Gabriel Knight: Call of the Mara

The Lady

He was in a different place, this time. Still cold and dark, but the wretched stench of bodies no longer permeated the air. In fact, he wasn't even sure he was anywhere. There was nothing but pure black, and the only sound he heard was the faint sound of a woman's voice, humming a slow, unrecognizable tune. Out of the fog of black, she began to appear, fair-skinned with long brown curls. She was dressed in old, tattered, gauzy robes, colored a deep forest green, which matched her eyes. She was incredibly beautiful, and he had known some true beauties before his turn to hunting.

As she reached out to him, he leaned in, taken in by her calm and serene demeanor. She touched his jaw gently, like a gentle breeze. "Hunter of Shadows, banisher of night... You are on a quest of great peril, but one for you alone..." She lead him in close, holding him to her breast as a mother would to a child. He felt calm, at peace, near hypnotized by her grace. "For if the sixth servant of light dies, the veil shall ever be torn, and the Mara shall rule all."

And then, so suddenly, she was pulled away, and the horrible landscape returned with all its stench. She floated above him as he stood on the ground, smeared and dirty as he had been before. He hated being here again, and his stomach began its tumbles once more. Given the chance to look around once more, the familiar landscape became clear. It was Jackson Square, in ruin. He could see the remnants of the shattered and destroyed St. Louis Cathedral past the gnarled hedges. Now, among the bodies, he could see faces he knew from the streets. Musicians, performers, and tourists alike were all there, representing a population from memory. "What is this?!" he finally spoke, "Why am I seeing this?!"

"This shall be reality should the veil be torn!" the woman spoke down to him piously, "This is the vision the Mara seeks to fulfill! Should the sixth servant of light die, She shall do this to all you see, Gabriel Knight!"

"No!" Gabriel said loud enough to wake himself, sitting up stiff in his seat. Grace was holding his shoulder, and a flight attendant behind her looked on in worry. He caught his breath, slowly realizing it had, once again, been a dream. This one felt harder to shake off. It clung to him like his sweaty shirt. He suddenly felt just a little embarrassed when he noticed all the eyes of other passengers on him.

He cleared his throat just as Grace asked him, "Are you okay? We've landed..."

"I'm... I'm fine." He closed his eyes tight and nodded his head. How could he even manage to hide it away? After a moment of thought, he requested, "Coffee... They got coffee on this thing?"

"I'll go get you cup, sir," the attendant said softly before vanishing behind the cabin curtain.

Gabriel steadied his breath with a few deep intakes, and Grace looked on with a knit brow. "This is what you go through? How do you ever get sleep?"

As the other passengers made their ways to the exit, Gabriel refused to lift his head or look their way. He was damn glad he had a window seat. He laughed breathily. "I'll let you know when I do."

***

Mosely was waiting by his unmarked car outside the airport, drinking a cup of coffee when Gabriel and Grace emerged from the front doors. He walked across the street to meet them, tossing his luke warm coffee away in the street-side bin to be able to pull Gabriel into a hug. "Hey, pal. Been a while." His tone was as happy as it could be, given the circumstances. His hug was tight and firm; the way Mosely always hugged.

Gabriel gave a small, short hug back, patting Mosely on the shoulder. He was usually better at this hugging thing, but the nightmare still had him rattled. "'Bout half a year. Guess that's a while. Nice to see ya, Mostly." It was complicated, being back home. There were so many terrible memories tied to this place, along with the good ones. The two parted, and Mosely turned to give Grace a hug, as well. She returned it kindly, more relaxed to see him, now. Gabriel stuffed his free hand into his coat pocket. "Missed this kinda weather. It's all snow and wind in Germany."