Phoebe Wren and the Vortex of Light (33 page)

D’Olcas
. Eva’s heart fell, and Jack reassuringly took his wife’s hand as they made their way to room where their meeting was due to be held. There were six comfortable chairs positioned in an open plan waiting area just outside Mr. d’Olcas’s office, and Jack and Eva had barely taken a seat when the door of room number 57b opened and Vincent d’Olcas stepped out into the hallway.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wren,” d’Olcas’s tone was flat and his grey face was void of all expression. “Do come in.” His attempt at a polite welcome was not particularly successful and neither Jack nor Eva felt welcome in any way.

Vincent d’Olcas made an attempt at a smile as he shook hands, first with Jack and then with Eva, but managed instead a lopsided grimace, which only served to make him appear even more inapproachable. Eva resisted the urge to wipe her hand on her coat in an effort to remove the cold clammy residue that lingered on after Mr. d’Olcas’s limp handshake had ended.

“You remember Mr. Atwood and Ms. McGill?” Mr. d’Olcas’s words sounded more like an accusation than a question, and his apparent reluctance to use his colleagues’ Christian names only served to make the situation much more formal and certainly did not put Jack and Eva at their ease.

“Jack, Eva, hello again,” smiled Celeste McGill as she rose to her feet and crossed the room to shake hands with the Wrens. “You remember Brent, I’m sure. And please,” Ms. McGill glanced sideways at Mr. d’Olcas with an obviously raised eyebrow. “Call me Celeste.” Her warmth was almost tangible to Jack and Eva, who smiled back at Celeste and involuntarily relaxed into the situation. Vincent d’Olcas scowled his disapproval but said nothing, although Eva was convinced by his twitching muscles that if he clenched his jaw much harder he would break a tooth.

“Please, have a seat. Let’s see what conclusions we can come to today,” said Brent Atwood with a kind smile. Brent was the head of planning services for Arles Council, and would ultimately have a lot of sway in any decisions that would be made about Darken Abbey. Celeste McGill was senior charities advisor for the council, and was very keen to move plans for the Celtic Justice Mission forward, promoting it at every opportunity. She was openly excited about the prospect of having the organisation established, believing that it could only benefit the locality. The Wrens instinctively knew that Celeste would do everything within her power to help them, and even though they had only met her very recently, she felt like an old familiar face and had a wonderful way of putting them at their ease. There was something very reassuring about Celeste, whose gold flecked eyes made Eva in particular feel safe and secure. Eva could not quite put her finger on it, but there was something
different
about Celeste McGill, and whatever it was, Eva was grateful for it.

The same could definitely not be said for Vincent d’Olcas. Mr. d’Olcas was council treasurer and chief advisor to the Mayor, Mr. Bradbury Jones, but it was a poorly kept secret that d’Olcas had Jones in his pocket, and it was d’Olcas, not the Mayor, who pulled the strings and ultimately made the decisions. Mayor Jones was a genial character, inoffensive and very friendly, but he was pliable and somewhat weak willed, and Vincent d’Olcas used this to his full advantage. As the meeting commenced in earnest, Eva could not shake off the eerie sense of foreboding that seemed to settle in her soul when d’Olcas was within range of her. She could not explain it, but she knew that Vincent d’Olcas troubled her deeply just by being around. Still, Eva also knew that Mr. d’Olcas had the power to block their plans for Darken Abbey and so for now, she made the conscious decision to button her lip and keep her personal feelings out of what could prove to be a make or break meeting.

Back at the Wren’s house, Phoebe wondered how her parents’ meeting with the council representatives was going. Given that Cosain had told her that Darken Abbey would act as the Celtic Justice Mission’s headquarters, she was tempted to assume that it was a foregone conclusion, but she had learned enough of the unpredictability of the Enemy to know that this was an overly simplistic view of things.

Demetrius and Ella had gone for a walk earlier in the afternoon; they had asked Phoebe to join them but she had declined the offer, preferring instead to take the opportunity to write a couple of emails to friends back in Africa. Phoebe had entirely settled back into life in Ireland, and was delighted to be home, but she still desperately missed the folk who had become like family to her in Johannesburg and it was important to her to make the effort to keep in touch.

An hour and a half and six emails later, Phoebe’s eyes were stinging from focusing on her computer screen. She was pleased with what she had gotten done, and decided to call it a day where emails were concerned. As she stood up from her desk, rubbing her smarting eyes, Phoebe heard her parents car pull on to the gravel drive at the front of their house, and she quickly scampered downstairs to hear their news. As Jack and Eva walked in the front door, Demetrius and Ella arrived home through the back door.

“Guys,” said Jack, who was trying to look nonchalant but was obviously bursting with glee. “Great timing. Grab a seat in the den, I’m just going to put the kettle on, your Mum and I need a cuppa!”

Eva took off her coat and kicked off her high heels then got herself settled comfortably in the family room. Phoebe was about to follow her mother through when Demetrius caught her elbow and motioned for her to follow him. They stepped into the front porch with Ella, and Phoebe could tell immediately that there had been… further
developments
, and she didn’t have to wonder for long what they could be.

“Phoebe,” said Demetrius. “Ella and I… we… we were out by Darken Abbey again.”

“
Dem…
” Phoebe started to protest, but her friend interrupted her.

“We didn’t go in, Phoebs, not even through the fence. But there’s definitely stuff going on up there, there’s no doubt about it. Things are hotting up for sure.”

“Stuff?” Phoebe was at once nervous and intrigued. She knew that she shouldn’t be surprised, given Cosain’s warnings and the crazy events of the last few weeks, but she knew too that she could never predict what would happen next.

“Yeah,” said Ella. “Really obviously weird stuff, like…”

Before Ella could expound further, Jack reappeared in the hallway with a round tray containing two mugs of tea for him and Eva, and three glasses of orange juice for Phoebe, Demetrius and Ella. He had brought a packet of chocolate biscuits too, and was definitely finding it increasingly difficult to hide his exhilaration. ‘
Chocolate biscuits? It must be good news!
’ Phoebe knew her father well, and had to disguise her amusement as she and her friends joined Jack and Eva in the den. She had not forgotten Demetrius’s and Ella’s untold tale, but for now was content to focus on hearing her parents’ news.

“Come on Dad, don’t keep us all in suspense!” Phoebe, Ella and Demetrius were perched on the edges of their seats, eagerly awaiting what in reality they were sure they already knew.

“Okay, well, after our meeting this afternoon, I am delighted to be able to tell you that… Celtic Justice Mission is now a
fully registered charitable organisation
, and the council has granted us full use of Darken Abbey as our headquarters!”

Eva’s face lit up as if she was hearing the news for the first time, and she beamed happily at her husband, who was on his feet and punching the air with both fists.

“Wow!” Phoebe exclaimed, genuinely delighted. “That’s incredible news! Well done both of you!”

“I have to admit it was touch and go for a while,” added Eva, her expression serious again. “Vincent d’Olcas – you remember, the man I was telling you about – he was definitely gunning for us. He did everything except just tell us to get out of his office! I honestly thought that CJM might never get off the ground for a while. And I just cannot fathom why he would be so opposed to our organisation being established in this area. I mean, when you think about it, it’s a win-win situation – Darken Abbey gets a facelift and will be put to good use again after all these years, and if Celtic Justice Mission reaches its full potential as an organisation, it could even put Arles on the map! Plus, the local community will benefit from the added income that will be generated from our rent and the little spin off businesses we hope to establish.”

“Spin off businesses?” Demetrius was curious.

“Yes,” answered Jack. “CJM won’t need the entire abbey, so we plan to let parts of it out. Eventually, we’d love to have a coffee shop, a book shop, maybe even a small doctors’ surgery in there. And it’s our hope that we will be able to offer a lot of our services free of charge to not only our local community, but much further afield via Skype and email.”

“
Whoa
,” Phoebe had expected to hear positive plans for Darken Abbey, but as its full potential began to dawn on her, she was incredibly excited and realised exactly why the Enemy would feel so intimidated by the potential for light and good from a hitherto gloomy place. “The effects of CJM could be felt right across the world! I mean, there’s even the chance that our friends back in Africa will benefit from what you set up here. And maybe we can help the poor and needy and overlooked in India, or China, or Syria, or the Ukraine or…”

“Now just hold on a minute, Phoebe,” smiled Eva. “It’s great that you’re catching hold of the vision for Celtic Justice Mission, but we’ve got a
lot
to do first. Baby steps, okay?” Eva patted Phoebe’s hand, and the mother and daughter shared a knowing look that said ‘
dream big
’. Yes, there was much work to be done, but these were exciting times, and Celtic Justice Mission was bursting with potential which Phoebe was sure would be realised in time. She recalled Cosain’s words from what seemed like a lifetime ago: ‘
This will be big, beyond your parents’ imaginings… but they will learn not to despise small beginnings
’, and as her parents and her friends chatted animatedly about CJM and the council and Darken Abbey, Phoebe knew that they were on the cusp of something that could change not only all of their lives, but the lives of thousands of people all across the world. She uttered a silent prayer of thanks as outside the Wrens’ house a myriad of towering angelic warriors stood battle ready and alert.

Once the backing of Arles Council had been secured, things began to move along very rapidly for Jack and Eva Wren. Jack had freed up as much space at the hospital as he possibly could, and he and Eva worked steadily to set things in motion with the organisation. They had contacted several local tradesmen with a view to getting Darken Abbey inhabitable, and while they knew that it would take time to restore the building to the condition they would ideally like, they were happy to bring it to an acceptable condition, which would allow Celtic Justice Mission to move in and get started. In the space of just ten days, construction workers were on site and thanks largely to a generous and unexpected donation from Arles Council, Jack and Eva had been able to sanction the first stages of restoration of the abbey. The Wrens knew that Brent Atwood and Celeste McGill must have rallied hard to secure this funding for them, and they were truly grateful. Eva imagined that Vincent d’Olcas’s blood must have boiled when he heard that not only had work begun, but it was being funded largely by the council.

With the summer drawing quickly to a close, Phoebe, Demetrius and Ella were preparing for their return to school. Phoebe and Demetrius were nervous to be starting a new school, but Ella assured them that Arles High School was a great place and she was sure that they would love it as much as she did. The friends were spending every waking minute together, helping out with preparations for the abbey whenever they could, and content to just hang out together when the adults needed to attend meetings or be on site to oversee progress.