An hour later, Phoebe and Demetrius excused themselves from the house and made the short trip to the Klipspruit River, their rendezvous point as agreed with Lasair. The friends had taken a seat on a fallen tree near the riverbank and were mulling over the morning’s events.
Phoebe was aware of a faint rustling in the trees along the river bank, and looking up she saw Cosain, Solas, Dilis, Trean, Neam, Croga and Lasair, all in full battle attire with enormous swords at their sides, striding towards her. Phoebe jumped to her feet, desperately keen to hear what the Captain of the Host had to say. Her face must have told a thousand stories about how she was feeling, because Cosain smiled kindly and said, “Good morning Phoebe, Demetrius. Don’t worry, everything is under control. I just want to fill you in on events of last night and let you know the plan going forward.”
Phoebe was aware that she had been frowning pensively, and made a conscious effort to relax her facial muscles and straighten her shoulders, which had been arched up almost to her ears.
“Well, it was anything but a boring night,” said Cosain. Phoebe wasn’t sure if angels puffed up their cheeks when they were exasperated, but if they did then she was sure Cosain just had. “Schnither and Garshwell attacked where we expected them to – at the Otonnos’ house.”
Demetrius gasped audibly and was on his feet in a split second. “What?” he gulped. “But, I never saw a thing! I didn’t hear anything unusual either. I mean, I saw you guys there before I went to bed, but I just assumed…” Demetrius looked bewildered as he rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head – he must be a deeper sleeper than he thought!
“It was a prolonged and vicious attack,” Cosain continued. “Fierce. The demonic horde came at us with serious intent. They were relentless and determined, and we…” He hesitated, looking at Croga. “Well, let’s just say that if Croga hadn’t arrived when he did, the outcome may well have been very different indeed.”
“You mean… they could have actually won?” Phoebe asked, incredulous. She was certain that that was what Cosain had just implied but could scarcely bring herself to believe it.
“Yes, it was close – too close.” Acknowledging this truth obviously recapitulated the seriousness of the situation for Cosain, and he seemed momentarily lost in his own thoughts.
“But,” he continued, rousing himself again from his reverie, “They did not win. And they will not win, we will make sure of it. Last night’s battle cost Lieutenant Garshwell his life, and I have no doubt that Schnither will double his efforts as a result. Now, Phoebe, Demetrius, listen carefully to what I am going to tell you. Thanks to Neam’s reconnaissance at the airport, we know for sure that Schnither and his fiends plan to attack the flight tomorrow. They believe that our assignment to you and your parents will end today, Phoebe, and assume that we will return to the Atoner, leaving you all vulnerable tomorrow. But we will not leave you, we will be there tomorrow and we will not let Schnither’s schemes succeed.”
Cosain hesitated, scanning Phoebe’s and Demetrius’s faces for a reaction to what they had just been told. Outwardly, the teenagers appeared to be handling his words well, so Cosain continued, little realising that what Phoebe had just heard had made her blood run cold.
“You will understand that it is imperative that we do not arouse suspicion amongst the powers of darkness, and for that reason we must make it appear that our mission is complete and we are discharging our duty. To all intents and purposes, it must look as if we have actually gone.”
“You mean…” Phoebe struggled to find appropriate words. “You mean… you’re leaving us alone?” Her green eyes filled with frightened tears, and she wrinkled her forehead as she tried to come to terms with what she was hearing. “But we trusted you – we trust you to get us home.”
“And that is exactly what we intend to do, Phoebe,” soothed Cosain. He gently placed a hand on Phoebe’s shoulder, and despite her anger and confusion, Phoebe found herself enveloped once again in that familiar embrace of safety and protection.
“We will never be far away, you have my word. But we must stay out of sight until you and your parents and Demetrius board that flight tomorrow. Our counter attack has got to be unexpected. We will hit Schnither and his troop with deadly force – and they won’t even see us coming.”
Phoebe looked at Demetrius who was hanging on Cosain’s every word. His eyes were wide and his jaw slack, and Phoebe realised that Demetrius had the luxury of not having lived through the flight before and therefore could not fully comprehend or share her trepidation.
“Phoebe.” It was Dilis who spoke, his kind eyes silently reassuring her that she could trust him and his angelic brothers completely. “We will not fail you. We will not fail Him.”
Phoebe blinked her eyes and rolled her head slowly, first to the right, then to the left.
“I know,” she said, finally. “I know that you won’t let us down. And I do trust you. It’s just…” She hesitated then sighed deeply as she spoke, “It’s just that I don’t think I could go through losing my parents again.” She could no longer hold Dilis’s gaze, and cast her eyes to the ground.
“And you won’t have to, I promise you.” It was Cosain who interjected, and as Phoebe’s eyes met his gaze, she knew deep in her soul that this great warrior was indelibly and inextricably committed to her and her family, and would do all within his power to ensure that no evil would touch them.
“Okay,” Phoebe said hesitantly, looking from Cosain to each of the other warriors in turn. “Then let’s do this!”
“We will meet with you once more, back at Demetrius’s house this afternoon,” Cosain advised the teenagers. “Schnither will have sentries posted there, and we will ensure that we are seen bidding you farewell. Go back there now, try to get through the rest of today as normally as you can. Be brave! And I will see you soon.”
Cosain smiled reassuringly at Phoebe, and she knew that she could trust this imposing warrior of light. In an instant, the angelic host took to the skies en masse, and were gone in a brilliant flash of light. As the dust settled, Phoebe and Demetrius regarded each other with a look that said, ‘Let’s not try to work this out any more’, then the teenagers began the short walk home, each secretly wondering if they had what it would take to get through the next two days.