Twelve Days

by Steven Barnes

  The breath of all the people in the world, all who had ever lived, mingled in the air of Santa Tia. From time to time, just for fun, he followed a thread all the way to the lungs that had expelled the cells, and touched the beating heart.

  He hadn’t hurt them, of course. That would be wrong.

  Of course.

  The little girl was still in his inner house. He could not see her, but she played with his toys. He saw her footprints. Sometimes he thought he caught a glimpse of her …

  And once there was a name smudged on the wall.

  SHAKTI

  But he still liked it there.

  He saw and remembered more now. Slowly, he was coming out of his shell. He was safe. His family was safe, and happy.

  But if anything ever happened to them … anything ever made Mommy or Nicki cry, or Terry bleed …

  How odd.

  Even to think that made something within him bare its teeth. Yes. Shakti bared her teeth.

  Family was a wonderful thing.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  In 1986, a thirty-four-year-old writer named Steven Barnes published his fourth novel, The Kundalini Equation. It was an attempt to present, in fictional form, what he understood about the path of metaphysical development lurking within the martial arts. The book achieved a certain notoriety, and years later the older and more experienced version of that young writer decided to revisit that world, and ask the next question.

  Twelve Days is the answer to that question.

  To the teachers who have shaped me in the specific ways discussed in this book: Scott Sonnon, Harley “SwiftDeer” Reagan, Sri Chinmoy, and all of the other gurus of disciplines physical, mental, and spiritual. I would not be who I am without you. And to Cliff Stewart, who promised to guide me on the warrior path, and kept that promise. And Sijo Steve Muhammad and Larry Niven, who together are the men most responsible for the human being I am today.

  Much thanks to LTC Bart Kemper, who once was a respectable paratrooper sergeant before going to the Dark Side, and Krista Krcmarik Kemper, who would have lost her membership in the E4 Mafia for marrying a field grade if he wasn’t a mustang. Both have multiple combat tours and other experiences that helped them pick up the pack when The Old Soldier could carry it no further. Without these two, this book could not be what it is, and I owe them both, big-time.

  Jonathan Vos Post, Marty Brastow, Toni Young, Dan Moran, Rory Miller, Beth Meacham, and Betsy Mitchell for so many things, but in the specific context of Twelve Days, for offering support of so many kinds over the years: emotional, intellectual, and career. No one makes it on their own.

  And to Marco Palmieri, my editor, who gave me the opportunity to tell this tale.

  Jason Kai Due-Barnes, my son. And my radiant daughter Lauren Nicole, who let me borrow her name. How wonderful it is to love, just because we choose to do so. And to my wife, the rather astonishing Tananarive Due. I would love you again in a thousand incarnations, if Shiva was merciful enough to allow such bliss.

  For Joyce Higa, my long-suffering sister: thank you for teaching me to read The Five Chinese Brothers, my very first book.

  To Dr. Germone “Mama G” Miller, my glimpse of Shakti, who helped me to understand a path I’ve never walked. Jennifer Gray, who began a circle with me twenty years ago, and then helped me draw it to completion.

  Mushtaq Ali Al Ansari, one of the great friends and companions of my life, and his lovely lady, Janet.

  The Shiva Sutras, the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra, and the Spanda Karika are all real sacred texts.

  The Yama Sutra, on the other hand, is an invention of Mushtaq’s. He also, for decades, encouraged me to continue the tale begun in The Kundalini Equation. Blame him!

  Savagi’s texts Transformations and The Myth of Love are my own invention. Thank goodness.

  Autism and ADD are serious and highly charged subjects and I wish to thank the people who have discussed them with me from academic or medical study, or personal experience. There are a variety of theories on the subject, including Thom Hartmann’s “Hunter/Farmer” (in The Edison Gene) and Simon Baron-Cohen’s “Extreme Male Brain” concept. The theory used most fully in Twelve Days is Kamila Markram and Henry Markram’s “Intense World” hypothesis. Special thanks to John Ordover and Dr. Howard S. Schub of the Atlanta Southeast Center for Epilepsy and Neurodevelopment. These fine people know this subject intimately and through extensive research and study. Any errors in conception or execution are mine alone, and can hopefully be excused in the name of dramatic license.

  Thank you all for advice and support over the years, and in some cases very specific assistance on this manuscript. Every book is the most difficult, the most important, the most painful and glorious.

  Twelve Days was the longest Dark Night of the Soul I’ve ever traveled.

  The only thing that gets you through that night is faith. Bless you all for having such faith in a guy who just wanted to try to get it right.

  Steven Barnes

  November 8, 2016

  Glendora, California

  www.diamondhour.com

  TOR BOOKS BY STEVEN BARNES

  The Kundalini Equation

  Blood Brothers

  Charisma

  Gorgon Child

  Streetlethal

  Firedance

  Iron Shadows

  Twelve Days

  TOR BOOKS BY LARRY NIVEN AND STEVEN BARNES

  Achilles’ Choice

  The Descent of Anansi

  Saturn’s Race

  The Barsoom Project

  Dream Park

  The Moon Maze Game

  The Seascape Tattoo

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  STEVEN BARNES is a New York Times bestselling, Hugo Award–nominated author and screenwriter, and creator of the Lifewriting™ writing course, which he has taught nationwide. He won the NAACP Image Award as coauthor of the Tennyson Hardwick mystery series with his spouse, Tananarive Due, and actor Blair Underwood.

  Visit him online at https://stevenbarneslife.wordpress.com, or sign up for email updates here.

  www.facebook.com/steven.barnes.7127

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Epigraphs

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51


  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Acknowledgments

  Tor Books by Steven Barnes

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  TWELVE DAYS

  Copyright © 2017 by Steven Barnes

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Art (Figures) by Shane Rebenschied

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-7597-1 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-4668-4908-2 (ebook)

  eISBN 9781466849082

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  First Edition: June 2017