Free The Centaur by Brendan Carroll

daughters, he would be counted among the fallen, that is, he consorted with human women and taught sorcery to men. Further, he followed the wishes of the lesser god, who lived in this place and ministered to him as well, even to the point of helping him to procure a faithful following in the living, breathing multitude of the Hebrew nation, descendents of Jacob and Abraham. Somewhere between Abraham and Jacob and the birth of Moses, we lose sight of the Creator and take up the story of the god who created man in a feeble attempt to imitate his Father in Heaven. Here we find Jehovah or Yaldabaoth making a last attempt to bring man under his control, making promises he could not or would not keep and presenting them with a small, but inherently impossible set of laws to live by. But he served his purpose in the grand scheme of things, setting man on the path to enlightenment by giving him a reason for his suffering and a goal to work toward. Never-the-less, we cannot disallow his power, whether or not he still visits this place. Whether or not Raguel still abides in this hallowed ground, we must be cautious. Those posturings at the summit are not of natural origins as most of you may have guessed. Something or someone is up there and whoever it is, he is not pleased to see us. We must prepare ourselves to face some opposition in regard to our primary objective.” Edgard ceased speaking and frowned again at Lucio accusingly. “Du Morte picked a fine time to abandon us, Sir.”
    “I tried to stop him, Your Grace.” Lucio told him evenly. “He has never paid much attention to me.”
    “I would tend to disagree with you on that point, Sir,” Edgard stood up and cast a disgusted look around the circle. “But he has gone and his timing could not have been worse in my estimation. We could have used his knowledge and his skill in dealing with whatever it is we must face.”
    “Surely our success or failure does not depend upon the absence or presence of one member of this council, Your Grace.” Barry objected and the others nodded their agreement. “We are not without our own measure of strength and knowledge.”
    “I hope your confidence is well founded, Sir Barry.” Edgard smiled slightly at the Soneschal. “In the meantime, I suggest that we go on with things as planned. I will make another assessment of the situation atop the mountain before we proceed. Konrad? Are you prepared to give the Last Communion?”
    “I am, Sir.” Konrad nodded. He had rehearsed it in his mind a thousand times and gone over it with several members of the Council.
    “Simon, Levi? Are the preparations of the Tabernacle nearing completion?” He turned his attention to the Healer.
    “We have prepared everything as prescribed by law, Your Grace.” Simon nodded to him.
    “What of the hole, the pit?” Lavon asked the question. “I have sounded its depths and I am not pleased with the looks of it. We could find ourselves at the summit of an active geothermal vent.”
    “Much like what occurred in Italy.” Lucio reminded them of the painful subject no one dared broach. “Mt. Vesuvius was not happy with us then.”
    “Mt. Sinai is not a volcano, Golden Eagle,” d’Brouchart scoffed in defense.
    “There is a vent there, Your Grace,” Lavon reiterated and stood his ground. “I suggest we wait a bit. See if more activity is forthcoming. These disturbances in the air above the summit could have a natural origin. If the vent is discharging gases into the atmosphere, especially, hot gases, the turbulence and storm clouds could be a result of natural processes. It is not unusual to find storms of unnatural intensity accompanying violent disturbances such as earthquakes, volcanoes and other tectonic upheavals.”
    “I’m sure that is all very fascinating, Sir de Bleu, but I assure you, these clouds forebode a more sinister origin, I’m afraid.” D’Brouchart looked up at the thundering menace hanging over the mountain. “If only we had