Chapter 17: In the Dragon’s Backyard

February 1999

I decided that I needed a nap. That is when I had the first of a series of strange and revealing dreams. I dreamt of a valley, a lush green valley that was full of creatures that did not exist today.

These were not creatures like the ones in the movies like “Jurassic Park,” or “The Land That Time Forgot.” These were more like ... mythical creatures. Creatures like the unicorn, dragons that breathed fire, and could fly. There were all kinds of creatures from mythology, that we never really knew existed or not. I was there being chased by fairies, elves and goblins. They were everywhere. Every time I would run in one direction, they would pop up from the ground. Those creatures typically thought of as harmless, and benevolent, had very ugly faces. My goal was to get out of the valley at all costs and not look back for any reason. Therefore, I did not. I made my way up to the ridge crest hearing the ugly and hideous sounds that all these creatures make, suddenly fade away. I had found myself in a beautiful garden, inhabited by four creatures of light. They were brilliantly dressed in colors I had not seen before, or a type of light I had not seen before. One stood up from sitting on something, (It shone brightly as well) and spoke these words to me. “We will be with you.” Then I woke up, to a knocking at my door.

It was the call to dinner. My dream intrigued me. I am one of those who think dreams happen to mean something, like an impending event is going to happen, or the attainment of a long-awaited answer to a question. Patience and an open mind would receive that answer.

Dinner that night was adequate, but not sumptuous. We ate chicken, rice, beans, and salad, and for dessert, fried plantains, washed down with iced tea. The dining room consisted of a long dining table, made of wooden planks. A buffet table and sideboard were also in the room. Some local artist’s work hung on the walls complemented the simple décor of the room. Simplicity was the theme of the entire compound.

Paul said grace before we ate. As we ate, he was full of questions. I could hardly eat as he fired question after question to me. Most of his questions were easy to answer, as they were mostly about home. He turned to Lou, and asked Lou some questions about why we were here.

Lou felt that he could trust Paul, so he went straight to the truth. Right away Lou told him why we had come here. I was surprised that Lou would trust someone whom he had just met. Paul was surprised for he had no idea of what we were after or that we had come this far in our investigation.

Against my better judgment, I decided to tell him more details. “Paul, this altar that Lou speaks of, has some markings on it that we’re trying to discover the origins of. I have been able to determine that they look exactly like some ancient symbols native to the Mesopotamia regions. That is the part that disturbs me.” I continued to eat, as Paul looked at me, with a great fascination. I could see Paul wanted more of an explanation, so I gave it to him.

“Paul, when she was young, Rosalva saw an altar located in the forests near her home with these same markings on it. She saw this at the same exact time two of her playmates disappeared before her very eyes. She found something else that suggests something akin to foul play. She was standing in a pool of blood, at the base of the altar.”

Paul’s expression of fascination had turned to one of horror. “My God, Malcolm! I think you’re scaring us all with this story!” he cried. “Now none of us will get any sleep tonight!”

Rosalva gave her input. “Senor Paul! It is true! All of it is true, just as Senor Harris says. I do not sleep very well as it is, because of the dreams. I have hoped that these two men may help me get rid of the curse of the altar and the dreams.”

“Well, Paul. You wanted to know. Now you do.”

“But how did you find out about this? This story didn’t just fall into your lap!” Paul asked.

Lou spoke up this time. “Senor Paul, none of these people, including myself would be here, if it weren’t for me. I am a police officer for the Miami Dade county sheriff’s office. I am investigating a cult thought to kidnap animals and sacrifice them. Now during that investigation, we made an arrest. Unfortunately, our suspect turned up murdered in our jail. We had another case just like this one several years ago, and all the evidence turned up missing. Surprisingly, I began running into the same roadblocks from that case on this case. I, well, Malcolm and myself, flew down here to see what would turn up, if we did the investigating ourselves. We know that our dead suspect was from this area, and he had ties to the drug trade. We also know that an associate of his has been following us since we left Miami. I believe that this man may have planted many of our clues. Let me show you who he is.” Lou reached into his jacket, and pulled out the Dragon’s photo, alongside Cordero.

Paul took one look at the photo and turned paler than a ghost.

“My God! Oh my God! I know this man! He is Eduardo Arrellano. He is evil, my friends. Stay away from him! His connection with the FARC and the drug cartels is well known. Once he accompanied some of the rebel soldiers when they came here to the mission. He never said anything to me, but you knew he had complete control over the rebel soldiers. My friends please do be careful. This man is dangerous! Avoid him at all costs. I have heard stories from the local populace in this area. A black SUV, with a dragon painted on it, drives him around. It has tinted windows, so no one can see inside. When he came here, all my staff went and hid. It was hours before they came out of hiding. I don’t know who he is tied to directly, but my guess he wields a lot of power and authority in these parts.”

Paul handed me the photo back, looking me right into the eyes. For a few minutes, there was a long silence. No one spoke. My senses started to pick up the signals. I sensed fear. Fear in this place! I was determined not to let this ruin our dinner and our fellowship. “For wherever two or more are gathered in His name, there shall He be also.” I remembered Jesus” words. I believed them.

“Paul, this room is full of fear at this moment! Let him or her who has not trusted in the Lord God for all their needs depart this room. For those in this room or any room, cannot serve two masters and those in this room shall serve the Lord God Almighty! I command through the power of Jesus Christ, that all unclean spirits leave this room!” Then there was calm.

Lou, his mouth still full, was aghast at what he just saw. Rosalva was surprised as well.

Paul hung his head. He wiped his brow and let out a big sigh. “I am sorry, for it was I who allowed the spirit of fear inside these walls and sit at this table. It was my fear you sensed, Malcolm.” “I know,” I told him. “I believe that the man you speak of, the man known as the Dragon is the mastermind behind all the evil of the altar, and its cult. That is our mission tomorrow. Find the altar and unlock its mystery.”

“Yeah,” said Paul, “But you better be careful. You need a backup plan so that if your mission goes south, then you have a way to escape.”

“I didn’t think we would need one, since this is only a mission to find this altar if it is still there and examine it.”

“Malcolm, you never know who is out there, and what their intentions are. The rebels have kidnapped many trainees here. Then they find themselves pressed into the rebel’s service. They need medics and I supply them, or so it seems. I think they send me people to train just so they can take them back and use them. Still, you need a plan just in case something goes wrong.” Lou interrupted, “Leave that to me!” We all chuckled together and began to have a lighter conversation. “Lou, how long have you known Malcolm?” Paul asked. “Well, I have known him about five years. We met when I was investigating a case where we called in a psychic to help with a missing person, whom we assumed was probably murdered. This psychic had had some good hits with cases like these in the past, and we were going to use them again for this case. Well, for some reason, Malcolm showed up on the scene, reporting about the crime. Apparently, it was high profile enough to warrant the tabloid’s attention. Malcolm had gotten word we were going to use this person for assistance in cracking the case, but the psychic couldn’t give any leads at all. Malcolm exposed this person to be a fraud. The psychic thought Malcolm was investigating the case, but he was investigating her! He showed us where she had had a history of fraud and of conning people out of their money. Your friend had really done his homework. I have learned to trust Malcolm, not just for his intuitiveness and understanding of the supernatural, but also because of his honesty and trustworthiness. Malcolm shares information. Moreover, he is a good listener, and a fair investigator himself. He is my good friend.” Lou was embarrassed at telling all of us what he thought of his relationship with me, especially with me sitting right there. Lou asked how Paul and I had met.