Rapture Falls (12 page)

“
Marsh
be still and listen”, Jacobs’ voice drifted up and through the
porous
stone building, “If I want your opinion then I will give it to you child”, the one sided conversation continued, “The good Inspector’s name is McCullum, M-c-C-u-l-l-u-m, you know wh
at to do
about this, do it and do it now”.

Baine was processing his options when his mobile abruptly sprang into life shattering his anonymity, the chair within the office scrapped loudly as if flung backwards, Baine moved and moved fast.
He was shocked to hear the office door thrown open before he could make it out of the church, he turned to look over his shoulder as he broke for the exit, the priest was silhouetted in the doorway, nothing human could have moved that fast, Baine was quick but his guy made him look like he was running slow motion through quicksand.

“Mr. Baine”, the
priest’s
voice boomed commandingly within the echoed boundaries of the dark church, “Perhaps you could spare me a moment of your time?
”

Despite himself Baine stopped, his legs ground to a halt and he stayed there rooted to the cold stone floor, his body would no longer obey his simple directions, the sensation was similar to his confrontation with Gabriel, he turned to face Jacobs. “Ah shit, now what the fuck are you?
”

“My child I am more than even you could possibly imagine” the priest walked slowly towards him until he stood within inches.

A thin blood trail dripped onto the floor as
Baine’s fingernails bit deeply into his palms
,
he
clenched
his fists i
n frustration, he itched to lash out and pound
the priest
’
s
arrogant
face
,
but
he could only stare daggers.

“Why don’t you follow me son”, the priest turned and moved back into the rear office, unbelievably Baine found his feet following, soon he found himself seated opposi
te Father Jacobs unable to move but he still struggled in vain.

“Why do you resist my brother?” the priest genuinely inquired, “Do you not feel our connection, do you not feel at home, we are one here, we are all brothers”

“I don’t know what the fuck you are anymore than I really know what the fuck I am chief, up until five minutes ago I lived in a happy haze until someone woke me up” Baine barked.

“Gabriel”, the priest shook his head regrettably
, “He never did know his place”.

Baine sat securely held, “I suppose you’ve got a story too, some great life tale about the world and my special place in it?”

“Pretty much the same story I imagine” the priest continued, “Most of what Gabriel told you was the truth, the betrayal, the Cube, the Grigori and the 11th Order all of which happened and continue to do so”.

“So where do you fit in, no doubt you’ve got some other jolly pirate gang nickname, I am so sick of you fuckers, all I want is my life and to be left the fuck alone”.

“Ah if only that were possible” the priest feigned
a mocking
sadness, “We my friend are the balance, we are the protectors, we are charged with
mankind’s
security against those who would seek to destroy them, we are
...”

“You my friend
,
are a
horse’s
ass”
Baine glibbed
, he felt none of his outward bravado but felt it necessary for his emotions, or lack of them to remain hidden from the Priest
.

“You dare to mock me” Jacobs
exploded
, he stood and reached across the desk with lightening speed and grabbed
him with painful
anger
, “You dare to stand in my house and disrespect your betters”

Baine was thrown across the room with ease, he struck the far wall as dust fell from the ceiling caused by the power of the impact. He
tried to rise to his feet in defiance but sank back down once again,
the priest was already upon him raining blows down from furious angles, Baine was helpless, he tried to offer
resistance
but the priest was somehow too fast and too strong
,
he
was a boy in the face of a man,
almost as soon as the volcano had erupted it subsided, he released Baine and sat back down slowly, the kindly smile resurfaced once again. “Please forgive me, I
..
, I’m afraid that I can be somewhat
temperamental
on certain subjects”.

Baine maintained his composure on the exterior but inside he was concerned, the priest had moved unbelievably fast and he was strong, stronger than him, he had felt the power of the man
when he grabbed him, for the first time in this life he was overmatched and had to try a unfamiliar approach of tact,

“My mistake father, truly, this is all rather new to me and confusing, I don’t really know my place in all of this”.

“You Baine are one of
us;
you are one of God’s soldiers
, one of the chosen. This is the house of the Knights Templar, forget about religion as you think you know it, the original word has been bastardized the world over, there is but one God, he who created the world and everything that lay upon it. What you’ve been told about the Cube of Matatron is correct, it holds the secrets of creation, the Archangels of heaven could not hold their
jealousy
of God’s love for mankind, the place at the right hand of God was usurped. So they attempted the most foul of betrayals and sought to take the Cube for their nefarious purposes, but there truly is no honour amongst thieves and they fought for control” the priest lowered his head in genuine regret.
“My name is Hugues de Payens
, I was born in the year 1070
in the Chateau Payn about 10km from
Troyes
in
Champagne
and I was charged by God himself with creating the order of the Knights Templar
in the year of our lord 1118
. Our solitary mission has always remained the same, to hold the line between the Cube and the Archangels of whichever side, you were part of that line child, you were part of the shield”.

Baine did not waste any of his time attempting to process the latest fantastical information that had been laid upon him, he had already seen and heard enough in the last few days to know that anything was possible but everyone seemed to be lying and he trusted no-one. The only thing that appeared to be
consistent
in all of this was the Cube, hold the Cube and hold the power, this had rapidly become his new motto in life, he would hold the Cube and he would hold the power and everyone else could go fuck themselves. “So what do you want from me, you know other than boring me to death?
”

“You are to continue fulfilling your duties, it is rather unfortunate that Gabriel has awoken your dormant side, you were always more of a potent weapon within your single minded manner, but it matters not” de Payens waved a nonchalant arm across the conversation. “A problem has arisen in the form of the police detective that you were obviously observing, he is quite contrary to our wishes at this time and you are to remove him”.

Baine felt the tension loosen and slowly release him from its grasp, he stood and flexed his arms, he stretched his spine and massaged his left shoulder blade with his right hand
wind milling
the arm. “So you have his details” he asked having no intention whatsoever of following anyone’s instructions ever again.

“Ah if only it were that easy, I think that it is best for all concerned if you were returned to your previous, more manageable state” de Payens had plucked a large ancient looking leather bound book from his desk drawer, he stood tall and began to chant, “Somnus in filiolus lux lucios quod exito ut filiolus vengeance per incendia
”
,
(
sleep in Gods light and awake as Gods vengeance through fire
)
,
“
Somnus in filiolus lux lucios quod exito ut filiolus vengeance per incendia
”
,
(
sleep in Gods light and awake as Gods vengeance through fire
)
over and over again.

Baine would have laughed at the absurdity if
only
he were able, he began to falter, his head felt heavy and inexplicably weary, his vision blurred and his thoughts muddled, he was so very tired, he felt as though he could sleep for a thousand years, all the while de Payens continued to chant. Baine was slipping away, he was slowly being put back to sleep, his fledgling new life retired once again into hibernation. He sagged heavily forward, the desk was all that prevented him from falling to the floor and being lost
forever, he grasped blindly, his
fingers scattered the desks tabletop objects sending many crashing onto the ground. He was so close now, he was almost gone, at the last he clasped a silver letter opener with a crucifix handle, he
thrust
the blade hard
into his right thigh
, the flash of stabbing pain granted him a momentary reprieve as the blade tore open his skin, with all that he had left he threw the knife at de Payens. The priest was so enthralled by his incantation that even with all of his ability and experience he was unable to prevent the blade striking home, the silver knife embedded itself in his neck leaving a gaping slashed would that spouted a gyser of blood and halted his capacity for speech. Baine took his first and only advantage, he stumbled backwards out of the office and toward the small side service door, he flung himself fully at it shattering the old and decayed wood, suddenly he was in the morning’s cold embrace. He fell face first into the wet grass which served as a tonic to spur him on further
in his
somewhat ungracious
retreat.

             
De Payens had by now staggered to the door, he was choking on the acid copper taste of his own blood as it drowned him from the inside, he fell to his knees as the world turned dark, his mind still refusing to accept the facts as it had been so very long since anyone or anything had bested him in such an outrageous manner. He was drifting into the blackness accompanied by a shrill panic stricken scream provided by Delores Griffin, the churches sixty year old resident housekeeper who had just arrived for work and now stood hysterically over his prone body.

             
The call over the radio interrupted McCullums musings before he was even halfway back to the station, he cursed the timing, he had known that something was wrong at the church he could smell it but whatever had happened he had missed it. He knew that he could not answer the call directly as he had no official business being there in the first place, the report was of a serious assault possibly a murder and it would require a senior officer to attend, he pulled the car over and waited. About three minutes later he got the call
, “Charlie Alpha two zero” the car’s radio spat out his call sign, “Receiving” he answered, “Reports of a serious assault at St Paul’s church Adamstown uniform attending” the mechanical voice chimed, “Charlie Alpha two zero enroute”. McCullum turned the car around and headed back to the church already feeling responsible for whatever he might find.
As he approached, the twirling dancing lights of the ambulances greeted him along with an increasing crowd eager for news, many clasped hands were being wrung with worry over their beloved pastor. McCullum parked his car across from the throng and waded through to the churches now locked and guarded gates, he flashed his ID at the young and nervous looking constable standing alone and los
t amidst the agitated audience. He bounded across the churchyard and into St Paul’s, the paramedics
were now propelling a figure laid upon a wheeled stretcher through the gloom of the church, the figure was momentarily highlighted by the windows stream of light as it passed through before returning to the gloom in between giving McCullum only a intermittent glimpse of identification.
As he rushed forward he was relieved beyond words to see that the figure was not completely covered by the sheet that wrapped it but merely tucked in up the head. He was shocked into temporary bewilderment as he realized that the horizontal motionless man was in fact
Father
Andrew Jacobs, in his heart he had felt that whatever had happened here the priest was going to be
at great risk
and he had furiously cursed himself during the
panicked
drive back
.
He had been struck by a fierce desire to protect and almost serve the Priest, but now as
Jacobs lay under a warm red blanket unconscious he felt that desire ebbing away leaving him bewildered by the departure from his normal senses as though waking from a particularly vivid dream, he pinched the bridge of his nose hard enough to draw tears in an attempt to ground himself further.