Soul Matters Volume Six: Bondage Battleground
Chapter 9

Phil spent the rest of the day on the computer. As it was Wednesday, he met with Pam at the Italian restaurant she liked. During dinner, she was convincing about her plan to face the arduous process of sexual abuse recovery.

After the long discussion about the events in her life, she asked how Phil was doing with his battles.

“I have a friend,” he began as he twirled pasta on his fork. “Sandy introduced us some time ago. She used to compete in surfing competitions. There’s a long story to it, but these days I’m teaching her the shamanic techniques Manuel taught me, and in return she, Becky, is helping me become a better surfer.”

“Should I be jealous?” she asked over her water glass with a hint of a smile.

“No. We settled that issue some time ago. But I do need to tell you she will be accompanying me on a dangerous trip to the spirit world. Agrat, one of Lilith’s sisters, requires I bring a woman who can vouch for me. Becky agreed.”

“Brave girl.”

Phil smiled, “She’s brave in many ways, but this has more to do with her facing death for other reasons. She was afflicted with what they call ‘shamanic sickness.’ It’s a sickness of the soul that can only be cured by becoming a shaman. Becky, as she tells it, has been suicidal her whole life because of this sickness. So for her, it’s an opportunity to get past death. Still, it’s going to be dangerous.”

“Thanks for telling me, Phil. It would have been cruel for me to replace out about her through someone else. Is she pretty?”

“In an athletic way, yes.”

“All buff, hard-body, clean-featured and all?”

“Green eyes, too.”

Pam smiled, “Will I get to meet her?”

“I don’t see why not. She’s pretty rough around the edges, though. Blunt, insightful, curious. She’s a good person. I think you’d like her.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Pam asked and settled back in her chair.

“There are things that can happen in the spirit world with an effect in this world. The worst thing would be if I went into a coma. If that happens to me or Becky, call the abbot at the Buddhist monastery in Santa Barbara. He’ll know what to do.”

“Sounds ominous.”

“It’s only a worst-case scenario. I’m hopeful we can do what we need to without any negative consequences.”

“Okay. When are you planning to do this?”

“Tomorrow. At my place. So, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you checked up on us after work.”

She nodded her head and reached across the table to take his hand. “I was thinking I needed to swear off sex until I’m clearer in my sexuality, but I could go home with you tonight if you want.”

“Like the condemned man’s last meal?” Phil smiled.

She smiled in return. “Something like that.”

In bed, Phil noticed the new quality in him produced a different experience of sex. It was more intense, and he was more absorbed in the flow of energy between them.

When it was over, Pam whispered, “Wow. You were really there this time, Phil. You held nothing back. I don’t think I’ve ever been so thoroughly loved before. I could get used to this.”

She punched him in the ribs and rolled to get on top of him. For a long while she held him tightly, squirming to be as close to him as she could. Then she relaxed and slid to her side of the bed.

With a heavy sigh she snuggled into him and promptly fell asleep. Phil lingered with his thoughts for a while longer. Tomorrow was an unknown, but it included Becky’s death and the discovery of a feminine mystery. Not for the first time he wondered why his life had taken this drastic turn from content yuppie to spiritual warrior. This was perhaps the greatest mystery. Finding himself in Manuel’s patio was the first domino is a chain of dominoes with no end in sight. He wondered who he would be when the final domino fell.

Pam left early for work. Her parting comment was, “Break a leg.” Phil rolled back into bed for another hour or two of sleep. Becky’s call awakened him. She was on her way over.

Phil made the bed, turned off the phone, closed up the house and waited. Becky showed up with mochas in cardboard cups and they sat at the living room table.

“It’s pretty simple,” Phil began. “You go to your Sacred Area, and I’ll go to mine. I’ll call you in, and you just follow my ‘voice.’ When you get to my Sacred Area, I’ll show you around. Then we’ll stop and come back here to debrief. Your confidence will grow when you realize you actually were in my Sacred Area and can describe it.”

“First a practice run to help me gain confidence,” she summarized. “Then what?”

“Then we do the same thing, but I’ll take you to meet my teacher. He’s the Archangel Manuel. He will take us to Agrat.”

“Heavy. No wonder you never told me who he was. A freaking archangel. Who’d of thought that? Where did you meet him?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you some other day. For now, let’s do our practice run and see how it goes.”

The practice run went well. Becky could ‘see’ most of the landscape in Phil’s Sacred Area. She especially noticed the waterfall and healing pool of water at its base.

Then it was time for the journey. Just before they stretched out on Phil’s bed, he said, “Manuel is a bit cranky. He hates stupidity. So, don’t take it personally if he seems a bit mean.”

“Okay. Sounds like one of my soccer coaches. I never liked the guy, but he made us play our best.”

“Right,” Phil chuckled. “Let’s go.”

Phil turned on a CD of shamanic drumming and set it to continuous play on low volume. He lay back and began the journey.

Becky walked with him into Manuel’s patio. She jerked away when Manuel appeared, as if a flash-bang grenade went off.

“Sorry,” Phil said. “I forgot to warn you. Angelic presence takes getting used to. Don’t look at him directly. Pay attention to the colors in his aura. It’s how they show emotion.”

“Okay,” she whimpered and turned around with her eyes lowered. Phil took her hand and faced the angel.

“This is the best you can come up with?” Manuel snorted.

“She’s stronger than you think,” Phil shot back. “Becky, this is Manuel; Manuel, Becky.”

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance,” Becky stammered.

“Yeah. Whatever,” Manuel grunted. “Phil, the situation is still unstable. The dark forces are keeping the sisters in Yahweh’s compound. The sisters can’t use their power because they don’t want to injure any of the souls around them. We’ve got a classic Mexican stand-off.”

“What does Sammael want?”

“Separate the sisters, of course,” the angel said with some sarcasm. “That and your head.”

“Can you get us there?”

“Yes. It’s getting you out that will be the problem.”

Phil sat on the marble bench and so did Becky. He could tell she was slowly adjusting, and he didn’t want to go too fast.

He turned back to Manuel, “We need to do this one step at a time. First Agrat. I complete my challenge with her. Then Eisheth. I complete that -- whatever it is. Then we might be able to form an alliance with Yahweh somehow. Would that shift the balance of power?”

“Maybe. It depends on what Jehovah might do. Right now he’s in hiding, but Sammael is trying to get him motivated for vengeance. It will probably work since Jehovah is all about vengeance anyway.”

Phil grimaced at the dismal odds. His plan was based on total unknowns. They didn’t know what the transformed sisters might be capable of. They didn’t know what an alliance with Yahweh could do, assuming he would agree to be an ally. And the clock was ticking for Jehovah to enter the fray.

Phil sighed and declared, “I have to follow the clues, Manuel. I have to play out the hand I’ve been dealt.”

“I know. Let’s go,” Manuel sighed. Then he stood rigid as he communicated telepathically with others.

Raphael and Michael popped into the patio. Michael took charge.

“You will fire at those directly ahead of you,” he told Phil. “We will cover the flanks and the rear. Can the girl do anything?”

“Protect herself. I haven’t showed her how to shoot.”

“Girl,” Michael snapped at Becky. “Stand and prepare to defend yourself.”

Becky stood up and, more quickly than Phil thought she could, she filled her aura.

“Project bolts of energy from the palms of your hands. Aim to hit the balls I will throw in the air.”

Michael tossed balls of light, and Becky blasted them.

“Good enough,” Michael allowed. “You will watch below. Since we’ll be moving close to the ground, you probably won’t have to act, but don’t hesitate if you see any moving shadows. Are we clear?”

Sanoy beamed in with two more angels. He smiled thinly at Phil, “My cousins.”

Phil inclined his head to them as Michael arranged them in formation. The Powers were high cover, and they left first. Then the three archangels and two humans were flying.

It wasn’t far to the land of the archetypes. They first punched through the gray wall enclosing the realm of the angels. Then they were flying over what looked like the top of an endless cloud bank. Various compounds were located here as well as the vast parking lot for retired masks of God and other forgotten creatures of legend.

Michael had chosen the route well. They met mild resistance from the dark angels. Phil blasted only two. Becky never fired. Michael on the left flank saw most of the action. Even so, they soon landed in Yahweh’s compound.

Sanoy and Manuel stayed, but the others flew off. Phil hustled Becky into the pavilion and led her up the center aisle to the audience hall.

The four sisters were there, but their dancing, when Phil left them, had given way to arguing. When Phil and Becky walked in, they quieted.

Lilith got up from her cushion and approached, “You’re back. We were discussing what to do with you and how to handle our situation. It might be prudent to accept Sammael’s offer. We could make due with a limited role. To proceed with your need to balance the yin and yang within you leads us into the unknown. We could lose everything.”

“Not if you rejoin with your last sister, Sophia,” Phil pointed out.

Eisheth jumped in, her red hair sloshing about, “We can’t even get out of here. How do you propose we get to the Void?”

“I don’t know yet,” Phil admitted. “We have to take this one step at a time.”

Her aura filled with energy, and too late Phil realized she meant to attack him. From behind him a bolt of energy arced across the space and zapped Eisheth to a stand still.

Phil turned to see a satisfied look on Becky’s face.

Eisheth recovered and shouted, “That bitch struck me. Are you going to do anything?”

“Maybe later,” Echidna’s calm voice soothed her sister. Echidna slithered forward on her iridescent twin tails. “I seem to remember being struck myself recently. Come, sisters, Phil and Agrat have things to do.”

As the three of them exited through a curtain, Agrat rose from her cushion and motioned the humans forward. Becky’s courage seemed to wane as she sought Phil’s hand. Together they approached the elegant figure of the Madonna, the archetype that devolved over the centuries the patriarchy was in power.

“Kneel before me,” Agrat intoned.

Phil did so, but Becky hesitated. Then she let go of Phil’s hand and said, “I kneel to no one. If you want me as your friend, you’ll have to prove you’re worthy of it.”

“You will kneel, young lady. I am your queen.”

“I have been oppressed long enough. If you want me as a loyal subject, prove you’re worth it.”

Agrat raised her arms and her aura filled. Becky matched it. Phil could feel the clash of their energies. It was a silent but sizzling battle of wills. Becky held her own for some time, but soon she weakened. Agrat’s aura engulfed her; then Agrat crushed her.

“Will you yield?” Agrat asked.

“I die free,” was Becky’s jubilant response, and she crumpled to the floor with a mocking smile on her face.

Phil grabbed her body to him. He didn’t know what to do. From behind him he heard Manuel say, “The left fork of the trail.”

Phil remembered when he first envisioned the trail, the stairs, and the arch, Manuel told him his trail would fork to the right to reach the stairs. To the left was a Void healing location. Phil had never been there before.

Now he held Becky and envisioned them at the fork in his trail. He shifted to that location riding his intention to do so. In the back of his mind, he marveled at how easy it was. Then he carried Becky down the left fork of the trail. Soon he was before a small gazebo. He mounted the few steps and entered an intense field of white-hot energy. He laid Becky on a table in the center of the structure, withdrew and released the image.

He returned his attention to the pavilion, where he still held a lifeless Becky. He knew, though, she was somehow both here and in the gazebo. Somehow he had bi-located to the Void healing station with Becky.

Eventually, her eyes flickered open. Agrat reached down and took Becky’s hands to help her up.

“You have defeated me, my daughter. You have proved the lie about domination. The queen must be a servant to all free men and women. I suspected this was so when I first met with Phil. Now I feel it in my soul. Thank you.”

She bowed and kissed both of Becky’s hands.

Manuel stepped next to Phil, and showing his complete lack of decorum, remarked, “One down, one to go.”

“We must hurry,” Sanoy stepped forward and insisted. “Sammael is closing the noose on us.”

Agrat glanced at the angels and smiled. “There is time.” She turned to where her sisters had gone and called, “Eisheth. Sister. Please come.”

Eisheth hurried towards them through the curtain wall, her aura filling. “Let me at the bitch.”

“She is not for you,” Agrat said. “I am her queen. She is under my protection.”

“I’ll make do with her boyfriend,” Eisheth shouted and launched bolts of energy at Phil.

This time Phil was ready, and the bolts dissipated into his protective shield. Eisheth continued her charge and tackled Phil. They rolled on the ground grappling to no advantage either way. Eisheth was shrieking, her red hair flying around her face. Phil blocked her hits, avoided her attempts to bite him, and finally rolled her to her back. He was on top pinning her firmly to the ground.

“I hate you!” she screamed. “I’ll kill you. I will kill you slowly. I will make you pay!”

“I can’t be bought,” Phil answered.

The comment hit her like cold water in her face. She stopped struggling.

“No,” she countered. “It is I who can’t be bought.”

“Then why do you want me to pay? And pay for what?”

“For what you’ve done to me. Someone must pay for it -- my humiliation, my degradation, the loss of my soul to the pleasure of man. I hate you for making me an empty vessel of your lust!”

Her rage turned to tears, an angry impotent torrent drenching both of them. Phil was still astride her, his elbows controlling her arms, his hands wiping the tears from her face.

“There is no payment for all of that, Eisheth. There is nothing I can do to make it right.”

“Give me back my soul, Phil.”

“How?”

“Love me for who I am.”

Phil smiled at her, “I can do that.”

He kissed her forehead, “You are my beloved sister, Eisheth. I am overjoyed at replaceing you at last.”

He rolled off of her and she rolled with him. Burying her head in his chest, she clawed at his clothes clutching him in desperation, crying now with the soft pain of healing.

Phil looked up as all of them slowly drew near. Becky still held hands with Agrat. Lilith and Echidna were smiling. Sanoy’s face showed stoic impatience, and Manuel was rolling his eyes.

It was Manuel who broke the mood, “If this soap opera is over, we have work to do.”

Phil kissed Eisheth again, and her breath caught, heaving in final relief. Then she pushed back from him.

“My brother. I knew someday you would come for me. Why did it take so long?”

“I don’t know. God’s timing is its own mystery. Shall we deal with Sammael?”

Eisheth smiled and brushed back her flaming hair. Her emerald eyes lit with a determined fire. “It will be my pleasure.”

They stood. Phil motioned to Sanoy who left to retrieve Yahweh.

Manuel asked, “How will we do this?”

The four sisters fell into a group hug, heads together, gently swaying in unison. Lilith’s voice came from the huddle, “One candle can break the darkness.”