Phoebe Wren and the Vortex of Light

by Julie K. Timlin

  “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.

  CHAPTER 56

  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.

  CHAPTER 57

  THURSDAY 26th AUGUST

  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.

  Phoebe knew that Jack and Eva would be late home tonight. Her mother had left dinner in the fridge for the teenagers to heat up, and once their bellies were suitably full Phoebe, Demetrius and Ella decided that a walk was in order. As they strolled along in the still warm evening air, the friends’ conversation was centred on Celtic Justice Mission, Darken Abbey and their angelic guardians. None of the teenagers had been near the abbey since Demetrius and Ella’s visit last week, and in the interim they had spoken in length with Phoebe about the strange other-worldly glowing which they had witnessed radiating from the abbey’s windows, and the grey mist which had seemed to settle around the abbey, hanging from its walls like a foreboding shroud. They spoke too, and shuddered in sharing, of the peculiar and undeniable chill in the air, and the conspicuous lack of birds or wildlife in the abbey’s grounds. Phoebe could not admit to being surprised by any of this; they all knew that the Enemy had usurped Darken Abbey as the nerve centre for their maniacal purposes, but she wondered why the forces of evil and the forces of good were apparently holding back before the inevitable showdown.

  As if he had read her thoughts, Cosain spoke, his voice infiltrating the atmosphere like a bolt from the blue. He and the other angelic warriors had materialised from out of nowhere and were now walking in step with the three friends. As before, the angels’ wings were not visible, and Phoebe found herself still adjusting to seeing the mighty warriors in a form that bore a closer resemblance to humans.

  “It is not yet time, Phoebe,” he said. “The Enemy will attack, make no mistake, but they will not be so foolish as to strike prematurely and risk losing their claim to Darken Abbey forever. They will wait until they are certain of victory, and when that time comes, you will all be in mortal danger.” He paused, gauging Phoebe’s reaction, but by now the youngster had become as accustomed to being in peril as it was possible for any human being to be, and as a result she barely skipped a heartbeat. She preferred to be kept informed, and had come to appreciate Cosain’s forthrightness.

  “What do we do, Cosain?” Phoebe asked. “How can we possibly wage war against them? The Enemy’s power is way beyond what we can withstand.”

  “Indeed and you do well to never underestimate that dark power,” responded Cahir. “But it is not beyond what we can withstand. It is our job to fight for you and protect you. Your job will be to help outsmart the Enemy and put the pieces in place for their demise.”

  “Your task will begin in Darken Abbey itself,” said Maelis, his green eyes scanning the teenagers intently. “You already know something of the abbey’s history, how it was a sacred place, run by monks, and a force for good on this island. You know too that the Enemy despatched Craven into its midst in the guise of Brother Clarence, and he was successful over a period of time in destroying the work of the monks from the inside out. When Craven set this chain of events in motion, he ensured that Darken Abbey’s status as a thin place was jeopardised. The abbey had formerly been a place where the distance between the Atoner and man was minimal, conditions had been created for communion and relationship between the Creator and His created. But when Craven surreptitiously introduced greed and covetousness and lust for power, the thin place was tarnished and darkness crept in to displace the light. As the Enemy continued to wreck and destroy, the monks eventually all left, leaving the shell of Darken Abbey at their disposal. Abaddon despatched several of his troops to the abbey, and Schnither wasted no time in stamping his mark on the place. In so doing, he also stamped his mark on this area, and although there still remain numerous pockets of light – and believe me when I say that the people of the Light are a force to be reckoned with – this black nerve centre still has a grip that must be loosened.”

  Phoebe, Demetrius and Ella listened intently, eyes wide, minds whirring. At last, it seemed, their task was being revealed and the reality of it rendered them all speechless.

  “One of the first things Schnither did when he took charge of the building was set a doorway in the substratum of Darken Abbey. It is guarded by the fearsome Behemoth…” Maelis paused, remembering that the young mortals could not know what the Behemoth was, and allowing for the inevitable question.

  “Behemoth? Who – or what – exactly is the Behemoth?” Phoebe voiced the question that was on all of the teenagers’ minds.

  “Yes,” continued Maelis. “Some say Behemoth is a mythical creature confined to the realms of folklore. But we can assure you…” Maelis nodded towards the angelic warriors. “We can assure you that Behemoth is not a mere legend, or a figment of the imagination. No, Behemoth is alive and well and serves as one of Abaddon’s most formidable weapons. The creature guards the doorway underneath Darken Abbey.”

  “What’s the significance of this doorway?” queried Ella, who had still not quite gotten used to chatting with imposing angelic beings from another realm.

  Maelis continued with his explanation. “The doorway was created as an easy access route between Darken Abbey and the Mooar Mountain, which is the residence of Abaddon. Initially, it was Schnither’s intention to have this doorway opened permanently over a hundred years ago, allowing all the forces of darkness to come and go as they pleased. But before he left the abbey, Brother Bennett, the chief monk, found the key, known as the Key of Esse, that Schnither had forged for the doorway. Brother Bennett was the last monk to leave the abbey, and by then he was fully aware of how Craven had duped Brothers Byron and Ernest. He took it upon himself to set things right as best he could, and risked his life one night to sneak past Behemoth and lock the great door, thereby closi
ng off the thoroughfare to the Mooar Mountain. Brother Bennett knew that he could not escape with the Key of Esse because Schnither would realise within a matter of moments that it was gone, so he left it back where he found it, taking one piece of it with him as he fled. The Key of Esse consists of three interlocking parts, and only when all three pieces are fitted together will it open – or close – the door in the belly of the abbey. Schnither and Malva did their best to stop Brother Bennett; they would have undoubtedly killed him before he escaped the abbey, so we had to step in and hold the hordes of darkness back. This afforded Brother Bennett the time he needed to flee, bringing the crucial section of the Key of Esse with him, and legend has it that he hid the key somewhere he was sure the Enemy would never find it. Schnither was lax in his duties, assuming that Behemoth had the doorway to the Mooar Mountain secure, so it was almost two days before he realised that the doorway had been locked shut and a part of the key was missing, subsequently rendering it unopenable. By then, Brother Bennett was long gone, and Schnither suffered the wrath of Abaddon for his mistake. That is why, to this day, Schnither is almost paranoid in his determination to prove his worth to Abaddon.”

  “So Schnither couldn’t let his henchmen through as he had planned,” murmured Phoebe. “The doorway was closed and the Enemy lost his easy access route. That must have rattled Abaddon’s cage!”

  “Correct. And now it would seem that Abaddon believes the time to be right to try again. It is no coincidence that the Celtic Justice Mission has risen up at this exact moment, for when darkness threatens to prevail, light will rise up and quench it.” Cosain had resumed the explanation, and was encouraged to find that his young wards appeared to have grasped the significance of what was going on around them.