Tag Archive: sketch

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…. ]