Stealing Sacred Fire (23 page)

As dusk fell, and fires were
lit around the tents to roast spitted sheep, Daniel walked once
more to the path that led to the cliff dwellings. At the edge of
the valley, he turned and gazed back down over the settlement. It
seemed to him that he’d slipped back in time, that at any moment
tall, robed shapes, wearing cloaks of feathers would melt out of
the trees, and the people would fall down before them in adoration.
Duhuls beat a tattoo upon the night and above, the stars were
piercingly bright. It was like the eve of a great battle; a certain
repressed hysteria in the air. Gadreel is coming, he thought, but
perhaps it was more than that.

On impulse, Daniel began to
ascend the narrow path that led towards the caves. Something was
drawing him there. Small stones crunched beneath his feet, rolling
down into the valley. He noticed that one of the caves was
illuminated by a red, flickering glow. As he drew closer to the
entrance, he saw a straight-backed, seated figure silhouetted
against the light within. Daniel had thought all the Yarasadi were
present at the feast below. Even in the dim radiance, Daniel sensed
this person was watching him intently, calling out to him with a
firm inner voice.

The sounds and sights of the
night seemed more alive, as if his senses had become more acute. It
reminded him of the time in High Crag, when Shem had bestowed
longevity upon him. At first, he’d been unable to bear the
intensity of his senses. Even inanimate objects had seemed
threatening. Now, Daniel did not feel threatened by his heightened
perception, but intoxicated.

By the time he’d reached the
small fire at the cave mouth, Daniel was panting, but not because
of the climb. He could now see that the seated figure was male, but
before he arrived at the rocky entrance, the man stood up and
retreated swiftly into the cave. Daniel was compelled to follow.
Music and laughter in the valley called him back, but the summons
was weak.

The interior of the cave was
lit by the warm glow of several oil lamps that rested on the floor
and in niches in the rock. The walls were covered in strange
designs that looked very old: pictures of figures seated in a
cross-legged position, wearing tall, conical hats. There was no
sign of the man who had been seated outside, and but for the
sputtering of oil, no sound. Daniel called, Hello!’, and it seemed
as if his voice conjured the chuckle of trickling water that
appeared to originate from the back of the cave. Daniel noticed a
narrow opening in the stone there, partly hidden by a hanging rug.
Cautiously, he went towards it.

A mature male voice called from
the chamber beyond. ‘Well, are you going to come through, or do I
have to wait all night?’

Daniel hesitated for a moment,
then squeezed through the crack in the wall and emerged into
another chamber, smaller than the one he’d left behind. It was
almost empty but for a pool of water that flowed out of a narrow
fissure in the rock. The pool was about six feet wide, its surface
glittering with the starfire reflections from an old brass oil lamp
that hung on the wall. A couple of thread-bare, gold-embroidered
cushions were scattered along the nearside of the pool, suggesting
people came here to contemplate, or else scry, by the waters. The
air was damp and fresh against the skin.

A man stood before Daniel,
hands on hips, smiling in welcome. ‘Ah, here you are at last!’ He
appeared older than the other Yarasadi Daniel had met and was
dressed in a white robe cinched with a crimson sash. His hair was
short, his feet bare. ‘Come forward. Let me have a look at
you.’

Daniel ventured further into
the cave. ‘Are you a priest?’ he asked.

The old man sat down on one of
the cushions by the pool, and gestured with his hands. ‘In many
ways. I am Mani, the last of my kind.’

‘Why have you called to
me?’

Mani’s weathered face rippled
with splashes of golden light that were reflected from the water.
‘We share similar gifts, young one. We have business together.
Please, sit with me a while. We must talk.’

Daniel sat down opposite the old man,
on the brocade cushions. ‘What gifts do we share?’

‘That of the sight,’ Mani said.
He gestured widely. ‘I would like to tell you about myself.’

Daniel shrugged, displayed the
palms of his hands. ‘Then please do.’

Mani settled himself on the
cushions. ‘I am not of this tribe. My family were Magians, who
lived in the city that now is Babylon. I was the last of my
father’s line and have no children of my own. When King Nimnezzar
came to power, he summoned me to his court and told me I must join
the ranks of his elite company of Magi. I would not join the
pretender and had to flee for my life. I already had enemies at
court who envied my powers. The Yarasadi gave me sanctuary, so here
I am. Mani the Magian, at your service.’ He bowed his head and
spread his arms wide.

Daniel bowed his head in
return. ‘I’m Daniel Cranton, from England.’

Mani nodded. ‘Yes. Daniel of
the Lion.’

Daniel smiled. ‘That’s not the
first time I’ve heard that.’

Mani raised his brows. ‘Your
soul has a long affinity with the lion. An ancestress of yours once
worked in the house of Sekhmet, She of the Eye of Fire.’

‘The Egyptian lioness goddess?’
Daniel shook his head. ‘How can you know that?’

Mani grinned and made a languid
gesture with his hands. ‘I know much about you, Daniel. I’ve been
waiting a long time for you and your companions to arrive.’ He
nodded to himself for a moment, then said, ‘Tell me what you
thought of your vision of the holy twins.’

Daniel could not conceal his
surprise. ‘You know of that too? Is it a common phenomenon around
here?’

‘Not at all. But I knew that
you would see it.’

‘Why did I? Can you tell me
what it meant?’

Mani rested his hands on his crossed
knees. ‘Let me tell you a little of what your coming here means.
The prophet Gadreel has spoken to Qimir, and has told him of the
Grigori. The Yarasadi have been made aware of their ancestry. I
have known of the Grigori’s existence since I was a young man. I
was curious, and in those days a scholar hungry for knowledge. I
learned much of the secret history of the Fallen Ones, the Daevic
race, for I was not afraid to delve into areas that were fraught
with danger. Often, I ran for my life, clutching nothing but a
fragment of papyrus containing a single sentence that was only
another tiny piece in the puzzle I was trying to solve. I learned
things that even Gadreel did not know. Now, I instruct Qimir, for
he too wants to share this knowledge.’

‘So you knew that Shemyaza
would come here?’

Mani shrugged expressively.
‘Not exactly. Gadreel would ask me questions constantly, for I too
wear the mantle of the vizier. Gadreel was, like your master,
driven to do certain things. But what was the great purpose of it?
I searched the hidden world for answers, but all I learned was that
the fallen Watchers must once again form a brotherhood. How would
that happen? Gadreel had met no others, and I could find no trace
of them through my spirit guides. When the news came to us that
your master, Shemyaza, was seeking Gadreel, we all knew that the
time had come for us to learn the answer to our questions. Shemyaza
has returned to his home land to put right the wrongs of ancient
times, to reverse history.’

Daniel kept his face
expressionless. ‘Go on…’

‘When we received the news,
Gadreel was suspicious. It seemed almost too convenient that
Shemyaza would come seeking his own kind in this forsaken and
ravaged country. Gadreel had always believed the Watchers would
have to find their king for themselves. It was possible that
Nimnezzar might have sent an impostor to infiltrate the Yarasadi.
We had to have proof that Shemyaza is who he claims to be.
Yesterday, he unveiled himself in the dwelling of Qimir and the
light of the angels filled our little settlement. I watched, here
from my cave, with the sight of my inner eye. I noted quickly that
you were different from your two companions. They are Grigori, but
you are not, yet you have an important part to play in Shemyaza’s
destiny. The vision of the twins was sent to tell you that
something lies hidden within you. Your seams, too, are ready to
split.’

Daniel frowned. ‘What does that
mean exactly?’

Mani gestured with one hand. ‘I
cannot tell you the answer. You must learn it for yourself. But I
can guide you. Shemyaza does not yet have awareness of the true
nature of his destiny, does he?’

Daniel shrugged. ‘Shem is
opaque at the best of times, but I know that he still feels
confused. The role of divine kingship has been thrust upon him and
I think part of him resents it.’

‘As his vizier, he considers it
your job to answer the questions in his heart.’

Daniel nodded, with a sad
smile. ‘That’s true. I keep failing him.’

Mani leaned forward and spoke
more urgently. ‘Daniel of the Lion, can’t you feel what is
happening? A new epoch is dawning, bringing with it a higher
spirituality for the races of the world. Your visions lead you to a
specific goal. Surely you have begun to work out their
message?’

Daniel shrugged perplexed. ‘All
I know is that Shem felt driven to come here and find Gadreel. Back
in England, I received information in trance about some kind of
hall of records, where the lost knowledge of the Grigori’s
ancestors is stored. I’ve also been told about a key to this place,
a key in the sky. Shem feels the answer to whatever his destiny is
lies in Old Eden, but as yet, I’ve been unable to discover exactly
what it is he must do here.’

Mani nodded as Daniel spoke. ‘You are
on the right path. Gadreel too has had visions similar to yours.
Perhaps it would help if you examined Kurdish beliefs, for they
relate to Shemyaza’s task. Time, or history, for the spiritual Kurd
is divided into a number of epochs. When the last epoch has run its
course, humankind will walk the sacred bridge into heaven. In each
epoch, there are seven avatars of the divine creator incarnated
upon the earth. We are now at the last epoch. What comes after will
be as different to anything this world has experienced before as a
little crawling caterpillar is different to a butterfly. The lost
knowledge of the Grigori belongs to the world, but until now it has
not been ready for it. Shemyaza and his companions are the seven
avatars for this epoch. You, Daniel, are one of these avatars. You
represent the Khidir, the Kurdish Green Man of the earth. He is a
spirit of nature, of love, beauty and emotion. It is the task of
the seven to fulfil the world’s destiny, so it may pass to its next
stage of evolution.’

‘But Shem does not have six
companions,’ Daniel said.

‘They will come to him,’ Mani
said, and smiled. ‘He is here to gather his brethren around him in
order to rebuild his kingdom. Your task is to show him the vision
of what that kingdom will be.’

Daniel gestured helplessly with
wide arms. ‘I feel my sight is deserting me. How can I show him
anything?’

Mani laughed. ‘You saw the holy
twins in the valley. Think, Daniel. What else have you seen since
you have been here among these people?’

Daniel glanced at him sharply.
‘Well, I had a dream. There was a strange being in it, who seemed
like a Grigori, but was not.’

‘Describe this dream to
me.’

Daniel told everything that he
could remember. ‘The being seemed older than time. The more I think
about it the stronger I feel that he was Grigori, or at least
connected with them, but unlike the Grigori, he had no human
elements within him. I don’t think he was of this earth.’

Mani nodded. ‘What you have
described is one of the Elder Gods. They came to this world
straight from the source of all creation and initiated the
beginnings of life. The Elders came before the Grigori, long
before. They are no more, but the Anannage and then the Grigori
were their legacy to the world.’

‘But what was the Elder trying
to show me?’

Mani considered, then made an
abrupt gesture. ‘He was offering you the key to the Chambers of
Light.’

‘The Chambers of Light? The
hall of records?’

‘Yes, it is where the knowledge
of the Elder Gods is stored and hidden. Once you have the key, you
will discover more about them. For now, you must concentrate on the
significance of the seven, and of forming this brotherhood.’

‘You said that I was one of
them,’ Daniel said. ‘But I can’t see how. I’m not Grigori like the
others.’

Mani grinned. ‘In your vision,
the Elder was offering back to you all that you have lost.’

Daniel raised his eyebrows. ‘My
sight?’

Mani smiled. ‘No, far more than
that, Daniel of the Lion. You will see.’ He gestured around him.
‘There is a purpose to your coming here, more than just to talk
with me. This cave is a shrine to Khidir. Through this shrine, and
Khidir’s help, a person may enter the hidden worlds. What is to
happen to you cannot take place in this world. You must leave it
for a time.’

Daniel couldn’t repress a
shudder. ‘That sounds like death.’

Mani shrugged. ‘Perhaps it is.
There are many forms of death and not all are final. Are you
afraid?’

Daniel uttered a nervous laugh.
‘Only a fool would not be.’

‘True. Yet will you trust
me?’

Daniel rested his chin in his
hands. ‘I was drawn here and my instincts tell me you mean me no
harm. Yes, I will trust you. I’ve been in darkness. Whatever light
you can offer me, I must take.’

Mani smiled. ‘Good. Now listen
to me. To summon the Khidir, preparations have to be made for forty
days and forty nights. I have made these preparations in readiness
for this night. Come, we must gaze into the sacred pool.’

They sat together beside the
dark water that shone with points of light. It was like staring at
a reflection of the night sky, but no sky that had ever looked down
upon the earth. Its constellations were unknown to Daniel. Mani
pulled out a small, blackened pottery bowl from a pocket in his
robes, along with other implements for the ritual to come. He began
to chant in a soft sing-song voice, and crumbled what looked like
dried leaves into the bowl. To these, he added a few drops of an
oily liquid from a small, stoppered bottle.