The Key

96

Athanasius sat in the Abbot’s private washroom, his back to the door, his face illuminated by the glow from the phone. Outside he could hear Father Thomas engaging Malachi loudly in a conversation designed to draw his attention while Athanasius slipped away.

He opened the message and pressed send. This time there was no error alert. Even so, he watched it until the screen went black then tapped it again to make sure. The screensaver was back in place, showing the photograph of the Mirror Prophecy. Ever since Gabriel had first shown it to him in the darkness of the ossuary he had been thinking about the possible meaning of the last few lines.

The Key must follow the Starmap Home

There to quench the fire of the dragon within the full phase of a moon

Lest the Key shalt perish, the Earth shalt splinter and a blight shalt prosper, marking the end of all days

A blight.

It was what Brother Gardener had called the disease when it first appeared in the garden; and now something was stalking through the corridors of the mountain and striking people down. And the earthquake that had shaken the mountain: was that not the earth starting to splinter?

It all suggested the prophecy was true, which meant the best way to stop the spread of the disease was to help the girl find her way home to Eden. And yet Brother Dragan believed only the restoration of the Sacrament to its place inside the chapel would cure the mountain. He was trying to bring her back here. Maybe he was the dragon mentioned in the prophecy and the fire of his zealous beliefs the thing that needed quenching. He needed to talk to him. Maybe if he could just show him the Mirror Prophecy he could convince him of its wisdom.

Father Thomas was still arguing with Malachi when Athanasius burst from the washroom and virtually sprinted across the room to the Abbot’s desk.

‘We need to talk to Dragan,’ Athanasius said, pulling open the upper drawer where the old Abbot kept the key to the forbidden stairs. ‘I think I know how we can cure the Lamentation.’

The Abbot was one of only two monks in the Citadel permitted to pass both in the upper, restricted section of the mountain reserved for the Sancti, and the lower parts where the general populace lived. The only other monk granted these privileges was the Prelate. Dragan had ventured up to the forbidden section through the Prelate’s staircase; Athanasius now intended to do the same using the Abbot’s. He grabbed the key and headed to the bedchamber.

A large wooden bed filled most of the space, draped with thick fabrics to keep the occupant warm. The only other thing in the room was a vast tapestry with the sign of the Tau embroidered upon it in green thread. Athanasius pulled it aside to reveal a door hidden in the wall.

‘What are you doing?’ Malachi called after him. ‘You are not permitted to go through that door.’

Athanasius turned on him, all the frustration and stress of the last few weeks spewing out in his answer. ‘What difference does it make? You’ve seen for yourself there’s nothing there. Whatever secret we have pinned our past to, it’s gone. We would be fools to fix our future to it as well. Brother Dragan is clinging to a dream, and it’s a dangerous one that might kill us all.’ He twisted the key in the lock and stepped through the door. ‘I must find him and persuade him that, for all our sakes, he needs to let go.’

Malachi moved to try to stop him but Athanasius was too quick. He slammed the door behind him and locked it so no one could follow or try to stop him.