The Valkyries

all around her there was a strong presence, friendly and generous. She began to imagine her angel, dressed in blue, with golden hair and immense white wings—exactly as she had pictured her angel as a child.
    Paulo was imagining his angel, as well. He had already immersed himself many times in the invisible world that surrounded them, so it was not a new experience for him. But now, since J. had assigned him this task, he felt that his angel was much more present—as if the angels made themselves available only to those who believed in their existence. He knew, though, that whether one believed in them or not, they were always there—messengers of life, of death, of hell, and of paradise.
    He dressed his angel in a long robe, embroidered in gold. And he also gave his angel wings.

Chapter 3
     
    T HE HOTEL WATCHMAN, EATING HIS breakfast, turned to them as they came in.
    “I wouldn’t go out into the desert at night again,” he said.
    This really is a small town,
Chris thought.
Everybody knows what you’re doing.
    “It’s dangerous in the desert at night,” the guard explained. “That’s when the coyotes come out, and the snakes. They can’t stand the heat of the day, so they do their hunting after the sun goes down.”
    “We were looking for our angels,” Paulo said.
    The watchman thought that the man didn’t speak English very well. What he had said didn’t make sense. Angels! Perhaps he’d meant something else.
    The two finished their coffee quickly. Paulo’s “contact” had set their meeting for early in the morning.

Chapter 04
     
    C HRIS WAS SURPRISED WHEN SHE SAW Gene for the first time. He was quite young, certainly not more than twenty, and he lived in a trailer out in the desert, several miles from Borrego Springs.
    “This is a master of the Conspiracy?” she whispered to Paulo, when the youth had gone to fetch some iced tea.
    But Gene was back before Paulo could respond. They sat under an awning that extended along the side of the trailer.
    They talked about the rituals of the Templars, about reincarnation, about Sufi magic, about the Catholic church in Latin America. The boy seemed to know a great deal, and it was amusing to listen to their conversation—they sounded like fans discussing a popular sport, defending certain tactics and criticizing others.
    They spoke of everything—except angels.
    The heat of the day was intensifying. They drank more tea as Gene, smiling agreeably, told them of the marvels of the desert. He warned them that novices should never go into it at night, and that it would be smart to avoid the hottest hours of the day, as well.
    “The desert is made of mornings and afternoons,” he said. “The other times are risky.”
    Chris listened to their conversation for as long as she could. But she had awakened early, and the sun was getting stronger and stronger. She decided she’d close her eyes and take a quick nap.

Chapter 05
     
    W HEN SHE AWOKE, THE SOUND OF THEIR voices was coming from a different place. The two men were at the rear of the trailer.
    “Why did you bring your wife?” she heard Gene ask in a guarded tone.
    “Because I was coming to the desert,” Paulo answered, also whispering.
    Gene laughed.
    “But you’re missing what’s best about the desert. The solitude.”
    What a cheeky kid,
Chris thought.
    “Tell me about the Valkyries you mentioned,” Paulo said.
    “They can help you to find your angel,” replied Gene. “They’re the ones who instructed me. But the Valkyries are jealous and tough. They try to follow the same rules as the angels—and, you know, in the kingdom of the angels, there is no good and no evil.”
    “Not as we understand them,” Paulo countered.
    Chris had no idea what they meant by “Valkyries.” She had a vague memory of having heard the name in the tide of an opera.
    “Was it difficult for you to see your angel?”
    “A better word would be
anguishing.
It happenedall of a sudden, back in the days when the Valkyries came through here. I decided I’d learn the process just for the fun of it, because at that point, I didn’t yet understand the language of the desert, and I was upset about everything that was happening to me.
    “My angel appeared on that third mountain peak. I was up there just wandering and listening to music on my Walkman. In those days, I had already mastered the second mind.”
    What the hell is the “second mind”?
Chris wondered.
    “Was it your father who taught it to