The Serpent's Disciple

by Deborah Stevens

  Looking over at him she watched his eyes fall on the cross her father had given her. Glancing down she became aware of a soft glowing light coming from the stone.

  Then it hit her. If she was right, she had been looking at the secret to unlocking the box all this time without even knowing it. Tilting the box to get a better look, she removed her necklace, slipping the cross off the chain, and compared it to the one on top of the box.

  Nelli’s was smaller but upon closer investigation, she saw that the design of the cross on the box was made up of not one but two crosses, one inside the other. A smaller one lay just below the surface, making it look like part of the design. Father Cossa looked on in amazement as he came to the same realization as Nelli.

  “Could I have had the key all along?” said Nelli.

  “I believe your prayer to Saint Anthony has been answered, my child.”

  Nelli tried placing her cross into the one on the box.

  “Look, Father, it’s the right size but it’s sticking up above the two crosses.”

  She removed it and both she and Father Cossa examined the cross on the lid more carefully.

  “Nelli, look at where the cross intersects. It has a recessed area for something round to fit into it. Turn yours over and try placing it back inside the one on the box.”

  The cross fit better than before, but it still wasn’t flush with the edges. The wooden box was old; maybe it just needed a little coaxing. Nelli tried wiggling it with her finger.

  “This has to be the key. What are we doing wrong?”

  She wasn’t expecting an answer, but just thinking out loud. Applying more pressure this time, it moved, surprising her. She immediately pulled her hand back, afraid she might have broken the lock.

  But she and Father Cossa watched as the cross fell into place and now appeared to be part of the design of the box. The next thing they heard was a click. The lid separated from the bottom. She’d had the key all along.

  “Our Holy Father knows of your devotion to Him,” said Father Cossa. “You have proved it by truly believing in your heart that he would show you the way. Look inside the box, Antonella, and fulfill your destiny. It is time to complete the prophecy.”

  Mary Ellen and Father Cossa watched Nelli slowly lift the lid. On the inside of it was an inscription:

  S S ITA:SECRETUS:ISTIC:INSIDEO S S

  “This writing is different from the scroll,” said Nelli. “Can you read it, Father?”

  “Yes. It’s written in medieval Latin, a form of Latin used in the Middle Ages primarily as the liturgical language of the Roman Catholic Church. I will translate: And so the secret here in dwells.”

  “That’s what my father said to me before he died!” said Nelli.

  CHAPTER 92

  Anthony reached the courtyard and hid behind one of the columns. He spotted the abbot on the far side of the garden. When one of the younger monks saw the abbot, he started running towards him. The men exchanged words, and the younger one pointed to the monastery’s entrance.

  Keeping his eyes on the two monks, Anthony whispered, “Andrew, tell me what’s happening out there?”

  “I already told you about the two black SUVs. Three men got out of the first car. One of them has a gun pointed at the head of a monk. The other one is pounding on the door.”

  “What about the second car?”

  “Six men dressed in full military gear and heavily armed,” replied Andrew.

  “Where are your original targets?”

  “Now, that’s what’s strange,” said Andrew. “They’re watching all this from a distance. What do you want us to do? And where’s Nelli? Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “Give me a few minutes to figure things out here. Nelli’s safe for the moment, and yes, I believe we have.”

  Anthony did a quick scan of the courtyard, and then took off running, surprising the two monks by his sudden appearance. Directing his question to the young monk, he said, “Tell me everything you just told the abbot word for word.”

  The postulant hesitated, looking at Abbot Giuseppe for permission to speak, which was quickly granted. The man was clearly terrified but in a low voice said, “The two men at the door said they would kill Brother De Luca if we don’t let them in.”

  “Did they say anything else?”

  “That their men are surrounding the monastery and more monks will die if we don’t open the door.”

  “Andrew, did you hear that?” said Anthony.

  “Yes To’mas, every word. The one pointing the gun at the monk just gave the other men orders and all six of them took off running. They’re carrying some serious firepower. A couple of them are armed with the CZW 43 PDWs. Those things will penetrate anything. Two of the others are carrying the CZW 556 assault rifle. And the last two have SAG-30 automatic grenade launchers. Who are these guys?”

  “Cephas, are you on this frequency?”

  “Yes, To’mas, I heard everything. I’ll take care of things out here. You take care of things in there.”

  Anthony asked the abbot, “Why was this Brother De Luca outside the walls of the monastery?” He was not happy these people had been able to take a hostage.

  The abbot calmly replied, “I mentioned that once a week we go into town to purchase supplies. Whoever these people are must have seen him on his way back to the monastery.”

  Outside Thomas was losing his patience, yelling, “I suggest you open this door now or in a few minutes, or I’ll put a bullet in this monk’s head!”

  Anthony turned to the young postulant and whispered, “If there’s somewhere inside the monastery you can hide, round up everyone and do it, now. GO!”

  The young man looked wide-eyed at the abbot. Giuseppe nodded his head and the monk took off.

  “Try to stall them as long as you possibly can, then let them in.” Anthony told the abbot.

  “But what if they want me to take them to the Chosen One?” said Giuseppe.

  “Just do whatever they ask,” said Anthony. “I don’t want anyone else to die.” Anthony ran back to where Nelli and the others were waiting for him.

  The abbot took a long deep breath, and then seemed to metamorphose into a decrepit old man barely able to walk. Shuffling towards the entrance, he addressed the man on the other side of the door.

  “I am an old man and the abbot of this monastery. The Lord has been kind to me but I can no longer move as fast as I would like. I beg you not to harm my brother. I will open the door as quickly as I am physically able.”

  “I won’t wait forever, abbot. If you want to see this monk alive you better move quickly,” threatened Thomas.

  A few minutes went by before Thomas heard the sound of something scraping against the back of the massive doors. He knew D’Amoto’s men were in position and ready to move in as soon as they got the order, plus there was no sign of Christine up to this point. Finally, things were going his way.

  CHAPTER 93

  Nelli was visibly moved by Father Cossa’s translation of the inscription. She looked to him for reassurance, both of them afraid to look inside. If the book were there, it meant that the Antichrist was among them.

  In a soft voice, Mary Ellen said, “Do you see it?”

  Father Cossa watched as Nelli turned to look inside the box. He kept his eyes on Nelli, wanting to get permission from the Chosen One before he gazed upon the Holy Scriptures.

  Time seemed to stop; finally, Nelli looked at Father Cossa and Mary Ellen. Looking in the box they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Father Cossa bowed his head and began to pray. Mary Ellen didn’t know what to do. Her first thoughts were of what Nelli must be thinking at this moment. The three of them waited for the first one to say something. Finally Mary Ellen couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

  “I’m so sorry, Nelli, I guess it doesn’t really exist after all.” Her voice expressing the disappointment she imagined they were all feeling.

  Nelli kept staring into the empty box. Its inside
walls were covered with squares, each one made from a different type of wood. Inside each square was an ornately carved letter. The bottom of the box was lined with red satin. If the box once did hold a book, it was now gone.

  “It’s got to be here somewhere,” said Nelli. “We weren’t brought all this way for nothing. I won’t give up that easily. Father Cossa, do these letters mean anything to you?”

  “No. It appears to be just a random selection of letters. There’s an odd number of them, thirteen. It’s anyone’s guess what each one might stand for. It could take years to interpret the meaning.”

  Nelli pointed to one letter in particular. “Look, this one stands out more than the others; it’s larger and more ornate.”

  Father Cossa couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it already.

  “It’s actually two letters, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and omega. The symbols were first used in early Christianity signifying that God is ‘the beginning and the end.’ It comes from the phrase ‘I am the alpha and the omega,’ an appellation of Jesus found in the Book of Revelation. It was often used as the monogram of Christ.”

  Mary Ellen suddenly had a thought. “So that leaves twelve letters. Father Cossa could the other letters each stand for one of the twelve apostles?”

  “You might just have something there,” he said. “We have to remember the names of the apostles were of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic origin. The names you will most often find for them will be Cephas for Peter, there,” he pointed to the letter C. “Shim’on for Simon,” again pointing to a square with the letter S in it. “Mary Ellen you could be right.

  “There would be four Y’s: Y’hochanan for John, Yehuda for Judas Iscariot, and Ya’aqov for James twice. Remember there were two apostles named James.”

  They found four squares each containing the letter Y. Each one had its own unique design; so no two looked alike. He continued to work his way around the walls of the box.

  “There’s the M for Mattithyahu, or Matthew; B for Bar-Tolmay, or Bartholomew; J for Judah, or Jude. Quickly he spotted the remaining letters; T for Tau’ma, or Thomas; A for Andrew; and lastly P for Phillip. They’re all here.”

  It dawned on Nelli that these were the same names used for each of the twelve Guardians. This wasn’t just a coincidence.

  “It’s here and we’re not seeing it. Don’t you see? Jesus and his twelve apostles are keeping watch over the words spoken to Saint Anthony by the angels.”

  Nelli lifted the box and studied it again from all sides.

  “Wait a minute, something’s odd. Look, Father, the height of the box on the outside is around five inches, but when you look inside, it’s maybe three inches deep at the most.”

  Mary Ellen kept constant watch on the door; all she knew was that the box was empty, and Anthony had been gone a long time. She didn’t like the feeling she was getting. It was the same one she had with Cardinal McKenna when they came to the realization that something evil was about to happen.

  CHAPTER 94

  “Where’s Anthony?” said Mary Ellen. “He should have been back by now. Can’t we just take the box and go find him?”

  Before anyone could respond she heard footsteps. So did Father Cossa since they both turned their heads expecting to see Anthony. Instead it was Abbot Giuseppe followed by two men holding small caliber rifles. Nelli was still focused on the box, not paying attention to the men entering the church.

  Mary Ellen knew she had no chance against the two gunmen. She was wearing a loose fitting blouse and slid Anthony’s gun inside the waistband of her pants.

  “Finally, we meet,” said Thomas, with contempt in his voice.

  Mary Ellen and Father Cossa turned to shield Nelli with their backs. “Thank you for pointing out who it is I came to kill, but not before she gives me the key. A monk we picked up in town was a wonderful source of information,” he smirked, “and told us all about the gift entrusted to the monastery. He told us the Chosen One was the only one who could unlock it.”

  Anthony was observing everything from the balcony. He watched as Nelli slowly turned around holding the box in her hands.

  “Is this what you came for?” she asked.

  Thomas’s eyes grew wide. “I came for you and your brother. I hadn’t planned on the added bonus of you solving the mystery of the prophecy of Saint Anthony. The Grand Master will be pleased when I show him what I found. I am sure you are unaware of the problems you have caused me, but after today that will no longer be an issue. I see the box is still unopened.”

  Mary Ellen and Father Cossa were praying that Anthony had gotten help and was out there somewhere. They were also confused by the man’s last statement. They knew Nelli had figured out how to open the box.

  “Where’s my brother?” Nelli demanded.

  “Let’s just say he will no longer be a problem to anyone. But what to do with you?”

  Thomas figured lying would be to his advantage at the moment. Her brother had to be close by and his men would find him and then it wouldn’t be a lie.

  Nelli closed her eyes, devastated by what she had just been told. Could it be true, was Anthony dead?

  “I see that got a reaction,” said D’Amoto.

  Enjoying the pain his words had inflicted, he added, “My men are very good at what they do,” a smile spreading across his face.

  Mary Ellen’s eyes filled with tears.

  Father Cossa lowered his head, his lips moving but no sound came out of them.

  Anthony wanted to jump out and show them he was alive but that might risk getting them all killed.

  “If you would please come with me, we are running out of time,” said Thomas. He motioned for Nelli to start walking towards him.

  Before doing so, Nelli set the box down, turned to Father Cossa and gave him a hug. Looking at him, she said, “My journey’s come to an end Father, yours has just begun. Please pray for me.”

  Then turning to Mary Ellen, grabbing her hands as her eyes filled with tears, she said, “Anthony never stopped loving you Mary Ellen, always remember that. Stay close to Father. He will need your help.” Picking up the box she began walking towards the men.

  Abbot Giuseppe was not a violent man, but he couldn’t let this happen. He wouldn’t allow Satan’s forces to win. Without warning, he reached for the general’s rifle. As they struggled, shots rang out.

  Mary Ellen pulled out the gun Anthony had given her. “Remember, shoot to kill,” she kept repeating to herself.

  Thomas grabbed Nelli, pulling her in front of him like a shield and began walking backwards. Anthony watched in horror. Lining up his target, he held his breath, his finger on the trigger, ready to release it as soon as he had a clean shot. He had to be accurate, or he might hit Nelli.

  Thomas was amazed at the strength of the old monk. He began rooting for him. If D’Amoto were killed, it wouldn’t bother him. He had what he came for and if the general was dead, there would only be his version of what happened. It would be even better if they both died. It would make his life a lot easier.

  Anthony was running out of time. The man who had Nelli was almost to the door. At the same time, he was watching the struggle between the second man and Abbot Giuseppe. He made a snap decision. Moving the gun a fraction of an inch to the right, he waited for his chance. There, it was now or never.

  Barely breathing, with a slow steady movement, he pulled the trigger back. The man dropped to the floor and didn’t move, a clean shot through the head. Anthony already had a line on his original target, but all he could do was watch as Nelli and her captor disappeared out the door.

  “Anthony, talk to me. What the hell’s going on?”

  Cephas’s voice could be heard through Anthony’s earpiece.

  “I killed one of them but the other one’s got Nelli. They should be coming out the front any minute.”

  “What do you … wait I see them. The men from the second SUV have returned and are surrounding the man and Nelli. We can’t
risk shooting; Nelli could be hit.”

  The next thing Anthony heard was gunshots coming from outside. “Cephas, anyone, what’s going on! Who’s shooting?” he yelled.

  “The shots came from the blonde and the three men with her. They just killed all six men that were surrounding Nelli and the man holding her hostage. The monk took off running into the woods. Damn good shooting, if I say so myself.”

  “Was Nelli hit?”

  “No, she’s alive. The blonde is walking towards them.”

  Anthony’s head was exploding. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the events below but he was totally preoccupied with what he heard taking place outside. His brain finally registered what his eyes already knew.

  “No!” he screamed.

  CHAPTER 95

  Four bodies lay on the floor. The man that took Nelli must have seen Mary Ellen pull out the gun and start shooting.

  Anthony flew down the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Reaching Mary Ellen, he found that she had been shot in the chest. He leaned in close. She was still alive, but was losing a lot of blood.

  “Mary Ellen, stay with me. I’m going to get help.”

  When she heard Anthony’s voice at first she thought she was dreaming but then opened her eyes and saw it really was him. “We thought you were dead!” Mary Ellen exclaimed. Anthony could barely hear her.

  “I’m very much alive, Mary Ellen.”

  The gun was still in her right hand. With her left, she grabbed Anthony’s arm. “You have to save Nelli. You can’t let them take the box.”

  Just then Abbot Giuseppe staggered over. He had a large gash on his head and blood was running down his face.

  “Go, my son. I’ll take care of things here.”

  “But you …. ”

  “I’ll be fine. A little beat-up, but our blessed Lord must have more work for me to do before he takes me home. Go.”

  Anthony was torn; he didn’t want to leave Mary Ellen but the killers had his sister and the box. He looked at the monk. “I’ll send help.”

  Now looking at Mary Ellen, “I’ll do what you ask, but only if you promise me you’ll be here when I get back.”