Solomon shook his head to show that he did not understand.
“I will explain later,” Juan said. “Don’t worry about Menelik’s ark. I will make sure he has an ark to take with him. You must promise to build the ark or there will not be one for him to take.”
Solomon still did not understand but he let it go. “What of the original Ark?”
“We will take the original Ark with us.”
Solomon thought about Juan taking the Ark. “You mean to hide the original Ark so that it cannot be found? When Menelik’s ark is found by the Watchers, it will not be the original and will undo what has been done.”
Juan smiled. “King, your reputation as a wise man is warranted.”
“Why am I making a second ark?”
“The second ark will be a decoy. That ark will travel to many lands and generate rumors. The Watchers will be angry once they realize Menelik’s ark is a fake and they will come searching for the true Ark. With the legend of the Ark spreading through many cultures, that will keep them distracted.”
“And I’m to make sure the second ark travels the world?” Solomon asked.
“It will be the responsibility of your House.”
Solomon thought about all that had been said. It was a great task but he agreed.
The next day, the first replica ark was sent with Menelik to Sheba. Only Juan, Diego and Solomon knew the truth.
The second replica ark was placed under the protection of Rehoboam. Solomon asked him to travel the known world, wielding the ark as a demonstration of the power of Israel through God and the faith of their people.
Afterwards, Juan, Diego and Solomon gathered in the room the held the original Ark. Juan started to ask Solomon about the Elioud who were spoke of in the Book of Jubilees, but before he could, Baraqiel appeared in the room.
“They found us!”
“Go!” Diego shouted and Juan disappeared with the original Ark. Diego followed, leaving a dazed Solomon in an empty room.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
He had not always been called Priest. Certainly that was not the Christian name his mother gave him. But that had been his name now for many decades. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time someone actually used his first name. Even when the police interviewed him, they called him High Priest.
He had been filled with doubt on several occasions. But nothing like this. And not for the first time since this trial began did he ask, “Where is God? Why doesn’t he stop this?”
His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Diego and the priest had to admit he had interesting timing. He recalled back to the first time he met Diego:
He had been sitting at his desk when a bell rang inside of the small chapel he called home. He went to the front door and faced Diego, whom the priest was expecting.
Diego had called days prior to arrange a meeting and offered to provide unique information on the Ark. The priest was curious as to how he knew so much when no one else except him had been near the Ark.
Diego and he spoke for many hours and the priest invited him back the next day. After Diego left, the priest decided he would like to know more about the man who was so well acquainted with the Ark.
He started his computer and searched Diego Columbus. There were very few articles about Diego and all of the social media one would expect did not exist. Diego was not noted for publishing anything and there was no mention of any credentials. In fact, almost all of the information on Diego was provided by someone else.
He searched images and found only a few pictures of Diego. As he scrolled down, he noticed most of the images were of the son of explorer Christopher Columbus, Diego Colon Columbus.
One image in particular the priest found striking was a painted portrait of Diego Colon Columbus from the 16th Century AD. He had always been interested in famous explorers which is what caught his eye in the first place.
He followed the link and read on the life of Columbus. The article detailed the tumulus relationship between Columbus and Juan Ponce de Leon, something he had not previously known. The portrait of Columbus was as the top of the page and showed him in full armor complete with a plumed helmet.
He studied the portrait and something about the eyes made him pay closer attention. The man in the portrait was very similar to the Diego Columbus he had just met.
Could it be that his ancestry is tied to Christopher Columbus?
He changed direction and searched Christopher Columbus Ethiopia. The search did not yield anything on Christopher but Columbus and Ethiopia brought up articles containing quotes from Diego Columbus on various historical matters in Ethiopia.
The articles were fairly recent. All except one – an article transcribed from an editorial dated December 12, 1922. In this editorial, a Diego Columbus had been interviewed on the finding of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. There were no photos. It was odd to the priest that two local historians were named Diego Columbus. He assumed that the 1922 Diego Columbus had been Diego’s great-grandfather.
For the next several hours, he browsed through other articles. Finally, he came across a forum on Ethiopian history in which someone had scanned a century-old newspaper article. In the article, a man named Diego Columbus had been interviewed on February 5, 1897 about Ethiopia’s defeat of Italy to maintain their independence. This article included a photo of Diego Columbus. The picture was old and slightly fuzzy but as the priest looked closer, the man in the photo had an uncanny
