“Certainly not,” Freddy scoffed, “I said I would help you and I intend to do so. Neither teammates nor friends abandon each other just because things have gotten dangerous. I am here to help as long as I am needed.”
His body stiffened up and his face looked stern. Although it wouldn’t frighten a kitten, for Freddy it was quite an impressive stance. It was clear he didn’t plan to go anywhere. To be honest this was probably better anyway. I could keep an eye on him if he was around and make sure nothing happened. So, I nodded and patted him on the shoulder as I thanked him again.
“Thanks Freddy. Feel free to grab yourself something to drink. There’s hot water and plenty of tea if you’d like. I’ll go get Vix so I can introduce you two.”
He smiled and headed into the kitchen while I made my way back to the library. Vix was standing there wiping the tears from her face and making herself more presentable. Honestly, I thought she was beautiful even when she was red eyed and teary, so I didn’t know why she was worried. But it was clear she didn’t want to meet Freddy looking like she’d just been crying.
She was wearing tight black pants and an even tighter navy turtle neck sweater. I guess considering the lack of cleavage, this was her dressing conservative. But the tight clothes shaped her body in a way that left very little to the imagination. Like I said, she knew how to use her assets as a distraction. I managed to get my mind off of her body long enough to speak.
“You all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said through a forced smile.
“Ready to meet Freddy?”
“Yeah.”
I gave her a long hug and then a very deep kiss before we headed out. She took my hand and stayed close as we walked. Freddy was standing at the kitchen counter enjoying a nice cup of tea when we arrived.
“Freddy, this is Victoria. Vix, Freddy.”
“A pleasure to meet you Victoria,” Freddy said, offering his hand.
“The pleasure is mine. I really appreciate you agreeing to help me,” she replied, gently shaking his hand in return.
“I am very happy to help. Any friend of Bruce is a friend of mine.”
Vix smiled in that cute way that said thank you even better than words. Freddy also smiled, clearly very happy to be helping. It was one big happy smile-fest and then an awkward silence. Luckily, I’m never short on things to say.
“Okay, now that we’re all friends, we should probably get moving. Freddy, as I told you before someone is threatening Vix’s family if she doesn’t help them open some sarcophagus. They dropped off a few photos to make their point clear and prove they have her parents in a bad place. So, it’s obvious that time is of the essence. What’s the next step now that we have the weapons?”
He nodded and put down his tea, clearly going into professional mode before responding, “I am sorry about those troubling photos. I promise you Victoria, we will do everything we can to help your parents. Now, our next step will be to identify which key we need to charge. Unless you already have that information, I will probably have to look upon the lock in order to determine which key is required. There is a very good chance that I will already have the key in my possession. One of the benefits to having the world’s largest collection of Wu Xing Keys.”
I glanced at Vix to see if she knew specifically which key was needed and she shook her head. Freddy continued.
“No reason to worry. We shall find the answer soon enough. Just tell me everything you know about the sarcophagus we need to open. Perhaps that will provide me with the information I require.”
“They didn’t tell me much. Just that I had to open the stone sarcophagus in the basement of the Sunny Stone Cathedral. They told me it needed a Wu Xing Key and it was up to me to find it. I’m sorry, there wasn’t anything more. I immediately searched for an expert in the field and your name was on the top of the list. That’s when I contacted Bruce,” she said.
“I see. While I am familiar with the Sunny Stone Cathedral, I have never actually visited the building. So, unfortunately I am unfamiliar with any subterranean structures or sarcophagi within. I was also unaware of any Wu Xing Key being associated with their church. But I am happy to tell you everything else I know about Sunny Stone,” Freddy replied, the last bit directed at me.
“The more we know the better. Would it be hard to obtain detailed blueprints of the Cathedral?”
“I cannot be sure. From what I have heard, those of Sunny Stone are almost cultish in their worship. They are not very open with outsiders. If I may make a suggestion?”
“Of course Freddy.”
“Let us take a ride by the cathedral in question so you can get a better idea of what we are dealing with. I can share the information I have on the ride over. But, the use of the word cathedral is perhaps a bit liberal. I do not believe this structure is quite as grand as you are imagining,” he said.
“Okay?”
Freddy was kind enough to try and hide his smile as I showed him my perplexed face. But, he was definitely the most informed of us on this particular quest, so I figured I’d follow his lead. Freddy finished his tea while Vix and I grabbed enough gear so we wouldn’t have to return until the mission was complete. I wasn’t sure what we’d need to infiltrate the Cathedral, but we would be prepared for as many contingencies as possible. The special weapons were in the car, so the sooner we got the key, the sooner we could start spirit hunting. Before we left I also ran the photos of Vix’s parents through a scanner and sent them off to Visine. I was hoping they’d yield clues to help narrow down their location. Then, wearing slightly more tactical outfits and carrying a couple duffle bags full of gear, Vix and I headed out to Freddy’s ride.
We followed Freddy to his car and I yet again did my best to make sure the house was secured behind us. I tossed the bags into the trunk and we all jumped into the mini cooper. Vix grabbed the backseat and I took the passenger. Freddy talked during the entire ride through the city as we made our way over the Potomac and down into the neighborhood of Penn Branch. Just off of Massachusetts Ave, at the end of the dinky road of O Street, down a gravel driveway setting it back into the trees, sits the Sunny Stone Cathedral.
It looked almost exactly as I imagined from Freddy’s descriptions. The building felt ancient and jumbled. There was a creepy old-world feel. It was a bit bigger than your standard single room church, but far from something I’d call a Cathedral. It was completely constructed of yellowish sandstone, but the bricks were forced together and didn’t fit flush. It was clear they were not originally cut to be part of this building. This made sense from the story Freddy gave us on the ride over.
It seems the Sunny Stone Cathedral claims to be the oldest church in the country. According to the sign out front, it’s over a thousand years old. This bit of fantasy is due to the fact that the building was constructed using ancient stones stolen from structures all over the world. Many of those historic buildings were in fact centuries old. As you might have guessed, most of the stones were not necessarily acquired legally. Assuming of course the origin of the stones was even accurate. Honestly, while they did look old, they didn’t feel important if that makes any sense.
Freddy said that Sunny Stone was constructed in the early forties, during the height of World War II. An insane millionaire named Oswald Jackson, who claimed to be a descendant of Stonewall Jackson, worked secretly to acquire the stones from all over Central and South America. He believed the stones each had mystical properties and when brought together would create a conduit of magical energies and power. Oswald spent his entire fortune on the building and upon its completion he flung himself off of the bell tower. He believed the energies of the Cathedral would give him the power to fly. Gravity and the ground both disagreed with him and he died upon impact, breaking his neck. Since that day his devout and crazy followers have maintained the church, although none of them seem to suffer from a belief in the ability to fly.
Asides from the crazy Jenga type block construction, the building was fa
irly ordinary. Although it was only a single story building, the roof stood almost thirty feet high due to the vaulted ceiling. There was an oversized bell tower, but no bell hung within. Oswald had commissioned a large ornate brass bell for his tower, but the recycling efforts of WWII robbed him of his prize. His followers seemed content letting the tower remain empty. The woods around the Cathedral were cleared out to allow at least fifty cars to park there when needed. As we approached we only noticed one. I figured it must belong to the maintenance man or groundskeeper or something.
It was the middle of the day and we didn’t feel any particular need to hide our arrival, so we pulled right up to the front and got out. I took point and made sure to keep Vix and Freddy safely behind me. I was about to knock when I decided that the open and welcoming nature of religion meant that I could check the door first. As luck would have it, it wasn’t locked. I opened it as slowly and quietly as I could and looked inside.
The room was more sparsely furnished than I would have guessed. There were some pews, but not nearly enough to fill the room. They could easily fit twice as many benches into the space. Sunlight streaked through cheap looking stained glass windows, dust dancing in each beam of light as they cast everything in a rainbow of colors. At the far end was a simple pulpit, comprised of three large dark stones crudely fashioned together. A faded red tapestry hung on the back wall, the design barely visible, but I thought it looked like a giant jaguar head. Perhaps that was their sacred animal. Either way, it was the closest thing to an occupant as the church was empty. I turned back towards my companions.
“Doesn’t look like anyone is home. Vix, do a quick perimeter check to see if there’s an external entrance to the basement before we head in.”
She nodded and moved quietly around the building. I waited just outside of the door so I could hear her if she needed me, while still keeping an eye on things inside. Freddy remained calm and quiet by my side. After a few moments, Vix was back and she shook her head at me.
“Not even a crawl space. Kinda weird actually,” she said.
I nodded and shrugged before we cautiously proceeded into the church.
Just inside the main entrance there were two doors on the wall behind us, both unlocked. The left door was just a closet, its only occupants an old broom and a dusty orange puffy-jacket that appeared to be leftover from the seventies. The right door opened to the stairs leading up to the bell tower. A cursory glance revealed nothing of interest, and I didn’t see a reason to head up, so we didn’t. Towards the front of the church, behind the pulpit, was a single door that I assumed went back to a priest’s rooms. At least the shape of the outside of the building led me to believe it was a small study or bedroom. I opened the door to see a small bed, dresser, desk, and nightstand with a lamp on it. Everything seemed dusty, suggesting the room wasn’t used much or hadn’t been for a very long time. A thick layer of dust upon the floor made it clear no one had walked through the room recently.
Since there didn’t appear to be an obvious basement door anywhere, I looked the main worship room over again. Freddy and Vix did the same. If I were a secret basement entrance, where would I be? I walked over to the pulpit, trying to swivel it to the side in case there was a staircase underneath, when Freddy’s intense stare caught my eye. He was looking at the tapestry on the back wall. The tapestry ended in taters, stopping about six inches from the floor. Since I could see the base of the wall, I assumed there wasn’t anything behind it. But Freddy wasn’t so easily dissuaded. I followed him over as he pushed the tapestry to the side and examined the wall. After a bit, he smiled and pointed out a thin crease in the shape of a door.
I pushed on the door a few times but it didn’t budge. I didn’t see anything resembling a handle or a release panel or any way to open it up. Freddy and Vix looked around for something to release the door. Again it was Freddy who rolled the highest. He found a brick further down the wall with the faint outline of a jaguar carved into it. A simple push on the brick and it moved in. A moment later the door clicked and swung inward a couple of inches. I pushed on it and although it was extremely heavy, it moved with very little effort. Once we got it open, we were assaulted by the smell of burning flesh and the sound of loud chanting. I was pretty sure we were heading down into the Temple of Doom. As you might expect, the stairs were solid stone and very narrow. There was just enough light coming from below for us to make our way down safely. I took point and Freddy followed behind allowing Vix to bring up the rear.
The good news was we couldn’t hear even the slightest hint of chanting prior to opening the door, meaning there was very little chance anyone heard us moving around up here. The bad news was we now had to walk down into that horrible stench. Freddy placed a handkerchief across his nose and I did my best to breathe through my mouth. I couldn’t quite place the smell. It wasn’t people exactly and I hate that I know what that smells like. Let’s just say I’ve encountered truly evil beings in my life. But it also didn’t smell like any animal I’d been around before. I had this nasty feeling that we were about to see one of our Veil residents roasting on an open flame.
The stairway slowly curved down to the left, the light and smell increasing as we went. We descended for a while before the narrow tunnel opened up on the left side to reveal the enormous room below. I stopped us right at the edge so we could take a look around before possibly being spotted. The room was magnitudes larger than the building above. In fact, if I was to hazard a guess, I’d say this was the actual Cathedral Oswald intended to build and the weird church upstairs was a distraction.
The floor was fifty feet below us and the ceiling rose a little higher still. The room was a large dome, roughly two hundred feet across, and scene within it was gruesome. In the center of the floor was a huge fire pit, easily fifteen feet wide. Roasting upon its flames were the remains of what I can only imagine used to be a troll. There were twenty-five or so people knelling around the fire pit chanting and swaying in a disturbing rhythm with the flames. They were men and women, all shirtless and covered in various body paints. Circling the pit was the man I took to be their leader. Like his flock, he too appeared to be anti clothing. He stood stark naked save for a large red jaguar mask adorned with dozens of multicolored feathers arranged like a lions mane. In his right hand was a ceremonial staff with a large cat paw on its end. He jumped and danced around trying to get the worshippers to chant louder. Then, with a speed that even impressed me, he spun around swinging the staff through the fire. The cat claws on the end expertly sliced off a piece of roasting troll and sent it flying towards his flock. They scrambled over top of each other, desperate to get a taste. After a few nasty seconds it was gone.
Once they settled back down into their regular chants and sways I looked the room over. Up and down the walls, carved into the rock, were several ornate windows and spires. While they didn’t really look out upon anything or function in anyway, it was clearly part of the Cathedral esthetic. At its base, a series of large stone statues surrounded the perimeter, each one a slightly different version of Mr. Catpaw. I assumed these were the monuments to their previous leaders. Each representation was approximately to scale, although they stood upon ten-foot high pedestals. But at the far end was a statue significantly bigger than the rest. I wondered if it was a tribute to Oswald himself. The statue must have been twenty feet tall. It was also fully nude, except for the ornate jaguar mask upon its face. In its right hand it held a large stone version of the paw staff. The base was a little taller than the others and much wider with a large opening carved into it. There, with just enough room for a person to squeeze around it, sat a large stone sarcophagus.
CHAPTER 9
I pointed out our target to Freddy and Vix. Freddy shook his head to let me know we’d need to get much closer before he could identify the key needed. I guess that would have been too easy. So there we were, three of us, crouched on the stairs on the opposite side of the room as the sarcophagus we needed to examine. At least twenty-fiv
e crazy cultists stood between us and the prize. Not to mention their eccentric naked leader in his jaguar mask. This was going to be fun.
Aside from the statues, there wasn’t anything in the room that we could use for cover. I thought there was a chance I could sneak myself over to the sarcophagus, but I was highly doubtful I could get Freddy there unseen. That meant the smartest course of action would be to wait it out. Let these loonies finish up their ritual and examine the sarcophagus at our leisure. But time was of the essence and cultists are notorious for their long hours. With Vix’s parents hanging in the balance, time wasn’t a luxury we had. I turned to Vix and Freddy.
“Wait here, I’m gonna get a better look at things.”
They both nodded and I started down the steps. The stairway curved to the left along the wall. With every step more and more of the dome was revealed to me, meaning there was also a chance I’d be spotted. Luckily the stairs ran along the back wall, so Catpaw was the only person really facing my direction. There was also a giant bonfire between us and those huge swaying flames were helping to obscure his view. Most of his focus was on his insane dance and the worship of his followers anyway. But still I watched his gaze the best I could. Containing my movements to the moments when he was clearly looking the other way. That’s the secret to ninja stealth by the way; dodge their line of sight.
Working in my favor was also a consistent draft in the dome. The current was originating from behind the worshipers and it moved the fire in about as predictable a manner as fire ever goes. I moved my body in rhythm with the swaying shadows. It also helped that I was wearing dark colors. As I mentioned before, I’d removed my bright yellow polo for something more tactical. Now my polo was black, a look I like to call business casual ninja. I wore a harness, similar to the shoulder slings cops carry their guns in. But mine held much sharper objects, each one painted black as to not catch the light and give me away. Dark jeans and sneakers completed my outfit. After as much time as stealth required, I found myself at the bottom of the stairs.
G.H.O.S.T. Teams (Book 3) Spirits Page 8
