The Dove (32 page)

“So much for live burials.”  Nicole muttered.  “This is just great.”

“Mark!”  Sophia’s voice cut through the hubbub of voices in the cavernous chamber as the soldiers began to fall back into the larger rooms.  Some of them were crying, others were praying and some were being dragged back unconscious from injuries received in the mad rush for the blocked entrance.  “What are you doing?”

Mark had climbed into the ancient stone basin which stood in the center of the chamber.  He held his sword out in front of him.

“Listen, brothers and sisters!”  He called to them from his vantage point.  “Why do you weep and despair?  God is with you!  Listen to me and I will tell you that your tears are not shed in vain.  Give glory to God that He has brought you here to this end so that you would see His mercy and His triumph.”

The group of desperate men gathered about the basin, watching him with wide eyes.  The Colonel shoved his way through them and fell on his knees, crossing himself.

“Master!  Pray for us!”  He clasped his hands in front of him and several of the soldiers joined him on their knees.

“Lift up your voices in praise of the Creator.”  Mark smiled down at the man.  “The divine Father would not abandon His creation.  The flames of the Evil One cannot reach you.  God will stretch out His hand to cover us.  For Christ has said ‘
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst
’.”

Nicole found the young lieutenant and he enwrapped her in his arms and dragged her toward the upper end of the chamber covering her face with his own handkerchief against the smell.

More of the soldiers fell on their knees as the diesel filled the chamber with choking fumes.

“
But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.  And he said unto me, It is done.  I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely
.”

Mark brought his sword down into the stone basin between his feet and went down on one knee.

“
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
”

“Come!”  Several voices shouted the word.

“
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.  And let him that heareth say, Come.
”

“Come!”  The response was even stronger the second time, but was followed by several coughs and gasps as the fumes grew thicker.

“
And let him that is athirst come
.”  Mark continued quoting the Holy Scriptures as water welled up in the basin around his sword and his feet and knees.  “
And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation
.”

The water flowed freely up and over the rim of the basin, splashing cool and sweet on the faces of the people gathered about him.  Many more surprised voices filled the air as some of them began to reach out for the water with their hands, splashing it in their faces and on their heads, drinking of it and splashing it on each other.

“
They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them
.”  Mark stood up in the basin now overrun with clear water.  “
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water
.”

Sophia pushed her way past the men and climbed into the basin with him.  He helped her up beside him and wrapped one arm around her.

“
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
”

“Master!”  Several cries went up at once as flames reached the inner chamber, following the trail of diesel fuel.  Black smoke curled up into the ceiling over their heads.  “Save us!”

“
Call upon your Creator to save you, my children
.”   Mark Andrew told them.  The water was bubbling out of the basin even more forcefully, filling the floor of the chamber, pushing the fire back.  “Repent and have faith!  Repent and believe!  Drink of the water of life.  Cover yourself in everlasting water.  Repel the evil that lies in your hearts.  Believe and live.”

The small congregation fell back away from the basin as more and more water filled the chamber.  They hugged each other and jumped for joy as the flames were extinguished and pushed back toward the corridor.

“
I say unto you, my beloved children, that without repentance, death awaits you!  Why do you resist that which you know is good and true?
”  Mark Andrew frowned at the jubilant group.  “
Why do you go forth celebrating when you have not given true thanks?
”

By now, no one was paying attention to him.  It was not until water began to pour into the central chamber from the adjoining corridors that anything seemed amiss.  The water continued to rise and was soon at knee level.  Gradually, the men fell quite and looked about in trepidation at this encroaching new menace.

“Master!”  The Colonel sloshed through the water and stopped below where Mark stood holding Sophia close to him.  “The fire is out, Sir!  Stop the water.”

“I cannot stop that which God has started.”  Mark told him quietly.  “Repent and rejoice.  Behold the wonder of the Creator.  The living water.  Believe on the Son of God and live.  Let go of this life and take up the Cross.”

“Mark.”  Sophia shivered in the dim light.  “They will drown.”

“They will not drown.  All they have to do is drink the living water.”  He whispered to her and smiled when she looked up at him in alarm.

“I don’t understand, Master.”  The Colonel turned about.  “Your Excellency!”  He sloshed away toward Bari.  The Emperor was watching the current as it flowed out of one of the adjoining passages.  Backpacks, blankets, canteens and other items swirled past him.  “Sire!  What are we to do now?”

Bari looked up at him in wonder.  “I suggest you do as my grandfather instructs you.  Repent and pray for deliverance.”

Nicole waded through the rising water to the edge of the basin, Galipoli held her arm, helping her along.

“Daddy!”  She called up to Mark.  “These men will drown.  You can’t fill the chamber with water.  Now stop this.  The fire is out.”  Mark simply shook his head.  Nicole searched the chamber for Simon and saw him trying to help Selwig up and onto a small ledge near the far corridor.  “Simon!  Come and do something with father before he kills us all!”

“Mark.”  Sophia tried again.  “Mark.  Please stop the water.  We are not immortal anymore.  We’ll drown.  Both of us and all these soldiers.”

“Have faith, Sophia.”  He told her.  “Did you not hear what I said?  Even the faith of a grain of mustard seed can move mountains.  You have only to believe.”

“Do you believe you will not drown, Mark?”  She asked him.

“I will not drown and neither will you, if you believe.”  He said again.

The water had reached the top rim of the basin.  Once more, some of the soldiers fled back up the passage and began to assault the hopeless pile of rubble.

“Repent, my children.”  Mark called after them.  “Repent and live.”

The Colonel began to recite the Lord’s Prayer and many voices joined with his as Simon’s light slowly faded in the rising flood.

((((((((((((()))))))))))))

“Just over that rise, Your Grace.”  Konrad wheeled his horse about and came abreast of Edgard d’Brouchart at the head of the long column of mounted soldiers.  “It would appear that they have stopped to lay siege to a small hill for some reason.  I would have to assume that the object of our concern might be near at hand.”

The Grand Master smiled at Louis.  The Frankish King’s visions had served them well.  He had lead them unerringly to this place in the middle of nowhere.  Louis nodded to him gravely.  The use of the crystal had taken a terrible toll on him mentally and he had been hard-pressed not to use it to look in on his beloved Oriel.

“Their numbers?”  D’Brouchart rose up slightly in his saddle and scanned the horizon.

“About ten to one.”  Konrad told him without much hope.  “The noise is coming from an artillery barrage directed at a hillock in the center of the enemy encampment.  The refugees are possibly holed up in some caves in the rocks.  I would have to assume that the Ark has already been captured.  I don’t think that Jozsef Daniel would risk destroying it.”

“You’re probably right.”  The Grand Master agreed.  He held up one gloved hand and the column stopped.  “Did you not see any scouts?  I can’t believe that he is not protecting his flanks.”

“There is confidence and safety in numbers, your Grace.  He has sentries posted, but they are watching the artillery fire for the most part.”  Barry spoke up from his opposite side.  “Perhaps they are so very intent upon their objective, they have been remiss in their tactics.”

“Still, it seems a bit odd.”  D’Brouchart slid from his saddle.  The horses were tired.  They had ridden hard and fast after finding Jerusalem deserted and the temple empty of the treasure.  In spite of Louis’ predictions, Edgard had insisted on going to Jerusalem to see for himself.  When Louis had been proven right, they had followed his directions which had put them only a few days behind the camel troops headed eastward from Jerusalem.  Their foreboding about what lay ahead was affirmed and compounded when they had found the camel troops’ remains nailed to crosses in an abandoned village.  After hastily burying the bodies in shallow graves, they had followed the same path that Jozsef Daniel had taken after learning the truth from the desert patrol’s leader. The trail was easy to follow and along the way, they had seen the signs of Lucifer’s harassment inflicted on the Fox army.

“Certainly, he is not expecting us.”  Louis dismounted and joined the Master, stretching his aching back.

“The horses are worn out, sir.”  Izzy rode along side them and dismounted, followed by Philip, Dan, Zebulon and Levi.  Luke Matthew rode a bit further on and then turned back, signaling his commander to order the British troops to take a break.

Corrigan skirted the column on his sleek charger and skidded to a stop in the desert pavement.  He leapt lightly to the ground and dusted off his colorful cape.  The difference between his horse and the horses of the regular troops was quite obvious.  The prancing beast was neither tired, nor hungry.

“We are outnumbered ten to one.”  Edgard told him.  “It seems that we may have come too late to save the fugitives.  If they are trapped…”

“It is never too late!”  Luke Matthew objected.  “I say we attack at once before they learn we are here.  Surprise is always a great advantage and we have always been outnumbered.  It has never stopped us before.”

“King Ramsay is right, Your Grace.”  Christopher Stewart agreed with Luke.  The Knight of the Holy City sat down on a boulder and took off one of his boots.  “The longer we wait, the more time he will have to prepare a defense.”

“And if my father is still alive down there, we could draw them off long enough to facilitate a possible escape for him and the others.”  Philip spoke up.  “I would recommend a strike from three points if we can arrange it.  These bluffs may provide some cover.  We could send the Franks away on the left flank, the English can take the right and the rest of us could take the point.”

“If they are attacking the caves, then we have to assume that whoever is there is still a threat to them.”  Izzy agreed with his brother.

“You are assuming much, brother.”  Philip smiled at him.  “We need to scout out the terrain and make a plan.  Charging in without proper planning could be disastrous.  We must learn what our options are.”

“We won’t find out sitting here.”  Konrad told him.

D’Brouchart narrowed his eyes and looked about the countryside.  A long valley stretched out behind them.  Deserted buildings lay in ruins along the highway.  He studied the profiles of the hills and then walked out away from them about thirty yards, looking to the west and then again to the south.

His Knights watched him curiously as he walked back toward them.

“Do you know where we are, Levi?”  He addressed his grandson.

Levi wiped the dust from his tired face and looked about.

“It’s hard to say, Grandfather.”  Levi shook his head.  “Everything is changed from what I remember.”

“Look at those hills there.  And those ruins.”  D’Brouchart nodded to the south.  “And there.”  He jerked his head to the west where more ancient walls and tumbled ruins were visible.  He then took his grandson’s arm and directed him out away from the column.  “Now look back.”