by David Wood
“It feels different down here,” Rose said quietly, as if too loud a voice might disturb more than the dust. “Older... more real, maybe.” She pointed to the wooden stand. “You think it was there?”
“I think it might have been. But it’s not now. I guess someone else figured out all this stuff before us. Again!” Crowley moved closer to inspect the stone pedestal on which the book rest sat. Where carvings on the sides had been chipped away, he saw a depiction of horns and a faint TAVRB.
He turned to Rose, his eyebrows high. “This was a taurobolium.”
“Now that I do know from the museum,” Rose said. “Something to do with Roman bull sacrifice, right?”
“Right.”
“So what does that tell us?”
Crowley sighed. “Nothing really.”
“So if the book was here, what happened to it?” Rose asked, but the question wasn’t directed to him. More to the world at large.
“It would suck if we’ve got this far to hit a dead end,” Crowley said. “Then again, I’ve thought we’d met a dead end before now and we found another way forward.” He made a slow circuit of the small room and found nothing but broken statuary. Desolate, he returned to Rose, still beside the taurobolium.
His attention became suddenly focused and he leaned forward.
Rose moved closer. “What is it?”
Crowley brushed dust off the top of the stone to reveal two words in Latin, not faint and worn like the rest of the pedestal, but sharp and recent. The carving deep, stamped across the surface like a curse, or perhaps a cleansing. SEDES SACRORUM.
Crowley read it aloud, dark certainty filling his mind. He turned to Rose. “I know who took the book.”
Chapter 28
Cefalu, Sicily
The walk back down the hill into Cefalu was pleasant under blue skies with a soft, warm breeze. The scent of the ocean was strong, fresh and briny, a perfect antidote to the rot and fungal spoors of the Abbey of Thelema.
Rose drew in long deep breaths, striding purposefully away. “I’m glad to put that place at my back. Creepy as hell.”
Crowley nodded. “You’re not wrong. It’s all kind of weird overlain with something unpleasant, don’t you think? I mean, something besides the age and neglect.”
“Yeah, it gives me the creeps just thinking about it. Let’s forget we were ever there now we’ve got something to go on.”
“Good plan.”
She glanced back at him, slowed her pace to let him catch up and fall into stride next to her. “So what have we got to go on?” she asked. “What was that inscription again?”
“Sedes Sacrorum. You’d know it as the Holy See.”
She stopped, stared hard at him. “The Vatican? Come on, Crowley, that’s going a bit far, isn’t it? The Vatican took the book?”
Crowley gestured forward, enjoying her shock. There was melodrama to everything occurring that he couldn’t help revel in just a little bit. It served to remind him just how boring his life had become as a history teacher. Despite the fact that their lives were in danger, Rose’s especially, he hadn’t experienced thrills like these since active service and he realized how much he missed them. “The Vatican has a secret army, if you believe the rumors and conspiracy theories.”
Rose barked a laugh, falling into step with him again. “Well, I’m not sure I do.”
Crowley couldn’t blame her for that. “Hear me out. There are lots of rumors about secret societies, legends about occult connections, all kinds of stories, and it’s not something you can simply write off wholesale.”
“You really believe in that sort of thing?” Rose asked, but her incredulity had waned.
Crowley raised his hands, a gesture of uncertainty. “Honestly, I think most of it is complete bollocks, but there is one thing of which I am absolutely certain.” He trailed off, memories coming at him like enemy fire, stirring emotions deep in his gut that he would rather stayed quiet.
Rose must have seen his face blanch. She put one hand on his shoulder as they walked. “You okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. I have a little army baggage, that’s all. Anyone who served is haunted at least a little bit.”
“And it’s relevant to all this stuff?” Her voice was soft, kind.
“Very relevant. One thing I know for certain... at least, as certain as I can be, is that there’s a powerful group called the Knights of the Sedes Sacrorum.”
“The SS?” Rose interrupted.
Crowley shook his head. “That was the name the SS went by, but this is a different group. These guys are the Knights of the Holy See. I crossed paths with them once in Iraq. We were fighting the Republican Guard, Saddam Hussein’s elite branch. The firefight was going down around some museum, I forget which. Things were complicated over there and I don’t remember one event separate from another most of the time. But while I don’t remember exactly where this happened, I’ll never forget what happened.
“We were pinned down across a square from the museum, trying to take out the Republican Guard because we thought they had prisoners in a tower block on the other side. The block was already mostly rubble, but still had loads of places to imprison people. Then these guys swept in from the other side and wiped the Iraqis out like they were kids playing at war. Whoever these guys were, they went through the Republican Guard like smoke and straight into the museum. We took a moment to mobilize, shocked, you know? Not sure what to do. But these guys were in and out before we knew what was going on.”
“They stormed the museum?”
“Yep. But there was no resistance inside there and they were out again in no time, laden down with stuff they’d... looted, I guess. When we got inside, the place had been stripped bare. No artifacts, nothing. Everyone with me figured the Iraqis had cleared out the valuables, well ahead of the invasion, but I saw those guys leaving with boxes and sacks they didn’t enter with. And I’ve always wondered.”
Rose frowned. “What makes you think these guys were associated with the Vatican though?”
“One of them was wounded when they swept through the Republican Guard. He was the only one I saw who took a bullet. I was at the back of my squad heading in after they’d gone into the museum and I stopped, dragged him behind cover. They’d taken out our enemy, after all. Were they on our side? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t leave him there writhing in pain. While my guys went in, I tore open his shirt to try and staunch the bleeding, and I saw a small tattoo over his heart. KOSS, with a strange kind of logo, or sigil, you know? Years later I looked it up, and found it was the same as this group, the Knights of the Sedes Sacrorum.”
“Interesting, but not definite,” Rose said.
“No, but I believe it. Almost as soon as I applied the bandage, two of his men came barreling in and hauled him off. That’s when I saw the others carrying all that loot. One of the two told me to forget I’d ever seen them.”
“Heavy,” Rose said. “So assuming this group is real, who are they? Vatican relic hunters?”
Crowley laughed. “Yeah, maybe. All I could find in my research were conspiracy sites alleging they’re the personal army of the Vatican, answering only to the Pope. They’re culled from the best of the Swiss Guard and other devoted followers.”
They reached their hire car, parked on a grassy verge on the edge of Cefalu, and slumped into the seats. Crowley started the engine, looked at Rose before he pulled away. “Regardless, that inscription up in the Abbey of Thelema indicates the book was taken by these Knights. So that means the Vatican Secret Archives. And that means we have to go to the Secret Archives next, but the problem now is how the hell do we get in? That’s where the trail leads, but it’s not like we can just walk in. I don’t know much about it, but I do know you have to apply well in advance and hope to receive permission to conduct research there.” He raised his eyebrow at Rose, wondering how far her museum contacts might stretch, how many favors she might have left to call in.
Rose smiled at him and nodded to the road
ahead. “Let’s get going. I think I might know a way.”
Chapter 29
The Vatican
Crowley and Rose walked the busy streets of Rome heading for the Vatican. Sunshine filtered brightly through a soft cloud cover, the day warm without much breeze to move the air. Crowley found himself increasingly comfortable in Rose’s presence and felt that she was also relaxing with him. Of course, the tension of the situation, the pressures of pursuit, still weighed heavily on them both, but Crowley thought maybe they were both also enjoying the thrill of the hunt. And there was no doubt they made a good team. He desperately wanted Rose to be safe from her pursuers, but part of him would be disappointed when all this was over. He hoped she’d still be a part of his life even then.
Eventually they battled heaving crowds along the Via di Porta Angelica and came to the Porta Sant’Anna. Like so much of Rome, the road and the sidewalk were dark gray cobblestones, square and slightly uneven. Pale double columns, topped by impressive stone eagles, flanked the gate before them. Curlicued iron bridged the span between the columns and the cobblestone road continued up a slight rise. Crowley and Rose walked past Swiss Guards in their almost clown-like uniforms and continued between yellow stone buildings with tall arched windows.
Ahead of them stood the impressive bulk of the Cortile del Belvedere, the Belvedere Courtyard, designed by Donato Bramante in 1506. Crowley marveled at the High Renaissance architecture, the density of design and imposing stonework.
“Really quite the place, huh?”
Rose smiled at him. “You’ve never been before?”
“No. Always been on my list of places to see, but I hadn’t got around to it yet. It’s kind of weird to come under these circumstances.”
“Yeah, can’t argue with that. But this is somewhere I have been before. Though I wish we were on vacation, taking in the sights at our leisure.”
Crowley threw her a cheeky grin. “I’d like to go on vacation with you too. Maybe once this is all over we can come back?”
Rose shook her head, but her eyes were alive with amusement. “I think I might prefer white sandy beaches and crystal clear seas for a while once all this is over.”
“I know just the place,” Crowley said. “Jervis Bay in Australia. I went there a few years ago. Amazing place. I could show you. And the places I could rub lotion onto you.”
“Let’s keep our focus on this business for now, shall we?”
Crowley grinned. “For now? Sure.”
Rose let that one pass and led the way to an entrance, adjacent to the Vatican Library, guarded by another Swiss Guard in his yellow, red and blue puffy uniform. “Here we are,” she said.
Crowley looked around, the open buildings, the milling crowds. “Not quite what I expected. I thought the Secret Archives would be more... secret.”
Rose laughed. “Don’t let that word confuse you. In Latin this place is called Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum, or in Italian it’s Archivio Segreto Vaticano. But in both cases, the translation of secret is misleading. A better word, according to the official word from the Vatican, would be ‘personal’. Apparently in reference to the private letters and historical records of past Popes. The archives were created by Pope Paul V in 1612, and while it’s true that outside researchers can’t just enter at will, there is a designated reading room. More than a thousand researchers request access annually, and they’re usually granted it. The archives used to be closed up tight, but in 1881 Pope Leo XIII opened them to researchers.”
“So we’re just going to go in and ask them for the Codex Gigas and they'll bring it out to us?” Crowley asked. “I’m not buying that!”
Rose laughed. “No, of course not. But don’t you have more faith in me than that yet?”
They approached the entrance together and Rose smiled warmly to the Swiss Guard on duty. His face was stern, giving nothing away. “We have an appointment at the reading room,” she said.
He gestured for them to step inside and Crowley threw the guy a wink, more to annoy him than anything else. He understood guard duty, but the guy didn’t have to be so dour. Then again, if Crowley had to dress like that every day he reckoned he might lose his sense of humor pretty quickly, too.
Inside the reading room, they were met by a middle-aged man with thinning blond hair and a paunch stretching the front of his collared white shirt. “Your entry card please?” His voice was heavily accented Italian, but clear enough.
“I’m afraid we don’t have one,” Rose said, and Crowley’s stomach lurched at the smirk the man gave them.
“Then you will have to leave immediately.” He raised a hand to attract the attention of the Swiss Guard outside, but Rose put a hand on his forearm and flashed a wide smile.
Crowley took his turn to smirk. No one could ignore that look when she put it on and this Vatican official was no exception. He paused, reddening slightly at her touch, one eyebrow raised.
Rose left her hand in place on the man’s arm and pulled a letter from her pocket with her free hand. Crowley could see it was a printout of an email, but the type too small for him to read. She had clearly been busy on their journey here.
The man read slowly, then frowned. “A moment, please.”
They waited quietly while the man disappeared through another door. Crowley watched all around, as casually as he could manage, sure the Swiss Guard would descend on them any second and drag them away.
Rose smiled at him. “Trust me, Jake. Honestly, you’re skittish as a cat.”
Eventually the man returned, looking more harried than when he had left. “Please, follow me.”
They were led through a door and into a long marble hallway, high domed ceilings with intricate frescoes impressive overhead. Another man, tall and thin with thick black hair and suspicious eyes nodded once in greeting. He held out two laminated badges on green lanyards. “Sorry for the delay, we had to make these especially for your visit and we weren’t quite ready.”
“Thank you so much,” Rose said, the embodiment of politeness and gratitude.
But something nagged at Crowley, tickled his hindbrain and put him on edge. He took the badge and the linen gloves the tall archivist offered, still uncertain. But so far so good. Maybe he should chill out and trust Rose, but he had long since learned to trust his nerves and instincts. He didn’t think he would be relaxing too much all the time they were here.
“Please,” the archivist said. “You must exercise great care with all the items inside. Anything you choose to look at must be treated with great reverence. I will suffer the wrath of His Eminence a thousand times over before I will allow documents in my care to be damaged.”
“Of course,” Rose said. “We won’t give you any cause for concern, I promise.”
“My thanks. Then this way please.”
The archivist turned and escorted them inside.
Chapter 30
The Vatican Secret Archives
Crowley and Rose were led through into a long room redolent with the scents of ink and parchment. Crowley reveled in the smell, like the big library in Sweden or the best secondhand bookshop, a smell that had said magic to him since childhood. Though he wondered what kind of magic might be present in this particular library.
“This is the reading room,” the archivist said. “You want to start here?”
A long table dominated the room with high-backed wooden chairs along either side. Shelves jam-packed with volumes and files covered every wall. A second, mezzanine level of shelving circled the room above them.
The archivist indicated a doorway at the end, lit with a hard fluorescent strip. “Through there to the lofts and other areas.” He looked pained. “Your clearance is fairly generous. Would you like me to accompany you?” His tone of voice clearly implied that he desperately wanted to accompany them and be rid of them as soon as possible.
Rose lit up her irresistible smile again. “Thank you, but no. We’ll be fine.”
The archivist winced, but nodded
and withdrew. No other researchers were present in the reading room and Crowley suddenly had the sensation of being a kid locked in school overnight, somewhere he shouldn’t be with a wild run of the place.
“So really, how did you pull this off?” he asked.
Rose grinned. “I have my ways.”
“There’s got to be something serious to this, though,” he pressed. “Being left to our own devices in here?”
Rose drew in a long breath. “I’ll tell you, but it’s a secret you share with no one!” When he nodded his assurance, she went on. “I have a contact at the Vatican museum who was once an altar boy, and he had a... special relationship with a man a couple of decades ago. That man is now a cardinal, right here in Vatican City. And no, I’m not giving you any names.”
“A special relationship, eh?” Crowley said. “I think I know what you mean.”
Rose nodded, twisted a wry smile. “My contact has undeniable proof of the relationship, and needless to say the Cardinal is happy to do the occasional favor for him these days. This time, he passed one of those favors on to me.”
“You’re amazing,” Crowley said, genuinely impressed. “I mean it, you have hidden depths, incredible friends, you kick butt when you need to.”
Rose laughed. “Calm down, Jake. I don’t need a fan club!”
“Well, you’ve got one, president and lifetime member, me!”
Rose put a hand on his shoulder, her palm warm. “Well, thanks. And you’re pretty fan-worthy yourself.”
There was a moment of silence that Crowley was reluctant to break, but Rose did it for him. “All these shelves are far too small to hold anything close to the size of the Codex Gigas,” she said. “And besides, it would hardly be in the public reading room. Let’s go deeper.”
They went through the brightly lit doorway and passed through an area with official Papal correspondence in shelf upon shelf of bound volumes.
“Not likely to be here either,” Crowley said, feeling the weight of the documents and the weight of history pressing down on him. “This is a monumental task, looking through something of this size. It’s huge. Where’s our best bet?”
