Jef Murray

Author's details

Name: Jef Murray
Date registered: November 11, 2014
URL: https://jefmurray.com

Latest posts

Rusty — July 23, 2015
The Monastery — July 23, 2015
The Abbot and the Raven — July 23, 2015
The Minotaur — July 23, 2015
Avenging Angel — July 23, 2015

Author's posts listings

Mar 09

Vignettes: The Glade

by Jef Murray

The Glade

“This never was supposed to be about survival. It was supposed to be about exploration; about showing you a marvelous place and sharing what I knew of it and just, well, spending some time together in the wilderness…. ” The young man shook his head and looked out from under the dark branches of the hazel trees. There was no movement in the silvery glade.

The two children sat quietly. Jill was trembling slightly, but not because of the events of the past half an hour; she had hardly known what had happened from the time she had heard the first roaring to the time they had hidden together in the hazel copse. But she was an empath, so she couldn’t help picking up the waves of panic coming from Sam, as well as the deep worry of Mr. Luke.

But what about the creature that had been chasing them? She hesitated, but then let her thoughts reach out…out…past the copse, past the glade, and into the sticky blackness beyond.

And she sensed…what? A heartbeat, elevated, and a deep, raspy breathing. What was this creature? No…wrong question…who am I?

“Who am I?” asked Jill, aloud.

“What do you mean?!” asked Sam. He clutched his arm, which had been slashed by the savage claws of the creature.

“Who am I?” Jill repeated.

Sam shook his head, but Mr. Luke came up to Jill and touched her lightly on the shoulder.

“Yes, yes. That’s right. Who are you, Jill? And why are you chasing us?”

Jill sighed deeply. She breathed in and she breathed out, and then she smelled a strange scent. It was the scent of alien creatures. .and she was afraid. Her babies were near, newly hatched, and she had just seen the three alien creatures come into the glade. They were like nothing she knew. And she could not allow them to…to stay so close to her den….

“Drive them away! Drive them away!” Jill exclaimed. “My babies…..”

Mr. Luke paused for a moment, and then seemed to understand. “Sam, come with me. We need to get as far away from here as we can.”

“But…but what about Jill?”

“Jill?” Mr. Luke said. “Jill, will you let us go away now? If we leave quietly?”

Jill thought long and hard. She could still scent them all, and could even feel their heat coming from the copse. But now she seemed to remember that, perhaps, they might want to go away. Part of her wished to finish them off, but Jill spoke to that part of herself: “Let them go…as long as they do not come back toward the den.” And that part of herself, the part that had dragon scales and bat wings, grudgingly assented.

“We can go,” said Jill, “but only if we head that way.” She pointed in the direction opposite the glade.

“Then that is precisely where we shall go, dear,” said Mr. Luke. “That is precisely where we shall go….”

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Mar 05

In the Company of Angels: Episode 7.2 – The Attic (cont.)

by Jef Murray

In the Company of Angels, Episode 7.2 – The Attic (cont.)

“What do you two have to say for yourselves?” the Professor asked, opening the door to his study wider, and crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at both of them expectantly.

“Well, Sir, we’re…um…we’re students.” said Sam.

“Yes, that’s entirely possible,” said the Professor, “but is it common for American students to invade the homes of English professors without their leave?”

“Oh! So we’re in England!” Jill said.

“Where else might you think you were?” asked the Professor.

“Well, Sir, that might take some explaining,” said Sam.

“Well?! Well?! If it requires some explaining, then please proceed! But, Mrs. Mills, so that we do not begin to obtain a reputation for uncouth behavior toward foreign students, will you be so kind as to make us some tea? We’ll take it in my study.”

“Your study, Sir?” Mrs. Mills asked. “Well, I would have thought it more suitable to serve it in the childrens’ room, but as you wish….” The woman turned and tromped heavily down the stairs. A few moments later, Sam and Jill could hear the clanking of pots and pans in what must have been the kitchen, below. In the meantime, the Professor ushered them into his room.

The space was somewhat unkempt. There were books and bookshelves everywhere, and a second door across the room led into either a closet or another room. A desk was situated beneath a window that overlooked a well-tended yard and garden. Jill saw roses trained onto an archway in front of the house, and through this the walkway to the house appeared to pass. She noticed a cat slinking past the roses; it quickly disappeared into a hole in the hedge.

The colors and smells of an English summertime permeated even the mustiness of the Professor’s retreat, but Jill loved the bookish aromas and the scent of pipe smoke that surrounded them. These reminded her of her own library, and of her father: he had also loved books and had smoked a pipe. Involuntarily, she felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she immediately tried to stop them. “This is not the time or the place to be thinking of father!” she told herself.

The Professor closed his study door behind them both and gestured to chairs. “Please do make yourselves comfortable. The tea will be along shortly; or perhaps longly, given Mrs. Mills’ current mood.” He chuckled. Once they were both seated, he turned his desk chair around and sat facing them.

“Now, do please tell me who you are and where you’ve come from. And kindly don’t repeat whatever story you might have told Mrs. Mills, if indeed you offered her any explanation at all. I know you aren’t American students on holiday. So, who precisely are you?”

Sam and Jill looked at each other, and Jill gestured toward Sam. “You should tell him,” she said.

“Everything?” he asked.

Jill shut her eyes for a moment and tried to get a sense of just who this Professor might be; whether he was someone that could be trusted. All she could perceive about him through her newly-emerging empathic sense suggested that he was a bright light in a dark world…someone very unusual. She almost perceived him as having a sparkling halo — similar to what she felt whenever she was in telepathic contact with Polydora. She opened her eyes and gazed at him with a feeling of wonder.

“Who exactly are you?!” she asked.

The Professor smiled broadly. “Why, no one in particular, my dear. But you two…there’s something about you two that is quite different. I’m used to children coming here you know…since the War. But none were ever Americans. And even Americans don’t dress as you two are dressed. So, where exactly are you from? And what are you doing in my house?”

“He’s safe,” said Jill to Sam. Sam nodded.

“OK then, what I am about to tell you might make you think I’m kidding. I’m not. We’ve come from another place,” Sam said, “and maybe even from another time…. Gee, I wish Mr. Luke was here; he’d know what to tell you. But, let’s just say that we came here because we are trying to get some answers to some important questions and to retrieve something that was stolen from…from its rightful place. We didn’t mean to break into your house; we were, well, sort of led here….”

The Professor leaned back in his chair and studied Sam carefully. “What is your name?” he asked.

“Sam Deckard,” Sam answered.

“And yours, my dear?” the Professor asked, turning to Jill.

Jill suddenly had an intense urge to do something she had not tried before, except with Polly. She tried to answer by speaking to the Professor with her mind.

“My name is Jill Jonsson” she thought, as “loudly” as she knew how.

The Professor’s eyes opened wide. “Oh my!” he said aloud.

“What?” asked Sam.

The Professor looked slightly bewildered. “Jill Jonsson?” he asked Jill directly.

“Yes,” she thought back to him.

“Oh, this is marvelous!” said the Professor.

“What is?” asked Sam.

“I’ve been talking to the Professor the way Polly taught me,” said Jill.

Sam’s eyes went wide, but he held his tongue.

The Professor, now sitting forward in his chair, looked with wonder at Jill. “Are you of the spirit world, my dear, or human?” he asked.

Jill was perplexed. “I’m just a girl, Sir,” she said. “But I seem to be able to ‘hear’ some things that other people think, and I can sometimes talk with people without speaking. But this is all pretty new for me, so I’m not sure I’m that good at it.”

“Extraordinary!” said the Professor. “I’ve never encountered anything like it!”

“But, Sir,” said Sam,”we actually came here for a reason, and we really can’t stay long; we have friends waiting for us who need our help. I can’t tell you much more, because there’s a lot of danger involved with talking about such things. Mr. Luke warned me that we might be entering a time-tethered realm, and if that’s the case, the less you know about us, the better for us and for you.”

“I’m sure I haven’t understood half of what you just said, young man,” said the Professor, “but I do see that you are both part of something that I ought to take seriously., even without understanding it. Tell me what you can and what you need help with. I’ll promise nothing up front other than to listen, but I am not unfamiliar with…hmm…how should I say this? With magical things. So, I promise to help if I believe I can and should.”

“Well, Sir,” said Sam,”what we need help with, at least mainly, is a raven.”

“A raven?!”

“Yes, Sir. A raven. It’s one that spends some time in your attic, it seems.”

“Ah! That must be the one Mrs. Mills is constantly complaining about. She has tried to shew it out whenever she has found it there, but it always comes back. It even creates new holes in the eaves for itself whenever we close up the old ones. But I haven’t the heart to harm it; it strikes me as a very unusual and clever bird, and I’m fond of all manner of creatures. But, whatever do you two want with it?”

“Well, Sir, we think it’s got something: something that doesn’t belong to it. And we need to get that back so that we can prevent a lot of bad things from happening,” said Jill.

“Well, I wouldn’t put thievery past any raven. They love collecting things, you know, especially shiny ones. I remember finding one’s nest as a boy, and it was filled with bits of tinsel, ribbons, marbles, and even broken bits of glass and mirrors.

But, that’s neither here nor there. whatever is it that has this one has stolen?”

“A gem, Sir. A sapphire, we think, not unlike this one.” Sam pulled his own crystal pendant from beneath his shirt and held it out to the Professor.

The Professor went to reach for the sapphire, but then stopped. “That’s no ordinary gem,” he said.

“What do you mean, Sir?” asked Sam, nervously.

The Professor looked Sam directly in the eye. “I mean that it has some property beyond just being a pretty thing. There’s a…a power in it, it seems to me. Am I right?”

Jill nudged Sam. “I told you; he’s safe. You can tell him.”

“Well, Sir, yes, you are. This crystal, and others like it, allow a person who wears it to do things that might seem pretty strange to most folks.”

“You mean like travel to different worlds? Or to different times?”

“Uh, yes Sir. But, like I said, we really shouldn’t tell you too much because it might cause us all a lot of problems,” said Sam, “but could I ask you a question?”

“Certainly.”

“Can you tell us where we are, and what year it is?”

“Properly speaking, young man, you should ask me ‘would you tell us’, not ‘can you tell us’.”

The Professor shook his head and muttered under his breath,”Whatever do they teach them in American schools?” Then, in a louder voice, he said, “But, laying that aside, do you mean to say you don’t know where you are? How extraordinary! But, it has been a day of extraordinary things. So, to answer you, you are in Oxford, England,” said the Professor.

“And the year is?”

“The year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty six.”

“Oh no!” said Sam.

[ To read Episode 8.1, click here…. ]

Tags: Attic, C.S. Lewis, England, fantasy, Jill, Professor, raven, Sam, science fiction, study, tea

6 comments

Feb 26

In the Company of Angels: Episode 7.1 – The Attic

by Jef Murray

In the Company of Angels, Episode 7.1 – The Attic

Once Jill had waved to Polydora through the portal, the Ferrumari’s head disappeared back into the painting. The painting itself, still glowing brightly, depicted the very plaza that she, Sam, and Polly had been standing upon just a moment before. The scene looked nearly identical to the current state of the plaza, and seen now housed within a plain bronze frame, the painting appeared frighteningly apocalyptic — much more so than the one in Mr. Luke’s Gallery that had first brought them to Polly’s home world.

But Jill had little time to think about Orbaratus now. She turned around her and surveyed the space within which she and Sam were standing. It was a bit stuffy, and she loosened her cloak and pushed it back from around her shoulders. Then she noticed the smells: of old wood, of dust, and of something else, something quite sweet.

“Are those flowers?” she wondered. But just at that moment, very clearly in her head, she heard the word “Roses!” She turned and looked at Sam. He smiled at her and said, in a whisper, “I think I smell roses blooming! They must be outside. It must be summertime here!”

It was a disconcerting moment for Jill, because, for the first time ever, other than with Polydora, she realized that she had caught a whiff, if you will, of someone else’s thoughts. She didn’t know if she was going to like what struck her as eavesdropping on other people; she wondered then if being an empath would prove to be something she could turn on or off, like the volume control of a radio, or whether it would just be a new form of background noise that she would have to get accustomed to. She didn’t know what the answer would be, but thought perhaps she should ask Polly, or Mr. Luke, once they returned to Orbaratus. For now though, she had other business to attend to.

Sam gestured around them, and Jill could see that he was pointing out the many other paintings that were stacked haphazardly about within the crawlspace. These were scattered along with old pieces of furniture, lamps, wooden chests, and even the headboard and footboard of a bed frame in one corner. All of these were covered with varying layers of dust, but the paintings were stacked vertically so that, for many of them, you could still see the images clearly within their frames. These images were all glowing with that otherworldly light that Jill had come to recognize. She unclenched her hand and turned her ring around, and only then did the lights fade.

“I don’t see any sign of the raven,” she whispered.

“No, me neither,” said Sam, “but let’s look around and see if maybe it’s built a nest in one of the nooks and crannies of this place.”

“That’s going to be hard in all of this murk,” said Jill.

The crawl space was high enough to stand near one wall, but the beams of the roof, with wood slats nailed across them, tapered down from the top of the wall to the floor. In the very farthest corner of the angle made by the roof beams and the floor, there were cracks of light that came from the eaves, and these provided the only illumination with which to see in the cramped space. There were shadowy corners into which the raven could easily have flown and they would never have been the wiser.

But Sam grinned broadly and pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket. “Never worry! I was a Boy Scout once,” he whispered, “‘Be prepared’ shouldn’t just be their motto. We should adopt it for The Framerunners as well! Ever since I was able to find an LED flashlight that would run for days on one set of batteries, I’ve never been without one. You’d be amazed at how many dark places you find yourself in when you’re jumping from world to world!”

He switched on the flashlight and they were able to clearly see the crawlspace in all its musty, dust-filled glory. But Jill noticed that the dust on the floor was largely undisturbed; apparently the attic wasn’t very often used. That would be good for them, as it meant they would be less likely to be discovered.

They worked their way from the Orbaratus painting to one end of the long crawl space. There they found first one, then a second small doorway that they guessed must open onto rooms of the house at that end. Then they doubled back, passed their painting again, and continued to the other end of the attic. There they found an additional door. The crawl space appeared, then, to run the whole length of the house.

“I wonder if this is something like a row-house, with openings into different people’s homes?” whispered Jill.

“I don’t know,” said Sam, “and I hope we don’t have to find out. But can you see over there in the far corner? There’s a lot of light coming in near the floor: a bright spot. I’m betting there’s a hole there, and maybe that’s where the raven has gotten to.”

“But what if the raven just flew into a different painting? There have to be at least a half dozen we’ve seen that it could have gotten into. That is, if it’s still carrying one of the crystals.”

“Well, we don’t even know if it has a crystal, but I see what you’re saying, and that would be mighty bad news if you’re right,” said Sam. “On the other hand, there’s one thing we haven’t tried yet. Remember Mr. Luke said to let you have a go at finding the bird; that maybe you could sense where it was even if we couldn’t discover it outright. Want to give that a try?”

Jill nodded. “I’m new at this, but here goes….” She shut her eyes and did her best to sense what was around her. She knew Sam was there, but what about past him, past the confines of the crawlspace? She listened and tried to see if she could feel the presence of anyone other than Sam.

At first she could detect nothing at all. But then she began to have the growing sense that there was a person nearby. She imagined it must be a woman; she wasn’t sure why. But this woman, whoever she might be, appeared in her mind to be busy with something. Jill listened. She “heard” snippets that might have been coming from the woman’s head.

“All this dust…must get the tea on soon…wherever did I put the dustbin?…Professor will be having company later…” Jill experienced these as fleeting images more than as words, but they struck her as the sort of things someone would be muttering to herself while bustling around inside of a house.

“I think there must be a housekeeper, or someone like that, nearby. Maybe in the room on the other side of this door,” she whispered to Sam.

“OK. Anything else?” he asked.

Jill concentrated once more. There was another presence, she thought, but not as busy as this first person. Someone concentrating his attention inwardly. “So it’s a ‘he’ rather than a ‘she’,” Jill thought. But he was not close at hand. Rather, he seemed to be down toward the other end of the house.

But just then Jill’s attention was taken away from listening, for she detected, or thought she detected, something like rapid movement, and the feeling of being watched. She opened her eyes and gazed in the direction she had felt the movement come from.

“Sam, look over toward that bright spot you mentioned.”

Sam turned and they both watched the patch of light in the corner. After a moment, they saw movement, and something that made the light blink out, and then back on again. Sam turned his flashlight toward the patch of light, and it glinted off of the beady eyes of the raven, which had apparently just flown back into the crawlspace.

“There he is!” Sam exclaimed, forgetting to whisper. The raven froze in the light for a moment, but then turned around and dove back through the hole in the eaves.

“Oh, blast it all!” said Sam, and stamped his foot.

“Shush!!!” whispered Jill, but it was too late. She could hear footsteps just outside the door beside them, and then, a moment later, the handle turned and light streamed in from the room beyond. A middle-aged woman, slightly plump, was standing in the open doorway peering intently in at them.

“Oh!” she said. “You two gave me such a start! The Professor didn’t say anything about any children in the house. But where have you stowed your things? And what on earth are you doing in this musty old attic?!”

“Well, we, uh…” said Jill.

“Americans no less!” said the woman. “Well, come along out of there, dearies. I’ll need to be setting up places for you both to sleep, I suppose. The Professor is so busy with his own work; keeps me on my toes, he does, never letting on who is coming for supper or…. But, that’s not your problem, dearies. Come on out and I’ll check with the Professor to find where I should put you, though I expect it will be in the children’s room, I shouldn’t wonder. Do you know how long you’ll be staying with us?”

Sam and Jill had no option but to accompany the bustling woman from without the attic space and into the adjoining room. It was a large room, brightly lit. They followed the housekeeper (for so she appeared to be) into a hallway just outside, and then into another room past the head of the staircase that led to the ground floor below.

The woman knocked on the door. “Professor, I’m here with the two children. Shall I set them up in the children’s room, as usual?”

Sam and Jill heard nothing for a moment, but then the door to the room opened and a tall, middle-aged man with a receding hairline opened the door. Past him, they could both see that the room beyond must be a sort of a study and library.

“Mrs. Mills, do be so kind as to explain yourself. There are no children in the house to my knowledge. That all ended months ago.”

“Well then, how do you account for these ‘uns?” asked Mrs. Mills.

The Professor looked past Mrs. Mills at Jill and Sam, and was clearly startled. “My goodness! I’ve never seen them before in my life!

[ To read Episode 7.2, click here…. ]

Tags: Attic, C.S. Lewis, fantasy, housekeeper, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jill, Mrs. Mills, Orbaratus, Polydora, Professor, raven, roses, Sam, science fiction, study

4 comments

Feb 20

In the Company of Angels: Episode 6.2 – Parting Company (cont.)

by Jef Murray

In the Company of Angels, Episode 6.2 – Parting Company (cont.)

“I can see that there are wooden beams that come down to the floor”, said Luke, “and they meet somewhere above the portal: atop a wall, probably, or perhaps at the peak of the roof. I can also see other shapes scattered about: maybe they’re odds and ends, like you’d find in a storage space…? Some of them do, in fact, appear to be covered with cloth, and everything has a thick layer of dust on it.”

Sam beamed at Jill and nudged her. “Mr. Luke can see stuff better than anybody. I think it comes from his being a Renderer. I remember one time my trying to draw a frog, and he was coaching me. He kept shaking his head and saying ‘You’re not looking properly, Samuel!’” Sam had altered his voice to mimic Mr. Luke’s.

Jill giggled. “You do that very well!” she said under her breath.

Sam grinned. “Yeah, but I never could get the frog to look right, Honestly, I couldn’t draw my way out of a paper bag! But I’ll bet if you showed Mr. Luke anything, he could draw it, and so life-like it’d scare the heck out of you!”

“So, is that the main thing Renderers can do? Draw?” asked Jill.

“It’s a lot more than that. They can sketch the simplest thing and framerun it…even better than I can, because they’re the ones that drew it! You’ll see for yourself if Mr. Luke goes to find Azarias. You would already have seen it if there’d been a surface for him to draw on down in the street; up here, it would be easy, ‘cause he could use any of these stones as a canvas.”

“Alright,” said Mr. Luke, “If you two will be so kind as to stop chattering, I think I have a plan. I can see nothing immediately dangerous through this portal, and I would definitely like to know what we can learn about that bird. It was a raven, by the way; did any of you notice?”

Sam winked at Jill but said nothing. Polly remained silent.

Luke looked around at everyone. “Here’s how I suspect we ought to proceed, but I’m open to suggestions. I believe that I ought to consult with Azarias, provided I can find him. So, I will attempt to framerun back to London. I’ll explain the situation to him and see if he can shed any light on what might be happening here. If he deems it necessary, I’ll bring him back to help us.

“Sam, if you and Jill are willing, I’d like for you both to explore this frame and learn what you can about what’s on the other side. Most importantly, I’d like you to see where the raven came from. There’s something very peculiar about a bird that can framerun! My suspicion is that the creature may have stolen the third crystal, but perhaps you’ll find that out once you’ve caught up with it.”

“How much exploring do you want us to do, Mr. Luke?” asked Sam. “I mean, yeah, we may find ourselves in an attic or a crawlspace or something, but if we see no signs of the raven, what then? Do you want us to snoop around a bit?”

“Only if it seems safe. We have no idea which of the Iconic Realms may be on the other side of that frame, so there may be dangers that we’re not expecting,” said Mr. Luke.

“You mean like wild boars in Narnai?” Sam was grinning.

“Ahem! That, Samuel, was not my fault. And, for our purposes here, it is ancient history! No, I mean that we don’t even know if what looks like an attic means that there will be human beings there that built it! Aside from that, remember that the portal could also lead you back to earth, but at a different time than our own. If that appears to be the case, you need to touch nothing and return immediately; we can’t risk meddling in a time-tethered realm.”

“A what?” asked Jill.

“Sam will explain it to you. But, Sam, remember: prudence first! And although she’s just learning to use her abilities, have Jill help you to find the bird; she may be able to track it down even if you can’t. For that matter, she may be able to alert you to the presence of people or dangerous creatures before you would even know they’re there.”

Sam nodded. “We’ll be careful.” Jill looked at Sam and swallowed.

“Polly,” said Mr. Luke. “If you don’t mind, I’d like for you to remain here so that you can keep an eye on this new frame and on the stone gateway and its crystals. I don’t know if you could get through the portal to help Sam and Jill if they needed it in any event, but you can watch their progress as long as they are within sight. And you can also help them sense what’s in the space before they jump in blindly…you may be able to tell them who or what is near the picture on the other side before they framerun it. Also, if anything happens to them or to the doorway, you should try to follow me back to London through the sketch I’m going to draw.”

Polly nodded. “I shall stay here. This is still my home, and I fear nothing on Orbaratus, even if some danger lurks behind the doorway.”

“So, does this plan suit everyone?”

“Works for me,” said Sam.

“Me too,” said Jill, “although I still think that portal’s kinda small….”

Polydora simply nodded.

“Good. Then it’s settled. I’ll be off first…” Mr. Luke walked toward one of the monoliths that littered the plaza, drew a piece of chalk from a pocket in his drover coat, and then quickly and expertly sketched a rectangular doorway through which could be seen a sofa and a window beyond it. It was a very simple sketch, and one that only took him a minute or two to draw onto the stone surface. But, once he was satisfied, he bowed to the others.

“I shall return as soon as possible. If anything goes seriously amiss, Polly, please come after me. And you two,” he said, turning to Sam and Jill, “remember: caution! No heroics! Jill, do your best to rein Sam in if he threatens to do anything rash!”

With that, Mr. Luke turned his ring around on his finger and stepped into his drawing.

Despite Sam’s comment about Renderers, Jill was still astonished and gasped when he disappeared. She had seen the bluish glow on the sketch even as it was being created, but this was the simplest of images: nothing like the painting that they had traveled through to reach Orbaratus, nor any of the pictures in her library that she now knew had been framerun by Mr. Luke and Sam…and Rusty.

“Wow!” she said. “That’s really amazing! So, can he do that to go anywhere? At any time?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” said Sam. “‘Course, he can’t Mazerun, so I guess that’s something I can do that he can’t. But who wouldn’t like to be able to step through their own drawing and go to the North Pole, or to Wonderland, or to Lothlorien?

“That said, I never got around to asking you,” said Sam. “Can you draw anything yourself? Ever taken any of Ms. Craig’s art classes at school?“

“Yes, once, and it was a total disaster,” said Jill. “I was lucky to get a ‘B’, which she gave me just because she felt sorry for me. It’s definitely not my thing. I doubt if I did any better than you did with your frog sketch for Mr. Luke. I mean, I can draw really simple things, like stick figures or smiley faces, but nothing like Mr. Luke.”

“Yeah, Mr. Luke’s pretty spectacular. I think Azarias can draw, too, but I’ve never seen him do it. But, enough talking: we have a job to do!”

“Yes, we do!” said Jill. “So just how should we proceed with this?”

“I should look first,” said Polly aloud. “I wish to make sure that all appears safe on the other side of the raven’s frame.”

From within her head, just after Polly had finished speaking aloud, Jill heard Polly speak to her separately. “Go slowly with Sam, little one. He doesn’t sense things well, nor the way we do. You should trust what your feelings tell you is happening, and slow him down if the need arises.”

“But how can I slow him down?” thought Jill back to Polly.

“Just tell him what you feel, and remind him that Mr. Luke told him to trust you. He will listen to you; perhaps even more so than to Mr. Luke.”

“Why would he listen to me?!” asked Jill.

In her head, she “heard” Polly laughing softly at the question. “He will listen. Trust me, little one,” came the response. Jill looked up at Polly questioningly, but the Ferrumari betrayed no emotion on her serene, metallic countenance. Instead, she stepped toward the raven’s frame. Grasping her crystal tightly in hand, she stooped and thrust her head into the dark portal. She stood there, as still as a statue, peering into the darkness.

Nearly a minute passed before Polly pulled her head back out of the frame. “I cannot tell for certain, but I believe that the world on the other side of this frame may be your planet, the Earth. I cannot say if it is your own time or some other. But, there are at least two people in the house, for that is what the structure appears to be. I think that this portal, in fact, leads into a crawlspace or side attic of the house. I can detect no sign of the raven, but perhaps he has simply flown from the attic space; that you will have to determine for yourselves.”

“Can you tell us any more about the people that are in the house?” asked Sam.

“Very little. They are both on the same floor as the attic space, and in fact appear to be quite near to the portal, just on the other side of a wall.”

“So this space is on an upper story of the house?”

“I believe so,” said Polly. “I cannot tell you much about the floor below, but there are living things surrounding it; plants, birds, trees. The attic is most likely on the first floor of the house, and the main part of the house is below.”

“You mean it’s on the second floor of the house then, not the first….”

Jill thought for a moment. “No, Sam, I think she means the first floor in the British sense. That is, the floor above ground level. Is that what you mean, Polly?”

Polly nodded.

“OK, then. We’re going into a crawlspace with folks around, So, let’s be as quiet as mice!” said Sam.

Jill had never experienced such a thing before, but she received the psychic equivalent of a nudge from Polly, and looking up at her, she saw that the Ferrumari was smiling. “Yes, be as quiet as can be,” Polly said to Sam.

The bottom of the frame was just about at waist height, or a little above. Grasping the sapphire on the pendant around his neck tightly, Sam bent down and squeezed through the opening.

Jill watched him disappear, gave Polly one last glance, and then followed him into the darkness.

Polydora watched them both enter the portal, and then bent down and looked through it to make sure that she could see them on the other side. She saw Jill stand upright, dust herself off, and then turn back and wave.

Polly waved back. Then she stood back up straight and looked around at her home — at Orbaratus. The wind was still whistling around the empty stone monuments. Otherwise, it was quiet; as quiet as she always remembered it. She was once again alone in her world; in a world filled with ghosts and even perhaps with dangers that she had never known before. But it was still her home.

Polly breathed deeply of the air of Cenurbus. It smelled as it always had: flinty. It was a smell that she only noticed consciously when she returned with Luke, Jill and Sam. When she had lived here for those many hundreds of earth years, it was just part of the background — she had had no other world with which to compare it. But now she recognized the smell of her home. She could detect nothing obviously amiss now, either in the smells or the sights of Cenurbus.

That was when the rumblings began again, and Polydora knew that another earthquake was coming. But there was something else, past the seismic sounds, that she sensed. For the first time ever, Polly thought she could detect the slightest presence of other living creatures: creatures that belonged to this world, just like her. And Polly sensed that these beings must be awakening somewhere deep, deep beneath her: under the very stones at her feet….

[ To read Episode 7.1, click here…. ]

Tags: Azarias, earthquake, fantasy, fiction, framerunning, Jill, Luke, plaza of the masters, Polydora, portal, raven, renderer, saga, The Masters

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Feb 13

In the Company of Angels: Episode 6.1 – Parting Company

by Jef Murray

In the Company of Angels, Episode 6.1 – Parting Company

Polydora grabbed Jill by the hand and pulled her away from the doorway just as a large stone from the cliff face above it broke off and splintered onto the pavement. It landed where Jill had been standing. Luke took Jill’s other hand and the three of them followed Sam out onto the open plaza.

The earth heaved around them and they heard cracking sounds as planters and stone pillars splintered. Looking past the edges of the plaza, they saw dust and debris falling from the buildings below them and on either side. Then the motion of the earth, which was beginning to make Jill a bit dizzy, ceased. The rumbling continued for some time, punctuated with the sounds of additional objects falling and crashing below them. Then there was silence.

“Jill, are you alright?” asked Luke.

“Yes, I’m fine, but I wouldn’t have been without Polly….”

“Is everyone else OK? Sam?”

“Sure, I’m fine, said Sam. “But what happened? Polly, do you get a lot of earthquakes on Orbaratus?”

Polydora shook her head. “This is the first I have ever experienced here.”

“I can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with the missing stone,” said Luke. “It can’t be just a coincidence that it would be gone, Polly would sense someone or something else here, and then we’d have an earthquake, all at nearly the same time. There is more going on here than we know. Something isn’t right, and we may need help to figure out just what.”

“Help? What sort of help?” asked Jill.

“We need to get Azarias involved. Polly, do you know if he has ever come to Orbaratus?”

“Of course he has! He was among the first to visit my home,” said the Ferrumari. “In truth, he was the first human being I ever saw; nay, even the first living creature I ever encountered other than myself.”

“Then he is certain to know more about Orbaratus than we do; he may even know things you are unaware of, Polly. I’ll see if I can find him and at least talk with him. If need be, he may want to join us here.” Luke tugged at his beard for a moment.

“Mr. Luke, you said, just before the earthquake, that you thought we were in great danger. What made you say that?” asked Jill.

“If my understanding of the verses Polly translated is correct, then the three crystals that were placed around the stone doorway were put there for a reason: to prevent someone or something from escaping from whatever lies beyond the doorway. I don’t know why the crystals we use would be capable of such a thing, but perhaps these are not the same stones; perhaps they do something entirely different.

“Polly, you mentioned the Masters, and the fact that they have been gone for many thousands of years….”

“Yes,” said Polly, “the histories are not clear; they had become the stuff of legend by the time the wars broke out among my own people.”

“But do the histories say what happened to them or where they went? Was there a plague? Or a war?”

“Perhaps. The histories mention wars and madness, but it is not clear what was their cause. It seems that as the madness, whatever it might have been, spread, the Ferrumari began to fight against the Masters; not for independence, but to bring a halt to the bloodshed and the violence.”

“So, is it possible the Ferrumari may have had to imprison the Masters? Is that what you’re thinking, Mr. Luke?” asked Sam. “In that case, that doorway may lead into some sort of a dungeon, or maybe the Masters are cryogenically frozen, like Khan was in Star Trek!”

“Khan?” asked Jill, “You mean Genghis Khan was in Star Trek?!”

“No, no. A different Khan. And it was in the movie, not the TV show,” said Sam.

“Well, I never saw either. I told you I didn’t watch much in the way of space stories….”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Still — whatcha think, Mr. Luke?”

“About the Masters being locked behind that door? It’s a possibility; that’s why I want to ask Azarias. He may have spent some time in the archives here and may know better why the stones were placed there and what they were trying to protect against, if anything.”

Jill had been listening to Luke, but suddenly, she didn’t know why precisely, her attention was drawn away. She had had a sudden sense of movement, and of being watched. She glanced up to see what might have attracted her attention, and just then a black form flew right past her toward the stone doorway. It fluttered there for a moment, and then wheeled around and came back, flying right past all of them. Jill noticed that Polly, too, was watching this creature, and both of them instinctively tried to follow it.

“What’s happening?” asked Sam. “Where are you both going?”

“They’re chasing a bird, Sam,” said Luke, also turning to watch the creature.

The bird, for that is clearly what it was, emitted a harsh croak as it fled. It was large and black, and it flapped wildly toward to the plaza’s edge; then, suddenly, it was gone! Jill and Polly, who had been running just behind it, looked over the edge of the chasm to the street below, and then back at each other.

“It disappeared!” Jill shouted back at Sam and Luke.

“What do you mean, ‘disappeared’? You mean it flew down into the street?” Sam asked as he came panting up to the plaza’s edge.

“No, I mean it’s gone! Like, gone from this world, gone!” said Jill. “I…I can’t sense it anymore. Can you, Polly?”

“No, it is no longer on Orbaratus. It is not hiding, nor so far away that I would be unable to sense it” said Polly.

Luke smiled. “You’re right of course, both of you, but you weren’t paying close attention. It didn’t just vanish; it flew through a frame. Turn your rings back around again and you’ll see for yourselves.”

Jill turned her ring around and clenched her fist. Suddenly, right before her eyes, she could see a window open up in the air, ringed in a bluish light. It was a patch of darkness just in front of her, but much smaller than the portal they had used to come to Orbaratus.

“Huh!” said Sam as he came up to the frame. “Doggone bird must have had a crystal attached to it, or maybe it’s got one in its talons?”

“That, Samuel, is a very interesting observation,” said Luke. “What would a bird be doing with a sappire?”

“Maybe it picked it up. Maybe it stole the one from the doorway!” said Jill.

“We don’t yet know if the crystals on either side of the doorway are actually the same as the sapphires we use to framerun,” said Luke, “but if they are, and if, in fact, the bird has taken that stone, then we’d have answered at least one of our questions. But we still have too many remaining ones!” Luke sat down on a bench near them and rubbed his eyes for a few moments.

“Mr. Luke, we could always follow the bird and see where that portal leads us,” said Sam. “That might tell us more about what’s going on here.”

Jill looked at Sam, and then at the portal. It was perhaps a foot and a half wide, and nearly two feet tall. “It would be a tight squeeze!” she said.

“Naw, I’ve gotten through smaller,” said Sam, “But, let’s see what we can see without even going through….” Sam stepped toward the portal and moved back and forth, then up and down, trying to see what he could observe in the darkness beyond. Luke stood up and joined him.

“OK, it’s dark, so it’s tough to make out much, but it seems like maybe it’s a cave or an attic or a crawlspace of some sort? I can kind of make out wooden beams. What can you see, Mr. Luke?”

Luke repeated Sam’s motions, peering intently into the dark rectangle hanging in space. “Yes, I think you’re right, Sam. It definitely looks like it might be an attic, but where, exactly? And why in the world would someone, somewhere, have a painting or a sketch of the Plaza of the Masters that we know nothing about?!”

[ To read Episode 6.2, click here…. ]

Tags: Azarias, earthquake, fantasy, fiction, Jill, Luke, plague, plaza of the masters, Polydora, raven, saga, Sam, science fiction, The Masters, young adult

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Feb 05

In the Company of Angels: Episode 5.2 – Orbaratus (cont.)

by Jef Murray

In the Company of Angels, Episode 5.2 – Orbaratus (cont.)

“That doesn’t sound good,” said Jill, “That doesn’t sound good at all! I mean, this place is already spooky enough as it is….”

“Sam, what color were the gems?” asked Mr. Luke.

“Hard to tell because the light was bad, but they looked dark: blue, maybe?”

“Do you think, by any chance, that they might have been sapphires?”

Sam whistled “Holy smoke! I didn’t even think about that! I can go check if you’d like.”

“I’m not sure how we would determine that, to be truthful,” said Mr. Luke. “But, while we think about it, if Polly no longer senses anyone else up there, perhaps we should all go and see the place for ourselves.”

Polly stood poised, listening for a moment. “No, no one remains,” she said.

“Then, would it be possible for you to take Jill up to the cliff top? I know I’m too heavy for you to carry, but Sam can get us both up there together through the Maze. Sam, what do you think?”

Sam grinned. “I’ll be able to, but you sure won’t feel very good when we come back out.”

“Kindly don’t remind me,” said Mr. Luke, looking pained, “But, it is a risk I am prepared to take. Jill, Polly, we’ll meet you up there.”

Sam clutched his crystal in one hand, and Mr. Luke’s wrist in the other, and the two of them stepped through the adjacent wall.

Polly picked up Jill in her arms. “Are you ready to fly, little one?” she thought to Jill.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be!” Jill thought back to her.

Then they were off.

Jill would remember that flight for the rest of her life. She had been in airplanes before, of course, and knew that takeoffs were noisy and sometimes frightening affairs, so she closed her eyes and braced herself for the jolt of the launch. But Polly’s wings lifted them both effortlessly into the Orbaratan sky, and their rise was so gentle that Polly might not have noticed that they were airborne except for the change in the breezes surrounding them. She cautiously opened one eye and saw that they were already five or six stories above street level and rising slowly, banking back and forth over the deepening chasm below them.

Far from being frightened now, Jill looked eagerly out at the ever-expanding horizon. She saw that the city of Cenurbus was built, as Polly had said, on steep mountain ridges with nearly vertical canyons between them. The city reminded her of photographs she had once seen of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and, as in Rio, there were long graceful arches bridging the canyons; but there were no trees or vegetation of any kind. She also saw many balconies and plazas that led from the structures built into the cliff walls. But she rarely saw staircases, and it occurred to her that, of course, the Ferrumari would not need them, since they could fly!

Polydora reached the uppermost levels of the cliffs but remained close to the walls lest their flight be noticed by unfriendly eyes. Nevertheless, Sam had been correct; it was both brighter and more blustery in the upper reaches of the city, and even Polydora could not prevent the occasional stomach-wrenching gust of wind from altering their flight. Jill clasped her cloak tightly around her to keep warm. But she was soon able to distinguish the rooftops and the plaza that Sam had described. The mountain rose higher just at the plaza’s far edge, and there were benches and the remains of pots or planters scattered throughout the space in addition to the stone pillars.

“So it was almost like a garden,” Jill thought to herself.

“Yes, it was,” Polly thought back to her, “but that was many centuries ago, long before I came out into the world from the place where my parent had hidden me. But I have seen pictures of how it was, once upon a time….”

To Jill’s astonishment, she now saw faint images flashing through her mind’s eye. The planters were filled with shrubs of every hue of the rainbow. Some had great circular leaves and others reminded her of weeping willows, or of weeping cherry trees. There were tall palm-like plants and low trailing vines. Yet, despite the vivid colours, the overall effect was pleasing, and Jill thought that the Ferrumari must have had great skill in the artistic uses of colour, texture, and shape.

“There were, in fact, many great artists among my people,” Polly thought back to Jill. “And I can show you some of their works in the galleries and museums that were spared during the dark times….

“…that is, once we have solved the mystery of who else may have come here.”

Jill felt a slight wave of dread coming from the Ferrumari, and she realized then how disturbed Polly must be that her home world had, somehow, been violated.

But now Jill saw Sam and Mr. Luke on the plaza. Sam was standing next to the shimmering wall that enclosed the plaza. He was watching them fly in while Mr. Luke was seated on one of the stone benches. Polly lightly touched down next to them, and then she set Jill down upon her own two feet.

Mr. Luke was once again munching on a chocolate bar. “I think next time I’ll take the stairs,” he said between bites.

“That would have taken you weeks,” said Sam. “Besides, I never even saw any leading up here.”

“Of course not, Samuel. It was a feeble attempt at making a joke. The Ferrumari didn’t bother much with stairs.” said Mr. Luke. “But, I’m better now. Going back down, I may opt for a sketch…running one of them, especially one of my own, doesn’t make my stomach do belly-flops the way the Maze does.”

The four of them turned their attention to the plaza. It was fairly large, and despite the crumbling stonework and the wear and erosion of many centuries, it still held a haunting beauty. There were paths worked into the multi-toned flagstones, and these threaded through the planters and stone monoliths that punctuated the space. Jill noticed that there was writing on many of the stone structures. “What do they say?” she asked aloud.

“They are short histories,” said Polly. “This path is itself like a walk backward through time. It begins with events near the time of the Apocalypse, and then traces Orbaratan history back through the ages until the time of the disappearance of the Masters. A visitor, or a pilgrim as they were called, did not need to read the writing on stones at all if he didn’t wish to; all of the Ferrumari had telepathic powers, and these stones have crystals embedded within them that retained images, songs, and performances from other times. A pilgrim could actually experience history in addition to simply reading about it. But now the crystals are mostly silent. I can sense very little of their original contents.”

“I’ll bet there needs to be some power source to make them work,” said Sam. “And I’ll bet that energy source has long since stopped working. Whatcha think, Mr. Luke?”

“Possibly. But, Polly, does anything look different to you now compared to your earlier visits?”

“No,” said Polly, “it is just as I remember it.”

By this time they had followed one of the winding paths past the empty planters and benches and were approaching the cliff wall at the back of the plaza. Jill could see a huge cutting in the cliff base and an immense doorway. A slab of stone filled the space, and its surface was covered with writing.

“More history, I suppose,” Jill thought. “Then she noticed the blue gems that Sam had mentioned. They were large — nearly the size of a half dollar — and were embedded in more of the mirrored glass-like material that seemed so prevalent throughout Cenurbus. They were round in shape, but were nearly the same colour as the sapphire Jill was wearing on her finger, and they were on either side of the stone door, roughly at Polly’s eye level.

“There are the two stones,” said Sam.

“Yes, but there should be a third,” answered Polly. “Look at the top of the door.”

They all looked at the lintel above the door. It was not as obvious to Mr. Luke, Sam, and Jill because they were not as tall as Polydora, but they could see, in the dim light that filtered down from the overhanging rock, a round setting of the mirrored glass. But it held no stone.

“The third gem is gone!” exclaimed Polly. “And now I remember why that is important! In addition to the writing on the stone door itself, there is a rhyme written upon the lintel. It speaks of the three stones that were originally set here.”

“What does the rhyme say? Can you translate it for us?” asked Mr. Luke.

Jill sensed rather than heard Polly’s thoughts as she tried to recast the rhyme into English.

The original Orbaratan language must, Jill thought, have been quite beautiful to hear spoken aloud. But the tone of these verses was dark and ominous.

“Here is what it says,” said Polly, “although this is but a rough translation. The original verse in my own language conveys great authority; they are words of warning and command, but they read something like this:

‘The three blessed stones that seal the thrones on high,

defended by the Ferrumari troth,

restrain the Masters, who, suspended lie,

chained and wrapped in cold funereal cloth.

Yet they will wake and wend a woeful doom,

should none of that great Warden Race endure,

fell acts of terror then they shall resume,

unless the sealing stones remain secure.'”

“But what does that even mean?!” asked Sam.

“It means,” said Mr. Luke after pondering for a few moments, “that we are likely in very grave danger.”

The words were scarcely out of Mr. Luke’s mouth when they all heard a sound like distant thunder that grew and grew. Even as it roared about them, they felt the stones beneath their feet heave and buckle.

“Earthquake!” yelled Mr. Luke. “Quickly, get away from the door and out onto the open plaza!”

[ To read Episode 6.1, click here…. ]

Tags: angel, earthquake, flight, gateway, guarding stones, Jill, Luke, Orbaratus, plaza of the masters, Polydora, Sam, sapphires, sealing stones

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Feb 04

The Framerunners come to Orbaratus

by Jef Murray

“The Framerunners come to Orbaratus“

Graphite, 11″x7″ wide.

Signed and numbered prints – AVAILABLE

To purchase a print of this item, please click here.

Tags: Jill, Luke, Orbaratus, Polydora, Sam, sketch, The Framerunners

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Feb 04

The Painting of Orbaratus

by Jef Murray

“The Painting of Orbaratus“

Digital, 11″x7″ wide.

Signed and numbered prints – AVAILABLE

To purchase a print of this item, please click here.

Tags: In the Company of Angels, Orbaratus, painting, Painting of Orbaratus, Polydora, The Gallery

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Feb 04

Jill arrives at The Gallery

by Jef Murray

“Jill arrives at The Gallery“

Graphite, 11.4″x8.0″ wide.

8.0″x8.0″ original graphite sketch – AVAILABLE

Signed and numbered prints – AVAILABLE

To purchase this original sketch, please contact Jef by clicking here.

To purchase a print of this item, please click here.

Tags: In the Company of Angels, Jill, Luke, print, Sam, The Gallery

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Feb 04

Polydora and Jill

by Jef Murray

“Polydora and Jill“

Graphite, 10″x7″ wide.

10.0″x7.0″ original graphite sketch – AVAILABLE

Signed and numbered prints – AVAILABLE

To purchase this original sketch, please contact Jef by clicking here.

To purchase a print of this item, please click here.

Tags: empath, Ferrumari, In the Company of Angels, Jill, Polydora

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Vignettes: The Glade

The Glade

In the Company of Angels: Episode 7.2 – The Attic (cont.)

In the Company of Angels, Episode 7.2 – The Attic (cont.)

“What do you two have to say for yourselves?” the Professor asked, opening the door to his study wider, and crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at both of them expectantly.

“Well, Sir, we’re…um…we’re students.” said Sam.

“Yes, that’s entirely possible,” said the Professor, “but is it common for American students to invade the homes of English professors without their leave?”

“Oh! So we’re in England!” Jill said.

“Where else might you think you were?” asked the Professor.

“Well, Sir, that might take some explaining,” said Sam.

“Well?! Well?! If it requires some explaining, then please proceed! But, Mrs. Mills, so that we do not begin to obtain a reputation for uncouth behavior toward foreign students, will you be so kind as to make us some tea? We’ll take it in my study.”

The Professor closed his study door behind them both and gestured to chairs. “Please do make yourselves comfortable. The tea will be along shortly; or perhaps longly, given Mrs. Mills’ current mood.” He chuckled. Once they were both seated, he turned his desk chair around and sat facing them.

“Now, do please tell me who you are and where you’ve come from. And kindly don’t repeat whatever story you might have told Mrs. Mills, if indeed you offered her any explanation at all. I know you aren’t American students on holiday. So, who precisely are you?”

Sam and Jill looked at each other, and Jill gestured toward Sam. “You should tell him,” she said.

“Everything?” he asked.

“Who exactly are you?!” she asked.

“He’s safe,” said Jill to Sam. Sam nodded.

The Professor leaned back in his chair and studied Sam carefully. “What is your name?” he asked.

“Sam Deckard,” Sam answered.

“And yours, my dear?” the Professor asked, turning to Jill.

Jill suddenly had an intense urge to do something she had not tried before, except with Polly. She tried to answer by speaking to the Professor with her mind.

“My name is Jill Jonsson” she thought, as “loudly” as she knew how.

The Professor’s eyes opened wide. “Oh my!” he said aloud.

“What?” asked Sam.

The Professor looked slightly bewildered. “Jill Jonsson?” he asked Jill directly.

“Yes,” she thought back to him.

“Oh, this is marvelous!” said the Professor.

“What is?” asked Sam.

“I’ve been talking to the Professor the way Polly taught me,” said Jill.

Sam’s eyes went wide, but he held his tongue.

The Professor, now sitting forward in his chair, looked with wonder at Jill. “Are you of the spirit world, my dear, or human?” he asked.

Jill was perplexed. “I’m just a girl, Sir,” she said. “But I seem to be able to ‘hear’ some things that other people think, and I can sometimes talk with people without speaking. But this is all pretty new for me, so I’m not sure I’m that good at it.”

“Extraordinary!” said the Professor. “I’ve never encountered anything like it!”

“Well, Sir,” said Sam,”what we need help with, at least mainly, is a raven.”

“A raven?!”

“Yes, Sir. A raven. It’s one that spends some time in your attic, it seems.”

“Well, Sir, we think it’s got something: something that doesn’t belong to it. And we need to get that back so that we can prevent a lot of bad things from happening,” said Jill.

“Well, I wouldn’t put thievery past any raven. They love collecting things, you know, especially shiny ones. I remember finding one’s nest as a boy, and it was filled with bits of tinsel, ribbons, marbles, and even broken bits of glass and mirrors.

But, that’s neither here nor there. whatever is it that has this one has stolen?”

“A gem, Sir. A sapphire, we think, not unlike this one.” Sam pulled his own crystal pendant from beneath his shirt and held it out to the Professor.

The Professor went to reach for the sapphire, but then stopped. “That’s no ordinary gem,” he said.

“What do you mean, Sir?” asked Sam, nervously.

The Professor looked Sam directly in the eye. “I mean that it has some property beyond just being a pretty thing. There’s a…a power in it, it seems to me. Am I right?”

Jill nudged Sam. “I told you; he’s safe. You can tell him.”

“Well, Sir, yes, you are. This crystal, and others like it, allow a person who wears it to do things that might seem pretty strange to most folks.”

“You mean like travel to different worlds? Or to different times?”

“Uh, yes Sir. But, like I said, we really shouldn’t tell you too much because it might cause us all a lot of problems,” said Sam, “but could I ask you a question?”

“Certainly.”

“Can you tell us where we are, and what year it is?”

“Properly speaking, young man, you should ask me ‘would you tell us’, not ‘can you tell us’.”

“And the year is?”

“The year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty six.”

“Oh no!” said Sam.

[ To read Episode 8.1, click here…. ]

In the Company of Angels: Episode 7.1 – The Attic

In the Company of Angels, Episode 7.1 – The Attic

“Are those flowers?” she wondered. But just at that moment, very clearly in her head, she heard the word “Roses!” She turned and looked at Sam. He smiled at her and said, in a whisper, “I think I smell roses blooming! They must be outside. It must be summertime here!”

“I don’t see any sign of the raven,” she whispered.

“No, me neither,” said Sam, “but let’s look around and see if maybe it’s built a nest in one of the nooks and crannies of this place.”

“That’s going to be hard in all of this murk,” said Jill.

“I wonder if this is something like a row-house, with openings into different people’s homes?” whispered Jill.

“I don’t know,” said Sam, “and I hope we don’t have to find out. But can you see over there in the far corner? There’s a lot of light coming in near the floor: a bright spot. I’m betting there’s a hole there, and maybe that’s where the raven has gotten to.”

“But what if the raven just flew into a different painting? There have to be at least a half dozen we’ve seen that it could have gotten into. That is, if it’s still carrying one of the crystals.”

Jill nodded. “I’m new at this, but here goes….” She shut her eyes and did her best to sense what was around her. She knew Sam was there, but what about past him, past the confines of the crawlspace? She listened and tried to see if she could feel the presence of anyone other than Sam.

“I think there must be a housekeeper, or someone like that, nearby. Maybe in the room on the other side of this door,” she whispered to Sam.

“OK. Anything else?” he asked.

But just then Jill’s attention was taken away from listening, for she detected, or thought she detected, something like rapid movement, and the feeling of being watched. She opened her eyes and gazed in the direction she had felt the movement come from.

“Sam, look over toward that bright spot you mentioned.”

“There he is!” Sam exclaimed, forgetting to whisper. The raven froze in the light for a moment, but then turned around and dove back through the hole in the eaves.

“Oh, blast it all!” said Sam, and stamped his foot.

“Shush!!!” whispered Jill, but it was too late. She could hear footsteps just outside the door beside them, and then, a moment later, the handle turned and light streamed in from the room beyond. A middle-aged woman, slightly plump, was standing in the open doorway peering intently in at them.

“Oh!” she said. “You two gave me such a start! The Professor didn’t say anything about any children in the house. But where have you stowed your things? And what on earth are you doing in this musty old attic?!”

“Well, we, uh…” said Jill.

The woman knocked on the door. “Professor, I’m here with the two children. Shall I set them up in the children’s room, as usual?”

Sam and Jill heard nothing for a moment, but then the door to the room opened and a tall, middle-aged man with a receding hairline opened the door. Past him, they could both see that the room beyond must be a sort of a study and library.