ROCKED BY THE WAVES Read Online Free PDF Page B

Maries de la Mer. Two women named Mary were with her. They were the ones that had witnessed Jesus’ death. Maria Salomé and Maria di Giacomo, which is Mary in Italian. In the South of France, the three of them died but first they spread Christianism. Magdalene is said to have died in Aix-en-Provence. Then she was buried in Vézelay.»
    I had always known Madgalene was a prostitute. How come she be a Christian? Alex explained patiently.
    «She is a fictitious character, or sort of. She might even be three women. Maria di Betania, who was Lazarus’ sister, a sinner whom we know nothing about, and Maria di Magdala, that is to say Magdalene».
    Wow. That was unexpected. But it also made sense. Our two trips were somehow linked. Rome and France had a connection. It was Alex, actually, that had decided where to go on our honeymoon. I was still thinking about that, when Alex spoke.
    «I’m part of a secret organization, Claire. It’s a very ancient one and I can’t tell you much about it... I must not, you see. For your security, and for mine as well».
    He took a deep breath.
    «One year ago, parchments containing numbers and codes have been found. I went to Paris, where I met my dearest friends. We’re still studying the content of the parchments, but they seem to tell a very old story. I’ll have to meet a few people and you won’t always be able to accompany me, so please be patient».
    His words were like daggers. So that was it. A secret society.
    «What’s this to do with Magdalene? And with you?»
    His answer was not clarifying.
    «It’s a very ancient story. It begins some 2000 years ago when Magdalene went to the French Gaule and founded a new Dinasty, the Merovingians. They were killed by the Carolingians but an heir survived. His secret has gotten to our century thanks to the Templars».
    I was stuck, so I remained silent for a few minutes. We got to Carcassonne, where the Arch of Alliance was said to have been kept.
    We were staying at Alex’s friends. We had our own rooms and we would have all the privacy we needed.
    On the following morning we visited the site.
    It was in the Aude and it was crossed by the river. It was a small town, but charming nonetheless.
    That night, Alex told me he needed to go to a meeting which I could not attend.
    «But we just got here. Can’t you do this some other day?»
    No, he couldn’t.
    «Some of those people have come from very far countries, mon coeur».
    Mon coeur. Bad sign. He was hiding something from me.
    It was sundown and he was ready to go. I decided I would follow him. So as he waved goodbye, I waved back: «I’ll be reading a book.». We kissed and I waited a few seconds. Then I went out.
    He walked through the narrow streets and along the river. It was getting dark, so he didn’t notice me.  I was holding my breath. We walked for some fifteen minutes, then he entered a building. It was an old one. There were no lights, but in the back I saw a big window. A feeble light came from there. Candles, I believed. It seemed to me that they were exaggerating. I was fine with secrecy, but that was way too much.
    I looked inside the room. Many men wearing hoods were standing there. They even wore masks. I was scared and a sudden thought hit me: they had some other purpose than talking old tales. An altar was in the middle of the room. They spoke an unknown language.
    Someone was lying on the altar and a man approached. He undressed part of his body and they had sex. It made me feel uncomfortable.
    I started looking for Alex when I noticed a scar on the man’s leg. It was Alex. The man having sex with the woman on the altar was my husband.
    What was he doing? Why? Who had I married?
    I went back and sat in my room. Now I could see why he couldn’t take me to his meeting. I was angry. Should I talk to him?
    When he got home, I didn’t even notice. I was too busy thinking. He hugged me and kissed my hair.
    «You’ve been waiting for me. How sweet of you. How was your