One, two, three shining drops fell from the sky. It was raining, but there wasn't a single cloud up. The droplets gleamed like diamonds, because it was raining stars.
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Jamaica. The moment the sun disappears in the sea and the sky becomes a black ocean of stars.
The Rastafarian elder lights up his marijuana pipe, his chalice. His tribe of believers, sitting in a wide circle, bows their heads. The pipe is ritualistically passed around and refilled with ganja, the holy herb. The bluish, sweet smoke coils up to the sky. The drums roll, the nyabinghi, the sacred dance is about to begin. One by one, the men and women in dreadlocks stand up and sway to the rhythm. Any moment now...
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Emma lifted her hand, and touched the sky. There was no distance, no height, no difference. She knew everything was linked together, one mind, one soul, one spirit. She looked at her own hand and her skin was also gleaming. She looked at the house up the path and it shone like a beacon of light. The waves licked the hem of her pristine white robe, the tips of her flaring, elongated sleeves touched the salt water. The sea was her strength and power. Any moment now...
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Haiti.
The gathering was massive. Houngans and mambos from all houses were present in whole regalia, all their followers in attendance. Many altars had been erected, many goats and roosters where ready for the sacrifices. All lwa, the entities representing love, agriculture, rain, magicians, and the first among them, Legba, the king of the crossroads, they would all be called upon.
When the sun disappeared over the edge of the world, the oldest houngan held the ritual knife in his right hand and the first lamb, white as a cloud, would have his throat cut. Hounto, the spirit of drums took possession of his army of players, and the songs filled the air. The lwa were coming down and penetrating the bodies of men and women alike. Any moment now...
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Jesse felt his body phase and harden at the same time, becoming one with the rock. The stone was his strength and power, backing him up. The little shining raindrops, falling from a cloudless sky, covered his body and the whole quarry. Turning his head, he could see the house. It was just light, a brilliant gem glistening in the distance. He felt himself meld with the boulder. Any moment now...
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Stonehenge, England.
The circles of druids and Wicca priestesses surrounded the gigantic boulders many times over, forming a lake of souls a quarter of a mile wide. The singers, spread all over the circles, raised their voices in a New Age melody, followed by the lute, flute and percussion players, an anthem sung in tongues long forgotten. The Mother would soar among the constellations. The circles within circles rippled. When the sun touched the center stone... Any moment now...
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Shalimar reached the small clearing in the center of the woods running on all fours, or so she thought. Somehow, the place felt right and she sniffed the air. It smelled of plants, trees, grass and millions of animals, both big and small... Wildcats, armadillos, anteaters, rodents of all kinds, snakes and insects, all of them inhabited these woods and all of them were her pack. She arched her back and roared, leaping up as high as the stars she could touch with her paws. She was one with all wildlife on Earth. They were her strength and power. Any moment now...
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Delphos, Greece
In the secret cave, the fumes coiled up from the bowels of the planet. The covenant bent over the smoke pit, inhaling deep. The women, ancient priestesses of Apollo, swayed under the thick cloud, their minds melding together in a prayer to their fiery god. When his flaming car reached the right spot in the sky, it would happen... Any moment now...
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Brennan was surrounded by sugarcane stalks. The field stretched as far as the eyes could see, and the house in the distance shone like a jewel. The sky above was falling one star at a time in a brilliant rain, but there were no clouds above and the droplets were not made of water, they were made of pure light. All around him, lightning bolts exploded in mute thunderclaps. Brennan was a being made of electricity. He was one with the energy that moved everything in the universe, from the smallest grain of sand to the largest celestial body. The primal force was his strength and power. Any moment now...
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India, somewhere in the thick jungle...
The Dalai Lama himself was first among the equals, as monks and yogis, gurus and anchorites sat down and relaxed their breathing, willing themselves into deep trance, achieving communion with the universe and the myriad minds gathering in the reality beyond by meditation alone. The holy men sunk deeper and deeper as the hour approached fast. Any moment now...
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Deep in the Amazon rainforest...
The Santo Daime community gathered in the depths of the rainforest around the altar, a huge table made of old fallen mahogany trees, the legs, their roots themselves. Each member took a little cup full of ayahuasca, the sacred concoction. The "uniformed ones", the novices, hundreds of them coming from all over the country, all of them in solid blue or white, sung hymn after hymn, guiding the mind-travellers to their places. The congregation would partake of the holy drink together. The "godfather" would know the exact moment, when the stars would be just right and the endless jungle pulsated with a single heartbeat. Any moment now...
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Somewhere in the USA, possibly the Mojave Desert...
Three women, old as time itself, ageless crones of boundless wisdom, the Witches, direct disciples of Carlos Catañeda, held hands around the gurgling cauldron. Holy herbal gifts from the gods and goddesses had been used to cause unspeakable harm. Now, they would be used again, this time to mend.
The Three Witches formed the sacred triangle, the holy triad. Their spirits soared above their bodies, pure energy and light. Each Witch shot in one direction: West, to hover above Europe and Africa; East, to float above Asia, Australia and Russia; South, over the Equator, exactly above a tiny dot of power shining in the depths of the Amazon Basin.
Together, they were ready to channel all force, all power, all might being generated by millions of souls in one single prayer. Together, they held the planet in their arms.
Any moment... NOW!
From the sea, a beacon of light shot up sky high and met...
...a lightning bolt zapping the air straight at the firmament and they met...
...a ripple cracking the million-years-old rock dead center, and the silent sound wave flying to the sky and they met...
...two yellow beams of light converging to one and climbing rocket-like to the stars, there to meet...
...the four elements manifest.
Whenthe four powers met above, exploding in an energy canopy, the barriers betweensolid and imaginary, between object and allegory came down with a bang.
YOU ARE READING
Invisible Death
ActionA sequel to Revolution #9. Mutants start disappearing from the East Coast, vanishing into thin air. One of them is Donna Gryphon, Adam Kane's paramour. Adam will stop at nothing to get her back.
