SWNOVELS Chapter Saint Mary's Secret
Mark led me out the monster infested cafe and down the covered creepy walkway back toward the alley where his blue mini was parked, waiting to take me home— but home was the last place I wanted to be right now. Going home now would just mean I would have to keep more secrets from my mom and Ray and I wasn’t sure I had the capacity at the moment to keep anything else from them.
“Wait!” I grabbed Mark’s arm.
“What is it Cass?”
“You didn’t flinch when I touched you.”
Mark shook his head.
“Why not?”
“Cassandra, there are some things that I am not going to be able to answer, and you are just going to have to be okay with that.”
I sighed.
“Look, I’ll put it this way— everyone can see the mark on you, but they might not know what exactly it is, so it makes others like me curious about you— but when they touch you, they can feel the mark and they instantly know what it means.”
“Okay, so what does it mean?”
“Cassandra….”
“Right— too much, too soon.”
“So can we go now?”
“Look Mark.” I shivered in the chill of the shadow that this covered walkway created, and stared at the pile of rags that Mark had referred to as a ‘Prophet.’ Were they all crazy— I mean I had seen weird things in Gusto’s Diner… or was I crazy? “I’m not quite ready to go home yet.”
“Alright— then where do you want to go?”
My mind spun— where felt normal? No where. Who did I want to talk to? Mels— but she was still not returning my calls. Forget about normal— I should be focusing on where I had first started to feel like things had changed, and that had all started when I had visited my great grandmother’s grave just outside of Saint Mary’s Cathedral.
“Take me to Saint Mary’s Cathedral.”
“Wha-I mean why?”
“That’s where it all started.”
“And?”
“And if I want answers that’s where I need to go.” I looked up for the first time from the pile of rags and saw Mark’s face— what I saw there didn’t make sense. “Are you going to be okay with that?”
“Yeah. I’ll be alright. I’m just not sure how I feel about taking you there.”
“Mark?”
“I guess you can’t avoid the truth forever.” Mark tossed me a halfhearted smile which didn’t reach his green eyes. “Let’s go then.” Mark turned and began to walk toward his car.
I took a deep breath and followed him, pausing by the pile of rags. “If you really are a prophet— tell me what’s going to happen?”
The rags shifted and almost to my horror, took shape as an old man with a long white beard. I shuddered.
“Do you really want to know, daughter of Adam?”
“I-”
“Then, I shall tell you. Your end is near— but it will bring about not only the life of another, but your own.”
“That sounds like-”
“And then you shall save others like yourself whose end would have come too soon. It is a weighty fate that you have set in motion Cassandra, do not underestimate your life and its value. You will bring change that will start a chain of events leading to the beginning of the end.”
“Geez. I’m almost sorry I asked.”
“Go now— learn your history.”
I turned and ran— my heart throbbing, my body trembling. This guy was a coot! My end would be the beginning? The beginning of the end? What was his problem?! I raced down the last bit of sidewalk, crossed the alley and threw myself into the blue mini. Mark had already started the car, and country music was blasting out of the speakers. “What took you so long?”
I shrugged. “Let’s just go, please?”
Mark grunted, but grudgingly pulled the mini away from the curb and onto the road. We didn’t speak as Mark drove, he seemed far away in another world, something clearly bothering him. Nothing that had been happening these last few months made sense. I watched the outside blur as if it were merely paint being dragged along a canvas. I knew it was happening again but I didn’t want to believe it— the day-mare. I looked at Mark and saw a being, not a person, with enormous black wings and symbols swirling on pale white skin. I wanted to scream but my throat was dry.
“What are you?” I managed to whisper.
“We are the Nephilim.” Mark pulled the car to a stop and looked at me. In this trance-like vision his eyes were dark blue marbles ringed with red, he blinked.
“Are you human?”
“No.” Even before Mark’s answer my eyes closed and I felt my body meet the darkness of unconsciousness. “Welcome to Saint Mary’s.” Was the last thing I heard.
In the darkness of my mind I could see the man— if he was a man. Tall and imposing— pale flesh covered in swirling symbols, he walked towards me, his black feathered wings fluttering with each step.
“Help me.”
“Cassandra?”
I peeled my eyes open. I was sitting in the cemetery against one of the gravestones. I shivered. How did I get here?
“I hope you don’t mind— I thought you needed some air, so I carried you here.”
In the distance Saint Mary’s Cathedral loomed, its decaying roof sagging as much as I was slouching against this cold stone.
“So your great grandmother was a Pirot?” Mark motioned to the gravestone in front of me.
I nodded. “My mom found out about her a while back. She did this DNA ancestry test, hadn’t really cared too much before that about our past but after that? Suddenly she seemed obsessed with our family line— but she never told me why.”
Mark brushed the ivy off the cracked tombstone.
“I never even knew there were other Pirot women in my family.”
“There is a lot you don’t know.” Mark muttered. “Look.”
Mark had cleared away a lot of the ivy and brush that was covering the top of the stone, and where he had cleared showed my great grandmother’s name.
“Cassandra Pirot.”
I shivered.
“Died at the age of sixteen.” Mark murmured. “When you think that you know everything.” He shook his head. “And now you?”
“What? What me?... Does it say how she died?”
“The only inscription is— Marked - Scarlet.”
“What does it mean?”
“What I feared.” Mark wiped dirt off his hands. “Feeling good enough to walk?” He reached out his hand and helped me to stand.
“I guess so.”
Mark nodded and walked away from me— I followed him down the aisle of graves. It felt spooky— I’d never been a big fan of cemeteries, even the air tasted stale, but my legs appreciated moving. We were headed in the direction of the Cathedral.
“I actually help take care of this place.” Mark’s voice sounded loud in the quietness of this place. He ran his fingers along the edge of the tombstones. “I know how most of them died— but I don’t often get to see how they lived.” He paused. “I know their names— I watch people come and weep over their dead, but I have never experienced death. I often wonder what it would feel like if someone I knew died.” He looked at me quizzically. “I guess I’ll know now.”
“Wait— why are you looking at me like that? You aren’t talking about me are you?”
“Cass. Something you need to understand is that you are from a line of women whose fates have been tied to ours since the beginning. I knew your great grandmother.”
“What? That’s not possible! You’re like the same age as me… aren’t you?”
“I don’t know why I didn’t connect the dots, but when I saw you it was like the awakening of a memory, I didn’t want to believe it… but here you are, and how can I dismiss you?”
“Mark— what are you talking about?”
“I’m surprised that your mother and grandmother escaped, no one else from your line has since Eve. And I suppose I should have realized sooner— Pradora… hmmm. So she changed it, trying to hide…”
We’d come out from the tombstones now and were standing in the green grass in front of Saint Mary’s. From this close it looked even more imposing than I had thought it would. I found my thoughts wandering to what secret’s Saint Mary’s Cathedral hid. The decaying building had been standing in the city for so long and yet no one did anything to fix it— it was kind of sad. The building would have been beautiful, and yet looked like it had barely made it through some sort of war.
“What you are saying is impossible.”
“For you? Yes, I suppose in your mind what I am saying wouldn’t make sense.”
“Can we put aside all the weirdness for one second and go explore this church?”
“I guess.”
“Don’t you want to go explore with me?”
“Look Cassandra, I should get you home, while it is your home. To the people who love you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Race you!” I took off at a sprint choosing to ignore Mark and focusing instead on how fast my legs could move, and the fire running through my lungs as I breathed in the cold damp air. It had been too long since I had a good run— and my muscles screamed at me as I did. I skidded to a stop before the imposing wooden double doors of the church— huge iron rings were the only handles. I found, now that I was standing before the ancient grandeur of these oak doors— I was not as keen or set on entering, besides— if it was half as unattended as the rest of the cemetery...
“Are you really certain that you want to— are you alright Cass?”
I swallowed the urge to cling onto Mark like the scared little girl I knew I was on the inside.
“Cass? We can turn back now— there’s still time.”
What was he not telling me? What was this church hiding? There had to be a reason that Mark didn’t want to go in… unless he was more cowardly than I was.
“We’ve already come this far… what’s a little more?” I reached out to touch the wooden door— it was smooth, worn down by the wind and rain. “What mystery do you hold?” I whispered, as I gently began to push on the door, which swung open under my touch as if its hinges had been oiled recently instead of being left to rust and decay like the rest of the building. Weird. “Well— that I wasn’t expecting… were you?”
“Cassandra. We should leave.”
“Stop being such a baby.” I muttered as I took a step into the open doorway.
It was dusty— so dusty I had to blink and wave my hand in front of me so I didn’t breathe it in. Dust floated down from the rafters above— probably caused by me, opening the door and creating a breeze… unless they were falling cobwebs. I shuddered at the thought of the possibilities of creepy crawlies, hopefully Mark wasn’t afraid of those too. I squinted to look past the dust— there were wooden pews covered with white sheets on a white and black tiled floor— columns of marble broken— some standing, others on their sides, broken in two. Light streamed in from a few high stained glass windows depicting knights with swords drawn charging— angels with wings stretched out with glowing halos… it was dazzling.
“Wow— Mark! You have to come see this!” I’d walked into the center of the church— and stood under a vaulted ceiling— my voice echoed as I spoke, the acoustics would have been incredible for singing… I tried to imagine a congregation filling the pews and belting hymns— and almost was able to envision it… almost— because I looked up and was entranced with the artwork spreading across the roof. I gasped with awe—
“It’s supposed to be New Jerusalem.” Mark called from where he still was standing in the doorway of the church.
“What?”
“You know— New Jerusalem? Heaven on Earth? Eden?”
“How do you know that’s what I’m looking at if you’re still standing out there?”
Mark didn’t answer but I didn’t really care— I was too curious about the rest of the room. I walked reverently up the stairs to the podium— where the priest or preacher or whatever they were called, would have stood. I turned to look out at the room from this vantage point. It truly was a magnificent space— not really that mysterious like I thought it would be though, which was a tad disappointing.
“Alright Mark. I’ve had my fun— we can go now.”
“Cassandra.”
I froze. How was his voice here?
“Sorry— did you say something Mark?”
“Nope. Can we leave now? I should really get you home and-”
I stepped down the stairs, right onto a tile that looked like it was about to fall off the step— there was a grating noise from behind me—the sound of stone on stone. I cringed in horror, not sure I wanted to see what was happening behind me and yet desperate to know… if only Mark-
“Mark?”
Mark was standing beside me. “We should go now.” Mark took my hand. “Please?”
“But-”
“Don’t turn around— just walk with me, and everything will be fine.”
“Cassandra-”
“I can’t just leave without knowing what that sound was!”
“Some things are better to remain in the dark about, you have to believe me.”
I shook my head, that was such a lie. There were so many things I wanted to know about— it was one of the reasons I spent my time at the library, studying… I wanted to know all of life’s mysteries and how to solve them. I turned my head slightly— just enough to look over my shoulder; and that’s when I saw it— the passage into the underground, finally, this church was revealing a secret… I only hoped I was brave enough to find out what it was.