Alex Lukeman - The Cup

"Lots of symbolism there," Lamont said. "Sounds almost X-rated."

"Sex always makes for a good hook in a story," Ronnie said. "Don't forget Guinevere and Lancelot."

"Sex, betrayal, revenge and heroic deeds," Nick said, "not to mention Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake. It's a soap opera."

"Everything revolves around the Grail," Selena said. "Without the Grail, there's nothing to hold the story together. I think that's what you're supposed to pay attention to."

"The Grail? I thought that's what I was doing. Why we're here."

"I don't mean the physical cup. It's what it symbolizes that's important."

"Redemption?"

"And healing. Just like in the myth."

Halfway through the drive, Nick handed the wheel over to Ronnie. He moved to the back and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the tires on the road and the drone of the engine. He fell asleep and hoped he wouldn't dream.

It was dark when they reached Midyat. The monastery was about a half hour away. Selena used the GPS to guide them to a hotel, where Nick reserved rooms for two nights. Maybe they'd go back to Incirlik tomorrow, maybe not.

Nick's dreams were filled with dark shadows and flashes of light. The next morning they had breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

Selena looked at the menu. It was in Turkish.

"Shall I order for all of us?"

"Go for it. Just so long as it tastes good and it's hot," Lamont said.

"Coffee," Nick said.

Selena surprised the waiter when she ordered in Turkish. Soon after, a steaming pot of black coffee appeared. Not long after that the waiter brought a large tray with several platters and a basket heaped with bread.

Ronnie looked down at a round metal dish in front of him. Steam drifted from the surface.

"What's this?"

" Menemem, " Selena said. "It's a combination of eggs, tomatoes, spices and peppers. Probably has some onions, garlic and oregano. It's a common dish here for breakfast. Try it."

Ronnie tasted it. "Not bad. Like an omelette. Or a pizza without the crust."

"How can you have pizza without crust?" Lamont said.

"I didn't say it was a pizza, I said it was like a pizza, only without the crust."

"There's no pepperoni either."

"Pizzas don't always have pepperoni."

"Mine do. Better that way."

After that conversation the table was quiet except for the sounds of eating. By the time they left the hotel it had started to rain, a cold drizzle falling from a featureless, gray sky.

They got into the Toyota. Nick started the car and turned on the heater.

"What's the plan?" Ronnie asked.

"First we get gas. I saw a station last night, when we came in. Then we head to the monastery."

"And?"

Nick pulled out of the parking lot.

"I don't have a specific plan. We have to take it one step at a time. They give tours. We'll do a little recon first. I'm hoping something will give us an opening to ask about the Grail."

"You expect them to tell you they've got it?"

"Not at first. We're going to have to convince them that the secret is out and the bad guys are coming after it."

"How will they know we're not the bad guys?" Lamont asked.

"Selena will handle it," Nick said.

"I will?"

"You speak the language. You know the history. You're our best bet."

"What am I supposed to tell them?"

"You'll think of something."

"Even if the Grail was here, it could have been stolen or lost or moved."

"You can ask them about it. After you convince them we're on the side of the angels."

The monastery was a sprawling complex of stone buildings on a high plateau. From the highway they followed a drive lined with trees to a large, paved parking lot. There were a dozen cars in the lot, including a black Mercedes with a uniformed driver waiting inside the car. He glanced over at them and went back to reading a newspaper.

The rain had stopped. They got out of the car and walked toward a set of broad, stone steps leading up to the entrance. Two tall bell towers topped with the Syriac cross rose over the buildings. Everything was made of sand-colored stone, perfectly cut and fitted. The motif of the diamond cross was everywhere you looked, set on balustrades as finials and carved into the walls.

"This is something," Lamont said. "Place looks like a fortress. That's a hell of a lot of stone."

"The monastery has been here for more than sixteen hundred years," Selena said. "They've had a lot of time to work on it."

"Let's see if anyone's home," Nick said.

They climbed past two crosses flanking the steps and stepped onto a flat stone terrace in front of the entrance. The door opened as they approached. A monk waited to greet them.

A full beard streaked with gray reached halfway down his chest. He wore a robe of midnight blue that was almost black, with a tight hood that covered his hair. It was bordered with white and divided in the middle by a white line. The top of the hood bore a lighter field of blue stitched with a dozen white Syriac crosses.

Nick guessed his age at around sixty. His face appeared relaxed. He looked as though he spent a lot of time smiling. He was shorter than Nick, about Ronnie's height.

The monk stood to the side and gestured for them to come in.

"Welcome," he said. "I'm Brother Jacob. Please, enter. Your friend is waiting for you."

"What friend?" Nick asked.

"This way," the monk said.

He led them down a long arched colonnade and through three arched doorways. As they moved deeper into the complex, the look of the passage changed. They were coming to the oldest part of the monastery, part of the original building.

They entered a chapel with an elaborate altar set in an alcove at one end. The wall behind the altar was decorated with a mosaic design of the Syriac cross. Mosaic grapevines bearing clusters of grapes climbed the edges of the alcove.

Count Mercurio was waiting for them.

"Hello, Mister Carter."

"What are you doing here, Count?"

"The same as you, looking for the Grail."

"Count Mercurio has been telling me about your quest," Brother Jacob said. "It is most admirable, but I am sorry to disappoint you. What you are looking for is not here."

"I mean no disrespect, Brother, but it's a little hard for me to just take your word for it. We know the Grail was brought here after it left Italy."

"Yes, your friend has explained it to me. The tiles told a true story. The monk on the tile was Brother Gabriel. He was one of the first to live here, one of the builders. It was wonderful for me to see a picture of him."

"Then the Grail was here? You admit it?"

"We have nothing to hide. If it were still here perhaps I would not be so forthcoming with you, but it was taken to Rhodes centuries ago."

"Rhodes? Why Rhodes?"

"Are you familiar with the history of our monastery?"

"No."

"There is a long history of conflict here with Islam."

"That figures," Ronnie said.

The monk continued. "Have you heard of Tamerlane?"

"The last Mongol conqueror," Selena said. "He wanted to re-create the Empire of Genghis Khan."

"That is the man," Jacob said. "Timur the Lame. He called himself the 'Sword of Islam.' In 1401 he attacked this monastery. The remains of the monks he murdered are buried in caves below the chapel floor where we stand."

"What does that have to do with the Grail?" Nick asked.

"My predecessors knew what was likely to happen. It was decided to move the Grail to a place of safety. It was taken to Rhodes and placed under the protection of the Knights Hospitallers."

"So your order is no longer responsible for its protection?"

"That is correct."

Up until now Mercurio had been silent, listening to the conversation. Now he interrupted.