The Celtic Symbol

by V M Jones

  “Next time you see us we’ll be with Tevan and Father Fahey,” said Dr. Ryan as he placed a hand on Patrick’s shoulder.

  “Please stay put,” added Dr. McNamara with a nod.

  Patrick nodded back as the two men made their way to the supply room door and disappeared into the soldiers’ hall, closing the door behind them.

  They were hoping they wouldn’t encounter any more guards. Even though they had a disguise they were concerned that they would be discovered. They tilted their helmets a little lower over their eyes to try to conceal themselves. There were several guards relaxing in the room but they were busy talking and drinking. They didn’t pay much attention to the two as they moved towards the east door to the kitchen area. They could hear laughing and normal conversations as they left the hall and into the kitchen.

  The kitchen was almost empty except for a few men leaning against the wall. The two continued walking through the room unnoticed.

  “I don’t like this,” whispered Dr. McNamara with concern in his voice. “I’m sure someone is going to recognize that we aren’t guards.”

  “Have a little faith my friend,” said Dr. Ryan with a smile. “It has to work or we’re in big trouble.”

  The next leg of the rescue was the most critical. They had to get past the well room and into the dungeon without being recognized or they would have no chance of rescuing Tevan and Father Fahey. Both Dr. Ryan and Dr. McNamara had the small dart guns strapped to their sides under their shirts in case they encountered any of the guards. They took a deep breath and headed through the passageway into the well room.

  Two guards were coming up the stairs of the northwest tower. They were busy talking and barely noticed Dr. McNamara and Dr. Ryan. The two would be rescuers stood at the entrance to the dungeon and looked down the stairway. They looked at each other, took a deep breath and headed down the stairs.

  At the bottom of the stairs, they encountered the dungeon guards. One of the guards was seated at a small table and seemed startled to see the two enter the dungeon.

  “What are you two doing here?” he asked staring at them.

  Dr. Ryan thought quickly. “We’re reporting on the northwest tower,” he replied looking down to try to keep his face hidden.

  The guard looked at the two suspiciously.

  “I’ll take you to Faelan,” he responded as he turned to go down the hallway.

  He motioned to Dr. McNamara and Dr. Ryan to follow him. He led them down the dungeon hallway passed the three prison cells. The two rescuers made mental notes of the rooms as they passed them.

  As they passed the middle cell door they heard numerous voices. Dr. Ryan thought he heard one of the captives mention the name Prince Nuallan. As they passed the last prison door, they recognized a voice belonging to Father Fahey. He seemed to be talking to a young man.

  “In here,” said the guard as he motioned them into the end room.

  As soon as they entered he shut the door behind them.

  “Faelan” he calmly said, “I have a report for you.”

  “What’s the report?” she asked as she looked at the two guards suspiciously.

  “Here are two more prisoners,” he said pointing to the two. “I have been down here for a long time and I can recognize the face of every soldier. These two I don’t recognize. There speech also gave them away.”

  Both Dr. Ryan and Dr. McNamara felt their heart sink. This was not going as planned. They did get as far as the dungeon but were now compromised.

  “So we have more guests from the living world,” said Faelan with a slight smile.

  Dr. Ryan leaned slightly over to Dr. McNamara.

  “Follow my lead,” he whispered.

  Dr. Ryan pulled his hand out from under his shirt. He aimed the dart gun at the neck of the captain and pulled the trigger, the captain staggered and dropped to the ground. Dr. Ryan kicked him out of the way of the door and pulled the door open. He jumped out into the hallway with Dr. McNamara behind him. They sprinted down the hallway with the intent of getting to the stairway and back to the well room.

  As they ran passed the last prison door, they ran into a solid obstacle and fell to the floor. It was a three-faced stone man.

  “Sorry” said the stone man to Dr. McNamara and Dr. Ryan. “Aye we sorry,” said a second face. “You should let me lead next time,” said a third face.

  The stone man reached down and picked up the two men and set them on the other side of him.

  “Stop them!” yelled Faelan from the door of the potion room.

  Dr. Ryan and Dr. McNamara tried to run away but felt a stone hand enclose around their bodies.

  “Bring them to me,” commanded Faelan pointing to herself.

  The stone man carried the two struggling men to the potion room. Faelan took off the head gear of both men.

  “You are the two who have been wandering around the castle for the past several days. I have your priest friend,” she said.

  She looked over the two men as the stone man set them down.

  “So you want to rescue the lad. Too bad you won’t be of any help now,” she said with a sneer. “What kind of sleeping spell did you use on the captain?” she asked as she looked at the unconscious man on the floor. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Dr. Sean Ryan and this is Dr. Liam McNamara,” he answered calmly.

  “We have modern magic that is more powerful than yours,” added Dr. McNamara defiantly.

  “We shall see,” countered Faelan with a faint smile. “So you are physicians?” she asked curiously.

  “More like magicians,” said Dr. McNamara as he glanced over at Dr. Ryan.

  This seemed to startle Faelan for a few seconds. She shook her head then said, “Thanks to you and your group, you opened a window to the real world and provided us the bodies we need. Now we can enter the real world and rule the kingdom. Soon we will conquer all the other kingdoms.”

  “Things have changed since you’ve been gone. Kingdoms aren’t quite the same as you remember them. The other kingdoms have superior weapons now,” responded Dr. McNamara with a smile.

  “It doesn’t matter. I have spells and incantations that can overcome any army,” replied Faelan arrogantly.

  “You’re overly confident,” said Dr. Ryan glaring at her.

  She angrily turned to Dr. Ryan and said, “You don’t know who you are dealing with. You underestimate my power. I control everything here.”

  “If that’s true, then why are you in the netherworld,” countered Dr. Ryan crossing his arms.

  Faelan ignored his comment and replied, “You thought you could outsmart me by placing a protective shield to cover the loophole. Even though it shut me off from the real world, I still have you and your group. Every time you entered the castle, you were beyond the protection of the symbols. You were vulnerable to my power. Whatever magic you used to stop my demons, you still lost. I have captured all of you. Soon I will be out of this place.”

  “You’re arrogant,” said Dr. Ryan defiantly. “Maybe that’s why Dubhshlaine was so easily seduced by you.”

  Faelan hit Dr. Ryan across the face.

  “Dubhshlaine came to me!” she screamed as she stood face to face and gestured with her hands. “He thirsted for power and knew I could give it to him. He came to me and sought my companionship. He said he loved me. I wanted to make him king so I could be his queen. But when I gave him the kingdom, he rejected me and asked that weak Caoimhe to be his queen. She refused and yet he still rejected me. All he loves is power. He is obsessed with it. He thinks he’s the one going to take over the kingdom when we get out of here but he’s in for a surprise. I have convinced him that the lad’s body was the best choice for him. The lad was young and King Dubhshlaine could rule longer with a younger body. I’m going to choose a strong, older body. That way I can overpower and destroy the king once we enter the real world. Then I will rule all the kingdoms. The real world will pay for what they did to me.”

  “So all of this
is about revenge and love scorned,” said Dr. McNamara shaking his head.

  “You know nothing,” she screamed back at him. “I have put up with this for centuries. Soon I will be free and all will bow down to me.”

  Faelan’s face was red with anger. She turned away from the two new prisoners and faced the stone man.

  “Three-face, throw them in with the priest and the boy,” Faelan commanded dismissing them with her hand.

  The stone man grabbed the two men and bent down to exit the potion room. One of the guards opened the door to the prison room next door. The stone man bent down to see into the prison room and tossed the two would-be guards into the room. They raised their heads from the floor to see Father Fahey running towards them.

  “Are you alright?” asked the priest.

  “I’m fine,” said Dr. Ryan as he got to his feet.

  “Me too,” said Dr. McNamara brushing the dirt off of his clothes.

  “I have the lad here with me,” said the priest pointing to the corner of the room.

  The two new prisoners looked where Father Fahey was pointing. There sat Tevan.

  “See, I told you that we would be rescued,” said Father Fahey trying to cheer up the lad.

  Then he turned back towards them with a puzzled look and asked, “This is part of your plan, right?”

  “Well, not exactly,” responded Dr. Ryan sheepishly.

  “We made it to the dungeon as we had planned but didn’t intend on getting caught,” said Dr. McNamara with a defeated look.

  “Did you make contact with Prince Nuallan?” asked Dr. Ryan hoping to salvage the rescue.

  Before Father Fahey could speak, a voice answered from the corner wall.

  “He sure did,” said the voice confidently. “I am Prince Nuallan.

  Dr. Ryan walked over to the wall. He could see a face through the hole in the wall.

  “Nice to meet you Prince,” said Dr. Ryan as he reached to shake his hand. “We hoped you would help us in rescuing this lad.”

  “Father Fahey has already explained why you’re here and what you intend to do,” said the prince with a nod.

  “Our rescue hasn’t gone exactly as planned, but we have some shields and swords stashed in the supply room near the northeast tower,” said Dr. Ryan pointing in the direction of the tower.

  “Good,” said the prince. “As I told Father Fahey, we aren’t exactly prisoners here like the king and Faelan think. There are various secret passageways through the castle that only I and my soldiers are aware of. I can send a small group to the northeast tower and retrieve the weapons.”

  “Our capture is going to make it harder to meet the time constraints. At least Patrick will be able to get back if we fail,” said Dr. Ryan reflecting on their current situation.

  “My Da is here?” asked Tevan as his eyes lit up.

  “Aye he is. He insisted on helping save you,” said Dr. McNamara encouraging the lad.

  “Prince, do the passageways go to all parts of the castle?” asked Dr. Ryan.

  “Aye, there are corridors within the perimeter walls although they are very narrow,” answered the prince.

  Suddenly, the door to the room began to creak open. The men turned towards the door in unison. Prince Nuallan quickly shoved the stone back into place on the wall. King Dubhshlaine and Faelan entered the room.

  “So we have more guests. This does give us some options I suppose,” he said to Faelan clasping his hands together.

  “True but there is always room for one more,” said Faelan with a sly smile.

  She and the king turned and left. Soon another man was tossed into the room. The door of the prison slammed shut.

  As he turned over, he looked at the others in the room and whispered, “Sorry.” It was Patrick.

  “Da!” yelled Tevan as he stood up.

  He moved quickly towards his father even though he was still tethered to the wall. Patrick ran to Tevan and embraced him.

  “Tevan, we’ve been so worried about you. How are you?” He asked excitedly.

  “I’m ok. Father Fahey has been helping me,” replied Tevan as he glanced towards the priest.

  “We’re here to get you out of here and back home,” said Patrick smiling at the boy. “Although I’m not sure how we are going to do it now.”

  Patrick looked up at the others.

  “Patrick, what did you do with the rope?” asked Dr. McNamara with a worried look.

  “I heard pounding footsteps coming my way so I made sure it was still attached to the iron torch. I put a knot in the end of the rope so it should stay put without pulling through the portal. When I peered around the tower wall, a three-faced stone man grabbed me. There wasn’t much I could do,” explained Patrick with an apologetic look.

  “You did the right thing,” said Dr. Ryan re-assuring him. “That rope is our only communication with the living world. I’m glad it’s intact.”

  “So what are we going to do now?” asked Patrick as he put his arm around Tevan.

  “It’s just going to be a minor change of plans,” said Dr. Ryan confidently. “Prince Nuallan, are you still there?” he asked.

  “Aye, and I heard every word,” responded the prince as he removed the stone in the wall.

  “Let’s talk strategy, but first you need to know the whole plan. We must get ourselves and the lad back to the northeast tower. There is a portal back to the living world there. We also want to get you, Caoimhe and the rest of your men back through the portal and out of the netherworld,” explained Dr. Ryan as he looked into the hole in the wall.

  “I look forward to that. We’ve been here long enough. Caoimhe and I can’t wait to move onto the afterlife and be with our parents once again,” said Prince Nuallan with a sigh of relief.

  Father Fahey interrupted and added, “We were correct in our assumption of what happens to those who leave the netherworld. Faelan confirmed that anyone leaving the netherworld is taken to the afterlife. That’s what they are most afraid of. They’re willing to do anything to avoid going there. That’s why King Dubhshlaine wants to use the lad’s body and the witch wants to use mine to go back to the living world and rule again. The transfer must take place at the lunar eclipse tonight when Faelan’s powers are at their peak.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” said Dr. McNamara shaking his head.

  “That’s why we must stick to our original plan to get King Dubhshlaine, Faelan, and his entire army back to the living world where they will pass on to the afterlife,” said Dr. Ryan emphatically. “You must also know that as a backup plan, the symbol is going to be replaced over the northeast tower and the curse pronounced again on the tower to seal up the castle to the netherworld, which will include all of us.”

  “I don’t intend on being here any longer,” said Prince Nuallan shaking his head.

  “Then we don’t have much time,” replied Dr. Ryan as he looked up at the others.

  17 the escape

  “Our only chance of escape is to access the weapons stash,” said Prince Nuallan as he poked his head through the wall. “We’ll need to get all the weapons into our hands. It’s going to be a tough fight but we have a chance.”

  “We’re going to need your protection, Prince,” said Dr. Ryan as he pointed to the group in the room. “You and your men are immune to death in the netherworld, but we aren’t. We’re vulnerable.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you. The guards are going to be the least of our problems. It’s going to be the stone creature and the demons that Faelan will conjure up that are going to be the biggest problem. With the protective shields however, we can defeat them,” said Prince Nuallan as he pounded his fist.

  “How are we going to get out of this dungeon?” asked Dr. McNamara glancing around the room.

  “The secret passageways are inside the outer walls of the castle. We’ll use them to our advantage,” replied the prince with a smile.

  “Can we use the passageways to escape?” asked Patrick with
a hopeful look.

  “No. They’re too narrow for a group this size. Once we’re gone the king will be suspicious. He could easily recapture us as we exited the passageways. But, we can use the passageways to outflank the king and help with our escape.” the prince explained.

  “We still want the king and the witch to pursue us into the portal,” said Dr. McNamara.

  “That’s true, but we need plenty of lead time for us to get out ahead of them,” added Dr. Ryan.

  The lock on the prison door clicked. The men all looked in the direction of the door. Prince Nuallan quickly replaced the stone in the wall. The door swung open with a loud creak. Four guards quickly stepped into the room followed by King Dubhshlaine and then Faelan.

  “It’s almost time,” said the king impatiently. “I have my choice for a body. I still want the lad. That will give me a long life. Faelan, you have quite a selection to choose from for your body in the living world. Who would you like?” he asked turning to her.

  Faelan walked up to each one of the men and looked them up and down.

  “As tempting as each one is, I still want the priest. I like his arrogance and attitude. Besides, I find it quite ironic that a witch becomes a priest. I also promised the priest a fun time prior to taking his body. He gets to experience a lot of pain before moving on,” she said as she stood in front of the priest and poked him in the chest.

  One of the guards unshackled the priest and the boy from the wall while the other guards pressed the other men up against the wall. The same guard escorted Father Fahey and Tevan out of the prison room.

  “Take them to the potion room,” ordered Faelan as she gestured with her hand. “Tell Three-Face I need him to stand guard.”

  She walked over to Dr. Ryan and Dr. McNamara and said glaring at them, “I don’t trust you. Whatever you think you’re going to do, you will fail. I’ll succeed. My stone creature will keep you from interfering.”