The Celtic Symbol

by V M Jones

  “Sure seems eerie,” observed Aine looking out across the room.

  “Aye it does,” responded Dr. McNamara as he knelt down looking at the floor.

  “Since we can’t make any more progress in this direction, let’s call it a day and head back topside,” suggested Dr. Ryan pleased with their success so far.

  “I agree,” said Dr. McNamara nodding his head.

  “No argument from me,” added Aine.

  “Brody, we’re headed back up,” said Dr. McNamara checking in.

  “OK, see you topside,” responded Brody on the radio.

  “Aine let’s shut off the DRD. We already recorded these rooms,” said Dr. Ryan gesturing for her to turn.

  Aine turned her side towards him. He turned off the main switch on the device.

  “We still have about two hours left on the battery,” commented Aine as she read the meter for the device.

  “That’s good to know,” said Dr. Ryan. “That gives us a time frame on how long we can explore.”

  As they started to move toward the north end of the room Dr. McNamara tried to carefully step over one of the many shields scattered about the room. A sword was partially concealed underneath the round shield. Dr. McNamara tripped over the sword.

  Suddenly, a green light wave with a low bass sound spread throughout the room like a ripple in a pond. The light wave knocked over all three explorers.

  “What did you touch?” yelled Dr. Ryan as he raised himself up.

  “I didn’t touch anything,” he said apologetically. “I tripped over a sword and shield.”

  Dr. Ryan noticed that his radio wasn’t working. Dr. McNamara and Aine also noticed the radio silence.

  “Wow, what was that?” asked Aine as she pulled off her surgical mask.

  “I’m not sure,” responded Dr. Ryan, “But it came from the shield.”

  He remembered reading from the ancient manuscript how the shields shot out a green light when fighting demons.

  “I think you triggered the demon defense system somehow on the protective shield,” said Dr. Ryan contemplating what had just happened.

  “I don’t know how I did it,” responded Dr. McNamara still apologizing.

  “Well it knocked out radio communication,” said Aine a bit concerned.

  “Something like an electro-magnetic pulse,” added Dr. McNamara.

  “Well, losing radio communication is one thing, but now I’m worried that King Dubhshlaine and Faelan know we’re here,” said Dr. Ryan showing his concern.

  “I’m worried too,” said Dr. McNamara as he began looking around the room suspiciously.

  “Now you have me worried,” added Aine stepping closer to Dr. McNamara.

  “Is it me or is the room getting colder,” said Dr. Ryan feeling a chill.

  “No, it’s definitely getting colder,” responded Aine, “And that’s not a good sign.”

  “She’s right,” said Dr. McNamara. “A quick drop in temperature is indicative of paranormal activity.”

  “Dr. McNamara, take a look at the far end of the room,” said Aine pointing straight ahead.

  Both men looked at the far end of the room where Aine was pointing. They could see faint white lights dancing in the air.

  “What is that?” asked Dr. Ryan trying to focus on the lights.

  “Not sure,” replied Dr. McNamara rubbing his chin.

  Dr. Ryan, Dr. McNamara, and Aine could feel the hair on the back of their necks stand up. As they exhaled, they could see their breath in the cold air. Dr. McNamara took a step closer and took out his K II meter. It wouldn’t work as a result of the green pulse. He put the meter back into his pack.

  As they looked over towards the movement they could see small orbs floating in the air. The three felt very uneasy as they were now trapped between towers with only one way to go. Whatever the orbs were they now stood between them and their only way out.

  “I don’t have a very good feeling about this,” said Dr. Ryan quietly to the others.

  “I don’t either,” agreed Dr. McNamara staring ahead.

  “I’m not sure what that is up ahead, but it isn’t from the living world,” said Aine as she took a step back.

  The trio discussed what possible dangers may await them. Dr. McNamara and Aine had more experience with the paranormal and could offer an explanation.

  “There are a couple of possibilities,” said Dr. McNamara. “The moving lights could be orbs of spirits of the soldiers killed in the battle prior to the curse. They simply haven’t moved on yet. If this is true they aren’t a threat to us. The other possibility is that King Dubhshlaine and Faelan are aware of our presence in the castle and are preparing to attack us through these orbs. Even though they’re in the netherworld, they still may be able to use their spells on us since we don’t have the protection of the metal Celtic symbols,” commented Dr. McNamara.

  “I hope it’s the first possibility,” said Aine trying to stay positive.

  They cautiously moved forward. Soon they arrived to the location of the moving lights. They found several of the orbs hovering near the remains they had found earlier in the middle of the room. The temperature of the corridor dropped even more as they came nearer to the orbs. The orbs began moving alongside the trio as if to guide their way.

  “We’re lucky,” said Aine with a sigh of relief. “The orbs appear to be the spirits of the soldiers.”

  The three started to move towards the end of the room to the door leading to the tower and back to safety. Suddenly, the orbs dispersed in separate directions.

  “Um, that’s not a good sign,” whispered Aine as she stopped moving.

  The north wall began to glow a faint red and orange light.

  “Is that something similar to the orbs?” asked Dr. Ryan hoping for a positive answer.

  “No. I don’t think this is good. I’ve got a bad feeling,” said Dr. McNamara stepping back.

  The red and orange light seemed to be moving towards them.

  “I think the king and Faelan know we’re here,” said Aine with fear in her voice.

  “I think you’re right,” added Dr. Ryan keeping very still.

  As the presence began moving closer to the group, Dr. Ryan, Dr. McNamara, and Aine began to feel unusually cold. They couldn’t make out any particular shape of the presence. It seemed completely black and void of light. The red and orange lights seemed to make an indistinct outline of some kind of creature.

  Suddenly a red light pulsed from the void presence. It emanated something like a red shockwave that knocked over the trio. As the three lay on the ground, they felt as though life was being sucked out of them. They were overcome by fear and despair. The creature seemed to feed off of their fear as it began to glow a little brighter.

  Dr. Ryan pushed himself up with his hands and shook his head as if to realign his thoughts. He looked over to his right and noticed one of the shields glowing bright green from the emerald crystal in its center as well as the crystal in the hilt of the sword. He faintly recalled what he had read from the ancient book at the museum. He also remembered the green sound wave they had just recently witnessed from the shield.

  Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed a shield and a sword. He looked at the front of the shield and saw the green, glowing emerald crystal. He looked at the glowing emerald crystal on the sword. He stood up and faced the dark presence with the shield in front of him.

  He remembered reading in the ancient book how the shields were able to return lightning but he didn’t know how to make the shield work. He also remembered Dr. McNamara saying he didn’t know how he triggered the green shockwave.

  He looked over at Dr. McNamara and Aine. He noticed a small blue light starting to form near them. He remembered how Patrick and Ansley described the small blue light that had engulfed Tevan when he disappeared.

  He immediately turned his attention to the shield and sword. He bumped it on the ground but without result. He clanged the blade of the sword against the shie
ld again without result. He touched the emerald crystal on the hilt of the sword against the outer part of the shield. Immediately a bright green light and low bass sound wave burst from the shield and rippled throughout the room. The dark presence seemed to pull back from its advance. The small blue light also disappeared.

  “Liam! Aine! Grab a sword and a shield!” he commanded still facing forward.

  Dr. McNamara and Aine each did as they were instructed and stood beside Dr. Ryan facing the dark void creature.

  “If that thing moves towards us, touch the crystal of the sword to the outer edge of the shield,” explained Dr. Ryan. “Only one at a time though. I think the shields have to recharge,” he added turning his head side to side as he spoke.

  The creature began to advance. Aine touched her sword to the outer edge of the shield. Immediately the green sound wave flowed throughout the room. The dark presence seemed to back away further. A flash of red light and shockwave hit the three and pounded on the shields. To their surprise, the shields absorbed the red light.

  The front of the shields had a design of intertwined knots that began and ended with the emerald crystal in the center of the shield. As the red shock wave hit the shield, the small emerald crystal absorbed the flash of light. The light current then proceeded to flow through the cords of the endless knot, making the shields glow. Another flash of red light and shockwave hit the three with the same result of the flash of red light being absorbed by the shields.

  The three slowly advanced towards the non-descriptive creature. Dr. McNamara touched the emerald crystal of the sword to the outer edge of the shield. Instantly, a flash of green light flowed out like a wave from the shield. With renewed confidence, the trio quickly ran forward towards the creature which was retreating. Another red flash of light emanated from the dark presence and struck the shields.

  Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light. An empty torch flew off the wall and hit Dr. McNamara’s shield with a loud clang. The three ran as fast as they could to the other side of the stable room and the door into the storage room. Aine touched the emerald crystal on the sword to the shield again which resulted in another green sound wave flowing throughout the room. The dark presence disappeared into the wall of the room. The group quickly retreated to the storage room and ran to the tower.

  “Aine, you go first. Liam you follow. I’ll take up the rear to hold off any attack from that creature or whatever it is,” yelled Dr. Ryan waving his sword.

  Aine began running up the stairs as fast as she could go. Dr. McNamara walked up slower checking to make sure Dr. Ryan was behind him. Dr. Ryan had made it up to the second level when a flash of blue light sent a helmet flying from the floor and hit him in the back. He slipped on the stairs and fell forward. He had to take a minute to catch his breath.

  Suddenly a bright green shockwave came from the stairs above him. Dr. McNamara came running down with shield and sword in hand. He reached down and helped Dr. Ryan to his feet. He helped him gather the shield and sword then pushed him up the stairs in front of him.

  Dr. Ryan could see the sunlight from top tower room. He continued climbing until he was near the trap door at the top of the tower. He dropped the sword, shield, and backpack on the steps. A familiar hand reached down to grab him and pull him up out of the tower into the sunlight.

  Dr. McNamara pushed the equipment and swords through the opening to Brody. Then he pushed the shields up through the opening at angle which provided just enough room to get them through. Once Dr. McNamara pulled himself up on top of the tower, Brody closed the trap door behind him.

  Dr. McNamara had Dr. Ryan lie face down on the tower roof to get a better look at the injury from the helmet that hit him in the back. He pulled up the back of his shirt.

  “You’re lucky,” he said observing the wound. “The skin is bruised but not broken.”

  “Still hurts,” responded Dr. Ryan, “But not too bad.”

  He pushed himself up to his knees then stood up.

  “The last time we worked together we only encountered a few apparitions. Nothing like today,” he said trying to catch his breath.

  “Adventure seems to find us,” said Dr. McNamara with a smile.

  “What happened to radio communication?” asked Brody holding up his radio.

  “It was knocked out by a green pulse that emanated from these shields,” responded Dr. McNamara sheepishly. “It was like a small EMP that knocked out communications.”

  “But they did save us,” interjected Aine. "We also encountered a lot of paranormal events down in the castle.”

  “We found floating orbs and an unexplained red presence that attacked us. We definitely need something to protect us,” said Dr. McNamara with a sense of urgency.

  “What did it look like?” asked Brody as his eyes widened.

  “It’s hard to describe. It’s some kind of demon that’s black. It was outlined in faint red and orange but I couldn’t make out the shape. All I know is that it was big. It seemed to suck the life out of you,” responded Aine as she shuddered recalling the feeling.

  “And I don’t want to be unprepared next time,” interrupted Dr. McNamara. “We could use the shields and swords to protect us but they are too big and bulky. If we could duplicate the green pulse, we could use it to our advantage.”

  “We’ll do some research and come up with something,” said Brody confidently.

  “Since the equipment has been damaged by the pulse waves from the shield and that creature, we need to find a way to protect it from the pulses,” said Dr. Ryan.

  “I’ll have my team research it so we can protect the equipment when we’re down there. I don’t think that’s the last time we’ll see the pulses, green or red,” said Dr. McNamara with a sigh.

  “Unfortunately, I think you’re right,” said Dr. Ryan nodding in agreement. “At least I had turned off the DRD before all the pulses started.”

  The group made their way to the ladder and descended from the tower.

  They split up to follow up on their various projects.

  Dr. McNamara and his team continued their research for the protection needed on their next exploratory trip.

  Dr. Ryan took the DRD and inspected it. The battery had been damaged from the shock wave but the rest of the equipment seemed to be okay. He hooked the device up to his computer. He downloaded the data and synced it up with the mapping software. After a few minutes, the software provided a 3D image of the northeast tower, the storage room, stables, the north side of the gatehouse, and the gatehouse towers. He was excited to see that the DRD and mapping software had worked so well. He couldn’t wait to record more of the buried structure to get a complete image of it.

  Later in the afternoon, Dr. McNamara contemplated the safety of the whole group. Since the beginning of the discovery of the tower, he worried that anyone who came near the unprotected loophole in the tower where Tevan disappeared may encounter the same fate. The attempted abduction of Ansley only added to his concern. He reflected on how the shield had protected them in the castle. He called Dr. Ryan, Aine, and Brody over.

  “I’ve been thinking on how to protect ourselves and others from possible attacks from the unprotected tower loophole,” he said ready to offer a solution. “Both the metal symbol taken from above the tower and the shields are of the same design and both have the same green emerald crystal in the middle. I think that we can use the shield as temporary protection for the tower. If we can somehow position a shield in front of the opening I think we would be safe until we can replace the metal symbol and pronounce the curse.”

  “I think that’s a great idea,” said Dr. Ryan. “How can we get the shield placed in front of it?”

  “Maybe we can build a structure made of scaffolding,” suggested Brody as he gestured with his hands.

  “That could work, but it would be in the way of the excavation being done. The other problem is that the scaffolding could get knocked down and leave the loophole exposed again,” replied Dr. M
cNamara.

  Maybe we could use a rope and tie it to the shield handles and attach the rope to the top of the tower,” suggested Aine as she looked at the top of the structure.

  “That might work but we need something to hold it in place and keep it from swinging in the wind. Perhaps we could suspend it from the top of the tower but anchor the bottom to the opening,” said Dr. Ryan appreciative of the suggestions. “We’ll have to anchor it without damaging the stone face. I think we can use some hooks in the base of the loophole that the shield can sit on.”

  “We should have the shield facing the loophole so it can absorb any spells Faelan may attempt from inside the castle,” added Dr. McNamara as he contemplated positioning the shield.

  “I’ll have Brian get a ladder and put it under the tower,” said Dr. Ryan.

  He called Brian over and explained what they were planning to do.

  While Brian retrieved a ladder, Dr. McNamara went over to the IPP van and retrieved one of the shields they had brought back from their trip to the castle earlier in the day. He took it over to the ladder leading to the top of the tower.

  Brody climbed part way up the ladder while Dr. McNamara handed the shield to him. Brody carried it up to the top of the tower and laid it face down on the deck.

  Dr. Ryan found two long sections of rope from the museum’s pile of materials and carried them up to the tower deck. Dr. McNamara and Dr. Ryan attached each end of the rope to the handles on the back of the shield.

  Brian placed the smaller ladder under the tower opening where the shield was to be placed. He went over to the materials truck and found two thick strips of metal. Using the workbench in the back of the truck, he bent the metal strips into the shape of an S-hook. He was to place the hooks at the bottom of the loophole of the tower. The outside of the hook would hold the shield in place. He carried the hooks with him back over to the ladder below the tower.

  Brian climbed up the ladder and stood in front of the loophole while Dr. Ryan and Dr. McNamara each took a length of rope attached to the shield handles and started lowering the shield into place.