Temple of the Grail(69)

‘May the gods praise an unworthy Jew who is also, as luck would have it (for luck is all a Jew has) exceedingly astute! It is because we must count the sum of letters and not in this case the sum of their numerical value. You see, it was a little clue!’

‘I see,’ my master said, smiling, ‘so that they make twelve.’

‘Of course! There are twelve! Twelve and seven, a holy concord of numbers!’ Eisik clapped both hands as though about to sit down to a great repast. ‘Now perhaps the curious wheel will reveal its arcana . . . here,’ he pointed to the parchment. ‘We see two interlocking wheels, the larger is divided into twelve, ordered by twelve Zodiacal signs, the inner smaller wheel again divided, only this time by seven, with the seven little planetary symbols inside each little division. Very curious . . . seven and twelve . . .’

‘Make it such that the twelve become seven, and the seven stars appear,’ I said absently, remembering my dream.

Eisik gasped. ‘What did you say, my son?’

I told him that I had dreamt these words and he gave my master a sideways glance. ‘The boy has had a prophetic vision where he hears the words of John! What else did you dream, child?’

‘Come, Eisik, we have no time for dreams now,’ my master blurted out impatiently. ‘What of the wheel? Could it work in the same way as a sundial? With the twelve divisions being symbolic hours?’ He paused for a moment, as though on the verge of something very important. ‘I have an idea . . . But, of course! This is may be our guide to unlocking the panel.’ He showed us the page. ‘You see, firstly we have twelve divisions which correspond with twelve star signs, but also hours, that is twelve is north, three is east, six is south, and nine is west. Twelve and seven become the seventh hour which corresponds to Pisces at the twelfth hour in the outer circle. What corresponds with the seventh hour in the inner circle? Which planet is the seventh in the sequence of planets?’

‘Let us ruminate,’ Eisik said. ‘In my tradition, the days are numbered, from Sunday, which is the first, to the Sabbath, which is the seventh.’

‘And the Latins, Eisik, also named the first day after the sun, solis dies or Dominicus dies, the Lord’s day. Now, the second was named after the moon, the third after Mars, the fourth after Mercury, the fifth after Jupiter, the sixth after Venus, and the seventh after Saturn, or Saturnday, your Sabbath.’

‘That may be, my son,’ said Eisik, narrowing his eyes, ‘but as a code, were they not most commonly found in their celestial sequence?’

‘Yes,’ said my master, ‘however even in the celestial sequence Saturn is still the seventh. This means that perhaps you are right, and this little fox has dreamt our answer, that is: ‘make it such that the twelve become seven and the seven stars appear’. Pisces points us to the twelth hour in the outer circle, and Saturn to the seventh planet in the inner circle.’

‘How wonderful!’ I exclaimed. ‘But master, why are the Zodiacs in reverse sequence?’

‘Because in this case, Christian,’ my master said, ‘the author of our code uses the Zodiac to allude to angelic hierarchies. That is, Pisces represents man, for Christ our Lord was the fisher of men, Aquarius represents the angels, Capricorn the archangels, and so on and so on, instead of the traditional sequence given to us by Isadore of Seville . . .’

‘We have the answer then, master, all we need do is . . .’ I paused. ‘What do we do with Pisces and Saturn?’

‘Either depress them or align them. We shall have to try many things.’

‘But that is not your only problem,’ Eisik commented morbidly, ‘the real puzzle lies within the catacombs. I told you I did not wish to know anything and now I know what is in the note, the formula . . . holy Jacob!’ he exclaimed, horrified that his curiosity had got the better of him. ‘You have infected me with your sin . . . and those who know too much die, in this abbey!’

I left them to their arguing, labouring over these revelations, pondering, and reflecting, speculating and postulating various formulas for getting out of tunnels, none of which sounded practical. I knew that he would want to sojourn there tonight, and now I was filled with dread, when before I had been so excited.

Lost in thought, I wandered into the horse enclosures. I gave Gilgamesh a good brush, making soothing sounds as I stroked his smooth coat. I checked that his shoes were in good order, and placed a blanket over his back. Collecting some oats from a large basket, I then fed him and Brutus. While I waited, I glanced through a narrow aperture in the cubicle that revealed glimpses of the great forest to the south-east. Above the horizon the sky threatened an impending squall, casting a pallid gloom over the landscape. My master had been right, today, or perhaps tonight, it would storm.