He looked up at his print of The Wounded Man. He found the image curiously uplifting. The black mood lifted a little.
Berlin.
It might not be so bad. Things in Vienna had gone too far-and his shabby treatment by the faculty of medicine was just another symptom of its decline into a quagmire of decadence and depravity. It would take not one but a hundred-no, a thousand-Primal Fires to purify this doomed city. Perhaps in Berlin they would appreciate a man like him-a man with good honest German values.
82
Liebermann took his seat in the cab, from where he could hear the muffled voice of his friend talking to the driver. The vehicle was a rickety affair, with worn seats and sconces holding stubs of candles. Liebermann lit a match and held it to the nearest wick.
When Kanner entered, he drew the curtains, making sure that every part of the window was properly covered.
“Where are we going?” Liebermann asked.
“I am afraid I cannot say. The location of Elysium is a closely guarded secret.”
The cab began to move.
“But why are we going there now? The initiation is tomorrow.”
“It is where our venerable has gone into hiding.”
After they had been traveling for some time, Kanner lifted the curtain and peeped out.
“Maxim, I am sorry. But I must blindfold you.”
“What!”
“We shall be arriving at our destination soon-and it is strictly forbidden for non-Masons to know the whereabouts of Elysium. If you do not comply, we cannot proceed. I am obliged to do this.”
Liebermann rolled his eyes. “Very well.”
Kanner produced a dark handkerchief from his coat pocket and tied it around his friend's head.
“I'm sorry,” Kanner muttered.
“Yes,” said Liebermann, unable to disguise his irritation.
The cab drew to a halt. Kanner leaped out and spoke to the driver, who responded with a cry of satisfaction and profuse thanks. He had been encouraged to exercise discretion with a very large gratuity.
“Here… let me help you.”
Kanner guided Liebermann out of the cab.
The driver cracked his whip and the cab rattled off.
Liebermann listened carefully. A slight echo suggested a wide street but the ensuing silence indicated that they were a long way from the town center. He guessed that they were probably in the suburbs- and the cool, fresh air informed him that they had gained altitude. Perhaps they had traveled west?
“Come on,” said Kanner.
Liebermann heard the sound of an iron gate opening and then the crunch of gravel underfoot.
“Be careful, Maxim. There are some steps just here-three of them: quite deep and high.”
Liebermann imagined the facade of a smart villa. Perhaps they had driven out to Penzing or Hietzing?
Kanner knocked on the door.
Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.
The precise repeated rhythm suggested a code.
When the door opened, Liebermann heard a gasp.
“I must see the venerable at once,” said Kanner. “It is a matter of the utmost importance.”
They were admitted and were escorted down what Liebermann assumed was a long hallway smelling of polished wood and lavender. This led to a flight of carpeted stairs, which Liebermann supposed would deposit them in the basement. However, when they arrived, there was a rolling sound-like that of the castors beneath a university bookcase. They then negotiated a more precipitous descent around a tight spiral stairwell. When Liebermann reached out to touch the wall, he felt cold, slightly damp stone. The air smelled of earth. Once again, for the second time in as many days, Liebermann found himself in the underworld.
Elysium.
Yes, the name was beginning to make sense.
Behind the venerable was a large painted wooden panel. It appeared to show a pelican with outstretched wings, feeding three young with its own entrails. It stood below a crucifix decorated with a single red rose.
Liebermann had just come to the end of his story, and a heavy silence prevailed. His attention returned to the panel-which had fascinated him from the moment Kanner had removed his makeshift blindfold.
The venerable let his forefingers meet to form a steeple.
“Very interesting.” He then looked at Kanner and nodded approvingly. “Thank you, brother. You acted wisely.” Kanner inclined his head in grateful acknowledgment. “Herr Doctor Liebermann,” continued the venerable, “you have been considerably more lucid than Inspector Rheinhardt. But in evaluating the risk-to ourselves and to our guests-we must be mindful of the facts. If the fiend is a devotee of Guido List, then he is certainly no friend of Freemasonry-and his debasement of Brother Mozart's blessed creation is further proof.” The venerable paused again, tapped his fingers together, and added: “It is possible, we must suppose, that I am to be his Sarastro, and Prince Nadasdy his Tamino. But you cannot be certain, Herr Doctor.”
“No,” said Liebermann. “But I think it very likely.”
The venerable stroked his snowy Vandyke beard. “How on earth could he have learned of our intentions?”
“Perhaps one of your number has been indiscreet?”
The venerable shook his head. “I doubt that very much. Tomorrow's initiation ceremony is the most important date in our calendar for more than a hundred years. Moreover, there is not a single member of our lodge who does not recognize the political sensitivity of the occasion. Prince Nadasdy still claims to be the rightful ruler of Transylvania. His father's estates were confiscated after the revolution… When we meet tomorrow, we are not only defying the police but the Hofburg. Indiscretion would cost us dearly. None of us are keen to spend the rest of our lives locked up in the Landesgericht.”
“Then it may be that Olbricht has intercepted some document?”
“Impossible,” said the venerable. “Sensitive information has always been encrypted.”
“He may have broken your code.”
“Our Masonic cryptograms are inviolable. He would have to be a genius.” The venerable leaned back in his chair. “All of which raisesin my mind-some significant doubts.” He squeezed his protruding lower lip and frowned. “With respect to the accuracy of your… theory.”
“Herr Losch,” said Liebermann, “I very much hope that you do not intend to proceed with tomorrow's ceremony.”
The venerable sighed and turned a ring on his finger.
“Herr Doctor Liebermann, I am indebted to you. But, in truth, I do not accept that we are in as much danger as you imagine. How would this Olbricht enter the temple? It is situated four stories beneath the earth! And although there will be many in attendance, we are all known to one another. We are as brothers. An intruder would be highly conspicuous.”
“Olbricht has an extraordinary knowledge of the sewers. There may be some entry point with which he is familiar.”
The venerable shook his head.
“I was party to the design of Elysium. There is no such thing. And even if there were, we would simply guard it, or seal it up! Herr Doctor, this Olbricht is only mortal. Yet you speak of him as if he were some supernatural being. He may be capable of monstrous acts-but he cannot walk through walls or become invisible.” The venerable's features hardened, reflecting a sudden resolve. “The inaugural meeting will take place as planned. And Prince Nadasdy will become an entered apprentice of the craft.”
