The Lost Throne(121)

Clive smiled. “And if there aren’t any roads, you take to the sea instead.”

“Exactly.”

Several minutes later, Clive slowed his boat as they approached the first monastery that was visible from the water. Starting on the northern end of the peninsula, a massive hill ran down the center of Athos like a rocky spine. Covered in a thick blanket of trees, it gradually rose higher and higher until it reached the peak of Mount Athos, which towered over the southern tip of the peninsula nearly 6,700 feet above the Aegean Sea.

From his current location, Dial could see the outline of its snowcapped peak, yet his focus was on Zográfou, a monastery founded in A.D. 971 that was nestled in the vegetation. Unlike other parts of Greece, this stretch of land was rarely cleared by human hands.

“Zográfou is unlike any other monastery on Athos. All its monks are Bulgarian, and all its services are performed in their native tongue.” Clive pointed at the monastery’s tower, which was in the center of the multibuilding complex. “That’s where they keep their most-prized possessions, including Codex One.”

“Which is what?” Dial wondered.

“The first official history book of Bulgaria. It was written by a monk named Paisios and stored here for safekeeping. You’d be surprised how many manuscripts and treasures were guarded by monasteries over the centuries. In that tower alone, there are more than ten thousand codices, written in Greek and Slavic languages. Rumor says that they have even more than that, but we’ll never know. Outsiders are never given full access to any of the local libraries, which is a shame. I’m a huge fan of libraries.”

Dial stared at the stone tower with its red-tiled roof. As he did, thoughts of the hidden tunnel at Holy Trinity floated through his head. In many ways, Metéora was better protected than the monasteries at Mount Athos, yet because of their position on the top of natural stone pillars, the monks were limited by geology. Secret vaults had to be dug into the hard rock and accessed from above. But here on Athos, it was different. The peninsula was 35 miles long and 6 miles wide, meaning there were plenty of places to hide their most valuable relics.

Dial asked, “How many of these monasteries have you been in?”

“I wish I could say all of them, but so far I’ve only been in twelve of the twenty.”

“Any treasures stand out?”

Clive whistled. “Now, that’s a tough question. That’s like asking someone to pick out their favorite painting at the Vatican. I mean, there are way too many treasures to name.”

“The monasteries are that nice?”

“Yes, they are. Keep in mind that Mount Athos has always attracted the best artists and craftsmen from the Orthodox world. The monasteries offered food, shelter, privacy, and protection, and the artists repaid them by creating religious masterpieces in many different forms: mosaics, manuscripts, carvings, jewelry, and so on. Why do you think there are so many armed guards roaming the hills? These treasures are priceless.”

“And are all the treasures religious in nature?”

“Not all of them. Why? Do you have something in mind?”

Dial nodded. “Anything that involves Greek soldiers.”

Clive gave it some thought. “I remember seeing swords in a few of the monasteries. Even some old guns that were taken from invading pirates.”

“Not weapons,” he clarified. “I meant artwork. Like stone altars or carved doors.”

“To be honest, nothing jumps out at me. That’s not to say that they don’t exist—because I saw some altars and doors that dazzled me. I’m talking really intricate pieces that must have taken several months to complete. But all of them had religious themes.”

Dial glanced at Andropoulos, who was listening to the conversation but remained quiet. They briefly made eye contact, and when they did, Dial nodded his head toward Clive. It was Dial’s way of encouraging the young cop to ask some questions.

Andropoulos cleared his throat. “What about books on warfare?”

“Warfare?” Clive took a moment to consider the word. “Well, as I mentioned, Zográfou has the first history book ever written about Bulgaria. I’m sure some of its sections are devoted to soldiers and war and that type of thing. As for other monasteries, I would guess that they have the same sort of books. Particularly Greek history.”

“Why’s that?” Dial wondered.

“Because seventeen of the monasteries are Greek. The other three are Russian, Serbian, and Bulgarian.”

Dial smiled at this. Of the seven monks beheaded at Holy Trinity, one was Russian, one was Bulgarian, and one was Greek. The fourth monk was from Turkey, which was where the Ecumenical Patriarchate was located. That meant all of the major nationalities on Mount Athos had been represented at that late-night meeting.