‘But Molier was once of this world,’ Lord Malory corrected. ‘A man, just like you or I.’ As Lord Devere appeared sceptical, our host decided to explain further. ‘A journal in the possession of our brotherhood, written by a thirteenth-century priestess of the Cathar faith, tells of a renegade Sion knight named Christian Molier. He was assisting her to return a treasure to the Star-Fire Temple in the Sinai after the final siege of Montsegur in the thirteenth century. But when they arrived inside the temple, Molier tried to steal the treasure from the priestess, intending to use the site’s supernatural power to his own ends. Another knight of the order, who remained true to the cause, saved the priestess. The knight sacrificed his own life in order to trap Molier in the mountain, where he remained until Lord Hereford’s visit hundreds of years later.’
Lord Devere and myself were too stunned to speak, and before my husband could express his disbelief, Mr Devere asked: ‘And do you know the name of this heroic knight?’ My brother-in-law swallowed hard, as if he anticipated the answer.
Lord Malory grinned broadly. ‘His name was Albray de Vere.’
Now we were all doubly stunned. I recalled Mr Devere telling me of the spirit of a knight who was advising his wife and I realised, as Mr Devere must have, that the knight was some kind of guardian of the ancient, sacred site.
‘Oh, my god.’ Earnest’s mind was churning over, although I was the only one present who knew why he was so astounded.
‘Yes,’ Malory confirmed. ‘He was some great-great-uncle of yours. He was conceived during the first crusade, the bastard issue of a priestess in the Holy Land and a visiting forefather of the de Vere line.’
Lord Devere was having trouble digesting the information. ‘Are you telling me that my forefathers ran around raping Middle Eastern priestesses—’
‘No.’ Malory held up a finger to stress the point. ‘It was an arranged pairing, specifically to produce a pure- blood prince of the Royal House of Judah.’
‘What!’ Lord Devere stood up, he was so shocked.
‘Don’t you get it!’ Mr Devere stood to confront his brother before he launched into a sermon. ‘The knighthoods, and the Star-Fire Temple and its treasures from which Molier draws his power. It’s all about the blood!’
‘Please tell me that you are not talking about the bloodline of our Lord Jesus Christ!’ Lord Devere demanded, ready to walk out of the room depending upon the answer.
‘We are talking of a bloodline that goes all the way back to the Nefilim goddesses of old.’ Earnest turned back to Lord Malory before his brother could argue the issue, for he had more urgent information to pursue. ‘You still haven’t answered the question of how we destroy Molier?’
Days ago, when we had first left Alexandria, Malory had instructed Devere to call upon his forefathers to shield us all from the sight of the creature my husband had seen—that much of the story Lord Devere did believe. Now that the subject of killing the creature had been raised again, Lord Devere remained present, curious to hear the response.
‘We can only speculate, for this quest has never been undertaken before,’ Malory explained. ‘In searching for an answer we have turned to legends dealing with the undead for guidance.’
‘Oh, please!’ Lord Devere said in disgust.
‘Fortunately for us, Christian Molier and his associates at the Arsenal Library seem to have a fascination with the subject of vampires and similar legends and have written extensively on the subject.’
‘Really?’ Mr Devere was surprised. ‘But isn’t that self-destructive?’
‘Molier’s entire existence is self-destructive,’ Malory replied. ‘He has done a fine job in his plays and writings of making the vampire appear heroic and misunderstood, but it is written that the three fatal dangers are these: a stake through the heart, but only if it severs the spinal cord, decapitation, and fire.’
‘Fire.’ The last point caught Devere’s attention. ‘Interesting then that inside the Star-Fire Temple there are several pits that can be filled with a flammable liquid and set alight.’
‘But I still don’t understand how Molier could stay alive all that time in the temple? Or how he has now become more spirit than man?’ Lord Devere was frustrated by all the gaps in the story.
‘I think you might best sit down before I explain that conundrum, Lord Devere.’ Malory gestured for my husband to be seated once more and he reluctantly complied. Although my lord found much of the brotherhood’s beliefs hard to swallow, he could not deny what he, with his own eyes, had seen.
The hours that followed were some of the most fascinating of my life. We were told of the Star and Fire vials, at least one of which Malory suspected Ashlee had in her possession, although Mr Devere would not confirm or deny the allegation. We were told of the vials’ function as keys to a greater treasure, and how the vials themselves contained mysterious ambrosias, miraculously self-filling and said to grant immortality and spiritual advancement to those of the blood.
‘But why turn to vampire legends?’ Lord Devere was curious about this point. ‘The defining trait of a vampire is that they drink the blood of the living.’
‘A common misconception, fabricated by the church to prevent the drinking of blood,’ Lord Malory answered, before going on to explain the difference between the Highward Fire-Stone, made from ORME specifically to heighten the awareness of the females of the holy line, and the Fire-Stone, made from the menstrual blood of the Nefilim goddesses, which was fed to the males of the line who had been singled out for leadership.
Lord Devere was solicitous of my sensibilities. ‘This is hardly a fitting topic to be discussing in the presence of a lady.’
I had to smile at my husband’s embarrassment. ‘I would think I am far more qualified on the subject matter than you are, my lord. I do not find it offensive,’ I assured Lord Malory and bade him continue.
‘Molier is not of the blood. Though he is a sworn defender of the cause,’ Malory scoffed, disgusted by the betrayal of the order by such a high-ranking initiate. ‘The text pertaining to his entrapment in the temple stated that although the Star vial had been safely locked away in its annexe, the Fire vial was still in Molier’s possession when the gateway was closed to imprison him. We believe that he consumed the contents of the vial to remain alive all those centuries, and took the vial with him when Lord Hereford accidentally released him from the temple. As the elixir was meant only for the males of the blood, we suspect that, although it has extended Molier’s life and given him heightened psychic abilities, it must also have had debilitating effects.’
