Chapter Forty-One

They received a rental car and Vince almost laughed when he saw that it was the same he had rented with Samantha. He got into the driver’s seat and looked at them. “I know my way to the convent,” he said and then added, “Kind of.”

“By ‘kind of,’ do you mean you don’t know shit about where you’re really going?” asked Karl behind a grin. He had hopped into the back seat to let Chris ride shotgun.

“Well, I know we stay on this road for a while and it sort of creeps up on you,” said Vince and pulled onto the road.

“It looks like we’re heading into nice scenery, though,” replied Chris as she looked ahead and saw the tall trees. It looked like a forest from their distance.

“When me and Samantha were here last, there wasn’t much to see. We got hit by a large fog.”

Karl was taken by the beautiful landscapes and thought about writing his poetry about Ireland sometime. Of course, there may never be a sometime.

“Oh, when we get there, there are two weird nuns. Sisters Helen and…Agnes. I think that was her name,” announced Vince.

To think, the final battle begins right here in this beautiful place, thought Chris.

And then it struck her. She looked up into the sky and was not surprised at the sight of Orion hovering above them. “Well, he made it here,” she said behind a sarcastic grin.

“Oh,” said Vince. “I guess he couldn't have gotten lost on the way.”

“I don’t think that’s the way the game’s to be played,” said Karl from behind Vince.

As they neared the thickest part of the wooded lot, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said Chris with frightened eyes.

“What? The end of the world as we know it isn’t good enough for you?” smiled Karl behind a sarcasm he didn’t think he could show, as he was as frightened as Chris.

“I won’t be mad or disappointed if you guys decide not to help me,” Vince said as he glanced at them.

Chris looked ahead and in the near distance, she saw the tall tower of the castle Vince had described to them. She didn’t know what to expect, and maybe it was the unexpected that she was afraid of. “I’m going all the way,” she said. “If the world’s going to end, I want a front row seat when it does.”

“Uh, I wouldn’t put it quite as colorful as she, but I won’t turn back now. I made a promise to Mykella and I’ve never gone back on my word,” said Karl.

“If Orion’s got more Dreamkillers, when we go in, we go in fighting like wild animals. But, the truth is, I haven’t got a clue what we’re going to face.”

Chris and Karl could see the look of concern on Vince’s face. They knew he was just as frightened as they were, and it was this that made it so easy for them to join him on this quest; Vince was no more human than they were.

Vince didn’t really care about how it was to end, or how it would end. What scared him was Mykella and that she was going to live in whatever reality Orion chooses to create for humanity. Even Vince couldn’t guess what that could be like.

“For your touring pleasure,” Vince brought up as he glanced at his friends. “This was once Grendel Keep, kingdom of Orion’s mother.”

“Do you think we’ll really find the gate here?” asked Karl as he watched the ominous structure block out any further landscape. The tallest of the trees only came up to half the height of the castle.

Vince thought for a moment. “I really don’t know,” he confessed and then spied the gas station he and Samantha had parked their car at. “But Sister Helen told me, just before I left, that I would return and that the second prophecy will end here.”

“And the beginning of the final prophecy,” added Chris behind worried eyes.

Instead of using the same gas station, Vince decided on turning onto the gated path leading to the St. Vincent Convent. He wondered, as he drove up the path, how these women survived without modern technology.

He stopped the car several feet from the main entrance and they all sat in silence, looking up at the enormous structure.

It was Karl who broke the graven silence. “Okay, so Orion’s mother lived here.” Vince nodded. “Was she a good person, or did the bastard get his bad traits from her?”

“I think that’s beside the point,” replied Chris. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing his mother at the gate. We’re here to,” she paused. Truth be told, she wasn’t exactly clear why they were here. If the end of the world is coming, why do they have to be here?

“If at all possible, I’d like to try to save my mother,” answered Vince. “She told me that she would die and that Orion would gain access. I may not be able to alter any prophecy, but I’d like to see her live.”

“If he gets inside, that means the Guardian has failed,” said Karl, as if reminding Vince of the truth.

“The prophecy states that Orion will get into the Forbidden Realms. It says nothing about who will die and who won’t.” Vince felt as if this conversation was getting them nowhere. “Come on,” he said. “We’re wasting time.”

He opened the door and got out and stood before the tall wooden door. It all ends here, he recalled and then grinned. “No,” he whispered to himself. “A new beginning starts here.”

* * *

Once they had entered the mouth of the castle, Orion descended and stood next to the car. “After all the damned searching, this is where the gate is? My mother’s home?”

He would wait for a sign. He didn’t know what kind, but once they were in place, he would know it. He waited his whole life for this moment; he didn’t want to take any chances. Deep in his self being, he would know when his friends have reached the gate to the Forbidden Realms.

He almost felt like a giddy child being told to take whatever he wants and is let loose in a toy store. Where does the child go? There are too many choices and the child becomes overwhelmed. Just thinking about what the Forbidden Realms will be like was overwhelming him now. What would he do first? Would he choose to destroy Vincent and his friends right then and there, or would he choose some other task first?

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

He suddenly felt his chest and was relieved to feel the five-digit key he had taken out of the Holy City. He had entirely forgotten about it until just now.

* * *

“I knew you would return,” Sister Helen announced as she led the way through the large corridor. She didn’t bother looking over her habit to see if the others were following. She knew that the time had come. It didn’t matter whether she believed or knew that they were following her. The final prophecy was at hand and she knew that this is why they are here now.

“Tell me, Sister Helen,” Vince said as he took a look around the place. It hadn’t changed since he and Samantha had been here; he doubted very much that it had changed at all since the times of Queen Nanaac’s reign. “Tell me how you came upon the prophecies. You were related to Nanaac, yes?”

Sister Helen sighed and opened a door to the right. “Do we have time to tell stories?” She glanced over at the far end of the room and Vince saw Sister Agnes standing, ready to greet their visitors. She was much younger than Sister Helen, perhaps by an entire generation. “Sister Agnes is the last of the Grendel lineage. She is to look after Mykella as I have done you,” she said and glanced over at Vince, who had entered the room last.

He looked at her in surprise. “Some good you’ve done, looking out for me.” He shook his head. “Where the hell were you when I needed a mother? The least you could have done was tell me where she really was.”

“Vincent,” Sister Helen crossed the room and approached him with caution. “I, we, didn’t know what her fate was. We thought she had perished when your father was fighting Orion twenty years ago.”

Vince paused for a moment and then shook his head.

“Sister,” Chris stepped in front of Vince. “Can you tell us what you know about the role of Guardian?”

Sister Helen reached out and touched Chris’ cheek with a gentle palm. “It all began with the Creation of the world, Child. When Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, God sent an angel to watch over the entrance to guard it from any evil trespassers.

“Enter Barbus Whitaker. He loved his Queen probably more than anyone. He trained Orion to become what he has become, and had also gained his trust. Seeing what had befallen his pupil, Barbus had gone to the angel and begged him to let him guard the gate for all time, that his own lineage would make it a vow to protect the Forbidden Realms. After a while, the angel agreed.

“And then Tracy Kingston-Andrews enters the picture. “ She looked over at Vince. “She was a great fighter, but she must have known that she could not defeat Orion in this realm. She chose to become a successor to James Whitaker, the last true Guardian.”

Karl went over to a window which looked out into the gardens. “How do you know so much about this? All this happened long before you were born, right?”

“The chronicles of Barbus Whitaker and his lineage have been documented. It’s a very interesting read, if you have time. But, I don’t think we have. He’s waiting outside, we must hurry.”

“Why? Are you so anxious to die?” asked Chris.

Sister Helen threw Chris a smile of mockery. “I don’t know how long you have been a part of this charade, but Child, you must know by now that once the Queen’s son steps into Eden, the end is upon us and we shall no longer live in fear.”

“Tell me, Sister, what would happen, hypothetically speaking, if Orion fails in his quest? That we find some way to end his miserable life?”

“Then the prophecy is void,” replied Sister Agnes. There came a look of anger from Sister Helen, who appeared to disapprove of Sister Agnes talking at all. “Please, Sister, allow me to convince them.”

Sister Helen stared at her for a moment and then sighed in defeat. “Very well, Sister Agnes. Speak your will.”

Sister Agnes crossed the room to approach Vince. “If Orion does not enter Eden, then all we have fought for, including your mother and Richard, is laid to waste. If Orion had never traded with the body of that young boy, Allen Corgan, perhaps he would have been taken to hell instead of Corgan. Then the prophecy would have ceased.”

Vince shook his head. “What would really happen if I kill him today? What harm can come from it?”

“Get it out of your mind, Boy.” Sister Helen was becoming more agitated as each moment passed. “Here’s what we have to deal with: The Oracle had given him the powers of a Dream Crusader. Now, Orion has been possessed by the hand of God himself. We have no chance of stopping him. Only a Dream Crusader can stand up against their own – especially one whose own blood flows within the other.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Vince became angered by her last statement.

“That is not my prophecy to oversee. I cannot say further, except that I shall die the moment He sets foot in Eden and you are still alive.”

“You’re no holier than thou, Bitch,” cried Vince. “Where is the gate? Let’s get this over with before I kill you myself.”

Sister Helen smiled and looked down at the stone floor. “We are standing above it.”

“In the cellar?” asked Chris.

“No. Several miles below the earth, I should say.”

“How do we get there?” asked Karl as he ran his foot across the floor.

“We have no further need for this place. Bring the castle down and you shall find your passage.”

They heard Vince cough and laugh to himself. “Yeah, sure. We travel everywhere with heavy explosives,” he said to himself and then looked at the old nun. “How the hell do you expect us to blow up this place?”

Sister Helen folded her hands and went to the window and stood next to Karl. She looked down at the garden and tears fell from her eyes. “I am human, flesh and blood. I am afraid of death.” She opened her eyes and looked back at Vince. “Now is the time you must decide what the prophecy means to you and whether or not you believe in it.”

“Sister?”

“Outside, your enemy waits. And this entity has the power to destroy Grendel Keep with just his mind. If you truly believe all that has been placed before you, and you believe what the end war is all about, then you must put your trust in your enemy for his help.”

So, thought Vince, it all comes down to this. Man against devil. He didn’t expect Orion to turn the offer down, especially when he’s been given a free ride to the Forbidden Realms.

He nodded in understanding and looked over at Chris. “How do you think we should approach him?”

“Right up the ass. That’s what I think,” said Karl behind a grin.

“We go out waving the white flag,” countered Chris as she looked at Karl with a sneer. “That way he won’t object to the offer. Whereas, up the ass, as Karl suggests, would signal violence on our behalf.”

Vince looked around the room and then nodded. “Anyone got a flag or a hankie?”

* * *

She didn’t want to meet her maker right now. There was a part of her that wanted a new life when everything was over. She had been locked away in this tomb for nearly sixty years; she wanted something different for a change. At least young Sister Agnes will have a chance to taste the difference once this place is destroyed.

Sister Helen turned around and went over to the large fireplace and placed her fingers on either side of a long wood box which lay on the mantel. She opened the lid and pulled out the long dagger and watched the fire flickering in the steel.

“Sister, must I? Is there no other way?”

Sister Helen turned to face Sister Agnes with a grim smile. “I’m afraid this is the way it always is. Since the beginning of Time. I have enjoyed my time on Earth, now it must be ended. I served our Master well.”

“Swear to me that Master Ilias can open the gates of Heaven to us. We’ve served him so long that I began to believe he has abandoned us on this wretched earth.”

Sister Helen placed the dagger into Sister Agnes’ palm. “Have faith, my Love. When you have confirmation that Eden has been tainted, drive it into my chest as I have done to Sister Catherine.”