Temple of the Grail(147)

‘I must leave you now,’ the boy said, ‘but Ruach will live within you here below, as an eagle lives within and yet above, in the stirring of a prophetic wind.’

And the wind stirred around me and it became a great roar, which forced my eyes to open so that I realized I was back from the vision and in the chapel and that my master was lying prostrate at my side. I had no time to think on the marvels I had seen for the chapel began to collapse all around us and the walls were crumbling and rocks tumbled from above. I could no longer see the table nor the twelve who had encircled the boy lying upon it.

In the tumult that I likened to Armageddon, I concentrated on helping my master to his feet, and together we ran. But along the way he lost his gospel parchments, which scattered here and there in the debris. He made to go after them, but the world shook with such ferocity around us that we barely managed to escape the chamber before the entire roof collapsed.

Once in the central nave we ran through dust and rubble to the aperture and I fumbled trying to open it, for my agitation made me clumsy and awkward.

‘Hurry, the whole thing is coming down!’ my master shouted near my ears, but I barely heard him over the great noise. Suddenly there was a violent movement, a cataclysm, a shattering. It was indeed the end of the world! An underground thunder then burst open the door, splintering it, as if it were only touchwood. For a moment I stood perched on the edge of the channel, not ready to die inside its cool depths.

‘Jump in!’ my master cried, ‘It should carry us to the outside!’

‘But master, you cannot swim!’ Looking around I found a large piece of the door and handed it to him. ‘Here, hold on to this!’

‘Good boy! Pity it is as we are about to die that you start to think with your head.’ He smiled, ‘Go!’

An instant later I found myself being taken by the body of water, as it rushed with haste into an infinite darkness. It was so cold that I could no longer feel my limbs. The churning rose higher, threatening to overwhelm us, for it seemed to be gathering speed with every moment, and I assumed that we must be coursing down a steeper incline. Ahead of us rocks had fallen into the channels, and these we had to avoid by turning our bodies in this or that direction. More than once I nearly lost my talisman, but I held on tightly having faith in its protection. My master must have bumped his bad leg, for I heard him yell out, ‘Damn the Count of Artois!’ several times and I thanked God that he was all right. Around us the walls contracted with an awesome power and presently, somewhere in the darkness ahead, a light seemed to draw nearer. Finally it was upon us and I closed my eyes thinking that it must indeed be the great light of heaven. It was, however, the light of day, whose relative brilliance seemed a thousand times brighter than the sun. The mountain was expelling us from out of its loins and into a rocky stream.

Into its depths we plunged. I surfaced moments later, but I could not see my master, so I dived into the numbing coldness that stung my eyes and looked for him. There, lying among rocks and weeds and things that live in the watery element, was his form, easily discernible in its white mantle. Taking hold of his habit, I pulled, but he was heavy. I concluded that he must have hit his head and so I pulled again, but something was impeding me. I moved around in front of him, not looking up – lest I see his mouth open, his eyes in a deadly stare – and found that his waist rope had become caught beneath a stubborn rock. I released it and was able to pull him out into the air, dragging him to a nearby bank where I turned him on his front and gave his back a sharp slap. He coughed violently, and slowly came to his senses. I rolled over, dazed and weak.

I woke, shaking violently, but it was not the mountain this time, it was only me, racked with cold. I looked up and could see that the monastery was a long way above. We must have travelled a great distance in the watery darkness. I listened, for I thought that I could hear voices coming from a short way away and I saw the first survivors of the avalanche coming down the road we travelled some days before. My eyes moistened as I saw Eisik moving ahead of them, rushing to my side.

‘Praise the God of our fathers!’ he cried. ‘You are saved.’

Suddenly there were blankets placed over my shoulders, and a beautiful voice saying, ‘We must go. There is no time. Even now the inquisitor is looking for you. Quickly, we have some horses.’

‘But my master!’ I said, looking around dazed and saw that he was being helped to his feet by the girl’s father.

‘Your son, my lord, he cannot be moved,’ Andre said.

‘He and so many others are dead, preceptor, the abbey is now under a mountain of snow,’ the man said with sadness. ‘We came here to take you.’