once, Marco. If you want to do it again, then shoot. Otherwise, leave me alone.'
'Ross, what happened?' said Zeb. 'We felt the tremors out here.'
'Torino chipped a chunk off the Source and unleashed Hell.'
'What about Sister Chantal?'
'Fleischer shot her.' Ross walked past the stunned Bazin, laid Sister Chantal on the mossy earth and cradled her head in his hands. Her breathing was ragged but she was still alive. 'Can I get you some water, Sister?'
'Not from this place. I'm dying and I don't want to be revived.' She looked beyond Ross into the middle distance and, despite her pain, a rapturous smile lit her face. Sister Chantal could see him now, as clear as the day she had said goodbye to him in Rome. But now Father Orlando wasn't dressed in foul robes or limping from his torture at the hands of the Inquisition. He stood before her, handsome and ageless, resplendent in the black robes he had worn before the Church accused him of heresy.
'I knew you'd wait for me,' she said, oblivious of Ross and the others.
He smiled. 'I release you from your vow, Sister Chantal,' he said. 'You have done all I asked of you and more. Hand your burden to the new Keeper. Give him the cross.'
'He doesn't believe.'
'Give it to him. He may still find salvation in it.'
She focused on Ross again. 'Father Orlando is here. I can see him. I'm released from my vow. I can be with him again.' She reached for her crucifix and handed it to Ross. He tried to refuse but she insisted. 'Take the crucifix, Ross. Father Orlando gave it to me when I became the Keeper. One day, even you might find comfort in it.'
Ross frowned. 'I'm not the new Keeper and I've no use for a crucifix.'
She held out the cross. 'Take it. Release me.'
He hesitated a moment longer, then nodded reluctantly. 'I'll take it out of respect for you and because I know it symbolizes your burden,' he said. He took the cross from her and placed it round his neck.
Sister Chantal sighed and relaxed. She looked up at Zeb and Hackett and said goodbye. She saw sadness in their eyes but she felt none. She turned to Bazin. 'I forgive you, my son. You only did what the Superior General told you was right. Your mistake was to trust him and put the Church above your faith. Remember, the Church should always be your servant and guide, never your master.' She smiled at him. 'Like you, Marco, I believe this garden comes from God. If you truly want redemption, put your gun down and help Ross protect it. From everyone. Including the Church.'
She saw Father Orlando beckon and joy coursed through her. Finally she could rejoin him. She squeezed Ross's hand. 'I must leave you now,' she said. 'Father Orlando is calling me.' She smiled one last time then closed her eyes, welcoming the peace that greeted her. Ross felt the life leave Sister Chantal and, for a moment, no one spoke. His sadness was tempered because she appeared so peaceful, as if enjoying well-deserved sleep. As he laid her down beside Father Orlando's grave he was acutely aware of the cross dangling from his neck. Fashioned from dull metal, it felt surprisingly heavy.
When he looked up he found himself staring into the barrel of Bazin's gun. 'So, what are you going to do?' he said. 'Help us protect this so-called Garden of God? Or help the Superior General destroy it?' The gun trembled in Bazin's hand. He rarely gave a second thought to all the men he had killed. Killing Ross, however, had been different – not least because Ross had once saved his life. That fleeting guilt, however, was nothing compared to the confusion he felt now. Looking into Ross's eyes, knowing he had already killed him once, was more unnerving than anything he had ever experienced. He felt as if he was looking into the eyes of every man he had murdered. But what did it mean? Was he being offered a second chance to redeem himself, or was this a test of his resolve?
'I'm only doing what's right,' he said. 'I serve the Holy Mother Church, the true guardian of the Garden of God.'
Ross indicated the forbidden caves and the collapsed entrance.
'Do you know what happened in there? I told the Superior General I was prepared to leave this place with nothing and never speak of it again if he did the same. He refused.'
'Of course he refused. It's his duty to claim it for God and the Church.'
'He didn't just refuse. He took a hammer to the Source.' Ross paused. 'Tell me something, Marco. If the Source is intended only for your church, then why did it resist so violently when the Superior General tried to remove a sample? And if I'm such a threat why did it bring me back from the dead?'
Bazin glared at him, determined to keep indecision out of his eyes.
'The truth is, Marco, whatever you think of what I do or don't believe, I was prepared to sacrifice my wife to save the Garden of God. Torino, however, doesn't give a damn about it. He finds it embarrassing. He only wants the Source. He intends to destroy everything else – I saw the detonator control in his backpack. How can you let him destroy this magical garden, with all its creatures, just because it challenges Rome's doctrine? Why would any god approve of that?'
'The incendiaries are just a contingency.' He pushed the gun closer to Ross's face. 'The Superior General doesn't want to use them. Where is he, anyway?'
'I don't know. Perhaps he's dead.'
The two-way radio crackled in Bazin's hand. He put it to his ear and breathed a sigh of relief. It was the Superior General and he was very much alive.
78
Moments earlier Torino was breathing hard when he emerged from the tunnel of blood. The antechamber was darker than he had expected. So much crystal had fallen that the glow it threw into the chamber had significantly dimmed. It took him some seconds, however, to grasp the main reason for the low light: the entrance into the garden had been blocked with fallen rocks. The collapse had dammed the stream, raising the water level of the pools in the antechamber.
The nymphs were chanting loudly in the dark recesses behind him, but he ignored them. He felt safe with Petersen's pistol. He rushed to the entrance and pulled at the rocks but only managed to create a narrow, horizontal gap with a letterbox-shaped view of the garden. He angled his head, peered to the right and saw the lake. Then he peered to the left and smiled. Some distance away, gun in hand, Bazin stood over Kelly. Sister Chantal lay motionless between them. Two other figures were partially visible: Zeb Quinn and Hackett.
He called out but couldn't make himself heard above the nymphs' din. He put the Source fragment and the pistol into his backpack next to the detonator box and pulled out his two-way radio. He pressed the transmit button and saw Bazin reach for his radio and put it to his ear.
'Marco, I'm trapped in the antechamber. The others are dead. Who's with you? I can only see you and Kelly fully.'
'I've got him, Zeb Quinn and Hackett here.'
'What about Sister Chantal?'
'She's dead.'
'Good. Shoot the others, then come and get me out.'
'Why kill them? They intend no harm to the garden.'
'Don't question me. If they leave here they'll tell everyone what they've seen. To do the most good, the Holy Mother Church must keep this place and its miracles secret.'
'And the garden? If I kill them we don't need to harm it.'
Torino clenched his jaw and bit back his impatience. 'This garden belongs to the Church, Marco. Rome will decide how it serves God best.' Of course the garden had to be destroyed. The pope had made it explicit that nothing here could be allowed to contradict his infallible doctrine. He had expressly stated that whatever Torino found could only bring glory to Rome, and that the Holy Father could have no personal knowledge of anything he might later have to deny. Therefore, before Torino presented this place to Rome, everything questionable had to be purged from it. There was no guarantee that his half-brother would understand this, though, and Torino needed his help to get out. He looked down at the detonator control. 'But, as I told you, the incendiaries were only
