The Temple Covenant

by D C Macey

  ‘Thank you, Helen. And I must confess, you’re right - no fortune. As soon as I learnt you were travelling to Nairobi, we came to meet with you.’ He waved away a waiter who had hurried across to serve. ‘Now I need a quiet word with you. A private word. Perhaps your friend could excuse us for a few minutes?’

  Helen thought carefully for a moment. ‘Okay, I think we both deserve a few words after everything that’s happened. Please, John, would you mind taking another table for a little while?’

  John started to object.

  ‘It’ll be fine John. Church business.’

  Overruled and not entirely convinced, John retired to a nearby table from where he monitored the bishop and his entourage. He watched the bishop’s assistant sit too. One guard stood his ground immediately behind the assistant while the other two were waved away to sit in chairs at another nearby empty table.

  ‘So, your Grace, I haven’t forgotten you had us followed. How’s the poor man’s foot now? I hope he’s recovering.’

  ‘Oh yes, he’s fine.’

  ‘And Angel?’

  ‘Yes, another unfortunate casualty. He will be fine too. I must say, those news reports from Europe that I followed clearly were not exaggerated. It seems you really do lead quite the dangerous existence. You almost appear to attract trouble. And perhaps that is fitting with your history.’ Ignatius gave a theatrical laugh and briefly rested his hand on his assistant’s shoulder, shaking it. Dutifully, the assistant joined in.

  ‘Well, please pass my best wishes on to them, and I hope they recover quickly. Now, your Grace, I really want to be getting home. What can I do for you?’

  ‘The picture of the box I showed you in Arusha. How do you feel about it?’

  ‘Interested,’ said Helen. ‘I’ve got one quite similar.’

  Bishop Ignatius smiled broadly. ‘As I expected.’

  ‘You did?’

  ‘Of course. It was as we expected.’

  ‘Hold on there. As you expected?’ said Helen. ‘You’d better rewind a bit, I think we’re missing something.’

  ‘Rewind?’

  ‘Tell me what you expected.’

  ‘There are two boxes - individually just pretty trinkets, worth very little. Together, priceless. One is the key and one is the lock.’

  Bishop Ignatius reached a hand across the table and rested it on Helen’s for a moment, squeezed it and smiled at her. Then leant back again. ‘I am happy you are who we want. The instruction speaks only of the ring; you have the ring. Your story also bears out the news reports; it could not be fabricated. You are whom we have waited for. Though I must say, we had always thought to look for a man.’

  ‘Times change,’ said Helen.

  ‘They do,’ said Bishop Ignatius, ‘and times roll on too. It has been a long wait, and now it falls to me to honour the covenant made so long ago.’

  ‘A covenant?’

  ‘I told you in Arusha how your Templar helped the Copts, and in return, we kept his box safe until his return. The ring bearer was to collect the box. You are the ring bearer, you are the collector. Now it falls to me to close that bargain, to redeem our debt. The box is yours.’

  ‘Thank you, Ignatius, but please explain a bit more,’ said Helen.

  ‘Now you and I meet just as our predecessors did.’

  ‘And what of this box or package that my predecessor needed to keep away from Rome?’

  Ignatius beckoned towards his assistant. The man immediately rummaged within his robes, and his hand emerged holding the slim wooden case that Helen had seen in Arusha. She knew it contained an engraved gold plaque. He then produced a second larger box, and after a moment’s hesitation, he laid it on the table beside the first. The woods were identical, and shiny and smooth through repeated polishing.

  She lifted the second wooden box and turned it in her hand, pulled off the lid and looked inside. Then she tipped the box to allow its contents to slide gently out onto her hand.

  ‘This is really beautiful,’ she said, admiring the beautifully ornate box that slipped out.

  She took it in her hands and turned it, looking carefully at the patterning. So similar to her own box, they must be a pair. ‘I wonder what is so important about this that it had to leave Europe,’ she said, tracing the now familiar Moorish pattern inlaid into the surface. ‘Do you know how to open it?’

  Ignatius shook his head. ‘No, the priest that brought it from Edinburgh did not show how. He made our Pope and his bishop each swear an oath never to attempt to open it.’

  ‘What do you think, your Grace?’ she said.

  The bishop gave his trademark laugh while raising his hands and shaking his head. ‘I think nothing. We made a promise and have kept it. Just as your predecessor made a promise and kept it when it would have been easier to sail away and never return. He averted a tragedy for our people and provided the resources that enabled them to continue through some very dark days. It is my honour to see the bargain completed, we have honoured our pledge.’

  ‘But what is it for?’

  ‘All I can say are the words of our oath that each bishop in turn has sworn: To keep the key that turns the lock that turns the key to show the way. I have often thought about what it means, have never reached any conclusion. The words mean we take care of the key, but how is a box a key? How does a box turn a lock? I don’t know. That is for you to resolve.’

  ‘What now?’ said Helen.

  ‘Now we will leave you to continue your journey. You have our eternal thanks for your predecessor’s kindness; if you have just an ounce of his quality, I know you will be a fine person. I see you are.’

  ‘And the boxes?’

  ‘They are yours,’ said Bishop Ignatius. ‘You must take them to complete the covenant.’

  Ignatius and his assistant stood. Helen joined them. ‘Ignatius, I still don’t know what this is for, but thank you. I think it would have been far less trouble for you to have let us pass by without saying a thing.’

  ‘Doing the right thing is often the hardest thing. But it is right to do.’

  Helen lifted the slim wooden box and its plaque of gold so carefully engraved with the image of her ring. ‘Well Ignatius, thank you again, and please keep this to mark that you and your Church have honoured our covenant.’

  Ignatius bowed his head very slightly and took the box, passing it to his assistant. Then he took a step towards Helen as she moved towards him. They embraced. With a kiss to the bishop’s cheek, she pulled back.

  ‘We will meet again and under less stressed circumstances, I’m sure. And I hope then you will share with me the secret of my key, your box, once you solve it,’ he said.

  ‘You can count on that. In fact, when Sam and I finally have a chance to relax and solve the riddle of your box I’ll definitely visit and tell you everything. That’s a promise.’

  ‘And I will look forward to it. You will always be welcome.’ Ignatius waved his hand to gather his entourage together and then they were gone.

  John returned to her table and sat in the seat Bishop Ignatius had just vacated. ‘That all looked a little intense. Is everything alright?’

  ‘Oh, believe me, John. In my life, intense is normal. There’s always one more thing. But yes, everything is just fine, really. And thank you for standing up for me; I appreciated that and your concern too. Look, I think I’ll just go through to reception for a quick look. I saw some hotel souvenirs and I’d quite like to get something.’

  ‘By all means,’ said John, standing. ‘Please, feel free. Though, if you don’t mind, I’ll stay here at the table. I’ve seen enough souvenirs to last me a lifetime.’

  Helen stood too. ‘Sure, you stay put, I won’t be long. Truth to tell, I’m keen to get away now. Once Sam gets here, we’re going across to the gold stores in Kimathi Lane to buy presents for a couple of special friends back home and then it’s straight out to the airport.’

  John smiled, inclined his head very slightly and pushed a guiding arm out to
wards the reception. ‘And you have a private plane waiting at the airport - very impressive, I must say.’

  ‘Oh, it’s only borrowed.’

  ‘Yet, still impressive. Now, please do go, I’ll await your return.’

  ‘Great, I won’t be long.’

  With Ignatius’ box secure in her shoulder bag, Helen walked briskly out into the reception and spent five minutes browsing the display, only to conclude that none of the expensive trinkets on offer could do justice to their experience.

  A little wistfully, she turned and headed back to join John at the table. As she passed the Thorn Tree message board, an impulse stopped her - she wanted to check her message for Sam was still there. She couldn’t see it. Scanning the board again in case it had been moved, she still couldn’t see it. With a growing sense of disappointment, her search finished back where she had started, the message had definitely gone. Then she stopped, almost gasped in surprise. Just beside where she had left her message for Sam was another neatly folded paper note, with her name on it.

  In disbelief, she stretched out her hand and let a finger trace across the handwriting, it was Sam’s. When did he put this up? Was it him who had taken her message? It must have been. She quickly unpinned the note and read the message. Helen smiled to herself, thoughtfully, then tapped the note against the board before tucking it into her trouser pocket. She smiled again and turned at the sound of Sam’s voice calling to her from the hotel reception.

  AUTHOR'S NOTE

  Thank you for reading The Temple Covenant. I do hope you enjoyed the story. If so, I would be most grateful if you would take a moment to give The Temple Covenant a rating and a sentence or two of review. Reader ratings are so important in supporting and enabling authors in today's digital reading world. Thank you. D.C.

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  ABOUT D. C. MACEY

  D. C. Macey is an author and lecturer based in the United Kingdom.

  A first career in the Merchant Navy saw Macey’s early working life devoted to travelling the globe. In the process, it gave an introduction to the mad mix of beauty, kindness, cruelty and inequality that is the human experience everywhere. Between every frantic costal encounter was a trip across the ocean, which brought the contrast of tranquil moments and offered time for reading, writing and reflection. Those roving days came to a close, however, with Macey serving as a ship’s officer in the North Sea oil industry.

  Several years working in business made it apparent that Macey’s greatest commercial skill was the ability to convert tenners into fivers, effortlessly and unerringly - a skill that ensured Macey had the unwelcome experience of encountering those darker aspects of life that lie beneath the veneer of our developed world and brought fleeting glimpses into the shadows where bad things lurk.

  Eventually, life’s turbulence, domestic tragedy and impending poverty demanded a change of course. As a result, the past decade and more has been spent in lecturing and producing predominantly corporate media resources, so allowing Macey the opportunity to return to the written word.

  Throughout it all Macey is certain that a happy home and laughter have proven time and again to be the best protection against life’s trials.

  • • •

  For more information: contact@dcmacey.com and visit: www.dcmacey.com

  BOOKS IN THE SERIES

  The Temple Legacy (The Temple - Book 1) Published August 2015

  The Temple Scroll (The Temple - Book 2) Published August 2016

  The Temple Covenant (The Temple - Book 3) Published April 2018

  The Temple Deliverance (The Temple - Book 4) Publication late 2018

  Temple Legacy

  (The Temple - Book 1)

  Seven hundred years ago, in a time of war and betrayal, Europe's greatest treasure disappeared amidst a frenzied and brutal grab for power. The men who guarded it vanished into history.

  In Edinburgh today, former élite British Military Intelligence officer Sam Cameron has turned to the quieter world of archaeology. Together with young church minister Helen Johnson, he leads his students on a field trip. What they unearth raises exciting questions. What are the mystery objects? What is their connection to the Knights Templar?

  But others are asking the same questions and the thrill of discovery is quickly clouded by the brutal killing of a retired church minister and a spreading rage of violence and death.

  Now Helen and Sam must race to unravel an ancient mystery, find how it links to the murdered minister, and fend off a very modern threat. Failure will cost their lives and the lives of many more. Success will answer the greatest unresolved mystery of the medieval world.

  The Temple Scroll

  (The Temple - Book 2)

  A lost treasure, an impenetrable puzzle and a psychopathic killer: a deadly combination.

  The Temple Scroll is a rollercoaster ride of danger, mystery and murder. From New England to the islands of the Mediterranean, it follows the deadly hunt for the Templars’ lost treasure.

  Archaeology lecturer Sam Cameron and church minister Helen Johnson thought their old problems were done. They were wrong. Killers are set on finding the Templars’ treasure and they believe Sam and Helen hold the key.

  As the psychopathic Cassiter directs his team of killers towards their goal, the calm of summer vanishes in an explosive bout of blood and suffering.

  Under pressure from every side, Sam and Helen must draw on all their instincts and professional skills to stay alive as they attempt to crack the puzzle that protects the Templars’ treasure.

  As the search for the Templar hoard moves inexorably to a conclusion, Sam and Helen must risk all in a frantic bid to save their friends, the treasure, and the priceless holy relics of the early Church. Now there is no mercy and no escape - there is only win or die.

  The Temple Covenant

  (The Temple - Book 3)

  -

  The Temple Deliverance

  (The Temple - Book 4)

  Jolted out of their holiday season calm, Helen Johnson and Sam Cameron find they must play one last hand in a deadly game.

  The final hunt is on to unpick an ancient code that hides the incredible nature of the Templars’ greatest secret. From the depths of northern winter to the sun-kissed beaches of North Africa, Helen and Sam must hurry to piece together the final clues in a race against time to save themselves, their loyal friends and Christianity’s greatest heritage.

  Beset by new enemies, they must also contend with the return of old foes who are hell bent on vengeance and determined to snatch the ultimate prize they have coveted for so long. As violence and death sweep across the continents, innocence is no protection; knowledge and grit are the only currencies of survival. Calling on trusted allies, Helen and Sam struggle against the odds, knowing that this time only one side can walk away.

  The Temple Deliverance is next for publication.

  For the latest news on the publication date of The Temple Deliverance please check at: www.dcmacey.com