“Can we ask to see it?”
“Yah – but not yet, they’re starting their prayers.”
“How long till they’re finished?”
Bek shrugged. “A while. Until sundown, maybe.”
“What? That’s hours away.”
“Sorry, boss. That’s how it is.”
Dracup moved forward. “I’m going in.” He reached the archway and peered inside.
Bek scampered up behind. “You can try. They might not like it.”
As his eyes grew accustomed to the reduced light Dracup’s attention was drawn to the great central column, swathed in some sort of gilded cloth. The images were stereotypical – the manger, some knights on horseback. Angels with trumpets.
“Hey, boss?” Bek stage-whispered. “You know what they say is behind those pictures?”
Dracup shook his head.
“Only the past and future of the world.” Bek grinned. “They say.”
Dracup examined the cloth. He moved to one side to get a clearer view of the detail. The crucifixion. The garden of Eden. Dracup squinted. Again a nautical Ark, but land-bound this time, immersed not in water but in the process of construction. Ramps and pulleys strained and pushed the great timbers into position, workers tarred and pitched or toiled with hammers and saws alongside the huge bulk of the boat, the site overseen by a lone figure, standing at a distance, staff in hand. Dracup looked closer. The staff was surmounted by a great cross. Dracup caught his breath. He remembered the photograph he had taken earlier, the apocalyptic picture featuring the same sceptre.
“Bek, can you tell me what this says?” He thrust the camera under the boy’s nose.
“Sure, boss, it’s like I was saying. These are the last days, man. The end of the world and all that.”
“Can you read it all to me, please?”
“Okay.” Bek peered at the jpg. “It says ‘Judgement falls – the sun grows dark and the stars fall to Earth. Omega.’ He cocked his head. “Like I said, boss: the future of the world. You take that photo in Giorgis? You’re lucky they let you, boss.”
Omega. Was it connected? Dracup knew the symbol was used extensively in Christian apocalyptic literature. Hardly surprising to find a reference in Lalibela, then. He grunted. “It’s about time I had some luck, Bek. Wait – something’s happening.”
A strong smell of incense wafted across to where he and Bek waited like uninvited guests at a wedding. And then a priest moved out from behind the altar carrying an object that caused Dracup to gasp and lean on the wall for support. Bek nudged him.
“That’s it, boss. The Lalibela cross.” He looked oddly at Dracup. “You all right or what?”
Dracup inched forward. It was the right shape, but there was something missing. And then he realised. There were no inscriptions. The cross was smooth. Beautiful, exquisitely worked, yes, but smooth.
“I don’t understand,” he muttered. “Perhaps the other side –” But then the priest presented the staff to his assistant, who took it and rotated until he faced down the church towards them. Dracup had a 360-degree view. No inscriptions – even at this distance there was no doubt. And another thing – it was whole, complete.
“That’s what you’re after, huh?” Bek asked. “But no writing on it, that’s the problem, yes?”
“Yes.” Dracup was responding automatically to Bek’s verbal spaghetti, like he’d always done when Natasha was little. He’d always had his mind on tomorrow’s lectures, or some research paper. No time for a little girl’s chatter. He pushed the thought aside. No, wait. The boy knows something.
“I’ll tell you more if you want but, you know boss... I can’t tell all of it unless...”
Dracup clicked his fingers. It’s not the real sceptre.
“My mother, you know, she has five of us to feed.”
The Lalibela cross is a replica... of the original sceptre.
“It’s only money, boss, right?”
Dracup turned to Bek, his heart beating with excitement. “You know about this, don’t you? You really do.”
Bek drew him into the shadows of the church. In the background the priests had begun chanting. The building was fragrant with the smell of incense. “Look, boss. It’s a big secret, right. I only found out by accident. If anyone finds out that I know – that I told –”
“I understand. I’ll never breathe a word. Just tell me and you can disappear. Forget you ever saw me.”
“Disappear what? You can’t get to it easy, you know. You need Bek around for a bit at least.”