Templar's Quest

32

‘… but, of course, the trick is to maintain that power once it’s been seized,’ Cædmon Aisquith continued, having just dropped a bombshell about Freemasons controlling the world. ‘That said, I should preface my next remarks by saying that I’m about to go out on a limb –’

‘Buddy, you’ve been hanging from a twig since we got here,’ Finn muttered under his breath.

‘– but I believe the Axe Historique in Paris was constructed so that some unknown group could harness the astral energy that emanates from Sirius at the heliacal rising and fuse it to the telluric energy that emanates directly beneath the axis.’

A thoughtful expression on her face, Kate took a moment to digest Aisquith’s assertion. ‘When you say “telluric” energy, you’re referring to the earth energy that moves underground along the Earth’s crust and mantle, right?’

Aisquith smiled fondly at his favourite pupil. ‘Telluric energy is derived from the primary water system that exists inside the Earth as hydrated minerals. It’s considered a geophysical phenomenon which emits radiation and can be enhanced when there are changes in the magnetic field. In fact, telluric energy was used during the nineteenth century as a type of earth battery to power the early telegraph grids. Although little understood, some scientists believe that the power potential of telluric energy is far greater than the electricity we generate above ground.’

‘Begging the question: how do you fuse astral and telluric energy?’

‘By building a ley line.’ Just warming up, Aisquith’s smile broadened. ‘Which is exactly what the ancient engineers constructed at Thebes. And, no coincidence, it’s what their French counterparts have constructed on the Axe Historique.’

Half tempted to tell the Brit to pull the wine cork out of his ass, Finn instead said, ‘That’s a ley line?’ As he spoke, he jutted his chin at the chaotic scene below, tourists milling around as far as the eye could see.

‘Ley lines are man-made energy conduits. Built over the top of telluric currents, the stones used in ley lines can carry electromagnetic energy for hundreds of miles,’ Aisquith replied. ‘This particular ley line is comprised of five monuments: the Pyramid, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, the Obelisk, the Arc de Triomphe l’Étoile and the Grande Arche. Not surprisingly, during the Paris Occupation, the Ahnenerbe spent an inordinate amount of time mapping and measuring the Axe Historique.’

Clearly on board, Kate’s head energetically bobbed up and down. ‘Let me make certain that I comprehend how the pieces fit together: there’s astral energy radiating from Sirius and telluric energy radiating from beneath the ground. But in order to fuse these two different forms of energy, a ley line must be constructed.’ She pressed her palms together to illustrate the point.

‘Precisely. As above, so below.’

‘And then what?’

‘Then, if all the pieces of the puzzle have been properly placed, you can now create the Vril force. Vril, chi, orgone, mana –’ as he reeled off the list, Aisquith waved his hand in the air – ‘they’re all names for the same fused energy force.’

‘How very interesting,’ Kate murmured. ‘Were the ancient Egyptians able to fuse astral and telluric energy and create the Vril force?’

‘The Germans were convinced that the megalithic structures built along the Nile delta enabled the Egyptians to do just that. Determined to resurrect this lost science, the Ahnenerbe spent a small fortune studying the texts and monuments of ancient Egypt. As I said earlier today, the Ahnenerbe were desperately trying to devise military applications for the Vril force.’

‘Just a pie-in-the-sky theory,’ Finn said dismissively, certain he was the only one in the group able to distinguish fact from fantasy.

‘All great ideas begin with a theory,’ Aisquith was quick to assert. ‘If the Vril force could be harnessed, it would create a powerful biodynamic comprised of magnetic, electromagnetic and electrical energy.’

‘Yeah, whatever.’

Needing to clear his head – having reached his bullshit quota – Finn strode over to a nearby display case and peered inside. For several seconds he stared at a little bronze statue of a nude dude hefting a weird-looking beast on to his shoulders. He read the neatly typed tag: ‘Anonymous; Archaic Period; Around 530 BC.’ Guess that was before they invented pants.

Bored, he glanced at his watch. 1203 hours. Jesus. How long was it going to take for Aisquith to get the dossiers? He still needed to buy supplies and find a hotel room so he and Kate could hunker down and get some shut-eye. Tomorrow the mission would kick into full gear and they needed to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. And here I am fucking around at the Louvre.

Just then, Kate looked over and smiled shyly at him. As though his eye muscles had a mind of their own, Finn winked at her. A split-second later, self-consciously aware of what he’d done, he lowered his head and feigned an interest in the display case.

Not for the first time, he was surprised that he could be turned on by Kate’s winsome personality. In the past, sexual arousal had always been linked to lots of cleavage, swaying hips and pouty lips. But Kate roasted his nuts because her dainty femininity was wrapped around a steel core of quiet strength. And, yeah, he found that sexy as hell. He also found that scary as hell. If he lost his focus for one moment, the Dark Angel could blow them away. Or the French authorities could catch him in a dragnet, allowing CID to extradite his ass to the US. Who would protect Kate if that happened? Though he’d never admit it to Aisquith, that business about the photo recognition software spooked him. Just one more thing to worry about.

Still standing next to the display case, Finn watched as Aisquith placed a hand on Kate’s shoulder. Obviously, the Brit still carried a torch. Well, fuck that shit.

Finn strode over to where the pair stood at the window.

‘And another thing,’ he announced without preamble, determined to break up their little exchange. ‘You don’t have one scrap of evidence to prove any of your theories. You keep yammering about something that I can’t see, touch or smell. Just how the hell do you use the ley line that’s on the axis to create this all-powerful Vril force?’ Monkey wrench hurled, he belligerently put his hands on his hips.

Aisquith shrugged. ‘I have no idea.’

‘Finally! An honest answer.’

‘Cædmon, do you by any chance know when the heliacal rising of Sirius will take place?’ Kate enquired, still riding the Vril bandwagon.

‘Unless I’m greatly mistaken, it will occur on the seventh of August.’

Kate’s jaw visibly slackened. ‘Oh, my God … that’s just three days away.’