The Ancient Evil, page 34
part #25 of Red Cross of Gold Series
Mark Andrew started off down the hall with his grandsons behind him.
“No wait!” Simon hurried after them. He caught up with them near the dining room. “Luke said it was life and death that he had to speak to the Master alone. It sounds like blackmail or a hostage situation. We might cause someone to get hurt. It’s not right! It’s all wrong! I feel it!” He grabbed Mark’s arm and spun him around, staring into his eyes. “Can’t you feel it?”
Mark Andrew stood perfectly still and looked up at the vaulted ceiling as if listening.
He whirled about again and headed for the west wing of the house with the others racing after him. He could feel it all right. The memory of his tumultuous return here after the visit to Lemairk’s palace and the subsequent fall down a staircase assaulted his memory like a sledge hammer. What stairs? His memory of the behavior of his son and Michael and Galen seemed suddenly very suspicious. They stopped on the ground floor of the tower and Mark looked up and down the hall at the various pieces of statuary standing in niches along the walls.
“There’s a door here.” He said and began to inspect the base of one of the statues. “A hidden door. And stairs… leading down.”
“No.” Simon shook his head. “I’ve been all over this place.”
“I’m sure of it.” Mark squatted behind the pedestal and felt along the trim near the floor. “I fell down the stairs. That’s why they rushed me back up here… I thought they were concerned about my health. What were they doing? Where is it?” He was talking to himself now. He found a small indention and pressed his fingers in it. The back panel of the niche clicked and then moved slightly. “There!” He stood up and took hold of the edge of the secret door. “You see?”
The panel swung out, bumping the pedestal, revealing a set of dark stone stairs. They turned in unison and pushed the statue out of the way. It glided easily on silent casters.
“Perhaps we should wait.” Simon looked at the stairs in trepidation. The disturbance in his head was growing.
“Not a good idea.” Mark shook his head. “Whatever they were up to….” He didn’t finish his statement before starting down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps, he drew his flaming sword and held it up in front of him, signaling Nicholas and Gregory to be very quiet as they drew their own swords. Simon pulled his dagger, the only weapon he was carrying, from his belt and started down after them.
111
The eagle sat on the topmost branch of the alder tree, watching the proceedings below him with great curiosity. He was not alone in the old tree. There were other creatures here with him and they were not birds! They were very colorful, but they were not birds. One of them glanced up at him and waved a broadsword at him. He fluttered his wings briefly, but held his ground. The branches on which he perched were much too slender to support the weight of the creature with the sword. He watched them intently, cocking his head from side to side. They wore blue and orange and yellow and green and a multitude of brightly colored uniforms and they ‘perched’ in the lower branches with their weapons drawn as if waiting to fall out on some unsuspecting prey. Below them, on the ground was another, dressed in deep crimson. This one glanced up at his companions from time to time. The bait?
The eagle did not quite understand this, but he knew that it was not right. They looked like men, but were not men. They moved more like birds in the tree branches, sure-footed and quiet, crouching in the cover of the foliage. Another motion caught the bird’s keen eye as two more creatures approached the one dressed in red. These two, he knew. They stopped in front of the crimson-clad one and he could hear their voices drifting up to him, familiar yet unfamiliar. He was quite sure he had come to right place and the arrival of the last two creatures had affirmed that fact, but something was not right with this situation and he dared not show himself just yet. There was the slight problem with his feathers that would have to be worked out, of course, since they would no longer protect him when made the transition to human form, but all of these creatures with the exception of the larger, red-haired one dressed in brown and white, were heavily armed and now was definitely not a good time to make an entrance.
111
Chapter Eleven
one sinner destroyeth much good
“So ho! Nathanael!” The red-clad angel’s face lit up at the sight of the Grand Master. He held out his left hand toward Luke without looking at him and the apprentice dropped the ring in it. He kept his right hand under his mantle as he slipped the ring back on his finger.
“Brother.” Edgard was obviously shocked and beside himself to see the creature standing in the bright sunlight of the garden. “It has been a very long time.”
“Indeed it has. Too long, it would seem.” Lucifer smiled slightly at him. “I have learned from this young one that you are a great leader of men. I must ask if they follow you willingly.”
“You would do better to ask them.” Edgard retorted. “What do you want here, Lucifer? The war is long over and you slept through the greater part.”
“Oh? Was I sleeping?” The angel seemed almost hurt by the accusation. “I thought it more a curse than blessed sleep. I would take it that you knew what had become of us? And yet, you did nothing to help your afflicted brothers. Why is that, Nathanael? Was it because you wanted less competition?”
“I am not… I have never competed with any of my brothers for anything. I am doing the Master’s work. It is like the turning of the stars, it never ends. You have not answered my question. Now that you are released, what will you do? Where will you go? What will you do with my… people?”
Lucifer began to walk about in a small circle under the tree, looking down at his boots.
“I have learned that you have released one of the sons of Yaldaboath. You may have need of my services yet. A band of warriors is no good without a war. Yet, you say the war is over. I have seen it in the mind of the young one that it is not so.” He stopped and looked pointedly at Luke Andrew. “Are we all so given to lies and treachery now? This son of Uriel lies with great ease and you lie as well, Nathanael. Is lying no longer a sin?”
“Lying is still a sin and so is the taking of innocent persons as hostage. You have five of my followers in your custody. That would make us at odds, Brother. Release my people and then we may speak of the war.”
“I am surprised to see you here.” Lucifer began to walk about again in the circle, perusing his boots as he kicked leaves and twigs about on the ground. “And I am surprised to learn of the presence of so many others. How can I have surety, if I release my hostages that you will not muster my brothers and sisters against me? How do I know that you will not turn against me yourself? That you have not come under the sway of Yaldaboath?”
“I have enough enemies without creating more from my brothers.” Edgard held out both hands.
Lucifer stopped and leaned toward him, scrutinizing him carefully.
“You have not taken care of yourself, Nathanael. You have become ugly. You who were so very fair to look upon! Why? Why have you become so careless?” He removed his right hand from under his mantle and in it, was the amber globe from atop the staff of the bacculus. “Raziel was most distressed to see it in the hands of the young female creature. Surely she is not so trained in the arts that she could wield such a device with ease?”
“Great Father in heaven!” Edgard’s eyes grew wide and he turned on Luke Andrew. Mark Andrew’s son made a face of apology. “Why didn’t you tell me? What is this, Luke Ramsay?”
“I didn’t know she had it, sir!” Luke cringed. “I told you that we were following them. We didn’t know what they were doing. My question is the same as Lucifer’s: how could they get it in the first place?”
“How dare you?!” Edgard’s eyes blazed.
“It is a legitimate question.” Luke insisted. “And I would remind you sir, that he does have our people and your attitude seems a bit hostile. I don’t think you are making a good effort to retrieve Sophia and the others. I would suggest that we sit down and talk over what he wants to do before we question him any further and vice versa.”
“A good point!” Lucifer agreed. “But I do not like it here in the open… not yet.”
“Then come inside to the Council Chamber and present your demands or whatever it is you want to the Council. Let them decide what is to be done.” D’Brouchart relented.
“I will not have my actions dictated by a Council of Men, Nathanael.” Lucifer shook his head. “I believe that a loftier council is in order. Gather our brothers and sisters together and then we will talk.”
“And where can I find you when it is done?” The Master asked him.
“I will find you.” Lucifer smiled at him and tossed the crystal at him.
Edgard caught the amber globe in his hands and clutched it to his stomach.
“Hey! What about Sophia? What about Michael and Galen?” Luke took a step toward him and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. “You said you would release them.”
“And I will… in time.” Lucifer waved his left hand over his head and the ten angels in the trees dropped down lightly, surrounding the two men.
Edgard spun about, taking in the stern faces of warrior king’s companions. A tall, white-haired warrior dressed in light purple stepped forward, holding out the two ivory pieces that made up the staff of the bacculus and laid them on the ground between himself and the Grand Master.
“I would ask that you take more care with your treasure, Nathanael.” Raziel raised one eyebrow. “If I come into possession of it again, you will not see it henceforth. To tempt me twice would be unbearable.”
Edgard said nothing, but stood holding the precious artifact against him protectively.
“Call the meeting, Nathanael, and we will come. And remember, my Brother, do not become blind with Samael!” Lucifer told him and then jerked his head slightly. He turned on his heel and his companions followed him toward the rear of the castle, leaving Luke Andrew and d’Brouchart standing in the garden. Luke made a move to follow them and the Master caught his arm.
“Don’t bother.” He shook his head.
Lucifer had been referring to the old god, the imperfect and evil god whom the ancient ones served. Samael, the god of the blind. Samael, another name for Satan. He thought how ironic it was that the so-called Christians of the world had mistakenly identified Lucifer, the Bringer of Light, with Satan simply because Isaiah had once referred to Lucifer as a fallen angel. Isaiah had been talking about the King of Babylon when he had said ‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!’, not this angelic creature. Lucifer had fallen, but not as people believed. He had fallen victim to the powers of the Ancient Ones in the days of old and d’Brouchart had never expected to see him or his companions again. In light of everything that had occurred since then, he could not blame him for being suspicious of everyone. What was even worse was that Samael, himself, was not beyond redemption. In comparison to the evil of the Chaotic Ones, Satan or Samael, could still be considered only mildly troublesome. Samael was simply a mischievous son of God, always testing his Father. Samael, identified as Satan in the Book of Job. Edgard knew in his heart that Samael had been accused of committing almost every atrocity in the history of man and though some of it was true, much of it was the work of other, more malevolent, creatures of darkness. But the Church had so ruthlessly condemned him, it was virtually impossible, even in the ‘enlightened’ twenty-first century to dare oppose the universal attitude concerning Satan and his minions. The Church had simply wanted a tidy package in which they could combine every form of evil on earth. Satan was easily found to be exactly what they were looking for. The devil, that old serpent, the dragon. The liar, the adversary, the accuser, the angel of the bottomless pit. Satan had even been identified as Abaddon and/or Apollyon, but these were not necessarily all the same person or entity. The power of the air, the power of darkness, the prince of this world, the wicked one, the unclean spirit. The list went on and on and each and every description was thought to be just another name for Satan, but Satan and Lucifer were not one and the same. Neither were Satan and Lucifer the sum of all evils in the world. They were suffering from what had once been popularly known as bum raps. There was evil in the world, but it could not all be attributed to one creature. It was simply not possible. If one creature were responsible for all the evil in the world, that one creature would have been so powerful that none could have hoped to stand against him. No, the popular concept of Satan would more rightly be conferred upon a number of evil entities.
“Let him go, Luke. He won’t hurt them.” Edgard told him, but Luke was not listening.
Luke spun on his heel and ran back toward the front doors of the keep. The others might still be in the basement of the tower!
Louis Champlain’s head dropped on his chest for the third time. He could not stay awake. He’d had very little sleep the night previous and the silence in the Council room was more than he could bear. He thought only to rest his eyes and perhaps dispel the headache that had plagued him all morning. As soon as he faded into oblivion, he saw the face of Catharine de Goth before him. He snapped his head up and looked directly into her face. She was very pale and frightened. She raised one arm and pointed to him. Louis tried to look away from her because he was afraid of her. He had known her in the elder days and he had known that she was a great diviner of secrets and mysteries, but he could not tear his eyes away from her as she began to prophesy to him.
“All shall be afraid, and the Watchers be terrified. Great fear and trembling shall seize them, even to the ends of the earth. The lofty mountains shall be troubled and the exalted hills depressed, melting like the honeycomb in the flame. The earth shall be submerged and all things which are in it perish as in the days before great Thoth came forth to the land of Khem and gave his teachings unto the people of Egypt. But to the chosen shall he give peace, he shall preserve the elect and towards them exercise clemency.”
Louis recognized these words as slight variations on certain scriptures found in the Book of Enoch. A book that had been removed from the Holy Scriptures by the Roman Church. A book that dealt with matters of the angels and the nephilim and the Watchers set upon the earth.
“Then shall all belong to God; be happy and blessed; and the splendor of the Godhead shall illuminate them and he shall be lifted up into enlightenment in the Halls of Amenti. And he shall come forth as new. Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon them and destroy the wicked and reprove all the carnal for everything which the sinful and ungodly have done and committed against him. Yea, even those atrocities committed by Rome upon the Albigensians! The Royal House of the Holy Grail! Bear upon your shoulders this Royal Sign, the sign of the Danite! The sign of the great hero and the riddle of the lion! Keep with you the sign and perish not at the hands of treachery, O Great King!”
Louis again tried to look about the table at his Brothers to see if they could hear and see this, but he could not look away from her face.
“They swore all together and all bound themselves by mutual execrations. Their whole number was three score and five who shall descend upon Mt. Hermon. And these are the names of their chiefs: Uriel, Nathanael, Seraphiel, Michael, Kemuel, Metatron and Lucifer. But God sent Uriel unto the son of the Holy Grail saying, say to him in my name, conceal yourself beneath your mantle, beneath the symbol of the riddle and thou shalt not perish. They shall compass thee about and in the name of the Lord, they shall destroy your enemies. The Lord shall help thee and thou shalt say the Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.”
She finished speaking, lowered her arm and faded from his sight. Louis jerked his head up and scrambled from his chair, causing a great stir in the room, but before anyone could react to his violent movement that sent the heavy chair in which he had been sitting, flying across the floor into the wall, Lavon de Bleu leaped from his seat onto the table and began to walk up and down the length of the dark wood, shedding his clothes as he went and speaking in a strange language.
Louis stood in his place with his mouth open watching Lavon in bewilderment. The young French Knight threw his jacket, his shirt and his undershirt onto the floor and pulled his dagger from his belt before removing the belt and flinging it across the room. Eduord de Goth made a move to crawl onto the table with the prophet, but Barry and Konrad held him back. Lavon stopped in front of Louis and held the dagger pointed toward the ceiling.
“The Lord has spoken to thee, O Great King! Thou shalt take up this proverb against the King of Babylon and say How hath the oppressor ceased! The golden city ceased! Shall mortal man be more than God? To raise the dead in an abomination? Behold He put no trust in His servants and His angels He charged with folly: for He has set His face against the evil city and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the King of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire even into the hand of Nebucchadnezzar, King of Babylon! Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak? Art thou become like unto us?”
Louis frowned. Lavon was no longer speaking to him. He was pointing the blade of the dagger over his head to a point somewhere behind him. Louis turned slowly to look behind him and saw Lucio Dambretti standing in the open doorway of the Council Room. He wore only a pair of black slacks and a white shirt still unbuttoned as if he had come suddenly to the door without getting completely dressed. The Italian’s eyes were riveted on the face of the French Knight as Lavon continued, directing his prophetic sayings toward the Knight of the Golden Eagle.
