Raven's Key: A Novel

by Siomonn Pulla

  After writing down the specific information he needed, Paul clicked on the second hit the computer returned.

  Acquisition Number:    III-X-330

  Digital ID:                20070413

  Shelf Number:               13-04-03

  Place of Origin:          Sturgeon River, Ontario

  Measurements:              Length 57.8 cm, Width 2.6 cm, 6.7 cm

  Category:                Ceremonial artifacts

  Sub-category:           Personal gear

  Cultural Affiliation:      Northeastern Ojibwa, Anishnaabe

  Collector’s note:          Artifact reported deposited to Director Selwyn in 1882 by old Indian man and grandson for safekeeping.

  After jotting down the information for the second object, Paul went to look for Iyash, following his trail of lightly scented tobacco through the aisles of shelves. It didn’t take him long to find the Elder, who was waiting patiently at the edge of the chained off section of the collections.

  At the request of Elders from across the country, the museum maintained strict protocols regarding access to the more sacred and spiritual objects in its collections. This included restricting access to the materials by chaining off the specific section where the objects were stored and covering all the objects with red cloths, to respect their living presence.

  Four times every year, the museum hosted Elders who were invited into the collections to feed any of the sacred objects that required attention and to smudge them with sweetgrass, sage, cedar and tobacco.  Paul had never accessed any of the objects in the special sacred, secret and ceremonial collection. He had, however, heard numerous stories about the special Elder visits from Susan, who organized and coordinated the visiting delegations, which usually coincided with the four equinoxes.

  “I managed to find the numbers we need to retrieve those two items.”

  “Great. I think you’ll find them in there, third shelf, bottom-left corner.” Iyash motioned towards one of the shelves inside of the chained-off section.

  “Hmm. Let’s see.” Paul checked his notes to verify the location of the objects, which were classified as being in location 13, which was where all the sacred objects were located, and where the two of them now stood. “Hey. You’re right. Good guess.”

  “No guessing involved my friend.” Iyash laughed.  “They are very special to me, to all of us.”

  “I can’t understand how you’d even begin to know where these two items would be located. The museum’s collections are so vast, there must be over a million items in here!”

  “I guess it’s just good intuition.”

  “I hope we’re lucky this afternoon!” Paul unhooked the chain from the wall and ushered Iyash into the sacred collections. “Lets see if we can find those two items you and your grandson have traveled so far to examine.”

  “They’re over here.” Iyash led Paul over to one of the many shelves in the collections. “Bottom corner.”

  “Maybe I should get a cart to put them on. It would make it a lot easier to wheel them into the examination room around the corner where we are supposed to meet the other two.”

  “Good idea. I’ll wait here while you get a cart.” Iyash took a deep haul off of his pipe, exhaling a strong cloud of aromatic smoked towards the two objects lying in the left hand corner on the bottom shelf, both of them covered by a thick red cloth.

  After a few minutes Paul returned with one of the carts used to transport objects from the collections to other areas of the museum.

  “It seems more appropriate that you should have the honors of uncovering the two objects.” Paul motioned to the pair of white linen gloves that were on the cart. “I don’t suppose you will need to wear these?”

  “Nope. Not necessary.” Iyash smiled. “I think I’ll be fine. Don’t intend to do any harm to my own property.”

  Bending down low, Iyash paused to say a prayer before uncovering the red cloth from the two objects.

  Just as his hand went towards the first object, there was a loud noise as the door to collections was opened and then closed, and two voices deep in conversation echoed throughout the large room.

  “So this is the main collections, where over a third of the museum’s objects are stored, including the sizable collection of sacred materials we have acquired over the years.” The first voice noted.

  “It is all quite impressive and well looked after.” The second voice replied.

  Paul recognized the first voice as Susan, assuming that the second voice was George. This was confirmed seconds later, as the two of the came around the corner and noticed Paul and Iyash.

  “I hope we are not interrupting anything gentlemen,” Susan remarked. “We’re just finishing up the tour.”

  “This institution is quite impressive. A lot of care and thought has gone into its design and operation” George commented. “It seems like you are trying your best to accommodate a wide range of interests here.”

  “Yes, we try our best George. Although, sometimes it is very difficult to accommodate all of the competing interests.” Susan sighed deeply. “But the challenge keeps us going.”

  “I think you are doing a great job.” George reassured Susan, redirecting his attention towards Paul. “ So, were you able to locate the two objects we came to examine?”

  “Yes. It wasn’t a problem at all. While I was searching the computer, your grandfather somehow knew all along where the two items were located.”

  “Of course.” George grinned. “He has an uncanny ability to locate things.

  “Carry on then,” said Susan. “What are you waiting for?”

  Taking this cue, Iyash placed his hand on the first object. A serious look of concern came over him. He immediately placed his hand on the second object.

  “Grandson, it looks like he beat us here after all.”

  Paul glanced at Susan, who returned his puzzled look as Iyash uncovered the two objects.

  Chapter 12

  Iyash quickly removed the red cloth from the two objects revealing two perfectly dark black raven feathers that glistened a translucent blue underneath the fluorescent lights of the collections room.

  “You were right grandfather.” George was shocked. He picked up the two raven feathers, running his finger along their tips.

  “After all these years I thought we were safe.” Iyash shook his head slowly in disappointment.

  “He’s a crafty one. Old man Pikagan warned us.”

  George unzipped the bag slung over his shoulder and reached his hand in to retrieve something. After a few seconds of searching, he produced two feathers identical to the two he now held in his hands. Untying the red ribbon that held the feathers together, George placed the two new feathers together with the other two and retied the ribbon; gently placing them back into his bag.

  “Maybe you can fill us in on what’s going on here.” Susan couldn’t believe that the two objects weren’t where they were supposed to be. “I think I should probably call security to report this.”

  “Security? They won’t be able to do anything about this.” Iyash looked very tired and old all of a sudden.

  “Maybe Paul had the wrong acquisition numbers.” Susan looked hopefully at Paul. “I’ll recheck them myself.”

  She made her way over to the computer terminal. After a few seconds she returned, a grim look on her face.

  “So?” Paul knew he had the right numbers.

  “You definitely had the right numbers.” Sue was now completely confused.

  “It’s nothing you’ll be able to resolve very easily.” George’s voice had a calming effect. “Especially if you involve the police.”

  “Ok. I won’t call security. But I’m going to have to report this at some point.” Sue regained her composure. “Maybe you or and your grandfather could explain what’s going on here.”

  “It looks like your museum has lost our objects, ”explained  Iyash ma
tter of factly. “We trusted you to look after our precious culture and your lack of attention and care for these sacred materials is now going to have dire consequences for more than just us.”

  “That’s not fair.” Paul couldn’t help himself. He knew how hard Sue worked to maintain the integrity of the museum’s collection and to make sure Aboriginal peoples were involved at every level of the museum’s operation.

  “It’s ok Paul,” interjected Sue calmly. “I think our guests are trying to blow a bit of smoke in our faces. Maybe we should all go up to my office and get our bearings.”

  “A fine idea.” George nodded at his grandfather. “We’re in no hurry to head back to the hotel. Our flight leaves sometime tomorrow evening.”

  “Great.” Sue glanced at Paul, who had receded back into the shadows of the conversation. “Paul, you’re not too eager to head back to the archives are you? I think we’re going to need your problem solving skills.”

  “I wasn’t planning on heading back there until tomorrow.”

  Exiting the collections, Sue led the way up two flights of stairs to her office on the fourth floor. It was an expansive corner office, with a beautiful view overlooking the river and a small collection of four over-stuffed chairs in one corner, arranged in a circle around a small low-lying table.

  “Do you mind if I smoke?” Iyash took out his pipe and placed a small pinch of tobacco into it.

  Paul noticed that somehow Iyash managed to get his pipe lit without using a match.

  “My grandfather has a few neat tricks up his sleeve.” George winked at Paul. “Nothing years of practice can’t teach.”

  “I guess so.” Paul stammered. “Never been a smoker myself.”

  “It has to be the right kind of smoke- and that seems increasingly difficult to find these days.”

  “So gentleman, not to be rude, but I think we need to concentrate a bit here and figure out what’s go on.” Sue sat down and made herself comfortable. “George, maybe you can start by filling us in on the meaning of those raven feathers you are carrying around in your bag.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean. They’re just a couple of raven feathers. Nothing special about them.”

  “What about this Raven that your grandfather mentioned earlier?”

  “Raven is a trickster in many Indigenous stories,” replied Paul. “An elaborate practical joker. Maybe this is a test of the museum’s new security system.”

  “All I know right now is that two special artifacts have somehow gone missing from our collections, the same two artifacts that you and your grandfather have traveled a long distance to be reacquainted with.  And they turn out to be raven feathers? In all my years working here in the museum, I’ve never experienced anything quite so unusual as this.”

  “The unusual seems to follow us around,” replied Iyash.

  “When the new security system was installed all the items in the collection were fitted with a tracer tag that needs to be deactivated before it leaves the museum or else an alarm will be set off,” added Paul. “Maybe they were actually scheduled for some conservation work.”

  “That makes sense,” Susan seemed hopeful. “Conservation sometimes had an odd way of doing things, rarely communicating with the Curators when they decided to give a specific object the equivalent of a complete check-up. This wouldn’t be the first time an object had apparently gone missing only to turn up a few days later with a clean bill of health.”

  Chapter 13

  Raven couldn’t believe that Maeve had blown him off so easily.

  This is proving to be trickier than I thought. I may have to change my tactics a little bit.

  His hotel room was across the street from the museum. He had a perfect view of the round curves of the building, which were beginning to cast strange shadows on the ground in the afternoon light.

  Raven shifted his gaze from the window to a small package sitting on the table in front of him. It was a close call this morning in the collections room at the museum.

  Getting inside had been easy. Too easy. Almost like I was being set up, like a bird in a cage. But that curator had no idea of my real intention there. It was fun talking to her about Sinclair though. If she only knew that I had actually been on that voyage to the teaching rock, we could have had a really interesting conversation. Unfortunately, that’s never going to happen. A shame really. I kind of liked her. I could have told her that Sinclair was actually an emissary tasked with the responsibility of rebuilding a very ancient relationship.

  Raven sighed. Lately, he was really starting to feel old, tired and lonely. He missed human touch.

  I could’ve sworn there was some kind of enchantment on that collections room. The same enchantment that made it impossible to phase in from the outside, made it equally difficult to phase out from the inside. Luckily I didn’t get shot but that squirrely security guard. It’s a shame what alcohol does to some humans.

  Raven opened the package on the desk and took out the two items he had stolen from the museum. The first was a small otter skin, with an intricate beaded pattern of black, yellow, red and white stars. There was a small clasp hidden underneath the chin that served to keep the bag closed. He lifted the otter’s head to open the bag and put his hand deep into the insides of the animal.

  I don’t know what’s so special about this old bag. It’s just got a bit of sand and dried earth in it.

  He took his hand out of the bang and re-clasped it, dusting off the bit of sand and earth that had stuck to his fingers.

  I like this pipe though. Now that’s magical.

  Raven took the pipe his hand and held it up to the light.

  An eagle transforming into a wolf. This is something I can relate to. If I wasn’t being paid so well, I’d probably keep it for myself.

  He put the two objects back into the small black bag on the table and zipped it up. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, sleek black cell phone and flipped it open.

  “Yea, I’ve got them.”

  “Any problems or potential problems,” asked the caller.

  “I almost got shot by an edgy security guard. It was easy enough to slip into the collections. But when I tried to phase out I couldn’t.”

  “Did the guard see you,” replied the caller tensely. “I hope for your sake he didn’t.”

  “I was able to shift before he could see me. He just thought there was a bird caught in the collections room. I squawked at him a couple of times and he opened the emergency exit and let me out.”

  “Lucky.”

  “Nothing to do with luck. It’s skill. That’s why you hired me.”

  “What about the girl?”

  “She’s proving to be harder to pin down than I thought.”

  “Well sharpen up those skills of yours. I don’t want to see you until you’ve secured everything I want.”

  “And what about my wants?”

  “The terms of our agreement still stand,” assured the caller. “I have made all of the required arrangements.”

  “Excellent.” Raven had waited a long time to finish this project and he was looking forward to retiring comfortably after he delivered the last few items. “I’ll secure the last piece tonight. The girl won’t be a problem.”

  “Perfect. Just what I want to hear. I have the utmost confidence in you Bran. Call me when you are ready to return.”

  There was a click and the line went dead.

  Raven flipped his phone closed and put it back into his pocket.

  I guess I’m heading to Wakefield tonight. I hope Maeve’s boyfriend doesn’t get in the way. I’d hate for this to have to get messy. I haven’t had to kill anybody for a long time.

  Outside his window, the full moon was rising, barely visible in the fast encroaching twilight.

  Chapter 14

  “Hi Stephen, it’s Susan up in Ethnology.” Sue tapped her finger rhythmically on the table. “Great, great, thanks. Yea, it’s been pretty busy up here the last couple of w
eeks getting ready for the big China exhibit. No, I didn’t really have anything to do with it. That was Gale’s baby. Have you seen it yet? Yea, pretty amazing.”

  Sue looked at Paul and rolled her eyes.

  “Listen, I was wondering if you happened to have a couple of objects I’m looking for down in conservation. Great, yea, I’m thinking about putting a show together next year, I call it envisioning the sacred. Yea, materials from the sacred collections in conjunction with oral histories and art. Thanks, yea should be really interesting. Accession numbers? Of course.”

  Paul dug the piece of paper out from his pocket and handed it Sue.

  “III-X-329 and III-X-330. Sure, no problem.” Sue handed the paper back to Paul. “Really? Ok, thanks Stephen. Yep, talk to you later.”

  Sue placed the receiver back on its cradle.

  “He’s going to look and call back in the next five minutes or so.”

  “ I can’t imagine where else they would be.” Paul was relieved that they were that much closer to finding the missing two objects.

  “I wouldn’t count on it.” Iyash pinched a small bit of tobacco into his pipe. “I got a pretty good feeling that our medicine is not in this building. Not even in this city.”

  “Really?” Sue was surprised. “But that’s impossible. They have to be down in conservation. The new security system is the best in the world.”

  “I also have a very strong feeling that the our objects are no longer in this building.” George crossed his arms and let out a long sigh. “Grandfather, I think that maybe it’s time to share our story.”

  “Do you really think they’re ready?”

  “I think that until they understand what is really going on we won’t be able to do anything.”

  “Ok, but not everything. Just what they need to know.”

  “Agreed. We don’t want to scare them away too soon.” George’s eyes twinkled. “You never can tell how strong these young ones are.”

  “Now you’ve got our attention.” Sue leaned forward in her chair. “What exactly is going on here?”

  “We were not expecting this to happen and apologize for involving you in this affair.”

  “Really, it’s not your fault.” Paul felt his heart starting to beat faster.