Red Chapel (Dark Isle Series Book 3) by David Longhorn

Author:David Longhorn [Longhorn, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ScareStreet.com
Published: 2017-01-29T06:00:00+00:00

***

“The Knights Templar? I've heard of those guys,” said Sue. “Were they some kind of Crusader army that were purged by the Catholic Church?”

“Go to the top of the class!” said Ralph, pouring out wine. “The Templars were indeed one of many Crusading orders. Then as now, war was a big business and they built up a huge network across Europe and the Holy Land. They were moneylenders and politicians, as well as warriors. And they remained rather mysterious. Very shady lot, we have relatively few hard facts about them.”

“Where did they get their name from?” asked Jo, adding, “This is delicious by the way.”

“Thank you! And the name comes from Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, which is significant,” said Ralph. “Because Solomon, in medieval times, was believed to be a mighty warlock who controlled demons. He recruited them to move the immense stones for the temple. The fact that the Templars associated themselves, albeit indirectly, with that legend was probably significant.”

“They were sending the message to educated people that they had occult knowledge,” said Sue. “But not admitting it openly?”

“I vaguely recall that a lot of Templars ended up being burned at the stake,” said Mark. “Was that for sorcery?”

“Allegedly,” said Ralph. “The order was accused by the Pope of consorting with demons and plotting all sorts of terrible deeds. They were supposed to worship a disembodied head called Baphomet and do questionable things with goats. The King of France rounded up the leaders, who were based in Paris. With that kind of power ranged against them, the Templars wealth and influence counted for very little. Their leader, Jacques Molay, was burned at the stake. The rest of the Templars went underground in the early fourteenth century. They vanished from recorded history.”

“Okay,” said Jo, “It all makes a fine story, but why did Mark's dream remind you of a dodgy medieval organization?”

Ralph smiled over a forkful of pasta.

“Because the Templars had one rather odd fixation. They were known for building circular churches.”

Jo turned to Mark.

“Wasn't Thomas Beauclerc supposed to have gone to the Holy Land at about the time the Templars were wiped out?”

“Yes,” he said, “that's what Victor Carew found in the archives on Skara. So maybe there is a link. He was just the sort of guy to be part of a secret society.”

“Could be,” Mark conceded. “But if the room in the nightmare is a real place, where is it?”

Ralph scooped up some more pasta and smiled enigmatically.

“You know, don't you?” asked Jo. “Or you have some idea, at least?”

“I'm almost sure that there is a round church in Cambridge, or at least there was at some point. I believe it was once known as the Red Chapel.”

“That can't be a coincidence,” said Mark. “Thomas controlled the Red Abbey on Skara, now he's involved with a Red Chapel.”

“Let's not get ahead of ourselves,” warned Jo. “For a start, why red?”

Ralph shrugged.

“Perhaps because of a bloody or scandalous reputation,” he said. “Or it might simply have been made of red bricks.

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