The
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Power of the
Merlin awoke at five a.m.,
dressed quickly, and went downstairs to prepare Mass for Philip and Simon. When
he arrived, he found Philip staring through the window at the lake, deep in
thought. One night of pumping furiously, and the lake was almost empty.
"What are you
doing up so early? You will need all the sleep you can get to preserve your
strength. Today is going to be the biggest day of your life."
"How do you
expect me to sleep after what I heard last night? I tossed and turned for a
couple of hours and then just gave up. I've been watching those men out there.
They’ve been pumping that lake all night long. I've also noticed that these
hills are filled with armed people. I suspect they’re not just company for
those who came in the two Choppers."
Merlin prepared the
table for Mass as he spoke. "Yes! I know! They are always here. They
pretend to be farmers or fishermen in the area, but they are always here. They
have been protecting that lake for seven hundred years." Merlin left the
room to fetch Simon.
To Philip, that sounded
odd. Why would anyone have to protect a lake? But he remembered now. The world
he awoke to today was forever different from the one he had become accustomed
to. Yesterday had changed everything. His awareness of his God-given mission in
life was beginning to take shape. Merlin had said such staggering things to
him. And the pope? His doubts about the authenticity
of that ceremony had evaporated. Still his eyes were fixed on the lake. He
reasoned, obviously, that there had to be something IN the lake that was being
protected, not the lake itself. But what could be of such compelling import
that generations of men, in the guise of farmers and townsfolk, would devote
their entire lives protecting it? He had a powerful sense that he was soon to
find out!
After Mass, they all
enjoyed a hearty breakfast, which Merlin prepared himself. There were four men
in the front of the building wearing Knight robes, OSV
machine guns at the ready. These four never came inside. Philip was still in
casual clothes, this time tennis shoes and a heavy pull-over sweater. During
breakfast, Simon asked Merlin many questions about the conversation the night
before. Merlin answered them all very patiently. Philip just listened. After
eating, Philip silently left the table to sit in a wooden rocking chair. In a
moment, he was fast asleep.
Simon laughed loudly
with admiration. "So! This is the Great Monarch!" He looked down at
the little man sleeping in the chair. "So this is what I was born to
protect and to follow unto death! God has either strange ways or a good sense
of humor."
The rest of the
morning passed quietly. Simon resumed his post, watching over Philip, while
Merlin sat pensively. At 12:00 noon, Philip was still sleeping when a quiet but
firm knock was heard on the front door. Simon peered out the window, retrieved
his modified M-60, and opened the door. A serious looking Knight stepped
briskly inside, walked over to the rocking chair, and looked down at the
sleeping King. Without averting his gaze, he said to Merlin, simply, "It's
ready."
"You wait here.
I'll check," Merlin ordered Simon. As Philip slept on, Simon brewed him
some coffee.
Within fifteen
minutes, Merlin was back. "It's ready."
"Have the hills
been checked?"
"Yes! And as soon
as we are seen leaving the rectory, the escort choppers will lift off and do a
quick reconnaissance of the surroundings. We will need tight security for the
rest of the day, no matter the cost." Merlin looked at Philip and shook
his head. "I will never understand the mind of God." He shook Philip.
"Get up, my King, the world awaits."
Simon brought him the
coffee as Philip rubbed his eyes. "Well, it couldn’t have been a bad dream
if you two are still here!" Philip was only teasing. He knew that today
was to be the most important day of his life, even greater than yesterday. He
gratefully drank the coffee without rising from the rocking chair. "I had
a strange dream. There was an angel standing on the Earth and making an oath to
God. It was very odd."
"When you are
ready, we must go." Clearly, Merlin was getting nervous again. He had
resumed his pacing back and forth, going nowhere in a very great hurry!
At last, Philip
announced, "All right! I'm ready." His hair was disheveled, he hadn't
shaven, and his clothes looked like he had slept in them, which of course he
had. But he was ready. Merlin shook his head in disbelief at the spectacle
before him and led the intrepid trio out the door. Outside were eight Knights
wearing robes and clutching modified AK-47s.
When Philip stepped
out, all the knights bowed. This caught Philip by surprise, and he almost
stumbled back into the rectory. Running his hand along his chin, he felt his
whiskers, and then ran the same hand through his hair. The bowing Knights had
strengthened his growing awareness that he was somehow, unbelievably, special.
He grabbed Merlin by the sleeve of his habit. "I think I should go back in
and clean up a bit." Merlin eagerly agreed.
In short order, Philip
reappeared decked out in a new set of clothes and looking much better. He even wore
a suede coat with a fur collar. The Knights bowed again, but this time, Philip
was expecting it. He followed Merlin to the back of the rectory and then they
walked towards the lake. Simon and the other Knights followed behind closely.
No one spoke a word.
When they arrived at
the lake shore, Philip could see that they had built a sort of bridge across
the drained lake. It extended to the center of the lake where there sat a pile
of large rocks that had been submerged for so many centuries. Two men stood on
each side of the bridge at the center of the lake.
"Follow me."
Merlin walked quickly out to the center of the lake with Philip close behind.
Simon followed the new king, but the other men spread out around the lake.
In the center of the
lake, amidst the pile of rocks, there was an opening with a set of solid rock
stairs descending about fifteen feet. Merlin made his way over the rocks and
slowly stepped down the stairs. Philip and Simon followed. Naturally,
everything was wet. At the bottom of the steps was a flat passage about a
hundred feet long. At its end was another staircase. Philip followed Merlin
down the passage and up the other stairs. At the top of these stairs there was
a short landing and then more stairs going down again. Somebody had gone to
considerable trouble to hide whatever Philip was about to find! At the bottom
of these stairs, everything was dry. Candles had already been placed along the
way. Again, there was a long passageway, this one on a slight incline. Philip
figured that they were now under the mountain and out of the lake.
Awaiting them at the
end of this passage was a large copper door with beautiful inlays of sculpted
grapes, angels, pomegranate trees, and Templar Knights. In its center was
carved a crown like the one on the Table at the rectory. Merlin reached into
his brown robe and pulled out a large key. When Merlin was young he had dived
many times into the lake and visited the room he was about to go into. But it was now 50 years since he had been
there and despite his best efforts his enfeebled hands couldn't turn the key. A
quick glance from the priest and Simon quickly reached forward, worked the
lock, and pushed the door open.
Inside was a flat
space about ten feet square with another door on the other side. "Be very
careful in here. Brusque movement will cause the ceiling to collapse, and there
are five hundred feet of rock above us."
Merlin handed another
key to Simon. He turned it very slowly. With this door now unlocked but
unopened, he returned and closed the other door, then carefully locked and
tested it. He rejoined Merlin and Philip and pulled open the other door very
slowly, all the while looking very carefully at the ceiling. Once open, he
stepped aside to let Merlin and Philip pass.
Merlin lit three candles
and passed them around. They walked up a short flight of stairs and down to
another door. This door didn't look like it was made of copper. It looked like
gold. Philip reached out and touched the door. It was eight feet tall and six
feet wide, beautifully carved with the same images as the first door.
"Yes! It's gold." Merlin offered. "It’s
solid gold and three inches thick. Even Simon would not be able to push it open
if it was not so well balanced on those hinges."
Merlin made the sign
of the cross, said a short prayer, and took out a gold triangle from his
pocket. He placed the triangle into a slot on the door. It fell through and
came back out a slot at the bottom. "OK! Simon, it's time to see how
strong you really are."
Simon leaned against
the door and pushed it open a couple of feet. He stepped part way through the
narrow opening, put his back to the door frame and then pushed it wide open.
Merlin picked up the candle and walked in. He proceeded down four steps as the
candlelight filled the room. Philip stepped into the room closely behind.
Philip stood in awe.
The light from the one candle filled the room with dazzling light. It was the
size of a basketball arena. The floor was at least one hundred feet long and
seventy feet wide. The ceiling was round and vaulted, about seventy feet high
at the center with eight pillars down two sides. There were barred, eight inch
holes on the right and left sides of the room for ventilation.
What lit the room up
from Merlin's single candle was the gold, piles and piles of gold everywhere.
The entire floor was filled with gold coins, gold vessels, gold candlesticks,
gold bowls, gold lamps, gold censers, palm trees of gold, basins, pillars,
cherubim angels, altars, all of gold and inlaid with costly stones. In some
places, the gold was piled twenty feet high. On both sides of the large room
were two cherubim angels fifteen feet tall with wings fifteen feet long from
tip to tip. Chains and cords of solid gold hung from the walls.
At the end of the
room, about 100 feet from Philip, sat a large altar of solid gold, itself
inlaid with beautiful stones. On top of the altar was a leather bound box about
two feet long and two feet tall with no markings. Jewish candle holders rested
on both sides but they held no candles. Instead, on either side of the leather
box, there was a single candle holder with a candle that Merlin lit.
Philip stepped down
the four steps as Simon went around the room lighting candles in the walls.
Merlin stood looking at Philip for his reaction to the unimaginable wealth in
the room. Philip kept turning around and around. He had never been impressed
with wealth, but this was overwhelming. He had never imagined that so much gold
and so many jewels could be in one place. It seemed as if all the gold in the
world was in this one room.
One thing was out of
place, a plain leather box on the large gold table. The mere fact that it stood out caused Philip
to come back to it over and over after looking over the entire room. The two 15 foot angels seemed to be looking
at the plain leather box. Pointing:
“What is that?”
Merlin went up the
box. He pulled the top off and then
moved the two doors on the sides open which in turn opened the sides and laid
them down behind. In the box was a
chalice. It was a brown glass cup about
6 inches tall held in place by webbing of gold grapes and vines on the bottom
third of the cup. It had a gold base,
stand and handles also decorated in grapes and vines. The glass cup was half
full of something black and solid. “This is the Holy Grail, the cup of the Last
Supper.”
“The
Holy Grail! Then there is a real Holy Grail?”
“Yes! This is the most famous relic in the history
of the world and as you study it let me tell you its history because this will become
part of your life from now on.
"The Grail, before Moses set it in gold, was just
the brown diamond cup that you see. It was first given to Enoch by Adam in a
short wine and bread ceremony. Adam used it in the Garden of Eden to eat and
drink from the Tree of Life.”
Merlin was talking
quietly and slowly so that Philip could follow and contemplate what he was
saying.
“When they left the Garden of Eden, they took the cup
with them. It passed down to Enoch.
Enoch left it with Methuselah before he ascended to
Philip did not take
his eyes off the Chalice. Merlin was not sure if he was even listening. He
decided to go on anyway.
"When the safety of the
"But the Grail was not in the
"Christ knew the Holy Grail was in the wall of
the upper room. He removed it and used it to change wine into His Precious
Blood. Later, Joseph of Arimethia used it to remove
the Blood that fell down from the cross into the rock crevices. What you see in
the Chalice is the real Blood of Christ. That is why it is called grail. Grail
means blood, holy blood." Merlin
stopped and stepped backwards quietly.
Now it was up to
Philip. Everything depended on this moment. All these elaborate preparations
depended on this man. All Merlin could do now was wait. He looked over at
Simon. Simon did not move, and though his eyes were wet from the tears he had
shed, he could not take them off of the Grail.
Philip finally turned
away from the Grail, looked over at Merlin, and with tears streaming down his
face he asked, "How can I serve the Blood of Christ?"
The weight of
centuries seemed to flee Merlin in an instant. As the words left Philip’s
mouth, Merlin dropped down next to the kneeling Philip and hugged him from the
side with both arms. He placed his head on Philip's shoulder with a mixture of
joy and relief.
After a time, Merlin
rose and held out a hand to Philip. Philip also rose, but he did not take his
eyes off the Chalice. Merlin turned towards the Holy Grail, removed the flat
cap, pulled down a veil, placed it over his hands, and picked up the Holy Grail
by the two large handles. He turned around and faced Philip and lifted the
Chalice up above his head.
"This is the
Blood of Christ, the Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant. Through Him, with
Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours,
almighty Father, for ever and ever, Amen."
Merlin lowered the
Chalice, looked at Philip, "Take and drink, this is my blood." He
handed the Holy Grail to Philip. Philip reached out hesitantly, put his hands
under the veil, so as not to actually touch the Grail, and grabbed both handles
with great care, so as not to drop it. He looked down into the cup, a cup that
had been in the hands of Adam and Christ. The blood that lay inside was
coagulated. It was hard and black. But as Philip looked down into the cup, the
blood softened and liquefied, turning red. Philip cringed at the thought of
drinking blood, but he was determined to do it because it was Christ’s blood
and Christ commanded it (
To his surprise the blood tasted like fine wine. He
lowered the Chalice and stared into the cup. The liquid solidified again and
became hard. As he handed the Grail to Merlin, a great change had come over
him. His tears were gone. His face had changed too. He no longer showed the
doubt or fear that he had before. He face was now chiseled with daring
determination.
"My Lord, it is
time." Merlin shouted. "Simon, carry the Chalice. It is time to
go." Merlin placed the Chalice back into the leather box, restoring the
lid.
Simon slung his weapon
over his shoulder and picked up the box. Merlin led the way, Simon following
and Philip walking behind. They closed the doors carefully as they left this
holy sanctuary.