary, that’s exactly why they use owls as often as bats, spiders, witches, and shit on the covers of those stupid Halloween books you sell in your store.”

“Uh, would you mind staying in here with me tonight?” Lexi asked timidly.

“You mean I don’t have to sleep on your lumpy couch. Yay! Come on let’s get you in bed.” Marcie looked around the room and in her typical lighthearted fashion, commented on Lexi’s decorating choices. “So, did you do this on purpose, or are you color blind?”

Lexi’s room reflected the spirit of a girl that comfortably lived alone. Unconstrained by others’ opinions, Lexi had painted her room in purples. Each wall had been gifted its own shade. When Lexi had told her sister about her paint scheme for the bedroom the phone was silent for a full minute. When she finally spoke, Lexi immediately picked up on the tone of false concern in Kate’s voice.

“Really Lexi, I think it is time for you to get in to see a shrink. Why would you choose to turn your bedroom into a tomb for Barney?” While it didn’t meet Kate’s approval, the color scheme was perfect for Lexi. The soft shades of purple were carefully chosen from her evening sunset sessions. The colors provided a perfect background to the framed prints of pre-Raphaelite paintings that she had selected.

Centered against the largest wall was an enormous ancient wooden bed that Lexi picked up from an antique store in town. She loved the Victorian look so much that she eventually acquired an entire bedroom set of that style.

Marcie climbed up onto the bed and retrieved Lexi’s hairbrush from the nightstand. Lexi followed her onto the plush comforter.

“Okay Lex, turn around and let me brush your hair for you.” Lexi sat cross legged with her back to Marcie. Marcie began to brush Lexi’s hair in long slow movements. Lexi felt Marcie’s breath on her neck. She was surprised and confused at the unexpected tingling feeling of arousal that was building inside of her. Lexi could feel that Marcie seemed to have a subtle erotic aura about her. As quickly as the feelings crept up, she forced them right back out of her mind and body.

Suddenly Marcie announced, “Alright, let’s get some sleep, you’ve got a long day ahead of you.” They laid down, side by side in the dark. “How long will you be gone, Lexi?”

“I don’t expect to be gone more than a week. Ten days maybe.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go along? I’m sure we can find someone to watch Allie Cat. Just shut the store down. What do you say?”

“Sorry Marcie, I really need you to keep things open here. Plus, I would be a nervous wreck with Allie being with a total stranger. I tell you what, I promise the two of us will take a road trip someplace fun when I get back.”

Marcie rolled over and laid her head on Lexi’s shoulder and put an arm around her waist. Her tender touch comforted Lexi and she fell into a deep sleep.

Lexi’s dreams carried her to a sandy desert. It was night and she held a flaming torch that lit the path before her. Large gray stones that had been cut into rectangular shapes were arranged so that they formed a circle. Each of the stones was the size of a coffin. She walked around the stones and counted seven of them.

In her dream-like vision she thought that there was something on each stone. A small object had been placed there but she couldn’t make out what it was. She continued to walk around the stones. Suddenly, a black shrouded figure of a woman appeared in the light of the flickering torch. Her face was hidden by the loose hood of her gown that flowed around her. The woman did not move or speak. Lexi was compelled to continue walking around the stones, even though she tried with every fiber of her muscles to turn and run. The mysterious woman spoke to Lexi in a hissing voice. “My sisters are waiting.”

Lexi replied, “Waiting? Who are you? Where are your sisters?” The woman did not answer. Lexi asked, “What are they waiting for?” The woman silently pointed her cloaked arm out into the empty dark desert. Lexi heard several whispering voices that came from the shadows that lay just beyond the torch light that danced around her.

Lexi was startled by the realistic frightening dream and felt grateful for Marcie’s warm soft body embracing her from behind. Lexi held Marcie’s arms close to her chest and felt comforted enough to fall back to a peaceful sleep. This time she had no desire to push away the feelings that led to more enjoyable dreams.

The morning light had released the night’s magic spell on the room and from Lexi’s mind. She was already up getting dressed and ready for her trip. Marcie was laying on the bed with Allie in her arms. “Hey, I have to head out now. I’ll call when I get there and see how everything is going here.”

Allie jumped from Marcie’s embrace and walked over to Lexi. Her soft tail lovingly curled around Lexi’s leg and she bid her farewell. As their goodbyes echoed in her mind, Lexi headed off to take on this adventure that Kate had thrown into her lap. Her thoughts about travel details were pushed aside by renewed concerns for her sister. Waves of questions had begun to batter her mind about what was ahead. It didn’t help that she would be traveling alone. It was times like that when small worries seemed to mushroom into complex problems, building on each other until it was difficult to clearly find any answers, only more questions.

After she boarded her flight to D.C., she felt mentally exhausted and was overpowered by sleep. She dreamt that she was in her bed alone and the window was inexplicably left open. In the distance a dog was barking as if someone dared to trespass on its territory. The curtains were blowing and she got up to close the window. When she looked outside she saw the owl’s silhouette. This dream owl was much larger than life and there was a reddish glow from its eyes. She heard someone knocking at her front door, softly at first, but the sound became more insistent and then violently loud. It seemed as if someone was pounding on the door with both clenched fists with all of their might. The pounding ceased and Lexi sat on her bed in the dark.