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

CHAPTER 75: ESCAPE THE COMA

"Obviously, you're not ready to read it yet."

"But I was," I protest. "I'm always ready to read a good book."

"The Book of Xaxu is not just any old book."

"Look! In case you didn't know, the one thing I hate is not getting to finish a book."

"Oh, you'll get to finish, all right."

"Really? When?"

"Bit by bit, as you wake up."

I chuckle at its silly response.

"Who says I'm sleeping?"

"You've been asleep since birth; a coma really. You're all in a coma."

"Who is all?"

"You. The sacred ones. The elite of humanity. Those humans. All of you, dead to the truth."

"And this Book of Xaxu has that truth?"

"Her mother's version."

"Do you believe it?"

"I don't have to believe," it says flippantly. "I'm not the one in a coma, Mary."

"Okay; at least tell me what happened in my dream."

"What don't you understand?"

"Why I fed myself. The map hidden in scattered blood. That puzzle I drew on the ground."

"Is that all?"

"I've got more. But tell me about those first."

"The first one is easy. It has to do with your mirror."

"Which one?"

"The one with your two friends."

"And the map?"

"The names of all the sacred ones you have to wake."

The ones in a coma? Like me?"

"Yes."

"What about that puzzle I drew on the ground? Now that was crazy as hell."

"The only thing I'll say is you'll need a key."

"Forget the key. What do those letters mean? Especially the ones with the slashes and dots?"

"Like I said, you'll need a key."

"All right. What's the key?"

"When the time comes to wake her, you'll remember what the key is."

"All right, then. So we won't talk about the key, for now. Tell me about the family tree."

"Level three represents your brethren and you."

"The rhesus nulls?"

"Yes; the ones heading the war effort."

"Then there's level two."

"The negative bloodline."

"What's their purpose?"

"Think of them as a catering company that lets you take all the credit."

"That does nothing for me. Try again. Maybe go slower this time."

"What's there to understand? They do the hard work. You just set the table and look pretty."

"Again, makes no sense to me. But let's move on. There was a third group. Enlighten me."

"They're there to serve you; do anything you say without question."

"So I was told the last time. But who are they? That's what I want to know."

"That's a secret. Sorry. I can't tell you that."

"All I'm getting are superficial answers."

"Then perhaps you'd like to move on to something I can answer freely?"

"Don't even bother with the ritual circle. I don't think I want to know just yet."

"Even if you did have a question, you wouldn't understand the answer."

"I'm not even responding to that. Just tell me about Fantum, the evil one."

The serpent throws its head back and laughs heartily.

"You mustn't let her under your skin."

"You're not the one in a coma, though."

"It's not literal."

"Well, that's how it feels when you're trapped some place where she has full control."

"You give it to her."

"She takes it."

"Maybe she's afraid of you."

"Fantum? Afraid? Not of me, that's for sure."

"She's afraid because she doesn't know why you were chosen."

"Hell, I don't even know why I was chosen. But I'm over it," I say sarcastically. "Not those masks, though. Deific masks, I think she called them. What were they about?"

"A mask that either fits or it doesn't."

"But they all fitted," I reply. "It's just they didn't all make me feel good, except for the one."

"The fit is for what the face hides. And the longer you wear it, the less it wants to hide."