Beyond Life (8 page)

*****

Mary didn’t notice the fine quality of the transparent white negligee she wore as Tamara led her to the room where she was to be taught her trade. She was shaking nervously and wondered if she would be allowed to leave when they discovered she wasn’t a virgin. She doubted it very much. It occurred to her that if she was no good, or if they discovered she wasn’t pure, they would get rid of her rather than returning her to the orphanage. Mary wanted to survive to inflict as much damage as possible so put her fears to the back of her mind and hurriedly thought of the first part of her survival plan.

*****

Claire tried her utmost not to panic as she fought with all her might. She knew it was a battle she couldn’t win but was determined not to go down without a fight. She’d dispensed with some of them but that gave her scant satisfaction as for every hand that she was able to get rid of, at least another two had appeared in its place. The teenager seemed to be directing proceedings but didn’t appear to be actively involved. Perhaps if she tried to get to him she’d scare off the weaker ones and have a better chance. He was very near to her face and smiling a triumphant smile. Claire thought for a moment that it was unlady-like but had been very effective when she’d seen it on a dramatisation once about one of the rougher places in England. She stopped struggling with the hands and returned his smile. He was confused for a second and she thrusted her head forward violently. The butt took him completely by surprise and he yelled and disappeared into the ether. Christ that hurt, thought Claire with satisfaction. She was still amazed that she could feel such horrendous physical pain even though she was dead. A few of the hands drifted away and she managed to gain some height. Her satisfaction soon disappeared when the teenager reappeared and ordered his minions to double their efforts. The hands multiplied and she was jolted as the direction changed and the journey downwards speeded up.

The teenager knew exactly who she was and recalled the occasion when he’d encountered her before and because of her strong guardians, had run away with his tail between his legs. He’d also heard the rumours about her talents and knew that the rewards for presenting his catch to his masters would be innumerable. But before that he wanted to get his own back and Claire had to suffer the indignity of the teenager’s hands exploring regions that had not been explored since her final night with her fiancé, Jay. Her struggles were useless but she couldn’t let him humiliate her without making an effort to stop him.

Gabriella took in the scene and wondered if they were too late, the evils were travelling quickly and the gates of Hell were in sight. The nearer they got the harder the task and the more likelihood of failure. She shook off the thoughts and concentrated on the job in hand. An idea was formulating and she turned to Raphael to give him instructions. He was way ahead and had separated from the rest, despite the risk to his own safety. Like a bolt of lighting he crashed through the atmosphere, determined to cause as much chaos as possible and to save the damsel in distress.

The shock of the violence had initially forestalled her aggressors but had eventually strengthened them. Claire remembered the love circle she had shared with Raphael and Ron and despite the pain and discomfort, squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on only good memories of love and happiness. She felt a whoosh and a lessening of hands and tried to push down the smugness brought on by a faint hope that her plan was actually starting to work. Claire had a sensation of hovering between two worlds and realised that this must have been what both Sandy and Ken before her felt when rescued by Gabriella. The penny still hadn’t dropped and she decided to risk a peep, opening one eye slowly and scanning the area. The white clothed black angel whooshed past her, lighting up the dark atmosphere as he did so. Claire’s mouth hung open as Raphael’s head made contact with the teenager she now thought of as Big Ed’s son. Both angel and demon disappeared into the atmosphere and knowing for definite that there was hope, Claire doubled her efforts, thinking only pleasant, loving thoughts. Gentle hands groped and found hers and she was now part of a circle of goodness with Gabriella, Ron and Sandy. Sandy had been terrified of returning towards hell but had fought the demons in her memory and had bravely accepted the challenge.

They made slow and steady progress and all except Gabriella started to relax. They realised their mistake when a roar of biblical proportions shook their circle and the air around them. Looking down they saw a regiment of demons and their animal slaves heading purposefully and determinedly upwards towards them.

‘Concentrate!’ screamed Gabriella as she led the circle upwards towards safety as fast as she could. She tried to hide her fear but Claire sensed it straight away and it wasn’t long before Ron and Sandy picked up on their emotions.

‘Oh, no,’ Sandy wailed and was inconsolable.

Gabriella would meet the worst fate – it had been centuries since the evils had captured their last high-level angel Zach, and he was kept down there, not giving them the opportunity to rescue him. As far as Gabriella knew he might be tortured on a daily basis or even be a slave of the evils. What she did know for definite was that he hadn’t turned to the evil side.

She shuddered as she saw the enemy gaining on them.

Salvation arrived in a timely fashion. As the evils neared, the whoosh of light returned and like a rocket, Raphael hit them from below and propelled the circle upwards. They gained strength as the distance between them and their evil enemy grew and they were able to slow down and watch the demons fall back to hell as if being pushed off invisible ladders. They were too shaken to appreciate the punishment that the demons would receive having been so near to, but now lost their great prize.

Claire was shaking as she threw herself into Raphael’s body. The impact winded him but he recovered enough to hold her, his soothing words caressing like hot chocolate on a cold winter’s night.

‘I thought they had me,’ she gulped. ‘I thought that was it... for eternity,’ she broke away, embarrassed at the lack of control over her emotions. ‘Thank you, Raphael, I will never forget this as long as... well, for all eternity.’ She was almost back to her old self and turned when she heard Ron cough.

‘Thank you too, Ron, Gabriella and Sandy. It was so brave of you all, especially you, Sandy... I...’ she’d lost control again and Raphael pulled her into a hug. Facing the others with Claire’s head hidden in his shoulder he loosened one arm from around her back and shooed them away with his hand.

Back in Cherussola, Gabriella settled Ron and Sandy on the settee and told them to expect a debriefing when Raphael and Claire returned. She left them there to comfort each other and disappeared. The episode had shaken Gabriella more than she cared to admit and she wanted to talk to her brother and Claire before going off to lick her wounds in private. She found them shortly after, arms around each other. Before it became too embarrassing to watch, Gabriella gave a gentle cough to make them aware of her presence.

Totally absorbed with each other, they jumped when they heard the noise.

‘Sorry to disturb you but we need to talk...’

‘I was just comforting Claire. You can see how upset she is.’

So that’s what they called it. ‘I can see that. But before you get too err... comfortable, we need to explain some things to Claire if she’s going to have a bigger role in our fight against evil.’

That was news to Claire and there was no way she wanted to encounter the evil spirits any time soon. Their sheer number had surprised her, and she had convinced herself that they would prevail and eventually their evil would overcome any good that Gabriella, Raphael and the other good spirits could muster.

Gabriella explained that her fear was a normal and expected reaction after what she’d just experienced.

‘Not all are servants of the demons. That would cause chaos and an unnatural balance against us. We have containment centres.’

Gabriella waited for the questions and was impressed that Claire managed to keep quiet for a few minutes. Raphael could see it was a battle of wills between the two women but knew that Claire didn’t stand a chance against his sister, yet.

‘Where are these centres?’ Claire couldn’t help herself.

‘We can’t contain them here, there are far too many of them. You will have heard of the expression
hell on earth
?’ Claire inclined her head. ‘Well this is one of the places…’

Having almost experienced the real hell, Claire had no desire to see the earthly version. She had heard many people exaggerate and refer to it, but never in a million years had she thought the place existed, literally. If this was part of her learning experience or to do with her so called
special
talents she could very well do without it. She closed her eyes and tried to inject some brave serum into her thoughts but her experience of the probing hands had affected her more than she cared to admit. Despite Claire’s natural curiosity and almost manic desire to know what was going on in the universe, she really did not want to go.

Seeing the expression on Claire’s face didn’t need a mind reader to know what she was thinking. Raphael knew that she had to meet some tough challenges and he’d already argued with Gabriella about what was and was not appropriate. His need to keep her out of harm’s way clashed with her training requirements. Although he accepted that she had to face some fears to enable her to reach her full potential, he just wanted to love and protect her and was sure that there would be further disagreements with both his sister and mother about the best way forward. Gabriella hadn’t flexed her wings and looking at his sister there was no tension or the look of concentration on her face that signalled imminent action. Even their mother couldn’t recognise the barely perceptible twinkle in her eyes that showed her twin she wanted to have a bit of fun. Had it been with anyone else Raphael might have joined in, but he hated seeing his Claire looking so vulnerable and terrified. Casting a glance at Gabriella and shaking his head he put an arm around Claire. Wrapped in the warmth and safety of her new love she closed her eyes, hoping to garner strength from him. Her trembling stopped.

He pushed a few curls behind her ear and put his lips to it. ‘You don’t have to go there, just watch. You need to know about this but must not discuss it. Understand?’

Claire felt like a pupil again and she relaxed against him while the scene below them unfolded.

A group of explorers were walking through a forest. One looked up but the canopy of trees blocked out the light and he wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was a fruitless exercise as within seconds, his head was wet again. His shirt was stuck to his body and he sighed and carried on walking, determined to find the cave that the indigenous people had written about for centuries but had to date remained illusive. The humidity was draining and the group plodded on slowly until they came into the clearing. Pressing on he told the others to follow him down into the bottom of the valley where he was almost sure lay the entrance to the cave. He looked up at the sheer cliff face and risked a glance skyward. The forecast had been for dry, sticky weather and it wasn’t even the wet season so he was surprised to see the dark clouds slowly gathering. Men had already died trying to find this place and Chris weighed up his options. Wiry and fit but at 72 he knew he didn’t have many chances left and had agreed with his wife that this would be his final attempt at this particular quest. He studied his son who was laughing and joking with the others, the centre of attention as usual. Ralph was a lover of adventure but with a low boredom threshold and Chris knew his son didn’t have the interest or determination to carry this through to the end after he retired. He closed his eyes and sighed, it was his dream and not Ralph’s and he couldn’t expect to live the rest of his life through his son. Ignoring the clouds but with a sense of foreboding he ordered the group to move on. As in previous expeditions this was where the locals left them. The tales of the place that had been instilled in them since childhood were still fresh in their memories and none would go willingly into
infierno terrenal
.

Halfway down Ralph called to his father. ‘Take a look at the sky!’

Chris didn’t need to look. He threw his pickaxe into the cliff wall in frustration and leaned into it, his head resting on his forearm while he tried to control his emotions. He’d willingly risk his own life to be able to realise his lifelong dream of finding the legendary cave that others doubted existed. He’d been ridiculed and laughed at and his many other discoveries had been negated by stubbornness and sheer refusal to admit that the cave known to the locals as
hell on earth
was purely a myth. If they pressed on and any of the group were swept away in the downpour, could he live with that on his conscience? He looked at them one by one, each seeing the question in his eyes and the answer was the same from all five, a definite shake of each head. As his son moved across the rock face and put a hand on his father’s arm, Chris felt no comfort from it, knowing that his efforts had been thwarted once again.

‘Will you tell him when his time comes?’ asked Claire, more to herself than to the angels. There was something else going on in the scene that she was trying to put her finger on but couldn’t quite figure it out.

‘That’s it,’ she snapped her thumb and middle finger together. ‘I’ve got it. Ralph is one of ours isn’t he?’

Raphael’s feeling of pride hid his initial shock. Claire was full of surprises and Gabriella might have been able to hide her own shock from Claire, but he could see right through her.

‘What makes you think that, Claire?’

‘I honestly don’t know, Gabriella. I just know he’s an old soul and a good one. I saw a kind of light shining around him, it was coming and going though. Does that make any sense?’

They could see she was trying to figure it all out and knew there was no point in doing so. Claire’s talents were a natural gift and the longer she remained in Cherussola, the stronger her gift would become. Neither had seen a gift develop so quickly and Gabriella wondered whether it was all actually Committee given or related to her ancestry. Raphael was deep in thought too, probably wondering the same thing, assumed Gabriella.