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.If only Mark Andrew were there.He would find him and ask him why he suddenly felt very old and very young, at the same time!Lucio had said Mark Andrew was in the Abyss.The message and other evidence said the Knight of Death was in New Babylon! He had rarely ever used his mystery to look into the minds of the people he knew.He had only done so at the express order of the Grand Master and then he had done it reluctantly.He knew that his father had done more.He knew that his father had used his mystery as it should have been used.He knew that his father had been a constant reminder to the members of the Order that they had a purpose.An ultimate goal.It was his duty and his work to remind them.To keep up with them, but he did not want to know their minds.He had enough trouble with his own!He pushed himself off the altar and turned about on his knees, sitting down on the floor with his back against the altar.In his haste, he had left the doors standing open and the sun slowly aligned itself with the open doors, casting long rays of golden light into the aisle in front of him where dust motes from his passing, drifted lazily in the gilded shafts like the stars and galaxies of the immensity of space.Konrad sat mesmerized by the simple beauty of this unexpected sight.The full face of the sun dipped below the lintel of the door, almost blinding him and in the light, he thought he saw the outline of someone walking toward him.The Knight of the Apocalypse blinked and squinted against the glare.He pushed his long, dark hair back and looked again.The figure was closer, dressed in a long gown that reached the floor.The sunlight cast a shimmering glow around the halo of dark hair, but the face and features were obscured by shadow.“Konrad.” He heard his name and the voice that uttered it made his heart seem to stop.“Lucia?” He whispered the name and thought his stopped heart would burst.The blood drained from his face and he felt cold.“Konrad.” She came closer and he could see her hand reaching out to him.“Why are you here?”“I came looking for my father.” He heard himself answer her and then shuddered at the touch of her hand on his face.“Your father is not here, Konrad.”He still could not see her face, his mouth was open and he could not breath, could not move.“The gradal is in the pillar.Take it with you, Konrad.You will know what to do.Keep it safe.The Blood of the Communion is in the cellar of Ramsay’s house.Take it with you, Konrad.You will know what to do.”“Lucia!” He found his voice again and drew a ragged breath as she removed her hand.He placed his own hand over the spot on his face where her hand had been.“Come home with me, Lucia! I love you! I miss you! Come home with me!”The sound of her soft laughter made him smile in spite of the pain he felt in his heart.It was as if he was losing her all over again.“Take these things, Konrad, and when the time is right, we will be together forever.”She leaned forward toward him and kissed him lightly on the lips.“Spes mea in deo est, Konrad.”He closed his eyes and a great sense of peace made him feel weak.When he opened his eyes, she was gone as he knew she would be.The sun, had already shifted and the long beams of light were no longer visible.He sat on the floor with his hands now lying limply on the stone beside him.His breathing leveled off and his heartbeat returned to normal.So this was Vanni’s angel! It really was Lucia.Saint Lucy, they called her.She really was here.Or rather, there or somewhere! He glanced toward the stone angel on the pedestal above the Holy Water font.He could see her unmoving profile in the multicolored hues cast by the sunlight on the windows beyond her.What had she said about the pillar? The gradal.The Holy Grail.The Cup of the Communion was in the pillar.He turned his head from side to side.There were two pillars.One on either side of the sanctuary.They were both works of art in their own right.Carved with scenes from the Holy Bible.Faces and figures, scrolling vines and geometrical designs worked with remarkable skill.He wondered that he had never appreciated the beauty of these two columns that helped support the vaulted ceiling of the church.He had taken them for granted like so many other things in his life.He got up from the floor and dusted off his dark trousers before approaching the pillar on the left of the altar.Starting at the base, he worked his way around the carvings, following the deeply etched scenes of creation, the expulsion from the Garden, the death of Abel at the hands of Cain [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]