The Blackthorn Key (24 page)

“Just as apothecaries' healing remedies take many forms, so, too, can the First Matter take many forms. The Archangel's Fire is the raw essence of the Prima Materia. It is God's power unchecked.”

Isaac turned to me. “I told you before there was no true
cult, just killers who hide behind its name. This aspect of the Prima Materia, the Archangel's Fire, is what they seek. As bad as their crimes have been, if they find it, things will be much, much worse.”

“Why?” Tom said nervously. “What are they going to do?”

“The battlefields of England used to be covered with knights.” Isaac spread his hands, as if drawing the scene. “Sheathed in plate, they were impenetrable, the lords of the land, the pinnacle of five thousand years of war. Tell me: When was the last time you saw an armored knight?” He leaned against the shelf. “Firearms removed knights from the battlefield. Their armor, the seat of their strength, was useless against simple men armed with black powder.

“Now imagine going into battle with Michael at your side. Gunpowder would be no more sophisticated, hold no more power, than a stone from a sling. The man who discovers the Fire could change the world. And if the wrong people get ahold of it . . .”

He stared into the distance. “An army that walks with the Archangel will be invincible.”

WE RETURNED TO THE CRYPT
under the mausoleum in the Mortimer garden. Tom held the torch. I carried the parchment, my master's key.

After what Isaac had shown us, Tom and I stared at the mural in a new light. We saw the
ouroboros
, the First Matter, the serpent swallowing its own tail. We knew the figures inside, too. God's general, the Archangel Michael, driving his sword into Satan, the dragon, as the Devil's minions writhed below, swallowing darkness.

Armed with Master Benedict's key, we finally knew the poison to feed them.