The Lost Throne

20

The words hit Dial like a sucker punch. Their impact was so unexpected, he actually had a physical reaction. His cheeks flushed. His chest tightened. Acid gurgled in his gut.

“What do you mean he wasn’t a monk? Who the hell was he?”

Theodore ignored the profanity. “That is a question I cannot answer, for I do not know.”

Dial took a deep breath, trying to calm down. But the thought of being duped by an impostor got his blood boiling. “You’re sure you don’t know him? Old guy. Walks with a limp.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dial—”

“Nick. Call me Nick.”

Theodore nodded. “I’m sorry, Nick. I have lived at Metéora for nearly a decade, but I don’t know the man you describe.”

Dial grimaced as he replayed the previous night in his head. He remembered seeing the light under the door. He’d knocked. Nicolas had answered and closed the door behind him. Then they had walked to the bell tower, where Nicolas had regaled him with stories of the monastic life. At no point had Dial found anything about their conversation suspicious. In fact, he had been thrilled to talk to someone as knowledgeable as Nicolas. So much so, he had thought he was a godsend.

Now he didn’t know what to think.

If Nicolas wasn’t a monk, what was he? And what had he been doing at Metéora?

Could his presence have anything to do with the bloodstain on the door?

That possibility bothered Dial. It was something he needed to find out.

He said, “Please forgive me. Where are my manners? There you are holding a box, and here I am standing in your way. Please let me help.”

Theodore nodded as Dial grabbed the box. It was crammed with books, toiletries, and a few personal items. Sitting on top was a large key ring, filled with the type of keys that a dungeon master might have used in the Middle Ages. They were old and long and made out of brass. Theodore picked up the ring and searched for the correct key. It took several seconds to find it.

Dial filled the silence with small talk. “Sorry about your abbot. When did you hear?”

“This morning during breakfast. All of us were saddened by the news.”

“Us?”

“The brothers of Great Metéoron. It is the largest of the six monasteries. It sits in the hills above Kastraki. Perhaps you saw it on your drive to Holy Trinity.”

Dial shook his head. “With the abbot gone, who selected you to come here?”

“Nobody. I volunteered.”

“That’s awfully noble of you.”

Theodore said nothing, concentrating on the keys instead. He finally found the one he was looking for and put it in the old lock. It turned with a loud click. Pushing the door forward, he stepped inside, then turned on the light. Dial followed him in, hoping to figure out why Nicolas had been in there the night before. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to examine.

The ceiling was supported by dozens of ancient beams, far more than necessary. There were so many planks up there, angled in so many different directions, it looked like a wooden spiderweb. Fascinated by the haphazard design, Dial studied it with two things in mind. First, he hoped to spot another nanny cam somewhere in the rafters — just like the one they had found in the gift shop. But the only wires he saw were for the iron chandelier that lit the windowless room. Second, Dial wanted to figure out why the monks had killed half a forest to hold up such a small ceiling.

There had to be a rational explanation, didn’t there?

Theodore anticipated the question. “No one knows why it was built in that manner.”

“Really? It just seems so odd. Like an abstract painting.”

“We have a library at Great Metéoron. It is filled with hundreds of manuscripts, including a history of our monasteries. Not only the six survivors, but the earlier ones as well. I have read these records myself, and no answers were given. It remains a mystery to this day.”

Dial searched the room for other anomalies but saw nothing out of the ordinary. The floor was made of large gray stones that were held together by some kind of mortar. Two small cots sat against the near wall, separated by a nightstand and a lamp. The only other furniture was a rickety table and four wooden chairs under the chandelier. Dial put Theodore’s box on the table and instantly regretted it. A thick cloud of dust floated into the air, making him sneeze.

He nearly made a smart-ass comment about the previous tenant being lax in his cleaning duties, but he bit his tongue when he remembered that the previous monk was now dead.

Looking to change the subject, Dial focused on the only splash of color in the dreary room. An enormous blue tapestry hung across the back wall. It was fringed with golden tassels around the edges and had a large gold cross in the center. It looked like a Christian cross, except it had an extra bar above the horizontal beam and a slanted bar — that looked like a forward slash — underneath it. Dial had seen the same symbol inside the church.

“Is this your cross?” Dial asked. He had learned a lot about crosses when he worked his crucifixion case a few years back, so he was interested in the subject.

“Yes. The Crux Orthodoxa. The Eastern Orthodox cross. It is the cross of my faith.”

“What do the beams represent?”

Theodore pointed toward the tapestry. “The top beam represents the sign that hung above Christ. It said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.’”

“And the slanted beam at the bottom? Is that a footrest?”

“Some scholars believe so, but many of my faith disagree. To us, it represents the two thieves who were crucified next to Christ. The criminal on the left was repentant and accepted Christ as his savior, so his side points toward Heaven. The thief on the right rejected Him, so his side points toward Hell.”

“Really?” As someone who dealt with people of all religions and beliefs, Dial was surprised he didn’t know that. “I learn something new every day.”

“I’m glad I could enlighten you,” Theodore said. “If you have any other questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Otherwise, I’d like to make myself available to the other officers.”

“Please, help them out. They need it more than I do.”

Dial glanced around the room again. But this time he had a strange feeling that he was overlooking something. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he sensed it was something important. “If it’s okay with you, can I stay in here and look around some more? We already missed the blood on the door. I’d hate to think we missed something inside.”

Theodore frowned as he considered the request.

Hoping to charm him, Dial put his hand on one of the rickety chairs. “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t steal the furniture.”

The monk cracked a smile, then scurried out of the room.