Father Dagrun was in the kitchen of course; his helpers had no idea what they were doing according to him. Supervision was necessary. Father Jacques and Father Andrew were in the library organizing the card index and returning to a more normal state of verbal warfare that Jacob was trying to ignore. Father Lemoine, who had spent so much time in the armory, understood that he still had a few misplaced items, ones that no longer belonged here but in a more proper place of exhibition, the study. He had brought a few of the more infamous weapons that played such a large part in the events of late. Here they would receive proper reverence in the place where all things have a history. Father Donovan, well he was everywhere all the time. Not many of the monks could keep up with him and seldom could place the wily old monk, with many thinking that he merely appeared out of thin air.
Jessica was having a wonderful time watching, as many of the last pieces were being fixed into their place, the magnificence of the great window showing in all of its glory once again. A few monks also watched as the two workmen made the last connections secure. The light of the rising sun hit the multicolored glass pieces and made a rainbow on the floor for everyone, and Jessica was thankful she was not a vampire so she could witness the great show that was going on for her now. The only other part of that was her wish that Sebastian could be here to witness something so magnificent, but he was vanquished to only seeing the day in its very early or very late stages. This magnificent show would be his death.
The workmen and everyone around were cleaning up, gathering tools and supplies while they enjoyed the newly refurbished window that was ringed with figures and their tales, while the center was one large clear oval, an absolute masterpiece. The monks were a very messy bunch, with things of all sorts strewn about the room. Jessica was amazed at how they ever kept up with anything. As she gathered the tools she saw the light dim and wondered who was next to her. She stood up to see no one but looked out the great window and smirked at the fact that bad weather might be coming in, as clouds were passing in the sky.
With their task nearly complete, Jessica once again frowned at the darkening sky; she hated cloudy days and especially rainy afternoons that would ruin any outdoor activities she had either planned or not planned—it didn’t matter. The workmen left to put up their belongings and Jessica was about to leave as her brother ran into the room. She had not seen him for what seemed like an eternity, what with all of his new toys.
Jacob came up next to her in the center of the hall and looked out the window. She looked at her brother with the most perplexed expression and he looked back at her without giving anything away, except his smile that was from ear to ear. She really hated her brother sometimes, and their silent communication thing was not working in this particular situation. So she asked.
“What?”
Jacob was still smiling, but now he was shaking his head, trying his best to rile his sister. What was worse, she thought—clouds and rain on a beautiful day or her dumb prank-playing brother purposely making her mood worse? Her mood continued to get poorer as the clouds and her brother’s grin were taking more hold over what had once been a very bright and cheerful day.
Jacob was having too much fun and figured he would wait till she was about to burst before he told her anything. The only thing he did for moments at a time was to look from her to the window and back again. When finally he knew she was about to use some new methods of attack and restraint on him that Father Matthew had conveniently taught her, he submitted.
“Can’t you figure it out? You’re the big puzzle-solver; don’t you see what is happening?”
Jessica looked at him. When he turned she looked out the great window he kept turning to; she could see the sun rising, coming close to its lunchtime high and the cloud that had started to so cover its surface. How very odd it seemed. No other clouds were in the sky except for the one. She looked back to her oh-so-happy brother. Jacob was through with her lack of enthusiasm for his new hobby. He knew he would have to explain everything to her.
“Don’t you see? We are almost in the middle of a total eclipse of the sun.”
“It’s not a cloud?” Jessica asked, confused.
“No, it’s not a cloud. In a total solar eclipse, the moon traverses in between the earth and the sun for a short while. Total solar eclipses are rare, and you’re lucky if you are in the right place on the earth to get a view of one,” Jacob explained with his newly acquired knowledge.
Jessica thought about it, and something dawned on her as she looked at the sun that was coming close now to being covered completely—or as her brother was trying to explain to her, the point of totality that usually only lasts for about 60 to 120 seconds. She thought of only one other person whom she would want to share this moment with—a very rare moment, a fleeting moment that would come and go in a blink of an eye.
With that thought she ran toward the hallway she traveled down every day, and on her way she passed Father Donovan, who was entering the room to inspect the finished work. He smiled to see her so happy and bouncy again. She made her way down and down until she reached the door. No knocking required, she barged in and found Sebastian still reading. He was almost too engrossed to notice her entrance. Jessica grabbed the book from his hands and demanded his attention.
“You have to come now!” she blurted out.
“What are you talking about? Go where?”
“You have to come now, no time to explain. It’ll be over before we can get there if I have to explain,” Jessica continued.
“I don’t know where you want me to go, but I can’t leave here and you know it. It’s almost the middle of the day,” Sebastian stated. Jessica rolled her eyes and knew she would have to explain.
“There is a total solar eclipse that is about to happen at any moment. You can see it from the Great Hall. Don’t you see? You can go out in the middle of the day for only but a few moments. I wanted to share this moment with you, a vampire standing in the glory of the sun in the middle of the day.”
Sebastian looked at her and was trying to understand everything she said when it hit him. Nothing, not even the sun’s rays that had struck his back on that day he returned to the monastery with Father Matthew in his arms, hit him so hard. He could not believe what he was hearing, and he could not believe how stupid he had been.
Sebastian looked down at the books laid out in front of him, and the story was told like the pictures that had finally been put together and made sense. Before him he had Constance’s book with a list of dates over the centuries. At the top was a circle that was filled in dark. The time down to the second occurred rarely over great spans of time; and then there were the unknown myths that he had been trying somehow to make sense of, and one stood out to him—he looked down at the page and the title seared his brain.
“The Vampire Minute.”
Then all of the stories made sense to him, the ones he had so eagerly told everyone, about the warnings of vampires, their obsession with astronomy and Mother Moon and how on those occasions when the moon graced the day, how terrible vampires were at these times, not to be messed with. At these times they were at their worst, and empires and civilizations had experienced dramatic and unknown changes overnight. These were the stories and myths that now came together in absolute horror … and it was happening now.
Sebastian looked up at Jessica and he knew he had no time to explain his confused and horrified expression to her. He leapt up out of his chair and lunged for the door. He ran up the stairs and the visions that came to his head seemed unimaginable but also too real. Making the corridor that slowly angled up, Sebastian wondered if he would be too late. Jessica, who had almost been too startled and nearly knocked over by Sebastian, did the best she could to catch up.
The Grand Staircase Hall, the room of all things and all events, was slowly being bathed in darkness as the moon made its way over the face of the sun. Jacob stood in awe of the spectacle, sharing his experience with Father Donovan and most of the others w
ho were present and joined by Father Jacques and Father Andrew, who only knew about it because of Jacob finding the information on the Internet. Jacob looked around, wondering why his sister had not returned. They waited for the moment, the point of totality when all of the sun’s direct light would be blocked.
Sebastian saw the doorway ahead of him and noted how the light was slowly disappearing before his very eyes. He cared not for those remaining rays, how they could hurt someone who only cared for others, who were in danger they could not comprehend. No hesitation came from him; he ran freely into the great expanse of the Grand Staircase Hall and as soon as he made his entrance, the pain came. The last rays of the sun still edged around his protector, Mother Moon and they beat down on him with so many arrows. You think you see a ray of sunlight as it beams through a window, but what you’re actually seeing is thousands of rays of light that are too fine to perceive. Sebastian saw them, saw them for the first time in over two hundred years. But seeing them wasn’t the problem. Feeling them is quite a different experience. That army of fire ants returned in force and rushed over his body like a wave of water; then they were gone.
Everyone had turned after they heard the muffled cry that came from Sebastian as he entered. Horrified, they wondered why, why on earth would he come into the hall now? Sebastian fell to his knees, blackened from head to toe. His smoldering body wracked in pain and they watched as he tried to speak to them.
“They’re coming.”
Everyone was making their way over to him, but only Father Donovan had gleaned what Sebastian was trying to warn about. Even he was not heeding the warning, given the condition of his friend. That’s when the sound came, stone on stone, a great grating sound of something massive moving. Sebastian saw it first, then Father Donovan, whose keen sense caught the change on his friend’s face that matched the noise behind him. That was all he needed to know.
From behind everyone, one of the largest stones forming the base of the Grand Staircase moved to the side, revealing darkness that outdid the eclipse. That darkness spread like an airborne plague that corrupted the room. Forms emerged from that hole, and before anyone knew it, everyone was being set upon by ones they had not seen the moment before.
Jessica entered the room when the full horror was being realized. She saw Sebastian, whom she barely recognized, coming to aid his friends as he himself was attempting to recover from the blast of sunlight. Most were being toyed with as their attackers reveled in their grandest moment, mocking the great window and the sun that was being trumped by their protector, Mother Moon. Jessica grabbed the largest tool she could find and ran towards her brother. The thing saw her and waited, holding Jacob by the throat like a plaything ready to be destroyed. She gave it her best swing, but the thing anticipated and moved too fast for her and batted her away.
Sebastian saw and understood that the ones here were powerful, too powerful—these were the ones Baldric had come for. If this were going to be the end, he thought, then it would be a great one. He concentrated, and he faded. Father Donovan was on the floor, held down by one who knew his prize; even though he burned to the touch he held him, making his torment last until he was ready. Sebastian thought otherwise—he reappeared behind him, grabbed his head before he could leave his mark and threw him across the floor into two others, sending them all onto the floor. The very thankful librarians found their feet and some weapons as they fired up the welding torch and set rags aflame, their obsession with fire revealed again.
Jacob struggled in the grasp of his attacker but the only thing he could move were his eyes, and from the corner of those eyes he could see the ones getting closer to him. The vampire’s red eyes then closed and he felt the piercing of his neck.
Sebastian turned to his young friend and saw that his fate was becoming a dim one. This was not a fate he wanted another one of his friends to endure, not today. He flashed across the room and silently asked Jacob to forgive him when he bowled over the two, sending all parties flying. Jacob landed in a heap and his sister found him, and the two fire-loving monks made their way to them. Sebastian stood waiting as the vampire arose as if it had no legs and came his way. Sebastian made no attempts to move as the thing grabbed him by the throat, meaning to pinch his head from his body. Sebastian knew the weak spot, the chest with the heart, and there he sent his hand with all of his might and grabbed that heart inside and wrenched it from its chest. It fell like wet sand to the floor.
With Father Donovan on the floor and the twins being circled by one only held off weakly by the fire-toting librarians, Sebastian made his way over to Father Donovan. His very presence threatened one away from his mentor and friend. Sebastian looked to see if his friend still lived. Father Donovan opened his eyes lightly and smiled. All things were not good though; Sebastian turned to see the protective fire of his friends batted away and everyone thrown to the floor.
The news was not getting any better. Time was passing and the point of totality was almost over, lasting a mere ninety seconds. The sun was beginning to show its true colors again. Every vampire in the room could sense the coming dawn, and the fiends wrenched Jacob and Jessica from the hands of the monks and were making their way to their dark hole.
Sebastian’s hopes and dreams began to fade as he saw the struggle of his two friends and could not imagine what fate would wait for them at the bottom of that darkness. He ran towards them; the odds were bad, but he would not give up. He had never given up a fight and he would not start now. He still had friends around him, and that was all he needed.
He reached the group as they made the side of the staircase and grabbed on to the bodies of the twins, giving all that he had. They were lucky they were in the shadow of the Grand Staircase because just then the sun peeked out in dramatic fashion, bathing the room in bright rays of golden glory. This did not help him in his struggle, and his friends were ill equipped to be able to help.
Father Donovan was getting to his feet again; he too would not give up. This was noticed by one of the vampires, who wasn’t about to have the holy man ruin their moment out of the sun. It made sure to stay within the shadow of the staircase, which is where the old and battered monk realized he stood just an arm’s length from the coming light.
Sebastian held the twins somewhere between the room and the darkness that was pulling them in. The battle over them he feared might actually tear the two in half. He would not let go, and he would not give in.
Father Donovan reached inside his robe while he measured the approach of the foul thing with fiery eyes and a wretched smile. Then he pulled his favorite trinket from inside his vest and held it out to the rays of the sun. The cross he had sworn to carry from now on was a beautiful thing, made with solid silver edges and filled in completely with the clearest of crystal that was faceted in a thousand ways. When the cross entered the light, the whole room was engulfed in a myriad of tiny rays of light, finding every corner.
The vampire coming his way screamed in agony and went up in flames instantly, like it had been doused with gasoline. But in the struggle at the stairs everyone felt the effects as well; only the twins were safe, but blinded as they caught sight of the light-giving trinket. The howls and screams filled the room, adding to the chaos. Sebastian alone felt those effects less; he still reeled in pain, but the others burned, their limbs erupting in flames as they struggled over their spoils. That pain became unbearable, and they released their grip on Jacob and Jessica. In that reversal of pull they flew into the room over Sebastian, and he fell to the floor, spent from the effect of the sun and the struggle.
Father Donovan saw the give in the tug of war and the twins hurled to the floor away from the immediate danger. Father Donovan was moving as fast as he could to the twins and the stairs as the twins instinctively began to move away from what just seconds ago had been their future home. In that flash, in that split second after they hit the floor, they turned to see if anything still hunted them. They saw Sebastian on his knees, a blackened version of h
imself with eyes of brilliant sparkling blue shining … and then arms reached out from the darkness, wrapping around his beaten body and pulling him into that abyss. The multitude of sounds that erupted combined in a symphony of horror. Jacob and Jessica simultaneously saw the look in Sebastian’s eyes that alone told the story he was too tired to voice. Father Donovan let out his own helpless plea of disbelief. Everything else was being drowned out by the sound of that grating stone that was quickly closing, a stone that could only be described as being many men thick.
Sebastian held on briefly with a hand but soon that too was gone, into the darkness that soon was not there because the doorway had been sealed, with no sign of entrance.
The room had gone from serenity to chaos and back to serenity in a moment so quick the brain would not normally register its significance. This moment, however, would be inscribed deep into the minds of all present. The beautiful light played over everyone present, everyone strewn across the floor like a bomb had gone off. Jessica alone seemed to have the gift of movement as she made her way over to the wicked stairs. She moved to the great stone and she rested her head against its harsh surface, seeking some mental link with it. No answer came to her mental barrage, and her fingers searched for those edges that before seemed loose and disconnected. She ground her nails into them but the groove seemed nothing more than a slight indentation, not one that separated two stones from another. With no more strength left in her, she slid down its side and stared into the room, a room with so many people and things she held in her heart, but her heart was still empty—a great void that swallowed her from within, a void that could only be filled with one thing—Sebastian.
chapter FORTY-THREE
THERE IS NOTHING IN THE WORLD that can prepare you for what is to come, and everyone in the quiet monastery now had an understanding of this simple fact. If they had never learned this in their short lives yet, they now had been given that hard lesson over and over, and they would never forget. It is not the easy things that stick with you, just the ones that take you to the breaking point and beyond; metal that is not stressed is never tested.
saint Sebastian the Rose Page 39
