Shaman - the Awakening (18 page)

Nina was specially gifted, like others who bear the sign of the Eagle; their dreams can't be entered unless they invite you. Observing the Great Mother channeling through Nina was like watching someone with Dissociative Identity Disorder vacillating between personalities. I could see how taxing it was on Nina and asked her several times if she wanted to stop but she refused, stating that she wanted to complete the vision quest. I never asked the Great Mother if she was channeling through Mrs. Jerrells, but I felt very confident that she was behind it.

Steve spoke, breaking me out of my contemplations. “Look, Chris, I like to think that you and I are more than just co-workers. When I first came to you and offered you this position, I knew and believed in your abilities without question. You must admit, you've been acting a little more aloof than usual. Are you alright with all the changes that have been happening to you? When is the last time you've looked at yourself in the mirror? You look like a rougher version of Johnny Depp; the hippie look! Your hair is down to your shoulders! You haven't shaved in several days and you are in desperate need of a shower,” Steve commented with concern. He laughed, but I could tell his genuine worry for me; I felt it.

“I understand your concerns. I'm not going off the deep end if that's what you're worried about,” I stated. “I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you ever need to talk. Dr. Green is also just a phone call away,” he stated.

“Thanks Steve, but I got this,” I replied. He gave me a hit on the side of my arm as he got up and headed towards the galley of the jet.

Steve returned with some sandwiches, fruit and juice. “Here, eat something,” he said in a commanding voice. “I contacted Nina's supervisors and Dianna when you appeared to me in my dreams and gave them an update as you suggested.”

“I'm just glad you retained the dream implant,” I said. Then

Steve became somber.

“Look, Steve, we are going to find her. And by the way, I'm taller than Johnny Depp,” I quipped with a smile.

“You're incorrigible,” he retorted, and laughed. It was good to see him laugh for a change.

Steve received a phone call from the A.D. just as we were landing at the Santa Fe Municipal Airport. He wanted to know his whereabouts. Steve informed him that he was following a lead on the Navajo Reservation and would brief him on it later. I hated to wake up Nina, who was sleeping so peacefully, but Steve had to get back to Albuquerque and we didn't have time to waste.

“It's time to get up, sunshine.” That was my new nickname for Nina, since her astral symbol was the sun. It took her a minute to figure out where she was again. She had been sleep deprived and wasn't used to it like the ViCAP team.

“Here's a large mocha latte, but you'll have to drink it as we leave. Steve has to hurry back to Albuquerque. Let's go,” I said as I handed her the coffee. She was still a little discombobulated, but got herself together and we exited the jet.

“Wow, Steve. You really know how to show a girl a good time. Invite her on your jet, then kick her out before she's had a chance to get breakfast. No phone number, no let's do this again speech or anything,” Nina joked.

She was never without something clever to say. It assisted in cheering Steve up. She gave him a reassuring hug and said, “Don't worry, we'll bring her back.” It was nice having her around. She was a part of the ViCAP family now and I was a part of hers.

Jemez Springs was a resort town. It was filled with retreat hostels, spas, bath houses, bed and breakfasts and weekend getaways. If you wanted to relax and have fun in New Mexico you couldn't go wrong here. With its hot springs and hot sulfur springs. This was definitely paradise, but we were here for something else. As tired and overworked as we were; no one needed a little R&R as much as we did.

We checked into the Elk Mountain Lodge near the Jemez River in the Jemez Mountains. It was the cheapest we could find in Jemez. As much as I wanted to keep right on working, Steve was right. We needed to sleep for a few hours before we fell out. This was the best place for it. Nina couldn't wait to hit the sack, and I decided to get some real sleep for a couple of hours. My mind and body needed it.

I lay down on the bed and checked my phone messages. Most of them were from Dianna. One was from Dr. Green and one from Steve. He probably called Dr. Green after his concerns during our last conversation. He was on good terms with her and had to talk to her, as a stipulation of me working with the FBI. She just wanted to know how I was doing and asked if I could call her when I get a moment, which wouldn't happen anytime soon.

Steve's message was pretty much the same as before. He was concerned about me and the direction of the case. He also reminded me of the calendar date. It was the one thing that remained with me day and night. Not only was I counting down the days, but the hours and minutes. My focus, senses, physical agility and gifts were sharper now, after leaving Cherokee. My Spirit Guide's presence was strong, even in my conscious state. She was a part of me now, with and all her abilities and attributes.

Dianna's messages were pretty much repetitious, stating that she missed me and urging me to be safe. She left two messages per day, sometimes three. I hadn't spoken with her in several days or seen her in dreamscape. I'd been so busy. We hadn't physically been together in over two weeks. Hopefully this separation period was winding down. I gave her a call after checking my messages.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hello, stranger. How are you?” she inquired in an upbeat voice.

“I'm doing well, and you?” I asked,

“I'm just missing you. I was beginning to get a little worried until Steve explained to me what was going on,” she stated.

“I miss you too,” I replied.

“How's Nina?” she inquired.

“She wasn't doing very well, but is asleep in her suite right now. We were up for three days with limited food and water. She wasn't used to it.”

“Where are you now?” Diana asked.

“We're in Jemez.”

“Oh, you're back in New Mexico! That's good; it isn't far from here,” she replied.

We continued to catch up on the phone until I fell asleep while she was still on the line. I was truly exhausted this time. I woke up with my cell phone still on the bed and the battery low. Then I realized I had fallen asleep on Dianna. I quickly dialed her back and explained. She understood and we talked for a few minutes, after which she had to leave for the Residence Office. I was lucky to have someone so understanding.

Nina and I departed early the next morning. I began second guessing myself in the car on the way to the Jemez Order. After my last talks and texting with Steve, there was definitely cause for doubt. I was following up on dreamscape about a missing priest, whom no one including myself even knew existed. It was a suggestive implant by Kayah. The only one who thought this lead had any merit was Nina. I attempted to rationalize every angle that could involve the missing priest. Could the killer have experimented with the abduction of the priest first? Then I had to inquire why no one had reported it. This one did seem far-fetched.

“You seem to be staring into oblivion. What's on your mind?” Nina inquired. Her voice brought me back to a conscious state. I'm lucky she was driving the vehicle because I just completely zoned out, lost in thought.

“I'm sorry, what were you saying?” I asked.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, just thinking,” I replied.

“About what?” she inquired. I didn't tell her of my doubts and remained silent.

She gave me a sideways glance and then broke the silence in her normal fashion. “Did you talk to Dianna last night or visit her in dreamscape?”

“Yes. We talked on the phone, but I fell asleep while speaking to her.”

“Did you call her back this morning?”

“Yes,” I stated without furthering the conversation.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Nina inquired.

“No. not really,” I replied.

“Aren't you the loquacious one this morning,” she responded.

“Please forgive me, Nina, but I just need a moment.”

When we arrived at the Jemez Order, the first thing that caught my attention was the number for the address of the facility. It was the number 55, like the number the Kachinas wrote down in the dirt during my vision quest with the Great Mother. The facility was enormous and the surrounding private land that accompanied it was vast. It was designed to look like the old Spanish monasteries, but was completely modernized. It was truly a beautiful sight to see. You could tell a lot of money had gone into the building of it.

The priests were dressed plainly, donning the traditional black monks' robes. We inquired from one of the Monsignors where to find the head priest. He escorted us to the receptionist's desk at the business office. The Monsignor went behind the receptionist counter where the rest of the office was, and spoke to the receptionist. I could hear what he was saying as the receptionist picked up the telephone and pressed one of the buttons on the business line. She spoke to another priest on the phone by the name of Monsignor Davis, and told him that there were visitors at the desk waiting to speak to him. I guessed he was the one in charge.

Apparently the panther's vision and agility weren't the only things she had imprinted on me. It was impossible to hear what the receptionist was saying from this distance, especially the person to whom she was talking on the phone, and yet I heard everything clearly. The Monsignor who had escorted us returned from behind the desk to tell us Monsignor Davis would be right with us and asked if we could have a seat. After 30 minutes, Monsignor F.D. Davis arrived through the same door we had used. He wasn't even in the business office the way we had thought.

He was a tall man, taller than me. He appeared to be in good shape, like he worked out. Then again, he did run a health resort. You could tell he was the alpha male of the priests. He had an air about him like someone of importance someone who demanded your full attention and respect.

“Good morning, I'm Monsignor Davis. How are you,” he inquired with a friendly smile, looking at us.

“Very well, how are you?” I responded.

“Good morning,” Nina replied.

“How can I help you?” he inquired.

“I'm Christian Sands with the FBI, and this is Agent Blackwater with Bureau of Indian Affairs. We are investigating a case and wanted to get some background information on the Jemez Order.”

“Are we involved in this investigation?”

“We aren't at liberty to say at this point,” Nina responded.

“Well, we opened the doors after the closing of the Servants of Paraclete Ministry. We purchased the lands and facilities thereafter. We aren't a part of the Archdiocese. We assist priests from all around the world get back on track. We are funded by donations. I wouldn't mind providing you with a tour, but I must remind you that certain areas are restricted due to doctor-patient confidentiality and legal privileges,” Monsignor Davis stated. He seemed nice enough, perhaps I was wrong in my assumption.

The Monsignor escorted us around the facility, explaining their mission and goal. He didn't get into specifics. He explained the differences between the Jemez Order and the Servants of Paraclete Ministry, and why the Servants had failed. Basically they didn't have the trained medical professionals the Order had. He went on to state the differences between psychiatrists and psychologists, which they had both.

“So you see, we provide clinical treatment of the symptoms as well as spiritual treatment,” he added.

He continued to escort us around to the public areas: the dining hall, the prayer quarters, the church, library and the business center. They also had all the amenities of a resort fit for Jemez Springs; a hot sulfur bath house, fitness gym, full theater, hot springs area, swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, basketball court, racquetball, tennis, bowling. Whatever your desired pleasures were, they accommodated them. They also had a full service staff.

Their staff included medical doctors, therapists and counselors. They had trainers, kitchen / wait staffers with chefs, maintenance staff and housekeepers. They even had a masseuse, but they weren't vain enough to have a spa with stylists and nail technicians. It was a religious retreat. Amongst the areas that were off limits were the treatment areas and private quarters. After we completed the tour, we sat down and questioned Monsignor Davis on the disappearances we heard about.

“We heard there were some priests who went missing from here,” I asked the Monsignor. “No, that was a rumor. We've never had any priests go missing. We've never filed a missing persons report and there has never been a case investigating this, because there is no case.” Monsignor Davis didn't appear to be upset in the least, but I was getting something totally different about his guise and demeanor deep inside my psyche.

When we left, I felt like someone who had just crawled out from under a rock. I had no idea of such places or of the existence of the Servants of Paraclete, which had been in existence since 1947. The Order and the SOP seemed to be some of the best kept secrets around. The Vatican was better than the CIA in regards to guarding secrets. We needed to conduct some quick research into the history of these groups. I thought I was just going to meet an old priest in a church and ask him a few questions, but this turned out to be something totally unexpected.

“Are you Catholic, Nina,” I inquired in the car?

“Yes,” she responded.

“Me too. Did you know about any of this?” I asked.

“Not a clue,” she said, and then shook her head in disappointment.

“What about Monsignor Davis? What did you get from him?” I asked.

“He appears to be someone who wants to help people. We can't judge the church based on the actions of a few lost souls,” Nina stated. “Not just a few Nina. They have a multi-million dollar facility, and it isn't funded for a few incidents. This appears to be rampant and systematic.

“What sort of vibe did you get from the Monsignor,” Nina inquired?

“I got the feeling like he was hiding something.”

“Chris, is it wrong not to want to air your dirty laundry in public? Most of us would choose not to. That doesn't make them any different than anyone else. At least they're attempting to make a concerted effort to repair the problems.”

“Yeah, but to what extent and at whose expense?” I asked.

“Are we investigating church transgressions or trying to find a serial killer?” Nina inquired.

“Not you too! Kayah set us on this path and my spirit guide sent me to see her. It has to tie in somehow.” Nina went silent on me. For the first time she didn't have some quip, fast and clever comeback or rebuttal.

“Look, I know this defiles everything we have been taught about the church. I'm not trying to dig up any dirt and defame them, but if this leads me down some dark corridors and skeletons are found in the closet, I won't keep them hidden. I need to know if you are still with me on this,” I asked Nina.

“Yes, I am,” she stated, looking firmly at me as if to say
I will do it, but I don't like it.

We stopped for lunch at a road side diner, which seemed to be the standard here. It'd been a while since we had a good meal. Nina always seemed to look good, even on limited rest. I could only imagine how I must have appeared. I had never taken my appearance into consideration until Steve mentioned it. At least I'd showered and changed.

“Do I appear different to you?” I asked Nina.

“You mean besides the wolf look?” she commented and laughed. “No, I like it! You look sexy with the long hair.”

“I didn't look sexy before?” I inquired, smiling.

“There you go, looking for more compliments,” she said, smiling back. “Although, I would like to give you a shave. The scraggly beard doesn't do it. It makes you appear like a tatterdemalion,” she further stated.

“Wow. Thank you for your bluntness!”

“What?” she said, and then gave me an alluring look.

“So how do we collect information on these alleged priests if no one has reported them missing, and we can't question any priests or medical staff at the Order?” she asked.

“Who says we need to get information from them? We can subpoena the non-confidential staff. You see how many people work there?” I replied.