The Miracle Strain (21 page)

Maria looks into his dark eyes and nods slowly. She does understand. Everything suddenly falls into place. She was beingtested for greater things. Her God has marked her out and nowthis man will help guide her to her destiny.

"You have talent and you have passion," he says, his smilecreasing his parchment skin. "And if you agree, I have arrangedto take you away from this place."

Maria smiles. It is the easiest decision of her life.

Just remembering Ezekiel's smile encouraged Maria as the car neared the five pillars of rock. Of course at the time she hadn't known that Sister Delphine was the niece of Brother Culas, a senior member of the Brotherhood. Or that the novice nun had written to her uncle explaining everything about Father Angelo before she had killed herself. It had been Maria's predecessor, the last Nemesis, who had been sent by the Brotherhood to do what she had already done, and it was he watching her leave Father Angelo's room. It was also Nemesis, nearing retirement, who had recommended the precocious fifteen-year-old killer as his successor. Ezekiel had then discovered the secrets of her life before making his approach.

From that moment her life had changed. Five years in the training school run by Brother Bernard had followed, where she had been tutored in everything from languages, to righteous killing, to the lore and history of the Brotherhood. For the first time in her life she felt she belonged to a family and truly believed in what she was doing. She still remembered the pride when after five years she had been taken to the Cave of the Sacred Light for her blooding ceremony. As Ezekiel had pierced her forearm with the ceremonial dagger she had felt no pain. Later that day he had praised her, calling her the most dedicated recruit in living memory.

Two years later she was appointed the new Nemesis--and for the next thirteen years had enjoyed an incomparable record.

Until Stockholm.

Until Dr. Carter.

She tensed her jaw as she quickly reminded herself that she would soon correct that. Ahead she could see a helicopter and two Land Rovers parked by the tallest rock. She drove up to the entrance of the cave. Two men were waiting there, watching her closely as she put a baseball cap on her shaved head. Cutting the engine, she opened the door and stepped out into the furnacefierce heat. She slammed the door to the Range Rover and walked straight for the two men.

Just as the first man's mouth opened in challenge she extended her right hand. "May he be saved."

His face relaxed and he gave a small nod, clasping her hand. Then he extended his other hand to meet her left, both handshakes now forming a cross. "So he may save the righteous."

Two hundred feet below, Tom Carter's fear changed to relief when the knife blade moved from his neck to cut his blindfold. He turned, and as his eyes accustomed themselves to the golden light he saw Helix standing beside him, a knife in his hand and a small smile on his lips.

He made an expansive gesture with his right hand, taking in the vast underground chamber in front of him. "Dr. Carter, welcome to the Cave of the Sacred Light. The Sanctuary of the Brotherhood of the Second Coming."

Tom marveled at the carved, vaulted ceiling high above him, supported by heavy rock pillars as thick as square oak trees. The golden glow came from countless candles burning on a narrow ledge, midway up the thirty-foot-high walls. Their flickering shafts of light danced over the chiseled surface of the red stone ceiling. Further light was supplied by gas lamps and torches placed in metal holders on each of the pillars. The sides of the hall were adorned with ancient-looking tapestries that billowed from iron rails like the sails of small ships. Each tapestry depicted religious scenes that appeared, to Tom, to come alive in the flickering candlelight.

At the far end of the hall was an altar, bedecked in a white cloth decorated with a blood-red cross. His eyes were drawn to the dazzling flame of unnaturally white light directly in front of it. The white flame appeared to issue from a hole in the rock floor, its dazzling light illuminating a large, sealed stone door on the wall behind the altar.

In the center of the chamber on the worn mosaic floor was a mighty table that matched the scale of the cavern. Bowls and platters of food sat on the thick, wood tabletop, which in turn rested on sturdy feet carved to resemble the clawed talons of an eagle. Around this table were six equally magnificent chairs. All were empty.

Even he could sense the power of this place and it made him feel uncomfortable. It was like a huge mausoleum, containing the sum of man's outdated beliefs.

"Welcome, Dr. Carter. We are glad you came." The man's strong voice took Tom by surprise. He had barely noticed the two figures standing beneath the pillars on the far side of the cavern, so dwarfed were they by their surroundings. The man who had addressed him was especially small, out of scale with the cavern.

"Dr. Carter," said Helix, "allow me to introduce Father Ezekiel De La Croix, Leader of the Brotherhood of the Second Coming, and Brother Bernard."

Ezekiel walked toward him. "I apologize for the manner in which you were brought here. But we have defended our privacy for two thousand years."

"I understand," said Tom. "As long as it means your invitation was genuine and my trip hasn't been wasted."

"I think I can assure you of that."

Tom couldn't place the man's accent--a strange blend of the Middle East and French. And as Ezekiel came closer, Carter noticed that although his mouth was smiling in greeting, his dark eyes studied him with intense scrutiny. The wizened man with silk-thin white hair was ancient, and Tom thought he couldn't be much taller than five six, almost a foot shorter than he was. Yet his presence was such that Tom knew his own height wouldn't intimidate him.

Ezekiel extended a thin, clawlike hand, and on his gnarled finger was a heavy metallic ring crowned with the largest ruby Tom had ever seen. He immediately recognized the cross-shaped mount from the wax seal on the envelope. When he took Ezekiel's hand in his, the skin felt scaly and desiccated. The man's face looked no different: tissue-thin parchment over bony features. Tom felt that if he rubbed it hard enough it would come away in his hands, revealing the skeleton beneath. Under the old man's dark suit and sash, Tom could tell Ezekiel's slight frame still exuded a sinewy strength. But the man's real power lay in his black, intelligent eyes. Ageless, they sparkled with an alert cunning. This was not a man to underestimate, or trust too readily.

"You've already met Brother Helix," said Ezekiel. "He is a scientist like yourself, Dr. Carter. He champions our Primary Imperative and keeps us abreast of developments." Ezekiel turned to the third man. "Brother Bernard here heads up our"--he paused as if searching for the correct phrase--"security arrangements."

Carter shook Brother Bernard by the hand. With wispy gray hair and a graying goatee, he looked older than Helix, probably in his seventies. He was a big man--six foot and fat. His mouth with its fleshy lower lip gave him the petulant look of a cruel schoolboy. Carter disliked him on sight.

"Who are you? And what is the Primary Imperative?" he asked.

Ezekiel flashed another of his mouth-only smiles. "All in good time, Dr. Carter, all in good time." He gestured to the magnificent table. "Come, let us discuss our marriage of resources. Our treasures of the past with your technology of the future."

Before Tom could ask him to explain further, the ancient man turned on surprisingly agile feet and walked with neat, deliberate steps to the table. "We have food and drink. You must be in need of refreshment after your long journey."

Tom did feel thirsty, and as Brother Helix ushered him to his seat he checked his watch. Almost three hours had elapsed since he'd landed in Tel Aviv. He wondered what time it would be in Boston and calculated that Holly would already be at school.

Ezekiel sat at the head of the table with the altar and dazzling white light behind him. The two Brothers sat on each side of him with Tom next to Helix. He noticed that they used just a fraction of the vast table, and could only guess at how many people it could accommodate--certainly three times the six chairs indicated.

"Please eat," said the old man, indicating the array of food and drink laid out before him.

The array was what Tom always imagined a medieval banquet to be. There were large pewter platters of dates, figs, pomegranates, and cheese; salvers piled high with lamb, steak, and chicken; and bowls of pickles and stuffed vine leaves. Next to the food, earthenware demijohns of water and wine sat beside elaborate goblets from another age. Helix lifted one of the wine demijohns and poured the dark, aromatic ruby liquid into Tom's goblet, while Brother Bernard moved the salvers of food closer. Despite his nervousness, the food made Tom realize he hadn't eaten for hours. Jack, the paranoid mother hen, had warned him not to touch anything. But given the welcome he'd received so far he could hardly see the danger. If these people meant to do him harm, then he was convinced they would have done so by now.

The acoustics of the place seemed to magnify Ezekiel's voice when he spoke again. "Since we invited you here, I think I should lead. While you refresh yourself I will tell you something about our organization. Then we will discuss the trade."

Tom nodded as if he had a choice and put the aromatic wine to his dry lips. The rich, heady liquid tasted oddly refreshing. As he tried to keep his mounting excitement in check, he realized he was beginning to enjoy this bizarre encounter.

Ezekiel De La Croix stood, his small frame casting a giant shadow on the nearest pillar, and studied his guest closely before he began. He was glad Dr. Carter had accepted their invitation and he couldn't help but be impressed by the man's demeanor. The scientist was so different from the brash iconoclast he had expected. To travel halfway around the world on the chance that complete strangers might have what he sought demonstrated how much he valued their relic. Ezekiel couldn't believe that his motives were purely commercial. The scientist already had more money than he could ever need. But whatever his reasons were, Dr. Carter's manner and dedication encouraged Ezekiel that he would be receptive to their trade.

"Let me start at the beginning," Ezekiel said. "Two thousand years ago, Lazarus--the man Christ brought back from the dead--witnessed the horror of Christ's crucifixion and vowed that the corrupt religions must never be allowed to commit the same crime again. The night after Golgotha, Lazarus had a dream, in which he saw this ancient cave and the light that burned here. The next day he led his followers to this sacred place--a place that would be forever safe from persecution. The Brotherhood of the Second Coming had one overarching aim: to wait and watch for when the Messiah came again, in order to identify and anoint him in the Sacred Flame. This simple goal--the so-called Primary Imperative--is what guides us still."

Ezekiel turned to the white flame. "That is the sacred light that gives this cavern its name. This is where the first meetings of the Brotherhood's Inner Circle took place and where they worshiped before the altar of the Sacred Fire."

Ezekiel looked back to Carter, pleased to see he was listening intently. "In his dream Lazarus saw the flame change from a pure white to orange, when Christ died for our sins. But he was told that when the white flame returned so would the Messiah. The Sacred Fire has only burned white two times in two thousand years." He paused and moved over to the fire. "Once when Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth. And now. Today. For the last thirty-five years the New Messiah has been among us, and we must find him."

Carter gave an uneasy frown. "How do you know your Messiah walks the earth now? Couldn't the flame just be a coincidence? A geological shift, a different gas?"

"We know," said Ezekiel impatiently.

Carter picked at the plate of chicken. "And how do you intend to find this New Messiah of yours?"

"With your help, Dr. Carter."

He walked back to his seat and nodded to Brother Helix.

Taking his cue, Helix adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses and leaned his bald head toward Carter.

"We intend to find our Messiah through your Project Cana," he said.

"I don't understand."

"We've been watching you and your team. We know you've been trying to locate a sample of the Lord's DNA."