Salvatore thought for a moment. “Possibly. I have seen lizards live when their tails are removed.”
“I read there is a type of animal called a Death’s Head Salamander. This animal can survive if you chop off its head. It will grow another body.”
“If you separate an animal’s head from its heart it will die.”
“But if its head and its heart still function, a beast can live?”
Salvatore shrugged. “I do not know, but I have seen many men survive who lose arms and legs.”
“Think about the Death’s Head Salamander for me. Tell me what that might mean for our Order.”
“You mean to have a head and a heart of our Order that can survive even if we lose many of our limbs?”
“You have been selected to be part of that head, part of that heart. The men you met in the islands of Scotland, the men you see here, these are not ordinary brothers. They, and you, are part of our Death’s Head. When they come against us, we will not allow ourselves to die. We may lose much of what we possess, but we will survive, but only if we have a refuge of our own.”
“A refuge?”
“Our own Templar state. Once you finish here, you will be a vital part of creating it.”
Salvatore thought of all the world he had seen, the venal selfishness of earthly leaders like the rulers of Tripoli, the money-mad merchants of England, the stupid, corrupt and bankrupt nobility who controlled much of Europe. There was no other place in the world he could imagine being than here with the Mason, fighting to preserve the one good thing he had seen.
“My life is yours to command,” he said.
Epilogue 1
Geneva airport was thronged with passengers towing trolley bags and carrying the universal air of boredom and slight concern that air travellers adopt. Tilly looked up at the flight board to check her departure time for Edinburgh airport.
“So, what’s your plan?” said Tilly. “I assume you have a plan?”
“I always have a plan,” said Sparke. “It’s what makes me such an interesting and spontaneous person, I suppose.”
“Care to share it with me?”
Sparke smiled as he thought. He was trying to teach himself how to be more open with people, and, if he could not do it with Tilly, then who could he talk to?
“I have more money than I’ll ever need, and I have something that might just be worth working on. If the connection between the Templars and the Swiss is what I think it might be, it would be a worthwhile way for me to spend my time.”
“Peter, you know that there is not enough here to go public with?”
“I know, but there is enough to start looking.”
“When you find something, you’d better pick up the phone to me before anyone else,” said Tilly.
“Oh, I will,” he said. “I want to find a way to keep working with you. Spending time with you is something that I enjoy, probably more than anything else in my life.”
Tilly reached out and hugged Sparke goodbye, then turned and walked through the departures gate, heading for her flight. As she turned, Sparke thought he noticed just a hint of a smile in her face.
Epilogue 2
Salvatore jumped down from the timber scaffold beneath the stone archway, brushing dust from his apron.
“Your stonework is improving,” said the Mason.
“It has a long way to go, but I am getting good at Fra Muratore.”
“I wish you luck with the other stones. You know what they all must look like?”
“I will copy your drawings, and try not to do too bad a job.”
The Mason mounted his horse and looked down at Salvatore. “Make sure they are recognizable. There may come a day when they will be the only message our brothers can understand.”
The End
This is the fourth book featuring Peter Sparke. The first three stories are now available as a Kindle boxed set on Amazon: “Templars and Kaisers”
Find out more about Scott Chapman and his books at http://scottchapmanbooks.blogspot.ch/
The Templar Thief: Peter Sparke book 4 Page 22