From the roof of the Otonnos’ house, unseen by human eyes, Braygor and Graygor leered at Phoebe as she closed the front door behind her. They were perched on the stone chimney, crouched down and silent, and behind them were at least twenty five other demons of varying degrees of grotesqueness, all chomping at the bit in their eagerness to create chaos. But they would have to wait. As vile as they were, not one of them dared to defy Captain Schnither in this matter, and so they conceded that pretty little Miss Wren could enjoy one final day before they would mercilessly blow her world apart.
CHAPTER 30
Phoebe was glad to see her parents’ blue four by four parked in the back yard as she arrived back home. There was something reassuring about it just sitting there, and although she had every confidence in Cosain and his Heavenly comrades, she could not deny the unease rumbling around in her belly. Phoebe had been musing over her time in Africa during the short walk back from Demetrius’s house, and the more she pondered, the more certain she became that Cosain and the others had been keeping a watchful eye on her for a lot longer than she was aware. Of course, Cosain had confirmed that they were there to break her fall from the tree when she was six years old, and had steered the careering tractor away from her before she was mown down, but pennies were dropping in Phoebe’s head as she recalled events and instances that she had hitherto put down to coincidence or her eyes playing tricks on her.
Phoebe now recalled most clearly one peculiar happening from Christmas Eve in 2002, an event that had long since been committed to the annals of time. She had been seven years old and excited for Christmas Day. The Wrens always celebrated Christmas to the full, and Phoebe still loved the anticipation and the atmosphere of a Wren Christmas. On 24th December 2002, Phoebe’s parents had eventually succeeded in getting their exhausted but excited daughter to bed, but she had been way too hyper to sleep, and had instead read a few pages from her book before getting up and crossing her bedroom floor to the window. Phoebe had pulled back the curtains and looked up at the myriad of dazzling stars, and she could distinctly remember being awestruck at their brilliance. Now, however, Phoebe also recalled one particularly brilliant light that stood out amongst all the others against the black night sky. She recalled too how the ‘star’ had raised a glowing hand to wave at her before vanishing into the blackness, and how she had waved back in childish innocence at the glorious star. Of course, she wanted to tell her parents all about that star, but she had not dared leave her bedroom for fear that Santa Claus might not stop at her house, and in the midst of the wonderful frenzy of Christmas morning, Phoebe’s star was forgotten, never to be thought about again. Until now. In light of all that had taken place during the last few days, Phoebe had no doubt that her special star had in fact been one of the angelic host checking in on her. She thought that it had very probably been Trean, with his white-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, but could not be certain. Either way, she realised that the angelic guard had been with her for a very long time, and was thankful as she recalled familiar words – ‘He will command His angels to guard you in all your ways’.
Phoebe climbed the three steps up to the back door, and was just about to turn the handle and let herself in, when she heard a twig snap in the bushes beyond the fence. Phoebe felt the hair on the back of her neck bristle, and froze, hand hovering above the door handle. She heard Cosain’s words recapitulated in her head – ‘do not arouse suspicion amongst the powers of darkness’ – and summoned all her strength and will power to open the back door and enter the house without ever looking behind her. She was very aware that the Enemy would be watching every move, and had anticipated demons being stationed around her home, but the reality of duplicitous evil just beyond the family’s picket fence made her queasy to her stomach. Phoebe quickly shut and locked the back door, although it occurred to her to wonder just what good she thought locking the door would do against these monstrous creatures who seemed able to come and go at will.
“Phoebe, is that you?” Eva’s voice called from the family room, and the warmth in her tone cut through the chilled atmosphere like reassuring sunshine through fog.
“Yes Mum, it’s me, I’ve been at Demetrius’s all afternoon.”
“Is he all geared up to go?” asked Eva, as she walked from the family room into the kitchen where her daughter was still standing. “Oh, are you okay Honey? You look a bit pale.”
“Yeah, I’m okay, just tired, it’s been a busy day! And yes, Demetrius is packed and ready. I told him we’d collect him at about 8:30am – that’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Perfect,” smiled Eva. “You’re just on time Phoebs, I’m just about to serve dinner. Can you go and call your Dad while I dish up?”
“Sure Mum,” smiled Phoebe, whose jittery nerves were settling with every minute she spent near her parents. She went out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her father’s study. The door was open, and she could see Jack sitting at his desk. The small desk lamp was lit, and Phoebe saw that Jack was looking through some old photographs.
“Hey Dad,” she said as she entered the room and walked over to where her father was sitting.
“Hi Honey,” Jack smiled, looking up from his photos. “I just found these under the desk, they almost got left behind!”
He held up a small bunch of photographs, some were dog-eared and bent, but Phoebe could make out pictures of herself as a tiny baby, and of Jack and Eva standing in front of the foundations of Medical Miracles Hospital with Julius and Theodora Kwanga. They looked so young and full of hope, and Phoebe smiled at the images before her. There was Eva looking little more than a teenager, but her trademark fiery red hair was instantly recognisable.
“Wow,” she said quietly, “That’s a while ago, eh Dad?”
“Yep,” concurred Jack, “The photos of Julius and Teddy were taken in 1991. And that’s you the year you were born – 1995.” He smiled but his kind eyes looked distant and a little sad. “We’ve had some great times here, eh Phoebs? And we were blessed to know some really great people,” he added with just a hint of melancholy in his voice.
“You’re right, Dad,” said Phoebe. “I’m so thankful for all that I’ve got to experience here. But it’s gonna be so good to be home again… although if we don’t go for dinner now Mum’s gonna whoop our butts!”
Phoebe winked at Jack, and gave her dad a quick hug and the two of them descended the stairs and took their seats for the final time around the family’s dinner table. Eva served their food, then sat down beside Jack, who gave thanks before the family tucked into their meal.
Phoebe knew that her parents were tired – it had been a busy couple of days for them all – and before bed, she made sure that she helped tidy up after dinner, and offered her assistance for any last minute jobs that needed done.
“Thanks Phoebe, but I think we’ve got it,” yawned Eva. “You go get some sleep, it’s going to be a long and tiring day tomorrow. Dad and I will be up to bed too very soon.”
“Okay Mamma, thanks for dinner. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight Honey,” replied Jack and Eva, almost in unison, and they smiled at each other as their daughter climbed the stairs to bed for the last time in Africa.
Phoebe rolled into bed, and exhaustion hit her like a tidal wave. Within two minutes, she was sound asleep, and entirely oblivious to the red eyes that were peering in through the crack in her bedroom curtains.
CHAPTER 31
FRIDAY 16th JULY
JOHANNESBURG, AFRICA
“Wakey wakey, rise and shine!” Jack Wren’s voice called up the stairs and stirred Phoebe from her slumber. He sounded excited, like a kid at Christmas, and the thought made Phoebe smile. She yawned, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up as she allowed the realisation of the significance of this new day to impact on her.
“It’s today!” Phoebe said out loud to nobody in particular. “It’s actually today!” As the realisation of the implications of this day dawned on her, Phoebe was suddenly wide awake, a
nd bounced out of bed. This was the day that she, Demetrius and her parents would make the long trip home to Ireland. This was the day that Cosain and the other Heavenly warriors would surprise the Enemy and engage the powers of darkness in an epic battle of good versus evil. But this was also the day after yesterday, which meant that history had not repeated itself, and Phoebe’s parents’ lives had not ended tragically on Thursday 15th July. This hurtling train of thought raced through Phoebe’s mind with such velocity that she had to hold on to the end of her bed to steady herself. She couldn’t decide whether to dance for joy, weep with excitement, or shudder in fear, and in the end she did something that was a blend of all three.
Phoebe crossed the floor and pulled open her bedroom curtains. The fact that this was the last morning she would wake up in beautiful Africa did not escape her, and she paused deliberately at the window, drinking in the breathtaking view, and trying desperately to commit every minute detail to memory. She would miss this place, there was no doubt – the sunshine, the warm and friendly locals, the birds and rabbits and lizards – but she believed that what lay ahead of her in Ireland would match and even exceed the life she had known here in Africa.
Phoebe took one last wistful look before turning away from the window. She started to move towards her bedroom door, when something made her pause and look back through the window. She was not sure what she had expected to see, but nothing had changed, so she went downstairs to have breakfast with her parents.
Just outside Phoebe’s window, Braygor and Graygor had narrowly avoided detection, and were hanging below the windowsill by the tips of their gnarled fingers.
“I told you she would look round again, you dimwit!” snarled Graygor at his twin.
“You did not! It was you who insisted on getting closer! Numbskull!” retorted Braygor, who was desperately clinging on despite the burning cramps that had beset his twisted little arms.
“This is not something we can afford to mess up, brother!” snapped Graygor. “Captain Schnither will have our hides if we do! You need to be more careful!”
“Me? Me?” hissed Braygor. “You’re the completely unreliable idiotic one, not me! You need to be more careful!” He kicked out at his diminutive brother, catching him in the ribs and causing him to squeal out in pain.
“Ouch!” yelled Graygor, as he attempted to return the blow with his clenched right fist. The manoeuvre did not go to plan however, and Graygor lost his grip on the window sill, grabbing desperately on to his twin in an attempt to stop his fall, but succeeding only in sending them both tumbling to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs and leathery black wings.
“Now look what you’ve done!” shouted Braygor. “I knew I should have scouted this house out on my own!”
“Oh shut up you little pest!” retorted Graygor. “Let’s just get on with our mission before we lose the girl completely. Now can you be quiet?! She’ll hear us if you’re not careful!”
Braygor was obviously not amused, and hissed his disapproval at his still snarling twin, but he knew that Graygor was right, and sulkily agreed to get back to the job at hand. As the two impish little monsters crept round the side of the Wrens’ house, Braygor was sporting a limp, although it was entirely possible that his pride hurt more than his bruised backside. They skulked along the exterior walls until they reached the kitchen, then Graygor clambered on to Braygor’s shoulders and peeped over the windowsill and into the kitchen, where Phoebe and her parents were having breakfast.
The Wrens were sleepy from their early start, but all three were excited and expectant about their return home, and their conversation over breakfast was animated and vivacious as a result. Breakfast was a fairly hasty affair, and in truth no-one was very hungry, so after a quick slice of toast, Phoebe darted back upstairs to grab her bags. Most of the family’s furniture and the larger household items were being left in Africa, and Jack had asked that Esau oversee their distribution to whoever might need them. Other bits and pieces had been shipped back to Uncle John and Aunt Kate’s house in Loister, Ireland, during the last few weeks, and would be waiting for the Wrens when they got home. As she lugged her suitcases down the stairs, Phoebe was glad that her father had been so organised and meticulous – any more to carry today would have rendered their trip mission impossible!
“Right ladies,” said Jack, who was standing by the front door with his backpack slung over his shoulder. “Is that everything?”
“Yep,” said Phoebe. “This is all my stuff.”
“And mine is in the Jeep,” said Eva, stifling an enormous yawn.
“Okay then, this is it!” exclaimed Jack, and he smiled at Eva and Phoebe. “Come on now girls, we definitely don’t want to miss that flight, and we’ve got to pick up Demetrius en route.”
“Okay Mr. On-Time, let’s do this!” replied Eva, and she picked up her hand luggage off the bottom stair, put an arm around Phoebe’s shoulder, took one last look at the house that had been home to her and her family for the last ten years, then stepped out through the front door into whatever the future might hold for her.
Jack waited until his wife and daughter had exited the house, then he too took a quick last look, and pulled the front door closed behind him. He locked the door and pocketed the key.
“Remind me to give this to Esau,” he asked Eva, patting the back pocket of his blue jeans.
Jack, Eva and Phoebe walked over to the family’s Jeep, where Jack slung Phoebe’s case into the trunk along with his and Eva’s cases, then climbed into the driver’s seat, started the engine and pulled out through the gateway and onto the road towards Demetrius’s house.
Phoebe spun around in the back seat, and watched as the house she had known as home faded into the horizon. She felt a sudden pang of sadness mixed with apprehension, but immediately and deliberately pushed these down and opted instead to focus on her joy and excitement and hope for the future. Phoebe smiled contentedly to herself, and whispered a silent prayer of thanks for ten amazing years in Africa, and the security and protection she and her family had known during that time.
Unseen by Phoebe, Braygor and Graygor had take to the air and followed the Wrens out through their gate, and were currently tailing their Jeep from a safe distance. The twisty little demons’ eyes were glinting with scarcely contained glee at the thought of the misery and devastation that this day would bring, and neither could wait to see just what Captain Schnither had in store for the do-gooders.
“Braygor, stay close, don’t let them out of your sight! I must report back to Captain Schnither and let him know that the target is on the move.” Graygor barked the order at his belligerent twin, who ordinarily would have needed no further excuse to start an argument, but on this occasion Braygor merely nodded his consent and put an inch to his step, determined not to lose sight of the Wrens for even a second.
Graygor pulled back, and with a swoosh of his black leathery wings, propelled himself skyward, then shot off into the horizon in the direction of the Mooar Mountain like a gruesome parody of Peter Pan returning to Never Never Land.
CHAPTER 32
Phoebe and her parents arrived at the Otonnos’ home within minutes, and Jack barely had time to turn off the ignition before Phoebe had jumped out of the Jeep and was running towards the front door. She bounded up the steps and on to the front porch, by which time an equally excited Demetrius had appeared out through the front door, leaving a bemused Esau to trail his packed to capacity suitcase out on to the porch.
Phoebe and Demetrius, sporting matching grins, greeted each other with a huge bear hug. “Can you believe it’s actually today, Dem?” gasped Phoebe. “Can you believe it’s really happening?”
“I know, Bird,” beamed Demetrius, “Who would ever have thought this could happen?”
“Good morning guys,” Jack called to Esau and Martha, who had joined her husband on the front porch, as he and Eva got out of their Jeep and walked towards their friends. “These are for you, Esau,” said Jack, reaching his fr
iend the keys of the Wren’s depleted home. “And this is the spare key for the Jeep, I’ll leave it in car park D at the airport so it’s easy to find for you, okay? Big day, eh?”
“Yes,” said Martha, with more than just a hint of sadness in her voice. “A very big day for us all.”
“Aww, Aunt Martha,” soothed Demetrius, “Don’t be sad, I’ll be in touch all the time, I promise.”
“I know, Honey,” smiled Martha, as her eyes flooded with tears, and Esau came over and wrapped a comforting arm around his wife’s shoulders. Behind them, Bessie, Jacob and Grace had ventured out on to the porch. Jacob and Grace were too young to fully comprehend what was happening, and they toddled off to play ball, but seven year old Bessie was a sensitive child anyway, and the thought of losing her honorary ‘big brother’ was too much for her and she stood silently weeping behind her mother, whose skirt she was clutching tightly.
“Come here, Bessie,” coaxed Demetrius. “Come on, don’t be shy.”
A timid and tearful Bessie stepped out cautiously from behind her mother, and shuffled slowly over to Demetrius. He knelt down in front of the upset little girl, and hugged her tight. Jacob and Grace rushed over when they saw their sister with Demetrius, and he hugged them both too. Satisfied that they had gotten their share of the cuddles, Jacob and Grace ran off to play, and Demetrius turned again to Bessie.
“Here, Bessie, this is for you,” Demetrius said gently as he held out his hand to his little cousin. Bessie tentatively put out her small hand, and Demetrius set a tiny silver cross on a fine chain in her palm. Bessie’s pretty face lit up as if all her birthdays had come at once, and she threw her arms around Demetrius’s neck.
“You wear this, Bessie and every time you touch it you can think of me and know that I’ll be thinking of you. Deal?”
Bessie nodded slowly, and wiped her eyes. “Thank you, Dem,” she said in her sweet childish voice. “I’ll wear it all the time, it’s so pretty. Dem,” she hesitated. “I love you lots, and I’m gonna miss you.” Her eyes welled up with tears again, and Demetrius cuddled his little cousin a final time and whispered, “I love you too, Bessie,” in her ear.
Phoebe Wren and the Vortex of Light Page 12
