Phoebe Wren and the Vortex of Light (26 page)

Despite the numerous unknowns and the loose ends, Phoebe finally seemed content to accept that this was all real; she
was
back in her own home in Ireland with her family, and she smiled and relaxed into the moment. She had to remind herself to ‘act normal’ and almost robotically said
‘good morning’
to her parents, giving them both a quick hug – she did not take this simple exchange for granted and offered up a silent prayer of thanks. She walked across the open plan living room to the kitchen, where Aunty Kate was boiling the kettle to make tea and pushing bread down into the toaster.

“You hungry, Love?” she asked, still smiling at the niece she hadn’t seen in ten years.

“Yes Aunty Kate, it’s been a
long
journey,” smiled Phoebe – if only Aunty Kate knew the half of it!

“It sure has,” replied Kate. “And I can’t wait to hear all about it – every minute from the last ten years!” She laughed and added, “We may need more tea!”

“Yeah,” Phoebe agreed politely. “Oh, and happy birthday Aunty Kate!” she added, somehow recalling the occasion in the midst of the madness.

“Thanks Phoebe – it’s an extra special one this year!” Kate smiled as she handed Phoebe a plate and the bewildered teenager made her way back to the breakfast table.

Phoebe poked at her breakfast in something of a daze. She was barely aware of what she was even eating, but knew simply that she would have to go through the motions in order to make everything appear normal. The adults had a lot of catching up to do, and chatted non-stop over their apparently endless cups of tea. After a short while, Phoebe finished her toast and excused herself and Demetrius from the table, explaining that she wanted to show Dem around the house and grounds, and reacquaint herself with the area in which she had spent the first five years of her life.

“Wow,” laughed Demetrius when the teenagers were out of earshot. “Your family can
talk!
”

“I know,” agreed Phoebe, smiling and shaking her head. “Let’s walk? I’ll just get changed then we can get out for a while. Wait for me here, I won’t be a minute.”

Phoebe scurried upstairs, and pulled on jeans and a jumper before rushing back downstairs to meet Demetrius without even attempting to introduce a brush to her bed-head hair, which she had roughly pulled back in a messy bun.

Phoebe and Demetrius pulled on their jackets, opened the two storey house’s quirky purple front door and stepped out into the lilting light of the bright July morning. They walked for a while in comfortable silence, with Demetrius drinking in the beauty of the rolling Irish countryside and Phoebe barely noticing it, lost entirely in her own thoughts. After a short distance, the teenagers stopped next to a gently gurgling stream and Phoebe sat down with a huge sigh on a fallen tree. Demetrius sat next to her.

“I can hardly comprehend it all either, Bird,” he said gently, reading her thoughts. “But one thing I do know – it was the
right
decision for me to come here with you and your folks.”

“Dem, how did this happen? I mean, all of it?
Any
of it? One minute we were on a plane and stepping into the vortex, and I was sure that my parents and the other passengers were doomed; the next minute, I wake up in my own bed in Ireland, with my family and you downstairs, all healthy and well! My head hurts from all the figuring out I’ve been doing!”

Demetrius chuckled at how perplexed his friend looked. “I can’t give you all the answers right now Phoebs, but what I do know is that your parents have no recollection of our flight getting into any trouble, and so I can only assume that neither do any of the other passengers who were on the plane. There was no mention of frantic cabin crew or frightened passengers – not even a little turbulence! When I came downstairs this morning I
felt
as confused as you
looked
when you arrived in the kitchen, but I kept quiet and listened and was able to piece things together from the conversation around the breakfast table. Turns out, as far as your folks are concerned, you and I
slept
through the second half of the flight, which was plain sailing all the way – they even said the landing in Dublin airport was ‘textbook’!”

Phoebe chuckled; a
‘textbook’
landing – that was exactly like something her father would say!

Demetrius paused before going on. “There’s something else Bird. I saw Cosain this morning, very early, before anyone else was awake.”

“
What?
” Phoebe sat bolt upright, eyes wide. “Where, Dem? Was he alone? Were the others with him?”

“He was at your parents’ house,” Demetrius replied in a matter-of-fact manner. “He was alone, but said he would be back Bird, and that we have a lot to do, this is just the beginning. But for the time being, he was just checking in on us. He explained that once the portal opened up on the plane and we stepped into it, the entire time space, um,
continuum thing
was altered and
everybody
on the plane was brought through.”

“So you mean…” Phoebe was still struggling to get her head around the implications of what she was hearing.

“Yep,” smiled Demetrius. “All those folks we were travelling with are, right now, wherever it is that they were travelling to yesterday. Phoebe, we
all
got
vortexed
out of the plane and on to where we should all have ended up – the plane never crashed. But as far as any other passengers are concerned, the flight took off and landed according to plan.”

“Whoa…” Phoebe tried but just couldn’t muster up a more considered response, and instead sat next to Demetrius rubbing her temples and breathing deeply through her nose. “Dem, what on earth must we be in for? What sort of a job has Cosain in mind for us?”

“I’m not sure, Bird,” smiled Demetrius. “But I reckon it won’t be too long before we find out.” And he nodded in the direction of a small copse of trees, which was shining with a now familiar golden ethereal glow.

‘
Déjà vu
,’ thought Phoebe. ‘
Again
…’

Phoebe and Demetrius clambered to their feet as Cosain and his Heavenly brothers strode towards them. The sight of the imperial warriors, coupled with the wonderful sights and smells of home, made Phoebe’s heart leap and soar. Solas, Dilis, Trean, Neam, Croga and Lasair smiled their greetings at the teenagers, as Cosain introduced them to the five new faces that Phoebe had seen yesterday outside the aeroplane. Somehow, though, the angelic warriors all looked
different
today, and it occurred to Phoebe that their mighty wings were glaringly absent. She had never seen the angels without their wings, and she realised how… well,
normal
they looked. Had they not been so incredibly tall, they may even have been considered inconspicuous. The difference startled Phoebe somewhat, and she had to force herself to stop staring and focus on the introductions.

“Phoebe, Demetrius – welcome home,” Cosain smiled down ay his young wards before beginning his formal introductions. “I’d like you to meet more of our comrades. This is Ernan.” An imposing warrior with cropped hair and swarthy skin nodded his head.

“Maelis.” The next angel smiled and half bowed, his sharp green eyes earnest.

“Keane.” Broad shouldered with curly hazel coloured hair, Keane struck Phoebe as fearsome yet intensely kind.

“Lachlan.” Phoebe smiled broadly at the big Viking warrior of an angel, and it struck her that angels, like humans, came in all shapes and sizes.

“And Cahir.” Cosain gestured towards the mighty angelic being, and as Phoebe’s gaze moved to his deep dark eyes and shaven head, she noticed a dull pink scar roughly two inches long that ran diagonally from just below his eye along his cheek. She blushed as he caught her staring at the blemish, but Cahir simply smiled kindly and said, “We are no strangers to battle, Phoebe.”

“These brothers joined us from the Celestial City when we brought Lasair back to recuperate.” Cosain continued.

“Recuperate? Lasair, are you alright?” Phoebe interjected, suddenly realising why she had not seen him yesterday, and anxious that he had been injured. Lasair smiled at her worried expression and reassured her that he was indeed back to full strength.

“Their assistance proved invaluable to us, and we will be glad of their further help in the weeks ahead. I am sure that you are wondering what happened after you stepped into the vortex of light yesterday? In truth, it took us somewhat by surprise too. Despite gaining the upper hand during the earlier stages of the flight, Schnither proved himself a wily adversary and set a decoy. We expected him to regroup and attack the plane again, so when we saw his little band of demons we went to deal with them, and discovered in the nick of time that we had been deceived. I know that you both saw something of the battle that ensued, and I do believe that as fierce as it was, we would have gained the upper hand eventually. The Atoner had other plans however, hence the portal. What I have never witnessed before is what happened after you were both transported out of the aeroplane. The portal scooped you up and closed, but
reopened
to transport the plane and the rest of the passengers to safety – an impressive play indeed! The Atoner’s plans are never obvious! We…” Cosain gestured towards the angelic warriors standing with him. “We were left with our foes, wrangling on through the sky. But the sudden and unexpected disappearance of the plane sent Schnither into a rage and I imagine that he realised there was very little point in wasting his time and effort battling with us when he had no idea where his target had gone.”

A wry little smile played on the corners of Cosain’s lips for a few seconds, but was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

“So,” Cosain concluded, “Schnither is furious that his deceitful plan was foiled – and you can be sure that he will not rest until he finds you and puts an end to the plans that the Atoner has for you.”

“Speaking of plans…” Phoebe prompted Cosain for the information she had wondered about since this whole crazy adventure started.

“You have heard us speak of the Celtic Justice Mission,” It was Solas who spoke, picking up on Phoebe’s not so subtle hint. “It is an organisation that your parents will soon establish, Phoebe. Through it, wrong doing and injustice will be tackled on a scale that none of you could comprehend right now. This organisation will provide the tools for those in authority to deal with inequality and will help to ensure hope and a brighter future for those who are being mistreated and abused. But it will be bigger than even that. The organisation will expose those in authority who are corrupt, who are pawns of the Enemy, spreading his malevolent malady – they will not have free rein for much longer! But they will not loosen their grip without a fight, which is where you – and we – come in.”

Overwhelmed by what she had just heard, and with her head reeling, Phoebe plopped down again on to the fallen tree trunk. “How…” she started, then shook her head, unable to pull words together to respond. Demetrius took over on Phoebe’s behalf. “What do you need us to do, Cosain? We’re only kids – well, Phoebe is!” He grinned at the warriors assembled in front of him. Phoebe could see that Demetrius’s fearlessness impressed them, and wished that she could be more like him – trusting, brave, impetuous even.

“There is no well laid out plan that we can go through with you beforehand,” said Lasair. “But you will see. The necessary things will fall into place and you will know what to do. Trust.” He smiled at the teenagers, and knew that their blend of bravery and caution was exactly what would be needed in the weeks ahead.

“We can do that.” Phoebe spoke up and her simple pledge touched Cosain’s heart.

“Yes,” he said. “You can. And you will. And we will be with you every step of the way. For now, you need to go to Ella.”

“Ella?” Phoebe was at once puzzled and delighted by the mention of her best friend.

“Yes, she will be instrumental as well. Besides,” Cosain was smiling again. “Aren’t you dying to see her?”

“Ella! Yes! Come on Dem, I’ve got someone I want you to meet! Cosain, uh…
gents
…” Addressing angels en masse never got any easier. “We will see you all in due course then.”

Phoebe set off at a gallop with Demetrius in tow, as the Heavenly Host stepped back into the coppice and disappeared, content that for now Phoebe and Demetrius were safe and secure.