The Centaur (26 page)

“But the Master will expect you to stay with the others,” Mark told him.  “I need to get to Baghdad. The show is not over and we were fortunate today. I had expected more from the Lord of Chaos. God is surely with us this time. It is advisable we stay together as much as possible. My sons and my grandson are out there fighting her. I have unfinished business there.”

Lucio did not answer. He threw his hands up in resignation and walked away in the same direction as his son-in-law. Konrad was making his way toward an odd structure near the bow of the vessel. A purple and white pavilion with gold and white pennants. Zarathustra’s personal quarters, no doubt.

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“And then we found ourselves in the middle of the battle. After that, we were sent home with the elves.” Nicole finished her narrative and felt somewhat relieved to have been able to tell it. “I insisted Captain Galipoli accompany us and stay with us here. Of course, you know I have a romantic interest in him and the feeling is mutual. In fact, I am thinking of marrying him. He has asked me several times, you know.”

“You make it sound like an obligation,” Merry laughed shortly.

“It is,” Nicole reiterated. “He helped us out in Jerusalem, and he risked his life for us. Besides, he’s really very nice. He doesn’t gamble, and he doesn’t smoke, and he usually drinks only with dinner. A refreshing change to what I’m used to. I think I could actually enjoy the quiet life for a while, but Daddy says a comet is going to hit the earth very soon, probably today. If it’s big enough and close enough, we won’t stand a chance.”

Merry frowned, and then sat down heavily in one of the chairs.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked after a few moments.

“I didn’t think it was necessary,” Nicole wandered about in the transept, admiring the colors in the glass. “It’s beautiful.”

“Beautiful? What? A catastrophe of global proportions?” Merry was confused by her remark.

“No, John Paul’s chapel. It reminds me of him. He was a beautiful person. His soul was like a shining light in the darkness of space.” Nicole’s voice drifted away as if she were leaving Merry behind and traveling away in her own memories of times long past.

“He wasn’t a person, Nicole,” Meredith told her dryly. Her mouth felt full of cotton and her stomach was in knots.

“You mean he’s not human? Well, Miss Merry, you might find a number of your relatives fall short in that regard,” Nicole did not look at her. “He was nothing like his father.”

Merry could not believe she was hearing the exact same sentiments from Nicole as she had heard from Mark only a short while earlier. The time was dragging on. Mark had returned to the altar. The whirlwind was still outside the door and the sun was still shining through the windows. He had not insisted they return to the prayers, but he had asked them to remain quiet while he continued the prayers. A few of the soldiers joined him and their voices droned on into the heights of the chapel.

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“What did the Queen want with you, my darling?” Galipoli whispered the question in Nicole’s ear when she returned to him a few minutes later. He kissed her neck lightly and then wrapped one arm around her protectively. “Just what is your relationship to her? I could not help but notice the resemblance. I thought she was your aunt by marriage. She could pass for your sister.”

“Well, yes, she is my aunt, by marriage.” Nicole grumbled. “It’s a long story, Socrates. Someday when we are snuggling in front of a warm fire, I’ll tell you all about it.”

“If we ever get back to the house tonight, perhaps you could keep that promise.” He kept his eyes on the two Queens as they murmured together at the back of the church. “And what is your father doing now? More prayers? Did you learn anything from him that makes sense? Why was he out in the middle of the storm last night?”

“He was doing a bit of magick. Trying to protect us I think from this impending catastrophe. I haven’t taken the time to check it out. I suppose I should have paid closer attention to what he was saying before, but he’s been through a great deal lately, and I didn’t think he was in full control of his faculties,” Nicole’s voice was very low. She did not want to disturb Mark Andrew again. Bari frowned at her from across the sanctuary, and she closed her eyes. Bari was a real problem child. She had no idea what would eventually happen to him. “It was nothing. I’m sure it will be all right.”

“Do you think he really knows something about it? The impending strike? They were speaking about it when we were in Jerusalem, I think. They say he is a great prophet and healer.”

“I think you have him confused with Sir Ramsay, the
Chevalier du Morte
. Your Colonel McGuffy knew my father when he was touring after the wars. He was quite a teacher I’m told, and he has a talent for healing when he takes a notion.” She could not begin to explain to her precious love about her father and what he was. “Dear old dad, here, he’s just confused, that’s all.”

“I find it very interesting that you should call him your father. You’re quite nearly as old as he is.”

“Now that’s a fine thing to say, Socrates. You would insult my vanity!” She smiled up at him and received a dark look from Mark Andrew, who was still praying at the altar, uttering soft words of devotion and praise to the Creator, petitioning him over and over to spare them from the deluge. Nicole bit her lip and then frowned as she perceived that Socrates was intent upon watching the Queen of the Brits as she moved aimlessly about the chapel.

“Would you stop ogling her?! She’s old enough to be my mother, and
your
grandmother!” Nicole’s temper flared and Mark Andrew stood up. She fell silent as all eyes turned to their unlikely captor. He jerked his chin slightly and Bari moved out of his way. He walked down the aisle once more and opened the doors. The chill blast of air struck them with gale force, blowing their hair about their faces, ruffling their clothing.

The tempest was gone, but a steady wind from the northwest had blown in a low cloud cover, dark gray and dreary. The sunshine so bright only a short time before was now subdued and gloomy. Nicole wrapped her arms about herself and the mood within in the chapel changed to match the weather.

“Mark?” Merry broke the silence. “Is it over? Can we go now?”

“I think that God has been most merciful.” Mark turned to face the two Queens. “I regret to say much of what was is no more, but the future may not be so bleak as we might have expected. There will be much mourning and after that, much work to do, but ultimately, we will all sleep a bit easier tonight.”

“Then the Centaur did strike the earth?” Oriel’s soft voice was barely audible above the whistling of the wind.

Mark closed the heavy doors before answering her.

“It did not strike in the North Atlantic, your Highness and the eastern coasts of America, the British Isles and Europe have been spared. Some of northern Africa and most all of the Mediterranean Nations have been left untouched, but South America, Africa south of the equator, Australia, Asia and the eastern coast of Africa have not fared well. Most of the rock fell into the Pacific. Many beautiful things have perished.”

“Daddy!” Nicole hurried down the aisle toward him. “Daddy, you’re scaring us to death. Now stop it. You can’t possibly know what you are saying.”

Mark caught his daughter by the shoulders and looked deeply into her dark blue eyes.

“I know exactly what I am saying.”

“But New Babylon! My father?” Bari’s eyes were round with disbelief. “The Middle East?”

“A great surge flowed up the Gulf of Oman. The Arabian Peninsula was inundated for the most part except for the highest mountains. The Straits of Hormuz stopped some of the force before the waves reached the Persian Gulf, but much of the land was overrun all the way to the Caspian and Black Seas.”

“Then they all perished!” Merry gasped and Oriel slumped into one of the rear pews.

“Please, my good ladies, do not be so hasty,” Nicholas spoke up. “We have no proof of what he is saying.” The elder brother shot a dark glance at Mark. “We will need to hear some validated reports before we begin mourning our losses. I am quite sure our grandfathers would have warned us of such a disaster and transported us to safer climes in the face of destruction.”

“You would do well to remember what I told you in the garden, sir.” Mark said and turned on his heel, leaving them standing in the rapidly chilling chapel. Oriel set about securing the chalices in their caskets, while Bari and the soldiers snuffed the numerous votive candles Mark had lit on the altar. Galipoli stood on the porch watching Mark Andrew as he set out across the meadow with Sophia and Queen Meredith close behind him. Nicholas joined him on the porch. Gregory hurried after the retreating figures, shouting for Sophia to wait for him.

“Your grandfather has some strange notions, no?” The Captain eyed Nicholas closely in the growing gloom.

“He is not my grandfather. My grandfathers are in Arabia with the Templar forces.  I wish he had not sent us here to look after this one. He is not right in the head. I can sense something very odd there.”

“Odd? What do you mean by that? Is it something I should know about? I am responsible for the safety of the people here and my men.”

Nicholas turned his head slowly and looked up at the slightly taller man.

“It is nothing that my brother and I cannot handle.”

“If there is anything that I can do, please call on me. It is what I am here for.”

Nicholas remained on the porch as the Captain started out for home. There was something odd about Mark Andrew’s behavior; that much was certain, but there was also something very odd about Captain Galipoli. Something that he had not noticed before. Nicholas was adept at reading the luminous bodies surrounding living creatures. His grandmother had taught him the value of mastering such a trick. The Captain’s glow had changed perceptibly since they had come to the church. Previously, it had been a deep blue with varying streaks of rose interlaced with gold. The Captain had been a good man, a devout believer and a stalwart defender of the weak, but now his glow was diminished as if shrouded by a gray mist. Nicholas had never seen this happen before, but he had been told that he would see many things as time passed and that he should never jump to conclusions nor make hasty judgments.

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The bird cages and mysterious bundles swung to and fro as the tremendous, but unwieldy vessel rocked upon the waves. Lucio lay on his stomach next to his son-in-law, looking out one of the small slots passing for portholes under the eaves of the upper deck. The ship truly must have resembled a floating barn. Instead of deck, it had a roof and overhanging eaves. There was no steerage, no rudder and no power, not even sails. This boat, like the historic boat built by Noah was at the mercy of the waters upon which it floated, like a huge wooden crate filled with booty.

“It is truly amazing,” Konrad commented once again. “If only these clouds would clear a bit, we might be able to triangulate our position using the stars like the ancient mariners once did. I think I might be able to work it out with little or no trouble. I used to go out on the boat with William occasionally; he used sails most of the time to reserve his fuel. Of course, he knew his way around a boat and the coast.”

“I think we are not exactly
out of sight
of land
, but rather the land is out of sight of us,” Lucio remarked glumly.

Konrad frowned. “It is unlikely the entire world has drowned, Brother. Judging from the cloud cover, I would guess some of the Centaur struck solid ground while, hopefully, the smaller parts struck in the sea. A sizable strike in the Indian Ocean could have caused this flood, and yet it would be confined to a small percentage of the exposed land masses surrounding the impact zone.”

“You make no sense,” Lucio refused to be consoled. “The story of Noah has been repeated because we have sinned greatly in the eyes of the Lord. As soon as the upper decks are opened, I am leaving this place. I have to know what happened to Catharine and the others. I can fly home and judging from the initial surge, I would say we have been pushed into Eastern Europe at least. I have no intention of drifting about any longer. The Master could have left any time before the flood, yet he chose not to. I don’t understand. Doesn’t he care about his grandchildren? What about Oriel and Father Andrew?”

“Of course he cares,” Konrad said, slid the door closed and rolled on his back in the straw. “He simply feels an obligation to the Order, and I think he might not want to anger both his sons and his grandsons by leaving them here. They all want to go home, Lucio.
We
all want to go home.”

“Do you think the flood reached New Babylon?”

“Impossible to say. Perhaps.”

“Mark Andrew said he was going to New Babylon to help his sons win back the city. Surely he would not have said that if he knew the flood was going to consume them.”

“That’s a reasonable assumption,” Konrad agreed and stuck one of the blades of grass between his teeth.