“He has?” queried Pooley.
“Most interesting,” said Omally.
“But I do not wish to draw more folk than are strictly necessary into this unfortunate business, so I was left with only one option.”
“Which is?”
“That the three of us should remain on the premises to battle it out.”
Omally said, “Surely there are other options? Let us put some to a vote.”
“I would gladly stay, but have a pressing engagement elsewhere,” said Jim.
“You should have mentioned it earlier,” the Professor said, a wicked twinkle appearing for a moment in his eye, “and I would not have closed the shutter; you see I have set automatic time locks on all the doors and they will not open for another fifteen hours.”
Pooley’s face fell. “You can use the telephone if you wish,” said the Professor brightly.
“I might call a locksmith then?” Jim asked.
“I think not.”
Omally put his hands behind his head and smiled broadly. “When I was in the army,” said he, “I was a happy man, never had to make a decision; it is a pleasure to know those times once more.”
“Oh good old you,” said Jim, “I have never known the joys of army life and can find little to recommend in that of the trapped rat. I greatly prefer freedom.”
“I am sorry,” said Professor Slocombe, “to have brought you to this, but it must be the old musketeer philosophy I am afraid, all for one, one for all.”
“This one would have liked a choice in the matter,” said Jim sourly. “After all, the character at the Mission did not mention me by name.”
“Do you think he would destroy us and let you off scot free then?”
“I do not believe he thinks me as much of a threat.”
“Never fear.” The Professor tapped his nose.
“Never fear?” Pooley threw up his hands in a helpless gesture. “After you with that decanter, John.”
Long hours passed. In the Professor’s study the temperature rose alarmingly, and the air became torpid and un-breathable. Jackets were removed and shirt-tails flapped aplenty. The Professor laboured away at his books as best he could and when Pooley found the energy he paced the floor like a caged animal. To add to his disgust Omally had the perfect effrontery to curl up in one of the Professor’s armchairs and fall asleep.
The mantelclock struck nine and Pooley tapped at the Victorian barometer which hung beside the marble fireplace. “Stormy” it read, but the temperature was still in the mid-80s.
The Professor looked up from his reading. “Try to relax, Jim,” he said, wiping the perspiration from his deeply lined forehead.
“Relax? I can hardly draw breath. We will suffocate in here for sure, we are all doomed.”
“Come now, control yourself.” The Professor closed the heavy damask curtains across the iron-shuttered French windows.
“Control myself? Three rats in a trap we are, you’ve brought us to this. I have no wish to control myself, I prefer to panic.” Pooley began delving amid the curtains and rattling at the iron shutters of the window. “Let me out,” he shouted, kicking at the lock with his steely toecaps, “I choose not to end my days here.”
Omally awoke with a start. “Do turn it in, Jim,” he yawned.
“I’m not turning anything in,” Jim said morosely, “I’m for panic, what say you?”
“I say that we stand by the Professor. After all we are as much to blame for his plight as he for ours.”
“I have no desire to die,” said Jim. “I am yet a young man, and a potential millionaire to boot.”
“Pooley, your sixth horse will never come up.”
“Not if I stay here, it won’t,” said Pooley petulantly.
The Professor raised his eyes once more from his books. “I think the time has come for us to discuss this matter fully,” he said. “We are in a state of siege; panic is a useless and negative commodity which we cannot afford.”
“It’s always served me well enough in the past,” Pooley grumbled.
“If we do not stand together,” the Professor continued, “we shall surely be doomed. Our adversary is a ruthless, cunning individual. In his former incarnation he had the power of life or death over thousands, millions, he was a dictator, a brilliant strategist, he held sway over kingdoms. We are not dealing with some street-corner villain. It is clearly his plan to usurp the Papacy, to reclaim his lands and duchies. He sees himself carried aloft through Vatican City. Ensconced upon the Papal throne. Lord High Ruler of the Holy See. This is only the beginning for him.”
“We had best give up,” said Jim, “all is lost.”
“Bottle job,” said Omally to the Professor, indicating Pooley and making an obscene gesture below the waist. “His bottle’s gone.”
“We can’t fight him,” Pooley whined. “You know how powerful he is.”
“If the Prof says we can, then we can, that’s all there is to it. Listen, I’m a Catholic, not a good one, but a Catholic.” Omally opened his shirt and pulled out the army dogtag he still wore about his neck. “8310255 Private J. V. Omally, Catholic, I’m not letting that gobshite at the Mission get one over on the Church, I hate him!”
Pooley turned upon his companion. “What did happen after I blacked out that night, what did he say to you?”
Omally replaced his dogtag and rebuttoned his shirt. “Nothing,” he said, draining his glass.
“All right,” said Pooley, “as panic is clearly ill-received hereabouts, what do we do?”
The Professor rose from his desk, a book tucked beneath his arm. “We will fight. I am an old man but I have no intention of dying yet awhiles. We can expect a concentrated attack upon these premises, midnight being the traditional hour for such events. Things might not be as bad as they first appear; although we know that the Dark One can extend his power over a considerable distance, I do not feel that he will wish to do so tonight. His minions greatly fear the wrath of his displeasure, as well they might; they will use every power they possess to succeed in their quest.”
“We are outnumbered,” said Jim.
“But not without power. I consider these beings to be the product of conjuration, therefore they are vulnerable. I intend to use the rites of Holy Exorcism, and if these fail I have recourse to several other possible methods for their destruction. These beings are not immortal.”
“That is a big weight off my mind,” sneered Jim, “but listen, the rites of Holy Exorcism take a while to perform. I do not believe that such time will be made available.”
“Well, with the aid of this volume that Omally has brought to me I believe that I have isolated the key words and phrases which give the rite of exorcism its power. Much of that spoken by the priest is merely padding, theological jargon; if I am correct the exorcism can be broken down to nothing more than a few lines of ancient Latin and still retain its basic power.”
“Let us hope you are correct.”
“Well,” said the Professor smiling darkly, “if I am not then the matter will be purely academic.”
“That’s it Professor, cheer us up.” Jim Pooley returned to his contemplation of the wallpaper.
The Memorial Library clock struck midnight. The Butts Estate was in darkness, the century-old horse chestnut trees rising like clenched fists against the sky. Beneath them, bowered in the void, the Mission showed no lights. All was silent. Faintly then came sounds, the dragging of feet and the rustling of ancient cloth. A great iron bolt was suddenly drawn up and the aged door creaked ajar. An icy white shaft of light pierced the darkness, silhouetting the trees and casting their elongated shadows forward through the night. The door swung inwards upon its hinge and now dark forms swayed into the dazzling radiance. Misshapen forms, heavily robed and indefinite of shape, one by one they issued from the Mission, until five in all they stood before it. Then that heavy panelled door swung closed again, the blinding light was snapped away and the Butts slept once more in darkness.