Tag Archive: Azarias

Jul 23

The Minotaur

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“The Minotaur

Graphite, 10.0″x8.0″ wide.

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.

 

Jul 23

Azarias

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“Azarias

Graphite, 8.0″x8.0″ wide.

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.

Jul 06

Hieroglyphs

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Hieroglyphs

 

“One must always be careful when it comes to ancient artifacts,” said Azarias.

He and Luke Lester were standing in the ancient Egyptian gallery of the Cassandra museum. Surrounding them were statues and friezes that had been removed from burial sites dating from before the time of the Great Pyramids.

“But these are surely just relics,” suggested Luke. “It’s not likely, is it, that they would continue to have any supernatural power in our own day?” Luke looked at the hieroglyphs that covered the adjacent sarcophagi and canopic jars.

“On the contrary, my dear fellow, they have lost none of their potency because of their age. Simply recite any of the invocations on any artifact you see around you, and you may quickly find yourself in the presence of forces — evil forces! — that you would otherwise never have expected to invoke.”

The two stood in silence for a few moments.

“I’m not sure I believe you,” said Luke.

“Ah! Well! Then you have simply proved what I’ve known to be the case for some time now; in fact, since first I came to join the Fratrum Simulacrorum.”

“And what is that?”

“Simply this: that the devil has never achieved a greater victory than in convincing the people of your generation to disbelieve in him, and in all of the dark forces that he controls.”

 

Jun 04

In the Company of Angels: Episode 14.1 – Smoke and Mirrors

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In the Company of Angels, Episode 14.1 – Smoke and Mirrors

The two swarthy men had just reached the top of the fire escape when they heard a loud clanging from the platform below them. It sounded like someone had struck the metal of the fire escape steps with a pipe. They put their gas cans down and flattened against the wall, hoping that if anyone was in the alley below them, they wouldn’t be noticed. After a few moments, they carefully leaned out to look, but there was no one to be seen. The van that had brought them was at the end of the alley, but there was no sign of anyone else. They breathed a sigh of relief and turned back around to see if they could break into one of the windows on the landing.

There were two windows, both of them set with mirrored glass. Neither was very large, but the two men were sure if they could get one of them open, they would be able to slip in and out easily. The smaller man pulled a toolkit out of his coverall pockets, unrolled it on the landing, and began to study the casing.

“Don’t break it unless you have to, Pavel” said the larger man. “We don’t want to attract too much attention until the fire is set.”

Pavel nodded. He was just about to try a chisel on the window frame, when they once more heard the clanging below them.

“What the heck?!” the larger man said. This time he wasn’t cautious. He looked over the railing at the 2nd floor landing below them. He thought he had seen something moving, but couldn’t be sure. “Stay here and get that window open,” he said. “I’m going to go find out who’s down there.” He pulled a Glock from its holster beneath his shirt and threaded a silencer onto its barrel.

“Ahmed, remember, if you have to shoot, try not to break any glass. That sound carries….”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Just get the window open,” said Ahmed. He stealthily stepped down the steps until he was standing on the 2nd floor landing. He looked carefully at the window. There was no sign that it had been opened, and no obvious way for him to pry it open. He put his hand above his eyes to block out the light and put his face up next to the glass, straining to see if he could see anything in the darkness beyond.

“Nothing,” he hissed. He dropped his gun to his side and turned around to survey the other buildings around them.

Pavel had just gotten his chisel set well into the window frame when he heard a short yell and the sounds of struggle below him. Then came the clanging of metal upon metal. He jumped up and leaned over the railing. Ahmed was nowhere to be seen, but Pavel recognized his gun lying on the landing floor. He put his chisel back into the tool kit, swore, and ran down the fire escape. When he reached the 2nd floor landing, the gun had disappeared as well.

Pavel started sweating. He looked wildly around and beneath the landing. Everything was exactly as it had appeared when they had first climbed the fire escape. He looked down the alleyway. The van was still there, thank heavens!

He shook his head. There was nothing to do but keep working on the window and hope that Ahmed would show back up again. He climbed the stairs to the 3rd floor once more and stopped abruptly. His tools were gone! Not only that, but the two gas cans were gone too!

     o o o

The two men in The Gallery’s stairwell had reached the mirrored door leading onto the main floor. One of the men was heavy set with blonde hair. The other was almost as large, but with a great black bushy beard.

“I still think we’d do better spreading this stuff on the first floor. Fires move up, not down,” said the blonde.

“We have to get the jewels first, moron, then we torches the place,” said Blackbeard.

“Whatcha think those jewels are worth, eh Blacky?”

Blacky shook his head and grunted. “Don’t go making plans we’ll regret, comrade. We don’t want to cross Aym. You do that and….” he ran his finger across his throat. “Jewels first; then fire.”

They returned to the door. Blacky reached into his coat pocket and retrieved his lock-picking tools. The blonde stood aside with his arms crossed, watching him.

Suddenly the two men heard the door downstairs open. Someone was below them, whistling a merry tune. The blonde leaned over the railing and saw a tall, bearded man with grey hair shutting the street door behind him.

“Hello?” said the blonde.

“Oh, hello up there! Can I help you? No one else is here at present, I’m afraid.”

“We’re…uh…here to make some repairs. Someone called and said they had a lock that needed fixing. Can you let us in?”

“Oh, my, now, I couldn’t do that, could I? That wouldn’t be sporting! No, I’m sorry, whoever it is that called you, they must have been mistaken. I’ll have to ask you to leave now.”

“Well, we’ll need to be paid before we leave,” said the blonde. He nudged Blacky, who grunted and grinned.

“No, no payment. And, this will be your final warning. Leave now, or I can’t answer for the consequences.”

“Oh yeah? Well, we ain’t leavin’ grandpa, and neither are you!” said the blonde. He pulled a gun out and aimed it at Azarias.

Suddenly the blonde heard a voice in his head say “Blacky is going to double-cross you.” The blonde shook his head, wondering where that idea had come from. “Show me your hands!” he said. Azarias held his hands up.

“As soon as you go downstairs, Blacky’s going to shoot you both,” said the voice in the blonde’s head. He looked nervously behind him at Blacky, but his partner was continuing to try to pick the lock on the door. As soon as he turned back to look down at the first floor landing, Azarias had disappeared.

“Hey!” the blonde cried. “You come back here!” He raced down the stairs, expecting to see Azarias crouching in the corner, but there was no one downstairs at all. And he knew he had not heard either of the downstairs doors open.

He stood there perplexed and looked up. Blacky was standing with his gun pointed at him.

“Go on, say it,” said Blacky.

“Say what?!” asked the blonde.

“Say ‘come on down here, Blacky, and help me with this guy’. I know what you’re up to, comrade. You and the geezer are gonna try to steal the gems. Well, it ain’t happenin’, pal. Put down your gun, then put your hands up and come back up here. I’ll deal with the geezer later….”

The blonde had no choice. He put his gun down and started walking back up the stairs. That was when both men heard the sirens in the distance.

   o o o

Jack was alone in the van, keeping an eye on the alley and on the road at the end of it. He had backed the van into the alley so that they could all leave quickly once the blaze was set. There was additional equipment in the van; more gas cans, some climbing gear, and even masks. They’d decided against the masks.

Jack glanced in the rearview mirror. He had seen Ahmed and Pavel climbing up the fire escape stairs a few minutes back and suspected that, by now, they would likely be inside the warehouse. He glanced at his watch. They’d only been here for ten minutes. The goal was to be gone in twenty. “This should be a piece of cake,” he thought to himself, and lit a cigarette. He rolled down the window to flick out the ashes and noticed the loading dock door was being raised. The door was situated just in front of his parking spot, on the right. It led into the warehouse.

At first, Jack thought that some of the boys had already gotten in and that they were going to get back out to the van by way of the loading dock. “That’s pretty slick,” he thought. “Should get us out of here that much faster.” But then he spotted Azarias.

“Who the heck is this?!!” he grumbled. Jack got out of the van.

Azarias waved at him. “Your friends are all inside. They’re asking for you.”

Jack pretended to look confused. “What friends, pal? I’m just parked out here having a smoke.”

“Ah, well then, you must not be the getaway driver. Just as well. Then you’re not in any hurry to leave, are you?”

“Uh, no. Should I be?”

“Not particularly. But my friend there is going to need to stack a few things up outside the loading dock door, and he’s liable to block your exit route for a bit.” Azarias gestured behind him toward the open door. “Don’t worry, he’ll get them out of your way soon. But if you were hoping to leave immediately, I suspect you’ve already lost your chance.”

While Azarias had been talking, Jack noticed several pallets, loaded with heavy metal barrels, being pushed — he couldn’t see by whom — out into the alleyway. They had soon closed off the street so that there was no hope of his leaving in that direction. He looked back behind the van. There was no exit in that direction, either, because the fire escape and a dumpster narrowed the alleyway too much to get the van through.

“Look, mister,” he said angrily, turning back around to face Azarias. But Azarias was not there. Instead, he found that he was looking at an enormous blue-skinned creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man. The creature had blazing red eyes, and these were gazing none too kindly at Jack. Azarias was nowhere to be seen.

“Uh…uh….” Jack gurgled. He grabbed the van door and hurled himself inside, rolling up the window behind him. Then he locked the doors and stared in horror at the creature, who was still glaring at him angrily. He then desperately started searching through the bags behind his seat to try to find a gun…a knife…anything that he might be able to use as a weapon.

The minotaur (for that is precisely what the creature was) reached down to the bumper of the van and lifted the front of it into the air. He then slammed his great sledge-hammer fist against the inner side of the van’s right front wheel. It popped off like it was a child’s toy, bounced off of the brick wall of the warehouse, and rolled down the alleyway toward the fire escape. Pavel, who had just fled in a panic down the fire escape, was running toward the van. He was hit and flattened by the wayward wheel.

In the meantime, the minotaur continued to rock the van back and forth, preventing Jack from keeping his balance and slamming him against the sides, floor, and even the roof of the vehicle. Then the beast dropped the front of the van, strode around to the back of it, and ripped both of the rear doors off. Jack was bruised and in a panic, but was still trying to find a weapon to use on the monster.

“Too late again, I’m afraid,” came a voice from the alleyway. Jack looked up. The minotaur was gone. In its place stood Azarias, holding the gun he had taken away from Ahmed. Jack put up his hands and painfully crawled out of the van, wincing, just as he heard the sirens. Police cars had completely surrounded the warehouse.

 

 

     [ To read Episode 14.2, click here…. ]

 

 

May 28

In the Company of Angels: Episode 13.2 – The Aftermath (cont.)

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In the Company of Angels, Episode 13.2 – The Aftermath (cont.)

Another hour passed before Jill began to stir. Luke had spent the time touching up the sketch and walking back and forth upon the plaza to keep warm; the sun, far away beyond thick clouds, was apparently setting, and the temperatures were beginning to drop.

Jill sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was startled for a moment as she surveyed the strange landscape around her, but then she remembered where she was.

“Mr. Luke?” she called.

“Yes, dear?” he said. He was a good distance away, near the edge of the plaza and looking down into the dark canyons beneath them.

“I’m sorry, I must have dozed off. Hasn’t Brother Azarias returned yet?”

“No, but he will in due time, I’m sure,” said Luke as he returned to the monolith.

Jill looked at the sketch, now far more detailed than it had been when she had drifted off. It truly was remarkable what Mr. Luke was capable of.

“The sketch is lovely! But what exactly does Azarias need it for?” asked Jill.

“He’ll tell us in his own good time, I’m sure,” said Mr. Luke, as he surveyed the drawing once more, “but there must be a very important reason for him to have requested it. Particularly since he wanted me to reproduce that precise moment, just as we were leaving The Gallery. I can’t imagine why that would be important. But, Azarias…er…Brother Azarias, doesn’t always explain things fully. He holds a lot back. My brother, Charles, has often said so.”

“Oh! You have a brother?” asked Jill. She yawned and stretched her arms.

“Yes. Charles is an artist as well, but he’s not part of the Order.”

“No? But you said he knows Brother Azarias. How do they know each other if not through the Order?”

“Charles works more with Father Hildebrandt and the Benedictines proper. I don’t know exactly in what capacity. It’s a different part of the same family, though, to be honest. We’re all trying to do the same sorts of things, just from different perspectives and with different tools.”

“But, what sorts of things, Mr. Luke? I mean, after today, I hardly know what it is we’re trying to do….”

Luke looked down at Jill. “We’re trying to do what is right, my dear. That’s all. It’s not always easy to tell what that might be, but today, I think we’ve seen what we can be up against. And, I must tell you, you have held up very well: very well indeed! Although I know I’m not someone with whom you are well acquainted yet, I wanted to tell you that I’m very proud of you and very happy that you were with us when…when….”

Mr. Luke turned away for a moment, and Jill again found herself tearing up. But just then they both heard a voice behind them.

“Luke, that is splendid! Bravo!” It was Azarias. “And…are you both sure that that was the precise scene of the gallery when you left it?”

“Yes, I certainly believe so,” said Luke.

“Jill?”

“Yes, Sir. That’s how things looked.”

“Marvelous! Then I intend to make immediate good use of your sketch, my fine Rendering friend,” said Azarias. “Once I am gone, I would like to ask you to begin work on a second sketch: one that will allow you both to return to the portal at the base of the cliffs. That is, the one that brought you here in the first place. Sam could take you there via the Maze, but he’s tied up at present. He will meet you down below, and although I anticipate no problems, if for any reason you should find the portal gone…”

Gone?! What do you mean, gone?!” asked Luke.

“Do not trouble yourself! It is quite likely that all shall be well. But, on the off chance that the portal is missing….”

“Yes? What should we do then?” asked Luke.

“I’d suggest waiting a bit, and if after, say, an hour, the portal has still not reopened, then you should gather everyone and return to my flat in London. Proceed from there to Rome. I don’t believe it will come to that, but if worse comes to worst, you may need Father Hildebrandt’s help and advice.”

“But shouldn’t we just return to The Gallery?”

“No, not to The Gallery under any circumstances, should you find the portal closed! Do you understand?” Azarias looked keenly, almost ferociously, at Luke.

“Well I don’t understand, not really, but we’ll certainly do as you say.”

“Good. Do not fear! All shall likely be well! And if that is indeed the case, l shall see you both again very shortly!” With that, Azarias clenched a sapphire in his hand, and, with no hesitation whatsoever, stepped into Luke’s sketch and was gone.

    o    o    o

When Azarias arrived at The Gallery, Luke was just disappearing into the painting of Orbaratus. Azarias moved toward the painting and briefly saw the four figures silhouetted against the ruined landscape of Polydora’s home world; then they faded and the painting looked once more as it always had.

Azarias glanced around at The Gallery. Everything appeared to be in order, but he knew that, within minutes, someone would almost certainly be breaking into the warehouse. Whoever it was would not be subtle, for within a very few hours, news of their work would have already traveled overseas and been reported to Father Hildebrandt. “And to myself,” Azarias thought, remembering the tricky position he was in. At this very moment, he was not only here, in The Gallery, but also in his London flat.

Time travel was always a bit unnerving, even to him. It was never something to be taken lightly.

All that Azarias could do was to await the Amenta and their agents, and to watch for them to make the first move. But he could at least try to sense whether anyone else was currently in The Gallery, or just outside of it. He closed his eyes, listening and “feeling” as intently as possible. All yet seemed quiet.

The Gallery, Azarias knew, was guarded against the Amenta themselves: the spirit creatures that were the bane of the Fratrum Simulacrorum. But the Amenta could recruit agents of their own: flesh and blood men and women willing to carry out their wishes whenever physical action was required. These they corrupted by whispering to them and persuading them to become agents of evil. It was usually a long and slow process: corrupting souls was not always easy. Yet every generation gave rise those who were more or less susceptible to the lies of the dark agents.

The Amenta themselves were always drawn to the crystals. Because the Gallery was protected, they were unable to enter it themselves, even if no one was present within. But their agents could. And what their agents were about to do, Azarias knew, was to burn the Gallery, and all that was in it, to the ground.

The Gallery, along with all of the paintings and other archives stored within the warehouse, would be a mass of charred rubble within a few hours. The loss of the paintings alone would be devastating to the Order, but what would ultimately be even worse, Azarias knew, was that whatever crystals were still in the warehouse would be taken. Whether their theft was planned for before the fire was started, or to be left for afterwards — when the stones could be sifted from the ruins of the building — Azarias did not know. He only knew that they were the primary target.

The framerunning sapphires were the key to reaching all worlds drawn or painted, whether those images existed on earth or in another universe entirely. The crystals were absolutely unique, and they could only be found on earth. The location of the mine that yielded them was kept as secret as the existence and location of the stones that had been recovered and safeguarded. Without them, there was no known way to framerun to another world or another time.

The Amenta, in order to be able to move their agents into other Iconic Realms, needed the crystals. And the Fratrum Simulacrorum was formed, in part, to prevent their obtaining them.

The long battle between these two adversaries had now spanned millennia. “And the battle will likely span even more before the final end of all things,” thought Azarias. He listened again and thought he heard noises coming from the stairwell that led up to the main floor of the Gallery. He looked around and found a full-length mirror near him. Grasping his crystal, he stepped into the mirror.

When the Gallery had been built, great effort had been made to insure that there were many, many mirrors scattered throughout the building. Mirrors were even placed on the inside of the safes that held crystals that were not currently in use. As a result, the first thing Azarias did once he was inside the Maze was to sift through the swirling, multifaceted panes that surrounded him, looking for the one that might open onto the crystal safe. It would be small, he knew, and dark, since no lights were kept on within it. He soon found one or two likely panes, and reached through these to feel around just outside of them. The second was the one he sought: within, he felt jewelry and loose stones. These he carefully retrieved and stored in his pockets.

Now that the sapphires were safe, he turned his attention back to what was happening elsewhere within and without the Gallery. Searching through pane after pane, he finally discovered one in which he saw two figures creeping up the fire-escape at the back of the warehouse. The men were dressed like construction workers, but each was carrying a large jerry can. “Likely filled with paraffin or petrol,” Azarias thought. Then he saw two more men in the stairwell; they, too, were carrying jerry cans, and they were climbing up the last steps to the second floor. Through a third pane  he saw a large van with at least one man in it, sitting behind the wheel. It was parked in the alley behind the Gallery.

“As I thought, these men are going to be none too subtle,” thought Azarias. “I have no weapons, but if I’m to stop them at all, I haven’t a moment to lose….”

 

       [ To read Episode 14.1, click here…. ]

 

 

May 22

In the Company of Angels: Episode 13.1 – The Aftermath

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In the Company of Angels, Episode 13.1 – The Aftermath

When she realized that Polly was gone — gone for good — Jill collapsed upon the stone plaza floor, sobbing. During the actual march of Polydora and the Ferrumari people into the gateway, Jill was too caught up with the singing and with Polly’s last command to her to fully comprehend what was happening. The wave of triumph from the ancient servant race of Obaratus had carried Jill along. Theirs was the song of a people who had reclaimed their ancient homeland, and who had also, for the second time in their history, overcome an evil that might easily have spread to other planets and destroyed other peoples, cultures, and worlds, including Jill’s own.

But now everything was finished, and the song of the Ferrumari was hushed. In the eerily still aftermath, Jill could not contain her grief at the loss of her friend. It was the loss of a connection to another soul that she had not felt, she realized through her sobs, since her father had disappeared more than a year before. Now, with this new loss, the old grief came back to Jill, and she felt more deeply abandoned then than she thought anyone could ever feel.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up. It was Sam. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. Tears had welled up in his eyes as well, and she felt waves of grief flowing from him as he tried hard to fight back his tears. He stood with her for a few moments, unable to speak, and Jill saw, through her own tears, another figure approaching them both. It was Azarias.

“Sam, I’m going to need your help,” the tall man said softly.

Sam nodded, and Jill sensed a flood of relief coming from him. Having a job to do, she realized, allowed him to push his sorrow away for a time. It would be back, he seemed to know, but this was how he had learned to cope with his own pain. Jill wondered, then, what Sam might have suffered through on other framerunning journeys. Or was this way of coping related to something else? Jill knew Sam lived with his uncle. She had never asked about his parents before, and she suddenly felt like she had been a very poor friend.

Sam squeezed her shoulder again and said, in a thick voice, “I’ll be back soon,” and then he walked with Azarias away from her and toward the closed gateway. Jill watched them as they went. Azarias was speaking to Sam in hushed tones.

Mr. Luke came over to her and helped her stand up. He, too, was struggling with his own grief, and this grief surrounded him and pressed down on him like great iron weights. He had likely known Polydora, Jill realized, longer than anyone else — other than Azarias, perhaps — and Mr. Luke had probably spent more time with Polly than any other human being ever had.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Luke,” Jill said to him. She stretched out her arms, and Luke leaned down and hugged her tightly. When he finally let go, Jill saw that tears were flowing freely down his cheeks. He pulled out a handkerchief and mopped his face. Then he blew his nose loudly.

“There. I needed that,” he said. “I can’t remember when the last time was that I cried. And I hope it is a very long time before I have cause to do so again. I’m afraid this was not in the least the sort of trip I had planned for your first experience of framerunning…I’m so sorry. So very, very sorry….”

He covered his eyes and the tears again streamed down his face.

“It’s alright, Mr. Luke,” Jill said, and she hugged him again. There was something about realizing that her own pain was shared by all of them that helped make the loss of her friend ever so slightly more bearable. A part of her changed forever at that moment, and Jill realized suddenly that her tears were already drying in the gusty Orbaratan breezes.

Azarias and Sam returned, and Jill noticed that Sam had a strange look in his eyes.

“Luke,” said Azarias, “I know that we all need some time to recover from what has happened, but there are a couple of things that need attending to, and they simply cannot wait. Forgive me, Jill….

“Luke, I need you to do something: two things, in fact. First, I need for you, with Jill’s help, to try to recollect, to the best of your ability, the actual moment of your coming through the painting of Orbaratus from The Gallery. Then I need you to sketch that moment. Think in terms of an image taken from the vantage point of someone watching you all go through the painting from a location elsewhere in The Gallery. It’s very important that you keep that intent in mind as you make the sketch, alright?”

“You mean the intent that the sketch represent that precise time?”

“Exactly.”

“Alright, that shouldn’t be too difficult,” answered Luke.

“And, Jill…” said Azarias, “I know we’ve not formally met, but that will have to wait. Right now, I need you to help me with something.”

“Yes, Sir?”

“I need you to watch Luke very carefully and help make sure that he gets the image right. I want you both to recall as many details as possible, but only those that you are both quite certain about; if you don’t remember something clearly, don’t include it in the sketch.”

“Where do you want me to sketch it?” asked Luke.

“On any suitable surface. This one over here, for instance.” Azarias gestured toward one of the monolithic pillars in the plaza that had not been toppled by the earthquakes, and that had smooth stone surfaces on two of its four sides.

“Sam and I need to attend to another task. We will have to do some mazerunning while you’re both working on the sketch. When we come back, I’ll need you to do a second sketch, but for now, concentrate on the one of The Gallery with all of you in it, including the painting of Orbaratus. It needs to be complete enough to framerun safely.”

“By all of us?”

“No, by me alone. But, because I wasn’t there, it likely needs to be more detailed than if you were running it yourself.”

“It won’t take more than an hour or so,” said Mr. Luke.

“Good. That will suffice. We should be back by then.”

“Do you mind my asking what this is all about?” asked Luke.

“I can explain later, but not now; time is pressing. All will be made clear….”

Mr. Luke nodded. He reached into his drover coat and once more pulled out a piece of chalk. Then he turned to the monolith and studied the first of its two blank sides. Jill watched Azarias and Sam walk together toward an adjacent wall made of the metallic mineral with which the Ferrumari had built so much of their city. They spoke for a moment, and then quickly disappeared into the wall together.

“What’s it like, Mr. Luke? I mean, being in the Maze?”

Mr. Luke shuddered. “It’s not like anything else I can describe. Very unpleasant: for me, anyway. I’m sure at some point Sam will take you through the Maze, but you should never, ever, try it on your own! It’s far too dangerous! It is very, very confusing, and it’s easy to mistake real images and real exits within the Maze for reflections, and vice versa. Have you ever been in a hall of mirrors at a circus or a carnival? You know, the sort of thing they have in a ‘fun house’?”

“Yes, once, when I was very small. I went with my father.”

“Do you remember how confusing it was?”

“Yes, I think so. Sometimes you’d walk right into a mirror, thinking it was a way out, and at other times, you’d be unable to find a way out because you thought it was just a reflection.”

“I couldn’t have described it better myself,” said Luke. “Take that, and multiply it by about a thousand, and you’d have a sense of how confusing the Maze can be.”

“But not to Sam?”

“Apparently not. But that’s because that’s his gift…his particular talent. He never seems to be confused by what he encounters within the Maze. But he would find — and in fact does find — your ability to feel and sense the emotions and thoughts of those around you to be just as strange and hard to understand.

“But, let’s get back to the business at hand. Let’s think about this sketch. When we first came through the painting, I know Sam went through first, correct?”

“Yes, and then came Polly and then me….” Involuntarily, Jill’s eyes filled with tears once again.

“It’s alright, dear. I’m having the same trouble. Just take a deep breath….”

Jill took several deep breaths. “OK, I’m better now. I’m sorry. Alright, let’s see…I was holding onto Polly’s hand when we came through the frame….”

Luke began sketching while Jill sat down on the plaza stones near the monolith and watched him. First he drew in the shape of the painting itself upon its easel. Then he roughed in a figure wearing a drover coat — himself — with Polly and Jill standing just past him, walking forward. Then he consulted with Jill on what other items had been in the jumble of odds and ends surrounding the painting and the easel at the time. As they talked, more and more of the sketch took shape. Soon all of the lines were in place, and Luke used one lighter and one darker piece of chalk to begin sketching in the shading of the scene more fully.

After about an hour, as he had predicted, Luke stopped and stepped back from the pillar. Before him, on the flat, greyish surface of the stone, was a drawing that, far from being a simple sketch, was approaching a very realistic scene.

“Azarias should find that workable,” Luke said aloud. He looked over and discovered that Jill had fallen asleep where she had been sitting. He stepped over to her, took off his drover coat and spread it out beside her. Then he gently lifted her over onto the coat, covering her with it to keep her warm.

 

       [ To read Episode 13.2, click here…. ]

May 14

In the Company of Angels: Episode 12.2 – The Crucible (cont.)

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In the Company of Angels, Episode 12.2 – The Crucible (cont.)

 It was then that Jill, desperate to find something, anything, that she might be able to do, happened to glance down at the surface of the plaza. And there she saw an object that she didn’t recognize. It appeared to be a small fruit, perhaps an unripe apple or a gourd. It was lying upon the stone floor. She knew not whence it had come, but its appearance was odd, almost as if it glowed with some inner light. The effect was all the more pronounced given the return of the Amenta and their resumed darkening of the plaza..

Jill reached down and picked up the object, holding it up so that she could examine it better. And as she did so, shrieks of pain and horror erupted from the throng of the Masters standing before them. Not understanding what was happening, she looked up questioningly, only to discover that Azarias, Mr. Luke, and Polydora were just as puzzled as she. Jill stood silently and watched, and as she did so, the Masters quailed and began to scramble backwards, retreating from the five small figures before them.

“What has happened?!” asked Azarias. “Polly, did you do something to them?”

“No,” she replied, “I have done nothing. But there has been a great surge of light that has caused the Masters to quail. I know not whence this light has come….”

All of the defenders of the gateway looked around them, and Sam whistled aloud. “Look in Jill’s hands! I recognize that! I picked it from a tree when I was chasing the raven in Oxford.”

They all gazed at the small, unripe orb that Jill clasped yet, and even as they watched it, the light that it emitted grew.

“You brought this from Oxford?!” Luke asked, astonished.

“Oh, no, not from Oxford. It was on some other world; one I travelled to to retrieve the raven.”

“And what was the name of that world?” asked Azarias.

“We never asked…did we, Jill?”

“No, Sir, we didn’t. It was a place the Professor had written about, in one of his books, I think. I picked the fruit up from the plaza just now. Sam, it must have fallen out of your pocket!”

Azarias gently lifted the fruit from Jill’s hand and held it aloft. As he did so, the Masters quailed once more and cowered away from them.

“Polly, what do your empathic senses tell you about this curious object?” asked Azarias

Polydora reached out and brushed six delicate fingers across the orb. The sensation she experienced was like none that had ever come to her, and she was shaken to her core.

“I have never encountered anything so…so….”

“So what, Polly?” Asked Mr. Luke.

“So…holy,” replied the Ferrumari.

“But why would it have such an effect on the Masters?” asked Sam.

“Because, Sam, the Masters are utter slaves to evil, and, if Polly is correct, this fruit is something untainted by evil. It is entirely pure and unsullied. They cannot bear even the sight of such as this.” said Azarias.

“But would it be enough to drive them back into the caverns?” asked Polydora.

“I do not know, for even now its effect could be waning,” said Azarias. “My greatest fear now is that we may be attacked from behind even as we attempt to drive the Masters back into the caverns. The Amenta will not relent; they have planned this event for centuries, if not millennia. If they begin once more to assail us in force, to separate us and confuse us, then we may not even be able to speak amongst ourselves to plan our actions. Even now their numbers have almost fully blackened the sky.”

They all looked around them. Aside from the light of the crystals and the golden apple, plus the flicker of flame from the open fissures, everything around them was now in total darkness. The Masters themselves appeared to have overcome their first dismay at the sight of the golden fruit, and they appeared, by the light of the flames that were growing once more around them, to be organizing for some new attempt to break free.

In that moment, and when all seemed to be most in doubt, Polydora knew with certainty what she must do.

“Jill, give me your hand,” she said. Jill reached up and took the hand of the silver angel before her. And when she did so, she heard Jill speak to her gently, lovingly, within her head, “you must help me call forth my people. They are here already, but we must bring them here in their full glory and in the greatest numbers that we can. Do you remember their singing when first you beheld the painting of Orbaratus?”

“Yes, Polly,” answered Jill.

“Then we must ask for their help. Listen for their song, and ask them to surround and support us. Ask them to drive back the Amenta and force the Masters to retreat.”

Jill did as Polydora bid her, and she knew that the Ferrumari was doing the same. Almost immediately, she heard singing all around them and saw flitting lightning-bug sparks swirling and dancing, first here, then there. They came closer, and ever closer, and behind them were thousands — nay, millions — of others! They packed closely in around them, and their light pushed the black mass of the Amenta back and up into the sky, away from the plaza’s surface.

Even as the lights increased and the darkness waned, Jill glanced around them and saw, now, not just points of light, but light coalescing into figures: tall figures that shone out in the darkness; great winged beings of radiance and power! They stretched behind her and behind Polydora upon the plaza: a throng so great that she could not see even where the plaza ended. And the Amenta remained thrust up into the sky and away from all of them. Their howling became shrieks of pain as the light pierced them.

“Polly, I think they’ve come! They’ve all come!” she thought to her friend. Polly squeezed her hand. “Keep them with us, little one, for as long as they are needed. And do not stop listening to and joining in their song, if you are able. Whatever happens, little one, you must do this! I am relying on you; don’t fail me!”

Then Polydora, the last of the Ferrumari, removed her hand from Jill’s, and placed within it, instead, the guarding stone she had been holding aloft. She turned and stepped then before Azarias and grasped the staff that he held. They looked for a moment into each other’s eyes, and then Azarias bowed and released the staff to her.

Polly turned, and, raising high the silver shaft with its brilliant blue star, she began marching straight toward the leader of the Masters. As she did so, all of her people, the luminescent angel spirits of the Ferrumari, gathered around her. They were a thundering ocean of light as they flowed forward, unstoppable, toward the gateway.

Osor screamed and gave way before them. The other Masters  broke ranks and fought each other to be the first to reach the passageway and return to the blackness of the caverns below.

Onward marched Polydora, and Azarias raised his voice to be heard above the singing of the Ferrumari, which was now perceived by them all. “Follow Polydora! Follow her with the crystals! We must close the stone gates behind the Masters before they have another chance to escape!”

Jill raised high the gem that Polly had placed in her hand, and she continued singing the song of the Ferrumari, drawing ever more of the angelic creatures into the flood of light that surrounded Polydora and all of them.

The song of the Ferrumari became ever louder, and even the stones beneath Jill’s feet began to  tremble with the chorus of voices. Osor, the last to back his way through the gateway, just as he was the first to leave it, would not flee, but instead he continued to try to hold his ground against Polydora and the angelic Ferrumari. But they would not relent, nor even slacken their pace. Instead, Polly increased her stride, driving the leader of the Masters back, back into the cavern. Now Polly herself was within the passageway, and while Jill expected her to stop, she realized then that if she did so, Osor would be able to escape once more.

Azarias looked at Jill and, within her head, she heard a voice speak a single word: “Courage!”

Azarias reached for the crystal that Jill was holding aloft, and, signaling to Luke, he strode to one side of the gateway while Luke went to the other. They each put their shoulders to the sides of the split stone slab, and slowly the two halves began to swing back toward each other. The luminous Ferrumari who were not already within the passageway with Polydora stood back and allowed the doors to close. The booming as the slab sealed shut was barely audible above the ongoing chorus of the Ferrumari, but once the gateway was closed, Luke and Azarias stepped back, holding the crystals aloft so that they could see where they needed to be replaced.

As they did so, one of the tallest of the angelic Ferrumari stepped before them. The glowing figure wore a crown upon his brow, and he bowed first to Azarias and then to Luke. Then he held out his hands to Azarias, and his lips appeared to move, though none but Azarias could interpret his words.

Azarias bowed in his turn and placed the crystal he had been holding into the hands of the Ferrumari. Luke did likewise. Then the angelic king turned and replaced the stone on the right-hand side, and then, lifting himself high into the air upon his wings, he replaced the gem above the stone doorway. He dropped back down to the plaza, and bowed low to Azarias once more. Then he stood upright and raised his arms to the throngs of his people. The chorus swelled to a crescendo: the very air throbbed with the power of so many voices singing at once! Then the king dropped his hands  back down to his sides.

As he did so, the song of the Ferrumari ceased. Jill looked around her and saw the corporeal forms of Polly’s people diminish, break into tiny points of light, and then vanish.

The four travelers from earth were left all alone upon the Plaza of the Masters, and Polydora and all of her forebears were gone.

 

       [ To read Episode 12.2, click here…. ]

 

May 07

In the Company of Angels: Episode 12.1 – The Crucible

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In the Company of Angels, Episode 12.1 – The Crucible

 

As Polydora stood before the first of the Masters, in the midst of the seething cyclone of the Amenta, she saw a flash of lightning and heard thunder crack nearby. The first of the Masters had advanced a step toward her, and she knew of no weapons with which she might defend herself. But she felt a sudden change in the air that whipped around her, and sensed, rather than saw, that there were beings surrounding her other than just the Amenta. She shut her eyes for a moment and reached out to discover what new horror might be joining with the demonic hosts already present.

But all she sensed was light. These beings, whoever they might be, cast a pale, very faint glow, like the glimmer of lightning bugs in the gloaming, and they were gathering around her. She listened past the roaring of the wind and the evil spirit howlings, and she heard music. She recognized the singing: these were the voices of her own people, the chorus of the Ferrumari that she had last heard when she and Jill were standing side by side in The Gallery back on earth.

Her people had come, at least in spirit. Those who had lived on this planet thousands of years before her had returned here, now, to bring her hope and courage.

Then, too, Polydora heard a shout from the open plaza behind her. She turned and saw, through the swirling whirlwind of the Amenta, two human figures sprinting toward her. The first of these, the tallest of the two, seemed to glow silver in the twilight, and he held before him a staff upon which was set a blue star that flashed and flared. Lightning struck the staff, and the blue fire then became so bright that she could not bear to look upon it, and the Amenta near it shrieked and fled. Then Polly recognized Azarias, but in a form she had never known before; the fury of his approach and the expression on his face were those of an avenging angel, and he was not to be withstood.

Thus came Azarias and Luke to Polydora’s side, and with their arrival, all three turned their gaze once more upon the first of the Masters, who had remained just a few paces outside of the gateway. Behind him they now discerned new shapes mustering, with horns and wings and claws grappling as they strove to exit from the cramped passageway. But they could go no further, for the first of the Masters — who was clearly their leader — stood his ground before this trio of beings that dared to withstand his liberation.

Yet, they were all at a stalemate. Azarias lifted high his staff, and the blue crystal atop it blazed forth. The Master flinched, but he did not retreat, and the Amenta redoubled their howling. Although they could not come near Azarias and his staff, the Amenta yet clustered around the gateway and the three standing before it, attempting to seal it off from the rest of the plaza. And Polydora soon sensed why.

For, past the sound and the fury of the demonic forces surrounding them, she felt another presence: two, in fact. But the one that most brought her joy was the certainty that Jill had returned and that she was making her way forward to the gateway. Sam she also felt, and she could even detect the slight stirrings in her consciousness that spoke of the raven in his arms. But Jill’s coming was, like Azarias’, one of light and of hope to the last of the Ferrumari.

Polly did not turn to watch the approach of Jill, nor of Sam. Rather, she called out to the singing throng of her own people and asked for their protection for her friends. And they answered her, in waves of emotion, assuring her that they would beat back the Amenta and allow the two safe passage to the gateway.

But now the leader of the Masters spoke out once more in a single word of command, and the howling of the Amenta diminished to a low moan. In this lull in the storm’s fury, Azarias spoke.

“You have no place in this world, Osor, nor in any other!” His voice was like thunder. The language he uttered was of the Masters themselves, and only Polydora and this creature whom Azarias had named Osor understood his words.“Return to the place prepared for you in the twilight of your people, for you shall not to wield your will here nor upon any other world!”

Osor retorted: “I know you, shaman! You have no authority over me nor mine. This planet belongs to the Imperaferrum, not to some toddling mage from an infant world. Begone, lest you, too, be destroyed, like all of those who have yet stood against me!”

“All of those, Osor? Did I not thrust you down into your pit after you destroyed your own world? Did not the Ferrumari throng upon this very plaza to cast you and yours into perpetual shackles? You have no place here, broken soul. Go back into the darkness and make reparations for your sins!”

At this exchange Polydora was dumbstruck. She gazed in wonder at Azarias. How could the leader of the Masters know Azarias?! But there was no time for questions. Osor spread his leathern wings, swept them down so as to lift his body a few feet above the plaza, and then he crashed down upon the paving stones, his iron-like cloven feet striking the earth like twin anvils. Where he landed, fissures formed and spread. Flames leapt up from the cracks, and these soon surrounded Polly, Luke, and Azarias.

By now, Sam, Jill, and the captive raven had pressed their way forward through the wall of Amenta howlers, and they caught their breath as they came up behind the others. Jill had come first, led, as she felt, by invisible hands. And despite the threatening swirl of blackness that was the host of the Amenta, none of them interfered with Jill or Sam; in fact, they parted before them as if driven back by unseen assailants.

“We’re right behind you!” yelled Sam through the roar and the crackling of the flames that had just sprouted up and encircled the others, “and we have the Guarding Stones!”

Azarias turned and saw Sam through the flames. Then Polydora heard Azarias’ voice in her head telling her, “They have retrieved both of the stolen stones. We must now find a way to drive the Masters back toward the mountain. Only with the door fastened behind them and the stones once more secured will they be subdued.”

“Begone, Mage, if you would live!” roared Osor. Azarias and all of the others turned and looked at the hideous creature once more. “You are of no concern to us…yet. But we have much to say to our slave, this pathetic Ferrumari who dares to stand before us!

“This creature belongs to us. She is the last of her cursed race, for so our messengers tell us. But we are ever merciful to our servants. We shall end her life here and now. And when she is gone, Orbaratus will be rid of our failed experiment. We shall rebuild our armies anew on this world, and then we shall conquer yours, Shaman, as well as many others! Great will be the wailing of your women and children when the Imperaferrum claim them, as we will claim the lives of all of you here if you remain!”

“Sam, give one of the two Guarding Stones to Luke, and the other to Polydora,” said Azarias. The flames had now died back and the five of them, plus the raven, were gathered together in a knot, around which the Amenta swirled in an ever-tightening circle.

Sam shoved his hand into his pocket to retrieve the two gems. He couldn’t quite reach them, so he turned his pocket inside out, spilling the sapphires onto the ground along with one of the pieces of fruit that he had plucked when chasing the raven. The gems bounced on the ground and came to rest beside him, with one of them nearly tipping into a crack that had formed in the stones of the plaza. Both of the blue gems were now glowing with an electric light, just like the crystal atop Azarias’ staff. Sam grabbed them and handed one to Luke and one to the Ferrumari. Then they all turned back toward the leader of the Masters, holding the gems aloft.

The creature paused, and seemed to be struggling to move. His mouth opened and closed like that of a fish gasping for oxygen out of water. His forked tongue flicked out of his mouth. Then the flames that had erupted around him were suddenly quenched, and the moaning of the Amenta ceased completely, leaving only the roar of the wind and distant peals of thunder.

Osor struggled, and then he roared! The sound of his voice appeared to loosen, for a moment, whatever it was that was beginning to bind him. The other Masters came up from behind him, but they, too, were struggling against some  unseen force.

“The Guarding Stones have slowed them, but the Masters’ strength is growing fast,” shouted Azarias to the others. “If we had the third stone in hand, we might be able to drive them back, but it is still embedded in the framework of the gateway.”

“Brother Azarias,” shouted Jill, “we brought back the raven that stole the other stones in the first place. Would it help if we could get the bird to steal the last of the gems?”

“Not if he’d just try to take it back to Oxford!” Sam yelled back.

Azarias looked down at the basket and then at Polydora. “The guarding stones bind and hold,” he shouted for them all to hear. “We dare not risk the removal of the third, even if is not situated exactly where we might wish it to be. The stone atop my staff repels, it does not bind. With it we might drive the Masters forward, but we can never drain them of the energy that has already built up within them. For that, the Three must remain, and they must be set amidst the gateway to hold the Masters in place once the door is closed once more.

“But how can we drive them back?” Azarias asked aloud, as if consulting his own memories, “For even now the combined strength of the Three plus my staff seems insufficient….”

They all looked once more upon the misshapen creatures before them. These remained subdued, but it seemed clear that this was only a temporary stalemate. Even now, the leader of the Masters shook his head and roared again. The Amenta returned his roar by resuming their howls and shrieks. They began diving around and between the five who yet held the Masters in check.

It was then that Jill, desperate to find something, anything, that she might be able to do, happened to glance down at the surface of the plaza….

 

       [ To read Episode 12.2, click here…. ]

 

 

Apr 30

In the Company of Angels: Episode 11.2 – The Broken Gate (cont.)

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In the Company of Angels, Episode 11.2 – The Broken Gate (cont.)

“I guess I don’t understand. Whatever would drive the Amenta to destroy a world…any world?!” Luke asked Azarias. They were passing through the flat in London , and Luke was once again downing a mouthful of chocolate. Azarias glanced at the letters on the table, noting that none had been taken other than Luke’s.

Azarias was, Luke noted with some envy, apparently untroubled by the act of framerunning. But it then occurred to Luke that he had never been entirely sure into which of the three primary categories of the Order the older man fell. He knew that he had some Empathic capabilities, and was also capable of Rendering images; perhaps he had Navigator skills as well. “Some people have all the luck,” he thought to himself as he downed another mouthful of chocolate. “I just know I’m going to weigh 300 pounds by the time I’m his age,” he thought ruefully.

From Father Hildebrandt’s “squirrel’s nest” of a storage room, Azarias had retrieved a staff that appeared to be wrought entirely of matte silver. Atop the rather plain shaft was a large blue crystal. Azarias had said that they’d need it, but he had not elaborated further, fearing to waste too much time on their return to Orbaratus.

“I’m sorry, what was your question?” asked Azarias.

“My question is: what is the point? That is, of the Amenta getting an entire planet to destroy itself?”

“Ah! That might better be asked of Father Hildebrandt than myself; it is more in his line, you might say.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, because it has to do with the nature of evil: of what it seeks and of how it grows.”

“That’s pretty heady stuff…”

“Yes indeed! But, since we need to find your portal — where is it, by the way? — let me answer you succinctly. What are the Amenta after, you ask? Souls. That’s all. It’s really that simple.”

Souls?!”

“Souls. I’ll explain more when we have a better opportunity, but where is this portal? I am unable to discern it, even though I am holding one of the sapphires.”

Luke looked around the room; he still had his ring on, and was only confused for a moment. The grey light from Orbaratus was almost identical to that coming through one of the living room windows, and the portal was in front of one of these, making it difficult to pick out from the background.

“There it is,” he said, pointing.

“Ah! Well then, shall we?”

Luke looked through the portal before he stepped through, and he was glad that he did so. “There’s something wrong,” he said. “The horizon is wrong.”

They looked through the glowing frame and saw the plaza on Orbaratus; but it was as if a giant had tilted it upon its side.

“Either the world through the portal is undergoing some tremendous upheaval,” said Azarias, “or your base image sketch has broken away from its moorings and fallen upon its side.”

“I’m guessing the latter,” said Luke, “although I drew it upon a huge block of stone and it would have taken quite a blow to fell it. We suffered an earthquake just before I made the sketch; I wonder if there has been another since I left?”

“We shall soon see,” said Azarias. And with that he stepped through the portal, found gravity to be pulling him sideways, and thus half-rolled and half-crawled out onto the plaza. Luke followed right behind him.

What they saw when they regained their bearings shocked them both. The plaza was swarming with black shadows, and a roaring and howling filled their ears. As they stood, they perceived the gateway at the other end of the plaza, and it appeared to be the nexus of all of the turmoil and confusion. Yet, within that heart of  darkness, they could yet perceive a single bright figure, standing alone: it was Polydora.

“Come,” said Azarias, “there is not a moment to lose.”

    o o o

The raven had been put into a wicker basket with plenty of openings that would allow the bird to breathe, and even to intermittently eye its captors reproachfully. It croaked and clicked at them, and at least once, Jill could swear, it said something that sounded like Latin, although she couldn’t identify the words used.

Sam had initially entangle himself in the selfsame blanket that Jill and the Professor had prepared for the bird when he dived through the portal. There were several moments of sheer panic and confusion when both he and the raven had come careening through the canvas at nearly the same time.

Somehow, they had managed to isolate the bird from the boy, and the former was held tightly until a suitable repository for it could be found. The Professor had discovered an old basket that a friend had brought him back from Ethiopia a few years before. It was a pretty thing, and something he rather hated to part with, but he had no qualms in offering it up for the bird’s safekeeping.

The three of them, with raven in tow, had returned to the attic once the bird was safely tucked into his temporary home. The painting of Orbaratus has been turned around and uncovered. Jill knew that time was pressing, and that they’d likely broken every Framerunner rule in taking the Professor into their confidence, but she somehow sensed that it would be alright in the end.

“Professor, I wanted to ask you, where did you get this painting? I mean, the one we used to come here?”

“It was given to me by a friend at Oxford. Painted by a dystopian writer: one named Acasi Simaov, if memory serves. I don’t believe his works ever caught on, but my friend liked the painting and he bought it at an estate sale. He thought I’d like it since I had been working on books on space travel to other worlds. It’s a strange painting, and I never got around to framing it or hanging it, which is why it is still here in the attic.”

“Well, Sir, if you ever decide you don’t want it, I know of a group of people who would be interested in keeping it safe for you,” said Sam. “I don’t know who is in charge there these days, but let me write them a note and jot down an address for you.”

The Professor brought him an envelope, some paper and a pencil, and Sam wrote a quick explanation to the Abbot Primate of the Benedictine order, outlining in general terms that the painting was of Orbaratus and might need safekeeping. Then he added the address of the Monastery de Sant’Anselmo to the outside of the envelope.

“There, Sir,” he said to the Professor. “If you ever decide to part with it, just pop your own note in with mine and send the painting with the envelope to that address. It’s entirely up to you, of course, and without access to a crystal, it’s unlikely that the painting could cause any further mischief. But, ya never know….”

Then there came the awkward moment of having to say their goodbyes.

“I wish we had more time for me to ask more questions,” said the Professor, “but I also know that to do so might cause even more harm than may already have been done. I shall have to either hope to see you again some day, or to spend some time speculating, for my own benefit, what framerunning might be like. In any event, it has certainly been a very interesting and thought-provoking afternoon!”

With that, Jill and Sam bid the Professor the best of luck with all of his works, clenched tightly hold of their crystals, and disappeared into the painting of Orbaratus. The Professor rubbed his eyes once he was sure that they were gone, and gone for good. He then left the painting as it sat for the remainder of the day and all of the next. Thereafter, he boxed it up and shipped it to Rome, where it came, in due time, to be in the hands of Father Hildebrandt.

        o o o

When Jill and Sam arrived back upon the Plaza of the Masters with the raven and basket in tow, they were astonished at the change. The howling and roaring that had greeted Luke and Azarias was, if anything, louder still, and thunder, wind, and lightning had blown up from the south. They, too, could see that all of the movement and noise centered near the gateway at the other end of the plaza, and they knew that’s where they would be needed. They could not make out precisely what was happening, but they saw two figures heading toward the maelstrom before them.

“I think that’s Mr. Luke!” yelled Sam as he picked up the basket, “and I’m betting that’s Azarias with him!”

They narrowed their eyes against the gusting wind, and Jill was forced to put her hands over her ears to try to block out the howling. She was feeling even more queasy than usual, and although Sam had immediately started toward the gateway, when he looked back at her and saw how pale she was, he returned and fed her some chocolate.

“You gonna be OK?” he yelled in her ear.

“I think so. But that noise; it’s driving me crazy!” said Jill.

“Just Howlers, but more than I’ve ever heard at once. And you usually don’t see them, ever, in the daylight. They’re the things that look like flying sheets of black tissue paper, and they’re thick as smoke over by the gateway. We need to get over there, because we have the two crystals that the raven stole. Let me know when you feel well enough to walk….”

“We shouldn’t wait,” Jill yelled back at him. “I’ll be alright. Let’s just go!”

They turned back toward the gateway and followed Mr. Luke and Azarias into the heart of the storm.

 

       [ To read Episode 12.1, click here…. ]

 

Apr 28

Azarias on Orbaratus

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“Azarias on Orbaratus

Digital, 10″x6.2″ wide.

Signed and numbered prints – AVAILABLE

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

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