The Serpent's Song

by S. Robertson

  “Well, we have a gate, but is it the right one?” asked Morgan, sitting down on a bench near the sculpture.

  “How’s our time?” asked Vette.

  “With all our coming and going, and ups and downs we’ve chewed up the time,” said Angi. “We’re within five minutes of the third hour. Let’s stand around and see if anything happens on the third hour.”

  The third hour came and went.

  Vette, joining Morgan was glad to get off her injured leg. “I suppose it’s time for us to get Angi to bounce us onward.”

  “Fine, here goes,” said Angi. At five minutes to the fifth hour they waited. But again nothing happened.

  “So we’re stuck here in this gloom to the seventh hour,” said Wolfram. “Press on Angi. I’ll be glad to put this chamber behind us, it’s creepy.”

  At five minutes to the seventh hour Wolfram, restless and moving close to the gate, heard a sound but this time there was no click but a metallic voice appeared saying, “To enter the next chamber you must answer a chosen question.”

  “Damn, I remember, this gate has a riddle to solve,” said Wolfram. “OK you three it’s all yours. We have three chances. I pray you’re good at this as I do not want to be stuck in this darkened hell.”

  The voice then recited the riddle: “Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, and mouthless mutters. What is it?”

  After some thought Angi replied, “Snow.”

  Nothing happened.

  “One down, two to go,” replied Wolfram, wanting desperately to move on.

  Silence fell as the three wrestled with the second reply. Then Morgan whispered to Angi and Vette, his proposed answer. They nodded their heads for him to reply.

  In a loud voice Morgan replied, “Wind.”

  Within seconds they heard a familiar click and the gate swung open.

  “Great work you guys,” said Wolfram, “The riddle champs of Tir na nOg.” And with a light step he took the lead into the next chamber.

  Once again, their progress was noted in the House of Life. The four candidates had reached the sixth chamber.

  * * *

  Pyramid, Chamber 6

  As the Chamber Five gate snapped shut behind them the four took time to sip Myttrwn’s elixir to resuscitate their depleted energies.

  “We’re almost there,” said Morgan, “Just this chamber and a short run in Chamber Seven and we’re home and dry.”

  “Don’t count your chickens too soon,” warned Wolfram, “Zolar may have loaded his greatest surprise for the finale. I’m not dismissing our overall fortitude, but without the aid of Sirona, Myttrwn, Angi and the dogs this could have been a much sadder outcome, which is still not over. So, let’s brace ourselves and take a look at what this chamber has to offer.”

  “I wonder why there’s a closed door to the chamber entrance,” asked Morgan walking towards it. Curious, he opened the door, and instantly slammed it shut.

  “What is it Morgan?” asked Angi, noting the revulsion on his face.

  “Oh God, the place is crawling…………..I mean literally crawling with snakes. They’re everywhere and may be inches thick over the entire floor. How in hell are we going to get through this? I have never seen so many snakes in my entire life.”

  “Snakes,” replied Vette, “I’m not going to look, I’ll take your word for it, Morgan. I detest crawly things. And a room full of snakes is about the vilest thing I can imagine.”

  “Let me take a look,” said Angi, “May be there’s an upper walkway or something which we can use to get above the snakes.” She opened the door and took time surveying the chamber, several snakes almost escaping through the open door. Making sure the door was secure she returned to report, “There’s nothing. We’ll be forced to wade through them. But on a positive note this time there’s only one room as I can see the gate in a distant corner.”

  “Angi, how far is the gate from this entrance?” asked Wolfram.

  “A rough guess, maybe four or five hundred feet,” replied Angi.

  “That’s far enough,” replied Vette, “And we’d have to endure this for at least three hours or more. Yuk………. that’s downright gruesome.”

  “You know,” said Wolfram, thinking through their situation, “As far as this initiation is concerned, even if we sit in this outer vestibule, we are still in Chamber Six. There’s no one to argue the point. So, how about we stay put for a spell to reduce our contact time with these snakes. In the meantime, we might come up with some genius solution.”

  “I’m all for that,” replied Morgan, “The shorter the time the better.”

  They slid down onto the floor and the dogs curled up together. Time passed as they discussed options to get through the chamber with minimal contact with the snakes but every solution seemed flawed.

  It was well past the second hour when a thought came to Angi. “We’ve had no contact from Sirona since the beginning of this journey. Now that we’re stuck here why don’t I try contacting her from this side? What do you think?” Angi wasn’t about to mention her dream to avoid upsetting her companions even more. But her suggestion was precisely that, just in case the dream was about to become reality.

  “Good idea, but how?” asked Wolfram.

  “Now I must tell you, I’ve never done this before as Myttrwn had just begun teaching me how to project myself into another space when we were hijacked for this initiation. What is supposed to happen is that I go into a deep meditation and try to make contact using Myttrwn’s initial instructions. All I ask is that you don’t touch me while I’m in this state. The dogs will stay quiet if we are quiet.”

  “Well, give it a try,” said Vette, “We’re going nowhere in finding a solution. We’ll continue to tax our brain while you’re trying to communicate.”

  “Here goes,” said Angi as she crossed her legs and placed her hands across her legs, palms up. She first surrounded her body in the multi-colours of the medallion gemstones. Then the prescribed breathing exercises helped her enter a peaceful zone where she silently gave a series of commands as directed by Myttrwn. Nothing happened except the steady, familiar universal hum recorded in her ears. Having learned to be patient, she waited continuing to mumble the commands as a mantra, over and over and over again. Oblivious of time, she tumbled deeper and deeper into a meditative state, waiting. Then, unexpectedly, a bright light emerged followed by a sense of weightlessness. Into view, as if in a dream, appeared the monitoring room of the House of Life with all its people and activities.

  Myttrwn, sensing a change in energy, looked up and stated calmly, “Welcome, Angi, we’ve been worried about you.”

  The others were astonished at the ghost-like image of Angi standing in their midst straining to enunciate words. Finally she articulated, “Not much time………. we’re in Chamber Six……….. managing………I had a dream……….. Chamber Seven had flashing red lights aimed at us……… could be trouble …………...can’t hold,” and with those final words the image evaporated.

  “Remarkable,” was Myttrwn’s first comment.

  Andrew turned to Bryce and said, “Contact at last! I won’t even try to understand how she did it. But it’s a warning of trouble ahead. We have to act.”

  “That’s it,” said Sirona. “Myttrwn, she’s talking about lasers. Zolar meant to kill them if they even made it to Chamber Seven. I’ll give Corb the order. We have no time to waste.”

  “I agree,” replied Myttrwn, “We must prepare……….” he did not complete the sentence as his mind was racing ahead.

  Sirona pressed an arm communication device connecting her to the waiting crew by the emergency planes, “Corb, this is Sirona, proceed at once to the pyramid. Use every means to breakdown the exit gate.”

  Angi took a few minutes to pull herself out of her meditative state. Smiling she looked around to see her friends and dogs silently waiting. Vette was first to speak.

  “Did you get through?” asked Vette.

  “Yes, but I
couldn’t hold the image,” replied Angi, “They know where we are and that we’re about to transverse Chamber Six. Everyone looks fine. I’ve no idea why communications ceased.”

  Wolfram noticed that Angi was pale and showing signs of exhaustion but held any comment, as he thought to himself, “These so-called magic acts are draining her and we still have two chambers to go. I’ll be glad when this damned initiation is over.”

  “I don’t suppose you had time to ask Sirona and Myttrwn on how we might circumnavigate the snakes?” asked Vette.

  “No, I didn’t have a chance,” replied Angi, “And by your question I expect you haven’t thought of one either.”

  “Nothing…………. we’re stumped,” replied Morgan, “If you want the truth, I’d be content at sitting here until someone decides to rescue us. But that’s a chicken’s approach. Actually, I want to complete this initiation just to stymie Zolar’s well-planned attempt at getting rid of us.”

  Vette, inspired by Morgan’s comments, responded, “You’re right Morgan, I said it before and I’ll say it again, that damnable man is not going to win. Come on, we are bright people, there has to be a solution.”

  Just then a thought popped into Angi’s mind which she voiced, “What about frost? If I can create a frost the snakes might go into a deep slumber.”

  “Hey, that might work,” said Wolfram, pleased at a breakthrough, “Then we could use our shields and push our way through groggy snakes to get to the gate.”

  “Fine,” replied Vette, “But how long will they stay that way?”

  “I’ve no idea,” replied Angi, “But it’s the only option on the table right now.”

  “The time is marching on,” said Morgan. “If we’re going to go through this chamber we have to get on with it.”

  “What’s our time?” asked Angi.

  “We’ve got forty minutes to the third hour,” replied Vette, “And please God let this one be at the third hour or Angi will have to be pumping out frost plus bouncing us onto the next hours.”

  “OK, let’s get started,” said Wolfram, “First, make sure you’re fully protected, gloves, goggles, and tight headgear. Then we’ll create as large a shield as we can with our Aqks. We’ll let Angi’s frost take hold before we move in and we’ll keep the dogs close as they may be upset with snakes.”

  “They may be upset with the snakes,” replied Vette in a high pitched voice, “There’re not the only ones. I’m praying this will be swift sailing as I do not want to spend one second extra in this cursed place.”

  And so they proceeded………… Angi created a fog-like frost over the entire room leaving a white haze. Most of the snakes slowed and then stopped moving.

  Before entering the doorway Wolfram stated, “Morgan and I will form a v-shaped pincer movement with our shields while you two use your shields on the wings. Stay in unison as we press forward. Signal if we need to stop. Right?”

  “Right,” came the united reply.

  “Here goes,” said Wolfram, hoping against hope that their plan would work.

  In a plow-like manner with the dogs tucked close, they pushed the lazy snakes aside as they edged their way towards the gate on the opposite side of the room. But all snakes were not affected by the frost, and these presented a problem. The dogs growled and barked when snakes rose above the shields or dropped on them or someone’s uniform. The four were not only pushing strenuously on their shields but also flipping the occasional snake away as they made their way towards the gate. Chamber Six held every conceivable variety of snake, large and small, fat and thin, and in a variety of colours. Reaching mid-way Wolfram signalled a stop.

  “Angi the frost is only hitting the top layer of snakes. Any chance you could create a snowstorm or is that asking too much?” asked Wolfram.

  “Sure, I’ll give it a go. If I can’t manage snow I’ll increase the frost,” replied Angi.

  Within minutes snow started falling as Wolfram signaled to push on. This change resulted in them thrusting aside both snow and drowsy snakes. But finally, they reached the gate, five minutes to the third hour.

  “Thanks, Angi, the snow worked,” said Vette, “Honestly, I don’t think I could have imagined a worse place………… this is horrid. I know little about snakes but I suspect some of these are poisonous. Thanks heavens we had these uniforms.”

  Sweating, Morgan asked, “If any of you are good at praying now’s the hour. Please beseech God that this gate is rigged for the third hour.”

  On the third hour, to their relief, another mechanical voice appeared saying, “To enter the next chamber you must answer a chosen question.”

  “Here we go again,” said Wolfram, “Well, my riddle champions, listen and coax your brains into a quick answer, as this wiggly brood won’t stay calm for long.”

  The voice then recited the riddle: “It may only be given, not taken or bought, what the sinner desires but the enlightened do not. What is it?”

  Angi, Vette and Morgan struggled, various words whispered back and forth and rejected. Time was passing.

  Restless, Wolfram commented, “Hey guys, I don’t want to be difficult, but for God’s sake have a go at it, you have three chances.”

  Vette was about to speak when Angi signaled she thought she had the answer. “Go ahead,” replied Vette, “My reply would just waste a turn.”

  Angi in a loud voice said, “Forgiveness.”

  “Forgiveness,” repeated Morgan and Vette…… “Are you sure?”

  Their question was answered with a loud click as the gate started to open. At the same moment the snakes stopped moving as if overcome by some spell.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” said Wolfram anxious to escape.

  “Wait,” said Angi. “We all agreed that this is when Zolar would have his last shot at us. So why don’t you let me take the lead. I’ll place a shield around myself as an extra precaution.”

  Not entirely comfortable with the idea, Wolfram nevertheless conceded saying, “Fine, Angi you go ahead, I’ll follow you with Vette and Morgan coming behind. Let’s get on with it, we’re almost there.”

  Their advancement into Chamber Seven was recorded in the House of Life by the attendants in the monitoring room and conveyed to all present.

  * * *

  Pyramid, Chamber 7

  Chamber Seven was an exact repeat of her dream with its pitch-black room and raised altar in the distance. Skylar ran ahead as Angi nervously stepped out anticipating the worst and thinking rapidly to herself, “It’s imperative I take the lead as I possess the medallion and can create a protective shield. Perhaps if I absorb whatever Zolar has devised for us it will spare the others. This has been a fantastic journey and if it’s to end here, so be it.” With a deep breathe she momentarily turned to see her three companions standing at the entrance ready to advance into the chamber. Taking another step, a series of laser beams, aimed directly at Angi, shattered the darkness. Skylar, sensing the danger, jumped to protect her, the laser beam striking both as they tumbled onto the chamber floor.

  Wolfram reacted, yelling, “We’re under attack. Angi’s been hit. Vette, you and Morgan stick to this wall and at its end crawl like hell towards that altar. I’m going after Angi.”

  Vette and Morgan did as instructed, the laser beams dancing all around them as they crawled furiously towards the altar, their only protection.

  Wolfram, under laser fire, crawled towards Angi, Dusky trying to protect him. Reaching her, he shoved the dormant carcass of Skylar off, and with all his strength dragged Angi’s lifeless body across the floor towards the altar, the laser beams tracking their movements, striking the floor inches from their bodies. Reaching the altar he felt for Angi’s pulse. “It’s awfully weak,” he thought to himself, a chill entering his body. “Hold on Angi,…….. Just hold on……… It’s over.” He looked up to see Vette and Morgan huddled at the other side of the altar away from the pulsating laser attack.

  Then suddenly a bright, flash explosion engul
fed the chamber causing the exit gate to collapse. A group of uniformed individuals poured in, silhouetted against the first outside light they had seen since entering the pyramid. The laser gun fire ceased. In the midst of the confusion a hand reached up and collected four crystals.

  Wolfram looked up to see Corb and Dylan racing towards him with a floating emergency cubicle, “Am I glad to see you two,” said Wolfram, struggling to rise, “Angi’s been hit.”

  “We know,” replied Corb, “Get her into this cubicle and come with me.”

  Wolfram hesitated knowing the space limitation of the planes.

  “Go……….. go with Corb,” ordered Dylan, “The rest of the crew and I will take care of the others. We’ll be right behind you. Sirona and Myttrwn are waiting.”

  “Come on, and take your dog,” yelled Corb, “We all know about Myttrwn’s latest creations.”

  They raced to the first plane, boarded, and Corb, speaking to Myttrwn in his own language, flew to the House of Life. Upon landing Corb and Wolfram sprinted through the corridor with the floating cubicle between them, heading towards the therapy centre where Sirona and Myttrwn stood waiting.

  Hardly speaking, Sirona and Myttrwn rolled the cabinet into a single therapy unit, where Sirona quickly removed Angi’s belt and placed her on a floating white slab. The unit was a sophisticated harmonic structure designed to capture the planet’s normal energy grid for healing purposes. It was a symphony of light and sound, which Myttrwn had programmed to the human anatomy. Small flashing pieces of technology were placed at key points on Angi’s body as Sirona and Myttrwn worked feverously in assessing her condition and preparing the therapy.

  Sirona’s only telepathic comment to Myttrwn was, “Look at the blood on her uniform. This was no ordinary initiation.”

  Once Angi was prepared, Sirona and Myttrwn exited the unit, and proceeded to initiate treatment from a hi-tech panel. Through a large glass window Corb and Wolfram watched as Angi floated in mid-air surrounded by a soft humming sound and pulsating light. At that point Myttrwn, turning to speak to Wolfram, noticed he was unsteady and beginning to fall.