‘Surely they would have called for you.’
‘Perhaps so, but I will check nevertheless.’ She moved down the corridor, watched by the eleven Nuns behind her and paused before turning the ancient bronze knob and easing the creaking door outwards. She held her candle up higher and called out into the corridor.
‘Hello, Sister Agnes, are you there?’ When no answer came she continued down the corridor towards the great hall. Just before she reached the double doors she heard the mumbling sound of voices in hushed yet strained conversation and as she turned the corner she almost bumped into two of the Seniors. Both looked very worried.
‘Sister Agnes,’ she said, ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Bernice, what are you doing here?’ came the answer, ‘You know it is forbidden to leave your cell without being summoned.’
‘I know, Sister,’ said Bernice, ‘But I was worried. We all were.’
‘Don’t fret, Bernice,’ said the second Nun. ‘Everything is fine. Go back to your corridor and await instructions.’
‘Wait!’ said Sister Agnes before turning to her colleague. ‘It may be beneficial to allow Bernice to help,’ she said, ‘After all, she is the preferred choice to join us in the inner order when the time comes and we need all the help we can get.’
‘I am happy to help in any way I can,’ said Bernice.
Agnes’s colleague nodded her approval.
‘Explain what she needs to know,’ she said ‘But no more.’
Sister Agnes smiled and approached Bernice, lowering her voice so not to be overheard.
‘It’s the Mother Superior,’ she started,
‘Is she alright?’ interrupted Bernice in concern.
‘Well, that’s just it, we don’t know. She has disappeared.’
‘How?’ asked Bernice.
‘All we know is that her room is empty and she is nowhere to be found. We have checked all the usual places but there is no sign of her. The others are checking the other wings as we speak.’
‘Shouldn’t we ask the rest of the order to help?’ asked Bernice,’ Surely the more eyes the better.’
‘No!’ snapped Sister Adele sharply, ‘They will stay in their cells, until told otherwise. There is too much at stake here.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Bernice.
‘All in good time, Sister,’ said Agnes, ‘Now, if you can just check the upper corridors and report back to the great hall when you have finished, that would be a great help.’
‘Of course!’ said Bernice and brushed past to start her task.
For the next twenty minutes she checked every room, cupboard, and cubby hole in case the elderly lady had collapsed, but all to no avail. Finally she entered the last tiny corridor at the top of the convent but could see that the short corridor led only to a tiny leaded window. Though the passage was obviously empty, she paused and stared at the window. Light flickered across its surface and at four thirty am there should be no light. She approached the window and peered through its dusty glass.
At first she could not make out the detail of the scene in the cemetery below, except that someone had started a fire but as her eyes become focussed the horror of what she saw caused her to scream out in terror.
Within minutes two Seniors came running along the corridor and found Bernice sat against the wall of the corridor, sobbing uncontrollably. She pointed at the window and Sister Agnes looked out at the scene that had so terrified Bernice.
Two floors below, she could see the smouldering remains of a fire against the walls of an ancient mausoleum in the middle of the cemetery. Resting against the wall of the tomb was a large makeshift crucifix and fixed to the cross was the still burning body of the Mother Superior.
Agnes’s hand flew to her mouth and nose to block the stench of burning flesh. A movement near the cross caught her eye and she saw a man stood a few yards away from the fire, half hidden in the darkness, swathed in a hooded cloak staring up at her. Sister Agnes fell back against the wall in shock.
‘Holy Mother protect us,’ she intoned.
‘What is it?’ asked Sister Adele.
Agnes looked up and done some rapid thinking.
‘Call the Seniors to the great hall,’ she said, ‘We have to meet them straight away.
‘What about me?’ asked Bernice, ‘What should I do?’
Sister Agnes retrieved a set of keys from beneath her habit and gave them to Bernice.
‘Check the outer doors are all double locked,’ she said, ‘Then lock all the Sisters in their cells.’ Seeing the look of concern on Bernice’s face she quickly explained.
‘It’s for their own good,’ she said. ‘There is a madman out there and though the doors are solid, there is no knowing what lengths he will undertake to get in. Lock them in and then wait in your cell until we call you.’
All three descended the stairs and separated at the great hall. The two Seniors entered the giant doors while Bernice hurried along the corridor to do as she was told. Within the hour she had carried out her instructions but before returning to her cell, realised that she had possession of the keys and, as the doors were now all locked, she should return them to Sister Agnes. She made her way back to the great hall and knocked on the heavy doors. When there was no reply, she knocked again only harder. Again there was no answer so she tried the handle but found it locked.
Bernice looked down at the keys in her hand and in particular the ornate hall key. With only slight hesitation, she placed the key in the door. At first there was some resistance but with another shove the key rammed home into the lock. She heard a metallic thud on the other side, but pushed the door open anyway and entered the great hall. Bernice looked around. The hall was well lit from the dozens of candles that were burning ready for the now abandoned morning prayers, and it took her only a moment to see the hall was empty. She realised the Senior Sisters must have gone elsewhere and turned to leave the hall but as she did, her feet hit something on the floor. Looking down, she saw another small bunch of keys and realised that she had pushed these out of the lock with her own set when she had unlocked the door.
She bent over to pick them up, stopping suddenly, her brow furrowed in puzzlement. If these keys were in the lock, that meant that the doors must have been locked from the inside, yet…
Sister Bernice looked around the hall again. It was definitely empty and there was no other door that she knew of. She did a quick circuit around the room, checking once more, passing the image of the Holy Mother on the way but as she already knew, there was no sign of anyone. In confusion, she hurriedly left the hall and locked it from the outside, leaving the second bunch of keys on the floor inside. Finally she returned to her cell, and locking her door behind her, sat on the edge of her bed, confused and scared.
Chapter 21
England 2010
Brandon and India sat at the back of the church, waiting for the service to end. It was a typical village church and the congregation was quite healthy bearing in mind the apathy to religion that seemed to be the norm across the country. Finally the service came to an end and the people filed out, dropping their donations onto a copper plate as they left. Eventually there were just the two of them and the vicar left.
‘Hello,’ said the vicar, ‘I don’t think I have seen you here before. Are you new to the village?’
‘No, not really,’ said India, ‘What I mean is, we don’t actually live here, we were looking to speak to you, if you have the time.’
‘What about?’ asked the vicar.
‘I am India, and this is Brandon,’ she said. ‘We are writing a book about the village history of middle England and were told you may be able to help in our research.’
‘In what way?’
‘We are interested in the Temple at Weycock hill. I believe it was built in the first century and some of the stones were used in the building of this church. Is that correct?’