I did and I understood how she felt. Each single surface of the chapel had been covered with religious narrative designs, rich with symbols and meanings, each section shrouded in mystery. There were no words to describe the magnitude, the superb etchings, the tiresome hard labor, and creativity crafted by the masons. Even Uncle Davin couldn’t peel his eyes away, as his eyes followed the arches and mastery. And as for Father, one eye admired the structure, and the other eye homed in on the Knights Templar as we kept a short distance behind them. They too took in the enigma of the chapel as they meandered in front of us.
Zach’s eyes bounced from pillar to pillar, his lips moving while he counted and pointed. “Thirteen arches,” he mumbled.
Thirteen crisscrossing arches behold.
Abel nudged Zach. “Did you know those three pillars down there have names?”
“No,” my brother admitted, his eyes rounded in surprise.
“Master Pillar, Journeyman Pillar, and the Apprentice Pillar,” Abel stated.
“Look.” Brody stood on the other side of the pew. Mesmerized, I hadn’t noticed he had cut across the pew, and everyone else scattered apart. I became uneasy at the thought. Images of demons and Fallen popping out of the carvings invaded my mind. “There’s an angel playing a bagpipe,” he finished.
With angels singing must be told.
“There’s a carving of an elephant,” Milani said, gesturing to the direction with her head.
“I see a Farmer’s wife rescuing a goose from the jaws of a fox. Pretty awesome,” Harper added.
“Mine is better. A knight on horseback and a rope-bound Lucifer hanging upside down.” Hugo gloated, showing his straight teeth.
“But there can’t be anything holier than a star-of-Bethlehem shining over Christ’s Nativity scene,” Jack murmured in awe.
“And one stands alone,” Uncle Davin murmured, tracing the curve with his fingertip on the Apprentice Pillar.
A carved wreath wrapped around a pillar from top to bottom. The most decorated pillar in the chapel. Everyone quickened their steps toward Uncle Davin except for Father.
Jack leaned closer, his green eyes twinkling with excitement. “I’ve read about the Apprentice Pillar,” he began to explain. “A master mason went to visit Rome to be inspired, but when he came back, his apprentice said he’d had a dream, and took it upon himself to finish the last pillar ... this magnificent pillar.” He patted. “The master became furious and jealous of the uniqueness and gorgeous details of the foliage, and then he killed his apprentice on the spot.”
“He killed him?” Milani gaped, cupping her mouth in shock.
Humans. Sometimes they were idiots, letting their emotions get the best of them. But I understood those feelings. I had acted without thinking many times before, like the time when I stupidly tried to rescue my friend from the fallen angels by myself, and the way I jumped in to rescue Jack from Cyrus, only to get caught in return. What did that do? Eli.
Every time I thought of him, my chest caved in so hard no air could pass through. I had to stop thinking of my guilt and stop wishing and hoping he would somehow find us in this chapel and find his way back to me. I would take him broken, his soul damaged, and even if we couldn’t trust him, I would do it for the sake of … I didn’t know if it was love or a crush or—
“Right there and right there.” Jack pointed to two carved heads, facing each other. “That’s the master mason, and the grieving mother of the apprentice. The story in stone suggests the master mason is forced to look upon the grieving mother and the beautiful carving for eternity.”
“He deserved all the punishment and more,” Harper snapped.
“What does that say up there?” Hugo asked, blue eyes glistening when the sunlight caught his eyes.
“Translated in English it says: wine is strong, a king is stronger, women are stronger still, but truth conquers all.” Jack shrugged. “I did my research.”
My head snapped up. Something stirred in the air … something dark and menacing. Uncle Davin felt it too. He dropped his hand from caressing the pillar and stiffened.
“Shhh…” Uncle Davin pressed his lips with his index finger.
We stilled and held our breaths, and shot our eyes to the center where Jacques and Geoffroi stood with their heads tilted back. As Father hovered midair, examining and studying the rose carvings just as the Knights Templars did, we kept our eyes on them.
“Rose carvings. Do you see, Jacques?” Geoffroi's eyes softened. “So many to see, so many to examine, so many stories behind the carvings.”
“Extraordinary,” Jacques murmured. “My heart is in bliss. So many Knights Templar symbols. I am most humbled and honored. I cannot believe they carved all those roses, Mary Magdalene’s symbol. She has blessed this chapel.”
Part the sea like Moses, to see the bundle of red roses.
“I agree, but we must stop admiring and hide your second page.” Geoffroi glanced at the page Jacques gripped in his hand, as if he would never let it go.
Jacques nodded somberly. “I…it’s strange to see such beauty in the future and know we’ll never live to see it being built. It saddens me to think about our death. I often wonder how I will die. Will I die in the hands of a monster from Hell? Or will I die in my sleep?”
“Me too.” Geoffroi rested his hand on Jacques’s shoulder in an effort to comfort him, but Jacques’s face portrayed otherwise. “I just hope if we die, we die together. I don’t know how I would go on without you.”
Jacques patted his friend’s back. “I hope for that too, for I would not know how to go on without you. It’s mutual, my brother. Now, let’s hide this.” He fanned the page for emphasis. “You still have Aaron’s staff and the little ark?”
“Yes.” Geoffroi lifted his cloak to reveal a black bag, the long cloth handle crossing along his chest. Then he pulled out the two items. “Jacques?”
Jacques stared into space, his face pale.
“Jacques?” Geoffroi said again. “Are you all right?”
Jacques pointed at the Knights Templar’s symbol in the middle, a cross, and read, “Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.”
“Not unto us. O lord, not unto us, but to thy name give the glory,” I whispered to Jack since he didn’t understand Latin.
“It’s the Knights Templar motto,” Jack said excitedly.
Then Jacques stumbled back slightly and glued his eyes to the carvings of Knights Templar burning at the stakes. He swallowed hard and shivered. His expression, giddy and full of color a second before, again turned ghost white.
“It’s just a carving.” Geoffroi winced, seemingly trying to convince both of them, and guided his friend away. “Do not despair, my brother. For the truth is not in the stone.”
Jacques halted, getting some color back in his skin. “You know what I believe will happen, Geoffroi?” His voice hardened and dulled, almost bitter. “We will be hunted down. But even if we warn our brothers, we swore to protect and serve. We are bound by secrecy and the blood of brotherhood. We are not cowards. We will not cower before man or beast. We do not run.” His jaw clenched, and he looked up again, staring…assessing.
“I agree, but what are you looking at?”
Jacques draped his arm around Geoffroi’s shoulder and pulled him back behind a pillar into the hiding.
“What in God’s name is it?” Geoffroi trembled.
Jacques’s face blanched. He peered upward and lowered his chin just enough to whisper, “Cyrus.”
Chapter 19
Lucia
Cyrus. That name haunted every waking moment. Every time I spoke his name it left a bitter taste in my mouth, and even hearing it sometimes left me quaking in fear or boiling with rage. But I had to contain my emotions, for human emotions blinded me and would no doubt cause me to make mistakes.
Geoffroi did not make a sound, did not move, and held his breath while Jacques confirmed his necklace was still on him. Then the knights backed away into the sha
dow of darkness. Father planted his body on the archway, prepared for whatever would come our way, Cyrus or not. I was certain Cyrus had sent all forms of monsters to find Jacques.
The two Knights scuttled across the nave like mice, quiet and swift, as we trailed behind them just as stealthily. We passed a window surrounded by carvings of maize and corn, etching forms of seven deadly sins and seven virtues, and past countless men carved with vines sprouting from their mouths. The green men. We finally stopped under a sequence of cubes.
And green men peer out under the dome.
There were at least thirteen different geometric patterns carved onto the faces of the cubes. As on a strand of DNA, little patterns would repeat, but there seemed to be no obvious order to the sequence. These cubes reminded me of teeth, like it would be the chapel’s teeth if it had a mouth. Each one of these cubes was unique, carved with individual symbols made up of lines and dots.
“Theories suggest that these may represent keys to a secret code or be musical notes,” Jack whispered.
“Hush,” Uncle Davin said, peering up at Father. “Stop being so smart and listen.”
Jack frowned.
Milani leaned closer, examining, staring intensely. “They look very familiar. I think I’ve seen them before.”
Father remained hovering near the high ceiling, guarded and surveying the property. The dark shadow could no longer be seen, but we remained cautious. Something was definitely there. And then a second dark shadow loomed from the ceiling, too fast for the human eyes to catch.
“There.” Jacques pointed to the cube, the one etched like a rose. “That’s the one. We will hide it there.”
Geoffroi furrowed his brow, baffled. “You’ve lost your mind, my brother. How do you plan on hiding that piece of paper in there? It’s a solid stone.”
“Ahhh,” Jacques said softly. “You do not understand the power of the witch and the items you possess. You shall see.”
Geoffroi gazed at the ceiling and then back to his friend. “Is Cyrus still here?” he asked, his voice dropping to almost a hush.
“I don’t know. Either way, we must hurry.”
“How do we get back home?”
“When the task is done, the same light will appear. It will take us home. Ikelia follows through. Now, please hand me the ark.”
Geoffroi nodded and handed over the little ark. Jacques’s eyes gleamed in joy, and he carefully started to open it. We held our breaths, awaiting the unknown as we gathered around them. Being close to them without revealing we were inches away always gave me an uneasy knot in my stomach. It felt like we were invading their privacy. I wouldn’t want anyone to do that to me. But it was possible that Cyrus, Vince, or Mortem could astral travel to that very day and follow our footsteps. That thought chilled me, icy cold. I had to stop thinking.
When the ark opened to its fullest, Jacques chanted:
“Above a small hill lay a home.
And green men peer out under the dome.
Thirteen crisscrossing arches behold,
with angels singing must be told.
Cubes like teeth thus showed,
pierce one and the door shall glow.
Part the sea like Moses
to find the bundle of red roses.
Only then you shall see
what is destined to be free.
But beware if you are not the heir,
for damnation you shall declare,
for the false burden you shall bear.”
With Aaron’s staff, he jabbed the center of the cube. Powdery dust rained down, glistening like specks of gold when caught in the sunlight. When Jacques raised the ark above his head to catch them, the grainy powder inside the ark rose and shone like silver. They connected in the middle, twisting and binding into each other like the wreath on the Apprentice Pillar. Magnificently magic, they sparkled and danced. No ending, no beginning, silver and gold, mixing and blending, like fairy magic dust.
Then music sprang to life as the cubes pushed in for each note it played, moving faster and faster as the melody sang. Sometimes two or three cubes pressed in at the same time, as if they were the piano keys. But the music … oh, the music touched my heart to the depth of my soul. Glorious. Angelic. An angel chorus singing. Mesmerized and spellbound by the music, I could not move.
Cubes like teeth thus showed, pierce one and the door shall glow.
Jacques placed the page in the heavenly light, and then it vanished, and the light died out. After he closed the ark, he gave Geoffroi back the items.
“It is done,” Jacques said, releasing a heavy sigh, no doubt his burden gone for the time being.
As soon as he said those words, a circle of light appeared. Looking over his shoulder, Jacques tugged Geoffroi’s cloak and jumped in.
“We go.” Father swooped downward with his wings outstretched like an eagle and soared into the light. “We need to find out where they hid the ark and Aaron’s staff.”
Father was right. Without those two items, we could not unseal the second page.
“Go, go, go.” Uncle Davin waved his hand to motion us to move along.
I waited for everyone to enter first and stepped through second to last. Just as Uncle Davin reached for my arm, I assumed to help me get a smoother landing, hands gripped my shoulders and yanked me backward. Uncle Davin reached for me, but I was too far gone. Zach and Father hollered my name in my mind, but I could not reply.
Darkness spread around me as if I had tumbled in a black hole. I slammed hard into something firm but soft enough not to crush me, and I stood right where I had stepped in a second before. The light disappeared like it had never existed.
Pockets jutted out in space like hands punching a sheet. Father and Uncle Davin must be trying to break through the portal. It had been created by a witch, so they could not break through no matter how hard they tried. They had to find another way in. By then, I would be gone in the hands of the person that had captured me.
I remained solid as the stone bricks. Cyrus, Mortem, and Vince came to my mind. It didn’t matter who it was. All of them were terrifying, cunning, and evil. The two shadows I had dismissed earlier, thinking they couldn’t pinpoint us at the chapel and had left, must have remained behind. Perhaps hiding behind one of the pillars or even on the roof. We would have felt their presence, especially Father for sure. Surely we had been tricked. But then something pleasant filled my nose, the smell of sunshine after the storm and sweet coconut, soothing me, calming me, as if the scent could talk, telling me to relax and that I was not in danger.
My heart thundered mercilessly and tears filled my eyes. “Eli?” I managed to croak out, shaking all over, so afraid to say his name, so afraid to turn around and look at him, even afraid to be wrong.
“Lucia,” he cooed in that deep, velvety voice I swooned over. His cool breath brushed against the tip of my earlobe, sending pleasant, familiar shivers to every nerve ending in my body. “Don’t turn around. Don’t look at me. Just stay still and listen,” he demanded sharply, reminding me of the time when he had been rude to me.
I twitched, but simply nodded. Why wouldn’t he let me see him? Did he look different? Oh God, no! Images of monsters and Fallen popped into my mind. We had studied about them in Crossroads. Some were so hideous looking even the Royal Council, God’s first angels, could not bear to look at them.
“Why can’t I see you?” I dared to ask, my lips quivering. “I’ve missed you. We searched so hard for you. I’m sorry that we didn’t come soon enough. I’m sorry you had to endure it all by yourself. You have to know the guilt is eating me alive.” I could no longer hide it, contain it. The emotions bottled deep inside, locked up, burst open like a broken dam. I began to sob.
“Lucia.” He sang my name like a lover’s song and planted his hands on my shoulders to comfort me. His tone was gentle, yet strained and broken. “I know.”
My heart ached for him, for his suffering, for what he had to endure by himself, no doubt wondering when
we would find him. I didn’t know the extent of his torture, but I knew it was insufferable. The warmth from his touch shot through my veins, awakening my heart into recognition and joy. I closed my eyes to hold onto that moment, so peaceful, putting my heart at ease, but then I realized where I stood. His presence distracted me. Was that Cyrus’s plan all along? Perhaps that wasn’t my Eli, but Mortem instead. I tightened my fists, ready to will my sword.
“Are you truly Eli?” I whimpered, afraid to know the answer.
“Yes,” he answered.
“Then tell me. When was the first time we astral traveled?”
He snickered softly, no doubt with that sexy smirk on his face, unless his face changed to something else. Blood pounded in my head at the thought.
“You couldn’t stay away from me, so you followed me to my stable and met my horse, Midnight. You tackled me through the clouds because you wanted to kiss me and you wanted my body.”
I scowled at his words, but a part of me giggled quietly.
“We astral traveled to Jacques de Molay’s brother’s family,” he continued. “That was your first look at Vince and my mother. I almost kissed you when we went through the clouds. You on the bottom. Me on the top. I stared at your lips as we fell. But then I thought it wouldn’t be romantic, so I didn’t. Besides, you probably would have wanted to rip off my clothes. My kisses make you feel that way. I know they do.” He paused, touching his lips to my ear he murmured, “Because I feel the same way.”
I melted to his words, to him. Then I snapped out of it and recalled where I was. “Why have you come? Why are you holding me prisoner?”
His grip tightened on my shoulder, and I almost lost my courage. “You’re not my prisoner, and I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t have much time. You must listen.”
“No,” I retorted. “I want to see you. Don’t you want to see my face?” Talking to the air and having him behind me annoyed me. He might as well not be there.
“I’ve been staring at you, following your footsteps the whole time you were here.”