Dark Impulse Ch. 14

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"Go ahead, open it. Consider this an advance payment for your services."

Gabriel opened the case to find a brand-new laptop computer. He'd been planning to buy one himself since his last one conked out on him a few years back.

He smiled at Liam with genuine appreciation. "Thanks a lot. This definitely saves me the trouble of searching the electronic stores for a new one. I'm useless when it comes to shopping for technical gadgets."

Liam smiled back, relaxing in his seat. "You're very welcome. The jet has ready Internet access if you wish to do some research during the flight."

Gabriel was amazed at Liam's thoughtfulness. In his constant worry over Grace, he had completely forgotten about researching the case.

"Thank you very much, Liam. I think I will."

The plane took to the sky, and as soon as they were airborne Liam lowered his window shade and settled down for a nap. Gabriel turned on the laptop and opened his duffel bag as the operating system loaded up. He retrieved a CD-ROM from an inside pocket, its label completely black except for a small image of the Ritter talisman on it.

The disc contained all of the files of the Shattenjäger database, and was programmed to automatically install the Sidney program. He inserted the disc into the laptop and patiently waited until the setup was complete.

Gabriel stared at the "Search" function, considering how to proceed. He suspected that it would take all day for him to sort through the results of such a general term as "Possession," so he changed tactics and chose to literally follow his dreams to see where they would lead. He typed "Raven" into the search engine.

The stewardess served him coffee, and he sipped the dark brew as he viewed the search results. A link on the screen caught his eye: "Cultural Symbolism of the Raven."

Intrigued, he clicked on it and began to read.

The raven, like its close relative the crow, is a bird which is highly associated with death, loss and war in Western Europe but widely venerated elsewhere. Its sinister reputation was largely influenced by its association with the Morrigan, the Celtic goddess of War as well as the war god Odin of the Viking culture. In the Old Testament, the raven was the astute bird which Noah released from the Ark before the Dove. In Ancient Greece, the raven was the messenger bird for Apollo (god of light, intellect, healing, prophecy, the arts and music) and of Athena (goddess of wisdom). In both Chinese and Japanese cultures, the raven is the emblem of family love. In African and Native American cultures, the raven is a spirit guide who warns of impending danger...

Gabriel closed his eyes as an image came to him of a woman and child.

In his mind, the faceless woman clutched the child tightly to her, guarding it from dangers unseen. Suddenly, a gigantic pair of midnight wings materialized from thin air and enveloped the two figures from behind before everything went black.

He opened his eyes and stared at the clouds outside the window, confused. Was the bird protecting them or attacking them?

Family love. What the hell am I missing? There is something that I must know, something that lies just beyond my reach. Damn, damn, damn!

He took a shuddering breath and turned back to the laptop screen. He mentally reviewed the small details that Liam had given him about David Anami during their conversation at dinner the night before.

They had grown up together in a small Irish village by the sea, Crosshaven. Anami had moved there with his family at the tender age of five, while anti-Japanese sentiments were still running high in the years after WWII. It had been tough for the family to start over in such conditions, and the father had to go off to England to find work since all the jobs in the area of Crosshaven were curiously closed to him. Even though the elder Anami sent money to the family whenever he could, the mother and child still suffered greatly in his absence. Then one day, the news came that the father would never return; there was an accident at the factory in which David's father slipped and fell from a great height, and he was torn apart by the machinery on which he landed.

He shook his head, trying to dismiss the gruesome mental image. It was a horrible way to die. Having lost his own parents tragically, Gabriel felt a powerful wave of empathy for the man whom he had yet to meet in person.

He clicked on the link to read about the role of ravens in Celtic lore.

In Neolithic times (Between 6000 B.C. and 2000 B.C.), the raven was considered to be a conductor of souls by the Celts. They believed in excarnation, which was the removal of the flesh of the dead in order to liberate the soul. When a person died, the body would be suspended on an erected wooden platform and left outside until birds have picked the deceased's bones clean, thus allowing the soul to leave for the next world.

The Bird Goddess, the Morrigan, was the collector of these souls. She (although she is also known to appear as a trio of goddesses) was honored as the goddess of death and rebirth; since the early Celts called upon her to give new life to the souls that she took from the dead, the legend of the Stork bringing newborn babies in its beak to expectant couples was born.

Gabriel smiled briefly at the thought before he continued reading.

After the region was invaded and ravaged by the Kurgans, an early Indo-European race which originated from what is now known as Russia, the Celts were introduced to war, bronze weapons and social stratification (class division). The burial rituals of old were abandoned as a result of the Kurgans' influence, and the once benevolent Morrigan, the Great Queen who led the souls of the dead to the other side, became the Battle Raven whose flock fed on the corpses of those who died on the battlefield.

The Celts believed that, as they engaged in warfare, the Morrigan flew shrieking overhead in the form of a raven or carrion crow. When the battle had ended, the warriors would leave the field until dawn so that the Morrigan could claim the trophies of heads, euphemistically known as "the Morrigan's acorn crop."

Gabriel shuddered hard at what he just read, his voice low and hoarse.

"Sweet Jesus, what am I getting myself into?"

He forced himself to finish reading, apprehensive over what he may find.

In spite of the bloodthirstiness described above, the Morrigan is known to be the protector of women and children, and is also the goddess of fertility and sexuality. She is the appropriate deity for those who are strong and independent in nature, particularly those on a warrior path in their lives. Ritualistically speaking, followers of the Morrigan honor and invoke her by using a number of items in their rituals which include (but are not limited to) a raven or crow feather and blood.

It has been rumored that a number of the Great Queen's devotees have taken their worship a step further and actually offered themselves to the Morrigan to be used as instruments to carry out her will. However, such claims have yet to be confirmed.

Gabriel snapped out of the spell that the article created, and he glanced briefly at Liam's sleeping face before turning his eyes back to the window. He watched the clouds outside, allowing his mind to drift for a while before his thoughts returned to the last paragraph that he'd read.

Is there such a thing as voluntary possession? Is that the "step further" that the Sidney article mentioned? Looks like I'm about to find out.

He brought up the search engine and typed "Possession." After a few seconds, he saw that the program had divided the results into two categories: demonic and spiritual. Gabriel knew that demonic possession dealt exclusively with the Devil and his demons, but he knew next to nothing about the other kind.

He clicked on "Spiritual Possession" and read the article provided.

Unlike demonic possession, where the person is thought to be taken over by the Devil or his demons for harm, spirit possession is a voluntary, culturally sanctioned displacement of the personality. The spirits, whether they are deities, angels, demons, advanced entities, or the dead, are invited to enter a human person to educate and communicate with the living or just because they do not realize they are dead and need help in passing to their next realm...

The article went on to discuss the Holy Spirit and the Apostles; Gabriel skipped ahead, searching for something that was more fitting to the case.

Spirit possession is not restricted to Christians but has been and is practiced by many groups and cultures throughout the world. The Greek civilization had their oracles that prophesized future events...

Gabriel continued to scroll down the page, anxious to read more.

The concept of spirit possession by various deities plays a major role in religious worship in the Caribbean, the Middle East, India, and Africa. In the Caribbean and especially Africa, a variety of Voudoun (also Voodoo) religions are found. This possession is often sought after, and is considered to be received by only a worthy person. The possession usually occurs during religious ceremonies and only lasts during the event. Becoming possessed is known as "mounting the horse." The horse is the person or victim who "manifests" the spirit, and the spirit is the one who "rides" him or her...

A chill ripped through him as he remembered the Voodoo Murders and the way Tetelo "rode" Malia so many years before, and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He turned his attention back to the article.

In Neo-paganism there are two rituals which involve spirit possession. They are the "Drawing the Moon" which is the invoking of the Goddess (Moon) into the high priestess, and is more prevalently celebrated; and the "Drawing the Sun" which invokes the God (Sun) into the high priest. According to the beliefs in Neo-pagan witchcraft, during the ritual of "Drawing the Moon" the priest invokes the Goddess or Triple Goddess, symbolized by the phases of the moon, into the priestess. Others believed the priestess invokes the Goddess into herself. The ritual usually occurs within what is known as the magic circle. Depending on the priestess' attitude she often experiences the spirit possession of the Goddess, during which time many believe the Goddess speaks and works blessings through the priestess. The priestess' elated feeling can linger for days afterwards. There can be a similar experience for the priest who has been possessed by the God.

Gabriel clicked his tongue as he finished reading, feeling doubtful that the information that he just read had any relevance concerning what was going on. He shut down the Sidney program and closed the laptop. He stretched in his seat and resumed his cloud watching, wondering what Anami would ask of him.

He watched the soft white clouds as he let his mind wander. He thought of Grace, and he hoped that he'd be able to see her before the day was out. He considered what he would say to her, wondered how she would react to his presence. His thoughts were consumed by her for the remainder of the flight, until he looked up and realized that he could see Manhattan in the distance as the plane approached JFK.

He stared at the World Trade Center, the twin towers serving as a beacon of hope to Gabriel as the plane drew closer to the city. He watched the water surrounding the island sparkle in the sunlight, and he wished with everything that he had that when he finally saw Grace and made it clear that he would do anything for her, she wouldn't turn him away.

I'm coming for you, Gracie. You are not alone in this, I swear it.

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