Inside the beleaguered hospital, unseen by staff and patients, a battle was already raging furiously. Cosain, Trean, Croga and Lasair had seen Schnither and his ghoulish gang enter the hospital through a third floor window, and knew instinctively that they were looking for Jack and Eva. Lasair had been despatched to detain the Wrens and prevent them from entering the doomed elevator, while Cosain and the others confronted the demonic troublemakers. The clash that ensued had been fierce. Schnither’s batch of demons had been fearless, noticeably stronger than before, with a resilience that had caused Cosain to worry that perhaps his troop was outmatched. But as the angels’ Heavenly swords swooped and sliced, they had glowed with an intensity like never before, and Cosain had felt strength surge through his being as Phoebe and Demetrius had cried out to the Atoner as though their lives depended on it – which, indeed, they did.
Croga had pulled both glowing swords from across his back, and despatched one of the demonic beings to the Abyss when he ran it through with the radiating weapons. Cosain had left two more of the creatures with severe limps which ensured that they would not forget their encounter with the fearsome Captain of the Heavenly Host in a hurry, and Trean had chased Schnither, Garshwell and two more screeching, hissing fiends up through the roof and out into the stratosphere. What the angelic warriors had not seen in the midst of the conflict was one slithery little ghoul – much smaller than the others at only two feet tall – snake his way through the fray to the elevator, where he had swept through the closed doors and chewed on the cables with his needle-like teeth until the elevator was hanging by just a thread. This nippy little beast – known in the Dark Realms as Braygor – had cackled gleefully to himself at the thought of the havoc he was about to wreak on the Wrens, then screeched and stomped in fury as he watched his plans thwarted by Cosain and the Heavenly army. Braygor was incensed, but knew that certain doom would ensue for him if he dared to confront the angelic warriors alone, so he had fled, wings flapping furiously as he propelled himself up through the roof and out into the sky beyond.
And now the angelic warriors regrouped, battle weary but triumphant.
“Well done, brothers,” Cosain said, regarding the brave combatants before him. “You fought well. Lasair, delaying the Wrens by displacing the picture frame undoubtedly saved their lives – a clever tactic on your part.”
“Thank you, Captain,” answered Lasair, “But my ploy alone could not have saved them, it was most definitely a team effort.”
Cosain nodded. “Yes, that is always how we achieve our best results. Now we must get back to Solas and Dilis,” he said, “Phoebe and Demetrius will have to work fast because time is running out, and the Enemy will throw everything he has at them.”
And with that, the four warriors made their exit through the hospital window, and rejoined Solas and Dilis who were standing next to Phoebe and Demetrius, swords drawn, eyes scanning the horizon for the return of the band of demons.
“Captain,” enquired Solas, “How did you fare? We saw Trean in hot pursuit of Schnither and three of his minions. What of the rest?”
“One was terminated by Trean, two sustained injuries from my sword, Schnither and three other demons fled the scene, and Braygor…” Cosain chuckled quietly to himself, “We only saw him at the last minute, but that little imp threw a temper tantrum and scarpered – fairly true to form for him!”
The other angels laughed quietly, sharing an unspoken jape – obviously this was not their first encounter with the diminutive Braygor.
“I’m not sure I get this joke,” interjected Phoebe cautiously. “I mean, that was a pretty close call for us, as far as I can tell. And I definitely wouldn’t call any of those gremlins an imp!”
“Yes, Phoebe, you’re right, the attack was more intentional, focused – there is no doubt. Abaddon the Defiler has despatched Lieutenant Garshwell to Schnither’s command – Garshwell is one of the more formidable of our foe, he is focused, experienced in battle, and tenacious. But we felt the force of your prayers, and we were strengthened and enabled to fight on your behalf. You are learning, Phoebe, you are growing stronger and bolder. We will not let the Enemy win, not this time.” Cosain’s golden eyes were earnest, and Phoebe felt sure that he and his fellow warriors would indeed lay down their lives for the mission assigned to them.
“You need to wait with your parents now. Assist them with the clean up. We will be on guard, and will follow you all home.”
Phoebe nodded her agreement, then she and Demetrius headed back towards the hospital. She knew that with the angelic warriors on guard outside, she and her parents would be safe from another onslaught – at least for the time being.
Inside the hospital building, Jack, Eva and several other staff members were busy with brooms and shovels. Emergency teams were beginning to arrive; fire engines and police cars wailed up, and fire fighters and police officers joined with hospital personnel as the clean-up operation got underway in earnest. Phoebe and Demetrius located shovels, and began to scoop up debris and rubble. Neither had much to say and they worked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. It had been the craziest of days, and Phoebe had a foreboding sense that it may get worse before it got better. She tried to make some sense of the happenings of today, but found that trying to comprehend it all, or reason it out, just made her head hurt.
After three hours, the hospital reception had taken on a pale semblance of the clean, ordered room it had been earlier in the day. The elevator had been made stable and cordoned off with black and yellow striped police tape warning, ‘DANGER: POLICE LINE, DO NOT CROSS’ and the rubble had been cleared and removed, leaving an empty floor. The investigators seemed content that the ‘accident’ had been caused by structural wear and tear – ‘if only you knew’ thought Phoebe, but she was well aware how crazy she would sound if she tried to explain the real reason for the elevator collapse. For now at least she would have to keep her thoughts to herself and trust that Cosain and his companions had everything under control.
“Wow, I’m beat!” exclaimed Eva, wiping the back of her hand across her brow. “Who would ever have imagined how today would pan out! We’ve got so much to do, Jack – how are we ever going to be ready for our flight tomorrow? We really could have done without all this!”
“It’s okay Love,” said Jack, “I’ve been on to the airline, and explained the situation, and somehow convinced them to let us change our flight. We won’t be flying tomorrow, we’re booked on to the 1.30pm flight on Friday.”
“Friday? That’s the 16th?” asked Eva. “That’s great, we’ll still be home for Kate’s birthday on Saturday. She’ll be so pleased! I really can’t wait to get home now and just spend some time with our family and friends.”
“Not long now, Love,” Jack smiled at Eva, and they turned their attentions back to clearing up what remained of the elevator dust and debris.
Aunty Kate? In the midst of all that had happened during the last twenty-four hours, Phoebe really hadn’t given much thought to her family back in Ireland. Aunty Kate and Uncle John had been so kind to her. Even in the midst of their own grief and loss after the plane crash, they had made Phoebe their priority and made sure that she knew that she would never be alone. Phoebe had been so grateful to them, and now the thought of seeing John, Kate, Abi, Jamie and Caitlin again made her smile broadly. The notion of a family reunion, something as simple as a gathering to celebrate Kate’s birthday on Saturday, filled her with inexpressible joy, and she really began to believe that a return to life as she knew it was not only possible, but was so close she could almost feel it. Surely now that the family wouldn’t even be catching Araco Airlines flight 434 tomorrow, the crash of Thursday 15th July would never happen… right? Despite desperately wanting this to be the case, somehow Phoebe felt that it was just too straightforward – and she was right.