INCURSION: Knightmare (Knight's Bane Trilogy Book 1) Page 5

  The newly minted Doctor Sorenson had found that she thrived in the trauma environment. Where most doctors tried to avoid the ER, she had gladly worked with the emergency cases. During her residency, she had explored other options and had begun thinking about Doctors Without Borders, an organization that brought trained medical staff to third world countries where they were needed. When her residency was finished, she had applied for a position. Seeking extra funds to support her service, her local parish had raised support money to allow her to go help in third world countries.

  While posted in Nigeria, Noelle had begun to see an interesting pattern in certain wounds on the people she was treating. Being told that they were so-called-monster attacks, she had grown more curious. When she had asked her supervisor, she had been told that the translator had mistakenly translated the Nigerian word for "animal" or "creature" into "monster." Not satisfied, she relayed the strange stories to her bishop back in Ann Arbor in her weekly correspondence.

  When her tour was up and she moved back to Michigan, her bishop had begun asking more questions about the strange "monster" wounds. What she had thought was going to be a light conversation about an interesting story turned into a very surreal conversation.

  The bishop had told Noelle that the wounds she saw and treated were caused by a form of shapeshifter, similar to a werewolf. During her care, she had inadvertently cured one of the patients from getting the "disease." Furthermore, the Vatican was interested in her story, and in her specifically. The bishop wondered if she would be able to take some time and fly to the Vatican to talk to one of the Cardinals there. The bishop had assured her that the Church would pay for the entire trip to Rome. Having always wanted to visit Rome and the Vatican, she gladly agreed.

  When she had arrived in Rome, she was ushered into a meeting with two Cardinals and her bishop. Noelle was introduced to the Prefect, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, and the Secretary, Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. After making introductions all around, Cardinal Müller began in a heavily accented English.

  "Doctor Sorenson, we asked you to travel thousands of miles because we would like to hear first-hand your stories from Nigeria about the wounds from these monsters."

  Noelle nodded, and had begun to re-tell the now familiar story. Not embellishing, and not leaving any detail out, she had recounted all of her impressions and actions. As she was talking, the two Cardinals would occasionally mutter back and forth in what sounded like Italian, and one or the other would ask a question to clarify her story. When she had finished, the Cardinals began talking amongst themselves in low Italian again, often switching to what sounded like Latin.

  After what had seemed like an eternity, Cardinal Müller had turned to Noelle and said, "As Bishop Roberts has already informed you, you were actually seeing the results of shapeshifter attacks. Not quite what you would call 'werewolves', but close enough for your story. When a person bitten by these creatures survives the initial attack, they are infected with the virus that causes the affliction. You have seemingly done the impossible. Three out of the twenty, or so, victims that you treated were somehow cured of their disease."

  The Cardinal then seemed to shift the direction of the conversation. "Doctor Sorenson, do you happen to know the history of the Congregation of for the Doctrine of the Faith? No? I didn't think so. Our main purpose is to oversee and help facilitate Church Doctrine. We are here to help His Holiness in the task of making sure that Church Doctrine withstands the tests of time and scrutiny.

  "Originally, we were founded as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition. I see by your response that you recognize the name of the Holy Inquisition. We were originally established with two missions. First to oversee the creation and implementation of Church Doctrine. Secondly, we were created to help oversee the enforcement of Church Doctrine. The Crusades and the Inquisition were part of that mission.

  "One of the... hidden... missions of this Congregation is to search out, and destroy, monsters that threaten the Church. Even most of the Cardinals and Ordained do not realized that we are Monster Hunters. We have a special order called the 'Protectionem Dei Adversus Malum.' Roughly translated, this order's name is 'God's Protection From Evil.' I would like to formally invite you to join this order."

  "Before you give an answer, I would advise you that this order is staffed only by the ordained, or those who are in the process of being raised up. Full members of the order are always ordained Priests with missions to various countries.

  "Yes, I can see your question before you even ask it. 'How can you be ordained if you are a woman?' Yes? This order, and this order alone, has a special dispensation from the Holy See to ordain women into this priesthood. With special stipulations, you would train and be raised up as a Priest to fight monsters. Would you serve God by joining the Priesthood?"

  Noelle had been stunned. She had looked at Cardinal Müller, then at her bishop, Bishop Roberts. He had nodded solemnly. She had looked back at the Cardinals and took a deep breath, "Cardinal Müller, Archbishop Ferrer, I do believe that I will have to search out God's Will on this matter. May I have some time to think about it?"

  "Absolutely," Cardinal Müller had responded. "I shifted your worldview. Certainly, take some time to decide. If you have any questions about what the service or training entails, please feel free to ask Bishop Roberts, who is an inactive member of the order."

  He had continued, "Your room is reserved for you through the end of this week. If you need more time, we can give that to you as well. We do ask that the information we provided be kept in the strictest confidence."

  "Certainly, Cardinal Müller. It was... interesting talking to you today," said Noelle. "I do believe I need to retire to my room to think this matter over."

  As she had stood, the Cardinals and the Bishop stood as well. She had been led out of the labyrinth of corridors and back to her lavishly appointed room.

  The very next day, Doctor Noelle Sorenson had informed the Cardinal that she was glad to accept appointment and training into the order. The following two weeks in Ann Arbor had been a whirlwind as she packed for a year-long training in the Vatican. Unable to take everything with her to the Vatican, she had arranged for a storage locker maintained by the local parish. Saying her goodbyes, Noelle had flown out of Detroit and into her new life.

  THE YEAR HAD BEEN a frenetic blur of training and study. Between intensive courses in Italian and Latin, Noelle had spent time learning the Church Doctrine, and how to apply and interpret it. She had also spent time on physical training, including basic hand-to-hand combat and work with sharp and pointed weapons. Her favorite courses were those dedicated to the discussion of monsters and the special tools used to fight them effectively.

  Noelle had become an expert in banishing the classic forms of the undead such as vampires and zombies. While she learned about other monster types that the church had a history with, her faith and skills fighting the undead quickly brought her to the attention of her instructors.

  After about a year of training, Noelle was brought before the Prefect and the Secretary, as well as several other Bishops and Priests of the Order. The assembled men openly evaluated Noelle's performance and discussed whether her faith and training made her worthy of being lifted up into the priesthood. Throughout the discussion, Noelle knelt on the small cushion placed before the vaunted assembly and kept her face calm and downturned. Even while her thoughts raced, and she reacted internally to the discussion about some of her failures and shortcomings, she was very careful to use her training to keep all of her emotions from showing on her face.

  The discussion took well over an hour, and Noelle was beginning to worry, as her legs were starting to cramp. Finally, Cardinal Müller raised a hand to end discussion. As the conversation stopped, the Cardinal began speaking in Italian, "Rise, my child."

  Noelle slowly rose to her feet, and the Cardinal continued, "Doctor Noelle Sorenson.
It is the will of this Congregation, and the desire of this Order that you be raised and ordained into the Priesthood. Please step forward and kneel."

  Noelle reverently stepped forward to the spot just in front of the Prefect. The Cardinal stepped forward and laid his hand on her head briefly, offering a silent consecration. Then, one-by-one, the other officials present stepped in front of the woman and followed the Prefect's lead. After the last priest had stepped away, Cardinal Müller again stepped toward Noelle and began the traditional consecratory prayer. He then took a stole from a waiting priest and draped it over the back of her neck. It would fall almost to her knees while she stood.

  Made of deep black silk and inlaid with spun silver thread, the stole was decorated with a large cross on each end with a very peculiar design connecting the crosses. As she looked closer, she recognized a few Latin phrases in the design. She had also noticed what appeared to be another, even older language woven throughout. As this stole was placed over her head and shoulders, it emitted a faint blue glow from parts of the design. At this point, Cardinal Müller muttered a few phrases in a language that Noelle did not recognize.

  As the glow had faded, Cardinal Müller reached for a chasuble. Looking like a cross between a renaissance jerkin and a poncho, the vestment had a hole for the priest's head, and then loosely hung over the shoulders and back, with no fastenings at the sides. This particular design had originated in the 16th century and had much shorter sleeves, and the garment ended just below the shoulders on the side, leaving the priest's arms free.

  This chasuble was a white heavy silk with a spun gold thread inlay. A large cross was embroidered on the front and back of the garment, and the design that connected the two was very similar to the one on the stole. As the chasuble was laid on her shoulders, Noelle again noticed a faint blue glow originating from the threads. Cardinal Müller again muttered an invocation in a strange language.

  The Prefect stepped back and said, "Rise child." Noelle rose to her feet, and Cardinal Müller continued, "I would like to congratulate the newest member of the Protectionem Dei Adversus Malum, Doctor Noelle Sorenson." The assembled men clapped and shook her hand.

  As the convocation ended, Archbishop Ferrer, the Secretary for the Congregation, approached Noelle and asked to meet with her afterwards in his office. A short time later, Noelle accompanied the Archbishop to his office just outside the training quarters for her Order. As she was instructed prior to the ordination, she removed her vestments and hung them carefully in her quarters before she walked with the aging Archbishop.

  Sitting behind his desk, the Archbishop gestured for Noelle to sit as well. Sitting in in the comfortable chair, Noelle leaned back and patiently waited.

  The Archbishop began, "Doctor Sorenson, I want to congratulate you again, and welcome you to our order. I have high hopes for you as you go fight the evil in the world. I wanted to meet with you to cover some final matters before you leave the Vatican.

  "As you know, the Holy Church does not officially ordain women. Our order has special, secret dispensation for the practice because there are certain rites that must be performed by an ordained priest for them to work. As such, you are the third woman, and the only one currently serving, in the history of the order.

  "Because of this, you will work to keep your status as an ordained Priest of the Holy Church confidential. While it is acceptable for the people to know that you work for the Church, very rarely will they ever know that you are ordained.

  "To this end, you will be issued identification and paperwork that shows the Papal Seal. These credentials will gain you access to any of the Church's activities or locations in the United States. They will also enforce cooperation with you from those who also work for the Church."

  Archbishop Ferrer drew an identification folder from his desk drawer. Bound in black leather, it was about four inches by five inches, and opened to show a strange identification card inside. The Vatican Special Services ID had Noelle's picture on it, along with her name, and the name and address of the diocese in Ann Arbor. In Latin and English, the card directed that Noelle was a direct representative of the Vatican and, as such, was expected the full cooperation of the person reading the card. Underneath that verbiage was some more of the weird unknown script that was on her vestments.

  As she accepted the folio, the script and ID had both glowed a faint blue, and then the glow faded. As she examined the folio, the other half contained a document that showed Noelle was a direct representative of Vatican City and was a registered Diplomat and qualified for immunity under the host nation's laws.

  Noelle was stunned. Diplomatic immunity? And what was that strange language? "Archbishop Ferrer? What is this strange script that is on the credentials and my vestments?"

  Archbishop Ferrer chuckled drily. "I wondered when you would get to that. God is all powerful, and your faith in him will help you battle the monsters. The Church also knows that there is other, less powerful authority out there. Sometimes it is useful to invoke that authority, when a specific application of Faith does not work as specifically desired. As you will soon learn anyways, the language is an ancient tongue called Enochian, believed last spoken by Enoch. I will let you research and find out where it is from.

  "One last thing. You are being assigned immediately. You will report to a specific office in the United States Homeland Security, no later than Sunday. There, you will be reporting to an Agent James Smith. You will work on one of his teams to fight these monsters and protect the flock. You will have a dual role. You will be under Agent Smith's authority, operating on his team. You will also continue working for the Vatican. You will report to my office directly. If you have any trouble with any American Church, have them call my office.

  "For now, pack your personal belongings for this trip. It is a long-term assignment. Then see Cardinal Giancarlo in the travel office. He will arrange your travel, as well as have your contact information and a secure smartphone for you. Go with God."

  Noelle stood, shook the Archbishop's hand and went to pack her gear. Next stop, America.

  7

  WAITING

  SECTION 28, LANGLEY, VIRGINIA.

  It had been two days of waiting for Burt Holstein. He had been brought to the Section 28 complex and admitted to the barracks that would be home to him and his new team. Attached to the barracks was a full gym with an Olympic-size swimming pool and a mess hall. The main living area of the barracks had a fully-equipped galley, a dining area, and a large recreation area. The recreation area contained a pool table and ping pong table, a massive ultra-high definition screen with theater seating and access to any television channel imaginable, and a server full of movies and television shows to stream at will. One wall was lined with books ranging from popular fiction to classic literature as well as reference and non-fiction works. As he had looked around the barracks facilities, there seemed to be ten different apartments with adjoining doors to the main living area.

  When Burt Holstein had arrived, Agent Smith had handed him the keycard to one of the small apartments and had then explained to him that he was still assembling the team. Burt had been told that he had full access to the current building, but that his keycard would not allow him to exit the building or enter any of the other apartments. Smith had then told Burt that the meals and grocery stocks would be provided but that the delivery staff would not be able to answer any questions. When Burt had asked how long he would be confined to these quarters, Smith had shrugged and said, "I hope less than a week. As it is Saturday, the offices are closed, except for support staff. "

  Entering his apartment, Burt had found that it was fully furnished with a small living space, a large bedroom, a small kitchenette, and his own private full bathroom with shower. In the living area, there was a small high-definition television mounted on the wall, a leather loveseat, and an elegant metal and glass desk with a video phone and network cabling ready for a computer or laptop. Finding ample space for his personal effects in t
he bedroom, Burt had lain back on the bed and just sighed. He stared at the white institutional ceiling. Great. I'm a thirty-six-year-old man who's just been sent to my room. Indefinitely. Burt had closed his eyes and had fallen asleep almost instantly, sleeping for nine hours before waking up refreshed.

  On Monday morning, Agent Smith brought another gentleman into the living quarters and handed him a keycard for one of the apartments. "Burt Holstein, this is John Smith. John has signed on to work SIGINT and electronics for your team," said Smith as he introduced the two men.

  Burt surveyed the man in front of him. Looking about thirty, the six-foot-tall man was skinny to the point of gaunt. His disheveled red hair and green eyes betrayed the man's Irish heritage as much as his pasty white complexion, his boyish-looks, and thin, circular glasses were the epitome of geekiness. The man wore a t-shirt that announced, "There are 10 kinds of people. Those who get Binary, and those who don't." Burt didn't understand the shirt.

  Turning to John, Agent Smith said, "Burt is going to be the team leader in the field."

  John took his time as he studied his new team leader. Burt was older than John and in his mid-thirties. At five feet nine inches tall, Burt was shorter than John, but he was much stockier. His buzz-cut brown hair matched his brown eyes, and the deep tan told of some time spent in the sun. Looking at the tight t-shirt and cargo pants, John could see that all the weight was muscle. The rugged face, marred by scars, and hard looks told John that Burt was a warrior, and he was used to combat.