Fear Not the Dark Read online

  “Where are we?” For some reason the room seemed familiar. Taking a few shaky steps to the window, Marley looked out and was astonished to see the balcony and view she’d dreamed about just a few hours earlier. There was the lake encircled by heavily burdened fruit trees, and the caravans of camels laden with goods. Farther away, fountains danced in a courtyard filled with colorful tents.

  It was all charming and very picturesque, but more importantly it was miles and gone from Minneapolis. Marley felt a wave of unreality sweep over her. Either she had gone completely insane, or these were some seriously brilliant special effects.

  “We’re in Uruk.” Zage replied.

  “Of course we are.” Marley’s eyes were still fixed on the strangely familiar foreign landscape. “And where is Uruk?”

  Zage and Galea exchanged a quick glance. Before either could speak there was movement at the door and a black cat strolled into the room, walked up to Galea and bumped her with its head. Galea stooped down and lifted the cat up in her arms, cradling it gently and rubbing her face on its soft black fur. The cat purred contentedly and nuzzled Galea’s face.

  Even the cat gave Marley déjà vu. “Is this all some kind of joke?” She asked, “Or did I fall and hit my head? I mean, thanks for helping me out back at the house but what’s going on here? Where are we?”

  Zage looked uncomfortable. “You were dying so we had to bring you through.”

  Marley was perplexed. “What do you mean you ‘had to bring me through’? If I was dying then why didn’t you take me to a hospital?”

  “We have healers here who are able to cure you.” Zage kept a wary eye on Marley. “So we brought you here from your time.”

  “From my time? Really.” Marley felt sudden exasperation. “So now you’re a time-traveler? I thought you said you were a Priest King. Look, thanks for saving me back at the house, but why do people keep. . .”

  “It must be hard to accept but...” Zage began.

  “. . .pranking me like this?” Marley asked.

  “You really should be more open-minded you know. He’s telling you the truth.” Marley2 said. All three of them had spoken at once and then there was an awkward pause as Marley regarded the newcomer with astonishment.

  The woman who had just entered the room was . .. herself. Her exact replica. Not like her reflection in her mirror, but her real self the way other people saw her. Marley2 had on a long red robe, curly-toed slippers like Zage’s and a headdress of what appeared to be gold circling her brow. Marley2 also had waist-long black hair, much like Galea’s.

  “Who. . ?” Marley didn’t even have to finish her sentence.

  “You’re me, from nine years ago in my past.” Marley2 said this so calmly that Marley almost believed herself.

  “So that would make you . . me from the future.” Either that, or she was lying sick and feverish in Uncle Max’s attic, hallucinating.

  “Yes.”

  “Right.” Marley sighed. She still didn’t have any real answers to her questions and rather than providing reassurance, the presence of Marley2 had increased her already serious case of uneasy. “Assuming what you say is true, just exactly how did you bring me here? Some kind of time machine?”

  “The Oracle brought us through time.” Zage replied.

  “An oracle just like in that movie The Matrix, huh?”

  Zage clarified, “Although in Galea’s case she was able to visit you unaided. She has inherited some of the Oracle’s talent.”

  “I see.” Marley looked around for an exit. “Okay. Would any of you happen to have a phone I can borrow?” The sooner she could find a phone the sooner she’d be able to call a taxi and get back home, far away from this freak show.

  “Weren’t you listening? There aren’t any phones in this timeline.” Marley2 said patiently. “Now pay attention, because this is important. Nine years ago on Hallowe’en night when I found the Eye in Uncle Max’s rare book, I flipped it and opened up a kind of door between our worlds. Zage came through and we fell in love, as we were destined to do. Zage and Galea are your future husband and daughter. I mean my husband and daughter. Our future family.”

  “Fine. Good. Great. You all look very happily ever after. Now will you please quit kidding around and call me a cab? I really need to get home.” Marley tried not to sound irritated. All of this explaining was making things worse, not better. Destined to fall in love with Mr. Weirdy Shoes? Like heck she was.

  Marley2 continued. “You and I are both part of a prophecy about the Eye of Inanna. And a few days ago Galea told us she’d dreamed the evil one jumped into my, um, our, time line to subvert the Prophecy. She saw him attack you to get to the Book.”

  “You mean that book he stole from the attic? What’s so important about that old thing?” Marley was briefly distracted from her quest for a phone. Evidently they didn’t know the book was completely blank.

  Marley2 rolled her eyes slightly. “That old thing is called the Book of Rights. It’s a written record of the Goddess Inanna’s sacred laws.”

  “Well it couldn’t have been the same book then. The one he took was totally blank.” Marley rummaged around in her bathrobe pocket. “There was some kind of weird metal coin or something tucked in the pages. I think I still have it here.”

  Incredulous silence all around. “You still have it?” Zage’s voice was tense.

  “Sure do. Here.” Marley dropped the grimy token into Zage’s hand, surprised by the sudden look of relief that flooded his face. “What’s so important about that thing?”

  “This is the Eye of Inanna.” Zage held up the grungy metal disc reverently.

  Marley was suddenly more than a little bit annoyed with all of them. The joke had gone on far too long. “Okay. All right. I don’t know what’s going on here, but that’s a wrap. The magic Eyeball’s been found and now its time for game over,” she said emphatically. “Someone needs to call me a taxi right now so I can go home or else. ..”

  Out of nowhere Marley felt a bone-chilling bleakness. A creeping sense of anxiety that began in the back of her head then spread from her shoulders down to her toes in a physical wave. Soul-sucking nothingness descended upon her like a fog. Marley groaned aloud and sat abruptly back down on the bed.

  “What’s wrong?” Marley2 regarded her with concern.

  “It’s this weird feeling like. ..” Marley drew breath with difficulty. She could actually feel the blood draining from her face, “there’s someone else in my head.” Abruptly Marley felt her own mind roughly pushed aside as it had been back in the attic. The stench of rotting roses filled the back of her throat and once more Marley felt the horror of something else’s consciousness looking out from her own eyes.

  “He hass it!” It was Marley’s own voice but she wasn’t speaking. She was no longer in control. “He hass the Eye, she gave it to him!” Marley shouted harshly and was forced to watch helpless from inside herself as Zage, Marley2 and Galea drew back in shock.

  CHAPTER 27

  Sumeria, approximately 3,000 BC

  “The Dark’s creature is possessing her,” Zage said to Marley2 and Galea. “Go summon the Oracle. Run child!” Galea sprinted from the room, dropping her cat which settled into a crouch where it landed, between Zage and Marley2.

  Creature-Marley turned to Zage. “Give me the Eye,” it suggested coyly, flames flickering from its blackened lips, “And we will share it. There is enough power for both of us.” Zage took an involuntary step backward, his eyes widening.

  “Think of the power.” Creature-Marley coaxed with a ghastly, unconvincing grin while trapped-inside Marley could only watch.

  Suddenly the room was no longer filled with fire and s
moke but with the smell of honeysuckle. Fine silks of every color lay spread out on the bed, and jewelry of different types lay heaped atop the silks, bracelets, necklaces and rings of precious metals and gems. On nearby tables and shelves sat fat leather purses filled with gold and silver coins, urns of honey and wine and spice and alabaster jars filled with scented oils.

  Embroidered dresses and furs and robes were heaped next to shoes and hats, scrolls and carvings stood adjacent to statues and foods of all types and flavors. The room was filled with an overabundance of treasures, trinkets and temptations for mind and body alike.

  “All for you,” Creature-Marley winked and chuckled, waving a magnanimous hand at the assembled riches, “when you give the Eye to me.”

  “Get back!” Zage remained defiant.

  The mirage of riches disappeared abruptly as Creature-Marley abandoned its attempt to bribe him. “Give the Eye of Inanna to me.” It held out its hand, harshly demanding. “Now!”

  Zage backed away several steps and pushed Marley2 behind him while he unsheathed the long silver sword girded at his side. The cat licked a paw, unconcerned as the air in the room heated up and tiny flames took root and held in the walls. The floor under Marley’s feet began to burn while the ceiling took flame overhead.

  Outside in the distance, a mutter of thunder was followed by glints of lightning against a sooty sky. With a feral snarl Creature-Marley levitated straight up into the air, floating upright above the bed. There wasn’t a breath of wind in the room yet her long hair swirled wildly around her head.

  “YOU DARE DEFY ME?” Creature-Marley lunged at Zage, clawing for the Eye in his hand but he stepped out of reach and used the sword to keep her at bay. Small flickers of flame appeared from her fingertips and flames spread to the rest of her body. Judging by the horrified expressions on Zage and Marley2’s faces trapped-inside Marley knew she wasn’t a pretty sight.

  “Give the Eye to me or you will both die a thousand pitiless deaths in the bowels of the Earth!” Creature-Marley bellowed at Zage and Marley2 in a thousand wailing voices, “Your world will fall! Your childrens’ worlds will fall and their childrens’ childrens’ childrens’ worlds after them will fall until the end of time!” The black cat yawned.

  No. Trapped-inside Marley fought back.

  Creature-Marley raised both hands and began to gesture with fluid motions, chanting horrible words in a guttural language Marley-inside didn’t even understand. Zage’s sword flew from his hands and out the window, disappearing from sight and leaving him completely unarmed.

  I’m still me. Trapped-inside Marley desperately clung to her own mind as Creature-Marley went on chanting. From various corners of the room five different candles left their holders and floated into a mid-air circle in the center of the room. Another word and they were burning. Creature-Marley crooked a finger at Zage, beckoning him. Mocking him. The cat’s eyes narrowed slightly.

  No, I won’t do this. Trapped-inside Marley fought back.

  Outside black clouds overhead had darkened day into night. In the city below, fires broke out and dark smoke rose from multiple places. The sound of screaming wafted up to the windows as mothers and children ran and hid in their homes while their men took up weapons against an invisible foe.

  The sky began to rain fire and Zage slowly started to slide across the floor toward Creature-Marley. He was leaning back and away from her, fighting desperately to be free yet still dragged against his will across the room.

  No. Trapped-inside Marley made a mighty effort to reclaim herself but couldn’t even stop Creature-Marley from chanting in that hideous language. Outside there was a loud crack and the sky overhead ripped apart like shattered silk, revealing deep fissures of dark space twinkling with stars beyond.

  The big black cat stretched and gave itself a vigorous shake and the bell it wore around its neck chimed a melody that trapped-inside Marley knew but couldn’t quite place. Then the song came to her soft but clear, and growing louder.

  Light alone can guide you

  Light will show you home

  Hear the words inside you

  Sing your own true poem

  Nothing is forever

  Nothing stays the same

  Light alone will guide you

  Let it show the way

  Trapped-inside Marley fought with all her might, pushing the creature that possessed her out of her head with everything she had. I’m still me. A split second of triumph and Marley felt the creature waver. Me I’m still me! The cat’s eyes seemed to grow bigger and bigger, engulfing Marley.

  Light alone will guide you

  Let it show the way

  Trapped-inside Marley could hear the melody clearly in her head and as she mumbled the words aloud a brilliant flash of lightning split Marley right down the middle and everything went dark.

  . . . . .

  “I think she’s waking up.” Someone said as Marley opened her eyes again. She was back on the bed and Marley2 and Zage and Galea were all looking down on her with concern. Standing next to them at the foot of Marley’s bed was a very tall woman clothed from head to foot in white linen, the loose material of her robe draping her body in soft folds of white. A white veil hid her face from view.

  The woman carried a long white wooden staff with an egg-sized ruby embedded in the handle. Several red silk ribbons had been twined round the staff and she unwrapped one of these ribbons and knotted it about Marley’s left wrist.

  “This will protect your mind from the evil one’s creature. Take it off when the bite on your hand is fully healed.” Her voice was soft yet her words resonated in the big room.

  “Ah, thanks.” Marley rubbed the red silk ribbon, observing the tall, veiled woman curiously. “What happened to me?”

  The veiled lady explained. “There will be a link between the creature’s mind and your mind until its bite heals.”

  Marley sighed. “Just tell me the honest truth and I promise I won’t press any charges. Did you give me drugs?”

  The woman replied. “The evil one and his creature want the Eye of Inanna. The creature possessed you and tried to take the Eye of Inanna but could not. Soon, the evil one and his creature will find you again.”

  “Right. Let me guess, I’m in great danger?”

  “Yes, you are.” The woman under the veil nodded. “The evil one will do anything to get the Eye and if he succeeds he’ll raise an army of the undead to destroy this world and yours. I can send you forward in time to the moment just after you were attacked and right before Zage and Galea brought you here. You must go back and defeat the evil one in your own time-line in order to restore the pattern. You are the only one who can stop him now.”

  These words sounded so much like a line from a bad B movie that Marley waited for some kind of drum roll or punch line. But there wasn’t one, and they were all still staring at her. Obviously the whole family was working some kind of scam. Zage and Galea, Marley2 and even old mobile-home Grandma from the woods. Because Marley would have bet five bucks it was she hiding beneath the veil.

  Any minute now and they’d ask for her credit card number so she could buy a magic carpet ride from them to get back home. She’d have to play along.

  “What do you want from me?”

  The veiled woman replied. “You must use the Eye of Inanna,” she opened her hand so Marley could see she’d been holding it, “Like this.” With thumb and forefinger she tossed the Eye into the air over Marley’s head, flipping it like a penny. “When you do this focus your mind on the light, picture the evil one gone, and the Eye will do the rest.”

  The metal disc whirled and spun in the air over Marley’s head, staying airborne as a strange
sphere of light began to grow around it, shimmering larger in a northern lights kind of way. A humming sensation stirred the air around her and Marley felt the room begin to twirl.

  “I’m going to help!” Galea shouted, darting forward.

  Zage reached out to stop Galea, “Galea no! It’s too dangerous!” The room grew dark then blindingly bright. Marley felt a brief moment of hyper-awareness then she was back in the attic in Uncle Max’s house lying on the futon and smelling once again the fading reek of black roses and vomit.

  CHAPTER 28

  October 31st – 12:02 a.m.

  Had it all been just a fever dream?

  But no, The Eye of Inanna was spinning lazily on the wooden floor beside her. That much at least had been real. Or had it? As Marley watched, The Eye slowed then toppled over on its side with a clink. Although supremely grateful to find herself somehow home again, Marley was nowhere near believing that the Eye had magically transported her there. Nor was she accepting that a family of time-traveling wizards had rescued her from an evil monster.

  Most likely the truth was that she’d gotten sick from food poisoning, or her finger had become infected and she’d fallen asleep holding the disc and hallucinated the entire adventure. None of it had been real. Except, why was there a red silk ribbon tied around her wrist?

  Frowning, Marley dumped her pajamas and bathrobe unceremoniously into the laundry hamper along with the soiled bedspread, then showered and changed into a clean pair of blue jeans and a dark blue hoody sweatshirt. The tarnished metal disc was still lying on the floor where it had fallen so Marley picked it up and dropped it into her jeans pocket, relieved to dismiss events surrounding the disc as nothing more than fever-driven hallucinations aided by tricksters.