Echoes Through the Mist: A Paranormal Mystery (The Echoes Quartet Book 1) (28 page)

In the morning, Julian appeared with Brendan Maher in tow. Collecting the professor, the three set off back toward the thick growth of trees at the northwest end of the village. They walked along the edge of the tree line until Julian felt sure they were not being watched or followed.

When he thought the time was right he stopped, surveyed the village and backed up with slow steps. The three hikers melted into the forest and were gone.

Half way to the cave, Julian left Brendan to act as their rear guard. The professor and Julian continued on over the rock-strewn path with the trees towering above them.

At the foot of the mountain where a clear stream passed through on its way to the sea, the two men stopped.

“Is it very far?” the professor wheezed.

“We are only moments away.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“We have a bit of a climb and I want you well rested when we arrive. It is a sight that will take your breath away, Professor.”

The old man grinned like a schoolboy.

Once rested, the men began to climb the mountain. With each step, the view became more spectacular as more of the Irish Sea revealed itself.

Julian stopped and indicated the mountainside. The professor studied the slopes and smiled when he made out how the cave entrance had been camouflaged.

“Follow me, but watch your step,” Julian said and together they slipped behind the blind of bushes and into the cave. Once inside Julian secured the bushes from the inside. The men continued down the passageway until they entered the rotunda. Julian removed his pack and began to set up battery-powered lights. It wasn’t much illumination, but it was enough to triple the ambient light.

Professor Bragonier continued blinking until his eyes adjusted to the dim light. A sense of wonder began to animate his features as first one detail, and then another became clear. In each moment, he saw a miracle. Thoughts coursed through his brain like a swarm of angry bees. He slowly walked the perimeter of the room. Notebook in hand he entered his observations with an excited hand.

The professor lost track of time and so was surprised when Julian touched him on the shoulder and announced lunch was ready.

The two men settled themselves and Julian distributed sandwiches and cold tea. The professor ate out of habit, lost now in thought while Julian watched him.

“How would you value this find?” Julian asked as he and the professor sat around the cold fire pit.

“Value? You must be joking. It is priceless. What you have here is easily one of the most important discoveries in Irish history. This is the sort of wealth it would take to operate a whole Roman army in the field, not just a legion or two.

“No doubt about that. But had there been a Roman force anywhere on this island, especially one of this size, we would have found evidence by now. That sort of thing can’t be hidden. What is valuable here are the answers we shall find.

Julian said, “So, what are we left with, Professor?”

“We do have one piece of the puzzle. It comes to us in a fragment from the historian, orator and general gadfly, Caius Rufus,” the professor answered. “Caius tells a brief story. Sixty-nine, C.E. was the year of the four emperors. Galba is murdered by Otho. Otho commits suicide – assisted of course – and is succeeded by Vitellius who is murdered in the Forum by Vespasian’s men, whereupon Vespasian becomes the last man standing and thus Emperor. It was a busy, but not especially lucky year for most emperors.

“Anyway, Caius Rufus mentions a slight problem. It seems a ship set sail from Ostia, the main port city of Rome, with a payroll for the legions stationed in Roman Briton,” the professor lectured.

“But the ship never made it,” Julian added. He was distracted as images came unbidden, soul shredding, painful images.

“Exactly, my boy. Caius mentioned strong seas and the possibility of the ship being swamped and sunk. But there is more in his text and it is far subtler.

“He was careful not to say it in so many words but he hints at the likelihood the legionaries chosen to escort the shipment were not overly taken with Vespasian. More to the point, they were still faithful to dead but not forgotten Vitellius.”

“Our reporter, Caius, says no more about that but inserts what seems like a random fact.” The professor continued, “He tells us several cohorts of Legio XX – the Twentieth Legion – were removed from Britannia on the quiet for a time.

“You can see how all of this disappearing payroll business would make the escort much sought after and very unpopular. One couldn’t go far wrong postulating the Twentieth Legion was sent out to find and return their brother legionaries and the payroll.

Although justice may not always be swift and sure, punishment surely is. Failing in their mission, the Twentieth would have been decimated. Julian, one in ten – over five hundred men snuffed out. Gives new meaning to the saying ‘failure is not an option,’ eh?

“Julian. Julian?” The professor looked at his friend and was startled. Julian’s face had drained of color and his eyes looked haunted. The older man knew that look. He had seen it many times on his wife’s face.

It was mid afternoon before Julian whispered, “Misenum.”

“What about it Julian?” the professor asked cautiously.

“What does it mean?

“Misenum was the Roman navel base nearest to,” the professor stopped, then continued slowly, “Ostia – the port from which the transport departed. Tell me what you see Julian and why Misenum is important.

Julian closed his eyes slowly. “Cur non decedere Misenum – they keep repeating that over and over. My Latin is rusty, but I think I understand the meaning, do you?”

“They who? I don’t understand, old boy. ‘Why did we not leave from Misenum?’ It makes no – oh dear God.” The professor was stunned into a momentary silence as a bright light fell upon the dark mystery. “Misenum was a military port. They departed from the commercial port of Ostia.”

Julian said softly, slowly, “Can you feel it Professor? Can you feel this place, these men? It’s making sense to me now.” The older man said nothing, but noted the aching sadness in Julian’s eyes, eyes that seemed to darken with understanding as each moment passed.

“The escort, the legionaries, they sat around this pit as we are sitting now. Aside from that one phrase, I can’t hear them, but I can feel them all.

“They agree they should have known when their ship departed from a commercial port and not the military port of Misenum that something was gravely wrong. Their orders were simple. They were told to beach the ship, kill the crew, secure the payroll and wait.

“If the Roman army in Britain wasn’t paid there would be an armed backlash against Vespasian and the year of four emperors would have been the year of five emperors.

“That was what they were told, but that was never the plan. They went into this thinking they were overthrowing a murderer and a tyrant. They went about their mission out of duty to Rome, but it was all nullified by betrayal.”

Julian shifted his gaze from the fire pit to the professor. The man was startled at the intensity evidenced on Julian’s face, his eyes troubled to a dark gray, his voice distant and distracted. “It was all so indistinct when I was here with the boys, but I know now. I know so many things now.

“Look more closely at your books, Professor, you will find it there. This cave sheltered men who were marooned and promptly forgotten. Someone they trusted deceived them. Look for the betrayer; you will be seeking a man whose infamy is to be found in his betrayal of these men. But that’s not all that makes him important to history.

“Count carefully, Professor. Count as these legionaries did and you will find, as they did, this isn’t the entire payroll. Half of it is missing.

The one who deceived them manipulated events and that is why a commercial port was used. Half of the payroll could never have been stolen had the ship been in a military port.” The professor was still and pale as Julian drew a deep breath and his eyes began to clear.

“Bridget was right of course,” Julian said. “This is a cave filled with age-old coins and death, meaningless, pointless death.

“While they fought with honor for a living,” Julian continued, “the other, the betrayer, plotted and schemed for his livelihood. This cave witnessed the deaths of the spirits of men who deserved better and enabled the ascendency of a man who merited far worse.”

***

The two men gathered their tools and supplies and secured the entrance to the cave. After making sure they were not being observed, they made their way back down the hill and into the forest.

On the way to the village, the professor said, “I’ve given some little thought to your illegal excavation problems. My conclusion is not a happy one. The chances are good some sample of the Roman treasure made its way into the hands of our bad actors and they are desperate to find what you have found. Even a fraction of this find on the black market would be worth tens of millions.

“That makes this a dangerous game, Julian. The stakes are high, so have a care. Bridget was right to warn us off even hinting at what we might be up to.”

***

They found Brendan where they left him and he reported in his halting way that no one had passed this way through the woods.

Winded from the day’s activities, the professor sat next to Brendan on a flat rock. The boy seemed genuinely pleased to be in the company of his friend Mr. Julian and this new man, the professor.

The professor turned to Brendan, clasped him on the shoulder and said, “Young man, I am proud to say I have shared a moment with Brendan Maher, the discoverer of Ireland’s Roman Treasure.”

Brendan looked to Julian and in that look communicated his fear and his confusion. Julian smiled and shook his head and indicated everything would be all right.

“Well, Professor, it doesn’t quite work that way.”

“An Irishman and an American; if that isn’t a breeding ground for conspiracy and dark work I don’t know what is. What are you two up to? What isn’t the way what works? Quickly now, I’ve not the time to waste on you.”

“It is like this. You can’t share a moment with the discoverer of the Roman Treasure because you are the discoverer. After much consultation and thought, Brendan wishes to distance himself from this project.”

“What? But why? Doesn’t he understand how important this will be to the world? All of Ireland will know him. He will be,” the professor lost steam as the unintended consequences of the find suddenly came into focus.

“Then you see the problem,” Julian said. “Brendan is a shy young man. He has no need for accolades or fame or even fortune. His needs are simple ones. A lot of attention from strangers would at first confuse and then frighten him. I can’t say I can fault his logic nor can I say I would choose differently if I were in his place.

“No, Professor, you see your marvelous friend from New York, that would be me, was staying in the area very near a location you suspected as the resting place of the elusive treasure you had been researching and chasing for years. You manipulated me into inviting you to the village for a holiday. You are a crafty old fellow it seems.

“You brought Brendan and me out on what you said would be a pleasant walk. What we did not know, but you did, is your exhaustive research pinpointed the cave and thus the treasure.

“Brendan and I were unwitting witnesses to your discovery. However, even you weren’t prepared for what you found. After some investigation of the site, you were gob smacked by the magnitude of the treasure and the wider implications. Are you following along, Professor?

“Staggered by the enormity of your discovery, you ran back to Dublin and let the National Monuments Board in on it so a Preservation Order could be put in place and the site protected.

“At least that is the story we shall tell, or rather, I shall tell. As I said, my friend here is a shy fellow. I, however, am not. You can trust I will be able to sell that story to everyone. Don’t forget, I was a stockbroker. I am accustomed to selling ideas.”

Red-faced, the professor stammered and sputtered, “You, Julian Blessing, are a thoroughly unprincipled person. You – yes and your young friend here – are scoundrels! You can’t play fast and loose with the rules and expect there will not be consequences.”

“There are always consequences, Professor. Always. I will suffer them and do so gladly, but he will not.” Julian was emphatic. He and the professor exchanged glances that were lost on Brendan. The young man lived in a world where the purity of his intentions limited most of the unfortunate consequences.

Julian, the professor and Brendan were lost in the movement on the main street of the village, as men and wagons returned from the fields. Groups shouted greetings and individuals paused to pass a pleasant word or an invitation to one of the pubs.

Men tipped their hats to the professor. An educated man, and one from Trinity no less, was a man worthy of great respect. Brendan refused five Euros from Julian, but in the end took it as a day’s wage and went on his way home for supper.

Julian deposited the professor at the doctor’s house and continued to the police station for a quick wash and a change of clothes.

The door to the station stood partially open. He knew what to expect before he edged the door open. Seated behind his desk was Ailís Dwyer, one eyebrow arched menacingly and her arms folded across her chest. Where Julian had hoped for a warm welcome, Ailís indicated a chilly reception was in order.

“Well it took you long enough. Where have you been all day? Before you answer that, why were you in Dublin so long? It was those filthy Dublin tarts – I knew it! ” Ailís barked. “And you tried to install your friends in this police station – our police station mind you. Where would that have left me?” The doctor had the bit in her teeth now. “I have needs that must be seen to!”

Julian smiled. “I rushed back to you as soon as I could. If there had been another way I would haven taken it, but I regretfully had to take care of my business in person. I did beg you to come with me.”

Ailís snorted, but softened somewhat.

“All the time I was gone, I thought about this wonderful, delightful, saucy young woman who has skin as smooth as cream and whom I find intoxicating.” Julian was behind her now and he left a light kiss on her neck before she shrugged him off.

“I thought exclusively about how dedicated this young woman is, how she gives unstintingly of herself. My young woman is kind and sweet beyond words.” Ailís was allowing herself to be mollified so the second kiss was not shrugged off so quickly. His fingers played lightly along her shoulders.

“My days and nights in Dublin were consumed with thoughts of her. She was the first thing I thought of every morning and the last thing on my mind at night.” This time she allowed the kiss to linger and for another to follow.

“Kind and considerate, my lovely one is, thoughtful and talented, strong and independent. She is sexy beyond words and inspires a passion that threatens to consume me.

“Honestly, Ailís, I think you would like her very much,” and with that he gently bit her shoulder.

The doctor shot from the chair hissing, “You vile man!” before she stormed to the door. “Supper is in one hour and it starts with or without you.”

The doctor could hear Julian’s laughter ringing in her ears as her face reddened. “We’ll see who laughs last, Mr. Blessing!” she thought and she continued home with a purposeful step and a plan forming in her head.

***

“They really are evil creatures, don’t you think?” her houseguest, Bridget Bragonier, asked.

The doctor stopped, shook her head and smiled. Before long, the smile dissolved into a chuckle and then into a laugh which she and Bridget shared.

“They are evil, but how did you know?”

“No great trick really. No woman is ever that vexed by another woman. Women prefer to choose sides and destroy each other from a distance. You had the look of a young lady who would rather see to the matter personally. That left only a man. Men have few options to annoy us – ignore, tease or insult.

“In any case, it could be seen easily enough by the color that had rushed to your face. Besides, you were coming from the direction of the police station. The man who lives there cannot ignore you and would never intentionally insult you.

“He would, however, tease you. I do, of course, mean that as one good friend might tease another.” Bridget let the sentence hang in the air. She was too refined for sarcasm, however, irony dripped from every word while she smiled sweetly. “Still it is a mystery to me.”

“What is a mystery to you? What could possible be a mystery to you or for that matter that wicked Moira Hagan! And I have more than suspicions about that, that, that – policeman too! The three of you are up to something and I will know what it is!” Ailís was emphatic.

“I must tell you, my dear, how adorable you are when you are cross. Julian was that cross when I first met him, but he has settled down since. He actually has the makings of a proper gentleman.”

Ailís snorted and Bridget smiled.

“The mystery is why you and he insist on keeping secret what everyone has known for months now. Still, that is your business. Let us go inside and peel potatoes and we can talk about the dreadfulness of men.”

***

Professor and Mrs. Bragonier, Ailís, Timothy and Julian gathered for dinner at Ailís’s home on the last night of the Bragoniers’ stay in Cappel Vale. The professor and his assistants had made numerous trips to the cave. The preliminary investigation was as complete as possible for now.

For their last meal together, Ailís had insisted on perfection. The dinner table sparkled with her china and crystal. A linen tablecloth and matching napkins graced the table and a centerpiece of heather, hard ferns and gorse set off the silverware nicely.

Ailís had enjoyed her time with Bridget Bragonier and the professor and would be sad to see her new friends leave. The doctor wanted this to be a special evening.

The table conversation was far ranging, intensely interesting and all-inclusive. The professor took special pains to include Timothy and to solicit his opinions on the various topics covered during the meal.

***

With dinner finished, the table was cleared and the dishes washed and put away. The professor and Timothy went into the best room. Ailís had some charting to do on her patients leaving Bridget and Julian to wander in the garden and talk.

The older woman looked into the house from the garden and watched with a smile playing at her lips.

Seated in the best chair in the best room, Professor Bragonier was holding forth to a class of one. Timothy sat on a footstool stunned by the idea so much knowledge could reside in one man. Bridget whispered, “It couldn’t be helped, but not having children has always been a profound regret of mine.”

Julian smiled and took her arm. They both moved away to a swing in the arbor where they sat and rocked gently.

“You have no children, Julian. You should have. I believe you would be a good father.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Nothing pleases me more than watching people. Children are just people in the making. You are good with them. You are interested in them, but without losing the unique attitude of benign neglect so needed in their upbringing.” She smiled.

“You are such a charmer.”

“That I am. In any case, I am an elderly lady now. I am married to the professor on whom my charm is wasted and now dealing with you on whom I would not waste my charm.”

“Oh, but I am wounded!”

“You are not and, by the way, if you thought you had changed the subject you have not. You would make a good father. Take Timothy for instance.”

Julian gave his companion a sidelong look.

“He is a lovely young boy devoted to you for some reason, as is that Maher boy. Are you ever sad you didn’t have children?” she asked.

“Sad? No. When I was young and had the energy for children, I was also too selfish for them. Now that I’m older, I appreciate them more but am too old to be able to keep up with them.”

“Oh, but you are not too old. You will find that out soon enough. I would, however, like to change the subject if you do not mind too much – or even if you do.

“You are incredibly fortunate to have Moira,” Bridget said. “For you, she is the perfect teacher. It is because she is your teacher that she is unable to tell you what she has entrusted me to share with you. She feels you need to hear it from a source other than her.

“For reasons you understand too well, she has lost a great deal. You have provided her with a shield behind which she can gather herself again. She knows her control has been compromised. She does not trust herself right now with any of the many talents she has developed through the years.”

Julian looked perplexed and Bridget quieted him with a smile and continued. “Due to circumstances, she feels she has had to bring you further then she wanted and far faster than she should. She knows you were a reluctant student in the beginning, but that you have tried with passion, discipline and dedication to master your lessons.

“She wonders if she would have done as well in your circumstances and I join her in that. I doubt any of us could have done what you have in the time you have been given.

“She knows you are an extraordinary student, however she knows she has not been an extraordinary teacher. It is hard for her Julian. It is her responsibility as a teacher to nurture and protect you. Instead, it is you who have sustained and defended her.” Julian nodded his understanding.

“She has seen something, but not enough. She cannot bring it into focus. She has agonized over this. What she sees is dark and indistinct. Although she cannot see it, she can feel it. It involves the lives of many and the futures of many more. There is, in this valley, a manifest evil. It is both ancient and modern. I know that makes little sense, but better than that, I cannot say and neither can Moira.

“Fighting this malignant force has fallen to you. However, you must know, you must understand this fully, Moira would have taken this task from you. She would have given up anything, paid any price to keep you out of it. She tried everything she knew, but it was not to be.

“I felt the foreboding the first time I looked into this valley. Like Moira, I do not know its source.”

Julian looked at his friend. Bridget smiled and he could see those ancient, wise and kind eyes clearly. Now they did not sparkle, they were troubled. She said, “You did not believe me at first when I spoke to you of evil. But it is different for you now. Now you know this evil do you not?”

“Yes,” he answered and closed his eyes as he felt again the palpable malevolence.

Bridget continued. “This village of yours, this entire valley, there is a darkness here. I do not have the words that will capture what I am sensing.” She stopped, her frustration clearly marked on her face.

Julian’s tone was calm and even. The cadence of his words was measured and his voice soft. Without turning he said, “Perhaps I can help.” Bridget turned to look at her companion. She watched him closely, but he did not return her gaze.

She noticed his eyes seemed heavy and darker. He blinked slowly and infrequently. The muscles in his shoulders and neck were relaxed. His face wore a placid expression. He seemed absorbed as if his thoughts were far away.

“Please do,” she said. Her voice was hushed. She tried to control her breathing and contain her thoughts and feelings. The air around Julian was electric. It rippled and pulsed with subtle energy, but there was a raw vitality to it. She knew she was witnessing something she had never seen, something few had ever seen before. Awakening. The voice was Julian’s, but he was removed, detached.

“Please keep in mind my thoughts, feelings and my opinions are worth exactly what you paid for them.” He smiled but still did not look at her. She added her own smile.

“Forgive me, I know it is not for a student to say such things to his teachers, but both you and Moira are wrong. Rather than sensing or feeling what is there, you are trying desperately to find what should be there. Your senses report back findings that don’t make sense. Rather than investigate the findings, you assume your senses are somehow faulty.

“It is easier for me to see this clearly than it is for you. You both are accustomed to dealing with higher levels of sophistication so you look for what you expect to find, what you have always found. You feel the immense power and so suspect a powerful, dominant force must be its source. You cannot get a clear fix on the source so you expect a certain level of adroitness and vast experience is being used to cloud your vision.” Bridget sat stunned.

“Forgive me again.” Julian continued. “It is not my wish to play the pedant with you. This is not an exercise in semantics, I assure you. The words we use have meanings and carry with them deadly consequences. I can see that now. The power is raw and immense, I will grant you. It is not a dominant force, however, but a force that needs to dominate. You are looking for a presence that is fully formed. You will not find it because it is a presence being formed.

“You cannot easily define it or get a fix on it because it morphs as it grows and it is growing because it is feeding off Moira. If you were to stay, I believe it would consume you too. Through dumb luck, I managed to deflect a major assault on Moira. This has changed the dynamics of the situation.” Julian thought a moment before continuing.

“Dear Bridget, you are not looking for a teacher but a student. He is self-taught and all the more dangerous because of it. He has no discipline, no control. This is evidenced in the viciousness of the attacks. The intensity is maintained by sheer force of will combined with an intense hatred, anger and fear.” Julian closed his eyes.

The air was heavy with the scent of Irish dog roses. The creak of the swing was the only noise that breached the silence. After several minutes, Bridget spoke, choosing her words with care.

“You have grown more than you know and so, have made yourself a larger target. Julian, you must guard yourself and those around you. It sounds like melodrama, something seen in a very bad play, to be sure. But you, and those you love, are in tremendous danger. The sharper your senses become, the larger the threat grows,” Bridget said.

Julian turned to his companion. His eyes were still heavy and he was tired. “Bridget, I worry about it all the time. I’ve worried about it from the beginning. Will I be ready? Will I be good enough? Sometimes, like just now, I’m as focused as a laser. I frighten myself actually. At other times, I’m just,” Julian paused, his forehead wrinkled heavily as he looked for the words. “Just so off balance, confused, distracted.”