THE 33 KEYS: Key 2 - ANSWER THE CALL "Listen for that Perfect Beat"

CHAPTER 58: SET US FREE

I shove a random coin into the slot and hope for the best.

The door opens up to a field of orange lilies. A hidden hand grabs mine from beneath them. Then suddenly we rise above it all. The lilies. Tiny houses. The turquoise blue water. And now the thirty-three Karmic Islands – a cluster of dots connected by bridges.

One by one, lights appear in imitation of the stars above, trying to drown out the ocean's roar. But with each churn it makes a power calls out to me. Then I see redness rushing in from all corners of the blue sea. And I think that perhaps all the fish have died. Or maybe something other worldly is rising to the surface. As I'm trying to decide which, I feel myself falling.

"Ahhh!" I scream on my way down. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Now another scream breaks free as I hit the Bloody Sea and remember I can't swim.

My feet pierce what I expect to be my last resting place. Well, Mary, you asked for it. You said you wanted to be one with the ocean and make its power your army. Now here's your chance. Then my head gets wet and I think to myself. It's all over, Mary. Give it up.

"Not yet," the voices whisper as they bump into me. "We need you to live and set us free."

"Set you free?" I say in my mind. "Who on earth are you?"

"Don't you know, Mary? We're your friends. You need to set us all free."

"How the hell am I going to set any of you free when I'm down here just like you?"

"No! You're in the orange room."

"Lies! I'm down here with you," I insist. "Some crazy person dropped me from the sky."

"You're in the orange room with Raea," they say in unison. "Mary, you need to free us."

"Free you?" I ask, feeling their immense presence. "Just how many of you are there?"

"Sing with us and we'll show you," they respond in unison.

"But I don't know any songs."

"Such a shame!" Their voices echo each other. "Well, we know a song."

"Then sing it before I drown already."

They gather around me with their silly happiness. It's almost as if I'm an honoured guest at a party I never agreed to attend. Now they start with their singing – one after the other – like they're taking turns starting, one word apart. It's madness to my ears to say the least. Yet as they go on the words are becoming clearer to me, clear enough to hum along, and remember.

"YE-MA-YA; be one with me," they sing eerily. "Take my hand and mount the sea. Carry me where I long to be. Inside the storm. Beneath the sea. Come and join me in this dance where Ki meets Chi. Take me down and cover me. Fill me with grace and harmony. Then take me in your arms and fly with me. May the drumming of the waves empower me. Make me queen above the seas. Power in my hands. Power in my feet. YE-MA-YA. Come forth!"

Then their singing becomes the collective nudge that deposits me into an orange room.

"You like leading from the bottom up, don't you?" she says, but my ears are clogged so it is almost impossible to hear her.

"Don't tell me," I finally stand and say, dripping in blood. "You must be Raea."

"Mary, Mary, Mary. You mustn't listen to stories. Strangers tell lies."

"Maybe someone should've told me that before I let that idiot drag me up into the sky."

"Let me?" She laughs heartily. "You humans don't......let us......do anything."

"So, it was you?"

"You know, maybe I should make a riddle out of this."

"Oh, get on with it! I'm not in the mood. Just give me the damn test, already."

"Careful now, Mary," Raea warns. "Keep this attitude up and Fantum won't play nice."

"Another one of your weird friends?"

Raea bursts out laughing.

"I'll be sure to pass that along to her."

"Like today."

"Okay, then. Since you're so impatient."

"I said today!"

She points to the wall.

"Want to see a neat trick?"

"Why not?"

"Wipe your hand there."

I walk over to the wall and drag my bloody palm against the orange. The rest of the blood immediately flees from my body then suspends itself mid-air. Pieces of a map appear trapped in each drop. So I try to connect the lines and letters as it moves towards the wall. But the only name I make out, before it splashes and penetrates, is Marc's.

"What did you see?"

"A map. Why? Didn't you see it?"

"No," Raea mumbles. "Apparently, it's for your eyes only."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to keep what I saw to myself, then."

"Hahaha." She wags her finger. "Fantum is going to have lots of fun with you. I can tell."

"I can hardly wait. She's beginning to sound like a dream come true."

"More like a nightmare. But I guess you'll find out soon enough. Just four more of us to go and she'll be all yours. In fact," Raea says, and dips her hand into my pocket. "Why delay? It'll be my pleasure to help you get there even quicker."

She presses the coin into my right hand and points me toward the newly cut out door.

"Just like that, it's over?" I ask confused. "I thought this would be harder."

"Go on. Fejj is waiting. Don't worry. I already told her how FUN you are."