Bitesize 3.4

Bitesize 3.4

The next night Ed sat out in the hallway only this time with a pen and a pad of paper. He was determined to try copy Alice's drawing if he could. Whether by coincidence or design he didn't have long to wait this night. Barely half an hour into his vigil the tell-tale signs began to show and once more he found himself watching, mesmerized as the mirror's surface took on its otherworldly sheen and became more liquid than solid. Only this time there was no blonde haired girl staring out at him. Instead a bright red flash lit up to one side and began to move across the surface. As it moved it left behind it a fiery blood red trail. It moved slowly and Ed watched it expectantly. It formed a mis-shapen triangle, not unlike a squashed version of the Star Trek insignia, then, still in one continuous line, carried on onto a second triangle, inverted. Ed knew what it was before the shape was finished. The Unicursal Hexagram. It's meaning varied from culture to culture but given recent events, its meaning was clear. Crowley. Even as the hexagram came to completion, the rose motif in its centre exploded, sending the mirror's surface into a series of ripples that spread from the centre. Seven of them in total and as the last one grew larger and moved outward, in its centre appeared a face. Not just any face but a face Ed knew. A face that had stared back at him from various books on magick. There was no mistaking what he saw. Although his head was completely bald and his beard had become a bushy grey goatee, Ed knew he was staring into the eyes of Aleister Crowley. Ed was rooted to the spot, fear building within him, telling him to flee but at the same time, unable to leave without seeing what would happen next. The face of Crowley smiled, as though in quiet satisfaction, acknowledging his presence. The lips moved, forming one unvoiced syllable. Ed was no lip reader but as he watched Crowley's lips he heard the word in his head.
"Check."
With that the face vanished. Ed leapt to his feet, pieces of the puzzle all starting to fall into place in his mind. He rushed into his room and gathered his things, slinging them into his rucksack. Odolf was telling the truth. Crowley was still alive. The demons Crowley had summoned back in Germany had been Onigawa, of that Ed was almost certain now. His mind raced, trying to pull more information from what he'd seen. When Crowley had locked himself away after repeated failure had he been through the mirror? And what exactly had returned? Crowley himself? Or an Onigawa taking Crowley's place?
He finished grabbing his things and ran like thunder down the stairs, and out the back door of the house. He rapped on the door to James' hut until the security guard opened it.
"What's going on?"
"I'm leaving." said Ed, "I need you to open the gate for me."
"It's after eight thirty." said James, looking down at his watch, "It's past ten!"
"Just do it. I'm not coming back. Just tell Lady B that I left before eight thirty." Ed rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a twenty pound note. That was all it needed to persuade James. He nodded and went back into his hut and returned with a key. Together they went through the house to the front door and James opened it. Ed didn't stop to thank him. He ran straight out to his car, threw his rucksack on the passenger seat and climbed in, slipping the keys into the ignition in one fluid move and started the engine. He slammed it into reverse, spun around and then took off down the drive. The gates were open and Ed went straight through and onto the main road. As he drove he reached into his rucksack and pulled out his mobile phone, dialling the Bureau with one hand. It rang for what seemed like too long then he heard Ellen's voice.
"Ellen, it's..."
That was as far as he got before the phone beeped angrily at him and cut off. He looked down at the phone's inactive display and pressed the power button. The phone lit up only briefly, to flash the message "Low Battery" before beeping once more and switching itself off. Ed let rip with a string of multicoloured curses that would have made Tony grin. He tossed the phone angrily into the back seat and wiped his free hand across his face.

He raced down the quiet country roads with no regard for the 'suicide trees' and the moment he hit a real main street he looked either side of the road for a phonebox. Calling from a public phone was a major breach of protocol but in this case, a real emergency. He spotted on on the opposite side of the street and spun the car round in a squealing u-turn. The tyres bumped against the curb and Ed yanked the door open, leaving the engine running and scrambled for the phone box. He fished a handful of change from his pocket and stuffed coins into the phone, dialling Ellen again as he did.
"Ellen?" he said as she answered.
"What's going on Ed? This isn't a secure line."
"There's no time. I need Alf, immediately."
The urgency in his voice must have carried because she put him through without argument.
"Ed?"
It was Alf's voice this time.
"Alf. Raddick, is he still there?"
"Hold on."
There was a pause and clicking as Alf accessed a computer terminal.
"He's still there Ed. He looks like he's shaving."
"And Odolf?"
More clicks.
"He's still there too. What's this about?"
"The mirrors, in their rooms. Get rid of them. Break them if you have to just get them out of there."
"The mirrors?"
"Just do it. Quickly."
Ed hung up there, not wanting to get involved in a long explanation over an unsecure line. they could remove the rest from the Bureau when he arrived. He went back to the car and started driving again. His mind replayed Alf's words.
'He looks like he's shaving.'
Was he too late? Could Crowley have found Raddick and pulled him through? He'd driven for almost ten minutes before something dawned upon him. Raddick wanted one thing more than anything, something he'd tried to achieve before and failed. Why waste time getting Crowley to rescue him when...
He yanked the wheel over to the side of the road again, another phone box, and got out. He dialled the number for his Dad's house and waited. The phone rang and rang, but there was no reply...