Watching the Dead

by Wendy Cartmell

  ‘Sasha, get a large-scale map,’ said Jo. ‘Let’s take a look at where on the coast he could be.’

  ‘There’s a bloody lot of water around here,’ said Byrd.

  ‘I know that, come one think, Eddie, think,’ she urged.

  ‘Would they be in the marina?’

  ‘I’m not sure about that one,’ said Jill. ‘It could be too busy. People would notice them there and talk. Presumably they’ve taken a boat that’s empty, moored up but not being used. There are loads of fair-weather sailors who don’t use their boats from one month to the next in the marina and so anyone messing about out one would attract attention.’

  ‘I agree,’ said Jo. ‘It needs to be somewhere quiet. Where they won’t be noticed.’

  ‘The Cathedral,’ said Osian. ‘The Watcher seems fascinated by it.’

  ‘Sorry? What’s that got to do with it?’ said Eddie sounding dismissive. ‘You’re losing me, Osian.’

  ‘Well, the way I see it is that you are never far from the Cathedral in Chichester. It dominates the skyline and can even be seen from the sea. So if we want somewhere on water, but quieter than the marina, within sight of the Cathedral…’

  ‘The canal,’ shouted Jill, then blushed. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘No, you’re right,’ said Jo. ‘That makes sense. A houseboat on the canal. Perfect. Sasha, where’s the main body of houseboats?’ confident that Sasha, the font of all knowledge would know without looking it up.

  ‘On the stretch of canal running alongside the marina, there are about 30 berths for houseboats.’

  ‘So what now?’ Osian looked around expectantly. ‘Do we go in?’ He was aware he was speaking from watching too many crime shows.

  ‘Softly, softly,’ said Jo. ‘We go house to house.’

  ‘Or boat to boat,’ quipped Eddie.

  Chapter 48

  Jo was rather enjoying the romantic stroll with Byrd along the tow path. Unfortunately there was an undercurrent. They were there on an operation and not for love. Still, hanging onto Byrd’s arm felt good.

  Jo and Eddie were walking one way and Jill and Osian the other, and they were hoping to meet up at a houseboat that contained Damien, whichever one that might be. Fingers crossed it would work and not be a colossal waste of time and resources that could have been used to comb the city for the baby.

  There were no other police visible. Back-up and an ambulance were waiting in a nearby car park out of sight of the canal, with Ken. They didn’t want to warn the Watcher of their presence.

  Surprisingly, Sykes had agreed to their operation and didn’t veto it. But there was something off about that. The gleam in his eye didn’t seem to be from excitement that they were very close to finding Damien. More a hardened cynical stare that said it would be Jo’s fault if anything went wrong, and he’d actually enjoy seeing her squirm if it did. She was beginning to understand that that was how Sykes worked. If there was someone he wanted to get rid of, he usually gave them enough rope to hang themselves and then denied all knowledge of the operation. Jo hated sneaky people and according to Mick, Sykes was one of the sneakiest. Still, no matter, Jo would find Damien with or without Sykes.

  They were about halfway down the line of houseboats when they heard a baby cry. Lingering, they kissed and waited until Jill and Osian were within hearing. She was rather enjoying snogging Byrd, and she was beginning to feel like a teenager. He was responding in kind and she wondered if Byrd was acting, or if his feelings were real. Could the conclusion of this case be the breakthrough they’d been waiting for both professionally and personally? It’s what Jo wanted more than anything.

  Jill and Osian were doing the same from the other end of the canal. Walking along, holding hands, just a loving couple out for a walk.

  Then Osian stopped walking. ‘Jill, I...’

  ‘What are you doing? Osian, what is it?’

  ‘Um, I hope I’m not jumping the gun here.’

  ‘Gun? What gun? What are you talking about?’

  ‘No, not literally. I mean I hope I’m not speaking too soon, or out of turn. But, well, I wanted to say that the more I see you and talk to you and spend time with you, well the more I want to do it,’ he blushed.

  ‘Oh, Osian, shut up,’ said Jill and promptly kissed him full on the lips. ‘There, that’s all you had to do,’ she whispered and they kissed again. Then Jill remembered where they were. ‘Stop. First the baby, then the kisses. OK?’

  ‘OK,’ said Osian and smiled, feeling that despite the desperate situation they found themselves in, he’d never been happier.

  Chapter 49

  Once the two couples stopped at either end of the same houseboat, one practically in the middle of the stretch of towpath, they once again could hear a baby cry.

  ‘So where are you taking me for my birthday?’ Jo asked Byrd.

  ‘It’s a surprise,’ he replied.

  They were the code words for armed response to mobilise and storm the boat. Jo had wondered about evacuating the boats either side, once they’d identified their target boat. But had decided against it, as that could alert the Watcher and Edith, and they could have fled with the child, evading capture. As it happened, the boats either side of their target were quiet and seemed locked up tight.

  A voice came over her earpiece, ‘Understood, moving in.’

  It was a matter of minutes until the armed response team silently approached from both ends of the canal. At an instruction from the team leader, they jumped aboard and broke through the houseboat door, shouting, ‘Armed police, hands up, hands up, armed police!’

  The two couples could only stand and watch and wait.

  Jo was holding her breath. She really needed to find Damien and return him to his mother. She was mumbling under her breath, ‘Please, please, come on,’ when she heard a baby cry. Her relief was so great, it made her go weak. She buckled, but Byrd caught her and held her up.

  Then she felt a beating at the air, it surrounded them, hovering like a helicopter, wings like rotor blades chopping through the air. It was the Watcher. Jo was sure of it, looking like a black cloud, with a storm of flies around it. The air became frigid and she shivered. She felt a pressure in her head. Someone or something was trying to invade her mind. Trying not to panic she put up a mental barrier. It was as though a bird was repeatedly flying into a window and bouncing off the glass, trying to get inside the house. She kept the pressure up, determined not to allow the Watcher into her head. She heard his frustrated roar, filling her head with a maelstrom of noise. She put her hands over her ears, but it didn’t help as the noise was inside her head. Finally, he gave up.

  He took off and Jo heard, ‘Catch me if you can!’

  She wasn’t sure if the words were spoken aloud or were in her head. Looking up to the sky, she saw the black mass merge with the clouds and dissipate.

  She leaned against Byrd, exhausted, her mind still confused from the battering it had just taken.

  ‘Catch me if you can?’ asked Byrd.

  So maybe the Watcher had said the words out loud. He was throwing down the gauntlet for a fight. But elsewhere, not where they were.

  ‘What the hell,’ said Osian. ‘Was that who I think it was?’

  Jill nodded. ‘I reckon that was Azazel, the fallen angel, the Watcher.’

  ‘Osian,’ Jo called. ‘Where would he go?’

  ‘The Cathedral.’

  Of course.

  ‘Ken,’ Jo said as she spied him stood on the back of the houseboat. ‘Take Damien to the ambulance for a check over and call Cherry, give her the good news and get her and Abbey to meet you here.’

  ‘Where are you going?’ Ken shouted.

  ‘The Cathedral,’ said Jo and they hurried away.

  ‘Why there?’ asked Byrd as they moved away from the boat.

  ‘Because of the gargoyles,’ said Osian. ‘They are demons who were forever forbidden to enter the church. This demon will be no exception. He was once an angel. But is one no more in the sight
of God, his father. So he will be at the Cathedral wall, looking outward from the place he can no longer enter. We’ll find him and he will be buried down among the dead where he belongs.’

  Jo was relieved to hear the determination in Osian’s voice. She was not alone in this struggle, Osian would be right beside her, his unshakeable faith in God giving him the strength to face the fallen angel.

  Chapter 50

  They approached the Cathedral with caution.

  ‘Where would he go, Osian? ’Jo asked.

  Osian looked blank.

  ‘Think, Osian, think,’ Jo urged. ‘With the living?’ He shook his head. ‘With the dead?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Osian. ‘The dead live among the dead.’

  He’d gone rather pale and Jo was afraid he wouldn’t be strong enough to face the Watcher. This was a whole new experience for three out of the four of them. Jo had faced down two demons now and if she was honest enjoyed the fear, the faith in her strength and the encounters with Judith. Oh and the winning, of course. Which reminded her.

  ‘Where’s Judith?’ The other three turned to look at her.

  ‘Judith?’ Byrd looked confused.

  ‘Yes, she’s always with me at times like this.’

  ‘No,’ Byrd said. ‘Judith!’ and he pointed over Jo’s shoulder.

  And there she was. Her best friend hadn’t let her down. But they didn’t have time for grand reunions.

  She turned her attention to Osian. ‘So if the Watcher goes among the dead, where in the cathedral would that be?’

  ‘Paradise, the cathedral burial garden.’

  ‘Right, Osian have you got your bible?’

  ‘My what?’

  ‘Your bible or Book of Enoch or whatever it is that you need to face the Watcher. Come on, Osian, stay with me,’ she urged.

  They ran to the Paradise Garden, a gated garden where the long dead lay. Everywhere was eerily quiet. There was no road noise, no people, night was drawing in and all were tucked up in their warm homes. They were isolated and alone. It felt as though they were the only ones left alive in Chichester.

  Ice glistened on the railings. The temperature was falling, and Jo shivered in her coat. Was it just the night or something else? Whatever it was, the temperature was plummeting.

  ‘He’s here,’ whispered Judith, suddenly appearing by Jo’s side, making Jo jump.

  ‘Bloody hell, Judith,’ she hissed. ‘I wish you wouldn’t do that.’

  Judith smiled not looking in the least sorry.

  Jo glanced up at the sheer cathedral walls. She couldn’t see the gargoyles in the growing gloom, but fancied she felt their eyes on her back. They made her skin crawl.

  ‘Osian are you ready?’ Jo called.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Your Book of Enoch!’

  ‘Oh yes, sorry.’

  ‘Chapter 10 start to read it as loud as you can!’ Judith shouted to Osian.

  The rush of air crept around them, softly at first, tugging at clothes, ruffling hair, blowing in ears, teasing, taunting.

  ‘Don’t be afraid,’ shouted Jo to her little band of warriors. ‘Don’t be intimidated.’

  Jo looked around. Osian was white and drawn. Jill looked scared out of her wits, holding onto Osian’s upper arm and standing as close to him as she could. Judith looked implacable, serene even and Jo wondered how she managed that. Mind you, Judith was no longer human and had seen far more than they would ever know. She clearly believed they could beat the Watcher and therefore so should Jo. She stole a glance at Byrd, he managed a small smile, then turned his attention back to Judith, who was now standing at the front of their group, with the four of them in a line behind her.

  The air became more turbulent. Whirled up in it were dead leaves, twigs and branches which struck them on the arms and shoulders. The leaves and mulch got stuck in her hair and clothes. As the wind rose, the noise rose. They were facing a hurricane, which buffeted them and rocked them, but they held their resolve. It could not dislodge any of them. Jo was proud of her ragged band.

  ‘Osian,’ she shouted. ‘Start reading!’

  She thought he read her lips rather than heard her.

  She heard him begin: ‘And again the Lord said to Raphael, bind Azazel hand and foot and cast him into the darkness and split open the ground and cast him in.’

  Osian was halted by the sound of a million buzzing insects. Beating wings flew around them and he saw they were locusts. They flew into their hair, climbed in their ears, up sleeves, up legs and in shoes. Jill screamed and beat the air around her head. Osian grabbed her and pulled her to him so she could burrow her face and body into his chest. He clasped her to him with his arm. ‘Stay strong,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘For I am with you sayeth the Lord. Trust in God and we shall prevail.’

  He felt her nod her head. She didn’t move from his arms, but he felt her body stiffen and straighten up.

  With his free hand, he held the Book of Enoch and continued reading. ‘And fill the hole by covering him with dark and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him live there forever, and cover his face that he may not see the light.’

  At once the locusts dropped to the ground. Some dead, some writhing in death throws and others still very much alive and crawling over their less fortunate brothers, began to eat them.

  Osian wondered what else the Watcher was going to throw at them to try and stop them, but so far their band were unbroken, led by Judith, although Osian wasn’t altogether too sure who she actually was. As the locusts were no longer filling the air, Jill lifted her head to make sure they were gone and then moved to stand by his side.

  As the locusts fell to the floor, the air changed. The pressure increased; Byrd could feel it in his ears. He wanted to hold his nose and blow, to clear them, but couldn’t. He had to keep his focus on the group and what Osian was saying. And then the air buffeted him this way and that, the noise of beating wings rang around the cathedral garden. Byrd was horrified as the fallen angel appeared in front of them. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he’d never have believed it. The being hovered a few feet above the ground. He looked like the devil incarnate. Huge wings spread out from his back, magnificent in size, but with damage to them. Feathers were matted and dirty, some broken and others missing completely. His eyes were blackened, and skin peeled in strips from his face. He opened his mouth and beetles poured out of it. Hundreds, thousands, in a great stream that seemed never ending. They were scarab beetles, Byrd noticed, as they clacked along the floor and over each other in their desire to reach the group of believers. Byrd couldn’t help it. He recoiled in horror. He couldn’t take much more. And then Osian found his voice again.

  ‘And on the great day of judgement he shall be hurled into the fire!’ Osian shouted.

  The beetles stopped.

  ‘And on the great day of judgement, he shall be hurled into the fire!’ Osian shouted again.

  Judith straightened her arm, pointing at the beetles. From her finger streamed a bolt of fire, it was as though she were a human flame thrower. The flames licked over the mass of beetles and they caught fire. Jo recoiled from the heat as they exploded. Cooked and split bodies littered the ground and the wave of fire consumed them all. As they were still spewing out of the mouth of the Watcher, the flames hungrily consumed them, racing up the writhing stream of beetles, towards the Watcher himself.

  Then Judith spoke. ‘And on the great day of judgement, he shall be hurled into the fire!’

  But it wasn’t Judith speaking, Jo realised. There was someone standing in front of her friend. It was a beautiful figure. Not knowing how or why, Jo instantly knew it was the Archangel Raphael, who was set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men. The great healer of man and a particular enemy of the devil.

  His wings had an even greater span than the Watcher’s and they were clean, groomed and gleaming. The feathers rippled as the wings moved. He was dressed in white with sandals on his fe
et fastened by thongs crisscrossing up his legs. Surrounded by a golden light Raphael advanced on the Watcher, who drew back, shrinking in size at each step the archangel took.

  The four of them stood tall behind Raphael and Judith, and held hands. They seemed to grow in stature also, Jo noticed, as their combined faith played its part.

  Jo, the gifted one, who believed in the spirit world and the good it could do.

  Byrd, the sceptic, who would be forever changed by what he was witnessing.

  Osian, the cleric, who’s faith in God was a blazing light in the darkness.

  Jill, the innocent, destined to be Osian’s partner in life, who had a well of faith so deep it could never be emptied.

  Jo felt a surge of energy as they all shouted: ‘‘And on the great day of judgement, he shall be hurled into the fire!’

  In one last act of despair, the Watcher screamed out his rage and hatred, then burst into flames. The ground rumbled as a large fissure opened under his feet and the Watcher fell into it. With a grinding of rock on rock, the earth closed up and the fallen angel was sealed in his tomb.

  Raphael turned to face them and they basked in the light of his blessing for a brief moment, before, his work done, he flew upward, back to the heavens. Judith turned to look at them and said, ‘Thank you. Each and every one of you played your part. You will be changed by what you have witnessed tonight. We shall meet again.’

  The four of them collapsed on the floor as Judith faded away and they were left alone in the Paradise Garden.

  ‘Osian,’ Jo said. ‘Do you have anything to drink in your office? Preferably brandy?’

  The young curate nodded and led the way as they picked themselves up and walked on unsteady legs, brushing detritus from their hair and clothes as they went.

  Chapter 51

  They stumbled into the Cathedral and onward into the warmth of Osian’s office. Opening a cupboard, he quickly poured the golden liquid into four glasses and handed them around.