saint Sebastian the Rose

by Glover, Michael W.

  “You must leave for the monastery soon. You must go and see Father Donovan first and tell him everything. Do not tell anyone else. You must tell him where we went, what happened there and where we ended up before you came back,” Sebastian explained.

  “Wait a second--where are you going to be?”

  “I have to take care of some other things first, so I cannot go with you. You have to trust me,” Sebastian said.

  “We don’t know how to get there. We have gone in a completely different direction, and we didn’t really know where we were anyway,” Jessica said.

  “You will be able to find your way. The monastery is directly east over the hills. You will see the Lonely Tower.”

  “What are you going to do?” Jacob asked.

  “I am going to try to find out what I can from the bodies,” Sebastian said, giving them a reason, even though he was lying. He had to stay in the crypt and wait out the day; he had no choice.

  Jacob accepted the reason and said nothing, even though he did not fully trust Sebastian.

  chapter FIFTEEN

  THE STAIRS WERE DARK as Father Matthew descended into the lower part of the monastery.

  There was only a dim light ebbing from under the door. Father Matthew listened for any sound. He knew it was late, and he thought maybe Sebastian slept, knowing he had to be in his room soon with the coming dawn.

  He wanted to see him, so he knocked firmly. He then opened the door to find his favorite room barely lit and the fireplace empty and cold. He quickly scanned the room. He had a feeling something was wrong. The fire here was almost perpetually lit. Sebastian loved the warmth.

  Father Matthew surveyed the entire room, looking at the stacks of books here and there; nothing was out of place. He looked up to see the other door, the one he always longed to enter: Sebastian’s private chamber, the door with the fantastic scenes. Running his fingers over the polished figures locked in some great battle, he listened for any sound. Still nothing.

  His hand was already on the doorknob, but he was frozen. He knew he would be breaking a sacred trust to enter the room. The sacred trust applied to all the monks living there, but especially for Sebastian, the rule was firm.

  Father Matthew’s mind raced, turning the situation over and over. He knew Sebastian had to be in the room; he wasn’t anywhere else in the castle. The only thing was, his head was telling him … Sebastian was not there.

  Closing his eyes and inhaling a great breath, he turned the knob, cracking the barrier slightly. Darkness was the only thing there; this room, like many, still had no electricity. Father Matthew looked around, searching for a candle; finding one, he lit it and headed back.

  Once again he grabbed the doorknob and pushed gently, trying not to make any noise. The door swung open and with the candle he held leading the way, the room opened up before him. Feeling like an explorer, he followed the light with his eyes.

  What a room! he thought. It was almost as he had imagined—very cozy, with another fireplace and comfortable chairs and a desk. Against one wall there was the one and only bookcase in the room. Magnificent was the only word that came to his mind—it was carved like the door that he had just walked through. On the shelves, books and books—ones he had never seen in the whole monastery.

  Looking at the books, he realized why he had come. Bringing the candle around, he saw the bed was empty. Father Matthew’s heart now beat a little harder, his concern growing. Taking further inspection of the room, he looked for more specific items. Sebastian’s jacket and pack were not there.

  Without a second glance, Father Matthew left the room more worried than he had ever been for his friend. Not often would Sebastian sleep away from the monastery.

  ***

  The crypt was still very dark, and everyone was sitting in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Sebastian stared at the tomb in the center of the room. He knew this place; he had been here before, but that had been a long time ago, and now he looked to this place again for shelter and as a point of curiosity. Sebastian was always curious. He turned back to the twins and noticed they were watching him, each in their own way.

  “It’s time,” Sebastian said without any notice.

  “Time for what?” Jacob asked.

  “Time for you to leave; it’s dawn.”

  “Are you sure? I can’t tell,” Jessica said.

  “I just know,” Sebastian said, with a hint of remorse at the thought of not being able to see the dawn ever again.

  Sebastian stood up and walked over to the tomb, laying his hands on the top.

  “You have to go to the monastery, find Father Donovan and tell him everything. Don’t talk to anyone along the way; don’t go anywhere with anyone unless they are from the monastery,” Sebastian directed.

  The twins moved toward the door and Sebastian stood his ground. They looked back at him when he made no effort to go with them. Jacob reached for the door and paused.

  “Are you not going to come with us?”

  “I’m going to stay here for a while and collect my thoughts.” He hated lying to them, but he also hated the idea of what they might think of him if they only knew.

  “I thought you were going to try to find out something about them,” Jessica said.

  “I am, but there may be something here I have just noticed. I’ll leave in a little while, but you have to go now. It might take you some time to get back.”

  Jacob turned back to the door and began to pull on the heavy thing. He really wondered if he was going to be able to open it himself. Inch by inch the door came open and as it did so, a beam of light struck the floor and reached across the room.

  Sebastian watched as the line of light reached out across the room toward him. When Jacob had the door open enough, the light struck the tomb in the center and covered about half of the lid. Sebastian subconsciously backed up little by little as the light neared him.

  “We’ll look for you,” Jessica said.

  Jacob put his hand on her back and moved her to the door’s entrance. He looked back to Sebastian, with an expression of suspicion and a questioning for what Sebastian had not told them. As they left he pulled on the door, closing it as tightly as it had been.

  Sebastian made his way over to the door and pushed until the light was completely gone and he could lock himself in. He walked back to his spot on the floor and sat. He would wait for friend or foe and the coming night. Until then this was his tomb.

  chapter SIXTEEN

  THE LAND HAD NOT BEEN EASY to traverse; the rolling hillsides made the journey difficult for the twins to keep their bearings. Finally they saw it: there on the hillside, just breaking the tops of the trees, was the tower. Once again they were off … with a firm direction and a new sense of purpose. Now the only thing they had to do was convince the monks they had been chased by vampires.

  As the yard around the monastery opened up out of the vast wooded area, the twins gazed up to the castle and took a new look at the old structure. There was something different as they walked up to the stone walls after a long journey, almost like the monastery was watching and waiting.

  They made their way inside, hoping to run into someone quickly. After entering the main foyer area Jessica sat down. Jacob looked around and listened. Not a sound came.

  They made their way down one of the many halls. One of their favorite games they had played was trying to get lost in the castle. This had proved a useful trick in understanding the layout.

  They knew they had to find Father Donovan. They reached his office and the door was open … no one around.

  “Where do you think he is?” Jessica asked.

  “Let’s try the kitchen.”

  The kitchen was the same scene--empty—but there were pots boiling and ingredients laid out. The worry and concern were starting to show on Jacob’s face.

  “Father Dagrun!” Jacob yelled, hoping the big monk would hear his entry into his kitchen and come running to evict the trespasser. Nothing came back in r
esponse.

  “Come on.”

  Almost forgetting their father they set off to their bedchambers to check on him, but he was nowhere to be found. Jessica gave her brother a worried look.

  “Where’s Dad?” she asked gravely.

  “He’s fine. Nobody seems to be here. He must be with them,” Jacob said, half-satisfied. “Or he’s probably in the library.”

  After touring most of the castle, the Grand Staircase Hall, the armory, the library, the several chapels and even venturing to several of the monks’ bedrooms, they saw that there was no one. They made their way back to one of their favorite spots, the Grand Staircase Hall, and sat down on the magnificent stairs.

  “Where could everyone be?” Jessica asked. “We have been everywhere in the castle that I know of, except maybe the roof.”

  “We haven’t been everywhere then.”

  “You want to go on the roof?” Jessica asked smartly.

  “Well, there is a place on the roof we can get to. We should check it out. And there might be somewhere else also. Come on,” Jacob said as he stood up and began climbing the broad stairs two at a time.

  “Where are you going?”

  “The stairs go to the roof of the tower. Remember, in the books and in the stories? Before there was the castle, there was just the tower, the Lonely Tower. This is it, don’t you realize? This is the oldest part of the whole castle.” Jacob stopped on the second landing.

  “Through all of the time and all of the burnings, this is the part that always stood. Father Lemoine said it was a watchtower—just a tower with a staircase. No one has ever really known why, so it must go up to the roof.”

  Off he went, bounding up the stairs, making his way to the third landing. They turned their focus to the walls, which were all paneled in a heavy dark wood. Jessica also began to feel the wood as her brother was doing. Jacob was running his hand over the panels. When he seemed satisfied he looked over to his sister.

  “Remember what I told you about these places?”

  “What?” Jessica wondered.

  “This,” Jacob said, as he pushed hard with both hands on the panel. There was a click, and the panel cracked open. He raised his eyebrows in a mocking gesture of victory.

  “You lead the way then.”

  Jacob pulled on the door, which swung easily. On the other side were more steps, not like the ones they had just traveled up, but of old hewn stone. These stones gave more a sense of history beyond what the rest of the interior spoke to. They pushed open another door, and there was the roof.

  As they stepped out into the sunlight of the waning day, a breeze hit them, a stronger breeze than they had felt all day. Their hair wafted in its touch and they inhaled reflexively and relaxed in its embrace. They were up high now and clear of the treetops.

  They looked around and realized they could see for miles and miles in every direction. Surely this spot was picked with much care, for the construction, as Jacob knew. His study of such buildings was extensive.

  The twins went to the edge of the walls, and the view was remarkable; yes, this would be one of their favorite places. Both took a second to record the moment in their minds; they felt slightly disoriented, but it was certain they just loved it.

  Finally, they shook from their daze and remembered what they had come up here for. Jacob began looking around again, from hillside to hillside and wall to wall. There he spotted something. He walked over to find a pair of binoculars on the eastern wall.

  “Somebody’s been up here.”

  “Well, there isn’t anyone up here now, and that’s what we need.” Jessica simply stated the obvious. That was what her brother liked about having her around: she made him think more clearly. What a team they really made. He knew together they could conquer anything, if they tried.

  “There may be another place to check.”

  “We’ve been everywhere,” Jessica replied.

  “Whenever it comes to places like this, you have never been everywhere,” Jacob said smugly.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Remember when we stayed the night in the Grand Staircase Hall? Remember the door? You know, you were terrified,” Jacob said, trying to jog his sister’s memory. “We haven’t been down there.”

  “Where do you think it leads? Father Lemoine didn’t show us.”

  “Well, we haven’t been in the basement … or should I call it the dungeon?” Jacob smiled.

  “How do you know … ?” Jessica trailed off.

  “These places always have a dungeon to them. Duh. Haven’t you already figured this out by now?”

  The entry way was dark, even considering the time of day, which was starting to reach more toward the afternoon. How had the day gone by so quickly?

  With yet another step towards the unknown, they made their way down the hallway. The halls were fairly dark with just enough light so they could see their way adequately. They seemed to be going down a slope.

  The passage actually started to curve to where they could not see the end, and every step brought more of the hall into view. Jacob felt the familiar tug on his belt loop and knew that his sister had taken hold.

  “It is daytime; you know that. I don’t think you have to worry about vampires,” Jacob said.

  “Yes, but do you see any of the sun’s rays breaking in down here?” Jessica responded.

  Jacob stopped, pondering her words. A new look of seriousness crossed his face.

  “Thanks for that. Do you want to lead now?”

  “You’re welcome, and no, you’re doing a great job.”

  Around the way he saw the small light coming from the ceiling. The lamp hung in the center of a round chamber and what appeared to be a spiral staircase leading down. Jacob shook his head at all the possibilities.

  “You first, my brave older brother,” Jessica prodded.

  “You know I am only about fifteen minutes older than you.”

  “Yeah, but you are braver.”

  Jacob shook his head and started down the stairs with his sister behind him. The light from the lamp above became dimmer and dimmer, and so did their hope of finding anyone.

  With their slow approach they made their way to the bottom and felt as if they had been pitched to the bottom of a well. Before them was a plain door with no remarkable characteristics, except one: the door knob was actually very ornate.

  Jacob grasped the knob and took a breath but stopped short when he heard something from the other side. Jessica grabbed Jacob’s arm with force; he really wished she would stop doing that. They listened, and every once in a while they would hear something. Someone was definitely in there … or the room had one big rat.

  Jacob thought of knocking, but things were too strange for him to announce himself to an intruder. So without any more hesitation he threw the door open and entered the room swiftly.

  Into the room they both swooped—it was a lit room that had a very comfortable feel, something that completely surprised the twins, considering the location and the effort required to get there. But also standing in the room shuffling books and papers was Father Matthew, who turned around, abruptly losing some of the papers. He let loose a sigh and relaxed.

  “Where have you been? The whole monastery has been looking for you,” Father Mathew asked harshly.

  The twins thought about it for a moment and realized they had spent the entire night away from the castle and had not made their way back until the afternoon. Their only thought had been trying to stay alive. Knowing that, Jacob wasn’t so surprised that he had not thought that everyone in the monastery would be wondering where they were.

  “Where is Father Donovan?” the twins spoke as one, remembering their prime directive from Sebastian. The hours of the new day had passed by so fast, they realized he could be anywhere by now.

  Father Matthew looked at them, still wanting the answer to his question, since that answer may be connected to his dear friend who was still missing. But he addressed their ques
tion, hoping they would know.

  “He is out with all of the others looking for the likes of you. We noticed very late the two of you were nowhere to be found.” Father Matthew said this as truth, but only a half-truth, for they didn’t know the twins were missing until the search for Sebastian had begun.

  “The whole monastery is out looking for us?” Jessica asked guiltily.

  “Yes. Looking for you two and Sebastian.” Father Lemoine watched the expression of the twins carefully.

  They knew they had to do something since Father Donovan was nowhere to be found, and it clearly showed on their faces. Father Matthew caught the looks and knew they had more to tell.

  “Where is he?” he asked flatly.

  “He told us to only speak to Father Donovan,” Jacob explained.

  Father Matthew understood more than they did by this. He understood Sebastian had given them strict orders, but he could also glean that something else was terribly wrong.

  “Where is he?” Father Matthew asked again calmly.

  “He won’t be there now. We left him at the old priory to the west; he said Father Donovan would know it,” Jessica spat out. Father Matthew opened his eyes wide and knew things were worse than before.

  “But he won’t be there,” Jacob added.

  “And why not?” Father Matthew didn’t understand at first.

  “He said he was going to do some inspecting of the area and find out why we were attacked.” Jacob’s words struck Father Matthew hard and he knew they may already be too late for Sebastian. He was out there alone, away from the monastery and with no-telling-what on his trail. But he also understood something else the twins did not know, and that was good. He didn’t know if they would be able to understand the complex life they all led.

  Father Matthew took a moment to think. The twins took a quick look around and were immediately taken by the room they had not fully been able to appreciate. Was this Sebastian’s room?

  “Follow me,” Father Matthew ordered them.

  Father Matthew also realized Sebastian should still be in the same spot; there was no way for him to leave during the day, and he only hoped his day had been uneventful.