“She told me how obsessive you’ve gotten with your art, too. You treat her apartment like your own little gallery. I can’t imagine what your townhouse must look like.”
Desmond bit his tongue. He’d thought Kelsey had liked his paintings. Especially the one he’d done with the two of them fighting Mara, standing side by side, her sword drawn and his arrow ready to fly. He thought it his best one yet and her smile had been so wide when she’d seen it, she demanded he let her keep it. Had she just been placating him?
Ari smirked and Desmond wanted to smack the condescending look off his face. “She’s fine with the paintings. If she weren’t, she wouldn’t have taken them. And as to why I didn’t go with her to Egypt? She’s quite capable of doing this by herself. I’m not her watchdog.” He stared at Ari, suddenly noticing he had a bruise on his jaw, hiding right under a few day’s scruff of beard. Normally he kept himself meticulously clean-shaven. “Something happen to your face? Get too fresh with one of your girlfriends and they finally pop you one? Or maybe one of their husbands did?”
Ari squinted. “Oh, it was a girl all right. You think you know everything. Such a fool.” Ari’s eyes glinted with hidden glee. Desmond realized there probably was a lot more going on in Egypt and he knew Ari had no intention of bringing him up to speed.
Ari leaned towards him. “I give you guys another month, and after that, it’s over, unless you find a way to get yourself killed. Oh, and nice shiner back. One of your perps finally catch up with you? Or did you just get caught pissing with your pants down? Maybe next time you won’t be so lucky and do us all a favor.”
Before Desmond could find a retort, Julia entered the restaurant. She took a quick glance at both of them, raised her eyebrows in exasperation and squeezed into the booth next to Ari. “I guess I came at a good time. You boys better start playing nice, you hear me?”
She tossed her flaming red hair out of the way, reached into her bag and pulled out a laptop. “We probably better get right to it before you kill each other. The number thirty-three, in all its glory.” She glanced back at Desmond. “Hey, what happened to your face?”
“Perk of the job,” he mumbled.
Her head bobbed back and forth between the two men. “The two of you are a bunch of hotheads and both of you are going to have a lot more to worry about than shiners if you don’t get yourselves under control. You’re acting like a couple of eight-year olds on the playground.”
Neither of the men responded.
“Good, so we have an understanding. Let’s move on. Desmond, I found a lot of information, but before we start, so I can get some context of why you’re asking for this, could you tell me the reason? It will help me figure out what’s important and what isn’t.”
Desmond sat back. “Maybe I should ask you something first, since your employer is reticent about telling me anything that’s going on.”
“Like what?” Julia shrugged. “That Kelsey’s mom slept with one of the descendants of an ancient Decan god from the Egyptian star system, got pregnant with her, and now his jilted lover is coming to take the souls of every one of his offspring after they die and destroy their bodies?”
Ari whipped his head around and stared at her, his mouth ajar.
Desmond did, too.
Ari clenched his fists, his face beet red with barely controlled fury. “Julia,” he seethed. “You really need to learn to shut the hell up.”
She was indignant. “What, it was a secret?” She turned to Desmond accusingly. “She didn’t tell you that Armand’s her father and Jay is her half-brother? I thought you said you spoke to each other.”
Desmond pursed his lips. “We talked, but she didn’t tell me this specifically.” Jay is her half-brother? Why hadn’t she told him? “Care to explain anything else, Julia?”
Julia and Ari exchanged glances and then Ari rolled his eyes and waved her on. “You might as well, now.”
Julia grinned like a little kid opening Pandora’s box, and brought Desmond up to speed as quickly as possible.
Desmond took it all in. Decans? The star systems? Why had she kept all that a secret, too? But more importantly, did they in any way relate to what he himself had been experiencing and why he dreamed about her?
The waitress brought over their coffee and Julia asked for a cup of mint tea. The waitress went back into the kitchen to fetch it.
“The number thirty-three, please,” Desmond asked.
“No, you spill now,” Julia demanded. “Why do you need that number?”
“Because I dreamed about it.” Saying it aloud sounded as bad as hearing Ari laugh about it, which he did.
“Oh, this is just great. So you’re painting your dreams and now dreaming about numbers, too? Nice, Desmond. Anyone ever tell you sometimes dreams are just dreams?”
Julia shot him a look. “Really, Ari? You don’t think there’s anything to this? It’s not like he said any random number, but the same number that appeared on those post-it notes in Armand’s apartment. It could be relevant. Remember, whether you like it or not, he’s been the one in Xanadu, not you. How many times has Kelsey tried to take you since she got back from Tibet? Five? Ten? He’s obviously connected to her, and that world, in a way you’re not. Don’t get so blinded by the facts just because you don’t like him.” She smiled at Desmond coyly. “You know I always have your back.”
He returned the grin, but knew that wasn’t entirely true. Initially, she’d told Kelsey when he’d first met her to stay the hell away from him because she thought he would give her a boatload of trouble.
The waitress returned with the tea and Julia put it to the side to let it steep. “So, let’s get to it. Why do you think that number and Kelsey mean trouble?”
Desmond had to make a decision. He had to find out fast if these delusions really meant anything or if he was really going crazy. The only way to do that was to reach out to Ari and his team. He didn’t like the guy one bit, but he respected Ari's powerful intellect. If Kelsey's adoptive brother would just get on board, he’d help him figure things out quicker than anyone else. This is about Kelsey, not me, not him. He had to keep telling himself that. He leaned forwards. “Once when Kelsey and I visited Xanadu together, I remember seeing a stone statue of a deva in one of the gardens. I’ve started dreaming about him and in my dreams he’s somehow connected to Kelsey.”
At this Ari froze.
Julia nudged him in his side. “So, you still think it’s all a coincidence now?”
Ari swallowed, clearly surprised.
“You have to tell him, Ari. We can’t have secrets if it has to do with Kelsey’s safety. You know that.”
Ari pursed his lips and exhaled loudly. “You do it, Jules. You seem to have a gift for spilling confidences.”
She smacked his arm and then turned to Desmond and told him straight out about the dreams Kelsey had been having for the past few months.
Desmond was stunned. He knew she was having nightmares, but she’d never told him what they were about. In fact, she’d hardly ever brought them up, instead waking up with a tired, worried grin, but still with a big kiss for him. Now he realized it was all a ruse to hide this side of her life from him.
Ari seemed to read his mind. “Funny how you can sleep right next to a girl nearly every night for months and not have any idea what’s going on. She’s obviously madly in love with you.”
“Ari, will you stop it already?” Julia said.
Desmond blew out an exasperated breath. “For the love of God, just tell me what you found out about the number thirty-three.”
And she did.
Chapter 22
THIRTY-THREE
Julia tapped the keys on her laptop. “Well, the number thirty-three comes up in relevance nearly everywhere. People have made significance of this number in everything from geography to religion.”
Ari scoffed. “I told you most of it’s just coincidence, Julia. Made up numbers to make it seem like it has more importance than it has. Scien
tists and theorists do this all the time. So do baseball statisticians. You can make any stat have an implication or worth if you twist the numbers around long enough.”
She chewed on her lip. “Yes, but we both know that the older facts usually have more basis in truth – they haven’t been manipulated by the current, sensationalistic media. Especially with regards to Buddhism and devas. I concentrated on them mostly, but there are incidences everywhere that simply can’t be explained away by convenient happenstance or made-up scenarios.” She glanced at Desmond. “Where do you want me to start?”
He shrugged. “How about religious implications?”
“Sure, why not? Ah, here we are.” She scanned the screen. “Ari’s right. There are a lot of instances where the number could simply be the number. Like one legend that says thirty-three arhats are the number of beings that spread Buddhism, or that there are thirty-three pillars in this one temple. But there’s a few that could have more meaning.”
Desmond took out a piece of paper from his pocket. “I wrote a couple of them down that I found, as well.”
“Oh, tell me what you have and let’s see if they match my list.”
Desmond started reading. “Well, in science, according to the Newton Scale, thirty-three is the number at which water boils.”
Ari snorted. “You’re going to use a crude scale that’s the precursor to the Celsius scale to make your argument? Are you serious?”
Desmond ignored him and went back to his list. “It’s also the atomic number for arsenic.”
Ari rolled his eyes. “Boiling water and poison? You got anything else?”
“How about this? In mythology there’s this cryptic Greek alphabet with thirty-three symbols. Oh, and what about this? There are thirty-three vertebrae in a human spine.” His voice trailed off. His examples sounded weak, and he knew Ari knew it.
Ari squinted in disbelief. “Alphabets? Vertebrae? What do those even mean? You know what they mean? Nothing. They are a bunch of random numbers like I said. You know where else thirty-three plays a starring role, Desmond? Larry Bird wore that number for the Boston Celtics, it’s the name of a Vietnamese brand of beer, and in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Julius received thirty-three stab wounds. You think any of them have anything to do with your dreams or Kelsey? I’m going to take a wild, educated guess, and say they don’t.
“You ever think your reason for dreaming the number thirty-three has nothing to do with Kelsey at all, and is just a simple delusion? Maybe you’re having an early mid-life crisis and this all revolves around you. You did turn thirty-three last month. If that’s the case, you are completely self-effacing. Trust me, you’re not all that important.”
Julia scowled at him. “That’s pretty harsh, Ari. Thirty-three is not just a random number he picked out of nowhere without significance to anything that’s happening. What about the post-its in Armand’s apartment?”
Ari clicked his tongue. “They could mean nothing.”
Desmond leaned forwards. “Or, they could mean everything.”
Ari put up his hands. “Like what? It’s just a number. I wouldn’t worry about it. ”
Julia snorted. “Yeah, nothing to worry about except a vengeful Decan. Let’s concentrate on Ustha.”
Desmond whipped his head around and nearly choked on the sip of coffee he’d just taken. “What did you just say?”
Julia squinted. “I said we should concentrate on Ustha. Why?”
Desmond paled. “Ustha? Is she a… Decan, too?”
Julia glanced at Ari. “She is, Desmond. And apparently a star constellation come to life. She’s the one that’s hunting Kelsey.”
Desmond rubbed his face with his hands. “Do you… know what she looks like?”
Ari stared at him strangely. “Why, do you?”
Desmond licked his lips. “Maybe. Short, pixie cut blond hair? Very beautiful?”
Ari appeared thunderstruck. “How do you know this?”
“I dreamed about her, too.”
Julia smacked Ari’s arm. “You see? For God’s sake, you have to accept his connection to this already.”
Ari blew out a harsh breath, but then nodded. It seemed to take a lot for him to admit this.
Desmond had enough. He took out his wallet, threw a five dollar bill on the table, and eased out of the booth. “That’s it. I’m done sitting here trying to justify to you what’s been happening, when all I’m doing is trying to protect your sister. I’m getting on the next flight to Egypt, with or without your help. Thanks for nothing, Ari.” He nodded at Julia. “See you later, Jules.”
He was at the door when Ari called out to him. “Desmond, wait.”
Desmond turned, tensing.
“I have something that might help you.” His jaw clenched tight in distaste.
Hesitantly, Desmond inched back over to the booth. The two men stared at each other and finally Ari spoke. “You know anything about the texts that discuss Blue Moons?”
“Like when multiple full moons happen in a single month?”
Ari nodded. “Yes. Blue Moons are when there are two full moons appearing in the same month. While it’s not rare, it happens only once every thirty-three months and it’s actually supposed to happen again tomorrow night.”
“Thirty-three months,” Desmond mused. “Interesting number.”
“Yeah, interesting. Folklore also says that it’s also the only day a star god can be killed. If you believe this Ustha woman is a danger to Kelsey and she’s the key to saving Kelsey’s soul, then you need to confront her on the Blue Moon.”
Desmond laughed incredulously. “Are you serious? You want me to confront a Decan goddess and kill her? How in the hell do you expect me to do that?”
Julia turned to Ari, her brows squinted in consternation. “Yeah, how do you expect him to do that? He leaves now and he’ll just be getting to Egypt by tomorrow afternoon.”
Ari removed his wallet and pulled out a piece of notebook paper. “Here is an address in Egypt from an informant at the Egyptian embassy who owed me a favor. I inquired about any covert underground mystical organizations and he disclosed to me details about a furtive group called the Usthatan. They are the group of rebels who follow the Decan Goddess Ustha. She’s called the Goddess of the Night – or otherwise known as the Goddess of Dreams. Supposedly, she has the power to grant you your wildest fantasy as soon as you go to sleep, and that’s why her minions flock to her. She rewards them with their every wish and desire when they do her bidding. It is their ultimate reward for their service to her.”
“But what does she have to do with Kelsey?” Desmond asked.
Ari shrugged, noncommittal. “You’re the one who’s dreaming about her. You find out.” He leaned over and handed Desmond the slip of paper. “This is the location where her minions have their holy temple. There are rituals every Blue Moon. Confront them, and her, tomorrow night and you will be able to defeat her with a single arrow to the heart. If you sneak in alone you’ll have a better chance. Kelsey may not believe you if you bring her along, and I’m sure she’ll try to do something rash like flipping to Xanadu. Just what they need, to have her possibly be responsible for bringing a Decan goddess to the bardos instead of bringing Mara this time. Not so sure what they’d do then.”
Desmond blinked. “You expect me to be able to defeat a powerful sky god with a simple arrow? Are you insane? This isn’t a dragon with a piece of his armor missing, like in the movies.”
Ari’s eyes slanted to mere slits. “Desmond, if you want to sit here and quote scenes from books and film, then go play with someone else. Otherwise, shut the hell up, because obviously you don’t know anything and I’m apparently the only one who can tell you what you need to know. You get it? Otherwise, get out of here.” Ari sat back in the booth and crossed his arms. His face wore a mask of disgust.
Desmond’s nostrils flared, but he nodded. “Fine, I’m listening.”
“First smart thing you’ve done today. Now, there is a
constellation called Sagitta. It’s an ancient constellation whose name is Latin for “arrow.” There are myths galore about all the constellations with arrows, because a strike from an arrow is the only way a Decan star god can be killed.”
“I never heard this before. What makes you think I’m even capable of doing this? I’m no god.”
Ari raised his eyebrows. “Weren’t you a warrior in Xanadu? An archer, specifically? Kelsey told me you had the ability there. What makes you think you can’t be one here? If you really believe you've been to Xanadu, then you know in that realm there are no secrets to your soul. Your true identity is exposed. You are who you are, Desmond. Obviously, you have the innate ability and it’s part of your psyche, which is most likely why you chose to become a cop in this lifetime. You want to save Kelsey’s soul, then confront Ustha and end this.”
Julia tried to interrupt again, but Ari shushed her.
Desmond stared at him for a few more moments and then put the paper in his pocket. “Thank you, Ari. I… appreciate the help.”
Ari nodded. “Just take care of my sister and you and I will have no problems.”
Desmond nodded and left the diner to catch the next flight to Egypt.
Julia turned on Ari, her green eyes blazing and her face a mass of disgust.
“What did you just do?”
He stared at her innocently. “What do you mean?”
She stared at him as if he’d gone insane. “While the information you gave him about the Blue Moons and Ustha’s minions is true, there is nothing in any text that explains how you kill a Decan Sky God with an arrow. You know how much time I spent looking that up. In fact, arrows aren’t even considered weapons in the night time sky. They’re just symbolic for love. If Desmond confronts Ustha that way, he’ll be completely powerless against her. She’ll kill him.”
Ari simply stared at her.
“Ari, please, what are you doing?”
He took a sip of his coffee. “Nothing, Jules. I’m not doing a damned thing. I’m simply letting karma play out its course, that’s all.”
The Quest of the Empty Tomb Page 17