Conjuring Darkness (9 page)

“Okay, but it sure seems like everywhere we are talking about going involves violence.”

“Lexi, I think everyplace is potentially violent. When you think about it there is very little stopping anyone from an act of violence, other than that they decide not to. I mean anyone. Not much of a guarantee for me. One more reason to be cautious about people.”

“Yes, I guess you’re right. Oh and I really need to call my friend Marcie and see how things are going back home. Don’t worry, I won’t discuss any of this stuff with her.”

“Oh sure. You can use your cell, but I have to run it through my satellite link in order for it to work here.”

He picked up her phone and hooked it up to a cable coming from a computer on the workstation. “I’ll let you make your call. I’ll be out here getting Buddy’s food.”

Lexi watched him as he went to an overhead cabinet to get something for the dog. He was facing her with his arms reaching up. She couldn’t stop staring at him, standing there in front of her in nothing but a pair of shorts.

Every muscle seemed to be so well defined she thought he had once been a Greek statue that had come to life. She took her phone and quickly snapped a picture without him noticing. She waited until he finished and headed out onto the deck. She sent the image off to Marcie’s cell phone and then she dialed the number to her store.

“Hello, Lexi’s Books, this is Marcie.”

“Marcie, it’s me Lexi!”

“Hey! How’s it going? Where are you?”

“Everything is fine! Listen I have no idea how long I can keep this connection. I’m with the guy. Kidd. At his place. Quick tell me, how is Allie doing? Anything going on there?”

“Allie’s fine, Lexi. She’s right here with me. The store is fine. The house is fine. Have you heard from Kate? Tell me about mystery man too!”

“Oh good. Kate is okay. We’ll be leaving in a day or so to see her. No problems. Look at your cell phone and check out the picture I sent you.”

“Wow Lexi! Let you off the farm and look what you go find. Now that is a grade-A piece of steak. I would be gnawing on that all day and all night!” She laughed.

“Tell me he isn’t one of the constipated looking super-serious detective kinds of guys? Or that he walks around with one of those stupid little ear microphones talking into their cuff.”

Lexi was cupping the phone with her hand and trying to talk quietly.

“No. He’s not like that, he’s really nice. He’s been so awesome about everything since I got here. Marcie, he is so fricking hot. I can hardly take it. It’s been really hard to focus on anything with him around all the time.”

“So you finally found someone up to your standards? Good, now get your feet in the stirrups and ride the hell out of that horse, girl!”

“Marcie! You are awful. Guess what we did?”

“Yes! Yes! Tell me and give me the details and when I say details, I mean I want to know right down to the curve of his cock. It’ll give me something to think about tonight!”

“Um okay Well we-.”

“You’re killing me, Lexi! Out with it. I command you to confess your trashy sins!”

“We
connected
and I actually flirted with him! Not on purpose at first, but I was getting tongue tied and well we were teasing each other. It was so hot, Marcie! I am pretty sure he likes me, because he was teasing me back. You wouldn’t believe how we’ve been able to talk about things and share our deepest feelings. It has been just amazing!”

“Um. If you could see my face right now, Lex. Let’s just say I’ve completely failed as your best friend. You’re twenty-five and you’re so beautiful. You’re in the prime of your sexy hot life and you’re excited about talking to a guy.” Marcie shook her head in disbelief.

“If I would have done my job right you would have been riding him like a cheap carnival ride! We have two completely different definitions of
connecting
for sure. Listen to me Lexi, when you find yourself with a guy like that and in a situation like that, it’s like a rare planetary alignment. It happens once in a lifetime, if it ever happens at all. You need to just enjoy yourself. Now I hate to burst your bubble, but those kinds of guys have only one purpose and if you are expecting love, forget it. Those guys are like bees going from one pretty flower to the next and taking what they want. I say so what let him have a taste and enjoy yourself. Just keep your expectations down to earth. You want to flirt and get him to notice that you want some? Let me tell you how to do it. What are you wearing?”

“Just one of his old t-shirts, nothing else at all. My suitcase got lost and I had to wash everything I was wearing. I’ve had to be really careful not to let my shirt creep too high up, let me tell you.”

“You’re fucking kidding me, right? God, girl you are
killing
me. You may have passed up the best opportunity you may ever get. Now, this is what you need to do. Make sure he is looking your way and show off your legs. Keep him looking and eventually, you just nonchalantly move that shirt up a bit, adjust those sexy legs and let him get a peek of that sweet little flower of yours.”

Marcie started to laugh so hard she made snorting noises. “Hitch that puppy up an inch and just watch his reaction. He’ll be all over you. Just tease him along and when he can’t stand it, you’ll be able to tell. Trust me.”

“Marcie! You’re evil! And nasty! I can’t believe you said that. Wait, yes I can. But No! No way. You are just messing with me I bet. Anyway, I better get going. Take care of Allie for me. Give her a kiss. I’ll call again soon and let you know how it’s going.”

“Oh Lexi, please be careful and I’m serious about letting yourself relax some. You never take any time to just get away and enjoy life. Think of this as an opportunity to do just that.”

Lexi finished her call and had just hung up when Ryan walked in.

“Hey, the washer is done. I’m afraid the only dryer is the clothesline here. I would have hung them up for you, but well, I figured you would rather take care of that yourself.”

Lexi went to take care of her clothes and Ryan went back to the workstation, checking for any updates from his contacts.

”Well, no news yet. Why don’t we head down to the beach with Buddy for a while and when we get back I’ll make you a real meal. I’m a pretty good cook, if I do say so myself. By then your clothes should be dry and maybe we’ll have some news so we can prepare for our trip.”

Chapter Six

Lexi and Ryan walked down the stairs and were greeted by a single loud bark from Buddy. They spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach and continued to learn more about each other. For Lexi and Ryan, this day had become unforgettable.

They sat on a pair of comfortable beach chairs that Ryan brought along. The warm salty water splashed over their feet as their conversation had gone beyond the phase of small talk and back to the mystery that brought them together.

“Have you heard much about this site, Gobekli Tepe, Lexi?” Ryan asked.

“Well it is pretty unique. It has only recently been excavated and studied. It dates from between nine and ten thousand BCE, which is thousands of years older than the previously known oldest Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer. It was thought at that time that the people were strictly hunters or gatherers and only a settled agrarian society would build those types of structures. It actually rewrites the known history of civilization.”

Ryan processed Lexi’s information and restated it out loud to put it together.

“That makes sense. Hunters would have to be completely nomadic and not look at the land as something they could shape like a farming society would. What kind of place was it? A palace or something?”

“Well from what I read nobody is certain. They didn’t leave any written texts or anything, but the experts seem to think it was a religious center. One of the amazing features are the megaliths, they are giant stone T shaped rocks. You know, something on the order of Stonehenge. They are so huge and nobody can figure out how people at that time would have known how to move them. Not only are they huge, they are expertly carved with images of fierce animals. Again, much more advanced type of stone work than anybody knew could exist from that time period. Of course, because of all the unknowns, you have tons of theories running rampant on the internet about aliens and UFOs, but really it is just a piece of human history that we haven’t learned about yet.”

“So, do you think that coin has something to do with it?” He wondered aloud. “I looked at it briefly and those markings are not Hebrew. I would have to say that it didn’t come from Israel. I don’t even think it’s a coin. A star on one side with some sort of writing. The image on the other side is actually a bit creepy looking. Don’t you think so? What was that thing? Half bird and half woman?”

“Yeah, it is creepy.” Lexi quickly agreed. “I’m pretty sure that is supposed to be a woman with owl features. I know that there were mythical beings represented with the owl in many cultures. From the design and what I saw in some reference books, it’s likely that it came from the region of ancient Mesopotamia. I’m guessing since I don’t know much about the mythology of that region, other than remembering seeing pictures of all sorts of other winged creatures when I was skimming through those books. Kate would be the expert in that subject.”

“I’ve spent plenty of time in that region. I know that in the area where Gobekli Tepe is there are different religions than what you typically find throughout the Middle East. Of course, the Kurds have a separate sect also and there is a very small minority group that follows some other ancient religion. The majority of the people there refer to them as devil worshippers and treat them pretty bad, but I was told that they acknowledge the existence of many kinds of supernatural beings, that are both good and bad. They don’t worship either kind of angel or demon, they just believe they are present in the world. You know, I think that is similar to some of the beliefs you might find in Hinduism or certain kinds of Buddhism. They all believe that in this world, there is always a balance between natural forces that can be good or bad. I suppose it makes it easier to accept why bad things happen.”

“I guess that makes sense. Think of the tragedies we have seen Ryan...and lived with. It might make it easier to
understand
why bad things happen along with the good, but it sure as hell wouldn’t make me
accept
it any easier. There’s a difference.”

“You are right about that. Another thing, I was thinking about the coin you have. I’ll be honest Lexi, something about that coin makes me uneasy, but I don’t know why. That is unusual for me.”

“I know what you mean, I usually don’t get spooked by stuff like that. I study literature. I understand that scary stories about strange creatures are simply a mechanism to explain the unknown, or perhaps to bring up a subject that is contrary to the morals of the society at the time.”

“So you think that maybe the reason we have all these stories, myths about demons, witches, or vampires—you think they were really just created to teach about what was socially acceptable? To show what is taboo?”

“Yeah, sometimes. If we look at vampires for example, they are often used as characters in books and movies to symbolize the taboo and dark erotic subjects. I don’t believe creatures like that actually exist. Sure it’s great for fiction and all, but when it comes down to reality, I just can’t get my head around the biology of how it could even work! I suppose I’m a bit of a buzzkill for some of my best customers. That being said, I know there are things we can’t explain. I know there are spirits of some kind. You want to know why?”

Lexi wanted to collect her thoughts before she continued. She didn’t want to sound like an idiot or a freak, but she wanted him to know exactly how she felt on the subject and why she felt the way she did.

She twisted a lock of her hair around her finger as she continued. “There have been a number of times in my life that I have felt the presence of my parents. Especially my mother. I know it was real and if their spirits or souls can reach out to me, to comfort me, to guide me. Well, then I believe there is the possibility of almost anything out there in the spiritual world. I have no idea what kinds of things could exist in that supernatural level. That is something humans have been trying to get a grasp on since day one.”

Ryan rubbed the stubble on his chin and thought about what Lexi said. “I’d have to say I’m a skeptic on
most
of that stuff myself. I used to say it was all just make-believe. Somehow people convinced themselves they saw or felt something that wasn’t there. I’m one of those guys that has to see it to believe it.”

“And you’re not even from Missouri!”

“I guess I’m naturally a skeptic. I hate the thought of getting tricked by some con man. Then something happened to me. I’m still skeptical about stuff, but now I am willing to admit there is some sort of spirit world that you mentioned. Remember I said I spent some time in Western Africa? Well, voodoo is the big belief system there. I always said that stuff is a scam and those Voodoo doctors are con men. Well, one day I was walking through an open air market in a city named Lome. I figured I must have stumbled into the supply source for the carnival side shows. The market was filled with weird stuff like animal skulls, bones, bird wings, all sorts of plants. Hell, I couldn’t even tell what most of that stuff was. I asked someone what that place was and they said it was the fetish market.”

“Whoa, big boy! Getting your freak on?” Lexi joked.

“No, no! Not that kind of fetish. In Voodoo, a fetish is a magic charm. A voodoo doctor tells his patients exactly what items they need, so he can make them a fetish or work a spell, depending on what problem they have. Most times it requires picking up certain items sold at the market.”

“Huh. Interesting. So it’s like a voodoo pharmacy?”

“Exactly. A few days later, I was talking to a few of my local counterparts there. I was surprised to find out that they all believed in voodoo. I gave them a hard time, you know, telling them the voodoo doctors had a great racket and they probably own the stuff in the markets too. One of the guys pulled me aside and warned me not to say anything like that out loud. Apparently, he was afraid that any one of the many voodoo doctors would hear me and curse me. I just laughed it off. He admitted to me that while ninety percent of that stuff was just a show, there were real sorcerers out there that had powerful magic. I was curious and I wanted to know, so I started dropping hints about him taking me to meet one of them. A few weeks of bringing up the suggestion and he finally agreed. I really wanted to show my friend that it was just trickery.”

“Did you ever get to go see him?” She asked, as she glanced back at him. There was something relaxing about the sound of his voice. She loved the way he told his stories.

“Yes. Eventually he gave in and took me way out to a small village. It was a typical West Africa village. You know, thatched roofs, mud walls, red dirt streets, or paths I guess. We were way out in the sticks too. It was a really lush tropical place like you would imagine. Hotter than hell and humid too. We went to this one house and there was an old man. He looked like he was way up there in age. Eighties, maybe nineties! There was a woman that was with him and she was probably about fifty. The old man wore a cloth wrap around his waist. I expected him to look like a stereotypical witch doctor, with a big feathery head dress or something, but he was just this little frail old man. I was kind of disappointed actually. I asked my friend if this was the guy’s day off or something. Needless to say, they were pretty upset that I seemed so disrespectful to the powerful sorcerer.”

“Okay, seriously that was just rude! Even if he wasn’t a real witch doctor. Did they chase you out of there?” She chastised.

“I know. I was young and cocky then and no they didn’t.” Ryan leaned closer to Lexi and spoke in an almost hushed voice. “Now, I want to tell you something I have never told anyone before, ever. Something happened...”

“It’s okay go ahead you can tell me. I promise I’ll keep your secret. The suspense is killing me now.”

“The old man, he asked me if I had seen my parents. I got a little upset of course. I knew he was trying to pull one over on me. Nobody there knew my parents had been dead since I was a kid. Then he said they had a message for me. He took me into a room in the back that was completely void of any furniture. The walls were made of large upright logs with dried mud packed in between. On the walls I could see all sorts of stuff like I saw in the market. Except some of the stuff was fresh.”

“What do you mean by fresh?”

“As in the freshly slaughtered goat’s heads. Some older stuff too. Bones, body parts from animals. The skull of a water buffalo. It smelled awful in there, like blood and incense. I didn’t say a thing this time. It was lit up by only a few candles so that made it seem pretty creepy. Especially the way the shadows danced around from the flickering candles. He asked me to sit across from him on the dirt floor. He scratched out a big circle on the floor between us. The woman placed a lit candle in the circle and smoldering leaves in a metal bowl. She went around the room and blew all of the other candles out and left the room. We sat there in the dim light and I could hear someone slowly beating on a drum that had a deep bass sound. All of a sudden, I saw what I thought was a shadowy figure making a fleeting movement along the walls. Then another one. I heard my mother’s voice and then my father’s voice. They sounded like they were in a hurry, as if they were on a phone that only had a minute to talk before being disconnected. I was absolutely shocked. They told me to go to the place where our old house had been in Bay Saint Louis, and go to the big live oak in the backyard. They told me to look in the tree and I would find something up where the branches split. Suddenly, they were gone.”

“Holy cats! Really? So did you ever go back there and look?”

“Yes, I did. About five years later I finally got the chance to make it back to Mississippi. It took me a while to even find the old property. I had to look it up at the courthouse, because some of that area had been rebuilt and I couldn’t find my way around. When I finally found the old property it was just an empty lot except for the big old oak. I climbed up about eight feet or so and looked in where the branches spread apart. The crevice was mostly covered by old leaves and moss. I was really curious. I cleared out the debris and there wedged in the crevice, I found a small tin box. Just a little smaller than a cigar box. I remembered that box. It used to be up on a shelf in my parent’s bedroom closet. They used to keep important papers in there, like copies of our birth certificates, and some old family pictures. She also kept little things in there, like from when she was in school and when she got married. Just little keepsakes.”

“Wow! How did it get up in that tree? What was in it?”

“I guess it got thrown up there by the hurricane and was stuck there ever since. It may not have been full of gold, but to me it was like finding a treasure chest. Until that point, I had no pictures of my parents. I had nothing left from that time of my life, except for my memories. And as time went by, I felt like they were fading away. It was like a giant wave crashing over me. I never expected to feel that emotional over something so small. Now I have those keepsakes. I have the box up in the house.”

“Wow Ryan. That is really great that you found it. That is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about with spirits. Before you left the witch doctor, did you get a chance to communicate with your parents, or did they say anything else?”

“No, like I said they were suddenly gone. Oh yeah, I just remembered. After my parents left, the old man started jumping around yelling really loud up at the ceiling. The woman came in and was yelling something also. I got up and started to leave. When I looked up, all I saw was a stupid owl that had landed up at the opening in the roof. They probably were worried it was going to get their chickens or something. Anyway, I threw some money on a little table in the front room before I left.”