Jack of Ravens(161)

‘No pressure, then.’ Church steeled himself and asked the question he had dreaded voicing: ‘You’re telling me I can save Ruth?’

‘Ruth’s not dead, but she’s in a very bad place.’

‘I saw—’

‘You can never be certain about what you see. Everything depends on perspective, and whatever information you have to hand. In the moment that you’re talking about she’s alive, Church, but she’s hanging by a thread.’

The euphoria that rushed through Church was so powerful he almost bounded from the circle and shouted aloud.

‘Keep it together, Church. This is a crucial time. The closer you get to home the more powerful the Enemy becomes. They still recognise you and what you represent as a threat to them, but they won’t take the path of least resistance any more. See you, Church – in time.’

The Blue Fire lashed across the room at Church. There was no heat, just an overwhelming feeling of wellbeing. When the rush had passed and the flames disappeared beneath his skin, Church felt stronger and more focused than he had done in a long time.

‘Wow.’ Grace sprawled on her back, beaming. ‘That was a trip.’



16



14 January 1967 was a turning point for the counterculture. The Human Be-In attracted 30,000 people to the polo field in Golden Gate Park to hear the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and other bands on the brink of breaking through to the big time. Timothy Leary was in the audience along with the poet Allen Ginsberg and the Berkeley revolutionary Jerry Rubin. The Diggers handed out turkey sandwiches with LSD in the bread mix.

It was an unqualified success with waves of positivity rippling out across the country and the world. Church and the others experienced many strange things around the event, and soon after it was clear that something else had changed.

More people were found dead in the Haight with the same weeping sores and partial transformation that Church had witnessed on the youth in Golden Gate Park. The authorities refused to take any action despite mounting claims that there was some sort of plague loose in the quarter. Rumours began that it was sexually transmitted or in the batches of LSD and marijuana that flooded the streets. Some people turned to amphetamines and heroin, and violence, rape and overdoses increased accordingly. The Haight was awash with sightings of ‘monsters’. More rumours spread through the enclosed community; no one could separate fact from fiction.

Yet of the spider-people there was no sign. They had slipped into the background, subtly manipulating from positions of power. But when the Haight was flooded with heroin the day after all the soft-drug dealers were arrested, or when the police brutally beat up people for jaywalking, Church knew who was behind it somewhere up the chain of power.

Gabe’s new job as a freelance photographer for the local counterculture newspaper, the San Francisco Oracle, took him to the centre of what was happening in Haight-Ashbury. But Church found it also raised his own profile. Thanks to Gabe, people all over the quarter knew who Church was, and that he was doing ‘good works’, though the nature of those works was always left vague.

And then, as he got used once again to the full force of the Pendragon Spirit flooding his system, he realised he was aware of nodes in the city where the earth energy was particularly strong: in the Panhandle, and on the university campus. And then he became aware of the energy in Grace. If he allowed his consciousness to settle into a peaceful state, he could almost picture where she was in the city. Subtle connections began to come to light, and that was when he realised he could use the Spirit to his advantage.



17



The Whiskey-a-Go-Go was a smart, compact club on Sacramento Street, the mirror image of its more famous Los Angelino sister. On Valentine’s Day the Doors were performing to push their debut album. The crowds were heavy and curious about the mounting reputation of the band.

‘Their singer is a very interesting fellow,’ Tom mused as he surveyed the poster outside the venue.

‘We’re not here to see the band.’ Church watched the people streaming in; nothing had alerted him yet. ‘I want you to stay out here with Niamh to keep an eye on Gabe and Marcy. Any sign of trouble, get in the rental and drive away as fast as you can.’

‘You don’t have to baby-sit us,’ Marcy said with irritation.

‘Yes, we do.’ Church nodded to Grace. ‘Just keep your eyes open.’

‘What am I looking for?’

‘You’ll know it when you see it. We’re like magnets. The Pendragon Spirit brings us together. He or she is inside.’

‘You’re sure?’ Grace said, still uncertain.