“Certainly,” laughed Dana, “how about the African restaurant with the animated owner? Maybe his gift of food will have a different taste now.”
Sarina and Riley looked at Dana with concern.
Dana broke out into a roar of laughter, which immediately eased the tension and all three began to bellow. “The gifts will come when they need to come and when you are ready for them and not before.”
They got up and walked out and around the corner. Dana was still chuckling. Riley accepted that Dana was not human but had to ask, “Do you actually need to eat?”
Dana laughed and said, “I want to eat. I like your food. It tickles my spirit inside and I enjoy the taste, the textures, but mostly how your food inspires me. No I don’t require your food to live, but I do not want to live without it either.”
The walk was nice and soothing for Sarina. She so loved to walk and was walking more in the past few days than she had in a month. They talked about how they enjoyed living in the city and why they lived where they did. Riley shared how his apartment was boring compared to Sarina’s and how he enjoyed spending so much time at her place. Sarina blushed slightly as she admitted to herself how much she enjoyed having Riley stay with her.
They turned the corner onto Irving Street and passed the Academy and Sarina let out an audible sigh.
“What is it?” Riley asked.
“Do you hear that flute music?” She asked.
“Yes, it’s lovely.”
“It’s a track from Joe’s CD from long ago.”
“Oh,” said Riley, “will you tell me more about him?” This was Riley’s way of testing whether Sarina was okay about Joe.
Sarina stopped and pondered Riley’s question and then decided to tell him about Joe. She realized that the letter Dana slipped under the door was exactly what she needed and at the right time (of course). She felt a great healing of a wound she had been carrying for some time, and she was so glad that Riley had given her the time and space to heal that wound. She looked deeply into Riley’s eyes.
They walked on. “We met when I lived in the Pacific Northwest. I loved his zest for life and his family was so magical. He was a gardener and loved his work and he also seemed to have a deep connection with his spiritual journey. I admired him from afar. I was married as was he. I wondered how I might be closer to him but it was not meant to be during those years. I moved away to North Carolina and completed my marriage and found comfort in my life as an art teacher, but I knew I wanted more. When I ended my marriage, I set the intention to find a man to be with who was all the things Joe was. Years later, he sent me a note saying that his marriage had ended and that although he was not looking for another relationship, my name had appeared on a social site while he was working on promoting his music and he instinctively reached out. Seven years had passed when he reconnected with me and I was overcome with anticipation that Joe might be the one. We started communicating over the phone and the Internet and developed a very kind and mutually romantic relationship …”
“Go on,” Riley prodded. Dana was walking silently beside them, listening and observing.
“Well ... I enticed him to come to North Carolina to meet a close friend, who loved his music, but that was just a secondary reason.”
“The same man who created that journal I showed you?” Riley asked.
“Why yes, in fact, that very man.” She saw Riley smile and then she continued. “Joe agreed to fly out and we saw each other in person for the first time in seven years. We both fell in love right away and after some visits back and forth, he moved to North Carolina to be with me. I do miss him and wonder, given the events of late, if I will ever see him again in some form.” Sarina had told Riley the Guatemala story and how Joe was now missing and presumed dead.
“What about his children, do they know?”
Sarina stared at Riley for a moment and said, “Yes, they know. We were all friends and I called them as soon as I found out about the situation.” Sarina grew silent.
This was a hard conversation for Sarina to have and Riley knew it. They rounded the corner and walked into Yumma’s and were immediately greeted by the flamboyant owner.
“So good to see you, come, come, sit, sit. What is your pleasure today?” The owner winked at Dana and Riley noticed.
“Dana,” he said quietly, “do you know him?”
“Oh yes, we go way back,” Dana said with a laugh. “Many lifetimes.”
Riley looked over at Sarina and made a motion with his hands as if to say she had just missed the most important comment ever made. Then he noticed she was crying. Riley knew what she was crying about and wanted to comfort her and just as he was about to speak, Dana touched his sleeve and gently shook his head.
The owner swiftly disappeared and as quickly returned with a drink and offered it to Sarina, who smiled and came to life. “I love this drink; I didn’t know it was available here.”
“What is it?” Riley asked.
“It’s a sacred drink from the out country of Botswana. A friend I knew in Washington State was from that region and shared it with me from time to time. I love how it calms me when I drink it. I can’t remember the name but I do love it.”
An order of food came to their table: Riley looked confused. “We didn’t order yet …”
“All taken care of,” said Dana. “As I said, I have known this man for a long time.” Dana and the owner winked at one another and smiled. “We have walked together many times and he always knows just the right food for every occasion.”
“I have to agree. Many times I have come here and he always recommends exactly what I need,” Riley said. “I’m not familiar with this food.” He smelled the food and took a bite as if testing it for poison.
Dana laughed and said, “Detective, it is not going to kill you. Eat and enjoy. I assure you your mind, body, and stomach will be grateful.”
“Dana,” Sarina asked, “Was our last visit to the spirit world meant to prepare us for what’s about to happen?”
“Yes, in a way. For what you and the detective are about to experience, there is no true preparation. You will face beings you may have never heard of before and they will take many forms. Always turn to your gifts for guidance; they will never let you down. Now eat, as we have much to discuss.”
Riley looked up as the owner passed by and noticed his compelling eyes and black aura …
Chapter - Sixteen
They finished eating and left the restaurant after Dana and Yumma shared some words. Riley and Sarina were standing close to each other when Riley looked back in the restaurant. He thought he noticed the woman he had seen in the Central American place around the corner. The woman was staring at them but she seemed different. Her face was darker and she was taller but it was her eyes that gave her away. Her aura was a black as night and Riley shuddered.
“What is it?” Sarina asked.
“That woman sitting over there,” Riley was pointing, “she was the same woman I showed you the other day, look”
“I don’t see anyone.”
When Riley turned to look, she was gone. “She was just there, in that chair, I swear.” Sarina quizzically looked at Riley.
Dana was walking out the door at a brisk pace and said, “Hurry! We must go, back to Sarina’s apartment.” They rushed down the street and around the corner and stopped. Dana put his fingers to his lips to keep them quiet. He muttered some words as he backed them down a side alley and the city noises faded.
Sarina and Riley watched in complete silence. A group of strangers dressed in dark flowing clothing walked past the alley where the three were hiding. One stopped and looked down the alley but quickly moved away to catch up with the others.
“Dana …” Sarina whispered.
Dana put his fingers to his lips once again while he looked directly into Sarina’s eyes. The voices retreated and the city noises returned.
“Quickly,” he said, “… follow me.” Dana led them down an alley, through a
back door into a building in the alley and out a front door onto another street. They moved swiftly and silently staying close to the buildings they passed. Dana opened another door and whisked them through. Dana was aware of potential dangers and was acting more like a secret service agent, protecting ambassadors of sorts, as he hurried them along.
“Dana, what was that?” Sarina was pointing in a direction that paralleled their movements across the street.
Dana shot a glance in the direction she pointed. “Quickly, this way!” He pulled them around a corner and looked back over his shoulder and saw the figure change direction, following their movements, now behind them. There was a putrid smell that made Sarina wince and said, “Do you smell that?” Riley smelled the odor and blurted out, “ANOTHER AGENT!” They rounded another corner and Dana quickly opened the first door they came to and the three ducked inside. Riley became hyper-aware of his surroundings and instinctively reached for his side arm and was remiss that Dana had insisted he leave any weapons behind.
“Your weapon would do you no good in this situation,” Dana said looking squarely into Riley’s eyes.
Riley felt self-conscious as he pulled his hand away from his side. “What are we up against?” asked Riley. “And, how did you know which door was unlocked?” Riley was in his detective mode and noticing everything was his gift. He realized that Dana was a being from a different reality and likely had some powers that were not of this Earthly realm.
Dana shot Riley an exasperated glance. There was little time for an explanation. “Shh,” Dana motioned with his finger to his lips, “I will explain later. Right now we need to keep moving!”
After a second or two, he motioned with his hand. “This way,” he said and the three darted out onto another street. For the moment, they had given the figure the slip. They rounded another corner and into the alley in front of Sarina’s apartment.
They dashed across the alley and up the stairs and into her apartment in one fast motion. Dana turned and faced the door and removed an object from inside his cloak pocket and mumbled something under his breath. It was a strange carving resembling a face but with arm-like appendages radiating from the center. He slapped the object onto the inside of the apartment’s entry door. Even though the door was made of solid wood, the object attached like a magnet to a refrigerator with an audible thud. It cast a slight orange glow from its center with a slight audible hum. “Okay, that takes care of that,” he said. The tension seemed to melt away instantly and Sarina felt an overwhelming sense of peace once again. Riley was alert and looked out the window, “What was that all about?”
“Sit down and let’s talk,” Dana said. They found their places on the cushions and Dana reminded them that the sacred circle was still intact.
“What just happened involves an ancient collective. The spirit world is similar to the human world in only this regard. Entities from each world align with the ancient gods of the universe to form these individual collectives for their respective worlds. Collectives are in place to monitor various aspects of the universe and how it is perceived by different species on all the different worlds in the universe. These entities that make up the collective are the spirits of many and varied former living beings from these various worlds. Some of these spirits are actually in living form on their respective worlds and sit in a special council within a given collective. The role of the council is to help as informers or scouts for the collective when monitoring the living beings on their particular worlds. Do you follow what I am saying?”
Sarina and Riley both nodded in reassurance.
Dana went on, “These collectives are in place to ensure order in the universe. When order is disrupted on any given physical world, a group of the council from the collective of that world is sent to their world to resolve whatever issue has caused the disruption. They walk among their people virtually unnoticed. Their sole job is to find the issue and resolve it. This is not to say that the beings of these worlds are under some form of rule or dictatorship. The only purpose for the council is to maintain balance within the universe, and if a disruption is left unchecked, the consequences can be dire.”
Riley asked, “Were those beings we saw back there part of one of the councils you mentioned?”
“They are part of a council, but not one that is interested in maintaining any form of balance on your world. Detective, did you get a chance to see their auras?”
“Funny about that, I looked directly at them and noticed they had no aura at all. What does that mean? And what do you mean on our world?”
“The beings you saw passing the alley are council members from other worlds, from other solar systems, maybe even from other galaxies. They are aligned with Cum-Hau and have been what you would call recruited from other worlds to help carry out his agenda. These council members have been enticed from the balance of light and dark into the unbalanced darkness where Cum-Hau exists.”
“Is this Cum-Hau the dark lord you spoke of before?”
“Indeed, he is. And he needs allies to carry out his grand plan. They can navigate the same as council members of this world. They project auras you are not able to see because they are from other worlds and auras we see here do not apply in those other worlds. Their auras can be seen by living beings from their world, but because you are of this world, you cannot. This will be important to remember when you are faced with a choice of allegiance to council members.”
“What is the grand plan you speak of, Dana?”
“This will become apparent soon enough. Give it some time. But back to the issues at hand. The woman in the restaurant, you recognized her did you not?”
“I knew I saw her,” he was turning to Sarina when he said that. “I told Sarina about her but when she looked, the woman was gone.”
“Did you notice her aura?”
“Yes, it was black.”
“Indeed. The council members who seek to keep balance in your world project black auras for safety. The woman you saw is part of the council of the collective for this world as evident because you saw her aura, even though it was black. Her job is to observe the surroundings where the issue is most likely present and to report her findings. Was her appearance the same as the first time you saw her?”
“As a matter of fact, she was different than before, but there was a similarity I noticed right away …”
“Her eyes?” Dana asked.
“Their color was so amazing and I was drawn in instantly. I might not be able to describe any other feature or even what she was wearing, but I can describe the color and intensity of her eyes without question.”
“This is the true identifying marker of council members in any collective for any world but remember this. Like the auras of the group who passed by the alley, the eyes of those council members will not be the same as council members of this world. You both, especially Detective Holden, have heightened your senses so much you can now see subtleties that most other humans are not able to. Detective, if you were close enough to the council members who passed us to see their eyes, you might have noticed they were black.”
“Are there others walking on Earth who have the same heightened senses we have?” asked Sarina.
“Absolutely and these humans are in power right now and know how to achieve their fullest potential. This is why they are political, religious, and corporate leaders. They understand and exploit these abilities, some for service to the world and others for service to themselves or others in more influential positions of power in the spirit world. Council members have one advantage and that is that they are living on Earth as humans. They help alter or more precisely, redirect other humans who have potential on Earth. Imagine you are walking down a street and you look to the other side of that street and see a person with compelling eyes. You are so intrigued you choose to change your direction and cross to the other side of the street. Just as you approach that person an out-of-control driver of a car crashes into the spot where you were standing only a second ag
o. You might have been killed by the accident but you were drawn by a council member, who is an actual person on the planet. The accident draws your attention for a moment and when you turn back to look for that person, she or he has disappeared into the crowd. You may not be aware of your role in humanity at that moment, but you discover it years later. Maybe you have become a teacher for others or a strong and just leader in a corporation or political arena.”
“So it is always about choice,” Sarina stated.
“Yes. You see, you still had a choice and you chose wisely. Certainly there are those who ignore this ‘nudge’ and they are destroyed and leave the human plane on Earth, but they will ultimately serve in the collective once in the spirit realm. Do you both follow this?”
“Yes,” they both said in unison.
“Why are we involved at this time, Dana?” Sarina asked.
“You and Detective Holden have been called in because you possess unique gifts. These gifts are unique in that you are direct descendants of the ancient ones, those who came to Earth eons ago, in the beginning, if you will. You have links in your DNA that few others on Earth possess.”
“You mean we’re brother and sister.” Riley seemed deflated, resigning to the possibility of being related to Sarina.
“No, Detective, not the way you might believe. You two are more like a King and Queen of a realm. In this case the spirit realm.”
Riley let out a sigh of relief and Sarina blushed ever so slightly.
“You both have knowledge locked within your DNA, as do many of your brothers and sisters. Others walking among the human race also possess this DNA mapping, but you two are the closest ties to the spirit realm and answered the calling quickly.
“Calling, what calling?” Riley asked.
“You were chosen and have responded to this calling as a result of your deeper connection to one another. Your roles will become apparent when the timing is right. Remember when I said that too much knowledge will distract you from your observations, so please let me continue.
The Song_A mysterious tale of the Mayan spirit world and the Mayan calendar Page 26
