Phoebe Wren and the Vortex of Light (29 page)

“It’s so cramped posing as a gargoyle!” complained Braygor.

“Cramped, yes. But our stiff limbs will be well worth it!” Graygor was separated from the stone gargoyle and now fully visible, and he sneered at his evil twin. “
They
are inside,” he snarled. “They are
all inside
. Those stupid, reckless mortals are ours now!” And with a swirl of sulphur, the twin demons had launched themselves off the roof of the abbey and swooped in through a broken window to alert Schnither and the other demons who were waiting inside.

Inside Darken Abbey, Phoebe found that the anteroom was fairly small and thanks to two large end windows, not entirely dark, although the air inside was still dank and cold enough to actually feel damp against her skin. Phoebe nervously rubbed her hands together and swallowed hard as she tried to disperse the anxious knot in her throat.

“Ella? Demetrius?” Phoebe’s voice reverberated eerily off the ancient stone walls and seemed to echo out from the little anteroom and wander all by itself through the chambers beyond. There was no answering call, and the dense silence inside the abbey only served to make Phoebe more agitated.

“
El? Dem?
” Her voice was more forceful now, although she wondered why it was that she was afraid to shout any louder. Phoebe wondered whether her friends were deliberately hiding from her, and the thought made her cross. She realised that she was going to have to leave the anteroom and explore beyond the small chamber if she was to track down her wayward friends. Her nervousness was being superseded by growing annoyance at Demetrius and Ella, and she allowed her exasperation to motivate her into movement as she stepped tentatively through the open door at the other side of the anteroom and into the abbey’s imposing main hall.

Despite its years, the size and grandeur of Darken Abbey’s main chamber took Phoebe’s breath away and she gazed around its openness in awe. It was stark and cold, yes, but Phoebe was overwhelmed by the unexpected grace and glory of the room. Even now she could easily imagine it in all its resplendence and opulence, with glorious light flooding in through stained glass windows, which once were in immaculate condition and undoubtedly the abbey’s finest feature. Those windows which remained intact were still transforming the July sunlight as it shone through, casting bright dancing light on to the floors of the abbey in brilliant hues of crimson, emerald, cerulean and gold. The beauty of the sight made Phoebe smile despite herself, and she wandered awestruck along the length of the Great Hall until she came to the front. Here, intricate stonework and several inset arches adorned a spacious alcove in which four tall narrow stained glass windows beamed rainbow infused light down across a wide stone altar. The sight of the ancient altar, which was crumbling at one end, brought Phoebe back from her musings, and as she ran her hand along its cold stone length, a kind of electricity jolted through her and she gasped as phantom images of snarling demons and faceless black forms and pious monks in their long brown habits shot uninvited through her mind. Phoebe snatched her hand away instantaneously, but not before the images had imprinted themselves on her mind, and now as she closed her eyes, there they were again; all manner of grizzly monsters and ghouls, the stuff of nightmares, and faceless monks who seemed entirely devoted to their calling. Phoebe was aware that her encounters over the last few weeks were probably more than enough to give her these waking nightmares, but it occurred to her too that she may have to dig deeper into the abbey’s history to find out who – or what – had claimed this place as home, and what had become of its one time inhabitants, the monks.

With a heightened feeling of unease and a renewed sense of urgency, Phoebe knew that she must find her friends and, more importantly, she needed to find Cosain and the Heavenly warriors. She instinctively felt that this bizarre encounter in the abbey was much more significant than it seemed, and could only assume that Darken Abbey and all that had happened within its walls must play an integral role in whatever mission it was that she was to be part of.

Phoebe stepped backwards from the altar area and turned to recommence her search for Demetrius and Ella, when suddenly her friends were right in front of her, ashen faced and shaking.

“Ella! Demetrius! You frightened the life out of me! Where have you been? Why did you leave me here?” Phoebe’s rapid line of questioning was halted as she realised that her friends were dumbstruck and shaken. “Whatever is the matter with you two? You look like you’ve seen a…”

“…a ghost?” Demetrius finished her sentence for her. “Not a ghost Phoebe… but we are not alone, and we need to get out of here, fast!”

Before Phoebe could enquire further, her senses were pervaded by the unmistakable and overpowering stench of sulphur, which she now knew could mean only one thing – the minions of the Enemy!

“Quick!
Move!
” Phoebe didn’t have time to be more precise with her instructions, as Graygor and Braygor who had been perched on a high beam near the great chamber’s ceiling swooped down at terrifying speed, screeching and hissing like demented serpents.

Ella screamed in fear and panic as the three teenagers meshed into a running mass of limbs and terror, heading instinctively for the door into the anteroom and freedom. They had encountered the maniacal twins before, but never without the backup of Cosain and the angelic warriors. They had almost reached the door and their freedom when a gargantuan eyeless beast with six black wings and an enormous mouth full of wicked looking denticles dropped like a black stone from the trestles and entirely blocked their escape route – it was Malva! Still smarting from his fruitless encounter with Solas and Dilis, Malva did not intend to be humiliated a second time, and his fang-laden sneer stopped Phoebe, Demetrius and Ella dead in their tracks. Graygor and Braygor had slowed their approach, obviously enjoying the terror that their prolonged advance was instilling in the young mortals. As Malva loomed menacingly closer from the other direction, his cumbersome body blocking the entire doorway and the teenagers’ only escape route, Phoebe and her friends stood back to back with each other, and it crossed Phoebe’s mind that there was every chance that they would all die, right here, right now, in the Great Hall of Darken Abbey.

Suddenly, and without any warning, the gaping chamber was filled with brilliant light that Phoebe instantaneously knew could not be of this world. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the radiance, and through parted fingers was able to make out the glowing form of her rescuers – Neam and Cahir. The angelic warriors pitched in through two great glassless windows and wasted no time in routing the teenagers’ assailants. Cahir roared vengeance at Graygor and Braygor who did not even attempt to retaliate. Instead, the treacherous twins shot out of the Great Hall and scuttled like black rats somewhere into the substratum of the abbey, but not before Cahir had slashed his fearsome sword at them, slicing Braygor’s lizard-like tail from his body. The paltry demon spat curses back at Cahir, but dared not stop or even look back despite his raging indignation.

Neam found a less straightforward opponent in Malva, who challenged the mighty angel without hesitation. Malva lurched at him, seething with evil intent, and narrowly missed Neam who sidestepped his poisonous talons with only inches to spare.

“Phoebe!
Go!
”

Neam’s abrupt command jolted the teenagers back to life, and somehow their jellied legs were running towards the exit almost without the knowledge or consent of the rest of their bodies, which had been rooted to the spot in fear. As Phoebe, Demetrius and Ella burst through the small door into the anteroom, then out through the side door into the July sunshine, clean fresh air assailed their senses and filled their lungs, providing them with the additional strength they needed to propel themselves forward and down the lane towards the perimeter fence. Demetrius was first to reach the spot through which they had entered, but he paused, bundling the girls through first before he too squeezed through and raced after Phoebe and Ella. Behind them, they could hear the howls and roars of battle, and it was only when the teenagers realised that they had reached the village of Arles that they dared stop and look behind them. Puffing and wheezing, they surveyed Quagmire Hill from what they deemed to be a safe distance, but as their eyes raced to the top of the hill and came to rest on Darken Abbey, they were astonished to find the building dark and asleep, as if what had just transpired within its walls had never happened at all.

“
That
was
way
too close guys,” Phoebe indignantly stated the obvious as she made her way home with a very subdued Demetrius and Ella. There had been very little conversation between the three friends since they had reached Arles village and stopped running. It had taken them a while to get their breath back, but even when they had recovered no-one seemed to have anything to say.

“You do realise that there could be three dead bodies –
us
, in case you’re in any doubt! – lying up in that abbey right now! I told you – I
told you
– that we shouldn’t go in, that we ought to wait to hear from Cosain, but
oh no
, Demetrius and Ella know best!”

“
Okay
Phoebe,” said Demetrius quietly. “We get the picture. Yes, going in alone was dumb. Yes, we probably should have waited. But we’re sorry, okay? Besides…” Demetrius considered trying to justify his actions by pointing out that now they knew exactly where Schnither and his cronies were hiding out, but the stern expression on Phoebe’s face made him reconsider, and instead he left his sentence hanging unfinished in mid air.

Phoebe bit her bottom lip painfully hard, partly because she was annoyed with her friends and partly because she was annoyed with herself for getting so angry with them. She felt herself relax a little, and at once felt somewhat foolish for scolding her best friends, but when she recalled how close they had come to disaster she could feel her indignation rising again within her, and worked hard to contain it – this was definitely a time for solidarity, not childish arguments!

“Okay,” she muttered. “I’m sorry too. But one thing is very obvious – Darken Abbey is
not
just an old abandoned building. It clearly has great significance in this… uh,
adventure
that we’re caught up in. If Schnither has stationed his demon army there, then we can assume that it must be vital to their dirty deeds.”

“You are correct in your assertions, Phoebe.”

The disembodied voice startled the three teenagers who spun round in unison to find Cosain and Ernan following along just a few paces behind them. The mighty warriors had appeared from out of nowhere, and other than their imposing size, were once again more ‘ordinary’ looking than Phoebe had become accustomed to. Their powerful wings were not visible, and even in the midst of all that had just happened, Phoebe was curious about why the mighty winds were sometimes evident, and sometimes not. Given the situation, she decided that asking about that now would not be prudent.

“Cosain! Ernan!” gasped Phoebe. “I didn’t hear you! How long have you been behind us? I… uh, that is, we… uh…”

She was entirely stuck for words now in the presence of these formidable warriors, and felt like a naughty child about to be chastised for her bold behaviour. Demetrius stood next to Phoebe with his head dropped forward – apparently, he too expected a telling off from his Heavenly wards. Phoebe glanced at Ella, wondering whether or not she could see the angels – she had just assumed that Ella would be able to since Cosain had said she would be integral to what would follow, but realised that she had no firm basis for this assumption. Ella was standing with her jaw slack and her eyes stretched wide open, although she was apparently oblivious to the blank expression etched across her face. Apparently, she could see Cosain and Ernan
very clearly
, thank you very much. Had the situation not been so grave, Phoebe would have laughed out loud at her friend’s stupefied expression, but as it was she deemed it best to contain her amusement. Phoebe realised that while Ella had heard numerous stories of Cosain and the Heavenly Host, she had never actually met them in the flesh, and she pounced on this topic of conversation to break the awkward silence that had descended on the eclectic little group.