The Templar's Secret (The Templar Series) (54 page)

‘Ah! That reminds me;
I received an email from the Reverend Doctor Geevarghese Mar Paulos. He received the third copper plate.’

‘
And . . . ?’

‘
And the Nazrani bishops will meet later this month at which time they’ll decide whether or not to release the plate to the public,’ he informed her, hitting the highlights of the email. ‘So, we shall have to wait and see what happens on that front.’

‘
I know you’re convinced that it was the right thing to do, but I’m not so –’

‘
Need I remind you that Fortes de Pinós
did
steal the
Evangelium Gaspar
from the Nazrani,’ he interjected.

‘All right. I surrender
,’ Edie said with an exasperated shake of the head. ‘But I still hope that the Nazrani decide to go public. People
need
to know what’s contained in the
Evangelium Gaspar
. They need to know the truth.’

‘
I suspect that the truth, if it’s ever made public, will trigger a violent religious upheaval followed by a painful detoxification.’ That was the reason why he’d given the Nazrani custody of the third plate, unwilling to be the person responsible for putting the Christians of the world through a bloody Twelve Step Program.

As to the current whereabouts of the first two plates,
Caedmon suspected that Cardinal Fiorio had done one of two things: he’d cached the plates
in the Vatican Secret Archives or he’d stashed them in a personal safe deposit box. Either way, he presumed that the plates were lost to history.

‘
At least we have digital copies of all three plates,’ Edie said, having correctly intuited the direction of his thoughts.

‘
Which I find more fascinating with each reading. And it makes me wonder about other secrets that the Templars may have unearthed at Mount Carmel.’ From the onset, Caedmon had suspected that the Order had discovered scrolls or texts at the ancient monastery that ultimately led them to India.

‘Personally,
I’m intrigued by the notion that, after the crucifixion, Jesus left his apostles so that he could seek out the lost tribes of Israel. Which begs the question: where did he go? And what happened to him once he got there?’

‘Provocative questions, indeed
.’

Convinced that there was more to the tale,
Caedmon got up from his desk and walked over to the globe prominently situated in the corner of his study. An early nineteenth-century terrestrial globe, it was an impressive bit of cartography. Somewhat idly, he spun the orb before his index finger landed on a particular locale, stopping the globe in mid-spin.

For several moments he stared at the sacred parcel of land known during the Middle Ages as the
Axis Mundi
,
the center of the world. It was the hallowed place that reputedly connected heaven and earth. One to the other.

There were secrets hidden
there. Of that he was certain.

Glancing up from the globe,
Caedmon smiled broadly at his lady love. ‘Fancy a trip to the Holy Land?’

Born in Washington DC, C.M. Palov graduated from George Mason University with a degree in art history. The author’s résumé includes working as a museum guide, teaching English in Seoul, Korea and managing a bookshop. Twin interests in art and arcana inspired the author to write esoteric thrillers. C.M. Palov currently lives in the mountains of southern Virginia.