The Order of Brigid's Cross - The Wild Hunt (Book 1): The Wild Hunt by Terri Reid Page B

its neighborhood’s past. The stone building, more like a
castle from a fairy tale than a public building, had been built in the
Romanesque style of architecture with thick walls, curving arches and small
windows in the narrow towers that stood as sentinels to the several-storied
main building.   The land around the church
was derelict and deserted. As if from an urban version of Sleeping Beauty, the
church lay in wait for someone to break the solitary spell.
    “Boy, this place has changed. I remember coming here when I
was a kid,” Sean said after he parked his car next to Ian’s in the dilapidated
parking lot.   “It was for a funeral for
one of my dad’s friends. He was shot on the job.”
    “I understand it was closed in the early nineties,” Gillian
remarked, climbing out of Ian’s car. “There weren’t enough parishioners to
support it.”
    Shaking his head, Sean looked up to the verdigris-covered
copper of the octagonal spire and then let his gaze skim down the side of the
building.   Enormous sheets of plywood covered
what Sean knew had been marvelous stained-glass windows. Other smaller windows
as well as all entrances into the church had been also boarded over. “But why
this one?” he wondered. “There were so many other smaller churches that could
have been closed up.   Why did they choose
this one?”
    Gillian slipped her arm through both Ian’s and Sean’s arms
and led them towards the back of the church. “That’s a very good question,” she
said. “And once we’re inside, I hope our explanation will answer it.”
    “Inside?” Sean asked, stopping in
his tracks. “Are you sure it’s safe?   This place has been vacant for more than twenty years.”
    “Aye, so we’d hope you’d believe,” she said with a telling
smile and pulled him forward. “Come on now, we’ve someone to meet, and we’ve
not time to waste.”
    The back entrance to the church was surrounded in stonework,
slightly lighter in color than the rest of the church façade. It formed a ten-inch
wide arch around the solid oak door, which was ornately curved with a Celtic
cross on the top and an inner arch in the center, surrounded by an engraved
Celtic chain.   The door, well over twelve
feet tall, was solidly barred from any intruders.   Gillian slipped her arms from the men’s arms
and walked up to the door.
    “And how do we get through that?” Sean asked.
    Gillian looked over her shoulder at Ian and sighed. “Is he
always this impatient?”
    Ian nodded. “ Aye, and this is him
being easy-going.”
    She chuckled, glanced around quickly, and then pressed the
flat of her palm against one of the archwork stones that was positioned at her
shoulder height. She lifted her hand quickly away. The stone piece slid forward,
exposing a small control box.
    “What the hell?” Sean exclaimed softly.
    Gillian took hold of the box and angled it up so her eye was
in line with a small, square, glass window and pressed a small button on the
side.
    Sean saw the beam of light glow against the top of her eye
and scan to the bottom. “A retinal scanner?” he stammered.
    Gillian backed away from the box, tilted it back into its
original position and slid it back into place, a sharp click of an internal
mechanism confirming its position. Suddenly, the center arch portion of the
giant oak door moved back and slid to the side, allowing an entrance to the
church that was wide enough to fit them one at a time. “I’ll go first,” Gillian
stated, “but be quick in following. We can’t have the door open for too long.”
    She slipped inside the opening and Sean turned to Ian. “Do
you trust her?” he asked.
    Nodding his head, Ian turned to Sean. “With my life,” he replied
solemnly.
    “We don’t know what’s in there.”
    “ Aye, and we won’t until we go
inside,” Ian said, slipping past Sean and entering the church.
    “Why the hell do I even bother?” Sean muttered, stepping
forward and following Ian.
    The door