The Iron Bells

by Jeanette Battista

  Chapter Seventeen

  The meeting, is not what I expect. I'm not sure what I expected actually, but possibly something more formal, more important looking. Instead it's a bunch of people shoved into a large room that has trouble containing everyone. I at least expected a table of some kind for the leaders to sit behind. Instead they stand at the front of the room while the rest of us find convenient spaces to sit or stand.

  I can pick out several cell leaders, along with various religious representatives. I spot at least two rabbis, an imam, a Greek Orthodox priest, and several Buddhist monks that I’ve helped guide through the tunnels over the course of my years with the Resistance. I’m glad to see so many still alive.

  Dham is sitting beside Cat. They've been together almost nonstop since her arrival. From what I've been able to gather, she's not as musically inclined as Dham and his family, but her strength of will is formidable. Musical ability may not count for much when you only have one bell to ring. The two of them watch the men at the front intently, and I can understand their interest. This is the biggest gathering of the international Resistance.

  I am at the opposite end of the room, leaning against the wall. I try not to look in their direction, but find my eyes drawn over to them anyway. Dham sees me and waves me over, but I shake my head. My place here affords me a good view of the front of the room and the doors.

  The room is filling up and growing hotter with the press of bodies. I hope that this won't be a long meeting because I can't imagine any of us being too comfortable if it drags on.

  I notice Peter, standing off to the side, a worried scowl on his face. I’m surprised he’s not at the front, as a representative from the cell in New York. He looks between Dham and Ryland and the other men at the front of the room. I wonder what’s going through his head.

  Finally, Ryland calls for order. Two of his lieutenants are up front with him, along with a few new faces I don't recognize. I assume them to be out of towners because I know everyone in our own cell. This is confirmed when they are introduced as representatives from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, India, and Turkey. I settle in to listen.

  "I'll try and keep this brief." Ryland's voice fills the chamber, carrying to everyone in the room. I see Cat whisper something in Dham's ear and he chuckles. I turn my attention back to the group of men at the front. "We’re all here because we want the possessions to stop. We want the Inquisition disbanded. We want our world back, we want to know we are safe walking down the street; that we’ll still be us when we walk back in the door—if we walk back in the door. The demons have been in power for decades now and they show no signs of leaving. They keep the Inquisition running to keep us from asking why they are here in the first place, what they want, why they stay.”

  He begins to pace. “Unfortunately, we no longer have the luxury of speculating their motives. We are running out of time.” He stops and surveys the room, letting his words sink in.

  I look around as people start murmuring and low hum of whispered conversations fill the air. Ryland lets it build for a few minutes, then raises his arms for quiet. "That is why we've decided to act. We're undertaking an important mission: two, in fact. For over a century, the demons have been among us, inhabiting bodies that aren't theirs. The Inquisition grows more ruthless in its attempts to find dissenters. Our ranks dwindle as more demons come through the gate. Over the years, countless groups have been sent on missions to find the location of the Gate and search for a way to close it."

  The Gate. The thing that started all of this. An inexperienced magician was dabbling in things he shouldn't and he decided to get creative. Instead of using a set of pentacles or other protected casting area, he somehow created a gate, intending to summon just one demon to him. He did and a greater demon came through. Unfortunately, though the Gate was strong, the magician's casting circle wasn't. There was a flaw in it, one that the demon found and exploited. Instead of killing the magician though, the demon was able to possess him. Using the magician's body and life force, he was able to keep the gate open, making it permanent, which allows the demons to come and go at will without needing to be summoned. And without needing to be summoned it meant that none of them had masters to control them. So here we are.

  The location of the Gate has been a mystery. We know it is somewhere in Europe, but that’s it. The demons guard the secret well. The resistance groups have been searching for it for decades with no success, and very few survivors. If we could find a way to close the gate, we'd stop the influx of demons into this world. With that taken care of, we could focus on getting rid of those left on this plane without the worry of them just being replaced.

  "We've determined the location of the Gate. This information came at a high price--countless soldiers have died so we could gain this knowledge." More than murmurs now. He speaks over the rising din. “Now we have to close it.”

  I glance over at Peter. His face holds no expression, but his eyes have taken on an intense quality as he studies Ryland and the others. I shudder. I don’t know why he gives me the creepy-crawlies, but he does.

  Someone in the back raises their hand. Ryland acknowledges him with a nod and the man stands and speaks. "How can you expect to close it? And how can you even hope to get there? It has to be well guarded. There are all kinds of wards and traps that only a demon can see."

  My stomach clenches. I understand now why they needed to bind the demon into Patrick. Without a demon guide, the group would never make it. And with the demon bound to flesh, with no way to escape, his fortunes are tied to that of the group. It makes the demon portable. It's not like you could drag a grand pentacle around unobtrusively.

  "We've got a solution to that problem.” This from the Italian cell leader. “That was actually the last thing we were waiting for. But the British team has secured a demon guide, so the mission is a go." He paces at the front of the room. "We were waiting for the delivery of a special package: a grimoire useful in dealing with demons. Unfortunately, the courier was intercepted by the Inquisition."

  Dham shoots me a quizzical look. I never mentioned a package to him. I attempt to look innocent and surprised as much as everyone else and ignore Dham. Instead, I watch Peter, whose face registers a look of fear. He notices me watching him so I look away quickly.

  Ryland continues. "The package has not been recovered. We can only assume that the Inquisition now has the grimoire in their possession."

  I swallow the guilty lump in my throat. I have the package and I've been keeping it from Ryland. There may be other information in it that he needs. But I can't just hand him the pages from the packet and still keep the book. And how do I explain just how I came to be in possession of it in the first place, not to mention why I didn't hand it to him right away?

  He's still speaking. "This doesn't change our plans. We still have the guide, and the spells to compel it are in place. We've lost a small security measure, nothing more."

  Ryland's lying. His mouth is pulled down on one side, like the lie tastes bad on his tongue. He needed the Key to further bind Trick. He has no idea that I'm in possession of the one thing they still need.

  He continues. “As for the Gate itself, the less everyone knows of the plans, the better. Suffice to say that we have a number of diversionary ops in place and several teams ready to make a try for it.”

  While I'm caught up in my thoughts, more questions are being posed to Ryland and the other cell leaders. Nobody asks what we'll do if we fail. I have no idea of the number of groups, or the people making up those teams. I know Dham and Cat will be on them, and obviously Trick, and probably Ryland, but other than that, it could be anyone in this room. I need to be on the team that handles Trick. I don’t trust anyone else with the job of protecting the body the demon is currently residing in.

  "What about the guide?" I don't even realize I'm asking the question until it leaves my mouth. I'm curious how Ryland will answer. "What happens to him when we close the Gate?"

  Ryla
nd stares at me, as if stunned I can even ask that question. But I wait. I want to hear the answer. To hear what they are condemning Patrick to. But it isn't Ryland who answers me. It's the head of the Italian group. "Once he's fulfilled his purpose, the demon will be eliminated and the poor possessed soul will be set free."

  I nod, though the answer doesn't satisfy me. There are two ways to "free" a possessed person: exorcism which drives the demon out, or killing the possessed, which forces the demon to find a new host. I notice the Italian didn't specify which it is to be, but I think I have a pretty good idea. And nobody is saying boo about it, or about the fact that we're trapping a demon inside a human's body with—if what Trick said is true—a human soul trapped with it. That's the problem with possession; no one knows what damage is being done to the poor soul that's caught up in it.

  The meeting continues with more questions being asked and answered. I listen with half an ear. I don't know what to feel about what they are doing to Patrick. I understand how vital this mission is; how important and what it could mean to everyone. No more possession, no more fear of body snatchings, no more Inquisition. We get our futures back. But he's my oldest friend. How can I let him be used this way? Used and then discarded?

  Ryland raises his hands for quiet. Eventually the conversational murmurs cease to mere whispers. “Those on teams have already been notified. Instructions for your first meeting with your team leader will be following shortly.”

  I know these meeting messages will be in some kind of code, making it difficult for anyone just coming across the message to be able to make sense of it. I wonder when I’ll get my message and what team I’ll be on. I look over at Ryland, but he’s speaking with the Greek representative.

  Dham and Cat come over to me as the meeting breaks up. Peter has disappeared and I say as much to Dham.

  He shakes his head. “Who knows where he’s off to. Ryland’s been keeping him pretty busy. I hardly see him anymore.”

  “Don’t you think that’s odd?” I ask, unsure why I’m still feeling this little niggle in the back of my mind.

  “We’re planning a full on assault of a demon stronghold. No wonder he’s a little on the busy side,” Dham answers, a small smile playing around his lips.

  Ryland appears directly behind him. His face is thunderous. I wonder briefly what I’ve done now that’s made him so upset. It’s not like he’s in the right here. “Excuse me, I need to borrow Amaranth for a moment.”

  “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” I wave to them as Ryland grabs my arm and practically yanks me out of the room and down the hall to his office.

  “Don’t think I don’t know what that question was all about in there,” he growls once he’s slammed the door behind us. “What are playing at, Amaranth?”

  “I’m not playing at anything,” I nearly shout, yanking my arm from his grip. “It’s Patrick you all were talking about. I wanted to know.” I glare at him. “I want to be on his team.”

  “What? No. Absolutely not!” Ryland’s face turns red.

  I go still. I manage to get myself under control because I know arguing with Ryland will serve no real purpose. It would be nice to have his concession, but I know I can find out what I want to know in other ways. He taught me himself.

  In a quiet voice, I say, “I’m the only one who has a vested interest in seeing Patrick come out of this alive. I’m either on his team or I’ll go around you and find a way on it anyway. How hard do you want to make this?”

  “You’re not going to stop, are you?” He sounds sad.

  “Short of you tying me up and shipping off to Abu Dhabi? No.” I pause, then say, “And probably not even then.”

  “Very well, Amaranth. You’re on the team.” Ryland turns away as he says this, so I can’t read his face.

  I step around him, determined to look him in the eyes, to read if he’s telling me the truth. “I am?” That was surprisingly easy. I expected more of a fight.

  He nods. When I don’t move, he looks up and I can see the pain in his eyes. The pain I put there. The pain we both put there. I don’t know what it is costing him to put me at the forefront of the mission--because that’s where Trick will be--but it is costing him something.

  “I’ll be careful,” I say as a way of reassuring him.

  All he says is, “Dham’s on the team too. You can keep them both safe.” He walks over to his desk. “You can close the door on the way out.”

  I do.