The Rozabal Line Part 10

'What do you see around you?'

'Temples for Apo, the G.o.d of the mountains; for Apocatequil, the G.o.d of lightning; for Chasca, the G.o.ddess of dawn; for Chasca Coyllur, the G.o.ddess of flowers; for Mama Coca, the G.o.ddess of health; for Coniraya, the moon G.o.d; for Ekkeko, the G.o.d of wealth; for Illapa, the G.o.d of thunder; for Kon, the G.o.d of rain and for many, many others . . .'

'Is the king a just person? Does he treat you well?'

'No ladron, no mentiroso, no ocioso. Tal como estimes a otro, otros tambien te estimaran.'

'What language is that, Vincent? Sounds like Spanish.'

'Quechua. It is the language we speak here.'

'So what did you just say?'

'The king is a just man. His motto is, "Do not steal, do not lie, don't be lazy." He also believes that just as you love others, they will love you.'

'What is your role?'

'I am the bodyguard for Mama Anawarkhi.'

'Who is that?'

'She is the wife of Sapa Inca Pachacuti.'

'What do you have to do?'

'I am supposed to protect her. Instead, I am going to kill her because she is plotting against the Sapa Inca.'

'Vincent, I need you to go even deeper . . . I'm once again going to count backwards five

. . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . where are you now?'

'I take it that you're somewhere in Asia?'

'Vincent, I need you to distance yourself from the scene. Can you pull away slightly so that you can tell me in English?'

'I am in China . . . inside a palace. I have a lot of pain. I am in agony. The pain is terrible.'

'What has happened to you?'

'The empress, Wu Zhao, is the evil power on the throne. She had my limbs shattered and then had me placed in a large wine urn to die a slow death in agony!'

'Why would someone be so cruel?'

'I was an advisor to Emperor Gaozong while he lived. I advised him to be wary of Wu Zhao, who was the emperor's chief concubine. After the death of Emperor Gaozong, Wu Zhao has seized the throne and wants to eliminate me.'

'Has she succeeded?'

'Sorry?'

'I do not think so. Even though I am a cripple for life, I was saved by one of the other concubines, Xiao. I am lucky.'

'Can you tell the time period-which year is this?'

'I think it is A.D. 689.'

'So where are you? Why are you still in the palace?'

'The kind concubine Xiao has arranged for me to be transported to my ancestral village. Hopefully, I will be able to live the rest of my life there without being detected by Wu Zhao's spies.'

'Vincent, much deeper now . . . I'm once again going to count backwards-five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . where are you now?'

'I am in Yerushalem. I'm outside the tomb into which Joseph and Nicodemus have taken Jesus.'

'Who else is there?'

'Mary Magdalene and his mother followed. I was behind them. But it's close to sundown and the women have returned home for the Sabbath.'

'What are you doing?'

'I am now waiting outside the tomb. Temple guards have been sent here to secure the tomb. The Pharisees are worried that the followers of Jesus may try to steal Jesus's body and then claim that he has risen from the dead. They are placing their own guards.'

'Now what?'

'I am hiding behind some bushes. I don't know why I am unable to tear myself away from here. Night has fallen. In the middle of the night, there was a visitor. He looked like an angel because of his white robes . . . I think he was an Essene monk. He rolled away the stone. The guards collapsed with terror.'

'And?'

'The Sabbath is over, and the two Marys have come here to roll away the stone to the tomb, but they are rather surprised to see it open. They are going inside. I'm following at a discreet distance.'

'What do you see?'

'There are two men in white robes. They look like Essenes. They are saying that Jesus is alive, not dead! They are asking the women to go and tell the disciples this news.'

'And do they?'

'They are running out. I'm waiting here to see what happens.'

'Anyone there?'

'The two Essenes are still there. The third person is not recognisable; he has come out of the bushes. Someone's coming . . .'

'Who?'

'Jesus's disciples-Peter and John. Both are looking around inside . . . no, wait, they are coming out. They seem bewildered. They are returning to the city. Ah. Here comes Mary.'

'Which Mary?'

'Mary Magdalene.'

'What is she doing?'

'She's looking inside the tomb. She seems very nervous. She's staring at the two Essenes inside the tomb. She now sees the third man in the bushes. Is it the gardener? No. It's Jesus! Mary is talking to him.'

'Can you hear what they are saying to each other?'

'Not really. I think he is asking her to go and tell his disciples that he is alive. She is walking away. Whenever I see Mary Magdalene, I see three blurred images that seem to fuse together. Jesus is also walking away, but not with her.'

'What are you doing?'

'I am following Jesus.'

'Where is he going?'

'He is following two of his disciples who are on their way to Emmaus. He is catching up with them. He is now walking alongside them and is talking to them. They do not realise that it's him.'

'What is he saying?'

'He is telling them that prophets must necessarily go through pain and suffering. Ah! They have reached Emmaus. They have entered the house and are having dinner. Jesus is picking up a piece of bread, giving thanks and breaking it into pieces before giving it to them. Finally! They have finally realised that it's Jesus!'

'Okay. What are they doing now?'

'The two disciples are heading back to Yerushalem and are meeting the apostles and some others in a secret place. They are telling the others of their experience. Ah! Jesus has arrived here also.'

'They must be happy, right?'

'They are scared. They think he's a ghost. Jesus is telling them not to doubt him. He's pulling his robe to one side to show them his wounds. They seem rea.s.sured but not quite certain. He's asking them for food. They've given him some broiled fish. He's eating it. Now they seem to understand that he's real.'

'Go on.'

'Jesus is leaving. I'm still here with the apostles. Oh, it seems that Thomas wasn't here. Here he comes now.'

'What are they saying?'

'The apostles are telling Thomas about Jesus being alive. He doesn't believe them. He's telling them that unless he sees and feels the scars for himself, he cannot believe.'

'Has Jesus returned?'

'Ah, today both Thomas and Jesus are here. Jesus is calling out to Thomas and asking him to touch his wounds. Now Thomas seems to believe that this is indeed Jesus in the flesh. Jesus is calling him "doubting Thomas" because he seems to believe something only when he has actually observed it for himself.'

'Now what's happening?'

'I'm following Jesus to Lake Galilee. Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James and John are here. They are fis.h.i.+ng through the night with no luck. Jesus is waiting for them on the beach. He's asking them whether they have any fish. They're telling him they have not caught anything at all. Jesus is telling them to cast their nets to the right because he knows there are some fish there. They are trying. They catch a huge load of fis.h.!.+ Jesus has started a charcoal fire and is making breakfast for them. He's asking Peter some questions.'

'And?'

'He's walking away with Peter. John's following. I'm behind them.'

'Where are they going?'

'To a mountain in Galilee. Jesus has arranged a meeting there with all his apostles.'

'What is happening at this meeting?'

'Jesus is telling them to go to different parts of the world in order to recruit disciples in every nation. They are kneeling down as he speaks. They are now getting up and he's leading them to the outskirts of Bethany. He's blessing them. He's walking away towards Bethany . . . the town of Martha, Lazarus and Mary Magdalene.'

Chapter Twelve.

Osaka, j.a.pan, 2012 The term s.h.i.+nto is simply a combination of two words: s.h.i.+n, meaning G.o.d, and Tao, meaning path. s.h.i.+nto is thus the path to G.o.d. s.h.i.+n is the Chinese symbol for G.o.d and was rendered into Kami by the j.a.panese. Kami were generally seen as divine spirits that were still caught in the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

The Meiji restoration had resulted in s.h.i.+nto becoming the state religion of j.a.pan. State s.h.i.+nto, however, had ended with the Second World War. To many it appeared that the divine spirits, or Kami, had been unsuccessful in creating a kamikaze, a divine wind, to repel the foreign attacks! Shortly after the end of the war, the emperor renounced his status as a living G.o.d. In modern j.a.pan, however, s.h.i.+nto continued to flourish even with the pa.s.sing of the divine status of the royal family. s.h.i.+nto shrines continued to a.s.sist ordinary people in maintaining their relations.h.i.+ps with the spirits of their ancestors and with Kami.

When Swakilki was born, her mother, Aki Herai, had Swakilki's name added to the list kept at the Sumiyos.h.i.+ Jinja, one of the oldest s.h.i.+nto shrines in Osaka, and had her declared ujiko, a named child. It was a way of making sure that the divine Kami protected Swakilki during this lifetime and beyond.

Swakilki was now at the Sumiyos.h.i.+ Jinja. Even though she was Catholic, s.h.i.+nto belief and rituals had remained with her and she desperately wanted comforting. She had just killed the only man whom she had ever come close to loving. She was now well and truly alone, except for the company of the divine Kami.

After electrocuting Takuya, she had spent the next six hours meticulously cleaning the apartment until she had removed all traces of herself. She had then packed all her belongings, loaded Takuya's lifeless body into the trunk of her Toyota Sprinter and driven out of Tokyo along the Toumei Express Motorway to Nagoya. She had then transferred to the Meis.h.i.+n Express Motorway to Osaka. Soon she was driving towards Kansai International Airport. She stopped for a brief moment on the three-kilometre bridge connecting the mainland to the artificial island airport to throw the body into Osaka Bay. She had cringed while doing so. She longed to bring him back to life and hold him in her arms again. She checked into a room at Osaka's Hyatt Regency Hotel where she placed a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door and slept for the next seven hours. It was when she woke up and saw the emptiness of her bed that she once again realised how much she missed him.

Swakilki now walked through the Torii, the double-columned gate of the Sumiyos.h.i.+ Jinja, and crossed over the beautiful bright red staircase bridge within the complex. Swakilki stopped at the water fountain to wash her hands and mouth, a symbolic purification expected before entering a shrine. She needed to find Yos.h.i.+hama s.h.i.+okawa.

Yos.h.i.+hama was a s.h.i.+nto priest who had become quite famous in the area. His claim to fame was his combination of s.h.i.+nto principles with Reiki, the ancient j.a.panese art of spiritual healing-a formula that Swakilki desperately needed.

Reiki was an alternative therapy developed during the latter half of the nineteenth century by Mikao Usui in j.a.pan. The word reiki was a combination of two j.a.panese words, rei, implying the cosmos, and ki, meaning energy. It was, therefore, the energy of the cosmos.

Pract.i.tioners such as Yos.h.i.+hama s.h.i.+okawa believed that they could direct Reiki energy through their palms into specific parts of the patient's body. More importantly, Yos.h.i.+hama had combined Reiki with s.h.i.+nto and Buddhist principles in order to handle mental healing along with physical healing. He believed that he could treat even deeply ingrained issues such as addiction, anxiety, and depressive tendencies by absorbing 'visions' of incidents in the present and past lives of his patients while he energised them.

Yos.h.i.+hama urged Swakilki to lie down and relax. Once she was relaxed, he began to apply the healing energy of his hands to various areas of her body. Reiki energy would enter Swakilki through her seven chakras. Her body would absorb the required Reiki energy to heal itself while unwanted energy would be dissipated.

Swakilki began to feel varying sensations: hot flushes, cold waves and pressure. The Reiki energy was flowing. Her energy deficiencies were being filled; her energy meridians were being repaired and opened; blocks of stale energy were being slowly melted away.

His hands stopped in the air over her pelvic region. He was certain. This girl had definitely faced s.e.xual trauma in her life; probably child abuse, but he didn't make any comment.

His palms were feeling warm-too much heat. An explosion? What sort of explosion? A gas leak? Why was he seeing a cardinal in scarlet robes?

Yos.h.i.+hama gradually moved his palms over Swakilki's head and continued moving them down towards her shoulders. He stopped at the base of her neck. 'You have a severe energy blockage here,' he said, as a vision flashed before him. In the vision he saw a young woman's head being chopped off by a guillotine in eighteenth-century Paris. In his vision, Yos.h.i.+hama did not see the faces of either the victim, Charlotte Lavoisier, or the executioner, Sanson. The original faces must have been different. What Yos.h.i.+hama saw was Swakilki being executed at the guillotine by Professor Terry Acton. Swakilki had cut off Terry's head in her present life because he had cut off her head in a previous avatar!