The Eye of Moses - Vatican Knights Series 22 (2020), Rick Jones [learn to read books txt] 📗

bounties of treasures, ancient historical manuscripts regarding Biblical truths, answers to what scholars have been seeking for centuries?”

“I don’t understand,” said Hayden.

“Nostradamus’ alleged foresight into the future was subterfuge to mislead scholars from discovering the truth behind the stanzas. The crucible he used to allegedly see his visions is a key to deciphering many of the riddles within the quatrains. Inside the bowl are numerals and archaic symbols that when used properly, can reveal the secrets within the stanzas.”

“And how do the Knights Templar fit in with Nostradamus? How did he become a Grand Master from all this?”

“When Jacques de Molay and Geoffrey de Charney were burned at the stake on Friday the Thirteenth,” said Mr. Spartan, “they were not the last of their kind. Those who survived were forced underground, but the order remained. In fact, there are offshoots of the order today such as the International Order of Good Templars, or the IOGT, along with others. For two centuries the Templars remained underground until they came across Michel de Nostredame, who at the time was a physician known for treating the plague. How this bond was created between the French astrologer who became known as a seer and these castoff members of the Knights Templar came together remains undocumented. Together, however, they became an organization much like the Free Masons, though their organization became the Consortium for which Nostradamus became its first Grand Master.”

“Hence the statues, which I assume is in homage,” Kimball stated.

“That’s correct,” said Mr. Spartan.

Da Vinci continued to outline the society’s history. “After Nostradamus died and was interred inside a French Chapel before his remains were reinterred at the Collégiale Saint-Laurent, the crucible, after the symbols and numerals were collected by Consortium scribes and banked within the Vault, the bowl itself was buried beneath his tomb. It was a treasure that Nostradamus wished to be buried with because he believed that he would be taking the key to the grave with him.”

“Obviously, that’s not the case since one of the treasures you’re asking me to seek is the crucible itself.”

Mr. da Vinci nodded. “About three weeks ago one of our operatives, Mr. Copernicus, was found murdered alongside his family in his apartment in Paris. He was the Guardian of Crypts. And the Tomb of Nostradamus was under his watchful eye. We believe his position was compromised by the Shadow Klan, who sent forward an assassin who forced him to yield the whereabouts of the crucible.”

“How would they even know about the relic in the first place? I would think that such information would be closely guarded.”

“As did we,” said Mr. da Vinci. “Especially when we have one of the safest firewall structures in the world. Yet our data system was breached but we didn’t know from whom, since there were minimal traces of a cyber-trail that eventually disappeared. We now believe it was the Shadow Klan, obviously. Histories, biographical records, operative locations—a lot of our field agents had to be pulled in fear that they had been exposed.”

“And that’s how they found out about the crucible,” Hayden stated. “That it was a key to unimaginable secrets under the command of Mr. Copernicus. They just didn’t know where it was, but Copernicus did.”

“That’s right,” said Mr. da Vinci. “And now they have the key to open many more doors, which the Consortium must keep closed.”

“So, I’m going to assume that they were able to use the crucible as the key that unlocked the mystery of the treasure that had been hidden away for centuries by the Knights Templar?”

Mr. da Vinci nodded. “Obviously. There’s a quatrain regarding Hister. Do you recall it?”

“Yeah. It’s one of the most famous of Nostradamus’ stanzas. It’s about Hitler. Only the spelling was off by a single letter.”

“Most of the quatrain is gibberish and padded with nonsensical meaning. Few words, however, had true meaning. The key was to find the proper wordage to unlock and piece together the true meaning, using a few words. All the quatrains were developed to be like that. To find the answers, you must use the crucible. Apparently, the Shadow Klan discovered the means, which is disconcerting.”

“Then what exactly is the meaning behind Hister?” asked Hayden.

“Hister,” said Mr. Spartan, “used to be the name of the region, which is now northwest Croatia, which was the site of the bunker that stored the treasure belonging to the Knights Templar. The army mentioned was not the league of Nazis as scholars interpret it to be, but the Knights Templar. The rest of the quatrain is nothing more than masking wordplay as I said before, to direct scholars away from the proper track of interpretation. Hister, now northwest Croatia, was where the Ark of the Covenant was stored.”

“And inside the Ark,” Hayden started, while leaning forward in his chair, “was Aaron’s rod. And within the head of this staff is the Eye of Moses.”

Mr. da Vinci nodded. “Father Auciello has briefed you, I see.”

“On some of what you told me. Not all of it. And now you want it back.”

“The staff itself, of course, has Biblical meaning beyond appreciation,” Mr. Spartan added. “But it’s not the staff we’re trying to recover here. It’s the dark particle that’s trapped within a crystallized cocoon we want before the Shadow Klan can break down its destructive components for the utilization of weapons of mass destruction.”

“From a single particle?”

“This particle, Kimball,” Mr. da Vinci intervened, “is believed to be a remnant from the Big Bang almost fourteen billion years ago. Its power is still being felt today by distant galaxies as the particles continue to push through space and towards the farthest reaches. Its unstoppable. And if the Shadow Klan learns even a marginal aspect of its power, it can prove devastating to every continent on this planet.”

“Tell me about this Shadow Klan,” said Kimball. “What exactly are we up against?”

“A lot,” Mr. Spartan returned. Then: “Have you ever heard of the New World Order? Or the NWO?”

“Yeah. Isn’t the NWO basically a conspiracy