Conjuring Darkness

by Melanie James

  “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.”

  Lexi felt like all of her blood had pulled back to her heart. She shivered as a coldness crept across her body. “An owl? Just an Owl?” She asked uneasily.

  Ryan shrugged. “Yeah, just an owl. Nothing scary.”

  Dark billowing clouds pushed away the bright afternoon. The sea had changed its mood from a cheerful blue, to a turbulent charcoal gray.

  “Well, so much for the spirit world. Unfortunately we’re still in the physical world and right now, this little part of the world is about to get a big thunderstorm!” By the second rumble of thunder the wind started to blow, and sheets of rain swept them from the beach. Lexi and Ryan bolted for the stairs that would take them to shelter. Buddy protested with a few barks at them, but eventually he bounded through the surf and up the stairs after them.

  There on the clothesline, Lexi’s clothes whipped in the wind like banners on a castle wall. The slapping sounds announced they were now more wet than when Lexi hung them out to dry. They grabbed the soaked clothing and ran inside.

  “Sorry Lexi, I guess we will have to hang them in here tonight.”

  Lexi noticed how Ryan was looking at her. Lexi thought his look seemed more intense and serious for some reason.

  “Here, you’re probably getting cold. There are some shirts you can pick from in my closet, or the bathrobe.”

  Lexi looked down and grabbed the bottom hem of the shirt. The soaked cloth was clinging tightly against her skin. It revealed the curves of her breasts, along with the rest of her body. Her hardened nipples noticeably pressed out against the soft material of the t-shirt. Instinctively she started to cover them with her hands and then fought off the urge.

  Go ahead take a look. I think you like what you see. She thought and then she wondered for a second if she may have actually said it out loud. She smiled at him and enjoyed the way he seemed to drink his fill of her. It made her feel confident and a little powerful.

  Lexi’s mouth watered at the sight before her. Ryan’s tanned and perfectly toned body was dripping wet from the downpour. She watched the drops of water as they trailed from his chest, and down the well-defined muscles below. What she wouldn’t give to run her tongue over every inch of his hardened body. She was surprised by the thoughts that passed through her mind. Marcie would be so proud!

  “Whew! I guess I am a little cold, thanks.” She took the towel he offered and headed to the bedroom to dry off. She needed to find something dry to put on, but her selections were extremely limited. At first she picked up the bathrobe and then paused.

  She felt empowered by the effect she had on him. I can give him something to look at, if he likes looking at me. She flipped through an assortment of shirts in his closet and found just what she was looking for. A white cotton button down shirt. She stood in front of the mirror and let the oversized shirt hang on her unbuttoned. She decided to fasten only two buttons in the middle so it could still reveal plenty of her ample breasts and if she wasn’t too careful, it might reveal a little more. She remembered what Marcie said to her and smiled at the thought. This could be fun, or it could be embarrassing.

  She walked quietly to the door and looked out to see where Ryan was. She paused to watch the unexpected show that was going on in the kitchen.

  Ryan stood naked facing away from her with his back side to her. She froze against the door frame. Holy cats! She thought as she watched, mesmerized by the sight in front of her. He had gone into the little alcove off the kitchen to where he was sure he had some dry shorts.

  He quickly stripped off his wet clothes and started drying himself with a towel. Lexi’s eyes were drawn down from his broad muscular shoulders to where his back narrowed meeting his trim waist. She let her eyes feast on his bare ass.

  She felt the heat building deep inside of her. A need stirred that she wasn’t
used to feeling. Slowly her hand slid between her thighs. She held in a moan as she felt the wetness that covered her center. The sight of Ryan’s naked body was far too much for her to handle.

  Ryan hurriedly dug through a laundry basket to find something to put on before Lexi came out. He gave up on the idea and wrapped a towel around his waist. He turned around and saw Lexi standing in the door. It was obvious to him that she was pretending to have just walked in.

  He could tell from the movement of her arm that swept away from her navel, she had almost certainly been touching herself during the accidental strip show.

  “Well? I expect a few dollar bills, plus my going rate for a show like that.”

  Lexi laughed and said, “Sorry sir, I only got to see the back side of the show and I only pay for the full version. I liked the END well enough, though.” Getting a laugh at her own silly pun.

  “Alright. Maybe we can arrange an encore performance someday. I’ll warn you though, I’m not cheap! In the meantime, let me whip us up something to eat. I had started something this morning and I know you’ll like it. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back. I want to get a quick shower and find something decent to put on. When I come back, I just have to finish up the main course.”

  He disappeared into the bedroom and Lexi wandered over to a large bookcase. She was curious to see what kind of books a man like Ryan would keep. She felt you could learn more about a person by knowing their reading habits than almost anything.

  The selection was largely history, geology, marine biology, and a surprising number of books on art and architecture. He owned a decent collection and thorough representation from classic fiction with selections from the likes of Hemmingway and Rudyard Kipling on one side, and a virtual anthology of early American literature on the other.

  It intrigued her that he was interested in a wide variety of subjects, and her observation of the bookshelf told her that Ryan was not the shallow playboy Marcie suggested. She knew he had to be much more thoughtful than that. Wow, an interesting brain to go with the hot sexy body. This guy is so damn perfect for me. I wish today would last forever. Buddy walked over next to her and repeatedly nudged her thigh with his large soft head, demanding a scratch behind his ear. Lexi gladly obliged him.