The Samhain Chronicles, Ch. 18

Danny slept very fitfully. His dreams were a mired, swirling fog, blending and melding chaotically one into the other. He saw the bonfire again, and figures - hooded and cloaked - chanting all around. There was a great stone table, too, in the midst of a circle of even greater stones, and a full harvest moon shining above. Hideous creatures swiped and clawed at him from the darkness, threatening to snuff out his light. He felt as if he were in a cold, dark sea, barely keeping his head above the surface before another crashing billow of darkness tried to push him under. Suddenly there was an incredibly bright light all around him, voices calling out in fear and agony, while the shadows fled from the flames spreading to the trees. Danny thought he heard a voice, gentle but more powerful than all the universe, ringing through the burning pines.

"The First Seal is Broken," it cried, "Daniel... Daniel, wake up. There is much work for you to do yet."

The next moment, Danny felt as if he was falling, and his eyes snapped open with a start. The wind rushing past his face and the cold, misty air surrounding him had him very confused at first... until he realized he actually was falling.

He let loose a cry of terror at the ground several hundred kilometers below him, toward which he was rapidly plummeting. He twisted around in the air, disoriented and panicked, trying to figure out how in the world he had managed to get from his bed to the sky without waking up. In a flash of logic, he then remembered he had wings. Danny took a few deep breaths and managed to level out his body so that it was parallel to the ground, then attempted to summon them. To his great shock, however, his wings did not appear.

Normally, he could will them into existence without really thinking about it, and the rest of the time they popped up between his shoulders of their own accord, whether the situation called for it or not. But now - of all times, when he desperately needed them - they refused to appear. He thought it perhaps had something to do with his head; it throbbed with a dull ache, and felt as if someone had stuffed it full of wool while he was asleep. He could hardly focus on a single thought, apart from the fact that he was currently hurtling toward his death.

Out of the corner of his eye, he then caught a glimpse of a dark silhouette darting through the clouds alongside him. The inky black smoke ball matched his speed perfectly, as if egging him on his journey toward his swift, painful demise. It kept its distance though, just staying out of arms' length, most likely due to the little silver crucifix that had slipped out from under Danny's shirt collar. Time was quickly running out to act. The gravel courtyard of the convent was growing closer by the millisecond. Several of the sisters had run out into the chill dawn air, and were pointing up at him in fright. The ground began to swim and blur before him, requiring him to shut his eyes tightly. "Come on," he growled, focusing all his energy into manifesting his wings, "Come on!! Oh, for the love of all that is holy, please!!" The courtyard was much closer when he opened his eyes, close enough for him to actually see the nuns' horrified expressions. Out of time and terrified beyond belief, Danny uttered a guttural bellow of anger and frustration, in one last ditch Hail Mary attempt.

His scream ended in a grunt as his wings finally emerged, fanning out behind him like a parachute, to catch him. His descent was immediately slowed, but it was far too late. Despite his attempts to land unscathed, he plowed into the gravel face first. His body skated like a stone across water on the ground, rolling and tumbling over the rough pebbles until he finally came to a stop right in front of the chapel doors. Flares of pain erupted all over his body, and his mouth was filled with the bitter, acrid flavor of dirt and iron. He lay on the ground in a heap, coughing, while a handful of the sisters rushed to his aid. Their faces began to blur and dim above him almost instantly, until all light was slowly quenched from existence.

When he came to again, the light of the setting sun glowed warm and golden through his window. Absolutely every part of his body hurt, in particular his right arm and the ribs beside it. There was someone weeping quietly at his bedside. He could feel the weight of their head on the mattress by his left hip, and his left hand tightly clenched in theirs. The hand in his was small yet cool, and quite familiar. On the opposite side of the bed Mother Abigal stood on her knees, her head bowed and her lips moving rapidly in silent prayer. Danny looked to his left again, at the beautiful young woman holding his hand. He couldn't see her face because it was buried in the covers, but he knew her in an instant. He gave Penelope's fingers a gentle squeeze back, letter her know he was awake, and she sat up with a small gasp. "Daniel?" she asked softly, as if she didn't trust her own eyes.

Danny managed half a nod, and an instant later Penelope's arms were around his neck. "Oh, Daniel, you scared me half to death!!" She sniffled, "What on Earth were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?! Why did you wait so long to summon your wings?! You could have been killed!!"

Danny grimaced and let out a half-choked groan, "P-Penelope... I cannae breathe..." She let go then suddenly and pressed a kiss on his lips, which also somehow hurt. "I dunno... what happened," he moaned, "O-One moment, I was in bed, having a nightmare... and the next-..." He raised his left hand off the mattress and let it slowly fall back down, mimicking how his body was spiraling down through the air with his hand.

"By God's grace, you survived," Mother Abigail offered, rising to her feet, "that is all that matters. How do you feel, My Child?"

Danny attempted to sit up, but a fresh wave of searing pain from his ribs sent him flat on his back again in a heartbeat. Once the stars finished the jig they were dancing in front of his eyes, he crinkled his face into a grimace, "Ah... n-not good. How bad is it?"

Mother Abigail adjusted one of the many layers of bandages wrapped around his torso with a sigh, "It could have been worse, but not by much. Your right arm is shattered in two places; you've got three, maybe four broken ribs on your right side also, as far as we can tell. Not to mention all the bruises, cuts and scrapes you've sustained. Shall I go on?"

Danny shook his head and stifled a painful cough, "I believe I've got the general picture. Where's Dr. Horace? Is he still here?"

"He's gone down to the village," Mother Abigail informed him, "to fetch more supplies from the chemist. I must say, for a man whose profession is healing the mind, he doesn't do too bad a job healing the body either. He should return soon."

Penelope harrumphed sourly, "He can take his time, for all I care. Mother Abigail, please let me take Daniel to a proper hospital. His bones will never mend correctly unless they've been set by an actual doctor in a cast! These bandages are a temporary solution at best."

Mother Abigail's eyes were stern but kind as they regarded the younger woman, "That may seem wise, but doing so puts Daniel in a highly vulnerable position. Suppose while he's there, the Iron Boar sends someone to reclaim him? Can you protect him, were that to happen, My Child?"

"I would at least try," Penelope snapped, "I'm not afraid of the Iron Boar, and I shall fight to my last breath to keep Daniel out of their clutches!!"

While listening to the two women debate over his bed, Danny slipped his left hand under the sling cradling his right arm. His thougts were a little clearer than before, allowing him to conjure up the blue healing light into his palm with little effort. Both women stopped talking and looked down at him after a minute, when a series of sharp clicks and low grunts started coming from him. The pain in his ribs began fading rather quickly, however it was replaced shortly after with an intense wave of fatigue. The warm, tingling light fizzled out on its own once his ribs were fully healed again, but he had neither the strength or concentration to mend his broken arm.

"That's... a little better," he panted, "Now... does someone want to tell me... what, exactly, the Iron Boar is?"

Mother Abigail traded a look with Penelope, then lowered herself into the chair beside her with a heavy sigh, "To tell the truth, I don't exactly know. Ever since I first devoted my life to the Lord, rumors have been circulating in the village about them. From what I know, they're a very old organization; I've heard it said they're one of the last holdouts of an ancient Pagan clan, that somehow survived the cleansing of the early days of the Church. Whether or not that's true, I can't say for sure." Her brown eyes studied Danny's with deep worry as she placed her hand on his knee, "What I do know is that they're very dangerous. They fear neither God nor the laws of this land. If they want you, they will stop at nothing to get you."

Danny swallowed hard and ran his tongue over his dry lips, "Ah... I see. Well, at least now I know - sort of - what I'm up against."

Penelope shook her head, "We know who's after you, Daniel, but we still have no idea why. We might as well still be at square one! If only we knew the reason they want you so badly, perhaps then we could develop a strategy to stop them."

A warm golden light suddenly started shining from the other side of the room. Penelope turned to see where it was coming from, but immediately had to squint because it was so bright, "What on earth-? Daniel... are those your trousers glowing?!" It seemed a ridiculous notion, but it also seemed that Penelope's assessment was correct: in a chair in the corner, where Danny had left a pair of his trousers, was where the light was coming from... or, more accurately, something underneath them was producing the light. Without being asked, Penelope strode over to retrieve the object, which stopped glowing as soon as she put her hands on it. It was the parcel that Gabe had given him, which was still unopened. Danny had no memory of putting it in the chair, however, nor of concealing it with his clothes.

"Give it here," he said, wincing as he sat up at last, "please." Penelope brought the parcel to the bed obediently, and set it in his lap. It was difficult to do with one hand, but Danny eventually managed to get the gilded twine off. Penelope helped him peel off the paper, revealing a beautifully ornate wooden box. Its dimensions were similar to a small shoebox, and it's delicately carved scrollwork was inlaid with what looked like real gold and mother of pearl accents. On the center of the lid was a pair of carved wings, also inlaid with gold. As Danny ran his fingers gingerly over the small box, admiring the craftsmanship of it, the small latch on the front flicked open on its own. Upon lifting the lid, he saw the box held a lambskin scroll with gilded handles, and a small parchment envelope.

Penelope took the envelope out for him, but the scroll leapt out onto his lap of its own volition. Danny startled as the scroll began to unroll itself on his thighs, then looked in awe and confusion at the words written upon it. The shimmering ink changed colors in the light from gold to black, as the letters themselves rearranged from Greek characters to Hebrew to Latin, and finally to English. Danny read the title of the scroll aloud pensively, "The Book of... Revelation...?"

Mother Abigail gasped and crossed herself, "This is surely a message from the Most High! My Child, where did you get this?!"

Danny looked from the scroll to the Mother Superior and back, not sure what to make of all this, "I... I-It was a gift. There was a bicycle messenger, i-in the chapel. He said his name was Gabe."

Mother Abigail cried in exhaltation and kissed the rosary beads hanging from her neck, "Imagine: an Archangel gracing our humble convent with their presence! This is indeed a wonderful sign!!"

Penelope shook her head, "Just a minute: you're not saying that... that this is the actual Book of Revelation, from the Bible?! That's not possible... is it?!"

Mother Abigail's eyes were moist with tears, "Through The Lord, My Child, anything is possible."

Danny rubbed the lambskin with his left thumb and forefinger as he weighed Mother Abigail's words, letting everything sink in, "A messenger Archangel...? Gabe... Gabriel?" The scroll began unrolling further at Danny's touch, finally stopping at Chapter six, verse one. Mother Abigail and Penelope both looked at the scroll, then at Danny expectantly, so he cleared his throat and began to read: "Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the Seven Seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, 'come!', and I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer." Danny looked up at Mother Abigail in confusion, "A horseman? What does it mean?"

Mother Abigail fell to her knees and started praying again, leaving Danny and Penelope still in the dark. Penelope offered the envelope in her hand to Danny hopefully, "Maybe this will glean some answers?" Danny nodded and watched as she broke the gilded wax seal on the back, then took the letter she pulled from within it. One sentence was written upon it in the same glowing ink as the scroll:

"The First Seal has been opened."

Danny read the sentence aloud, then looked down at the Mother Superior again, "Mother Abigail, I don't understand. What does a seal and a horseman have to do with-... Mother Abigail?"

The elderly woman's face was as white as a sheet and streaked with tears, while her fingertips feverishly polished her rosary beads. "The First of the Seven Seals," she murmured, "To think, in my lifetime, that I should bear witness to the End of Days... I never would have imagined!"