Stealing Sacred Fire (24 page)

Mani’s voice was soporific; the
more Daniel listened, the more his eyes felt heavy. He needed sleep
so badly. From outside came the distant rhythms and wails of the
Yarasadi music; now it was plaintive and eerie, like an
invocation.

Mani set light to the crumbled
leaves and a thick, stinging smoke arose from the bowl. ‘Breathe
deep, Daniel,’ he said.

Daniel leaned over the bowl and
inhaled. His eyes began to water copiously as the thick, bitter
smoke filled his nose, searing up inside his head. Whatever Mani
burned within the bowl was extremely potent. After only a few
moments, Daniel felt so dizzy he had to lie down beside the pool.
Fighting nausea, he rested his head right on the edge of the rock,
so that his hair trailed in the water.

‘Be still,’ Mani murmured and
reached out to sprinkle a powdery substance over Daniel’s body.
‘The sleep that Khidir brings is a blessing. He will touch you with
dreams.’ He leaned forward and slowly stirred the glinting water
with one hand, so that a ring of ripples lapped towards Daniel’s
face.

Daniel could barely keep his
eyes open. All he could see of the pool was a shifting surface of
sparkling stars.

Mani’s voice seemed to come
from very far away. ‘Sleep, now. Sleep and dream.’

The voice died away, absorbed
by the music of the water. Daniel was alone. His eyes were barely
open now and, as he blinked, it seemed the light in the cave became
dimmer. The stars upon the water went out, one by one. In the dark,
he felt his body stir, independently of his mind. He could not move
his arms, which seemed paralysed by his side, and his legs were
pressed firmly together in muscular spasm. His body flopped and
wriggled like a landed fish. He edged gradually towards the pool,
until he slid into it without causing a single ripple and the water
closed over his head.

Daniel swam, undulating his
body. A fast current pulled him along. Water was sucked into his
lungs; he breathed it. A low, humming sound filled his head. He
swam for an eternity, yet it seemed like a single instant. There
was no light. Then, it seemed as if the darkness was dissipating
and a dim radiance appeared in the distance, ahead of him. Daniel
swam towards it. He could not feel his body; perhaps he was nothing
more than a spark of consciousness. The light loomed larger and
brighter in his sight and he no longer had to swim; the current
dragged him onwards. He spiralled in the water, turning over and
over, dragged towards the underwater sun. At its centre, a shadowed
core pulsed in time to his heart-beat; a solid shape within the
light. As he drew closer, he could see that it was an immense
serpent, resting with raised head upon its coils, surrounded by a
greenish aura of light. Daniel thought at first that it was a stone
idol, but then he saw the creature move, sway its gargantuan head
from side to side. It seemed unimaginably ancient, a prototype of
all the serpent gods. It radiated power, and Daniel could sense
that not all of it was benign. This was ancient wisdom, but it also
had the capacity for ultimate evil, or ultimate amorality. Daniel
resisted being drawn towards it, terrified his personality would be
eclipsed by it, swallowed whole. He tried to move his limbs, to
fight the strong current, but any movement on his part only seemed
to increase the speed of his forward flight. He was afraid he would
be dashed against the serpent’s immense body and destroyed.

The current carried him
relentlessly upwards now, towards the serpent’s head. Daniel was
filled with an instinctive fear so profound, it struck at the most
primitive core of his mind. He felt like the first human who had
ever beheld the ineffable countenance of a god. The eyes of the
serpent spat sparks of viridian radiance. As Daniel grew closer, it
uttered a roaring hiss and opened its mouth; a lightless maw so
vast it could have swallowed five men in one gulp.

Unable to scream or save
himself, Daniel was sucked into the serpent’s jaws.

He was aware of falling
downwards, incredibly fast, within what seemed to be a waterfall.
Scalding hot and freezing cold liquid splashed around him, but did
not arrest his flight. There was no light at all. He could have
been tumbling through the void of the universe. Daniel closed his
eyes, praying for the vision to end. It was too real, too
terrifying. He dreaded the moment of impact.

Then, without warning, he was
simply floating. For some moments, he lay perfectly still, eyes
closed, hardly daring to breathe. He could hear the lap of water
and sensed fresh air upon his face. When he opened his eyes, he
found that he was floating, belly down, in a cool, refreshing pool.
His vision seemed abnormal, as if he saw the world through eyes
that were not his own. His body too felt unfamiliar; constricted
yet fluid. He could not feel his arms and legs and could only move
by wriggling his shoulders and spine; an action that produced swift
movement and propelled him forwards across the surface of the
water. He realised he was a water snake, no longer human at
all.

Daniel swam to the nearest bank
and slithered up it onto a flat lawn of short grass. He raised his
upper body and surveyed the scene around him, tasting its scent
with his flickering tongue. A waterfall plashed down into the pool,
which lay at the base of a cliff, surrounded by a lush garden.
Large, exotic flowers of every hue exuded a heavy, sensual perfume.
Wide-leafed ferns collared the trunks of immense primordial trees,
whose bushy crowns rustled and swayed high above. The garden was
filled with a dazzling, unearthly light, but his serpent eyes were
not blinded by it.

One tree in particular drew
Daniel’s attention. It was hung with garlands of wild flowers and
coloured ribbons. Daniel felt compelled to approach it. As he did
so, a tall figure emerged from the foliage beside the tree. The
figure shone with a blazing white light and stood gazing down at
Daniel with eyes that emitted a piercing blue radiance. Daniel
recognised him at once. It was Shemyaza, his hair cascading down
over his breast. He wore a white robe that was slashed at the sides
to the waist, revealing braids of ribs and muscle and his feet were
adorned in sandals of intricately-worked golden leather. ‘Daniel,’
he said. ‘Come home. Return to the source.’

Daniel reared up before
Shemyaza, yearning for the touch of his hand. But as he gazed up
into his master’s face, Shemyaza began to change. Behind him, as if
somehow joined to his spine, an enormous tail of peacock feathers
fanned out to frame his body. His face elongated and his body
became thinner and taller. The tail feathers became a spectrum of
light around him. For a few moments, he resembled a radiant
feathered serpent, poised as if to strike, then he had transformed
into the Elder who had appeared to Daniel in his dream the night
before.

As before, the Elder did not
speak, but the muscles of his mobile face flickered with
expressions that conveyed communication. ‘It is time, my son, for
you to shed your skin.’

The Elder bent down and lifted
Daniel in his hands. Daniel hung there, letting his ophidian body
grow limp. He was not afraid now, but drowsy. His skin itched all
over and he yearned to be rid of it. He gave his entire being, with
trust, to the care of the Elder. The pain, when it came, seemed
like the ultimate betrayal.

With one sharp fingernail, the
Elder clawed into Daniel’s serpent hide. Daniel felt himself split.
His skin was not ready to shed at all. He was being torn apart.
Helplessly, he wriggled in the Elder’s grasp, his tail lashing the
air. He uttered agonised hisses, yearning to scream, to make some
human sound. This was the death that Mani had hinted at, and it was
terrible. The Elder was skinning him, pulling his bleeding carcass
from the black skin. It was pulled over his eyes and his sensitive
tongue tasted the scent of blood and raw flesh. He would die now,
flayed. The caress of the air was an agony against his exposed
flesh.

Daniel found that even a
serpent can weep tears.

Then he was falling.

He hit the grass with a thud
that knocked the air from his lungs. He realised at once that he
was once more in his own body. Rolling onto his back, he looked up
and saw the Elder standing over him, an empty snake-skin dangling
from his bloodied hands. Daniel ran his hands over his chest, and
realised with relief that he still possessed a skin. He tingled all
over, as if someone had rubbed him down with gravel. Already the
stink of blood was being erased by the perfume of flowers.

The Elder dropped the skin onto
the grass without even looking at it, and knelt on one knee beside
Daniel, his alien face hanging like a mask before Daniel’s eyes. He
slid one giant hand behind Daniel’s neck and raised him from the
grass. Daniel wanted to turn away from the inhuman countenance, but
was too weak to move. The Elder pulled him against his body and
kissed him on the mouth. He did not speak, but his expressive face
seemed to say, ‘You are whole, my son. Go forth from this place and
meet with your brethren.’

Daniel closed his eyes and
rested against the Elder’s chest, enfolded in his arms. He
remembered what it was like to be held. He had missed it so
badly.

Then someone was calling his
name, from a long way away. Daniel resisted this summons. He wanted
to drowse where he was, but the voice kept on calling, growing
louder and louder. It was intrusive; a harsh, human sound.

The light of the garden faded
until Daniel was enveloped in blackness. He could not hold on to
the vision. A hand was shaking him. ‘Daniel! Wake!’

He woke with a start, wholly
alert, and sat up abruptly, uttering a cry of shock. Mani squatted
beside him, his face full of concern and perhaps fear. Daniel
realised he was back in the shrine of Khidir. The vision was
over.

Seemingly satisfied that Daniel
had completed the spiritual journey unharmed, Mani nodded and
grinned at him. ‘I thought you would never wake. How do you feel
now?’ He held out what looked like a bowl of milk, although when
Daniel tasted it, he realised it was spiced with liquor and
cinnamon.

‘Fine,’ Daniel answered. ‘I
think.’ He smiled and handed the bowl back to Mani. ‘Whatever was
in that smoke has some kick to it!’

‘Not just the smoke, Daniel,’
Mani said, and looked around him, ‘but this place.’

Daniel started to get to his
feet and found he was lying on something that rustled beneath him.
It was only then that he realised he was naked. Some vision! He
wondered if Mani had taken away his clothes while he’d slept. ‘What
is this?’ Daniel asked, reaching down to touch the papery, slightly
oily, material around him.

‘Your skin,’ Mani replied.

Daniel uttered a horrified
sound and jumped away from the spot. He felt sick.

‘Isn’t that what happened to
you?’ Mani asked in an even voice. ‘You shed your skin?’

Daniel shook his head in
disbelief. ‘Yes, but… that was a vision.’

Mani folded his arms and fixed
Daniel with a steady eye. ‘Not just that. Look at yourself. Raise
your hands.’

Daniel did so and saw that his
skin was shining with a weird light, similar to the way in which
the Elder had seemed to shine. ‘What’s happened to me?’ He glanced
at Mani. ‘It was more than a vision, wasn’t it?’

Mani nodded. ‘You have begun a
change, a leap forward in your evolution. It will take a while to
complete, but it is begun.’

‘What change?’

‘You are Grigori once again,
Daniel, as you were in the beginning, so long ago.’

Daniel got to his feet and held
out his arms before him. The light glowed through his skin. ‘This
is impossible.’

‘Not at all,’ Mani said. ‘The
Elders have granted you this gift. You have a place in the destiny
of the world, and you need your Grigori form to fulfil it.’ He put
his hands on his knees. ‘At one time, a sacred flame burned in this
place, and its influence still prevails. You have walked through
its memory and it has changed you.’

‘This is incredible’ Daniel
said, to himself more than to Mani. ‘A vision can’t cause physical
effects.’ He turned his hands before him in the air. His skin
seemed almost translucent. He could see the delicate tracery of
veins pulsing beneath it.

‘You must not worry,’ Mani
said. ‘From my visions, I have learned that this effect will not
last. Go back to your people now. Your master awaits you. He has
waited a long time.’

Daniel stood up. ‘I can’t go
naked.’

Mani laughed. ‘True! Although
my adopted people have few taboos about such things. Still, I have
a robe for you. Take it.’ He presented Daniel with a bundle of
white cloth. ‘I will spare you the unpleasantness of sifting your
old clothes from the sloughing.’

Daniel pulled the robe over his
head. His skin felt wet as if he’d actually bathed in the pool. He
knew he would never know what Mani had done to him while he’d been
unconscious or whether he had been physically responsible for what
had happened to his body. Before he left the cave, he turned to
Mani. ‘Thank you for all you have done for me. I’d like to ask you
one thing.’

Mani spread his hands before
him. ‘Then ask.’

‘Where are the Chambers of
Light? How do we find the key?’

Mani laughed. ‘You think I can
tell you these things? I am flattered! I am sorry, Daniel, but that
knowledge cannot be gained so easily. Also, it is Gadreel’s place
to lead you all to the next stage of your journey. I have played my
part, small though it was.’

Daniel reached out and clasped
Mani’s hands. ‘It was not small to me. Again, thank you.’

Mani waved him away. ‘Go now,
go! The feast awaits below and the music calls for your feet!’

Daniel walked down from the
cave. He felt serene and tall, as if he could float above the
ground. In this way, his ancestors had come down to the world of
men and their bewitching women. He could almost feel a cloak of
vulture feathers hanging heavily from his shoulders; the wings of
an angel. He could smell the antique must of it, and felt the
ghosts of scratchy pinions against his flesh.