Call of the Dragon
                                  by Zaxxon
                                    Part 2


     For a moment, he, for he did not have a name, thought he heard his
mother's voice singing and his father's flute playing together like he
heard when she was still alive. Peter Caine woke with a start. He was
falling, yet he had not moved from the spot he sat down on. / Where did
I fall from? / he asked himself. / A dream, / came the reply. It was a
bizarre even for Pater Caine, Shaolin psionic antenna, although he has
gotten better at blocking unwanted signals. Still it was weird.
     The dream began with Peter walking up to a podium and introducing
himself to an audience. The audience was filled with people without
faces yet easily identifiable as people he knew but each of the people
present was in fact himself. His shaolin self looked something like his
father, the police self appeared as if he had Paul Blaisdell's features,
and other selves displayed as other people. The only one who did not look
like him was his mother who sat in the front row. The dream continued
with Peter going over his entire life beginning at birth (with the usual
joke about 'of course, I was there' from his mother) up to this point in
time with him sitting on the grass.
     Each and every detail of his life, the good and the bad, was
dissected, overananlyzed, and discussed by the audience. No emotional
wound was spared, no joyous high ignored, and even the mundane things like
showering, shaving, and such were discussed. As he had entered the park
with confusion, anger, and hurt, he awoke with understanding, love, and
acceptance. For the every first time in Peter's life, he was at peace and
one with everything.
     Yet it felt strangely familiar to him. He knew what was behind him but
the need to confirm it caused him to turn. Just as he knew there was a
squirrel gathering nuts behind him. Peter could not help think that he
could heard the primitive thoughts of the squirrel, which was mostly 'food'
and 'hunger.' How he knew, he was not sure nor did he what to know. Upon
return to a more comfortable position with his head facing front, he
noted that it had rained some time last night, yet he himself was dry as
well as the immediate area around him. He was sitting in a circle of dry
grass in a wet park. He noted as he touched the dry grass, that it was
warm to the touch.  He also noted that he could smell the morning dew
on the grass, the flowers on the other side of the lake, and hear the
animals and insect of the park awaken as if his awakening had awaken
them. Peter simply dismissed it all to have had the first good night
sleep in a long while and to his imagination. All that mattered was that
the Sun was shining, he was dry, warm, and comfortable, and where ever
his father was he too was dry, warm, and comfortable.

* * * * * *

     Morning had come to the Hundred First precinct and with it came
Detectives Griffin and Powell. Both still worried over Peter's
disappearance. Detective Skalany simply dismissed their worried with
/ Peter's with his father somewhere do Shaolin things. / Captain Karen
Simms thoughts was that Peter was simply working through some of the job
stress that had finally caught up to the fast-paced detective.
     The fact that the morning was proceeding like a normal day without
Peter being there did not help Kermit's mood. An the off-chance of Peter
walking into the station today, Kermit had is door opened so he could
see into the main room. So when a stranger enter the room, Kermit saw
him immediately, and began sprinting off of his office into the room
since he recognized the person. He thought for a moment about warn
everyone about who just walked into the station but he did not. He did not do
it for two reasons. The first reason was he lose the element of surprise
and the second was curiosity. He knew that the stranger was a government
operative, like he himself was, (Kermit hated the word 'spy,' it was so
limiting) and he knew that for what ever the reason for his being here
it was not to covert since he was talking to some of the detective. Jody
had pointed out Peter's desk and the door to Captain Simms's office. The
stranger headed towards the door, knocked, and when Simms said, 'enter,'
he did.

     Karen Simms looked up at the stranger that entered her office. He
was six feet tall, well built, and with his white hair an ageless look
to his face. She could not see any obvious weapons on his person and yet
as she looked at him she saw the same thing she saw in Kwai Chag Caine,
Kermit, and sometimes in Peter. The look of a Master of a martial art,
a person who did not need a weapon because they were a weapon. Deciding
to let the stranger speak first, a silence enveloped the office. The
stranger's right hand moved faster than Simms could follow, the act
ended up depositing a badge in front of her, open as if he had sent it
gently down instead of throwing it. As she started to read the
identification, the stranger spoke in a pleasant voice, "Special Agent
Zaxxon Hunter, F.B.I. Are you familiar with the Jeriko murders?"
     "Hmmm...." Simms thought out loud. "Just the basics that went over
the wire. Five death. The investigator thought it was occult-related.
Human sacrifice."
     Hunter nodded and replied, "Yes, that's correct. We believe that
the Occult of the Rising Moon is responsible for the deaths as well as
other deaths in other states. We also believe that their operating
somewhere in this region. I'm here to set up a regional H.Q. and recruit
some of the local officers who qualify for a special task force. The
task force job will be to stop the killings and arrest the occult members.
I have here," Hunter pulled out some papers and handed them to Simms.
"Transfer orders for Detectives Caine and Griffin to be assigned to the
task force."
     Simms just looked at the papers and said, "Detective Caine is on
administrative leave until next week and Detective Griffin is ...." Just
then the door opened with the aforementioned Detective Griffin stepping
through and replying, "Here."
     Hunter just smiled. "Same old Kermit."
     "What's the case?" Kermit asked.
     Hunter pulled another file out of nowhere and handed it to Kermit
while saying, "It's all in there. Page one has the address of the
regional H.Q., orientations at nine o'clock tomorrow."
     After Hunter left Simms asked Kermit, "Do you know him?"
     "Oh yeah," Kermit replied. "I don't know what agency he said he was
from but I doubt it." Seeing Karen's troubled expression he hastily
added, "Oh he does work for our government. The actual agency that pays
him does not have a sign of I-95 nor will it be listed in anything
except by a number in the Senate's Covert Operation Oversight
Committee's listings. He's got a license to kill and the training to
back it, yet he's one of the good guys. A regular knight in shining
armor. It'll be fun to work together." Kermit smiled.
     Simms just shook her head as Kermit left. She returned to the
paperwork in front. She noted that Special Agent Hunter had not made a
big deal about getting Caine back from the 'administrative leave' he was
on. Added with the fact that Kermit said he was a spook made Karen
wonder what was going on. She decided to read the her copy of the case
folder that Special Agent Hunter had left. After finishing reading it,
she wished she did not.

* * * * * * * *

     Kwai Chang Caine was dry, warm, and comfortable in Shambalha. He
sat in a circle with nine other Shambalha Masters. Together they were
trying to find the Darkness that Caine had found during his morning
meditation. How long they search none could answer. As the Shambalha
Master's body tired another re-freshened Master would replace him, thus
came the Circle fresh and keeping the number within the circle at ten.
Lo Si sat down behind Caine as Caine rose up. The Ancient took Caine's
place in the Circle as before. Caine went to the table that had been
arranged for some fruit and juice to satisfy the hunger he felt. Since
there was no night in Shambalha and Time did not have any true meaning
either, it was hard for Caine to figure out what time is was in 'normal'
world.
     As he drank the juice and bit into the apple, he looked toward the
main hall of Shambalha. At the end of the main hall, a number of
Masters had also gathered. They were searching the Book of Shambalha for
clues. The first thing that Lo Si did upon entering Shambalha was to
call a meeting of the Masters present and a Summoning of those who
weren't. At the meeting he shared the imagines and feeling Caine had
gotten from the Darkness. All were clearly disturbed by the Darkness and
the Speaker had told those present that ten Masters should form a Circle
that would locate and probe the Darkness while another group would see
what the Book of Shambalha had to say on it. Those not in the Circle and
not doing research went out into the 'normal' world to look for signs
and to scout possible battlefields.
     The Book of Shambalha was the physical representation of the
cumulative mystical knowledge of past Shambalha Masters. Even Kwai
Chang Caine did not want to think about the metaphysical involved with
the Book that was not really a book. As he watched, he saw several
Masters asked the Book about the Darkness and for each question it gave
the same answer, the first page of the Book, which was blank. Noting the
lack of feeling from Peter through the psionic link they shared, Caine
realized he needed to meditate to clear his head and re-coop his chi
after being in the Circle.

     After relaxing for a while, Caine returned to find the Masters
still asking the same questions to the Book...
     'What is the Darkness?'
     'Where does the Darkness come from?'
     'How can we defeat the Darkness?'
And yet, the answer was the same, the Book of Shambalha opened itself to
the first of its pages and the page was blank. H* Caine asked
the group, "May I ask the Book a question?"
     "Of course you may, Brother Caine. It is the right of any Shambalha
Master to ask of the Book of Shambalha," came the reply.
     Caine bowed and looked at the Book, despite feel foolish, he asked
the Book, "Where are the answers we seek?"
     Once more the Book opened to its first page, but this time there
was writing there. Caine read out loud the highlights of the page, "'The
Book of Shambalha was a gift to the Brotherhood. The Book is but a part
of a larger Book. The Book of Eternity contains within its pages
everything between Creation and Destruction. The Book of Eternity is
protected. Only a Guardian can read from it since no mortal eye can
hold its knowledge and live.' The opposing page has a map to the Library
that contains the Book of Eternity."
     "That's wonderful Brother Caine," replied one of the Masters, "All
we need now is a Guardian, a Guardian of what?"
     "I .... I do not know," Caine said.

[=== End of Part 2 ===]