All That Is Fallen Read online

  “Then your marriage to Meredith Sinclair would not preclude the fact you are, or once were, an angel?” She had done it again. “Or is it true what I hear about your ex-wife? Was she truly human? Is she an angel as well? Does she really live in the Abyss with her son John Paul?”

  “I really don’t want to discuss this with you.” He picked up the empty cup from the rug and set it on the coffee table before resuming his seat. “Now, perhaps you should tell me what he told you to tell me before the rest of the house dies of curiosity.”

  “Curiosity has been the downfall of many great men… and women.” Sophia relented and sat down again facing him. “I am a very curious person. My father tells me it will be the death of me.”

  “And he might be right. Already, you have put yourself in a precarious position.”

  “How so? To borrow a phrase from your son.”

  “You will have to be made a member of the Order. I will not have another Lucia Dambretti running about, causing trouble and getting herself martyred for preaching heresies to the masses.”

  “You think I would turn evangelist?” She frowned and smiled at the same time.

  “I don’t know. I only know you will have to take the oath or…” He stopped suddenly and looked her directly in the eyes. “Would you mind if I took a look in there?”

  “In where?” She looked about the room in confusion.

  “In your mind.” He said quietly.

  “Why?” Her confidence wavered and her smile faded.

  “Because I believe there might be a message there from our friend you don’t know about.”

  “That’s ridiculous. I would know what is in my own mind.”

  “Really? Didn’t you just tell me you don’t remember your past lives?”

  “Yes, but that’s different!” She protested.

  Mark Andrew stood up slowly and approached her cautiously. She sat perfectly still as he continued to look into her eyes.

  “Mark Ramsay!” She stood up suddenly. “Don’t touch me!”

  “I don’t intend to touch you.” He said as he stopped mere inches from her. “Tell me the message then.”

  “He said I should tell you this verbatim: And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise- hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom. And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge. And discover not a secret to another. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.” She told him rapidly.

  “Now does that make sense to you?” He asked her.

  “No! It doesn’t make sense at all.” She took a small step sideways away from him.

  “He has hidden a secret message in your mind.” Mark told her. “Something very evil, I’m afraid. These scriptures refer to divine inspiration and knowledge given unto the heart. I will have to look.”

  Sophia opened her mouth to protest again, but it was over in less than a heart beat.

  “No! I won’t have you poking about in my head.” She blurted.

  “It’s all right.” He told her and went back to his chair. He sat down heavily and hung his head in his hands.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” She asked.

  He could not answer. What he had seen had sickened him to his foundations. Luke Andrew had been right. Luke had not seen Ruth with Omar in his vision or dream. He had seen her with Jozsef. What was worse, it had no more been Ruth Carlotti than it had been Jozsef Daniel. Another Ancient Evil was released into the world, and it was his fault. All of this was his fault! Lucifer had been very busy, and now, he was offering his help when the time came, but he would not join with the men of the world. He would only fight with Uriel. And he intended to keep Michael Ian with him as surety. He would return Michael to them when the Ancient One was returned to the pit. Michael had volunteered to stay with him. At least that was good news. Lucifer and his warriors would take good care of him. The angels had grown to love the boy even unto the point of striking a note of jealousy in their Chieftain’s heart, but Michael had won over even Lucifer. Of course, Luke Matthew would not accept it very well. They would have Vanni and Selwig back very soon, and then, Galen, when Lucifer was finished with his ‘discourses’ with them.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at the young woman.

  “You did it.” She said in wonder. “You looked.”

  “Aye.” He nodded. “I’m sorry, Sophia. There was no other way.”

  “Did you learn what you needed to know?” She asked him quietly.

  “Aye.”

  “Is it… bad?”

  “Aye.”

  “Did you see nothing good?” Her tone changed somewhat.

  “Nothing I didn’t already know.”

  “Then you know how I feel about you?” Her face turned pink again.

  “Aye.”

  “Would you classify that as evil tidings?” She leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips.

  “Aye.” He nodded. “I would. My son wants to marry you.”

  “Luke?” She drew back from him as if he had slapped her.

  “Luke Andrew. Yes.”

  “Did he say that?”

  “He did.”

  “Well, that will never do.”

  “You might change your mind.” Mark stood up. “In the meantime, I suggest we keep this little secret to ourselves. I have to speak to the Grand Master.”

  “Wait…” She caught his arm. “Did you see… anything else? Any of my past lives? Anything at all?”

  “I didn’t look too deep.” He smiled slightly. “It wudna been proper.”

  She watched him go and then smiled. At least, he knew how she felt about him. That was progress… of a… of a sort.

  ((((((((((((()))))))))))))

  Smoke rose from somewhere near the rear of the palace. The grounds around the main building were jammed with people and emergency vehicles to the point of total chaos. Jozsef Daniel leaned forward and peered up at the thin trail of black smoke drifting lazily in the deep azure sky. Bari hung over the seat behind him and watched as the last puff of the smoke billowed up and then began to dissipate.

  “The kitchens, perhaps?” He asked.

  “Or the storerooms.” Jozsef nodded his head. It was the third fire in two days. The first one had been in one of the third floor bedrooms. A faulty lamp had set fire to the draperies. Understandable. Relatively little damage had been done. The second had been a grease fire in the ventilation above the kitchen cook stoves. Again, understandable, but a bit unusual on the heels of the first fire. But this third blaze had sent up more than smoke. A red, flashing alarm was going off in Jozsef’s head. These things could no longer be dismissed as accidents, no matter what the evidence indicated. Three fires in two days! Not likely. Each time, the palace had been completely evacuated. The chaos was incredible as the servants, soldiers, residents and guests fled into the gardens and streets surrounding the structure, totally ignoring all the training they had received during numerous fire drills. Security was impossible to maintain as the fire trucks and emergency medical vehicles rushed madly through the tall gates and skidded about in the drives and gardens, destroying even more than the fires, vying for the opportunity to get a look inside the palace, or perhaps, a chance to render aid to some famous personality.

  “Do you think they are deliberate?” Ruth asked from the rear seat of the armored ATV in which they had taken refuge, ready to flee the grounds, the city or even the country if necessary.

  “Most likely.” Jozsef glanced back at her. “My question is who is doing this and how are they getting in past our security, unless they are more of our precious ‘relatives’? They are looking for something.”

  “There are a lot of things they might be looking for here.” Bari slid back in the seat and took his mother’s hand in his. “These things are simply diversions to get us out of the palace while they search. That much is obvious, but none of the firef
ighters have seen anything suspicious when they’ve reported back to us.”

  “And they won’t see anything. Besides, how would they recognize anything out of the ordinary?”

  Jozsef put the window down and leaned his head out, squinting up at the windows and doors on the second floor balcony, only to have his view immediately obscured by frantic security guards, trying to push him back inside the armored car and out of harm’s way.

  ((((((((((((()))))))))))))

  Lemarik climbed down out of the fireplace and looked about in disgust. This was ‘her’ room. It was very difficult for him to be in this place, but he had taken the chore from Bombarik’s hands and insisted on doing this part of the search himself. He was a firm believer that a man is better off being killed by his friends than by his enemies, unless it was on the battlefield. He knew Ruth would have preferred him to be the one violating her personal belongings rather than the Ifrit Djinni. But there was really very little left here of the Ruth Carlotti he had known. A few pieces of jewelry, a favorite hairbrush and mirror framed in heavy silver. A portrait of Sicily painted several centuries earlier. He paused to look at the old painting, and wondered why this creature, who now inhabited Ruth’s earthly body, would keep it. Surely it meant nothing to the abomination his grandson had created.

  He and his unlikely companion had made two previous forays into the palace. This would be the third and final time they would chance using the same diversion. Lemarik had suggested the fires, reasoning that the first would be a surprise, the second would be a shock, and the third would be a signature, but they would not be able to risk another such excursion. Jozsef Daniel would be ready for them next time. The two Djinnis had exposed many holes in the palace’s security net, which were rapidly being remedied. The mighty Djinni was greatly disappointed to have to leave a third time empty-handed. He rushed down the corridor, invisible to human eyes, and entered the gracious expanse of the upstairs library and sitting room where he had once found Jasmine and Anna trapped in glass bottles. The glass curio cabinets were just as he remembered. He scanned the room quickly, looking for anything that might have been added since he was last here. There were new draperies and rugs. A few new flower vases and trinkets. He was about to leave through the balcony doors, when he spied a small glass dome on a glass and steel table near the fireplace.

  The dome was of purest crystal, and it seemed to be filled with mist or smoke. The base was made of onyx stone, polished smooth; it had a spidery network of white veins shot through it. He ran his hands over the glass and peered closely at the reflective surface. It was impossible to tell if the milky white interior was solid, liquid or vapor. The thing was obviously something of a magickal nature as there was no apparent beauty to it. Whatever was concealed beneath the protective covering might be important or might need to be destroyed. His time was running out, and he heard the shouts of more men entering the palace below him.

  He lifted the heavy object carefully and tucked it under his robe as a new siren filled the air. He had tripped a hidden alarm on the table. As he made his way onto the balcony, he heard footsteps in the hall and then the sound of the doors being thrown open behind him. He leaped lightly onto the balcony railing and then stepped into thin air, taking the mysterious domed apparatus with him.

  Chapter Six of Twenty-Two

  All our days pass away under your wrath

  “Lucio!” Catharine de Goth ran into the Italian’s arms, spinning him around, grasping him in a tight hug, before taking his face between her hands. She stared into his surprised eyes.

  “Carrissima! Che cosa e` esso? What is wrong?” He took her by the shoulders and kissed her tenderly on the lips before holding her close again. “You scared me to death.”

  The Knight of the Golden Eagle had been standing on the patio, gazing up at the stars that were visible above the misty ground fog. The thick white blanket obscured the pink lamps lining the walkways, but mysteriously allowed the stars to shine through from the dark heavens. It seemed ages since he had seen them from Mark Andrew’s back yard.

  “I have been watching you, my love.” She told him and turned about in his arms, placing her back to him. “You were looking at the stars.”

  “Si`. I have always found them to be the only things that never change. A great comfort.” He nodded his head against her neck.

  “But they change as surely as everything else. It is only because they change so slowly we don’t notice it. Like two young lovers, who grow old together. In their eyes, they find each other always beautiful, and the strands of time never ravish the beauty in their hearts.”

  “That may be true, but please don’t spoil my last illusion. It is the only fiction I have left.” He kissed her ear and then looked up again.

  “You have descended into the Halls of Amenti and you have seen Hermes.” She said softly. “I can see it in your face. You have changed.”

  “Si` and no. I have changed only my perspective. It is easier to live now, and it will be even easier to die.”

  “But death is far off for you, Lucio. Great things are written yet in the stars for you. Another prophecy has been fulfilled.”

  “Another?” He frowned down at her head. He had come here to be alone, to be empty of care for a while. He was in no hurry to hear what Sophia had to say to Mark Andrew. He knew it would only be more bad news. More trouble.

  “You have read the scrolls of Nag Hammadi? Asclepius? The discourse with Hermes?”

  “Of course, many times.” Hermes again! His heart fell. “Hermes told Asclepius of a time when the gods would desert Egypt. He spoke of Egypt as the Temple of the World, but he said they had served the divinity in vain. That they would find their religion despised. He spoke of the time when the Egyptians would be overrun by the Christians and Muslims and their own great religion would be outlawed, and they would no longer be the wondrous kingdom of the past of the gods.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “He was speaking of the Alexandrine Fathers. The true Christians. The true followers of the One True God. He said that they would be prohibited from worshipping the True God. Alexandria was the birthplace of the True Christianity. The true followers of Christ. The Alexandrine Fathers have all but been eradicated and replaced by the false god of Rome and Mecca. Now the remnants of our fathers are again under attack. The Muslims and Christians of Rome are fighting each other, and the Nile is running red with their blood. The Gnostic Christians there have been overrun and many have been killed or scattered even worse than before. The New Order of the Temple is turning again. This time on themselves. It is well that Edgard brought some of them out when he did, or else they would have found themselves caught between the two opposing forces, and they would have been crushed and destroyed to the last man, woman and child, just as in the days when Rome set out to kill all of us. On Friday, Louis will take up the last throne of the Celtic Kingdom, and we will unite for the last time.”

  “You sound as if you believe we may lose the war.” Lucio tightened his grip on her. “I don’t want to think about that right now.”

  Catharine turned to face him and he kissed her again.

  “We will win this war, Catharine.” He told her. “It is what we are destined to do. It is what God has saved us for. It can’t be any other way. Now stop speaking of this and come with me.”

  Catharine looked about the patio as he took her hand and led her toward the hedgerow.

  “Wait!” She pulled away from him. “Where are we going? The house is back that way! Don’t you want to hear what Sophia has to say?”

  “Do you? Don’t you know?” He smiled at her. “Come on now. I want to show you something.”

  Catharine took his hand as they stepped off the bricks into the grass between the triangular flower beds. Lucio walked along slowly, bending forward slightly to see the ground beneath the mist.

  “Here.” He stopped and looked up at her, smiling broadly. “I knew it was here.”

  “What?” She looked at the
ground suspiciously, expecting a pit or a snake or something. All she could see was a darker streak of green grass curving in front of their feet.

  He took both her hands and stood beside her.

  “Now when I count to three, we will both jump over that dark grass. All right? Are you ready?”

  “What is this, Lucio?” Catharine laughed. “A child’s game?”

  “Yes. Very childish.” He nodded. “Now. Get ready. One… two… three!”

  They jumped forward together, the ground fog swirled and then closed over the place where they had been…

  ((((((((((((()))))))))))))

  Lavon de Bleu stood up when the Grand Master nodded to him, and all eyes turned on the French Knight. He looked down the conference table as if trying to decide where to start.

  They had all heard what Mark Andrew had been willing to disclose about his exchange with Sophia. The Knight of Death had resumed his seat, and now, sat staring at his hands in lap. He was very disturbed at the absence of his son and Lucio Dambretti. The Grand Master had sent runners to look for them, but they had not turned up yet. This disappointment had been offset somewhat by the appearance of John Paul and Meredith. They had arrived while he was speaking with Sophia in the parlor. He had been quite happy to see John Paul, but Meredith’s presence made him very uncomfortable in his seat, as she seemed to be watching him closely. He could not help, but believe that she could see through him concerning Sophia, and she had even commented on his white shirt, asking him what grand occasion had inspired him to wear white. He realized then he’d not worn white since the last wedding he’d attended, and he couldn’t even remember whose wedding it had been.

  “I don’t know where to begin.” Lavon finally spoke and brought Mark back to the present. “Sometimes I get ahead of myself. If any of you become confused, please do not hesitate to interrupt me, and I will try to explain myself to your satisfaction.” The Knight glanced at each of them from his golden eyes. “Enoch. I will begin with Enoch. The great prophet, Enoch, was obviously under the sway of Yaldabaoth when he wrote his book concerning the angels. Yaldabaoth being another name for the god of the Old Testament whom the patriarchs worshipped in erroneous conjunction with the Great Creator, Yahweh. He may also be known as Jehovah.”