Iona Portal (12 page)

Following his morning explorations, Patrick would grab a light lunch at the pub and a brief nap at the Saint Columba Hotel. 

In the evenings he always retreated to the Hill.  On clear nights he’d bring a blanket from the hotel and stretch out on the soft heather between the stone slabs, watching the stars wheel past in their slow, nightly pilgrimage.

As days went by, he felt he was absorbing the island.  It was penetrating his body with a sense of peace and contentment he had never known. 

But always in the background was the question…
what next? 
Surely the angels had not lured him here for scenic hikes and relaxing naps.  Sooner or later, Patrick reasoned, they would contact him.

And Patrick was determined to stay on Iona until they did.  In reality, he had no place else to go.

Chapter Eleven:  Revelations

THE LAKE HOUSE – IN THE PINEY WOODS OF EAST TEXAS

After the initial shock, Piper seemed to adjust to the idea of aliens with incredible ease.  When she “came to,” Holmes was seated by her side.  Eliel had pulled up a chair and was seated opposite them about a foot away.

Piper stared at Eliel for several minutes.

Her first comment was, “Where are your… wings?   Didn’t you just have
wings?”

Eliel smiled, a gentle smile that lit up the room.  “Yes, they’re still here.  But when we visit your world we usually fold them back into a dimension you can’t see.  We find it’s less distracting for humans.”  As if to demonstrate, two large shining wings appeared out of nowhere, and then folded back into an unseen realm.

The sight of the wings made Piper feel woozy again.  She leaned up against Holmes for security.  “So you really
are
an alien?  I mean, you’re … you’re
NOT
a human being?”

Eliel shrugged and smiled playfully.  “Do you want to see the wings again?”

“Point taken.  Okay… so you’re
not
a human… but at least you’ve got a sense of humor.”

The exchange lightened the atmosphere a little, but it was clear neither was sure what to say next. 

“How about a drink?”  Holmes offered.

“Yes, I could use one.” Piper gasped.  “Something strong.  How about a scotch and soda, light on the soda.”

“And for you?” Holmes nodded to Eliel.

“Thanks, I’d love a beer… or better yet, do you have
Guinness?”
 She glanced at Piper, “I developed a taste for
Guinness
a few years ago in Ireland.” 

“Guinness
it is,” Holmes replied, “I knew it was your favorite, so I stocked up for the weekend.”

Piper sat with her mouth open in amazement for a moment, then caught herself and tried to regain her composure.  “I’m sorry, Eliel.  I hope you realize this is a bit much for me.  I just never thought I’d be sitting around drinking with an alien.”

Then she added, “By the way, has anyone ever told you, you look like an
angel?”

“That’s one of many things we’ve been called over the years.”   

“Oh great,” Piper groaned, “Now I’m drinking scotch with an angel.”

“An angel who drinks
Guinness
,” Holmes interjected, as he returned, bearing drinks.

Piper groaned again, rolling her eyes,   “My Baptist grandmother is rolling over in her grave.”

Holmes distributed the drinks…  A scotch for Piper, with just a touch of soda.  For Eliel, a
Guinness
, and an English ale for himself. 

“To multidimensional friendships.”  He said, raising his glass. 

“To good friends,
wherever
they’re from.”  Piper joined in.

“L’chayim.”
Eliel said, raising her
Guinness
in her favorite toast—one she’d learned among the Hebrew exiles in Babylon more than two thousand years earlier, “To
life!”
 

Recognizing the Hebrew toast, Holmes glanced at Piper.  “So,
who knew
angels were
Jewish?”
he quipped.  They all laughed, and Piper took a big gulp of her scotch, emptying nearly a third of the glass.

It was definitely the most surreal evening in Piper’s life.  She had several billion questions, and frankly could not think of how to start. 

“So… Eliel,” she took another gulp of scotch and stammered, “Let me see if I understand this.  You’re an alien… an
angel
… yet you come and go freely among human beings.  You visit our world, you eat, you drink
Guinness
, you look just like one of us, apart from the
wings
…  I mean, this is
incredible!

“I have so many questions.  How long have you been doing this?  How did you get here?  What is your world like?”  Piper reached out and fingered the soft fabric of Eliel’s dress and added with a twinkle in her eye, “I mean… do you have shopping malls?”

Without waiting for an answer, Piper tilted her head back and finished the scotch in one gulp.  Thrusting her glass in Holmes’ direction, she gasped, “I need more scotch!”

When Holmes returned with the scotch—he wisely brought the bottle along—he could see that Piper was already more relaxed.  “Eliel, before you begin answering Piper’s questions, perhaps a little background would be in order.”

“Certainly,” she smiled, and took another gulp of her
Guinness
.

“Piper,” she began, setting her glass down on the floor beside her chair, “the universe is a little different than what most of your race has imagined.  Your world is part of a multi-dimensional universe.  Your physicists are only now beginning to recognize this.

“My world, which we call
Basileia
, is not in some far off galaxy.  It’s right here.  It occupies the same ‘space’ but in a different dimension.  Many parts of our worlds are surprisingly similar.  In my world, for example, there’s a lake here, but it’s in the midst of beautiful parkland.  We have houses and buildings, but with our physical differences our architecture tends to be quite distinct.

“Unfortunately for you, your world is sandwiched between two warring realms.   We, of
Basilea
, are what you might call the ‘good guys.’  We call ourselves the
Irin
.  We’re ruled by a council of twenty-four Ancient Ones who’ve committed us to the protection and welfare of the human race.

“The other world is a realm known in your legends as
Hades
.  It’s occupied by a powerful race known as the
Archons
.

“The war between our worlds began long before your written history… about 20,000 years ago.”

“20,000 years is a long time to be at war.”  Holmes interjected.

“You forget, Holmes…” Eliel glanced at him, “We don’t die… at least, not easily.  I was here at the beginning of the battle and, hopefully, will still be here at the end, which, I believe, is coming soon.”

“You’re twenty
thousand
years old?” Piper gasped, looking at Eliel as if for the first time. 

“Actually, much older,” Eliel said casually.  “The beginning of this battle was fairly recent from our perspective.”

“20,000 years ago,” she continued, “the ruler of Hades
set out to conquer the other inhabited worlds, and establish himself as supreme lord.

“He began by invading your realm.  The invasion force was massive, a thing never before seen… not in all the cycles of history.  His forces included many legions of Archons, as well as a large number of renegade Irin who called themselves the
Grigori
.  Joining this force was a horde of earth-born
Nephilim
—monstrous half-breed warriors, the product of
Grigori
fathers and human mothers. 

“Terrible things were done…”  Eliel shuddered as she recalled the battle, looking from Holmes to Piper. “The devastation was unimaginable…  Whole continents disappeared beneath the seas.  Your race was decimated.  It was from that era that your legends of Atlantis and the great deluge were born.

“The Human Race was nearly obliterated, but in the midst of the destruction, your leaders appealed for help.  In those days, there were still individuals among the humans who could travel between realms.  So, fearing their battle was lost, the remaining human princes sent a heroic delegation to Hi-Ouranos, realm of the Ancient Ones who rule the inhabited worlds.  The Ancient Ones responded to their appeal and raised up a force to stop the invasion. 

“A massive portal was constructed on what is now England’s Salisbury plain, and tens of thousands of volunteers poured through.  They came from every inhabited world:  Winged Irin from Basilea, Gnomen from the great crystal caverns of Alani, Mermen from Taverea, and the tall Elvin warriors of Ayden. 

“In a bitterly contested battle lasting centuries, the Archon advance was weakened, but the Archons refused to retreat.  Finally, the Ancient Ones authorized a direct assault on Hades. 

“After nearly a thousand years of fighting, the armies of Hades were finally vanquished.  It was a time of inexpressible horror…”  Eliel faltered.  She seemed almost at the point of tears as she envisioned the scene.  “In the end, the Archon forces were devastated, and the once-beautiful realm of Hades became a burned-out wasteland.” 

“I suppose that explains the legends of Hell,” Piper said quietly.

“Yes,” Eliel continued, struggling to recover her composure, “but living in a burned out wasteland has only reinforced the Archons’ determination to seize your world.  They’ve sent many of their number here to prepare the way.  Because of their immense lifespan, the Archons plan their strategies in terms of generations—forming plans within plans, centuries in advance—carefully plotting and preparing for their final assault.  There have been several attempted invasions down through your history, but each time they’ve failed.   Unfortunately, they learn from their mistakes.  I fear we’re rapidly approaching a climactic battle.

“Piper, if their invasion can’t be turned back, the Human Race, as you know it, will be destroyed.  Your world will be conquered, and those of you who remain will be tortured and enslaved.

“To protect you, the Ancient Ones have enlisted us, the watchers—what your people have called
angels—
to patrol the shadow realm on the edge of your world.” 

“So… where do
we
fit into all this?”  Piper said, “I mean, Holmes and I, personally?”

Eliel looked at Holmes, then back to Piper.  “That will take a little while to explain.  I think I’d rather get into that tomorrow, when you’re a little fresher. 

“Right now,” she said, picking up her nearly empty glass and staring at it wistfully, “I’d like another
Guinness,
and then I’ll try to answer some of your questions.”

***

BRENTWOOD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, BOULDER, COLORADO

The evening Lys’s parents returned to Dallas, Roger Johnston showed up in her room later than usual.  Lys was standing, gazing out the window. 

“Well, look at
you!
” Roger laughed in surprise, “I
heard
you were finally on your feet!” 

Lys turned and coolly acknowledged his greeting, “Hi, Roger.  I’m still feeling shaky, but it feels good to be out of bed.”

 “You know, Sis, the other doctors call you the walking miracle.  They’ve no explanation for how you survived that crash.  They claim the force of the impact alone should have killed you instantly.  After a shock like that, it’s no wonder you’ve been a little confused.”

Ignoring his comment, Lys turned back to the window.  She moved awkwardly, still unsteady on her feet.

Boulder was beautiful at night.  Brentwood Memorial was perched on a low rise at the foot of the Colorado Front Range.  From her window, Lys could see a panorama of the city spread out before her.  It looked like a galaxy of billions of stars at her feet. 

 “And I have some good news for you,” Roger continued, taking a step closer.  “Barring any complications, you’re due to be released from the hospital next week.  Mom and Dad already made your plane reservations.  Mom’s getting your old bedroom ready.  She’ll be flying up next week to take you home.  You’ll be back in Texas… away from all the craziness.  Mom and Dad will be there to take care of you…”

 “Stop it!”
Lys snapped, cutting him off sharply.  Without turning to look at him, she continued, “I
hate
this.  You’re all treating me like I’m an
invalid.
  Nobody believes anything I say.  Everybody thinks I’m crazy.  And you all think you have to figure out how you can take care of poor little mixed-up Lys.” 

“Listen, Lys, no one wants to treat you like an invalid.” 

He walked to Lys and stood behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder.  “You’re a strong and independent woman, and in six months you’ll be pretty much back to normal.  Just don’t rush it.  You
will
need some help.  Right now they’re keeping you pumped full of pain medication.  But you have several damaged disks in your back, and you’re going to be in a lot of pain for a while.  Believe me, when they start weaning you off the pain meds, you’ll be thankful for all the help you can get.”

Lys swung around to face him, but as she turned, the window in front of them exploded.  There was a loud crash, flying shards of glass filled the air, and they were both knocked to the ground.  When Lys opened her eyes, Roger was lying unconscious on the floor beside her.  Then she saw the blood welling from a wound in his chest and pooling on the floor around him.  Ignoring her pain, Lys stumbled to the door and screamed for help.

Chapter Twelve:  More Revelations

THE LAKE HOUSE – IN THE PINEY WOODS OF EAST TEXAS