Tasters 49

The Priory of Sion and the Knights Templar constituted - to use a metaphor - the two sides of a single coin. The Priory was the hidden side of the coin: secret, arcane and clandestine. The Knights Templar, however, were exposed to the world, and acted as the military front of the Priory. Nevertheless, both organisations held a similar purpose or goal: to recover (the Knights Templar) and to guard (the Priory of Sion) a set of secret documents revealing the true essence of the Holy Grail. These documents demonstrate the actual role of Mary Mgdalene as wife of Jesus Christ and carrier of their royal lineage. With the marriage of Jesus and Magdalene, the royal houses of David and Benjamin were united, and their ancestral royal bloodline stemming from the monarchy existing in times of King Solomon was continued through the birth of their daughter Sarah. According to the manuscripts protected by the Priory, Sarah was born in France and has descendants even to this date. Additionally, the Priory's publicly confessed aim is to return the Merovingian kings to the throne.

'I need your help, de Quincy. It is urgent that I speak with Emma as soon as possible. I want you to deliver a letter from me, convince her if she has qualms, and escort her safely to Paris.'

Justin shook his head in disbelief. 'You cannot be serious. I am the last man in Christendom whom the Lady Emma would heed.'

'I agree that she has no fondness for you. But you are also the queen's man, as she well knows. She'll not dare refuse you.'

In spite of himself, Justin felt a flicker of interest stirring. So John wanted the cover of the Crown. What was he up to, and what part did Emma play in his scheme? 'Why would I ever agree?'

'I can make it worth your while.' John did not elaborate, nor did he need to. They both knew he was offering more than a pouch full of coins. He was offering, too, the favor of a future king. Richard had no heirs of his body. If he died before he sired a son, a distinct possibility for a man who flirted with Death on a daily basis, there were two claimants for his crown - his brother John and his nephew Arthur, the six-year-old son of his dead brother Geoffrey and Geoffrey's high-born widow, Constance, Duchess of Brittany. The smart money was on John.

'I serve the Queen's Grace, and I somehow doubt that her interests and yours are likely to coincide.'

'Actually,' John said, 'in this case, they do.'

But that all changed one night, deep in the blind man's black, when I heard something scratching at the door. I also heard my name, whispered on the hissing wind of a storm coming down from the mountains.

Without a sound, I left my bed and crept past my dreaming family. When I lifted the latch and looked outside, I saw the storm riding out of the hills, bellowing thunder and walking on the crooked legs of lightning. I watched the rain approach, grey air seething like the crest of a wave. Just as the storm broke overhead, I stepped outside, looking for the one who called my name.

Rain thrashed against my body, pouring from my fingertips in silver threads. As a thunderclap split the sky, I caught sight of a figure striding out across the fields. He wore a pale shroud, which streamed behind him in the wind, and a pointed hood pulled down over his eyes.

I knew him.

It was Sasser Greycloak, heading for the Grimsvoss, shoulders braced against the roaring gale. Suddenly, all doubts about the spirit world were swept aside.

I set out to follow him ...