by T. J. Hunter
Chapter 4
There are few things in this world as good as a hot shower, but at the moment, I couldn’t think of anything even remotely close. Without hesitation, I undressed and soaked myself in a long hot liquid piece of heaven for what had to be at least 40 minutes. All the aches and pains washed away while my mind relaxed as best possible knowing what I discovered.
When I opened my shower curtain, I couldn’t see anything because there was so much steam – it looked like a foggy bog. I had to feel my way along the wall to turn on the ceiling fan and vent the steam out. The artifact was still safe in my backpack sitting next to the towel rack, albeit a little wet from all the moisture.
“Arms reach … keep the artifact at arms reach,” I muttered.
After completing all the nighttime procedures one does before going to sleep, I grabbed my backpack, placed it next to the bed, and pulled the sheets up to my chin. I was in a state of bliss and just closed my eyes when the phone rang. I looked at my watch showing it was 11:30 PM. Really, someone is calling me now at this hour. I considered whether or not I should answer, probably a wrong number, but I answered with obvious irritation in my voice.
“This better be good.”
“Um … excuse me Mr. Willington, sorry for disturbing you at this hour. There is a package at the front desk addressed to you marked urgent. I thought you would want to know.”
“Who is it from?”
“I don’t know sir. There is no return address or anything indicating who it is from. You will need to signed for it sir.”
“Alright, I’ll be right down.”
I got dressed and stuck the artifact under my coat in the small of my back, like someone might do when carrying a concealed pistol, then headed to the lobby. While in the elevator, I began thinking about the series of incredible events that occurred over these past couple of days.
What happened at the Gate of the gods? Are the scrolls a warning? How is the Galactic Alignment related?
There was no Armageddon or significant world event when the Mayan calendar ended on December 21, 2012. What does it all mean?
“Lots of questions and no answers,” I muttered, watching the elevator numbers count down to the lobby.
Gaining an understanding of what the etched symbols on the artifact meant dwarfed all my other concerns. Until that mystery was solved, nothing else would make any sense.
The front desk clerk recognized me from checking in earlier. “Mr. Willington, please accept my apology again for placing a call to your room so late.”
“No problem,” I said.
There was not much time before having to get up for my flight, so I wasn’t overly concerned about offending the clerk. My mouth may have said no problem, but my mind was saying: get on with it lady.
“Please sign here sir.”
I signed a form and the clerk handed me a small package. It was one of those mailer envelopes with an inside layer of bubble wrap. Everyone says they hate hearing bubble wrap being popped, but everyone still does it, so in keeping with tradition I popped a couple bubbles myself. The clerk looked up and smiled.
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” I said, smiling back at the clerk. “It’s been a long day.”
Inside the envelop was a small quarter sized stone attached to a silver necklace. For a second I thought the stone glowed and felt a slight static shock.
“What in the world is this?” I asked, again gaining the clerks attention.
“Is everything alright sir?”
“Are you sure that you didn’t see who left this for me?”
“I am sure sir, it just appeared on the counter top while I was keying information into my computer. One moment the counter was clear, the next your package was on it.”
“Okay, thank you.”
I held the necklace in my hand as I rode the elevator up to my room. It was intricately designed with a silver clasp on top of a deep blue stone and that six thin silver strips wrapped around it. Both the silver and stone looked high quality and there were strange markings on them.
Maybe it’s more than a trinket. Nah, someone must be playing a gag on me, perhaps Jackie my lab assistant … but she doesn’t even know I’m in Las Vegas.
After entering my room, I placed the artifact back in my backpack next to the nightstand and continued admiring the craftsmanship of the necklace. Whoever owned the necklace will be looking for it early tomorrow after realizing the package was addressed to me in error. Right now, finely crafted jewelry was not on the top of my list of things to be concerned about. I placed the necklace on the nightstand next to my watch and was ready to call it a night – again.
A do not disturb button on the phone caught my attention. I thought about pressing the button so no additional calls could come through, but that would also prevent my wakeup call, so I left it alone. After a good yawn, I decided everything could wait until tomorrow morning and resumed what I hoped would be a comfortable uninterrupted rest under warm bed sheets. I reached over the bedside again, feeling into my unzipped backpack to reassure myself the artifact was still there. Yup, all is good, and seconds later, knock, knock, knock. Someone was at the door.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said while thrashing my arms and legs, which tossed the sheet and blanket onto the floor. I got up and peeked through the tiny glass hole on the door and saw a man standing on the other side. It looked like the magician from the show.
“You got the wrong room buddy,” I said.
The man lifted his eyes up as though he could see me through the other side of the peep hole, which startled me and I instinctively stepped back.
“Sir, I need to speak with you about the amulet you picked up at the front desk.”
“Amulet … ah, the necklace. Yea, okay. Hold on and I’ll get it.”
I put my pants on and picked up the amulet thinking again that I saw it glow a little. I opened the door and there was no one there. Must be sleep depravation. I closed the door and double locked it. When I turned around, I saw the magician sitting in the chair facing the door.
“What the hell … how did you do that?” I asked, pointing to the door.
“My name is Kyiel. I am here to assist you in your journey of recognition,” he said.
“Recognition? Look pal, I don’t know what you’re selling, but I’m not buying. I also make it my policy to steer away from lunatics, especially those who break into my hotel room trying to sell me some motivation program, or whatever it is you’re selling.”
Granted, this guy has some talent on stage, not to mention accessing electronic door locks, but he must have a screw or two loose in his head. I turned and opened the room door.
“Now, get the heck out of my room,” I said and turned pointing to the hallway.
When I turned back around to where the guy was sitting, he was gone – again. I mean poof, no where to be seen gone. I must be dreaming. I slapped myself thinking it would wake me up if I was dreaming.
“Ouch … not a dream,” I muttered. “Maybe I’m hallucinating.”
My room was small with nowhere to hide, except maybe under the bed, which is the first place I checked. Nope, no one there … thank goodness, that would have been beyond freaky strange. I checked the window, which was not really necessary because my room was on the 13th floor with no fire escape, but wasn’t taking any chances. I scratched my head and thought a hallucination was the only rational explanation.
I heard the guy’s voice again and jumped tangling myself in the window blind pull cord. The guy was not in sight and I could not determine where his voice was coming from. It sounded like someone was speaking in a tunnel with an echo.
“Azul, you must keep the amulet with you at all times,” the voice said. “Wear it always. Only the amulet can protect you during recognition.”
“Where the hell are you?”
“They know you have returned Azul and will try to destroy you,” the voice warned.
“Who the heck is Azul? Oh, I get it.
This is one of those hidden videos pranks, right? Am I on television?”
There was no response. I stood still for a moment in silence thinking that jolt I got at the Gate of the gods did some neurological damage. First thing to do back in Boston is see a doctor. My heart was pounding and adrenalin raced through my system as though I drank a pot of coffee. I checked the room again, even under the bed, and found no one anywhere in the room.
What did this guy call himself? Kyle, Cal? No, it was Kyiel. I thought his name was Jules.
I was still holding the necklace in my hand and expected to see something weird happen, like more glowing, but it appeared completely normal. Not surprisingly, I felt the urge to get as far away from my hotel room as possible, so I grabbed my backpack and rode the elevator down to the lobby. I tried to convince myself along the way I imagined the whole thing, or maybe I was sleep walking.
“Right, just my imagination getting the better of me,” I muttered sarcastically. “Okay then, it must be a gag.”
I exited the elevator and walked over to the front desk where a man was now working.
“Can I help you sir?”
“I hope so. There was a stranger was in my room.”
The clerk frowned. “A man was in your room sir?”
“Yes. He called himself Kyiel, but it was that Jules guy from the magic act in your show earlier this evening. His stage name was Jules the Elementalist.”
The man raised his eyebrows. “A magic act?. I’m afraid you must be mistaken sir. We have not had any magic acts here at the Sierra for sometime now, at least a year or two.”
“No, I’m afraid you’re the one who is mistaken. I saw his act from the front row during intermission. He was introduced as Jules the Elementalist and did floating sheets with unicorns and stuff.”
Just then I realized how crazy I sounded. The clerk cleared his throat and blinked several times.
“You say this person was in your room and calls himself Kyiel?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. He was in my room a few minutes ago.”
“In room 1301? Uninvited?”
“Yes and yes,” I answered, irritated with the line of questioning.
The clerk looked at me like I was at a DUI stop with empty beer cans rolling around the backseat of my car.
“Please wait a moment sir while I check,” he said, then keyed something into his computer. “I’m sorry sir, we have no guests or anyone registered at the hotel named Kyiel or Jules. Perhaps you are mistaken.”
I gritted my teeth. “I am not mistaken and I am not crazy. A guy broke into my room. It was the same guy doing all that hocus pocus crap in your show tonight.”
The clerk frowned again. “Should I call for hotel security sir?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
The last thing I needed now was for more people thinking I was a crackpot. It would be better to let the clerk believe I had too much to drink.
“Do you have any other rooms available?”
“No sir, we are fully booked.”
I shook my head and went back to my room. If I wasn’t hallucinating and don’t have brain damage, that means I have a ghost or freaky magician stalking me.
I was a bit jittery and dropped the electronic card key trying to open my room door. Once inside, I again looked in the closet, bathroom, and of course under the bed. No spooky guy was found. I double locked the hotel door and peeked outside the peep hole to the hallway. No one was there.
Get a grip. There are no such things as ghosts. Maybe a freaky magician stalker, but not a ghost.
This time I kept a light on and held the artifact in my hand. I figured the solid artifact would knock Kyiel’s teeth out should he return. Using an artifact as a weapon was, of course, a last resort. I’d hate to break something this old, especially if swinging at hallucinations and hit a wall.
My eyes remained wide open for about an hour, but I finally did fall asleep and began dreaming. At first my dream was disjointed as usual. You know, one moment walking down a street, the next sitting on a mountain top watching eagles fly by. It wasn’t long before my dream got strange when everything went black. I could hear myself breathing, but saw nothing.
A light began to emerge with clouds passing all around me. It became brighter, like mid-day, and I realized I was flying through clouds at an increasing speed. All I could see were clouds, then I heard a loud crack of what sounded like thunder followed by blinding light. I found myself standing in … well … nowhere. There were no doors, windows, clouds, or anything that looked real, just white all around me. I could move around, and I saw my hands and feet, but there was no place to move to. Everything was the same white nothing.
I heard something from behind, and when I turned around, there was Kyiel wearing the same emotionless expression and dressed in a white suit.
“You again. First you break into my room and now you’re in my dreams. How about cutting me a little slack here pal and let me go back to flying in clouds and sitting on mountain tops.”
“Azul, I am binded to you and am your guide. I will assist you during recognition.”
“Really? You’re my guide? Let’s start with telling me why you call me Azul.”
“That is your name.”
“Okay, I'll play along. I’m all ears pal. Fill me in on why you think you need to guide me anywhere, and then get the heck out of my dream.”
Kyiel told me his body perished after a battle on a planet called Zeshtune and that his conscious mind has since been compelled to assist me until the end of days. As he spoke, the whiteness around us began to take form and dark clouds with lightening filled the sky above with mountain ranges below.
We drifted to a large plateau where two men were finishing their ascent up a mountain path. One of the men was Kyiel, who looked very much the same as he did now, except for being dressed in a white robe draped with a blue sash. The other man appeared much older with long white hair waving in the wind. He wore the same garment and held a staff in his right hand.
As we got close enough to see details, I noticed both men had blue eyes that glowed with an unnatural brilliance. Kyiel was a few steps behind the older man when he stopped and called out to him.
“Azul … I can go no further. I am sorry, but I can not join you in this battle.”
The other man turned to face Kyiel. “You must not do this Kyiel. You will suffer tremendous consequences if you fail to join in battle. You know this and must not make the wrong choice when our people need us most.”
“It is a choice already made Azul. You have sensed this and know it to be true.”
At that moment a dragon carrying a rider dressed in black and red robes swooped down from the sky toward Azul. The rider lifted a large sword over his head poised to strike, and as the sword swung down, Azul turned and blocked the blow with his staff. An ear piercing crack of thunder sounded and sparks flew into the air when the staff and sword met, knocking Azul off his feet. He pointed his staff at the dragon and shouted, “Aknor stellara.”
Lightening fell from the sky onto the top of Azul’s staff and he shouted, “Aktum,” which redirected the lightening toward the rider and encompassed him and the dragon in bright blue-white light. The dragon roared in pain, drowning out any sound its rider made, and both exploded in a flash creating smoke trails that fell to the ground.
Azul turned back to Kyiel, but he was gone. He shouted out Kyiel’s name while moving closer to the cliff’s edge where they had ascended. There was no response nor any sign of Kyiel as wind whipped furiously in the air and thunder and lightening grew louder in the sky. Azul called out again to Kyiel, but there was still no response nor was his companion anywhere to be seen.
Azul frowned, then he turned to face the battle waging at the center of the plateau. His face stiffened and he charged into hordes of monsters of all sorts. As he ran, Azul rotated his staff in circles above his head while shouting words to difficult to distinguish over the battle cries and roari
ng wind. Bright blue-white lights flowed out of his staff and cut through the monsters, turning them to flames and ashes. The images then faded and I was back in the white place feeling a little motion sickness.
“You were right about the consequences of my decision,” Kyiel said.
“I was? Are you saying the old guy shooting those bolts of lightening out from his staff was me?”
“That is correct Azul.”
Kyiel explained how he no longer had any concept of free will and was compelled to serve me because of his decision on the Zeshtune battle field.
“I stood with others who watched the battle, choosing neither side, and have remained a construct without physical form even since. I have served you Azul during many recognitions over millenniums and will continue to do so until the end of days.”
“Let me get this straight. You have served me for millenniums, like in one-thousand year millenniums, and you say this recognition thing has happened before?”
“That is correct. The battle on Zeshtune occurred long ago. This in one of thousands of recognitions you have completed in years past. Your last recognition occurred 25,000 years ago.”
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. “So you’re saying we are thousands of years old?”
“We are among many who have existed over eons of time.”
“Really pal? I’m only 32 years old, so if I’m so old, where have I been all this time?”
“You last lived on this planet for nearly 600 years during your last construct.”
“Construct … what is that?”
“It is the coalescence of universal elements that give you physical form. In between recognitions, you possess no physical form and your conscious mind sleeps in your amulet. The form you have now was constructed 20 years ago. You began aging at 12 years in age, which is why you have no memories of your existence prior to that age.”
I grinned. “Well then, since we have some sort of magical power, perhaps you wouldn’t mind conjuring up a burger and fries? After all, this is some kind of crazy dream, so why not get us some fast food so I can enjoy the ride?”
Apparently, my dream pal Kyiel was not familiar with sarcasm because he didn’t even smile. Kyiel then told me that the process of recognition would take time due to the limited capacity of human like brains, even it was a construct. He also told me I would not be able to master the full knowledge that I once had in my original form.
“You will become more aware of who you are and what your purpose is with each passing day,” he said. “In time, you will reacquire more of your ability to protect yourself, mankind, and Zeshtunians on this plain of existence. The amulet that you carry was made by you on Zeshtune and carries great power. You must keep it with you always to protect you through recognition and thereafter.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying that there are others like us?
“There are many, but none possess your ability and knowledge. While you are powerful Azul, always remember that your physical form can still be destroyed. Should this happen, the inhabitants of this world will fall to the Darkzon.”
Things went black and I was then surfing in Hawaii. One minute I’m fighting dragons, the next I’m shooting the waves off Maui – go figure. Maybe next time I might fight sea serpents while surfing and drinking a margarita. I was beginning to enjoy this crazy dream, until the phone rang.
“Good morning sir. It is 5:00 AM. As instructed, we will have hotel transportation waiting to take you to the airport in one hour.”
I thanked the clerk for the wakeup call and stared at the ceiling thinking about my crazy dream. Normally, I don’t recall many details of my dreams. The dream I had last night was fresh in my mind. In fact, I could recall every detail and it seemed very real.
