Tuatha's Children By Bert McKenzie Copyright 2011
Chapter 14
"But you're a member of the Church," Craig blurted out in shock.
"God does not discriminate. He has made us as we are. Why should not we serve him?"
"And you don't find draining the blood from people contrary to the laws of your religion?" Scott asked.
"It is an unfortunate way to survive," the cardinal said with a low chuckle. "We do not have to murder to do this. There are volunteers and other ways of obtaining our sustenance. Surely you must know this. I'm afraid we aren't the evil monsters portrayed in the cinema." He then looked over at Andre with another chuckle. "Well not all of us anyway. Perhaps one day God can persuade our friend Andre to repent his lascivious lifestyle."
Andre joined the cardinal in a laugh. "Your grace knows I prefer the young ladies too much to do that." A chill ran through the humans at the thought of what Andre's usual diet must be.
"But let us get down to business. You have come a long way seeking this American priest, Father Stephen and his evidence."
"He's not really a priest," Craig explained. "He only goes by the title Father as part of his cover for the organization."
"There you are wrong my son," Cardinal Compelli said. "He is most assuredly a priest. We have known of Father Stephen Pentucci for a long, long time." The shock was almost visible in the room, but the cardinal looked around as if he was surprised that the others weren't aware of his knowledge. "Oh yes, my children. The Church knows a great deal, and what is hidden knowledge may often be rediscovered in church archives. We, that is the Church, are aware of Father Stephen and of his organization. We are aware of its nefarious purpose, but many in the Church are not aware that Father Stephen is the same Father Stephen Pentucci who took on the leadership of the Van Helsing organization back in the late 1800s."
"Wait," Jeff spoke up. "Are you trying to tell us that Father Stephen is a vampire?"
"No, no, he is entirely human," the cardinal said, shaking his head. "But he is a strangely long lived human. I do not know the magic of the blessing or the curse that has kept him alive all these many years. But he is most definitely a human, a human priest to be exact. He was ordained in the year of Our Lord, 1867. Of course he may not always have kept to the practices of a Catholic priest. I don't believe he has said a Mass or celebrated the sacraments in over seventy years. It seems he fell from the rosters of the Church many, many years ago, and in all that time, he was presumed dead. It was but recently that some of our own agents have discovered that he was very much alive, and the same man who had been ordained as a priest so long ago."
"Agents? Your Church has agents?" Scott asked.
The Cardinal nodded his head. "Yes. Oh we are not like your spy networks, your CIA, but we have our own who do research and discover things. There is a Jesuit office not far from here that makes extensive use of the Internet to collect the most remarkable data. But getting back to the matter at hand, Father Stephen's greatest desire is to have the Church recognize and take back into its fold his organization. I believe he is going to try and use your boy," he nodded to Robin and Scott, "to do just that. He has already approached a number of different offices to try and arrange an audience with the Holy Father. Of course his first attempt was politely turned away, and his subsequent attempts have drawn the attention of both the Swiss Guard and Vatican security. That is how I have come to learn about this. In an attempt to find out his true motivations he has been stalled while an investigation has been mounted. Much surprising data is coming to light, and much of it involving his organization and our kind. I fear this is something that will only result in trouble for all of us."
"I intend no offense," Robin spoke up, "but all I want is to rescue my son and return home with him. Your court intrigues interest me not."
"Spoken as a true parent," Compelli said with a little bow toward the fairy king. "We want no harm to come to the boy, and if in returning him to you, we can also avert attention to ourselves and return the relative stability to the Church, all the better. We certainly want to discourage any belief in our kind and avoid any notoriety of the goings on of my dear friend, young Andre here." The cardinal nodded to the other Italian vampire in the room.
"Then tell us what we must do, your grace," Andre said deferentially.
"Well," the cardinal said as he leaned forward and steepled his hands on his desk, "it would seem if Father Stephen had no 'evidence' to present to the Church, his claims might dissipate. And so I think it would behoove us all to remove the child from his custody."
Robin stood. "Tell us where to find this man and we will do that!" he said angrily.
The cardinal gestured with is hand for Robin to sit down. "Calmly, calmly my high born friend," he said in Tuathan, surprising both Robin and Scott. He chuckled again and returned to English. "I have learned a few things in my many years. Father Stephen is currently staying at a hostel and is keeping a tight guard on your boy. I think we must have him present the boy to an investigatory panel, and at that point we can separate them. Once this happens, it will be a simple matter to return the child to you, discredit the man and send him on his way back to America. His strange secret of long life can be questioned at another time. I shall arrange to convene such an investigatory panel. I will need to contact both the Swiss Guard and Vatican security to calm them down as well. This will not be an easy thing to arrange. But I think I can convene such a panel of priests and loyal scientists in two days and bring them all together back here in these offices. In the meantime, relax and enjoy what our city has to offer by way of its culture and history. You may not have another chance to vacation here. And do not worry about your son. We are keeping a close eye on him and seeing to his safety."
With that, the cardinal rose and it was obviously the end of the audience. Andre quickly escorted them back out of the office and the young priest who led them in met them in the hall to take them back to the elevator and their waiting limousine. Robin was not happy or satisfied in the least with the outcome of the meeting. He couldn't understand why the old man would not just tell him where Roon was being held and be done with it. But Craig did his best to explain that the cardinal was attempting to keep the bloodshed to a minimum and ensure Roon's safety till they could get him back in their custody.
Jeff felt much better staying at the villa. He was served his meals in golden goblets by Andre's servants. He enjoyed the flavor, robust and healthy, but carefully did not ask where it came from. When Scott or Willow made an observation, Craig quickly cut them off, saying they couldn't afford to offend their host by questioning his practices. This made them all feel a bit uncomfortable but they just accepted the situation and hoped the meals came from willing donors.
Robin and Scott argued repeatedly during the next days. Robin did not accept the inaction well. He wanted to be doing something and chafed under the restraint imposed by the cardinal. Scott could see the need to wait. He feared that if his partner rushed into some violent action he or Roon could be hurt. Scott hoped that the cardinal's plan would allow them to retrieve their son with the least amount of physical confrontation.
The day following their meeting with Cardina Compelli, Andre brought a message to the group. He had a note from the cardinal that let them know a meeting had been arranged. Father Stephen was to meet and discuss his concerns with a small tribunal who assured him they would then examine his evidence and if warranted pass him on to the Holy Father. Cardinal Compelli would be part of that tribunal. He said that they would make sure the boy was separated from Father Stephen and then it would be a simple matter to return the boy to Scott and Robin. Andre was to take them to a bistro on a piazza not far from the offices where they had met. Cardinal Compelli would send a message to come and get the boy as soon as possible. "My trusted servant Francoise will take you to the bistro. He will have a cell phone and await the call from the cardinal," Andre explained.
Robin reached into the tunic he wore as a shirt and pulled out the homing crystal he had on a golden chain around his neck. "We can use this to return home as soon as we have Roon," he explained.
"Use that as a last resort," Craig requested. "Otherwise we'll never know if you made it home or what happened. Bring the boy back here and then when we are all assembled together you can use the crystal to take us all back to your palace. Then I can return through that flying cupboard you have." They agreed.
A little before noon on the following morning, Andre escorted the group back to the garage. His servant was waiting in the car. Scott, Robin and Craig all piled in to see the adventure through. Willow and Jeff remained behind with their host. They watched as the car drove out into the sunlight.
A short time later, Francoise showed his three charges to a street side table at the little bistro not far from the offices of the cardinal. They sat and the humans shared a bottle of wine while Robin looked nervously about. After about half an hour Francoise's cell phone rang and he answered it, speaking quickly in Italian. He looked quite concerned and jumped up. "Follow me," he said in a thick Italian accent and began to run across the piazza. The three men followed him. They darted through a covered passageway between two buildings and out onto the street by the building where Cardinal Compelli had his offices. There was a priest and a few men in suits standing in front of the church next door. The priest, the one who had escorted them to the cardinal's office two days before waved to them and they headed directly to him. He came down the church steps and began speaking quickly to Francoise. Craig tried to follow, but his Italian wasn't that good and he was quickly lost. As Francoise argued back, Robin decided to take matters into his own hands and grabbed the priest, pulling his face around so they could make direct eye contact. The priest seemed to be frozen for a moment as the men in suits quickly descended the stares to come up to the group. Robin suddenly released the man and turned to run down the block, Scott dashing off in pursuit.
"What's going on?" Craig demanded.
Francoise tried to explain in his halting mixture of Italian, French and English. "The old priest, he come but no bring the boy. From what he say, they fear the boy is hurt. He say they think the boy is hold by others in room and is in trouble."
"Where?" Craig demanded. "Does he know where?"
Francoise just nodded and pointed in the direction that Robin had taken.
"I am Marco Frangetti with Vatican security," one of the men in suits introduced himself to Craig. "You are the American security man?"
Craig nodded. "I guess you could say that."
"Then come on. I don't know how your big friend managed to get the information, but it looks like he is heading for where they may be holding the boy. We're just trying to prevent anyone getting hurt." With that the two men took off running in the same direction that Robin and Scott and gone. Francoise picked up his cell phone and began to make a quick call to his master to apprise him of the situation, but one of the other men in suits reached out and confiscated the phone. The security men then led Francoise and the young priest back up the stairs and into the church.
"This is the building that I saw in the man's mind," Robin said as he and Scott came to a halt in front of a run down looking tenement.
"Robin, be careful," Scott said as his partner opened the door and walked into the darkness.
"Roon is here. I feel it," he said and continued on with Scott at his heels. Robin slowly climbed a set of stairs, turning his head to listen from time to time. They made it to the third floor, and started down a dirty hallway. There were five doors along the hall. The fairy stopped at each one and listened intently. "I can't tell which room he may be in," he wind whispered to Scott.
"Then I guess we'll have to try them all," Scott whispered back as quietly as he could. "Sure wish I had a sword or something."
"Here, take mine," Robin said and held out a thin rapier.
"Where did you get that?"
"I borrowed it from the dwelling where we were staying. It was on a wall in one of the rooms."
"Keep it. You're better with a blade than I am." Scott stepped up to one of the doors and turned the knob. He pushed it open and they jumped in, frightening a girl who was watching television. They quickly backed out and went to the next door. Again Scott opened it and they sprang in to find only an empty room of a vacant apartment. They moved down the hall to the third door. They then tried the knob only to find it locked. Robin made a gesture over it with his hands and nodded, and Scott opened the door. Inside was an old woman folding laundry. She screamed at them and began to beat them with the clothing she had in her hands. They quickly backed out of the room, pulling the door shut. The fourth door was locked as well. Again Robin manipulated the lock magically and they opened the door jumping into the room.
Inside were two thuggish looking men watching TV. They jumped up immediately and made a dash for the Scott and Robin. Scott sidestepped the one man who rushed through the doorway and out into the hall in his momentum. He turned to dash back, but Scott slammed the door in his face, hearing the impact of the body against the wooden door. The other man rushed at Robin, not even noticing the rapier he held in his hand. Before he could even think, Robin raised the blade and the man rushed upon it, stabbing himself and falling back onto the floor in a pool of blood.
"Very nice, my American friends," a man said from across the room. Looking up, Scott saw a man standing in front of another door, a lethal looking revolver in his hands, pointed at Robin. "Now drop the sword." He made a gesture with the gun. Robin growled.
"Do as he says," Scott ordered, fearing for his lover's life.
Robin glanced at him and then dropped the blade beside the dead man on the floor. "My love, take the homing crystal and rescue our son. I will distract this man," Robin said in Tuathan.
"No!" Scott replied. "He'll kill you. I'll distract him without being shot, I hope. You disappear and slip by him into the next room. That must be where they have Roon." They both spoke loudly enough to be sure that their son heard them if he was in the next room as they had hoped.
"Speak in English or Italian. Not in that foreign speech," the man ordered, waving his revolver.
"My friend here doesn't speak English or Italian," Scott said as he took a step to the side away from Robin. It worked. The man turned his eyes on Scott and Robin quickly vanished, using his fairy magic to disappear from view.
The man with the gun looked back and then quickly around the room. "Where did he go?" he asked and pointed the gun directly at Scott. "Tell him to come back or you will die." Robin managed to step behind the man and hit him on the head with a vase that had been standing on a nearby table. The man pulled the trigger as he collapsed, but in his fall the bullet went wide and easily missed Scott. The two lovers quickly embraced, then turned to jerk open the door to the next room.
Tied securely to a chair with silver chains was their adopted son. He had a gag in his mouth, but looked none the worse for wear. The two ran to his side, Scott hugging him as Robin quickly unfastened the chains. The boy fell into their arms, the three of them embracing, tears of joy falling from all of them.
"These are but silver," Robin said as he noticed the chains and their locks. "Why stayed you here when you could easily escape these?"
"They said they would kill you," Roon said as he sobbed. "They said they had you in another dwelling and would kill you if I tried to get away. They somehow thought the chains were magical and would hold me."
"Well, that is the legend about vampires and werewolves," Scott remarked as he looked at the shiny silver metal.
Robin reached in his tunic and pulled out the homing crystal.
"No," Scott said. "We owe it to our friends to return back to them and let them know what has happened. Then we can all go home."
Robin nodded, dropping the crystal back on its chain. As they stood up there was a loud crash from the next room. They all huddled together, Robin's fingers ready to tap the crystal. "Robin, Scott, are you in here?" a voice called.
"In here, Craig," Scott shouted back.
Their friend then stepped into the room. He smiled and looked down at the boy. "I supposed this is the young man who has been the cause of all this trouble?" he said with a smirk.
"This is my son, Roon, crown prince of Tuatha," Robin said proudly.
"We might have a little trouble. There seems to be a dead guy in the next room," Craig said, concern suddenly in his eyes.
"The dead man is wanted by Interpol as well as the local police," one of the Vatican security men said, stepping into the room. "If you can swear that it was in self defense, I think you will be safe."
"Can we get out of here?" Scott asked.
"I'm sure the police will have a number of questions," the security main said. They stepped back into the main room and saw the other security man on a cell phone speaking in Italian. He hung up and turned to his partner and said something.
"There are cars downstairs waiting to take you where you can make your statements," the first security man said. The three of them stepped out of the apartment and followed him down the stairs as a number of police officers passed them, going up to the scene of the crime.
Once outside they saw a number of police cars lined up at the curb. A detective stopped them to get a quick statement and then they were hustled down the row. There were two black unmarked cars at the end of the line. The detective opened the door and pushed Scott and the boy into the car roughly. Robin started to follow but the detective shook his head. "No, we need to get separate statements from you and we do not want you coordinating your stories. You two over there." He pointed to another car and gave Craig and Robin a shove in that direction as he slammed the door shut on Scott and Roon. The car quickly pulled away from the curb and into traffic. The detective hustled Robin and Craig to the waiting car and opened the door.
"Un minuto," a police officer called, hurrying in their direction. The detective quickly jumped in the car and sped away with a squeal of tires. The back door wasn't even shut and Craig and Robin jumped out of the way to the curb. The officer spoke rapidly to the two men.
"Per favore potete parlare lentamente," Craig said to the police officer asking him to speak slowly. The officer tried again much slower but no less urgently.
"That man wasn't a detective," he said to Robin. The fairy just shook his head, not comprehending. Craig spoke again to the policeman. He turned back to Robin. "The man who drove off with Scott and Roon...he's one of them, the bad guys."