Invocation of the Dawn (Unabridged)

For more years than he can count, Brother Roger has faithfully executed his duty as the keeper of the sacred relic. To an uninformed outsider, the glass display case with the gold trim in the monastery chapel holds the remains of a simple, charred log. The monks know better. As the Winter Solstice celebration approaches, Brother Roger and his fellow rogue order of elderly monks dare to dabble in a forbidden ritual in the darkness of the longest night of the year. What will happen this night on the first Winter Solstice since the thirteenth century to coincide with the Christmas Star in the sky? Will the monks discover that they've made a deal with the Devil?