The Dark Temple

by The Dark Temple (retail) (epub)

  ‘You need water,’ one rescuer said, before heading off to find some while the other continued making a call, presumably to the fire department. With their attention distracted, Harker seized the opportunity to stand up and take off down a dark side road behind him. Still spluttering and wheezing he reached the far end and flagged down a passing taxi that, by good fortune, was just passing by.

  ‘Airport,’ he managed, with a cough. ‘Triple fare if you can get me there quickly.’

  Even though the driver looked surprised at his ruffled appearance and the stench of smoke, he nodded and simply took off. There obviously wasn’t a driver in the city who hadn’t seen something ten times worse than this and the offer of a triple fare meant that few questions would be asked.

  Ordinarily, if ever involved in such a situation, Harker would not have abandoned the scene. But, given there was nothing he could now do for Marceau, and a debrief by the police would only lead to wasting valuable time he didn’t have, he felt it was the right call. He pulled out his phone and tapped on the mirror app before gazing at himself in the screen. Apart from a few black smoke smudges on his cheek he looked remarkably presentable, all things considered, and as he dropped the iPhone in his lap he looked up to find a wet-wipe being offered to him by the driver.

  ‘You OK?’ the driver asked with a smile.

  Harker took the offering and nodded. ‘Had a spot of car trouble,’ he replied, wiping his face with the damp tissue.

  ‘I’ll say,’ was all the driver said, turning his attention back to the road as he speeded up, evidently keen to make his extra money.

  Did Legrundy make it or was her plunge from that third-floor bedroom window a death sentence? It was impossible to know but if she was still alive there were two things Harker could be sure of. One, the blessed candles held more significance than Harker could possibly have fathomed initially, and after seeing her murder Marceau with such ease, the psychotic killer would stop at nothing to acquire them. And, two, if their paths ever crossed again, he would be toast. For real this time.

  Chapter 23

  ‘Enough!’ yelled Marco Lombardi, slamming his fist down so hard on the light-wood dining table that a red apple dislodged itself from the central fruit bowl and rolled to the edge and onto the floor. ‘There is a traitor amongst us and no one leaves here until that person is found.’

  The four other people seated around the table appeared in stark contrast to the dilapidated kitchen itself, its walls disfigured by flaking white paint and sporting a stove and scuffed metal basin that, judging by the rust, had not been used in a very long time. For each of them wore brand-name clothing, from striped business suits to blue Armani jackets, and in the middle sat a woman with neatly braided black hair, her business suit and skirt hugging her body so snugly that it looked as if she had literally been poured into it. All those present were now looking shocked by his accusation and the sound of shoes nervously scraping the leaves strewn on the concrete floor could be heard clearly as Lombardi continued his rant.

  ‘Somebody here is trying to ruin our plans and Father is furious. He says someone has been in contact with the Red Death issuing conflicting orders.’

  Even though all present appeared indignant at the claim, it was the woman who was eyeing Lombardi with particular scorn.

  ‘No one at this table has – or ever would – consider thwarting Father’s wishes, Marco,’ she snapped back. ‘Our confidence in his plans is as unwavering as it has always been, and to think that anyone would dare put their own life at risk is pure idiocy. We agreed to this path a long time ago and besides, she’s gone dark and no one can get in contact with her until it’s all over. You know that.’

  ‘Well someone has and Father’s convinced of it,’ Lombardi snapped, now breathing heavily as the others continued to shift in their seats.

  ‘Well, if there is anyone who deserves greater scrutiny, then it’s you.’ the woman replied with a menacing smirk.

  Lombardi’s stare hardened and he glared back at her with contempt, his jaw muscles visibly tensing. ‘Now is not the time for games, Sofia,’ he snarled. ‘We are not children any more.’

  ‘Then stop acting like one,’ Sofia growled. ‘We all know that Father mistrusts you and if he does believe someone is trying to cause problems then perhaps he wanted to see your reaction by bringing it up with you. I’d be watching your own back before trying to place blame on any of us.’

  The room fell silent as the others now fixed their attention on Lombardi. He remained stiff and defiant, watching as Sofia confidently settled back in her seat and concluded her outspoken rebuttal: ‘You wouldn’t want to end up like poor Donitz, would you?’

  The mere mention of that name instilled a chill in the others, and she placed a palm on the worn and cracked plastic table and tapped it warningly. ‘They say he’s still alive and you can hear him whimpering inside that death casket of his. Emperor Scorpions are large and their stings are painful, yet weak. I wonder, Marco, how long you would last?’

  The thought had Lombardi visibly rattled and a gulp rose in his throat. ‘Do you honestly think I would open myself up to Father’s wrath after so many years of loyalty? After all, when the Red Death returns to us, when this is over, she’ll simply reveal who gave her the new commands.’

  Sofia waved her hand at him contemptuously and shook her head. ‘Stop calling her that ridiculous name, you’re making her sound like a comic-book character. She’s a trusted part of this family, and her name is Avi Legrundy.’

  ‘She’s more than that; that woman’s a believer, and her nickname is more than justified. She has caused more pain, death and misery than all of us here combined, and she has never failed whilst serving us.’

  ‘Well it appears she is being tricked into serving someone else’s will at the moment,’ one of the others interjected bluntly, and Lombardi now seized upon that statement.

  ‘Precisely. So if she’s not serving one of us, then who?’

  The question drew a slew of blank expressions. ‘Someone is trying to disrupt what will happen here in less than twenty-four hours, and that cannot be permitted. With his return to us tonight, the house of our Lord will be restored, and with it the beginning of a new chapter for the world we have all been working towards for decades. Our belief in what we are trying to achieve is undeniable, so I ask you all again: whose faith could have waned to such a degree that they would even attempt to turn one of our own against us?’

  The small group then began to eye one another with suspicion, and even Sofia started to look unsettled as Lombardi resumed his seat and watched them debate amongst themselves.

  ‘Let us suppose for a moment that you are right,’ Sofia said finally, again tapping her palm on the table top. ‘There are only a few of us who know the whole plan and even fewer bold enough to go against Father’s wishes. If it is not one of us here, then it has to be one of the others.’

  ‘Which should make it that much easier to expose them, shouldn’t it?’ Marco suggested smugly.

  After thinking about it for a moment, Sofia then stood up and made her way over to the door behind them. ‘I’ll start making enquires,’ she affirmed flatly, clearly unhappy to even consider such a betrayal. ‘And I suggest the rest of you all do the same.’

  Without even a word the other three men rose to their feet and followed her out the door, leaving Lombardi alone in the derelict kitchen. As the door closed shut behind them, he took a moment to survey the surrounding mess. So much history, he thought before allowing himself a moment to reflect on the trials, tribulations and tragedies that had been forced upon him – upon them all – and it angered him to the very core. A lifetime spent, toiling away and building up towards this moment, which was his by right, just to have Father tear it from his grasp and thrust him to one side like some plaything no longer needed or wanted. That was the true treachery here, and he had no intention of letting it reach its finale.

  Lombardi retrieved the mobile phone from his inside
pocket and began to tap away at it, before placing it to his ear. ‘Avi, what the hell is going on? Father knows someone’s been in contact with you.’

  Avi Legrundy flicked a badly seared dreadlock from her forehead with one hand before pressing an adhesive bandage to her blistered cheek while she held the mobile in her other.

  ‘Dat’s impossible. I’ve not spoken to anyone and you alone are the only one who has my number.’

  ‘That may be so Avi, but he knows you’re being given orders on his behalf.’

  There was a moment of silence as Legrundy mulled over the problem and she licked her scorched lips thoughtfully. ‘Then you better find someone to blame it on, hadn’t you?’

  ‘Very well.’ Lombardi replied, now sounding less agitated. ‘And how goes our plan?’

  ‘There were complications,’ she replied, barely wincing as she patted another bandage over the deep and painful looking burn mark running down the full length of her left arm. ‘But I know where he’s planning to go next.’

  ‘What complications?’ Lombardi’s voice cracked due to poor reception.

  ‘Nuthin I cannot handle.’

  ‘Good, because we’re quickly running out of time.’

  ‘I understand, Marco. I won’t be letting us down.’

  There was a short silence as Lombardi cleared his throat and then he continued in a low, deep voice, not wanting to be overheard by anyone nosing around nearby. ‘You do still believe in what we’re doing don’t you?’

  ‘I do, brother, on that you can be certain.’

  ‘Good, because by this time tomorrow you and I will stand at the precipice of a new dawn and Father will be consigned to where he belongs. The depths of hell itself.’

  The reception was now getting worse still as Lombardi gave his final wishes. ‘Just make sure Stefani Mitchell and Alex Harker are dead and that you retrieve what does not belong to them. And, Avi… make sure the professor suffers, would you please.’

  Legrundy gazed down at her swollen, scalded arm and gritted her teeth. ‘That you can count on.’

  Chapter 24

  ‘Rome? I thought you were in Paris,’ Carter replied, sounding surprised at his location.

  ‘I was but I then had to backtrack,’ Harker informed him, as he received his change from the taxi driver and exited the cab. ‘I’m paying a visit to the Vatican.’

  ‘Really.’ Carter’s response came off sounding a bit aloof, ‘I don’t mean to appear negative, Alex, but you’re not exactly tops with them at the moment, are you?’

  Carter’s cutting observation had Harker biting the inside of his cheek in anger, and he came to a halt as crowds of tourists flowed around him. ‘Why does everyone keep saying that?’ he demanded, genuinely irked by the assumption that somehow the Vatican had it in for him.

  ‘Well, I don’t know. Maybe because you got involved in the loss of a pope. And then let’s not forget the time St Peter’s Basilica was half destroyed.’

  ‘None of which was my fault,’ Harker barked, frankly tired of the bad reputation he kept attracting. ‘And if not for me it would have been a hell of a lot worse.’

  ‘I know that, Alex. You’ve done more for the Catholic Church than they can ever know, but you have to admit their perception of you is not particularly stellar, is it?’ Carter was trying to sound as sympathetic as he could. ‘Do you still have any friends there?’

  ‘Yes, I have a few,’ snapped Harker, then he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, realising that blowing up was not going to help at all. He also had a cracking headache. ‘Now I need you to focus, David. Is that too much to ask?’

  ‘Fine, Fine. No need for you to get stroppy. What can I do?’

  Harker ignored the criticism and continued walking again. ‘I need any information you can discover on an old Catholic prophecy known as “the three days of Darkness”.’

  ‘Now, that I know,’ Carter replied with excitement in his voice. ‘End of the world, plagues and legions of demons… It’s pretty dark stuff, Alex – if you’ll excuse the pun.’

  Harker did just that and ploughed on into explaining what he needed. ‘See if there’s a connection of any kind you can make… and also those glowing rocks I told you about, well, there’s two of them and I’ve seen them both. If I believe what I was told, then they’re the blessed candles referred to in the “three days” prophecy.’ He considered mentioning his vision but then abandoned the idea because he had no wish to set Carter off on elaborating about supernatural mysteries of this sort. His friend’s love of all things conspiratorial was familiar to all who knew him and he would undoubtedly find a way to tie it all in with the Kennedy assassination and aliens, given half the chance.

  ‘Well, smack my bottom and call me Frank,’ Carter exclaimed, plainly gobsmacked by what he was being told.

  ‘What! Who’s Frank?’

  ‘It’s just a saying, Alex.’

  ‘No, it’s not,’ Harker replied, not sure he knew exactly what Carter was talking about but now deciding it was best to just ignore it. ‘I need you to check a name for me – one Avi Legrundy. Can you see if the Templars have anything on file; ask around if necessary and see what you come up with.’

  ‘Avi Legrundy? Doesn’t sound familiar but—’

  ‘I know, David. Which is why I need you to do some digging. Is Doggie still with you?’

  ‘He’s around somewhere, planning his trip back to Cambridge. I’m meeting him for lunch. Do you want me to ask him to put his plans on hold?’

  With Carter now on the case, there was little reason for Doggie to hang around and, besides, there was something Harker needed him to do. ‘No, don’t. He’s got a lot on his plate back at the university but could you ask him to do me a favour. Could he call Chloe for me and say I’m fine and I’ll be back home in a couple of days.’

  ‘Why not call her yourself?’

  Nothing ever made it past Chloe. As well as being a top psychologist, she had an almost creepy sixth sense like a lie detector. If he spoke to her, she’d realise in an instant that something was going on. ‘She’d know something was up and I don’t want her to worry, is all. Just tell her the Templar business came to nothing and so I offered to do some university work here in Rome.’

  ‘OK,’ Carter replied doubtfully, ‘but you do know she won’t buy that.’

  ‘Just do it, please. No one can spin a tale like Doggie. Now I have to go, David, but get back to me if you find anything, will you?

  ‘Will do… and, Alex, do try not to destroy any more of the Vatican will you, please.’

  ‘David, go fuc…’ Harker yelled gruffly, but the line went dead before he could finish and, as he looked up at the humble building of the Palace of the Holy Faith, he heard someone calling out his name.

  He looked over to see Stefani striding towards him before she gave him a generous hug around the shoulders.

  ‘Are you OK? You look like you’ve been through the mill,’ she remarked, pulling back a bit to note the smoke stains on his jacket. ‘What happened to you? Apart from the whole vision thing of course.’

  There was a playful tone in her tone of voice but it evaporated rapidly as Harker began to explain what had taken place back in Paris. ‘I had another run-in with that psychopath we encountered back in Athens. Oh, and her real name is Avi Legrundy. She killed Dr Marceau and I only just escaped being burnt alive when she set his apartment on fire.

  ‘Oh, my God. That’s terrible,’ was all Stefani could say but the look of shock and loss said it all.

  ‘It was awful, Stefani, I haven’t even had the heart to tell the Order yet.’ Harker said, feeling a real sense of loss for the poor doctor but now putting on a brave face given everything else they were facing. ‘Did you speak with Sebastian?’

  She placed her hands on her hips and offered a deep sigh, still reeling from the news of Dr Marceau’s brutal demise. ‘We have his blessing to try to gain access to the archives, but he was adamant we do it on our own. He said the Templars
could not afford to be linked in any way to trying to access Church doctrines.’

  ‘Understandable,’ he replied, knowing it was a delicate matter, but still he reckoned Brulet would have reached out to one of his contacts within the Church for some help. It seemed the Grand Master was testing Harker’s metal to see if his new position as Jarl was truly warranted.

  ‘He wants you to call him, though, when we’ve tried our hand here.’ Stefani added, ‘So what now?’

  ‘Now we must make sure that Dr Marceau didn’t die in vain,’ Harker replied, making his way up a short incline to the grey, eighteen-foot, double doors of the Palace of the Holy Faith. The building was unique because, although considered an internal part of Vatican City, it was actually built upon land that belonged to the Italian government. Its curved archway, recessed doorways and windows on four floors, with the lowest clad in stone while the upper three were painted in yellow, gave a unique feeling to the building. The front façade was designed by many fine architects, most famously Michelangelo, setting this building apart from the others found in this hub of Catholicism.

  Harker raised his fist and banged hard upon the door, then waited. In the days of ISIS and international terrorism there was usually a military presence at the Palace, which stood on the southern edge of Vatican City, but clearly not today. While Harker waited he gazed off in the direction of St Peter’s Square and the many-pillared Colonnades surrounding it, and he felt sad to see the yellow tarpaulin barriers barring visitors a glimpse of the destruction that had occurred there a year and a half ago. Rebuilding of the area was now nearing completion and, although both the square and the basilica were being restored to their original specifications, it was reported on the news channels that additional structures were being erected to commemorate the great loss of life, including the Pope himself, that had taken place during the tragedy. It was a feeling of loss and guilt about the whole incident that overwhelmed Harker as finally the right-side door swung open.