The Lafayette Sword Read Online Free PDF Page B

the foot of the cross, which needed to burst into flames imm ediately.
    Silence fell on the crowd. The prisoner wa s led out.

13
    Grand Orient Masonic Hall
    Evening of the initiation
    â€œT his can’t be,” Marcas said, touching his friend’s hand. It was still warm. He closed Paul’s eyes and stepped back. Two murders in a matter of minutes. It was insane. It was monstrous. The killer had used a venerated rite to execute an initiate and had then slain a disabled brother—in this very place. The person who did this was clearly out to humiliate and ridicule the victims and the Freemasons a s a whole.
    Marcas jumped when the door slammed behind him. He heard footsteps in the hallway and rushed after them, adrenaline kicking in. He would get the bastard who desecrated this temple and killed hi s friend.
    He caught sight of a shadow at the bottom of the stairs and took the steps two at a time, following the fugitive into Groussier Temple, the largest in the building. It could hold three hundred people and was said to be the most remarkable Masonic sanctuary in the French capital. Marcas stopped and examined the rows of seats. He heard a noise to the left and grasped the handle of his sword. The ceremonial weapon could possibly save his life. A shadow appeared among the deserted rows—a man in black, his fac e covered.
    Marcas made his way toward the sound. “Police! Stop where you are.”
    The masked man turned toward Marcas. He pulled out a knife and twirled it. Marcas stared at him. He needed to stall until the other brother s arrived.
    â€œThere’s no way out of this building. The exits are guarded. Set down yo ur knife.”
    The man stood still. Marcas advanc ed slowly.
    Instead of putting the knife down, the man used it to point at something he wa s wearing.
    Marcas stopped. He couldn’t quite ma ke it out.
    The killer reached out with his left hand and hit a switch, filling the whole room w ith light.
    â€œSo now you see, d on’t you?”
    The man was wearing a white Masonic apron covered with splotches of blood.
    â€œYou’re on e of us?”
    The man lowered the knife again, and his voice rang out. “Of course, my brother…”

14
    The banks of the Seine
    March 13, 1355
    F lamel watched as the prisoner, held on both sides, stumbled toward the pyre. He was wearing an immaculate white shirt. His thick long hair was tied back. The henchman’s aids hoisted him atop the branches, logs, and vine shoots and tied him to the cross. The people were st one quiet.
    Flamel glanced at the window of the Louvre, from which the king and his family would be watching. The public accuser’s voice rang out in the night.
    â€œIsaac Benserade, Jew from the Kingdom of León, you are accused of lying and committing perjury and treason toward King John, the second of his name.”
    A murmur spread through the crowd. These were extremely serious accusations, Was the man a spy for th e English?
    â€œIsaac Benserade, you are accused of committing fraud and counte rfeiting.”
    Cries of anger rose up from the crowd. It was no secret that pawnbrokers and other lenders were both needed and despised.
    â€œIsaac Benserade, you are accused of practicing black magic with herbs, philters, and other Devil liquids.”
    The crowd’s anger rose to rage. Memories of the black death were still vivid. When prayers and processions had failed to stop the plague, the priests had turned their attention to heretics and Jews. The priests accused these so-called nonbelievers of poisoning Christians. Alembics and hellish liquids were discovered in Avignon’s Jewish quarter. The children of Abraham were deemed murderous renegades.
    The crowd was crying out for vengeance now. The wanted a scapegoat to pay for their misery, someone to punish for the disasters visited upon humanity.
    Unnoticed by his neighbor, Nicolas Flamel pulled away from the crowd. He felt a hand on his