by Joe Vadalma
Morgaine made Raven write a note to the Elluls stating that Raven had found something at the house where Dee and Kelley had stayed which she did not want to reveal in case the letter was intercepted. It also said that Raven had rescued Keith, that they were flying to New York to escape Claudia's (Morgaine's) clutches, and apologized for not contacting them in person. Raven finished the missive by writing that she would meet them at Moonwood in two weeks.
They caught a flight to Heathrow at seven in the morning. When they arrived in England, Morgaine bought a map and rented a car. All three sat in the front seat. Keith drove, Raven sat in the middle, and Morgaine navigated. They drove to Salisbury and rented a bed-and-breakfast there. After they had hung around the village for days, Raven became restless. “Y'know Claudia,” she said while they sat on the front porch smoking cigarettes one afternoon. “This being a tourist is okay, but I think we've seen everything here. Why are we here?"
"Don't be impatient, Raven. You'll find out soon enough. In two days it'll be midsummer's eve. That's when I'll perform the ceremony."
Raven shuddered. “Ceremony? What kind of ceremony?"
"You'll see darling. Don't worry. It won't hurt a bit."
* * * *
June twenty-first is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the start of the summer season. As the sun slowly set, they drove to Stonehenge, arriving at twilight. The first few stars popped into sight, and in the east a bloated full moon rose. After Keith parked the rental, Morgaine told him to wait in the car. She took Raven by the hand and strolled toward the monolithic stones. Even in the dim light, they were awesome; huge dark stones standing in the middle of a plain.
After Morgaine placed a spell on the security guards, they entered the circle of stones and halted at a spot where the stones were configured so that a long blue stone rested upon two uprights to form a doorway. This doorway faced southeast and through it could be seen a single upright stone standing somewhat alone, the famous Heel Stone, where by gazing through the opening, the moon would be seen rising above the stone.
Morgaine asked for the box that Raven had found in Prague. She removed a metallic gray round stone from it and placed it on the Heel Stone. She returned through the doorway and had Raven stand with her back to the Heel Stone. She stood in the center of the circle facing Raven, holding both her hands and chanting in Latin. At one point she pressed her lips to Raven's and breathed into her mouth. Raven cried, “No. No. I won't let you."
"Don't fight it, Raven. It'll only be harder on you. Just a few more moments.” Morgaine excitement grew at entering a human body again. Her breath became labored and quick, like someone climbing steeps steps or in the midst of passionate sex.
Raven shook with fear. Only Morgaine's strength kept her from falling. Raven whispered, “Oh Hecate, save me."
As Morgaine entered Raven's body, her Claudia VanBest persona vanished. Raven slumped to the ground, and Keith ran up to her. “Jesus H. Christ, what the hell happened? Where did Claudia go? What did she do to you?"
"Help me up.” As he gave Raven his hand and helped her stand, she asked, “Did you witness it, Keith? Tell me what you saw."
"Well, it was getting dark, but it looked like the two of you was standing facing each other holding hands and embracing. Suddenly—and I wouldn't have believed this except that I saw it with my own eyes—Claudia simply vanished and you fell, like you fainted or something."
While the couple sat a while on the hood smoking, Raven said, “Keith, I think I've been possessed.” Within her Morgaine mentally agreed, but did not take control.
He gazed into my eyes. “By that witch or devil or whatever she was, Claudia?"
"Yes."
"Y'know, she had me under a spell too. It was like I was her slave and had to do everything she wanted. After Claudia showed up at our hotel in Zurich, everything after that was kinda fuzzy and dreamlike. I remember doing strange things—even holding a gun to my head ready to pull the trigger...” He shuddered. “...because she wanted me to. It was as though I had no will of my own."
Raven hugged him fiercely. “Oh Keith, now that I've got you back, I'll never let you go again.” Morgaine's laughed inside her head and said, And so have I. Raven sobbed.
"What's the matter, Raven?” Keith asked.
"Nothing. C'mon, I think it's time to go home."
Keith retrieved the metallic object from the Heel Stone and Raven's handbag. After they got back into the car, he asked, “Are we going to contact the Elluls?"
"I wrote them a note when we were in Prague. Drive to the airport."
"What about money for the flight to New York?"
"I have money that Michael gave me to bribe the Prague police if I was caught breaking into the house where Dee and Kelley had stayed."
After Morgaine possessed Raven, she could take her over at will and make her do her bidding at any time. But she had difficulty speaking to her directly. She wanted to reassure her old friend that the possession was not permanent. As a result, she used Raven's dreams to communicate with her.
By the time Raven and Keith arrived at their apartment from Kennedy Airport, it was late, after midnight. Nevertheless, before Raven retired, she left a message on Melody's answering machine letting her know that she had returned to New York and to contact her if and when Melody and Ellul returned to the U. S. Afterwards Raven and Keith made love, an experience Morgaine also enjoyed. It was wonderful to be back in a flesh and blood body and have a man's strong arms around her.
* * * *
When Raven fell asleep, Morgaine sent her a dream where Raven found herself in an underground cave whose walls and ceiling glowed with a dim blue light. Ahead the cavern opened into a narrow tunnel. Morgaine, in her Claudia guise, stepped out of the shadows.
"Okay Claudia, where in blue blazes are we now?” Raven asked. “Is this Hell?"
Morgaine smiled. “Bear with me a little longer. Soon all will be revealed. We must consult one of the old ones."
"Old ones? What old ones?"
Morgaine did not reply, simply kept walking down the tunnel which ended in a cavern as enormous as the inside of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan. Every inch of the solid rock wall was covered with reliefs and statues of strange plants, animals and monsters. The floor was etched with Hermetic and magical symbols. Seated on an elaborately carved throne upon a stone dais at the far end was someone in a monk's cassock. The head was bowed and covered with a cowl that hid the face. The hands were inside the folds of the sleeve and rested on the lap, as though the person was meditating or praying.
The women halted at a respectful distance from this apparition. Morgaine bowed. “Greetings, Wise One.” In addition to speaking, she manipulated her hands and fingers in sign language.
"Greetings, have you brought the woman of the younger race?” growled a guttural male voice, also signing along with the words.
"I have, Wise One. Is it time to reveal the truth?"
The being pushed back his cowl, revealing the countenance of a Neanderthal. “I wish to speak to the woman whose body you inhabit. Come closer, child.” Raven took a couple of hesitant steps forward to stare into the creature's sunken eyes from a pace away. “What is your name, woman?"
"Raven Lenore. Your appear to be an early type of man, Neanderthal I believe. Tell me, are you?"
"Yes Raven, I am of the branch of Homo Sapiens which you of the younger race choose to call Neanderthals. But, you are not polite. You're supposed to say, ‘How do you do?’ before you ask about one's ancestry.” He laughed in an apish manner, sounding like a chimpanzee.
Raven grinned at him. “I'm sorry. It's just that it's so amazing to me to see someone like you. Neanderthals are supposed to be extinct."
"That is because you new people have driven us underground. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, we lived simply, with peace and prosperity in small villages scattered throughout the world. We were one with nature, never allowing our science and technology to dest
roy the good things of our great mother earth. Then a new kind of people appeared on the scene, aggressive and violent. You refer to these new people as Cro-Magnon. Since we were peace loving and did not wish to murder them as they slaughtered us, we hid, mostly underground, in deep forests, even under the sea. At first it was simple, we stayed out of the new people's way, hiding in places that they did not go. But as their population expanded and covered the earth with cities, roads, farms and technology, our numbers grew smaller and more hidden.” The Neanderthal sighed deeply. “At this time, less than a million of us are left. Sometimes we are spotted and believed to be the creatures of legends; satyrs, gnomes, elves, dwarves, goblins, Yeti, Sashquatch, Big-foot, trolls."
"What about Lilith or Claudia or whatever this one's name is? What is she really? A demon? A lost soul?” Raven pointed at Morgaine.
"That is what you are here to discover. Curtain please.” Behind the Neanderthal's throne, a red velvet plush curtain opened, revealing an I-Max size movie screen. “Please sit, Raven. I'm sorry but we don't have popcorn to go with the show.” It laughed in its Chimpanzee manner and with a bowlegged walk sauntered past her.
The cavern had turned into an enormous theater with seats rising to such a prodigious height that the upper levels faded into dimness. Nevertheless, Morgaine, the Neanderthal and Raven were alone. The Neanderthal patted the seat for Raven to sit next to him. The lights were lowered and a title was displayed in elaborately curved lettering; Morgaine's Story.
The movie started at a lecture. The speaker was Michael Ellul. In the audience looking enthralled was Morgaine. Whenever he looked her way, she smiled and batted her eyelashes. The scene shifted to a motel parking lot. Soon after Ellul exited his car, a pickup parked next to him and Morgaine got out. There was banter between them, and they went to his hotel room together. In the next scene Morgaine was showing Ellul how to use her PC. During their conversation, she agrees to accompany him on a lecture tour.
The next scene takes place in the couple's bedroom. They are sleeping. Across the bottom of the screen, the words Two months later appear. The camera pans in on a clock, showing that the time is one o'clock. Suddenly, Morgaine sits up and shouts, “Sacrificed. No don't, please."
Her cry wakes up Ellul. “Morgaine, what's the matter? You look as though you've seen a ghost."
The remainder of the movie showed Raven how Morgaine learned that Michael was immortal, why Morgaine and Michael stopped being lovers, Michael's meeting with Melody and the subsequent consequences, answering for Raven many of the mysteries surrounding the relationships of the Elluls and Morgaine and the significance of the name Asmodeus.
The words End of Part One flashed on the screen and the house lights came on. Raven asked the Neanderthal. “Okay, the movie, if it's a true story, answered a lot of questions, but so what? Morgaine is dead. Why are you showing segments of her life after she met Michael Ellul?"
"I'll let her answer.” He jerked his thumb at Morgaine in her Claudia guise sitting on the other side of him.
She got up and stood facing Raven. “Can't you guess? Who do you think I am, really?"
"An elemental, Lilith, Adam's first wife."
"Only in appearance. Actually, I'm her slave and a sorceress.” As Raven gazed into her face, it wavered and changed. Finally, it settled in a Morgaine's own countenance.
"Morgaine,” Raven cried as she recognized her old friend.
"Yes, it was me all of the time. And now that I'm part of you, I want you to know why I did what I did.” Her smile was enigmatic.
"What did you do? I don't understand."
Before Raven received an answer, she awoke. It was four-thirty in the morning. Nevertheless, she leaped out of bed and hunted around until she found a portable tape recorder, slipped a new tape into it and dictated her dream. From within Raven, Morgaine silently eavesdropped on their conversation.
Keith woke up. “Raven, what are you doing? God's sake, it's the middle of the night."
"Tell you later. Go back to sleep."
Nevertheless, he got up, went to the bathroom and then into the kitchen where he brewed coffee. Raven sat down with him to a breakfast of stale doughnuts.
"So, what were you saying into the tape recorder? Some great idea come to you in the middle of the night?"
"A dream. I had a dream about Claudia ... and Morgaine."
"Yeah. So?"
"Just listen.” Raven turned on the tape recorder.
When the narrative ended, Keith said, “Well, if the stuff you dreamt is true, it answers a lot of questions. But Raven, it was only a dream. I know you witches put a lot of stock in dreams, but I wouldn't take it into court."
"You don't understand, Keith. I'm possessed. I told you that before. But this Claudia who's taken me over is really Morgaine. My dream is a message from her."
Keith shook his head from side to side. “You're talking crazy. Anyway, I thought that if you were possessed by a spook or a devil or something, you would become the thing. Like in the movie, The Exorcist or in the TV series, Dark Shadows."
"I always thought that too. But this isn't the movies or TV. Apparently it doesn't work that way. But I know that Morgaine can take me over at any time. She's already done so. I'm afraid she has some evil plan.” Raven burst into tears.
Keith put his arm around her. “Jesus, Raven, do you really think so? I know I had to do whatever Claudia or Lilith or Morgaine or whoever she was told me to. That was different. I was still myself. I just had no will to disobey her."
Raven kept on weeping.
* * * *
A couple of days later, Melody called. As soon as Raven answered, Morgaine took over.
Melody said in a rapid fire, emotional tone, “Raven. Oh my dear, it's so good to hear your voice. We were terribly worried. When you didn't show up after Michael sent you to break into that old house, we were frantic. We called the authorities, afraid that you'd been arrested or hurt. But they could tell us nothing. It was as though you had vanished off the face of the earth. Michael thought you might've been kidnapped by that Claudia or those men. Then, after we got your note, we were relieved—but puzzled. What happened?"
Morgaine/Raven chuckled. “Hi yourself, Melody. I'm sorry I caused you to worry, but a lot of things have happened—too much to explain over the phone. We'll have to meet. Then I'll tell you everything. So how have you and Michael been?"
"We've been fine, busy trying to locate you and that woman, Claudia. Also, Michael's found a new hiding place for you-know-who. He has things he wants to discuss with you, too. When and where should we get together, Raven?"
"At your convenience, at Moonwood."
"Why there? Why not here in The City?"
"I can't tell you that right now, but it's important that we go there. It has to do with something I must show Michael."
"Very well.” She said something to someone who was with her, most likely Ellul. A man's voice replied to her. She asked, “Is tomorrow too soon? We could drive up there today."
"Sure. Tomorrow it is then. We'll be there about noon. See you manana, Melody."
"Good-bye dear."
When Raven/Morgaine hung up the phone, Keith gave her a quizzical look. “You didn't sound like yourself when you were talking to Mrs. Ellul. Why are we going up to Hicksville, Raven?"
She touched his cheek. “It's a surprise, Keith. Tell you when we get there."
He gave her another strange look.
* * * *
That night the couple went to bed early to get a fresh start in the morning for the trip upstate. Soon after falling asleep, Morgaine sent Raven another dream. Again she was in the cavern with the blue lights. This time Morgaine was herself as she led Raven through a labyrinth of tunnels. “Where are we going?” Raven asked.
"To consult another old one."
"Another Neanderthal?"
"No. Another sort of being. One of an even older lineage."
In this dream they arrived at the evil room with the bloo
dy altar and the demonic carvings in the basement of Moonwood. Raven shuddered. “I don't like this place, Morgaine. Why are we here?"
"Don't worry, Raven. You won't be harmed. You are going to learn more about my past."
As they faced the altar, an awful creature stepped from the shadows. Only Morgaine's grip kept Raven from running away screaming. It was a twelve foot tall dinosaur which resembled a T-Rex in form, with enormous rear legs, small front legs and a thick tail. Its head, however, was humanoid in shape, with large frontal lobes. Also, it wore clothing, a simple robe similar to the one worn by the Neanderthal, except it was purple and made of a silky material.
Morgaine bowed to it, raised her head and muttered something in a language of hisses and grunts. The thing replied in hisses and birdcalls. Morgaine turned to Raven. “Grchmxtal greets you. He said that it is time to induct you into the mysteries of the other world."
Raven shivered. “What do you mean? Induct me how?"
"All will be revealed soon. Come."
Morgaine took Raven by the arm again and led her through a stone door on one side of the chamber. They entered an ordinary living room, the living room of the apartment where Morgaine had lived before she met Ellul. After the women were seated on a sofa, Morgaine turned on a TV with a remote. The words Morgaine, Part Two appeared on the screen. Raven watched Melody and Michael's wedding, both the Christian one and the Pagan one.
Raven awoke to the sound of an oldies station playing Dancing in the Moonlight on her clock radio. It was seven A.M. She gave Keith a shake and said, “C'mon sleepy head, we're meeting the Elluls at their mansion in Woodstock today."
"Yeah, yeah,” he said sleepily, rubbing his eyes with one hand and scratching his crotch with the other.
* * * *
When Raven and Keith arrived at Moonwood around ten, the Ellul's limo was parked in the curved driveway in front of the porch. Keith parked the Pontiac in back of it and got their luggage from the trunk. The boards and yellow tape were off the front door. As Raven was about to knock, Morgaine took her over. Instead of knocking, she reached above the transom, retrieved a key that was there and unlocked the door. Keith grabbed her arm. “Hey Raven, how d'ja know that key was there?"