Chapter 21

The grove was as always... a hidden gem of emerald green beneath the canopy of trees and the gray shadow of the three-story walls that surrounded it. Eleanor waited near the gate to be certain she was welcome here. After Niebos... she had felt that she would be... as long as she controlled the ones within... she could be safe here.

The earth murmured welcome and was silent. She let out the long breath she did not realize she had been holding.

She slowly walked over to the bubbling spring and smiled at the water playing over the stones. How often they had sat here... how often they had talked of the implications of this place... how often in later years they had argued. No... Eleanor focused her thoughts on the early years...

***********

Paris 1171

"So why hide this marvel from them?" Eleanor shook her head in confusion. Behind her she felt the familiar swaying of her long braid.

Darius smiled and spread his hands, "If too many people knew... what would happen to this place?"

Eleanor thought for a moment. "They would kill one another to possess this land... whoever was in power would determine who received the water and who would not. You've already said the water does not heal so much as ease the passage of the dying... they," she gestured at the mortals about them, "would never understand. This place would be destroyed." She looked over at the priest and shook her head, "But why does it exist? How did you find it?"

"It was here when I came." Darius shrugged and continued, "The Ancient One was its guardian. He used the water here to help the people he served. When I took his quickening... I took his knowledge of the spring. It was older than he was... he did not know why it existed... only that it did so. This grove was Holy Ground long before he came here." Darius glanced over at the stone masons working on the walls. "In time they will die... no one will know what is here... except us... Stay and help me here."

Eleanor looked about her at the walls going up. The masons thought they were working on something for the new church going up nearby. Darius planned to remain at that new church. From there... he would oversee the care of the mortals in this area... and perhaps try to bring peace to their own kind. She shook her head... it all seemed too much.

"What kind of priest are you?" she finally asked him. For the last few years, she had worked beside him at the hospital and let him teach her about listening to and truly helping the mortals around her. She attended his services to listen to his sermons... she herself had no real religious feeling any longer. Holy Ground still felt like a trap to her.

"I was here before the modern church came. He, the Ancient, was here before Christianity was. Truth and morality do not change, Eleanor. Service to others does not change. Only the rules by which we serve and the trappings change with the years," Darius replied softly. "We make our choices and we live by them. My choice is to remain here... what choice will you make for your life?"

Eleanor looked up at the pale blue sky above and took a deep breath. She wasn't certain what to say. She had planned on leaving soon. There was still much of the world she wanted to see. So many places still to go. Things she wanted to do. Lives she wanted to live.

"Stay... at least until the cathedral is completed," Darius said, slipping up closely behind her. "See something through to its conclusion... instead of running off the first chance you get. Stay and help me... stay and learn... What is out there that you truly want..." he gestured toward the horizon. "What can you find out there that you cannot find here?"

Eleanor smiled. He was right. What was out there in the world? What would no longer be there in a hundred years when Notre Dame was finally finished? A century for an immortal was little more than a single lifetime. Her friends had wanted her to see the cathedral being built! Even the voice of the Lady had wanted her here. Why not stay?

She met his gaze, "All right... but just until the cathedral is finished. I really don't think I'm the type who can stay in one place for very long."

Darius had nodded his agreement with a gentle smile. "Perhaps in time... you will come to see that remaining here... in making a difference in just this one place... may someday change all our lives!"

**********

He had never wavered from that belief. No matter how things changed over the years... Darius had believed in a future where all immortals could co-exist. In time... Eleanor had begun to accept that belief... a belief that not even the darkness of Kae Dhun had ever completely erased... Nothing had... not until Darius had died. Then the future he had dreamed of had come crashing down. She shuddered. No! She would not retreat into grief again. Darius would not want that. She would do what she could to ensure the future he had hoped for... if it were at all possible.

She squared her shoulders... step three was to secure everything and step four was to take the research to Methos. She felt that he might be the one to finally put it all together. And then there was Derrick to consider. If he was Reborn... if something of Darius was in him... there was one true test! She hesitated. Better to secure the church and pack the research first. There was time enough for the other later.

She sat on the stones and let the water play over her hands. Darkness would come soon... and with the dark... she could move ahead with her plans.

***

Just after midnight, Eleanor slipped over to the darkened church. There was no sense of Liam or any other immortal in the area. And she was not being observed by anyone. She had made very certain of that!

Within the church, she walked to the altar and pushed the stone mechanism that opened the crypt. While she doubted Darius had left anything down there... she wanted to be certain. The crypt was the most likely secret to be found.

As she made her way down the stone stairs... she pulled out her Maglite and played it around the room. Nothing here, not even an old keg of mead. She checked into all the corners to be certain. Eleanor broke the stools and the shelf into pieces of wood and tossed the one candle stub into her bag. She sorted through the pile of rags for signs of anything that would betray them. Then from under the stairs... she pulled out the stone chocks that would secure all the openings. They had never used them... they had never needed to. But with Darius gone... it was best to lock everything down.

Eleanor re-climbed the stairs and pocketed the Maglite. She hit the mechanism on the altar and slipped the chock into the groove. She heard the satisfying crunch of stone as the chock was locked in. She waited a few seconds, then pushed the stone once more. Nothing happened. Eleanor smiled! One down... three to go!

Next she walked over to the door to Darius' old cell. This was locked... but a simple modern lock would not deter her. Quickly she picked it and entered, re-locking the door behind her. She waited while her eyes became accustomed to the dark. She hesitated to use the Maglite as the light might be seen through the window.

Liam was evidently using this place as both office and storage. In one area were a desk and some files. A small fridge with a coffee machine on top of it was against one wall. He'd also brought in a comfortable easy chair, a floor lamp and two hard chairs that sat before the desk. None of this was Darius'. The rest of the cell was filled with boxes and file cabinets and broken furniture... extra church chairs... even Christmas decorations. For a moment Eleanor wondered what had happened to Darius' belongings... perhaps MacLeod knew. They were of little importance, though. The important belongings were elsewhere.

Once she had her bearings, she slipped between the stacks of chairs until she reached the wall. She had only to slightly move a few things to allow access to what she sought. Once she could reach it... she pulled the loose stone out... reached in and felt for the iron ring. Once in her grasp... she pulled with all her strength.

With an "umph" a portion of the wall popped back ever so slightly. Only a very small or a very thin person could fit through this opening, so slight it was. She replaced the loose stone and slipped through the opening.

Once through, she set the second chock into the iron ring, which was now open to her and pulled. The doorway closed... and the chock was locked into place. Even if someone were to pull the stone out and find the ring... nothing would happen... not from that side. She nodded with a smile... that's two.

It was now safe to turn the Maglite on again. She let it play over the small aperture and smelled the dampness. Darius' pathway to the sewers of Paris lay before her. All she had to do now was enter the sewer and secure the last entrance. She let the light play over the down-slope and walked along the path to the lower cave. Here she made one final check about her to be certain that nothing of any consequence remained, not even his change of clothes or his lantern... Then with only a single glance at the cave writing of the Ancient that they had never been able to translate... she slipped out into the sewer and secured the final lock!

Satisfied that everything at the church was safe... she crossed under the street until she reached the stairs that led to the grove... she climbed and opened the hidden door which she locked with the last chock! Now, the only way into the grove... was through the iron gate... and she had the only key! Step three was complete!

Satisfied, she climbed the stairs to the pair of rooms she had lived in for so long. She unlocked the door to the main room and flipped on the light. But what she saw made her freeze in disbelief.