Morgaine and Asmodeus

by Joe Vadalma

  Morgaine/Raven gave him an innocent stare. “I didn't. Just guessed that they might keep a spare key around."

  He scratched his head. “How come you didn't think of that the night we broke in?"

  She shrugged and proceeded to open the door.

  "Wait. You can't just walk in like that. We should knock."

  She ignored him, stepped into the foyer and headed for the kitchen. Melody and Ellul were at the table with the dregs of breakfast before them. They looked up startled by Raven's entrance.

  "Hi folks,” she said.

  Ellul said, “Raven. How did you get in? I distinctly recall locking all the doors last night."

  "I found a spare key above the transom,” she replied. “You shouldn't really leave it there. It's the first place a burglar would look."

  Melody popped out of her seat, ran up to Raven and hugged her. “Oh Raven, you'll have to tell us what happened to you in Prague. Michael was afraid that that terrible woman, or demon, whatever she was, did something to you."

  Morgaine/Raven embraced her back. “I'm fine.” She glanced at Ellul. He was staring at her suspiciously.

  Melody asked, “Have you eaten? I made pancake batter and coffee."

  "Pancakes and coffee sounds fine."

  When Raven and Keith sat at the table while Melody cooked brunch, Ellul stared at Raven with his penetrating eyes. He said, “Well?"

  She smiled flirtatiously. “I suppose that means you want me to tell you everything that happened since the last time you saw me."

  "Yes. Of course."

  "First off, I found what Doctor Dee had hidden in that house. You may be disappointed though. His notes had turned to dust. The only thing I could retrieve was a strange crystal-like stone.” She dug the object out of her purse and handed it to Ellul.

  He turned it over in his hand for a while. Finally, he laid it in the center of the table. “Perhaps it is the Philosopher's stone or the scrying stone that Dee and Kelley used."

  "Maybe. But I wouldn't have a clue as how to use it to make gold or see into the future.” Morgaine/Raven reached over and returned it to her purse. Ellul creased his eyebrows at this action but said nothing. “Shall I go on with what happened to me?"

  "Yes, please continue. I'd like to hear all the details if you please."

  "Okay, it took me quite a while to find the right room, as there had been many changes to the house since the time period of my vision. When I did find it, it took me almost an hour to dig a stone block out of the wall. The box that contained the crystal was hidden in a cavity behind it. As I was about to leave, Claudia and Keith got the drop on me."

  Melody turned from her cooking to stare at Keith. “Your partner was helping Claudia?"

  "She had him under a spell. He had to obey her. At Dee's house, she cast the same sort of spell over me so that I was also under her power. She took us to the airport and booked tickets back to London where she made me write the note you got. After we arrived in England, she took us to Stonehenge. For a couple of weeks we did nothing. Finally, one night when the moon was full, we drove to Stonehenge where she performed some kind of ceremony and disappeared. I mean really disappeared, vanished into thin air right before our eyes. Then Keith and I came back home. We were sick of the whole business of traipsing all over Europe on a wild goose chase."

  Keith said, “I witnessed the whole thing myself. Claudia just vanished, poof. It was incredible. I wouldn't have believed it if hadn't seen with my own eyes."

  Ellul rested his chin on his hand and looked thoughtful. “What sort of ceremony was it, Raven? What did she say?"

  She shrugged. “I don't know. It was in a strange tongue. Perhaps it was the language of demons."

  "Do you still have Dee's notebook? The one we found in the tomb?"

  "Yes. Do you want it?"

  "Please. Maybe it will tell us more about the crystal."

  By that time Melody had served breakfast to the detectives and sat down at the table. “One thing I'm curious about,” she said. “Why did you want to meet us here? Why not in The City?"

  "I want to check out some stuff that you've got on your computer. That is, if we're still working for you. Which I assume is the case until we find out for sure whether the youth potion actually exists."

  Ellul replied for her. “Yes, of course. But what do you think is on my computer that would help us?"

  "Some files that you had on floppies, labeled Asmodeus."

  "Oh, those. I lost them."

  Melody looked at Ellul with suspicion. “How did you lose them, Michael? The people at the bank told me that some woman forged my signature and had the key to our safe deposit box. The Asmodeus floppies have been missing ever since. Who was that woman?"

  Ellul turned red. “It was Morgaine ... before she died. I destroyed them when I got them back from her. What was in those files was information too dangerous for anyone to possess."

  "What do you mean? Dangerous in what way?"

  "They contained sorcery—spells that could do terrible harm in the wrong hands."

  Raven/Morgaine interjected, “All the more reason to find them."

  "Didn't you hear me. I destroyed them."

  "You destroyed copies of them. How do you know that Morgaine didn't make more? Besides, stuff you think you've erased from your computer hard disk can be retrieved."

  "Yeah,” said Keith. “I can do that."

  "I see. All right. But I want to be present."

  Keith said, “Raven, I left my tools and software for retrieving lost data from a hard disk back in the city. You should've told me what we was gonna do."

  "I forgot. You'll have to go back for it."

  "Aren't you going with me?"

  "No. I want to nose around here this afternoon. Look, you don't have to come back right away. I know you don't like to do that much driving in one day. Stay in the city overnight and come back in the morning."

  "Okay, if you say so. When should I leave?"

  "Any time you feel like it, baby.” Raven/Morgaine kissed him on the cheek. She turned her attention back to Ellul. “Speaking of babies, where's Isaac?"

  "Here. I made a place for him in the caves that adjoin the cellar. Even if those thugs come back, they'll never find him."

  Raven/Morgaine nodded. Morgaine had plans for the robot.

  The rest of the afternoon, the detectives searched Ellul's library. When Keith asked what they were looking for, Raven/Morgaine replied, “The secret of life and death.” Actually Morgaine was killing time. She wanted Keith out of the way. Finally, he got bored of pouring over books that he barely understood and told her he was leaving for the city to get his computer stuff.

  Raven/Morgaine walked him to the front door where she kissed and hugged him. “Have a good trip, babe. See you tomorrow."

  That night she slept alone in Morgaine's old room. At first Melody brought her to the room that Keith and Raven shared the last time they were at Moonwood, but Morgaine, through Raven's lips, told her that she would like the room across the hall from them—"for security reasons."

  Melody said, “Okay, but you know that's where Morgaine used to sleep."

  "Oh yeah."

  Raven/Morgaine kissed Melody and Ellul on their cheeks. Her heart beat rapidly as Raven's lips touched the astrologer. “Goodnight."

  Being in her former room made her feel at home. Raven thought, I'm turning into Morgaine. Soon my personality will dwindle away and hers will take over completely. This thought made her so sad that tears rolled down her cheeks. An inner voice that Raven recognized as Morgaine's said, Don't worry Raven. It won't be much longer. I don't intend to stay in your head forever.

  Soon after having these thoughts, Raven fell asleep. Morgaine sent her another dream about her past. In this one Raven was Morgaine and learned about the day that the Tarot cards predicted Ellul's danger, and how she had sent a demon into Flebert's body to make him do her bidding.

  CHAPTER 16

  THE HOMUNCULUS
<
br />   Later that week Raven had the fifth dream about Morgaine. In this one she learned the truth about Morgaine's suicide. The dream ended with Morgaine being pulled into Asmodeus’ domain by a golden chain. She woke up screaming from this nightmare. Keith took her shivering body in his arms and asked softly, “What's the matter, Raven, bad dream?"

  She buried her face in his chest for comfort, wetting his thick curly hair with her tears. “Yes, it was horrible."

  "What was it about?"

  Under Morgaine's control, Raven lied. “Oh the usual kind of thing. You know, being chased down a dark alley by a serial killer with a foot long knife."

  Keith's comforting transformed into love making. Afterwards, as Raven showered and dressed, she mulled over the contents of the five dreams that Morgaine had sent her. She now knew that Morgaine had committed suicide to preserve the life and soul of Michael Ellul, and that she had performed terrible sorcery, which had caused the death of the priest McGuillicuty and the madness of the former actor, Lance Flebert. What puzzled and worried Raven was why Michael had brought Morgaine back to the material dimension and what the sorceress intended to do while possessing Raven. According to the last part of her final dream, Morgaine had become the slave of the demon Asmodeus when she died. Was the price of the demon for allowing her to return to material dimension the performance of an evil mission?

  Raven said to Keith, “Go down to breakfast if you're hungry. I want to do yoga before I eat."

  He shrugged and said, “Okay,” kissing her lightly.

  After he left, Raven folded herself into the lotus position and relaxed as though about to meditate. Instead, she concentrated her will on contacting Morgaine's spirit within her. Morgaine, talk to me. What is your plan? Why have you returned from the other plane? Is Asmodeus behind it?

  Morgaine replied as whispers inside her mind. No, the demon had no part in it. This is between Michael and I and another which shall remain nameless.

  Then Michael knows your true identity? Raven asked.

  Yes, he conjured me out of the void to achieve his own purposes.

  Why? What does he want from you?

  He thought I would give him the secret of life and death. He wants Melody to live until the end of time, as he himself may.

  Will you?

  Yes, I'll grant his desire. But not exactly as he thinks. That's why I needed to take over your body. There are things I can only do as a material being.

  But what? What are you going to do?

  I'd rather not say. Just bear with me for a few more days, Raven.

  Then there was a silence within Raven, and she knew the interview was over. Morgaine would not speak again until she was ready.

  When Raven went down to breakfast, Keith had already eaten, and Melody had left for her usual morning stroll. Ellul, who was lingering over his coffee, said to the unspoken question, “Keith is down by my computer. He's printing out the deleted information he'd reclaimed. I'm glad we're alone, Raven. There are things I need to speak to you about."

  "Okay, shoot. Are Keith and I being fired? There doesn't seem to be much for us to do anymore."

  "No, that's not it. Look, I know the truth. Morgaine won't allow you to tell me, but I know you're possessed by her. Perhaps she's taken you over completely by now, and it's Morgaine I'm talking to now."

  "Don't silly,” Morgaine said with Raven's tongue. “You're talking nonsense. I'm not possessed."

  "No-o?” He gazed at Raven with his penetrating eyes and a strange sensation came over Morgaine. She needed to obey him in all things. “Speak the truth, Morgaine,” he said in a commanding voice. “Admit that you've taken over the woman, Raven."

  "Up to your old tricks, eh Michael. All right, I admit it. I am Morgaine."

  "And now you should return to the domain of Asmodeus."

  "Not yet. I have things I need to accomplish first."

  "What?"

  "To fulfill your deepest desire."

  "What do you mean? What do you think my deepest desire is?"

  "I don't have to tell you that. It is the reason you brought me back."

  "I see. But, what is it that you plan to do?"

  "You'll see. You'll see, Michael."

  "Tell me, explicitly. I command you."

  Morgaine's presence within Raven faded. “It's no use, Ellul. She's gone for the present."

  "Raven? You're back?"

  "Yes. She comes and goes, y'know. When she wants me to do something, she takes over. Otherwise, she pretty much leaves me alone unless I try to tell someone about her. Also, she haunts my dreams. Through them, she's told me the whole story about you, Melody, her and the demon, Asmodeus."

  "What has she had you do?"

  Raven wanted to tell him about mixing Keith's sperm into some concoction according to a formula in the Asmodeus files, but Morgaine wouldn't allow it. “Not much, so far."

  "Not much. What not much? Oh, never mind. I know she won't let you tell me.” He lit a cigarette and regarded her contemplatively as though wondering what he could do to pry her secrets out.

  By this time, Raven had finished breakfast. “If you don't have anymore questions for me or Morgaine, I'll go down and see what Keith's up to."

  He dismissed her with a wave of his hand. He seemed to be deep in thought.

  * * * *

  When Raven entered Ellul's office in the cellar, the continuous form printer was chugging away at a tremendous rate. Reams of paper cascaded out of it, spilling on the floor. She went over to see if she could read the printouts. They were in Latin, Greek and a dozen other ancient languages. There were many blank spaces and sections. “What's with all the blanks, Keith?"

  "Missing data,” he replied. “I seriously doubt whether Ellul will make anything out of this. What's there is a jumble. Mostly nonsense words."

  "Not quite. Some of it is in Latin and Greek."

  "I didn't know you could read those languages, Raven. When did you learn to do that?"

  "In my spare time. I can't really read it. I just recognize the Greek and Latin endings."

  "Oh yeah. Well good luck to Ellul in trying to make sense out of this. Say Raven, you know what I've been thinking?"

  "What, Hon? Not another go around.” She went over to where he was sitting and mussed his hair. “You're insatiable."

  "Quit kidding. I want to say something serious."

  "What makes you think I was kidding?” she smirked and winked at him. Morgaine had taken Raven over and felt like flirting with the good-looking muscular detective.

  "Boy, you're in good spirits. Well, anyway, what I want to say is, why don't we wrap this job up and go home. I know the Ellul's are paying us big bucks, but we're hardly doing anything to earn it. I'm getting restless. I'd like to go back to the Big Apple."

  "Me too. I agree with you. What is today? Wednesday. Let's tell the Ellul's we're returning to New York for the weekend. When we get there, we'll fax them our resignation and the bill."

  He grinned wildly. “Great. I was hoping you'd agree.” He jumped up and hugged Raven. Morgaine enjoyed that too, even though she was in love with Michael. “For a while there, I thought we'd be working for those two nuts forever."

  "Say Keith, is that stuff almost finished printing out?"

  "Yeah, about five more minutes. Why?"

  "I want to go online for a bit. I want to look up something on the Internet."

  Keith got up so that Raven could sit in front of the computer. When the printing was finished, he went to stack the printout up neatly. Under Morgaine's control, Raven exited the program that he was running and brought the web browser. When she got online, she went to the Weather Channel web site, looked up the dates of the moon's phases, and nodded with satisfaction. The lovely silvery moon would be full and glorious that very night.

  * * * *

  After dinner that evening, Morgaine took over Raven and said, “Excuse me folks but I need some air. I'm going for a walk.” Both Melody and Keith volunteered to accomp
any her. “Thank you, no. Please guys, I want to be alone for a while. There are some things I need to mull over."

  Keith gave her an argument, but finally gave in. As Morgaine/Raven left the room, the three left at the table were enjoying their after dinner wine and cigarettes—a cigar for Ellul. She quickly slipped through the secret door in the library, descended into the cellar and into the labyrinth beyond the laboratory. She retrieved the package she had left on the altar of the sacrifice room, returned to the library, cracked open the hall door and peered out to make sure that no one was in the corridor. Since the hallway was empty, she slipped out the front door and headed to an overlook a few hundred feet from the house.

  By the time she arrived, the sun had set, and the shadows had lengthened into a lingering twilight. Like a great silver dish, the full moon peeped over the mountains to the east. When it was well above the horizon, Morgaine/Raven took the package from Raven's purse, unwrapped it, examined the contents of the jar which had congealed into fleshly mass, placed the jar on the ground where the moon's rays made it shimmer with a silvery glow, raised her arms and gazed at the great shiny orb. “Oh great Goddess of the moon, whether known as Artemis, Diana or Hecate or any other name that various nations and religions have given you, shine with all your brightness on this mixture of the seeds of a man with substances specified in the Alchemic formula and the blood of woman. Make of it that which it must become."

  She turned her gaze to the jar. While its contents swirled and changed, she rested on the bench. When the moon reached the zenith, the transformation was complete. As she picked up the jar, she heard Keith calling Raven. She quickly wrapped it with the cloth and stuffed it into Raven's purse.

  "Jesus, Raven,” Keith said as he approached, “what've you been doing all this time? It's been hours since you left the house. I was getting worried."

  She kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for worrying about me. I had a lot to think about. Kind of lost track of time."

  "Is this because we're quitting this job? Look Raven, with the money they've given us and what they owe us, we can open a real office and advertise. We'll make out all right without them. Or is it because you've become so friendly with Melody Ellul? Do you think she'll be mad and not want to see you anymore?"