In the Company of Angels: Episode 15.1 – The Abbot

In the Company of Angels, Episode 15.1 – The Abbot

The week following what Sam and Jill came to call the “Orbaratan Apocalypse” was a very difficult one for Jill. She, Sam, Polydora, and Mr. Luke had returned without incident to the Gallery via the portal that had taken them to Orbaratus in the first place. And when asked, Mr. Luke had been just as perplexed as Jill as to why Azarias might have thought the portal might prove be missing.

The portal was, as it happened, precisely where they had expected it to be, and Sam claimed he was pretty sure it had been there all along, or at least it had been since he and Azarias had exited the Maze with Polydora. But once Polly had assured them all that she was able to stand, they had collected Azarias’ staff and the raven in its basket, and had wasted no time in returning to the Gallery. When they arrived, all appeared to be just as they had left it, although the day had progressed and it was no longer morning.

In fact, upon their return, the day was nearly spent. Jill gave her ring and cloak to Mr. Luke, donned her coat, and hurriedly returned home. She was exhausted, but she arrived back at her house just in time for supper. She was also famished, and was far too busy eating to realize that she had hardly spoken a word to her mother since she had returned.

“My! I’ve not seen you eat that much since last July when you came back home from summer camp!” said Evie. “Did you and Sam have fun today? And where was it you went, again…to an art  gallery?”

Jill realized then that her plate was empty. She looked out the window of the eat-in kitchen and watched the cardinals gorging themselves at the bird feeder as the light failed. She thought of the raven.

“Yes, mom. It was a gallery of sorts, but also an art studio,” she replied. “The owner, Mr. Luke, is an artist and a very nice man. He told me to tell you that you’re welcome to come and visit him yourself anytime you’d like. But the day was…well…certainly interesting!” It was the best Jill could think of to say.

“From the way you’ve eaten, you must have been on your feet the whole time! Didn’t you have any lunch? And didn’t this artist — what did you say his name was?”

“Mr. Luke. Um, Luke Lester.”

“Didn’t Mr. Lester give you anything to eat?”

“Oh, yes, he did! We had a delightful tea, with all the trimmings; just like we had when we visited England! Mr. Luke was educated at Oxford, you see.

“Oh, and I have his card. I’ll get it for you to see. I think you’ll like his paintings!”

“That must mean that he paints fairy tales, hmmm?” Evie smiled. “That’s fine, dear. But how does Sam know him?”

“Sam helps him at the gallery pretty regularly; kind of like a volunteer, I think.”

“Well, I’m glad Sam introduced you to him. I like Sam. I think he is a very nice boy. And I’m so glad he got home safely last night after all of that awful howling got started!”

“Last night!” Jill thought to herself. “Did that really happen only last night?!” It seemed like ages had passed since the rumpus in the library.

Sam and Mr. Luke had both told her that time moved differently in other worlds than it did in our own, so it was no wonder that Jill had slept as soundly that night as if she had been away from home for a week. In fact, her mother had great difficulty waking her for church the next morning, and when her eyes opened, she had at first looked about the room wildly, as if seeing it for the first time.

“Did you have a bad dream, honey?” Evie had asked.

“No…no, mom. I just…I just didn’t know where I was for a second, that’s all….” Jill had replied. Hazel had leapt up onto her bed then and had butted his face against her hands, and Jill had obligingly rubbed the tabby’s ears.

Now, nearly a full week had passed since Jill had returned from Orbaratus, and she was heading once more toward the Gallery on a bright but chilly winter’s morning. Up ahead she saw number 220, and she stepped up to the door and reached for the  intercom. But before she could even touch the button, she heard the door buzz. She opened it and climbed the stairs to the second floor. As she approached the mirrored-glass door that separated the landing from the Gallery proper, the door was suddenly thrown wide open. Polly was standing in the doorway, backlit by the flood lamps within the Gallery. She knelt down and threw her long arms around Jill, lifting her up in a great bearhug. They both laughed as she swept Jill into the Gallery and placed her back upon her own two feet once more.

Jill was laughing so hard tears came to her eyes, but once she caught her breath she looked around her. The Gallery was just as it had been the week before, and Mr. Luke was once more wearing his paint-spattered coveralls. Sam was nowhere in sight.

“Ah, welcome! Welcome my dear!” said Mr. Luke, as he approached her, beaming. “Polly sensed you were coming five minutes ago, and it was all I could do to keep her from running out into the street to greet you! Imagine what a commotion that would have caused!”

Jill grinned. “It’s good to be back, Mr. Luke! But, where’s Sam? Wasn’t he going to be here as well?”

“Oh, he is already with Father Hildebrandt,” said Mr. Luke.

“You mean in Rome?!”

“Yes, indeed! It’s rather later in the day over there now, you know, and he’s asked that you join them as soon as you are able.

“To that end…” Mr. Luke turned and indicated a painting behind him. “To that end, Polly retrieved this reproduction of a painting that my brother Charles created. I’m not entirely sure when he made it, but it has proven useful. This one is large enough to framerun without your needing to get down on your hands and knees, thank heavens: that was what was required of me when I frameran the original! I used the original to reach Azarias last week, while you and Samuel were off collecting Muninn.”

“Muninn?” asked Jill. “Who’s Muninn?”

“That, little one, is what Father Hildebrandt has chosen to name the raven that was stealing the Guarding Stones,” said Polly.

“Yes, Father Hildebrandt has taken over the care and feeding of the creature,” said Luke. “It appears that the good Abbot is quite fond of ravens, and he has decided he would be the best person to watch over the bird: Brother Azarias is too busy with other things, and keeping the bird here, we all decided, might prove far too dangerous, given his love of framerunning!”

“But did we ever find out how he does that?” asked Jill. “I mean, did he swallow a crystal, or does he have one strapped underneath his feathers, or what?”

“Well, we’ve found no evidence of either of those. He appears to simply be one of Nature’s curiosities: a creature able to framerun without any obvious natural means of doing so. It’s possible that the Piper is another such being, but we’ve never gotten close enough to him to be able to tell, nor has he volunteered the information. I suppose the universe is full of such mysteries: Muninn just happens to be one of them.”

“But why ‘Muninn’? How did Father Hildebrandt come up with that name?”

“It comes, my dear, from Norse mythology. Huginn and Muninn were two ravens that accompanied the Norse god Odin, or Wotan, in his wanderings. They flew about the world bringing him news. ‘Thought’ and ‘Memory’ are what the names mean in Old Norse. And since this bird didn’t seem to be particularly thoughtful, Father Hildebrandt thought ‘memory’ might suit him best. He certainly remembered where to fly in order to steal the Guarding Stones.” Luke chuckled aloud.

“But, you’ll be able to see how he is situated for yourself once you get to Rome; the good Abbot has him right there in his office, and he is, according to Brother Azarias, actually attempting to teach the bird Latin, of all things!

“But, to business. Sam has promised to leave the door open in the storage room — that’s the room depicted in the painting, So, once you’re through, things shouldn’t be quite as dark and ominous as they appear in this image. Would you like anything to eat before you go?”

“No, thank you. I just had breakfast! But won’t either of you be coming along with me?” Jill asked, looking pointedly at Polydora.

Polly smiled.

“No, we have already spoken with Brother Azarias and Father Hildebrandt, and have learned much,” said Polly, aloud. “Now it is your turn. You will like the abbot; he is very wise and very kind.”

“As I said, Sam is already with him,” said Luke, “and you’ll both be coming back together. I doubt, by the way, if you’ll need to take any  chocolate with you; Father Hildebrandt has some of the finest you’re likely ever to taste: fine Italian chocolate, and in great quantities! I’m sure Sam has already restocked his own supply….”

Jill allowed herself to be led to the painting by Polly. Mr. Luke retrieved her crystal ring from the safe in the wall and gave it to her. “When you return, we will likely have a surprise for you,” he said, and winked.

Jill put on the ring, turning it so that it touched her skin, and noted with satisfaction that the light in the painting before her had shifted. She sent a telepathic “see you soon!” to Polly, and then stepped through the painting.

It wasn’t pitch dark on the other side, but Jill was still unsteady on her feet when she arrived in the storage room. She almost immediately heard voices coming from the open door, along with an occasional squawk. She steadied herself against the wall for a moment, and then, when she felt well enough to walk, she stepped up to the door and peered into Father Hildebrandt’s office. She rapped twice on the door frame.

“Ah, that must be her now,” said a warm voice, and soon Sam and Father Hildebrandt were helping her out into the Italian afternoon sunlight.

“Welcome to Rome, my dear,” said the Abbot. “I am Father Hildebrandt.”

      [ To read Episode 15.2, click here…. ]