Craig Smith [Kate Kenyon 01] The Painted Messiah (epub)

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.It was framed in a delicate grey.The framer had accented the grey with a thin, faded vermilion line.Penciled in a tiny script was the phrase, Nothing but the beautiful is true, followed by initials and a date: O.W., March 29, 1899.'We have the right man,' he said, and felt his pulse kick up.O.W.Oscar Wilde.He had been here a century ago.To see it again? Summoned? Gentleman that he was, Oscar had brought a gift - something to commemorate their first meeting? What Ethan wouldn't give to know that story!'We're running out of time, Boy.'Ethan turned from the print to the painting, a small dark landscape of Golgotha after the execution.He walked toward it.It was a primitive black on grey study of the crucifixion scene after the bodies had been taken down and the crowd had gone home.Ethan reached out carefully to touch the thing.The frame stayed tight against the wall.Checking more closely he saw a tiny hinge behind the frame.When he pulled on it harder, the edge of the painting came off the wall like a small door opening.Inside he found a recessed, metal lever.Ethan pulled it, but nothing happened.Next, he tried turning it.The mechanism worked, but again nothing happened.A booby-trap?He looked at the raven heads on the pocket doors.No.The door handles provided the only trap Corbeau needed.This was the way in.The Knights Templar had used three empty crosses to indicate the treasure, or possibly the key to the treasure or even the place of concealment, depending on the context.It was not a symbolism widely recognized beyond Templar enthusiasts.The raven, on the other hand, was the essential ornament on Corbeau's coat of arms, underscored by the words Gare le Corbeau! Beware the Raven!He tried pulling the lever in its new position and discovered to his surprise the pocket doors began to slide back.Kate stood in the darkened room, her night vision goggles in place over her hood.She pulled these up and let them rest on her forehead as she stepped into the library.Ethan showed her the handle, the painting, and the print of the young girl.'Look at the initials.''Oscar Wilde,' she said.'Maybe he took it.''It's here, Girl.It's the Corbeau family heirloom.'Ethan stepped into the gloomy tower.There were no light fixtures, no electrical outlets, only candelabras with half-burned candles set about the room.The room itself was a perfect circle.On the floor in a mosaic, Ethan recognized the Grand Seal of Solomon.The letters of the magical words were all written in a Greek script.Kate's climbing rope lay coiled upon it.It stretched up through the broken ceiling some twelve feet overhead.Before the explosion there had been a ceiling painting.Most of it was gone, but Ethan could make out that it was the traditional occultist's Tree of Life with the ten emanations of God, each named in Greek letters.'There's nothing here,' Kate whispered.For the first time she sounded anxious.Her burglar's heart had an internal clock.Ethan studied the empty room.He saw the Masonic eye of God.Before it were two small marble pillars.A plain stone altar had been placed neatly between them.He walked around the room examining the stone benches built into the wall.'Where would they keep the paraphernalia?' He studied the Seal of Solomon.'We have to go.''It's here.''Doesn't matter.We're out of time.'Ethan walked across the floor scrutinizing the intricate patterns and letters.He was looking for a telltale crack in the stone.He pulled his flashlight and began walking the circle of the seal.The stone had been laid over a century ago.There were tiny fissures and a bit of yellowing, but that was all.Kate spoke again, 'Time!'Ethan looked toward the altar again.He focused on the eye.Was the eye staring at it? He spun around and looked at the wall, then walked toward it, shining his flashlight.Nothing.He went back to the library and touched the painting of the empty crosses.Which was it: the treasure, the key to the treasure, or the place of concealment?Kate took his arm.'Now,' she said.Ethan pulled his knife and began cutting along the edge of the canvas.'One minute.Then we go.'She checked her watch.Nothing appeared behind the canvas.So the painting was the key [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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