Howl of the Heavens ch.10

    Far away in Italy in the small nation of the Vatican Mike takes a quick look around to make sure no one sees him in the dark of night as he heads into an anonymous alley. He walks down a flight of stairs and knocks on a common looking grey door with a small golden cross in the upper right corner with a halo and two golden wings on it. A small window slides open on the door, the figure inside hidden behind a mesh screen.

 

     A voice speaks from with in the door, “Where is the cross of the father carried?”

 

     To this Mike answers back, “The golden cross must be bared on the backs of those who defend it.”

 

     The screen slides shut and a brown robed figure opens the door, which leads into a dark hallway.

 

     It has been awhile since the last time he was here but he remembers the way through the dark corridors to the council’s lobby where he has been summoned to. He opened the door and got a rather unexpected shock; where once their had been a dark dreary stone room with a pedestal and a single book keeper in a room filled with standing figures waiting to be summoned to the council their now was a brightly lit room, the book keeper was sitting behind a secretary’s desk with a flat screen computer and an intercom. The ceiling even had a fan and the figures waiting to be summoned with in were sitting down in cushioned chairs reading magazines, like this was a dentist’s office.

 

    Mike walked up to the record keeper, forgetting why he was there he said, “I know it has been along time since last I was here but this seems a little too relaxed wouldn’t you say”

 

     The robed figure looks up and says, “Mike? Mike King? Ahh it is you Brother Mike. Yes the last you were here was at least fifteen years ago, we changed the waiting room about five years ago, the council voted that we change the room since it resembled the tombs that so many demons call home, and that we as the guardians of light should not have to be completely immersed in the dark. It was depressing to say the least.”

 

     “Brother Keene is that you under that hood?” asked Mike,

 

     “why yes” said Brother Keene bringing his hood back, “I got this cushy job after breaking my leg in Brazil, you remember the bug hole? You were there chasing that Loup Garou that had joined the bugs.”

 

     “Yes of course.” said Mike, “I had thought you would have retired after that?”

 

    “Me retire? Not likely.”

 

    before they could continue a voice came over the intercom, “Brother Keene we are expecting brother Mike King some time with in the hour please send him in when he arrives please.”

 

     Brother Keene answered back, “Brother Mike is here now, I will send him in right away.”

 

    “Thank you’ came back the reply.

 

    As Mike walked through the doors out of the well lit room and into another dark hallway he thought to himself, “they have cameras every where, they knew I was already in there, this must be important if they wanted to rush me in.”

 

    As Mike approached the head council’s office he was stopped by a gold robed figure, “an Inquisitor Summoner?” he thought with a bit of worry now entering his mind.

 

    “Come with me please Brother Mike.” The figure said in an oddly deep voice.

 

    Mike was led to a pair of double doors he recognized but had never gone through.

 

     “The inquisition room?” Mike asked the robed figure.

 

    Who simply pointed at the door and said, “They are waiting for you, you must go in now.”

 

   Mike took one gulp and headed in.

 

   Inside Mike had expected perhaps one or two members of the council but here were all seven. Before him in the dark room above in their balcony sat seven robed figures the center one in red and the three on each side in black, all wore the white masks of an inquisition. Mike knew about this sort of questioning but it was only done for traitors and those who had screwed up big time.

 

     The center figure spoke first, “Brother Mike King of the Order of the Knights of the Golden Cross. You stand before us now to answer a few questions for us.”

 

    “And to explain your un-authorized actions” added the robed figure to his left.

 

    The central figure put up his hand silencing his fellow council member, and added, “Brother Mike, according to your reports you went to a town in northern California called Pine Ridge, correct?”

 

    “Yes” said Mike,

 

    “would you please tell us why you went there with out being assigned by this council first?”

 

     “I had received a message from my ex-partner and tutor Brother Rick that a local was concerned about a potential were-wolf problem so I went to investigate to see if there was a problem.” Said Mike in his defense.

 

     The robed figure to the head council member’s right handed the central figure a folder. The figure in red then asked, “Have you met father Henry Jones yet?”

 

    “Who” asked Mike, “I have met a Jeff Jones and a Nick Jones.”

 

    The head figure looked in the file and said, “The son and grandson of father Henry Jones.”

 

     Mike had no response to this so the head council member continued,  

 

    “Well outside of Pine Ridge there is a Church over looking the local trading post, there had you looked you would have met Father Henry Jones, he is a member of our order and has been keeping an eye on this same creature you claim you went to investigate in your report.”

 

     Mike baffled says, “I was never told their was already a member of the order there, I simply went to investigate because as I said my old partner Rick informed me about a man named Jeff Jones who was concerned about a werewolf he sighted.”

 

    The head council member looks through the file and states, “Well brother Mike the mission we assigned Father Henry Jones was to keep an eye on a very powerful creature called Versa.”

 

    “The wolf goddess from the legend?” Mike asks the council.

 

    The council members whispered some things amongst them selves and said to Mike, “We will assume you learned this from the locals as it is a common enough legend there; however there is something in your reports that un-nerves us, please tell us about this black were-wolf demon as you call it.”

 

    Mike thought, “As I call it?” then he answered, “shortly after I arrived a second creature that the locals had no legends of appeared, I currently believe it to be linked with this Versa in some way, it has demonstrated intelligence, and unusual strength, and has mystical abilities and an immunity to the control of the sacred golden crosses. I have spotted it on one occasion and it has been abducting livestock at an alarming pace.”

 

     Before he could continue  the Head council member raises his hand for Mike to stop, the other council members seem un-nerved as they are whispering to each other, Mike swears he can hear them raising their voices and hear, “are you sure?”, “what if it is him, is ancient even amongst the Dire”

 

    Mike thinks, “Dire? Do they know about these things? What I am dealing with out there?”

 

    Just as the council members calm down and are about to address him  another robed figure enters the balcony from a door and whispers something to the council, Mike can only hear a little of it from the brown robed figure who rushed in; he heard only one word clearly, “Litmet” and the councils members all got up in a rush, and as they were heading out the door the red robed figure turned to Mike, “A more pressing matter has come to our attention, if you still wish to pursue this case then we recommend that you go and see Father Henry Jones if you return to Pine Ridge, and that you do not attempt to confront Versa or what may be Rhuen, you are out of your league on this one.”

 

     With that he rushed out of the chamber. Mike thought, “I guess I got off free what ever this “Litmet” or what ever that guy said it is must be more important than interrogating me. Now I know about this Versa, but what is Rune, I never heard of that, if that’s the black werewolf creature then there should be more information in the data bases.”

 

    Mike has been sitting in the library for weeks, Brother Keene walked into the library to find Mike once again looking in the archives,

 

    “Oh Brother Mike are you still here? I had thought you would have headed back to the United States by now.”

 

    Mike says, “Come for more cat demon and vampire documents?”

 

    “Yes” answers Brother Keene,

 

    “well” says Mike “I have found about ten cat demons that go by the name Rune and about fifty vampires going by that name.”

 

     “Rune?” asks Brother Keene “isn’t that just the Norse alphabet.”

 

     Mike looks up and says, “That was the first article, after that, magic stones, any number of spells, and numerous trolls and demons, but not what I am looking for.”

 

    “Sorry I can’t help you there.” says Brother Keene, “they got me looking up data and they won’t even tell me what it’s for, something about saving the world or something.”

 

    “its always about saving the world, as is our duty, but I wish they would tell us what is going on sometimes, like with this Rune I am starting to think it’s a secret and they slipped up even saying the name to me.”

 

     Brother Keene shrugged his shoulders and carried out a small pile of books while Mike continued looking through the books thinking, “Rune the ruthless: vampire, Rune the mighty: Troll, nothing on a giant black wolf named Rune, it must be a secret.”