The Dragon Queens (The Mystique Trilogy) (21 page)

The moving fresco of celestial cloud above had faded to transparency, revealing the huge pyramid of deep blue suspended high above us. Great streams of electricity were being drawn from the pyramid, down over the Signet station and into the external pool of water. The giant body of liquid acted as a conductor, drawing the energy down into the huge crystal deposits at its bottom.

‘Are you powering up the Signet Grid?’ I asked, fascinated by the glowing water beneath the transparent floor.

‘The Signet Grid can only be fully activated once all twelve of the stations have been unlocked,’ Zalman explained. ‘At present, the power being
absorbed by the grid is helping to clear the huge build-up of negative frequency here in the cradle of civilisation, a place that has seen more conflict than any other point on the globe.’

‘So we are still in Persia?’ I asked, puzzled by the time and distance inconsistencies my party had experienced in the past few days.

‘In the etheric equivalent of that region of the world, yes.’ Zalman smiled. ‘And yes, I did toy with your perception of time and space in order to see you and yours to safety as swiftly as possible. When it comes to our would-be staff, we of Amenti can exploit our influence and station systems in order to bend reality just a little.’

‘And who is Denera?’ I wondered.

‘My partner,’ he said.

‘And a Dragon Queen?’ I prompted.

‘The first,’ he replied proudly.

‘Lilith,’ I said, then realised I could sense a romantic attachment between Zalman and the woman who had been so solicitous of our comfort.

‘You should find that your psychic senses are far more acute now,’ Zalman advised with a grin.

‘They certainly are,’ I confirmed. ‘I am beholden to you, and vow to be more vigilant of my inheritance in future.’ My apology was sincere but rushed, for despite all I had learned from Zalman, I had yet to question him about the whereabouts of my son.

He read my mind. ‘In the Valley of Hebron, beneath a labyrinth built by the Master Scribe himself, there is a complex of catacombs,’ he told me, although his tone implied that he felt the information would prove of little assistance in my
quest to find Levi. ‘Therein is a porthole to the primary grid station beneath Giza.’

‘Why does Levi need the aid of an ancient Sumerian scribe?’ I wondered.

Zalman seemed amused by my question. ‘Perhaps the reason he has co-joined with this entity is quite the opposite.’

‘The scribe needs Levi…why?’ I asked. ‘Is my son in danger?’

Zalman chuckled. ‘I hardly think so.’

‘But if you are unsure of my son’s relationship with the scribe, then how can you be so confident of his wellbeing?’

‘He is, who he is,’ Zalman said simply. The light shields in the floor and dome above began to close over. ‘Go home, Lady Suffolk, there is nothing more you can do for Levi.’

‘I cannot.’ Tears welled in my eyes. ‘I must hear my son’s resolve from his own mouth. I have to see for myself that he is all right.’

The closing of the chamber’s shield doors cast my host into shadow.

‘Wait!’ I appealed, but Zalman merely bowed and the chamber fell into darkness.

I am unsure of how long I lingered in the silence of that dark, otherworldly sanctuary, but I do know I had no desire to depart. If life was an express train ride, then this place felt like an unscheduled stop in the wilderness between city stations.

After some time of grace, a door opened in the chamber where there had been no door and sunlight flooded the room. I moved tentatively towards the opening, shielding my eyes as they adjusted to the light. I beheld a dirty backstreet in an ancient Near
Eastern town—which town I could not tell at a glance. It seemed to be very early in the morning as there was not a soul to be seen—perhaps there was a curfew in place here? As I looked down the row of small, humble dwellings, five front doors opened and out stepped Lord Devere, Miss Koriche, Mr Taylor, Raineath and Cingar, each of whom appeared as euphoric and bemused as I felt.

‘Well…’ My husband piped up to speak first, even though he appeared rather distanced from reality. ‘It seems we have had another shift in location.’

We all nodded, except for Taylor, who was staring at the one distinctive landmark that rose above the city—a mosque.

‘That is the Holy Imbrahimi Mosque!’ he informed us, dumbfounded that we had somehow left Persia and were now in the heart of the Holy Land.

‘We are in Hebron?’ Lord Devere clarified, whereupon it was my turn to gasp, for this was where Zalman had told me I might gain access to the porthole and tunnel system that would lead to the Amenti complex.

‘Unbelievable,’ Taylor murmured.

‘This is right where we need to be,’ I said, and hugged my husband excitedly. ‘Somewhere around here are a labyrinth and catacombs containing the holy remains of some very spiritually significant people.’ When Taylor smiled at me, amused, it clicked. ‘Imbrahimi Mosque…do you mean as in Abraham?’

Now Taylor was laughing; he nodded to confirm my guess. ‘It is said that in the Cave of Machpelah below the mosque lie the tombs of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, and their wives Sarah, Rebecca and Leah—figures revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.’

‘Machpelah?’ I repeated the word, wondering after its meaning.

Miss Koriche filled me in. ‘Double cave.’

I wondered if she had read my mind, or if my intonation had invited the explanation. ‘Referring to the labyrinth and the catacombs beneath?’ I guessed, and she nodded.

‘There is an ancient dispute regarding whether Machpelah is the true resting place, as there is no hard archaeological evidence as yet,’ she added.

Cingar raised his hand, confused. ‘And we are so interested in this mosque because…?’

‘Because the reputed complex of tunnels that is around here
somewhere
is a quick route to Levi’s destination, and if I don’t make contact with him before he enters Amenti, there will be no contacting him for a century,’ I explained.

‘What!’ My husband was shocked by the news. ‘How do you know this?’

‘I met with Zalman en route to here,’ I informed him, shocking everyone all over again.

‘How is that possible?’ Lord Devere didn’t know how to react to the news. ‘Why were you singled out?’

‘Zalman is on the Staff of Amenti,’ I enlightened him. ‘He needed to bring a couple of home truths to my attention.’

‘And he spoke to you about Levi?’

Our discussion was broken by Taylor, who herded us all into a small empty dwelling. ‘So sorry to interrupt,’ he said.

‘Is there a problem?’ I inquired, wondering why he felt the need to hide us.

‘If you plan on entering the mosque, yes, there is a
huge
problem.’ Taylor was beginning to sweat. ‘For starters, we should have permission from the Governor even to be in the city.’

‘But I need to get into the catacombs, so who—’

‘Impossible,’ Taylor decreed. ‘A thirteenthcentury decree by the Mameluke Sultan Baibars barred Jews and Christians from entering the structure. It would require a special
firman
from the Sultan for even the Prince of Wales to enter the mosque! And no one enters the catacombs, but no one!’

‘Hence the lack of archaeological evidence,’ Miss Koriche concluded.

‘I wonder if Levi gained access to Amenti from here?’ I mused, more to set my mind in motion rather than raise a response from my companions. ‘And if he did, how would he have gone about it?’

‘The entity he has co-joined with is very powerful,’ Miss Koriche said. ‘It undoubtedly has means beyond most human capability.’

Taylor appeared decidedly uncomfortable with the cosmic direction of the conversation and felt the need for a reality check. ‘I think the very first thing we should do is notify the authorities of our presence here.’

‘But then they’ll be watching us,’ Cingar said, ‘which means we won’t be able to break into their mosque.’ I knew Cingar would have no problem with such a deed as he had no faith in religion.

‘Why did Zalman release us inside the city walls?’ I pondered. ‘He must have known we would be in trouble for illegally entering the city. In fact, he advised me to go home, so why aid me to do exactly the opposite?’

Lord Devere stated the obvious. ‘Perhaps it is a test.’

‘Surely Zalman did not think we would stoop to breaking into a holy monument to achieve our goals?’ I said.

‘We wouldn’t?’ Cingar queried, and when I scowled, he added sternly, ‘Of course we wouldn’t.’

‘Perhaps we have another means at our disposal?’ Lord Devere pulled his notebook from his pocket and produced the instructions to achieving an out-of-body experience in order to reach Amenti. I would have kissed my lord were we not in the company of four individuals who were all having relationship issues.

It was clear to me that Mr Taylor had taken rather a shine to my would-be daughter-in-law: his light-body was constantly shifting in order to be near her. Miss Koriche, however, was still pining for my son and was ignoring Mr Taylor’s subtle advances. Raineath’s light-body was doing a similar energetic dance whenever Cingar came near her, but my old gypsy friend was completely oblivious to her feelings for him.

‘We really should let someone know we are here,’ Taylor said, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. ‘Anything could befall us, and no one would come.’

At that moment the door of the small dwelling opened and in walked my son.

‘Levi!’ Lord Devere, Miss Koriche and I exclaimed at once, all rushing to meet him.

‘How did you find us?’ Lord Devere asked, moving to embrace Levi.

Miss Koriche gently grabbed my husband’s arm to delay him, for she, like I, had noted the unearthly glow in the eyes of the new arrival.

‘This is only your son’s vessel, my Lord Suffolk,’ she explained.

Lord Devere backed up a few steps, looking horrified.

‘I arranged to have you brought here,’ our visitor informed us. It was Levi’s voice, although the tone lacked the vibrancy of my son’s personality. ‘As you will insist on pursuing me all the way to Amenti, your son thought it best I delay my own journey to assure you we are safe. In so doing, I must warn you against following any of the instructions to access Amenti that you retrieved from the tablet room at Ur.’

‘We were just about to try that very thing,’ I said, and wondered why Thoth would be warning me away from doctrine he himself wrote.

‘You cannot disengage your astral form from your physical body,’ he explained. ‘All such activity in mankind has been curtailed for over a century by an astral seal. This frequency shield acts as a net, designed to capture any fish who jump out of the primeval waters of ignorance. Once reeled in, that fish will be gutted and bled of all spiritual potential. The word that the text would have you recite to reach Amenti is in reality a sonic designed to draw the attention of the fishermen to you.’

‘Why on Earth would your writings contain such a word?’ Miss Koriche took a step back from the entity, a look of disgust on her face.

‘He is a turncoat,’ Taylor guessed, seeming rather pleased to have Miss Koriche’s love interest associated with a traitor.

‘You betrayed the human race into the hands of our enemies? But why?’ Miss Koriche looked bewildered; she was clearly realising her entire life
had been a lie. I also sensed that she realised she had made the right choice regarding the father of her child being human. ‘How many other halftruths have you left scattered around your many temples and shrines?’ she asked.

‘Only one text contains the whole truth,’ the demi-god explained, ‘and I was just on my way to destroy it when your son insisted I come and prevent his mother from exposing herself to undesirables.’ He sounded annoyed, but strangely his annoyance was not directed at me.

‘The book of Thoth?’ Miss Koriche was horrified. The reputed text had never actually been discovered; all knowledge of it came from legends. ‘You cannot destroy the only text that could shed light on all the half-truths of the ages!’

I agreed, although I could also see the sense in it. ‘The truth would benefit an enemy as well as an ally.’

‘My full cooperation with the destruction of my life’s major work is the only way I can prove where my loyalties truly lie,’ the demi-god clarified.

‘Or whether you just lie,’ Taylor jeered.

‘One side of my family were super-beings and time lords, of which there were few; the other side were, by comparison, a multitude of witless, clueless, weak individuals. Now who would you have allied yourself with?’ He sounded regretful.

I was intrigued. ‘Why the change of heart then?’

‘As irony would have it, my godlike relatives are damned, and my human family turn out to be the only beings in this holographic universe with the genetic potential to lead all on this planet to divine greatness.’ A deep frown formed on my son’s forehead; our questions were frustrating him.
‘However, be that as it may, if you do not wish to be genetic fodder within the hour, I suggest you hold your questions until we are a safe distance from this place.’

I was perplexed. ‘I have not done the meditation, so how would the enemy know of our whereabouts?’

‘In order to bring you here swiftly, Zalman led you in and out of the etheric world,’ the demi-god explained. ‘Such occurrences cause disruptions in the quanta of the time–space barrier between worlds, which are monitored by the Nefilim and the Dracon of the Old World order.’

‘And how do we know that you won’t lead us straight into the arms of the Old World order?’ Lord Devere challenged.

‘Albray.’ I clutched tight my ringstone in my palm to ask my knight a direct question.
Do you think this being is telling us the truth?

He is, in so far as you should distance yourself from the vicinity at once.

I turned my sights to the fair face of my son. ‘How do we distance ourselves from this place without risking being seen by the authorities and locked up?’ I asked.

‘You are not going to trust him?’ Miss Koriche was alarmed.

I refrained from answering, awaiting an answer to my query.

‘I can shield you, just as Zalman did in order to get you out of Baghdad,’ he replied, attempting to restrain his impatience. ‘Then I shall take you to a safe place where you can rest whilst I complete my quest.’