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 closing 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.
“We do not know the exact location of the third piece of the Key of Esse, but we are certain that Brother Bennett buried it somewhere on the island of Ireland.”
Phoebe wanted to ask how she and her friends could be expected to find one section of a key that was buried somewhere in Ireland, but refrained and chose instead to keep her scepticism mute.
“It is your task to find the missing piece of the Key of Esse, join it with the two pieces that Schnither has in his possession, then lock Behemoth, Schnither and all his minions in the Mooar Mountain before destroying the doorway forever. But before that, you must return to Darken Abbey and seek out Brother Bennett’s journal; it will contain the clues that will be vital to your success.”
Cosain’s face was solemn and Phoebe could see that he was deadly serious, but as the bizarreness of his request invaded her senses, she could contain herself no longer and the nervous laughter that overcame her at Johannesburg Airport rippled up her throat and for a few moments she could do nothing but giggle. A secret doorway to another realm, guarded by a mythical, man-eating beast? A key made up of three sections which offered its owner the power to unleash hell on earth? A treasure map of a journal where ‘X’ marked the spot? It just all sounded way too crazy.
Furious with herself but unable to help it, Phoebe’s giggles erupted into chortles, and she laughed until her sides hurt and she was gasping for breath. “Oh Cosain, I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed once she had regained some composure. “It’s not funny, obviously I know that. It’s just…”
Phoebe expected to find Cosain vexed by her outburst but was met instead with compassion and understanding, and even a hint of amusement. “It’s okay, Phoebe,” he said gently, smiling at the youngster before him. “I know that this sounds way beyond the boundaries of what is possible. But believe me Phoebe, it is entirely achievable; you only need to trust and take it one step at a time.”
Phoebe had totally sobered up, and was kicking herself for letting nervous laughter get the better of her. “I know,” she concurred. “I know that we have been trusted with this mission. And I know that we can see it through. Right guys?”
Demetrius and Ella nodded in agreement, although the teenagers’ heads must have been whirring and spinning with information overload too.
“Then it is agreed,” said Cosain. “You should expect the unexpected at all times from here on in. For now, you need to go back to Darken Abbey.”
Despite their best efforts, the teenagers’ face gave them away, and Cosain could see the horror that the thought of a return to the abbey caused them.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “This time, your visit has been sanctioned and planned, and we will be with you.”
“Then that improves the odds,” said Demetrius, and he set off in the direction of Darken Abbey with Phoebe and Ella and a dozen warrior angels in tow.