Cursed Presence (Trilogy of the Chosen Book 2)
Page 36
The rest of the Mass went beautifully. When it came time for communion, Father Jessup asked the Pope for a wide birth of freedom. The Pope, not quite understanding what was asked of him, nodded his agreement.
“I realize that there are a great number of believers in attendance today who may not be Catholic. With the approval of the pontiff, I would like to invite all of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior to partake in Holy Communion.” Once again, he looked down at the Pope and saw him nod his approval.
The evening they were to leave, the Pope called everyone into his private office.
“First,” he said in perfect English, “let me thank Stephen for today. It is certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you were given a very special gift, my son.”
“Thank you, your Eminence.”
“No, thank you. I have called you all here to announce that, when the time comes, Father Jessup will succeed Cardinal Bullini as the Cardinal of Letters.”
As everyone applauded, Father Jessup said, “But I’m not even a bishop.”
“That brings me to our second topic. Your flight has been delayed until later tomorrow evening so that we will have time for your ceremony, Bishop Jessup.” Before anyone could speak, the Pontiff continued. “I’m afraid it’s not all good news, however.
There is another reason why I’ve asked you into my chambers.” He turned to Colonel Venturi. “I don’t know if you were made aware, during your—how should I say, your ‘revelation’ about the Trilogy of the Arks?”
“It was brought to my attention by our new bishop,” the Colonel answered. “Stephen told me there are three arks, the Ark of the Covenant, the Ark of the Endowment and the Ark of Enlightenment. That, your Eminence, is all that I know.”
“Then let me fill you in on the rest. Each ark holds a very special purpose. You might say that they contain divine powers. The first two are now in your possession, and, I’m sure, they are in a safe place.”
“The safest, your Eminence.”
The Pontiff nodded. “The third is, as you can imagine, the most powerful of all. If found and opened by itself, it will cause instantaneous death to those who dare open it. If combined with the other two however, and opened in consecutive order, it will give almost godly power to whoever possesses them.
“Because the Ark of the Covenant has been presumably lost or destroyed, this has never been a problem…until now. I have learned, on the best of authority, that someone is close to recovering it, and that they intend to combine all three. Colonel, I need you to find it before they do.”
“I’m sorry, your Eminence, but how am I supposed to do that?”
“The legend of the Ark Trilogy states that the successor to the line of Noah is the only one who can accomplish putting the three back together, without the wrath of power being released. It goes on to say that he is to take the two who came before him on his quest. Finally, it tells of a man, in Jerusalem, whom you are to contact, a messenger who knows the first clue to the Ark of the Covenant’s whereabouts.”
Brent thought about what the Pope had just told him. “There were three who came before me.”
“I have given this much thought. I think I know which two the legend speaks of. But please, Colonel, tell me what you are thinking.”
“Well,” Brent said, pointing to the newly-appointed bishop, “obviously, Stephen came before me as the one who proclaimed the coming of the Enlightenment.” Then, pointing to Joseph, he said, “Then there’s Joseph, the Ambassador who preceded me. And finally,” Brent continued, “there is Seven, the man who came before me, to teach and mold me into the man I am today. Without Seven, there would be no Brent, at least, not the one standing before you now.”
“In my thinking,” the pontiff said, “I had figured on the bishop and Mr. Conklin. But I never gave thought to Mr. Oliver. The scroll on which the Ark Trilogy is written definitely states, ‘the two who came before.’ I am not sure what to tell you.”
“If I am able to wait on the Lord,” Brent said, “He will give me a clear answer in prayer.”
With that, the Pope knew why Brent had been chosen to pursue the quest.
Brent asked, “When would you like us to begin the quest?”
“As soon as possible. The wheels are already in motion.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning,” the Pope said, “that once the Enlightened One has been revealed, those who have been raised to pursue after the Ark of the Covenant have already begun their quest. If they find it, and it’s very likely that they will, they will then go after the other two.”
“How would they know where to find the others?” Brent asked.
“The scroll does not say. You know as well as I do that evil finds a way.”
Everyone in the room exchanged looks as the words reverberated into their very souls.
Evil finds a way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. M. LeDuc is a writer of inspirational fiction; in the thriller genre. He is a native Bostonian, who transplanted to south Florida in 1985. What started out as a reprieve from the cold weather became a permanent move due to meeting and falling in love with his wife of twenty-three years, a native Floridian; Sherri. They are the proud parents of a twenty year-old daughter; Chelsea.
When asked, why he writes, J. M. responds, “The answer is actually quite simple: It’s just part of who I am. I was blessed to have had a mother (under whose maiden name I write) who loved the written word, and passed that passion on to me. When I was eight years old I was diagnosed with a rare congenital joint disease which prohibited me from playing sports, so all my adventure was pursued through writing and reading. By the time I reached high-school the doctors gave me permission to actively participate in sports and I threw myself into the fray headfirst.
“I started out with snow skiing and quickly added the adrenaline rush of skydiving, scuba diving, and triathlon racing. My adrenaline pumping adventures culminated by competing as a bull and bareback rider on the rodeo circuit out in Colorado and Wyoming. I later got into survival/adventure racing, in which the races would last from 4-5 hours to 4-5 days.
“My competitive days quickly came to an end with bilateral hip replacements in both 2000 and 2003. From that moment on I once again turned my adventurous spirit inward and quenched my thirst for adventure through my writing. You’ll find that many of the activities that I have been personally involved in become part of the protagonist’s personality.”
J. M. is an active member of the Mystery Writers of America, Florida Writers Association, and the Christian Writers Guild.
You can contact J.M. LeDuc at jm_leduc@yahoo.com.