Free Raga Six (A Doctor Orient Occult Novel) by Frank Lauria Page A

the door. He was still wearing his short robe.  
    "Yeah?" He squinted unpleasantly at Orient.  
    "Gregory asked me to come."  
    Thor stepped aside to let Orient in. "Okay," he grunted.  
    When Orient entered, he saw, or, rather, heard the reason no one had heard him knock the first time. The front room was swarming with teenaged girls, sitting or standing in groups, talking excitedly. The high noise level was punctuated by sudden squeals of enthusiasm. They all wore long hair, were dressed in the same brand of jeans, and had identical expressions of reverent wonder on their faces. Exactly like the two Slavies he’d seen that afternoon.  
    "Inside," Thor raised his voice above the din and pointed to the curtain.  
    Orient made his way through the tangle of rounded, interchangeable bodies and opened the door.  
    The inside room was less crowded and the men and women gathered there were older and more subdued. There were ten or fifteen of them, very few under thirty, and any of them could have been the owners of the limousines outside. They had the flushed, sated look of affluent collectors. Whatever their choice—art, jewels, experience, people—it was all in their pockets somewhere. They were sitting on the pillows or standing in knots talking calmly, but Orient could sense a feeling of barely repressed excitement running through their muted tones.  
    "I discovered Gregory and Isis during the phase last month," a sharp-featured woman was telling someone. "The boy’s a prodigy. I wouldn’t make a move without his advice."  
    Orient looked at her. She was a sleek woman, fiftyish, and the cultivated tan on her hands set off the diamonds on her fingers to advantage. As Orient wondered what Gregory had done to earn her adulation, he spotted a girl dressed in a clinging white gown coming toward him. She was almost at his side before he recognized her, Kali had undergone a complete transformation. Her stringy, unkempt hair was brushed and shining, and the dirt smudges on her face had been washed away. She looked radiantly happy. When she came near, Orient caught the scent of perfume on her skin.  
    "Oh, I’m so glad you came," she said, slipping her arm through his. "Tonight’s a glorious night for me."  
    "You look glorious," Orient observed.  
    Kali smiled. "For three months I’ve had to purify myself, but tonight I’m ready."  
    "Ready for what?"  
    "Tonight I’m admitted to the Circle."  
    "Better explain," Orient said, shaking his head. "I still don’t get it."  
    "Of course you don’t," Kali laughed. "But I’ll tell you as much as I can. The last week of every month is the meeting phase. When we help people. If Gregory chooses, you’re allowed to attend three phases, that’s nine meetings. After that you’re considered for the Circle."  
    "What about the Slavies?"  
    "They want to join, but they’re not even ready to attend meetings. They serve the Circle until the time when they’re mature enough for purification. But if Gregory thinks someone has strong vibrations, like you, they’re invited to observe. If Gregory agrees after that, you can begin purification right away."  
    Orient smiled. "What happens when you join the Circle?" He still couldn’t accept the fact that they were serious. It had all the stratifications of a high school secret club.  
    "You’ll see for yourself tonight," Kali said.  
    "Are all these people here to join?"  
    "Some. Most are here to get a favor from Gregory and Isis. And their blessing."  
    Orient didn’t answer. He knew that in every city, in every country on earth, there were people experimenting with some form of occult science. Most of them were deluded. But these kids didn’t give off the haphazard air of stumbling experimentation. And the men and women gathered in the storefront salon didn’t seem like the sort of people who were given to wasting time playing high school games with impressionable children.  
    "For two months I couldn’t take a