Raven's Blood
an excerpt

The darkness didn’t last long. He was surrounded by light, and then he heard the voice of the girl, the technoshaman, calling out. He looked around, and found himself in a desert. He wasn’t surprised by this. He felt at peace for the first time in a long time. The desert seemed empty of everything but sand. There were not footprints, not plants, not even a lone cactus. There was no wind, and no sun. Just sand and light.
“It’s quiet here,” said a voice next to him.
He looked down, and a large rattlesnake was looking up at him.
“I like it here,” Jack said.
The snake bobbed its head in a nod. “So do I. It’s my home, though. Not really yours.”
“Oh, I have to go then?”
The snake hissed. “No, not just yet. Somebody needs to talk to you. Actually more than one somebody. I’m the first.”
“Am I dead?”
The snake laughed. “Nah. Well, I suppose technically since your heart isn’t beating and your lungs aren’t taking in air, but no, you’re not dead. Not yet.”
“Oh, then this is just some massive hallucination.”
“Whatever gets you through; I’m just here to bring you to the next watch post.”
“And where would that be?”
“Just follow me.”
“What if I say no?”
The snake looked up at him. “Do you have anything better to do with your life?”
Jack considered that for a second. “Um, no, not really.”
“Okay then, let’s go.”
The snake took off, slithering slowly across the sand. Jack followed him, not really sure where they were going. Everything looked the same. There were no landmarks that he could see. Just sand. He looked behind him, and their tracks were gone.
When he turned his head back, the snake was gone. He cursed his carelessness, and he heard a chuckle. He looked down at his feet, and there was a Gila Monster sitting on his feet.
“Hey, I’m Lizard.”
“Jack.”
“Nice to make your acquaintance Jack. I’m here to lend you some insight.”
“Okay. Lend away.”
Lizard chuckled. “You’re lucky I’m not Coyote. He doesn’t give anything up easily. Me, I’m not so hard. Listen up hatchling. You’ve got to stop drinking.”
Jack frowned. “That’s what my mom used to say.”
“Yeah, she was a pretty wise woman, your Mom. Too bad she never realized she had the gift. Might have made a big difference.”
“The gift. What gift?”
Lizard chuckled. “You’ve seen spirits today, boy, and you’re wondering what gift? You’re sitting chatting with something that has existed since the beginning of the world, and you don’t know what gift?”
Jack wrinkled his brow. “Somehow I imagine I am going to have the worst hangover of my life when I wake up from this.”
“Nah. You’ll just feel like it from those damn electrical spirits. That technoshaman really needs to learn some more control. We’re going to take care of the hangover.”
“We?”
Lizard shook his head. “You’re really dense, you know that. Okay, I’m done here.”
“Where do I go next?”
“Wherever you go, there you are. It’s all the same.”
The Gila Monster scuttled off rapidly and Jack lost sight of it quickly. He ambled on for a time, and then felt a grip on his shoulder. He looked over to see a hawk sitting there.
“Oh, hi,” Jack said.
“You mortals have lost the art of the formal greeting, haven’t you.” Hawk sighed. “Oh well, it’s of no import. I’m not staying long. I’ve come to bring you a gift.”
“What kind of gift?”
“Clarity.” The hawk’s eyes shone and Jack was temporarily blinded. He stumbled backwards, suddenly in pain and fell to the sand. He was suddenly covered in sweat, but it wasn’t sweat, it was scotch. It was pouring out of him into the sand. He cried out and when he could see again, Hawk was flying above him. He swore he could see the bird wink before it took off into the distance. He saw a shadow moving over him, and he turned to look. There was a large Brown Bear standing over him.
“Are you okay, cub?” it asked.
Jack smiled. “Um, yeah. I think I am.”
Bear nodded and gave him a toothy grin. “Excellent. Can you stand?”
Jack stood up. “What just happened?”
“Consider it an ultra-rapid detox. We need you clear.”
“Why?”
“There’s a battle going on. A reformation if you will. One of our brethren has been corrupted into the service of evil, and we want him back.”
“Why me?”
“Why not you?”
“I’m unreliable, I’m a liar, I’m a drunk at twenty-eight. Do I need to go on?”
“Not really, no. That’s the past. We’re moving forward. Hawk gave you clarity. Now I give you something as well.”
“Is it going to hurt?”
“No.” Bear reached his paw out and gently touched Jack’s arm. Jack felt a warm glow move through him. In the distance, he could hear his mother’s voice singing her favorite song. He choked on his tears for a moment, and then fought them back. When bear removed its paw, the eternal pain in his liver that he had never even realized was there, was gone.
“What in the hell?”
Bear chuckled. “Healing power is in my domain. So is maternal power. That’s why you heard your mother.”
“Oh.”
“Your body is no longer afflicted with the damage you’ve done, but beware: the clarity that Hawk gave you is at odds with your lifestyle. If you drink again, it will hurt you in ways that you cannot possibly imagine. It will devour your soul.”
“It’s already done that.”
“No quite, but close. You’re of some use to us now, so this quest must continue.”
“My body?”
“Is fine. No time has passed in the mortal plane. Even now, my servant Gabrielle is doing her best to heal you. She’s been calling on me. She doesn’t know yet that I have answered. You will tell her for me?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. I must go and so should you. There are two more who need to speak to you.”
“Okay.”
Bear ambled off and Jack walked in the opposite direction. When Eagle landed in front of him, he was not surprised.
“Greetings Eagle.” He said.
“Hawk spoke poorly of your manners. Perhaps he was wrong.”
“Perhaps my manners were poor with him, but it was only through ignorance.”
“It is good, then, that you have learned otherwise. It is never too late to learn respect. Now it is the time for a lesson.”
“What type of lesson?”
“I’ve been sent to show you the big picture.”
“Oh. Okay. How?”
Eagle flew up on Jack’s shoulder and grabbed him tightly and then took off into the air, carrying Jack effortlessly over the desert. When Jack looked down, the desert was gone and in its place was a city. Jack didn’t recognize it.
“This is the archetypical representation of all cities on Earth,” Eagle explained.
Jack looked again. He could see darkness spreading throughout the streets.
“What is that blackness?”
The eagle sighed. “The Church of Universal Truth.”
“Wait, my mother was a member of that Church. So am I, nominally, I guess.”
“Yes, many good people are. Even many of the priests are good, at their core. Those who are not privy to the inner workings, at least. The idea of the Church is good. It’s its manifestation that is not good.”
“In what way?”
“They are corrupters. Long ago, they took the Raven, my brother, and corrupted him to their foul purpose. The Church denies the existence of magic and then uses it themselves. The Church keeps the people stagnant, in an attempt to maintain power. They are the true rulers of this world now. The Earth Mother groans under the weight of their power. This cannot be. They must be stopped.”
“And how can I stop them?”
“You are but one of many. Do not take our attention to you as special. We have often times spent much time preparing the smallest tool, much in the same the Earth Mother prepares the tiniest dandelion seed for its role.”
“And what of Raven?”
“Raven, along with Coyote, sang this reality into being. He is one of the most powerful Totems. The mightiest outer circle is composed of Coyote, Raven, The Sky Father and The Earth Mother. That circle is now broken. It must be healed.”
“I don’t know if I have it in me.”
“You do. We wouldn’t have chosen you, otherwise. Your have more inner strength than you are aware of. I hope you will see that in time.” Eagle descended back to the ground and as they approached, the city disappeared and they were back in the desert.
“You will have one more visitor. Just wait here for Him.”
“I will.”
Eagle flew off and Jack looked around. He waited awhile, and just when he had given up hope, he heard a laugh behind him. He turned to see Coyote.
“Yo, there Pup, what’s up?”
“Greetings Coyote.”
“Oh, please, none of the formalism with me. It’s so boring. So listen up Pup, I ain’t got much time. You and me have to chat.”
“Okay.”
“Okay then. Here’s the deal. You’re a piece of shit and you know it.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. You can overcome that you know. You don’t have to be a turd your whole life. In fact, I’d rather prefer you weren’t. You have some potential.”
“What kind of potential?”
“Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. Besides, even shit has its purpose, so I think we’ll get some use out of you either way.”
“Again, thanks.”
“Hey, that’s why I’m here. I’m here to teach you two very important things. They are the most important lessons you will ever learn. You got that.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, lesson number one. Everything is sacred.”
“Got it. What’s number two?”
“No, I’m not done with one yet. When I say everything is sacred, I mean it. Shit is sacred, flowers are sacred, snot is sacred, the sky is sacred, I’m sacred, you’re sacred.”
“Yeah, yeah, everything is sacred. I got it.”
Coyote nodded and began to walk away.
“Wait, what’s lesson number two?”
“Nothing is sacred.”
Jack woke up with a start with Gabrielle kneeling over him. “Are you all right?” she asked.
He nodded. “Bear says Hi.”