CounterPoint

by Daniel Rafferty

  Chapter 20

  Pravuil was not used to checking his attire before a meeting. While there was no protocol for him to do so, he was meeting the leader of one billion humans across the world. That deserved respect. He doubted Michael or Raphael would care about such details but that was the difference between the elder angels and them.

  “Camerlengo,” said Pravuil deeply as he entered, addressing the frail looking man sat behind the late pontiffs imposing papal desk. The Camerlengo helped run the Vatican while a new Pope was elected and was the main point of contact. “I bring bad tidings that you must be aware of.” Upon his first meeting with any new Pope, as with all the others, he informed him of one simple fact: the less they saw of each other, the better.

  “His Holiness spoke of you before,” was the reply that greeted Pravuil, “along with another gentleman who visited me earlier. He told me to be weary of those entering these palaces to guide me.” The Camerlengo looked tired, nearing the end of his human existence on Earth.

  “Raphael has no jurisdiction to address you about me Camerlengo” replied Pravuil firmly, now facing the dark wooden desk, before taking a seat. “I bring you counsel and ask for your permission to enter the deepest vaults of the Vatican.”

  “Sir Raphael has made it clear speaking to anyone but him could incur the wrath of evil upon the world.”

  “I have, without the knowledge of Heaven, introduced myself to each Pope since this Church began. You have no doubt been made aware of me by the deceased Pope.”

  The Camerlengo looked at him silently, and this alone answered Pravuil’s question. It was clear his mind had suffered from age. A flash of knowledge sparked in his eyes.

  “Pravuil?”

  “Indeed,” replied Pravuil in a grandiose tone, emphasising his position. “We do not have a lot of time. The world is in danger, as is the six billion humans who reside upon it. If we do not act now, this Church will never see a new Pope.”

  “What would you have me do?”

  “Allow me into the vaults. I desperately need to find the location of an artefact. Before I commit treason and go against the might and power of Heaven I need to be absolutely sure. Lives, billions of them, will depend on it.”

  “Who am I to stand in the way of an angel as close to the Almighty Father as you?”

  “Camerlengo. I am not in contact with God. He will not come to save this planet. We are alone.”

  “Then you better move fast,” the Camerlengo murmured, the weight of what he was being told crushed down on him. This was the oldest Camerlengo in the history of the Church. Pravuil needed to track down this elusive artefact immediately if they were to help stave off disaster. The sections of the vaults available to the public and to scholars were ‘organised’. The private secure vaults buried deep below the Vatican itself hadn’t been touched in hundreds of years and were a complete disorganised mess. Even with all his powers and abilities, the vaults were considered ‘divine’ and no angel could use their angelic capabilities in them.

  What alarmed him though was Michael. He would be informed when someone entered the vaults and would no doubt dispatch angels to investigate. Pravuil knew he had made the decision to cross the line when he contacted David in that London nightclub. Now he was sitting in the Pope’s office telling him that the Catholic religion and indeed the planet was under the threat of annihilation. Time moves fast. The future was now being rewritten. No matter who would win in this upcoming cosmic battle, in the end he would certainly cease to exist. It worried him less than it would most. He had been alive for a very long time, had seen so many things. Ultimately, he served God and therefore the human race. That was the instructions God had issued to all his other creations, to care for them more than anything else. He did, and would ensure they came to no harm.

  Pravuil gripped both hands of the Camerlengo tightly and pledged that he would do everything in his power to prevent anything from happening. He left the room silently, heading towards the archives and wondering if he would ever see the frail old man again.

  Chapter 21

  Now back in Wales, the storm that had been raging across the globe seemed to be ever most intense here. David stared out the window at the lighting and the wind playing with the rain far up in the sky. The huge, bombastic sound of thunder was on constant repeat in the background, like war drums before an ancient battle. He couldn’t help but think of the families, old people and children across the country that were simply riding this storm out, no idea what was in front of them. Not only this country, but every country on Earth. This oncoming war would not heed diplomatic ties or alliances. It would transcend national borders and wouldn’t be stopped by natural obstacles such as oceans and mountain ranges. Every single human on the planet was going to feel this war in one way or another. He couldn’t help but groan that this little cottage and its surroundings really didn’t help his mood much either. Hidden deep in the Welsh countryside, it even ran on an electric generator. This one storey house had been in the family for generations and was the only place they could think of going. David was glad now more than ever that his mother and uncle had always insisted on renovating and maintaining it. Ariel had said he couldn’t risk taking them to any of the safe locations he knew as they were now compromised. He was now compromised. Thankfully, his access to the Bassett family archives showed no knowledge of this little cottage. It was virtually humming with the many enchantments, spells and symbols cast upon it over the years. Certain religious symbols were even carved into the foundations of the house to ward off all kinds beings. But according to Ariel, angels were not the only thing they now had to fear. Heaven truly going to war meant it unleashing an army never seen by human eyes. The same could be said for the demons and the other Gods.

  “I am aware,” said Ariel, choosing his words carefully as he walked around the terracotta coloured living room where they had all assembled, “that you all have no reason to trust me. But my intentions are to protect this family. You may very well be the key to saving humanity. I do not know why my colleagues want to capture you, but I will try my very best to thwart their plans. I have been contacted by a very old, respected and powerful individual who is directly linked to God. At this very moment, he is trying to figure out exactly what is happening. Until then, we need to make our stand here. There is little time to discuss this unfortunately.”

  “He was there today trying to defeat that monster,” conceded Mary, sitting in her armchair. She didn’t trust others easily, especially this one, but at the moment their backs were against the wall. Who could they turn to for help?

  “Why would you help us? You’ve been trying to kidnap us since this whole fucking thing started,” seethed David. He was angry, damned angry. Their life had been turned upside down, his grandmother put in danger and his partner had seemingly disappeared. He just wanted answers, which Ariel was not providing.

  “I can’t give you answers. My bosses seem intent on tearing this planet apart. Myself and a few others are going to try and stop them.”

  “Can you?” asked Mary.

  “Most likely not. We shall all probably be dead before the sun rises, but that is irrelevant.”

  You could well hear a pin drop in here after that statement, thought Mary.

  “Do we even have a chance?” said David, sitting down in one of the plush cream coloured armchairs.

  The front door swung open and Amber strutted in, carrying what David thought looked like a silver office briefcase. It certainly matched her office attire.

  “Chance is irrelevant. We shall succeed,” said Amber confidently. “And it’s platinum, not silver” she said, turning round to look at him as if reading his mind. He replied with an empty stare. She looked like quite a fiery individual, a lot more alive and verbally combative than the demure and broody Ariel.

  “Meet Amber, my deputy,” said Ariel to the room.

  “Evening everybody, these are certainly interesting times,” she said with a spark.

&nb
sp; “Did you get them?” enquired Ariel, leading her into the small dining room table.

  “Yes, sir. I got them all, along with whatever information I could get quickly, including the latest deployment registers. The status now is extreme but controlled. Specialist angelic security forces from Heaven had just arrived when I was leaving to bolster internal security. They will thwart the invasion but the price will be high in both angels and equipment.”

  Placing it on the mahogany dining table, the platinum briefcase opened with Amber placing her palm on it. It hissed, and white gas escaped. Ariel turned to look at the front door – his staff still stood, ready for action. Amber took numerous angelic swords and blades out of the case. More than any conventional case could store. A small red medallion detailed with a simple cross caught Ariel’s eye and he took it off Amber.

  “How in creation did you get this?” he asked, studying it intensely.

  “Headquarters was in chaos, sir, I just took whatever was worth taking,” she said matter-of-factly.

  “This is excellent Amber. It will provide us with some extra time,” he said, walking into the hallway which was the centre of the house.

  David came out in curiosity. Ariel knelt down and placed the red medallion flat on the floor with the cross facing upwards. It glowed deep red, sending a thin red ripple out in all directions from the house.

  “Excellent,” Ariel replied, standing up and opening the front door. The ripple could be seen expanding out until it reached the tree line, where it then headed skywards. The cottage and surrounding land became engulfed in a red hue.

  “What was that?” asked David visibly impressed.

  “An alarm. When any angelic being crosses it we will be alerted. It will also make the building almost indestructible,” said Ariel, watching as the red hue faded away until it was almost invisible.

  “Let’s hope this friend you have gets back in time.”

  “Indeed.”

  Ariel and David stood side by side looking out across the deserted rain laden fields. The forest surrounding the cottage rustled violently, making all kinds of deep hallowing noises. In the cottage, Amber had assembled blades, swords and daggers across the table.

  “Sir?” asked Amber knowingly. She held a long thick silver tube which sparkled brightly.

  “Proceed,” authorised Ariel. Amber began to write an ancient enchantment into the air with the silver tube. It wasn’t easy, digging into concrete would describe it. She was effectively writing a ‘pass code’ into the surrounding area. Bright silver letters were being drawn in mid-air before sparkling out of the room in all directions quietly.

  “This will stop any angels from simply appearing within these walls, or the grounds.”

  “You’re prepared,” granted David, impressed, and for a moment felt a glimmer of hope for survival.

  “It will only last as long as the building is intact. Our battle will take place out there on the field.” Ariel never sought battle, but looking out at that field only made him wish the battle was now. He could charge out and hold the line. Angels were pre-programmed with immense fighting capabilities from physical combat to angelic special powers.

  Reminding himself that there was little time to indulge in what could be, he began to analyse the house with his angelic eyes. Seeing the structure as of basic human design and strength, a simple well aimed angelic bolt would destroy it if the protection failed. It was much more suited for a demonic war. He placed his hand high in the air and closed his eyes. He turned a full 360 degrees looking at the room. Outstretching his hand towards the floor and concentrating the room began to come to life. The floor boards broke apart then bolted back together again, much stronger. David steadied himself against a cabinet. The lights began glowing at full brightness; some didn’t even have light bulbs in them. The curtains shuddered and lengthened to the floor, albeit they were now black instead of the warm cream colours they were before. In short, the whole house seemed to creak and moan as it was strengthened from top to bottom, every nail and bolt was tightened. Ariel also informed them that he had placed a camouflage spell across the house so that nothing would be seen from aerial reconnaissance. If any demon, angel or supernatural being approached the area they would be alerted by the shield. And no light was visible from outside – it now appeared shrouded in complete darkness.

  “Ariel, how long do you think we have?” asked David, examining the small arsenal that lay in front of him. He picked up a jagged dagger and was shocked how heavy it was. Clearly made for angel hands!

  “It’s difficult to say. Assuming Pravuil isn’t caught in Rome then we should have maybe an hour. Perhaps two. It depends how long it takes them to piece together what happened at that safe house in Russia.”

  “Surely not long then;” interjected Amber.

  “Well I had agreed with Manakel before the confrontation to scramble their memories. That should give us some extra time.”

  The group congregated in the dining room, Claire was particularly fascinated with the blades. She and Amber were surprisingly able to strike up a conversation about which weapons were to be used and when. Ariel remarked to David that Amber may be an angel, but she always seemed to get on better with those humans from the female gender of the species. They eventually headed into the living room to practice some moves together; Claire had always been interested in swords even as a child, never one to play with dolls or prams, much to her mother’s trauma.

  Catherine and Mary had taken seats in the living room and Catherine was busying herself making tea and coffee for those who wanted it along with some light food. David and Ariel began discussing what Pravuil had told them and how Earth shattering it could be to the world. According to Ariel, the problem not only lay with the angelic world but humankind as well. Angels and everything associated with them were created to help administrate, guide and when required protect humankind. Humans were to flourish. Apparently there were many more incidences of angels deviating from their divine path than was ever documented by Heaven. Ariel long had his suspicions that upper management always covered up tragic incidents involving angels and humans.

  What David did not understand was the concept of Heaven, as Ariel talked about it as if it was a living creature. Ariel quickly explained it was just simple ‘lingo’ used in Heaven. He queried Ariel on other unusual concepts he yearned to comprehend. A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Ariel and Amber raced towards it, ready to strike.

  “It’s Johnny,” shouted Mary, who was in the sitting room of the cottage overlooking the fields below from the large bay window at the side. “He’s safe, an old friend. Show him in.”

  “Mary,” said Johnny, acknowledging his old friend with a simple nod. He placed the briefcase on the living room coffee table and sat down. Speaking the word “release” while waving his hand across the front of the briefcase slowly, an unlocking noise could be heard. Mary and Johnny had a deep hatred for this book within which they couldn’t even describe. The groups puzzled look began Mary explaining.

  “We discovered this many years ago, in Rome. It brought nothing but evil to our group. It looks the way it did fifty years ago,” said Mary, running her hand across the leather embossed cover. It was a large A4 sized book, bound in black leather with deep red ink used for the text. White ink used for the diagrams. It certainly made for striking contrasts. Each page was finished in a line of glittering gold and the book had no actual title. The front cover, in gold ink, simply read: Title.

  “Remember when we first found this book? We hailed it as the greatest discovery in our history. Finally a book which seemed to explain us. Then as we read on...” said Johnny. He remembered it vividly, shuttering inside.

  “The problems started,” cut in Mary, opening the book to where a gold feather had been used as a page reminder. It was in the exact spot, at the last page of her reading before her two friends, also studying the book, went crazy. Ariel was now standing beside her, looking down with an intense stare a
t the book.

  “They’re still the same you know, them two. Still the same after all this time. They haven’t been outside that basement in fifty years. You wouldn’t even recognise them now. Their hollow looking, but still have moments of pure evil,” said Johnny.

  “Are they separated?”

  “We tried that many times over the years. The last time we did they forcibly tore apart the solid concrete wall between them. They tore most of their fingers off in the process….” he tailed off, that was one gruesome memory he would rather forget.

  “Those poor girls. We warned them not to read it,” sympathised Mary, glancing over the different pages trying to get a feel for what the final chapters contained.

  “We never found out how they even got their hands on it. I never believed it just appeared in front of them one evening. Something definitely happened to them on that trip to Rome.”

  “Something always happens in that wretched city. Too much evil has polluted it over the centuries. That Vatican is even worse. My view of them was never the same after World War Two.” Mary sighed; she really was feeling her age.

  Johnny nodded in agreement. In 1959 Mary, Patrick and himself travelled to Rome on a fact-finding mission. They had been doing some research into old documents handed down to Mary. One seemed to focus on an old church in Rome where, according to the document, a cache of secret books lay buried under the altar. Trouble started as soon as they arrived though. They were arrested and detained without charge for over a week. Finally, a demon came to visit them in the cell. It was clear the small police centre was overrun with them. The demon demanded to know what they were doing here, why their ‘aura’ was off. Realising this was a demon stronghold, they blasted the barred gates of the cell and fought the demons. Patrick didn’t survive but it was then Johnny realised just how powerful Mary was, and how skilled she was at controlling and manipulating her gift. With haste they proceeded to the church described in the documents. After setting up a meeting with the local priest in charge, they were shocked to discover he too was a demon. After trying to bury them alive in the basement, they quickly took what they came for and headed back to England. Mary swore never to go back to Rome, calling it the City of Evil. They warned everyone never to go there. However, when Bridget and Bernadette came back with this book excitement reached fever-pitch. Their story went that they were in Rome and viewing a replica of the famous Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. The book apparently ‘miraculously’ appeared in front of them. That was always doubted. There were always rumours those two girls were involved in satanic like sects and the like.