Chapter 6

Part 1

I'm not sure what freaked out the sisters of the Abbey of Faremoutiers more – the walking and talking dead priest or Sister Lilith or how it looked like all of us had been dipped in barrels filled with blood. Regardless of which was the cause, at least one, and generally several, were making the Sign of the Cross gesture from the moment our party arrived.

One of the few bits of luck we had experienced in the last few hours was that the Archbishop of Paris had arranged two small vans as our transport rather than one large bus-sized vehicle. We had been able to load Beatrice and Father O'Mallory into one while Lilith, Mary, Camila, Father Antonio and I plus all the divinium had ridden in the other.

Between dark winding streets in Paris and then a dark, rarely used road out to the surprisingly remote abbey, considering it was within fifty kilometers of the city, the drive had taken almost two hours. There hadn't been any of the usual post-combat jocularity to lighten the mood. Thankfully, everyone had survived the adventure, but the discovery that wraiths could now animate the dead had shaken us all.

The first order of business had been to get everyone cleaned up. After all that we had gone through to acquire the Seer Stone, we didn't feel it was safe to leave it unguarded, even if we were in the supposed safety of an Abbey. Since only Beatrice and Mary of our cohort could handle the angelic relic, Beatrice had agreed to let Mary clean up first since she had been the one who had been completely dunked in the blood ocean. I decided I could also wait and that Beatrice and I could make a call to Cardinal Somalo to give him a head's up about our situation and the mess we had left at Sainte-Chapelle.

Even this simple task turned out to be a challenge. The only phone in the Abbey was in the Mother Superior's office and the remote location didn't have cell service. And her office wasn't large so there was no way we could maintain a five meter separation between Beatrice with the Seer Stone and me. In the end, since the phone had a speaker box, Beatrice sat at the desk and made the phone call while I stood three paces down the hallway in front of the office.

We had the number for the Cardinal's personal cellphone and Beatrice dialed it.

"Somalo," was his brisk response after the phone couldn't have rung more than once.

"Your Eminence, this is Sister Beatrice," replied Beatrice.

"Do you have it?" the Cardinal immediately demanded.

"We do. But there have been complications."

"Are you all alright? Is anyone hurt?"

I was surprised and moderately impressed at this hint of interest in our welfare. I doubted that would have been Duretti's next question.

"Yes, none of us are hurt."

"Then what are the complications?"

"First, the Seer Stone has turned out to be a powerful relic from the angelic plane and nothing from the demonic plane can come within four meters of it. This means no one wearing divinium can touch it. And since Ava and Sister Lilith and Sister Camila are each contaminated by the demonic realm in their own ways, none of them can come close to it or touch it. That means only Mary and I can handle it."

"What about Father Caprio?"

Beatrice glanced at me before she replied. "None of us have known him for more than twelve hours. At this point, I don't think he has earned our trust."

Even I could hear the Cardinal's quiet sigh before he answered. "I think you are probably wise to keep control of it for now. I had never heard of him before twenty-four hours ago, either."

After a pause he continued. "That complication sounds relatively minor. You better tell me the rest."

"Sir, we left quite a mess at Sainte-Chapelle. When we arrived in the Hell dimension on our way to Paris, we ended up waist deep in what had to be an ocean of blood. Perhaps not real blood, but it certainly looked and felt like the real thing. We left a blood trail all over the upper chapel.

"Then the only way we could reach the secret chamber was to blow a hole in the floor of the lower chapel.

"And probably what is going to be your biggest headache - we were attacked by approximately thirty wraiths before we were able to get clear with the Seer Stone. And in a new wrinkle, these wraiths were animating dead bodies instead of infesting the living like they have always done in the past."

"Did you say dead bodies?" interrupted the Cardinal.

"Yes," replied Beatrice. "Ava used the Halo to blast the wraiths out of half of them and I used the Seer Stone to do the same to the rest. But by that time we could hear sirens approaching and needed to depart before we were caught up in things there. Therefore when they arrived, the police had to have found about thirty corpses in the chapel, all of whom were dead before they got there, but at least ten of them would have been sporting fresh holes from guns and shotguns."

"Sweet Jesus!" exclaimed the Cardinal.

"I'm sorry to leave this mess in your hands, but you are going to have to deal with the situation in the chapel. Perhaps you can get the Archbishop of Paris' help."

"Is that all of it?"

I interjected from my spot in the hallway, talking at almost a shout to be certain he could hear me. "Cardinal Somalo, this is Ava. I think it is important that you find out how long all the bodies had been dead before they showed up at the chapel. Perhaps that will help us understand the limits of this new ability the wraiths suddenly possess. I mean – can they only animate bodies that have been dead for a day or a week or a month or even longer? It will help us understand how potentially bad the situation is. And we only had time to briefly examine a couple of the bodies, but one had been through an autopsy and one had been embalmed, but they were still up and mobile while under the control of the wraiths."

"Sweet Jesus," said the Cardinal again. That was starting to sound like his new mantra.

"Also," continued Beatrice while looking at the other occupant of the Mother Superior's office. "There is one final thing and it is probably the wildest item."

"Just tell me," said the Cardinal quietly.

"One of the bodies belonged to a Father Francis O'Mallory, a visiting scholar from Ireland. Father Caprio knew him slightly and says his obituary was in a recent issue of L'Osservatore Romano. Anyway, when the Seer Stone drove the wraith out of his body, he didn't just lifelessly collapse like the others, but is still . . . ah . . . mobile. He is pretty incoherent at the moment. He knows his name and he realizes he is dead, but that's about it. He is sitting right here with me. I am just guessing in the dark, but I think close proximity with the Seer Stone is keeping him in this quasi-alive state. We are going to have to figure out what to do with him. And why he is still like this while all the other corpses just collapsed back into death must be important."

"Sweet Jesus," the Cardinal muttered again. "Anything else?"

"I think those are the most important items," Beatrice replied. She glanced in my direction and I just nodded my concurrence.

"Have you firmed up any plans to get us back home?" Beatrice asked. "From what we've seen of the interaction between the Seer Stone and Ava's Halo, I strongly doubt the Seer Stone will pass through any portal Ava could open. So, you definitely made the right call to give us an exit route from the chapel that didn't require a trip through the hell dimension."

"Nothing firm yet," said the Cardinal. "And I am probably going to have to deal with the situation at Sainte-Chapelle first. You might be stuck there for two or three days. Will you be able to defend yourselves if trouble comes looking?"

"I hope so," said Beatrice. "But who knows what other new tricks the other side may suddenly have up their sleeves."

"Okay, make sure one of the sisters there stays by this phone in case I need to get ahold of you. And good work, Sister Beatrice, and you, too, Ava. Be sure to tell that to the others. And try to get some rest. I don't think this is the end of things, but just the beginning."

"Yes, Your Eminence. And thank you."

I heard the phone line go dead without any further goodbyes from the Cardinal.

Beatrice pressed the button which killed the connection from our end.

"Well, I guess that went about as well as we could have hoped. At least Cardinal Somalo isn't a shouter or a screamer when he gets bad news," said Beatrice.

I was drawn back to something she had said that hadn't occurred to me. Of course, I hadn't spent several hours sitting in a van with a dead priest either. "Do you really think it is the power of the Seer Stone that is keeping Father O'Mallory . . . ah . . . with us?"

"I think it is a strong possibility. The Seer Stone appears to be a lot more than just a communication device in the same way your Halo is a lot more than just a transportation device. To be on the safe side, I would like the Father to stay close to it until we get back home. Perhaps some Vatican scientists can come up with some tests. Or maybe it's time we get back in touch with Jillian Salvius. She might have some ideas, although we might have to reveal the true nature of the Stone and perhaps even the Halo."

Just then, I sensed someone walking up the hallway behind me. I threw a quick glance over my shoulder already mentally preparing for a fight, a strong indication of how spooked I still was after the events back in Paris.

Fortunately, it was just Mary. She was all cleaned up and looked nothing like her usual self. The choice of available clothing here in the abbey must be extremely limited as she was sporting a white habit cinched with a red belt just like the sisters who lived here. She had drawn the line at wearing the elaborate coifs the sisters here wore that looked almost like the headpiece Sally Fields' character had worn in the old, old 1960s TV show, The Flying Nun. Diego and I had definitely watched too much television back at the orphanage. Mary did have her head covered with a simple white scarf out of respect for our hosts.

"I can take over guarding the Stone, if you two want to grab a shower and a change of clothes," Mary said when she reached me.

I nodded gratefully. I was more than ready to get out of my gear and get cleaned up.

"We've called Cardinal Somalo," stated Beatrice as she moved around the desk and headed towards us. "Everything should be quiet on that front for a while, but if you leave the office, you need to have someone stay by the phone in case he calls back."

Mary nodded. "If you could send one of the sisters here while you're on your way to the showers, I think I'll take the Stone down to the chapel. The space is big enough that Lilith and Camila can join me while still being armed."

"Thanks, Mary," said Beatrice. Then she lowered her voice before adding, "Oh, be sure to take Father O'Mallory with you. I think he may need to stay in close proximity of the stone or he might lapse back into death."

Mary glanced into the office to where the old priest was still sitting in one of the two guest chairs. I could see a flicker of annoyance in her eyes and perhaps a hint of distaste, but she simply nodded.

"I'll send someone back to monitor the phone," said Beatrice before heading down the hallway.

After a quick nod to Mary, I turned and hurried to catch up with Beatrice. A hot shower right now sounded wonderful.

Part 2

"Let me do your hair," said Beatrice, stepping up behind me.

It turned out this Abbey only had communal showers. I had known Beatrice for almost fifteen months, but this was the first time we had ever been naked together. My heart was suddenly pounding so hard, I thought it would cause the Halo to visibly glow.

Ever since Beatrice had admitted to being gay, I had felt this infatuation for her. I had no real understanding of my own orientation. During all those years in the orphanage, my hormones had seemed to be locked in the paralyzed portion of my body.

When the Halo restored my sensations and mobility, it had all been overwhelming. The first person I had met who I had felt something for had been J.C. But I think it was simply the case that he was the first person who had been kind to me and seen me as something other than a cripple. When he had been scared off by our encounter with the Tarask, I hadn't felt any burning urge to run off looking for him. So I clearly hadn't had very strong feelings for him.

The only other person I had felt anything towards had been Beatrice. The struggles she had had with her family and with people at her schools felt not dissimilar to my experiences with Sister Frances and the other sisters of the orphanage.

And Beatrice was so mentally and emotionally strong; she seemed unlike anyone I had ever met – before or after getting the Halo. I had often found myself daydreaming about spending my life with her and the sexual side was only part of it.

But Beatrice had made it clear, while managing to be gentle about it at the same time, that she had given herself to God and that she took her vows seriously. Therefore I had learned to settle for the parts of her she was willing to share.

However, suddenly, we were both naked and she was offering to run her fingers through my hair. I could feel my body beginning to react in ways it had never done before.

All of those thoughts ran through my mind in a fraction of a second, as almost without a pause, she added to her previous remark, "The sooner you are cleaned up, the sooner we can get you back into your vest."

Those words almost felt like she had stabbed a knife through my heart. More than anything, I wanted to turn around, pull her into a tight hug, and kiss her. But I could envision a thousand ways that could turn out bad and not a single realistic way it could turn out well.

I had to get my mind off the current situation. So I blurted out one of the things I had been thinking about during the long ride out from Paris.

"I think you should try to use the Seer Stone to contact the Archangel Michael."

She had barely started to work the shampoo into my hair when I felt her grab my shoulders and spin me around. Don't look down, Ava, don't . . . look . . . down.

"What?"

"You heard me. Joan of Arc was strong, forceful, and passionate in her love of God. I don't know anyone who better fits that description than you."

Beatrice's eyes flicked up to the ceiling for a second like I had seen many times before while she was deep in thought. I couldn't keep my own eyes from flicking down. Fuck, she was hot. All the hours of martial arts training had given her a hard chiseled body. I was almost as slender as her, but after a year of battling demons, I still didn't have a fraction of her muscle tone.

Her gaze swept back down to my face and I hoped I had gotten my gaze back up to hers before she noticed where I had been looking. Her dark eyes glinted for a fraction of a second, so I suspect she realized where I had been looking, but she let it slide.

"What about Cardinal Somalo? We are supposed to deliver it to him," she said as she started to again massage the shampoo into my hair only this time while standing directly in front of me. It felt so wonderful; I couldn't help but close my eyes and think naughty thoughts.

"Do you truly think he is worthy?" I asked with the small portion of my brain that was still working. "Or would you rather he gave it to Pope Callixtus and let him communicate with an angel?" Beatrice might do as the Church directed, but she had to know Duretti's actions could be less than what we would consider holy. I mean he had tried to have me killed just because it would make things more convenient for him.

"I don't know," Beatrice said, seriously considering the issue. Her hands continued to work in my hair for a minute. "I guess we have time to consider the situation before we head home. And I would like the opinions of Mary, Camila, and Lilith."

She suddenly moved closer. "Step back under the shower head and let's get this shampoo rinsed out."

I didn't want to step back, I wanted to step forward and close the small gap between our bodies. But I forced myself to follow her directions. If I did anything else, I was afraid it would make things extremely awkward between us.

After stepping back, I leaned towards Beatrice so my hair would be closer to her. Perhaps I couldn't touch her, but I was going to enjoy every second of having her hands in my hair I possibly could.

I stood like that for at least thirty seconds. Finally, it felt like it was getting awkward and I straighten back up and swept my hair back with my hands and opened my eyes. Beatrice was standing there in all her glory.

Then, unexpectedly, she stepped forward until her breasts were pressed against mine. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

She leaned forward until her mouth was right next to my right ear and whispered, "Do you really think I should do it? Attempt to use the Stone, I mean."

The communal shower had ten shower heads, but we were the only ones in the shower at the moment. There had been no need for Beatrice to lean close and whisper in my ear.

And to the 'do you think I should do it' question, I wanted to shout, 'Yes, kiss me, touch me, use my body anyway you want,' even though that clearly wasn't what she meant.

"Yes," I whispered back, trying to draw out my answer as long as I could to enjoy every millisecond of her body pressed up against mine. "You are the only person I know who is worthy to talk to an angel." In my heart, I appended, 'Because you are already my angel.' Damn, I sounded like some sappy character from a romance movie, but it was truly how I felt at the moment.

I felt her head give a small nod. She pulled back slightly, but then leaned forward again until her forehead was pressed lightly against mine.

"In this life or the next," she whispered.

I had no idea what she suddenly meant. We had always used that phrase when we were headed into danger, but there was no danger at the moment. Unless . . . unless . . . unless she was hinting she really did have feelings for me, but was unable to act on them at present.

I could only hope that was what she meant. And the only response that felt safe and appropriate was to echo back her words.

"In this life or the next."