MacFarlane’s henchmen cocked an attentive ear.
‘The Stones of Fire then passed to the archangels Michael and Gabriel. Not only did they have joint custody of the breastplate, but it is their two images that supposedly adorn the lid of the Ark.’ Picking up Edie’s intention, C?dmon glanced pointedly at Braxton, Harliss and Sanchez before turning his attention to MacFarlane. ‘Do you think it’s safe for your lads to be in such close proximity to the Ark? Unlike you, they have no protection should an accident occur.’
‘Yeah, I hear tell that skin cancer can be difficult to treat,’ Edie piped up. ‘And as far as I know, there’s no cure for the plague.’ Seeing Sanchez’s slack-jawed expression, she decided to push the fear button for all it was worth. ‘Oh, and let’s not forget about those poor guys at Bethshemesh. Not a pretty story, let me tell ya.’
Craning his head, C?dmon peered into what was now a five-foot-deep hole, directing his comments to Braxton and Sanchez. ‘Did your commander mention that the Ark of the Covenant is, in fact, a weapon of mass destruction, once used to slaughter the enemies of Israel? My own theory is that the Ten Commandments were inscribed upon pieces of radioactive —’
‘Lies! Every last word of it!’ MacFarlane bellowed, his face having turned a distinctly unhealthy shade of madder red.
Nervously gripping his shovel, Sanchez came to a standstill. ‘But, sir, what if —’
‘Keep digging!’
‘Yes, sir!’ Sanchez replied, applying spade to dirt with a renewed vigour.
Realizing the momentum had just swung the other way, Edie’s shoulders slumped. ‘So much for converting one of the faithful.’
‘There is a reason why they are called true believers,’ C?dmon replied. While he didn’t show it, she knew that he too was dismayed by her near win.
At hearing a loud metallic
‘Sir, we just hit some sort of metal box,’ Braxton declared excitedly.
Edie swallowed a nugget-sized lump of fear.
‘I think they may have actually found the bloody Ark of the Covenant.’ Like a man possessed, C?dmon stared intently into the hole.
Repeating the procedure from the cloister, Sanchez fetched the coiled rope. After a little more digging he and Braxton were able to secure it around the buried object.
MacFarlane, smiling indulgently, turned his attention to C?dmon. ‘Do you by any chance know the meaning of the words “apocalypse” and “tribulation”?’
If C?dmon thought the question odd, he gave no indication. ‘Apocalypse is taken from the Greek word
MacFarlane’s smile broadened. ‘No, you did not. Because like most, you have no concept of the
‘I take it you think differently?’
‘“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”’
Listening to the verbal sparring, Edie started to get a very bad feeling in the pit of her painfully cramped stomach.
She’d heard those words before. Many years ago when she’d been made to sit silent while her grandfather nightly read aloud from the dog-eared family Bible.
End Times prophecies.
The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, was full of them. As a young girl, those stories of disease, famine and global warfare had terrified her.
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‘I know that Bible verse… It’s from the Book of Ezekiel,’ Edie murmured.
Knowing that Edie had been force-fed a biblical diet during her teenage years, C?dmon turned to her. At a glance he could see that she was distressed by MacFarlane’s recitation.
‘I didn’t take you for a woman versed in the prophecies,’ MacFarlane replied dismissively.
Edie shrugged. ‘My grandfather held to the same End Times belief, absolutely certain that Ezekiel’s war, as he called it, loomed on the horizon.’
‘Then you undoubtedly know that the ancient prophecies are a gift from God. A light in the midst of the spiritual malaise that is so prevalent in our day and age. Many centuries ago the prophet Ezekiel clearly spelled out God’s battle plan to save mankind from the forces of evil.’ MacFarlane spoke with a proprietary air. As though imparting a great and wondrous secret.
‘Which merely proves what I’ve thought all along — that biblical prophecy is too often used to justify the hate-filled agendas of warmongers like yourself.’ Edie’s normally pale cheeks were flushed with vivid colour, C?dmon aware that for her this argument had a personal dimension. ‘There are many fundamentalist Christians who believe that contained within the verses of Ezekiel there’s a detailed plan for the invasion of Israel by an alliance of foreign countries,’ she continued, addressing her comments directly to him. ‘It’s what’s known as the Battle of Gog and Magog. Furthermore, they believe that this battle will be fought during the last days.’
By that he supposed that Edie referred to the much-ballyhooed apocalypse. The end of life as we know it. As in get down on your knees and kiss the world goodbye.
Was MacFarlane’s obsession with the Ark of the Covenant somehow intertwined with an apocalyptic vision? God help them if it was, history full of men who had proclaimed that the end of the world was at hand. In almost every instance such prophets had left only pain and misery in their wake.
‘I’m curious about this Battle of Gog and Magog.’ If he’d learned anything during his spell with MI5, it was that information was a form of power, sometimes the only power one had over one’s enemies. ‘Where precisely will the conflict take place?’
‘The great battle will be fought in the mountains of Israel,’ MacFarlane replied.
‘I see.’ C?dmon mulled the disclosure, his curiosity piqued. ‘And who will be involved?’
Smiling, his nemesis answered, ‘The prophet Ezekiel writes of an alliance of nations from remote parts of the north known as “the land of Gog”. This alliance will fight under the leadership of the ruler of Gog —’
‘Aka Magog,’ Edie interjected.
‘— and will include the princes of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.’
C?dmon pondered what, to the uninitiated ear, was so much gibberish. ‘I assume that Rosh refers to the tribe of Ros, an ancient group of people believed to have inhabited the region of modern-day Ukraine and Russia.’ When MacFarlane nodded, he next said, ‘So, presumably this northern alliance will comprise countries formerly part of the Soviet Union.’
‘Many of which, such as Kazakhstan and Tajikistan are Islamic nations,’ Edie pointed out.
The plot had considerably thickened.
‘According to Ezekiel, Magog’s army will be supported by the nations of Persia, Cush and Put.’ This also from Edie, who was fast proving herself a fount of biblical information.
‘Iran, Sudan and Libya, if my ancient history serves me correctly.’ C?dmon took a moment to mull over what he’d been told thus far. Then, finding a glaring inconsistency in the prophesied scenario, he said, ‘Let’s assume for argument’s sake that the Ezekiel prophecy does foretell of a Russian-led invasion of Israel, what possible reason would Russia have for initiating such a war?’
MacFarlane stared at him as though he’d asked a simpleton’s question. ‘Economic and political instability are
