Do Fish Wear Pyjamas? Page 7

  In the darkness he could see the shapes of the two holy men as they moved towards the door and he was again mystified to see them reach through the solid door and, without a word, drag Gooey and Bebob into the Tower in much the same fashion as they had dragged him.

  “……….AAAAYYYY,” they screamed as they entered.

  The two friends stood as he had done, bewildered. Quickly composing themselves they regrouped, back to back, to face the threat that might face them. Gonzo saw Gooey begin to raise her wings and Bebob bring up the light-stone once more and thought it best to intervene.

  “Its OK,” he said to his friends, though he wasn’t quite sure if it was OK at all.

  “I think they’re friendly. I think we’re safe for a while.”

  “Is that you Gonzo,” asked Gooey, “Thank the Moons of Goo, I was terrified when I realised you had gone, I thought the Viking Lord had caught you.”

  The abbots hissed at the mention of his name. Without another sound or action they had all become allies in an instant.

  The light-stone glowed dimly now but the room had brightened enough, and their eyes had grown accustomed to the shadows within, for them to be aware of the two rather ghostly-looking monks who were already making their way to the stairs of the Tower.

  “No time for explanations, we must move quickly,” said the one Gonzo presumed was Anselm.

  “Yes, yes,” said Quinn, “follow us, behind us, quick, quick, quick, the door won’t hold forever, not a forever door.”

  The air inside the Tower suddenly grew colder as the first of the dark army began pounding on the door. All five of the Tower’s inmates climbed without a word as if their lives depended on it, and truly, they did.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  TO THE VERY TOP OF THE WORLD

  Despite the pounding on the door and the ravages of the storm outside the climb was eerily silent. The walls seeped as if they were sobbing from the battering of the storm and the other dangers outside. Up they all went on the narrow steep stairs, through the narrow openings of the Tower’s wooden floors which marked the different levels. As they went the stairs became steeper and the Tower narrowed in on them. The three friends concentrated on the climb and were silent, but really there was not a lot to say, and their thoughts were of Bridin, of rescue, of safety. When they reached the second last level there was a new icy coldness in the air. They were nearing the top and it felt as if they were at the very top of the world. Both monks were already on the last floor and had turned to look back down through the opening.

  “Hold there, where you are. We are to battle. Do not go above to the last floor, you could not bear it, the roof is safe and the door to it is locked. Show him that you are true,” said the one Gonzo believed to be Anselm.

  He grabbed hold of Gonzo, Bebob and Gooey and said it again,

  “Together, show him that you are true!” and then Brother Anselm was gone.

  He shimmered slightly and disappeared in an instant through the floor – through all the floors to the bottom, holding tight to a ghostly shimmering rope that had not been there before.

  “Yes, yes, to light up the dark, the dark to light,” said Quinn, as he disappeared in the same way as his brother abbot and the three were once again alone.

  Only now they were alone and trapped inside a stone Round Tower, surrounded by Viking ghosts and tormented by a horrible ringing sensation that was increasing in volume, so much so, that they covered their ears and cowered down in pain.

  The ghostly monks had shimmered down their ghostly rope and rung the ghostly bell of the Cloigh Teach – the Bell Tower, a bell that had long since physically vanished but had warned of danger for centuries past.

  The ringing was deafening, the lightstone had faded to almost nothing and the door below was failing, bursting as it began to finally give way to the terrible forces outside and all the while the storm raged around their stone prison.

  But what unnerved them most were the two red eyes that now found them in the dark.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  BRIGID’S FLAME

  Bridin was drenched and frozen. She had no idea where her friends were or if they were safe, or even alive. She knew she must make a break for it while the dark army concentrated on the Tower. Slowly creeping with her back to the wall she made her way to the fire-house exit. She decided not to look back to the Tower but bolt out across the graveyard, over the collapsed exterior wall, and through the metal fence that kept people out normally but where the kids in the town had found a weakness — into the play park. The outer fence around the park, on the town side, might prove difficult but at least she would be nearer to getting help. She would worry about that when she got to it.

  Bridin took a couple of deep, cold, breaths, sneaked a glimpse outside — couple of more breaths and up she bolted and — wham! she stopped dead in her tracks. Five or six (what did it matter) of the Viking army merged out of the darkness and blocked her way. They were looking straight at her and she was paralysed by fear. As they came closer the stench was so overpowering that the fear in her chest gave way to a more basic reaction and she retreated to the sanctuary of the fire-house, feeling ill and light-headed. Indeed, Bridin quickly realised, she had barely left the fire-house and once more she returned to the farthest corner. The dark figures whirled like a dark wind around the exterior, reaching in as if to pluck her out like a berry from a bush.

  ‘More like a chicken from the oven,’ she thought. She smiled a little and it calmed her. Bridin noticed that they whirled around the fire-house but they had not rushed her, they had not entered. She took out the dagger and held it in front of her and immediately felt stronger. They whispered terrible things she could not understand but still they did not enter. The brave little girl felt safer but then suddenly realised that she was not safe at all, that she was their prisoner — and her friends needed her. She sank to her knees and could feel the tears begin to well up in her eyes.

  One of the dark forms appeared at the entrance and though it seemed afraid, if that was possible, it began to move toward her. In desperation she slammed the dagger into the ground, just as a bell seemed to ring out in the old Tower to her left (strange she thought — everybody knew there was no bell in the Round Tower). She slammed the dagger into the earth and gravel and cried out to the heavens.

  “Thou shall not enter; Hear me Brigid and help me. Help my friends and help them save the Book.” She always had faith and when she was really down or in trouble she had always called on St. Brigid to help. This was such a time.

  The dark form shrieked with rage. It shook violently, but it came on, while others crowded behind her outside the walls of the fire-house. Bridin raised the dagger again and ploughed it with all her might, through the gravel once more, into the rain-soaked earth, into Brigid’s Soil.

  “Hear me, mother, banish these demons and let me help my friends.”

  As the bell rang in the old stone Tower, the ground around her shook with anger and the point of her dagger pushed through the earth to an unknown light-source below. Light poured upwards, released by the dagger’s thrust and the faith and love of a frightened girl. Up and out with such force and brightness that Bridin was thrown back and had to cover her eyes from the glow, the dagger still stuck into the earth.

  The dark figures were dissolved in an instant as the light firstly filled the fire-house and its surrounds, and then surged upwards like a beacon in the storm. Clothed in the light of Brigid’s Flame, Bridin was no longer afraid and uncovered her eyes, for something in her knew it could not harm her. She stood within the light as it rushed skywards to settle the storm.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  BRIGID’S ARTIFICER

  Gonzo, Bebob and Gooey stared at the eyes in the Tower as the eyes stared at them.

  “Who dares bring this ruin to my house,” a dreadful voice thundered in the small space they now huddled into.

  “What manner of beings are you, who threaten destruction and violence in s
uch a holy place,” it growled fiercely.

  They were all terribly afraid. As he spoke they noticed the storm had eased and the bell had ceased, as indeed had the pounding on the door, though it sounded like a terrible battle now raged outside. A brilliant bright light from outside had partly illuminated the interior of the room through the windows. They glimpsed the shape of a man but little else. Once again it was Gooey who stepped forward.

  “We do not threaten ruin or destruction but have come to save the Book,” she said defiantly.

  “Show him we are true,” shouted Gonzo, completely forgetting his place or the dangerous position they were in. He repeated Anselm’s words, and he stepped forward to Gooey’s side bringing Bebob with him.

  “Show him we are true,” he repeated. Then he brought out the ring and vial which had led them here and recalled the rhymes which brought them from The Black Abbey in search of the Book and into danger. He spoke them softly,

  As Day is to Night and Night to Day

  The crosskey in the Chapel of Mary Grey

  Finds the Oakchurch on the Ridge of Clay.

  The words that had brought them from The Black Abbey to The Grey Abbey to the depths of the Cathedral itself,

  Let Brigid Flame Guide You

  By all that is Good and true.”

  “We three are here to find The Great Book of Kildare, to save it from the Viking Lord and save this place from ruin, not to cause it. We are friends and are true to each other and true to our quest, for there is no one or nothing else. Our adventure is now our mission,” said a very scared little boy in a very determined voice.

  “We beg you, help us if you can, at least do not hinder us. Our friend is alone in the storm and may be in grave danger.”

  “By all that is Good and True – she is our friend too,” echoed Gooey and Bebob.

  “Mine,” said the voice, “Show me my ring.”

  Now, scared and all as he was, Gonzo was not about to simply turn the ring over to a pair of eyes with a scary voice, not without some kind of introduction or identification.

  “Who are you,” he asked respectfully, “If this ring is yours then where did you get it?”

  “I got it from nowhere,” the voice replied, “I made it.”

  And then it came to Gonzo.

  ‘Made it,’ the crazy abbots had already told them at the door who it was who waited for them, they had simply missed it.

  “You must be Conleth, St. Brigid’s Artificer – her craftsman, Bishop of Kildare, the famous metalworker and illuminator,” said Gonzo, still scared but quite chuffed that he had figured it out.

  “If the ring is yours then you made the ring as a guide to the Book,” quizzed Gonzo, but suddenly it was revealed to him, “you must have made the Book, The Great Book of Kildare.”

  “Yes I made it and I am here to protect it,” warned Conleth.

  “But we are not here to harm the Book, we came to find answers within its pages but then the Viking Lord rose up and it is he who wants to destroy it. We could never harm it,” Gooey explained, pleading for Conleth to believe her — it was important to her.

  The ghostly figure of the ancient monk rose to fill the chamber in which they found themselves. He smiled as he took the ring from Gonzo’s hand. Gonzo offered no resistance; it felt right to hand it back to its maker.

  Conleth forced the ring into the stone wall just below the south window and a cavity opened up in the eastern side. Bebob was nearest. He reached in and took a large package from the opening, covered in what looked to be cloth or maybe very worn leather. He placed it on the ground and folded back the covering.

  A wonderful golden glow lit up the room and they each took a step back unnoticed to themselves — such was the beauty of the Book that lay before them. The cover was of leather but encrusted in jewels with golden ornaments and bindings on the edges and spine. It quite literally glowed and was the most beautiful thing any of them had ever seen.

  “Behold,” said Conleth, “The Great Book of Kildare. But do not open it until it is safe.”

  They had for the briefest of moments forgotten about the dark army and the Viking Lord.

  “We must hide it, get it away from here,” said Bebob but Conleth smiled.

  “We abbots have been fighting Vikings for a long time. In Kildare you see we have some special friends and they are now unleashed. In times of great danger the monks of the Cathedral would ring the bell in the Tower and all would come to help us protect what we hold dear. We were not always victorious and the whole town was looted and sacked on occasion so we constructed some safety measures to protect the Book, for it is a Book of great power and must never fall into the Viking Lord’s hands or he will become whole once more and have the power to destroy us all and evil will rule the world. That is why we have struggled forever to keep him imprisoned. While we speak the monks from all the centuries at Kildare have been fighting the dark army outside the Tower but the power of the Viking Lord is great and we could have failed but for your small friend’s courage. There is a secret code — when the danger becomes too great – we must ring the bell and light the beacon at exactly the same time to bring forth our allies and defeat the Viking horde. Your friend Bridin lit the beacon through her love and determination, when she cut the ground with my sacred dagger and Brigid herself lit the flame in the fire-house to call on our old friends for help.”

  “But who are these friends,” asked Gonzo, unable to contain himself any longer.

  “Come quickly and see,” answered Conleth and he and Gonzo went to the top of the Tower.

  With no regard for locks or security, Conleth threw open the door to the roof and the two of them stood on top of the Round Tower of Kildare, staring northwards into the darkness. Still the brilliant light shone into the night sky from the fire-house. The storm had stopped but there seemed to be lot of fighting in the graveyard below as ghostly abbots faced ghostly Vikings in a desperate chaotic struggle. In their midst, the Viking Lord, with his axe in one hand and a huge sword in the other, bellowed instructions and cut through the monks like a scythe through corn. Hundreds more sprang up to take their place. Slowly however the monks were being pushed back towards the steps of the Tower.

  Suddenly the Flame died out and the bell rang out one last time with a deafening roar. Gonzo looked down and was sure he could see Bridin racing for the Tower. Even from this height Gonzo thought she looked beautiful and was desperate to go to her aid. He was soon racing towards the stairs and the door.

  “Listen,” whispered Conleth excitedly behind him, “they come.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  THE FLAME EXTINGUISHED

  Bridin stood tall in the warmth of the Flame. She honestly doubted she could ever be afraid again. Though she could see a terrible battle raging at the foot of the Tower the girl somehow knew her friends were safe inside. She was determined to join them no matter what the dangers were and she kneeled once more to turn the dagger and make the opening just a little wider. Then she drew out the dagger. Instead of remaining open however, as soon as the dagger was withdrawn, the earth was sealed. As the Flame was extinguished, one last huge toll of the bell sounded from the Tower. She didn’t even try and re-open it but grasped the dagger hard and ran to the steps of the Tower, and to her friends.

  The Fianna Rise From The HiLL of ALLen.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  THE ALARM AT ALLEN

  At the top of the Tower Conleth was smiling as he saw small fires ignite on the dark shape of the Hill of Allen in the distance to the north-east.

  ‘They have risen and they will come,’ he thought happily.

  But where was his little friend? He turned and went down the stairs, it was time to join the battle. As he passed Gooey and Bebob who were now guarding the Book, he gave them some advice.

  “Be careful what you wish for,” the centuries old Abbot told them, “the Book will answer once for you and no more, do not waste, your question.”

  By the time Gonzo r
eached the bottom level Conleth was already there. He flung the door open for Gonzo and then leaped down the stairs to join the fight. Gonzo saw his friend Bridin, at the same time, dashing for the Tower steps and shouted for her to be quick. Conleth carved a path through the ranks of the dark army for her by hurling bolts of light in her direction. Once she had reached the first step the Abbot turned to search for the Viking Lord and was soon lost in the fray.

  The strangest sight filled the sky to the north-east as the lights from the Hill of Allen now seemed to leap into the sky and were heading towards them.

  “Ah what now,” queried Gonzo aloud but Conleth only laughed in the night.

  “They’ve come, they’ve come,” he repeated, “Bran and Sceolan, the Hounds of Fionn, and Fionn Mac Cumhaill himself and his Fianna, will be on their heels.”

  Gonzo and Bridin felt kind of relieved by the steady tone of Conelth’s voice but they still thought it better to get back to their friends in the Tower and they retreated up the steps to the door. Once inside they quickly pushed the door over and were hugely relieved when they heard it clunk shut. They bolted it from the inside.

  It was only as the bolt slid home that Bridin recognised the foul stench from earlier and she knew they had company. The interior suddenly grew freezing cold and their breaths clouded the air, all the more so because their breathing quickened as their fear increased. A dreadful metallic scrape threw sparks to the ceiling of the first floor and a giant hand grabbed Gonzo into the darkness.

  “The Book,” a slow horrible voice hissed, “Give me the Book.”

  It was the Viking Lord himself and they were trapped. The huge sword no doubt remained on the battlefield and he used his free hand to hold Gonzo tightly against the wall of the Tower so that he could barely breathe.

  “Le—eh—et me—ee ggg—go—oh,” he managed to whisper.”