Bones of Angels by Christopher Forrest Page B

they were getting very close to a truth hidden for thousands of years. The Fox obviously was — and still is — aware of the additional text.”
    “You certainly know a great deal about the subject.”
    “Like you,” said Angela, “my head has been buried in books for most of my life. Speaking of the devil, have you ever read Dante?”
    “Yes. Many times, in fact. I practically carry the man inside my head.”
    Catherine Caine’s Private Office
    Aboard the Alamiranta
     
    The brown package retrieved by Hawkeye from Chase Manhattan in New York sat on Catherine Caine’s desk. Several dozen pages of brown parchment, frayed at the edges, lay between two rectangles of thin, cracked leather.
    “It’s the Book of Angels, sometimes called the Codex Angelorum by scholars,” Donovan said, his eyes wide with wonder as he gazed at the manuscript. “One of the Dead Sea Scrolls that was never officially catalogued after its discovery in the caves of Qumran, Palestine in 1945. I personally think that a copy of this very scroll was found by Godfroi St. Omer in 1098. It is believed that Vatican agents stole the actual Qumran manuscript from the Rockefeller Museum in 1966. It’s content is thought to be too controversial.”
    Wearing latex gloves, Donovan removed the leather cover and looked at the top page. “It’s written in Aramaic.”
    “The Dead Sea Scrolls,” said Caine, “were composed by a Jewish sect called the Essenes in the second century after the birth of Christ. Many of the scrolls were gospels that were never accepted into the New Testament, such as the gospels of Phillip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Judas, Mary Magdalene, and many others.”
    “Correct,” said Donovan. “Other scrolls were apocalyptic texts based on Jewish scripture. In the early third century, Bishop Irenaeus of Gaul, now France, chose certain books for the Old and New Testament in order to unify the early Christian community. Most of the other texts were later destroyed over time and were not rediscovered until 1945. I believe this is one of them, however. It is rumored that a few copies of the Codex Angelorum were not destroyed and were circulated throughout the Middle Ages. Some scholars say that most, but not all, were eventually confiscated by the Vatican.”
    “So you’re saying that some people have been reading underground copies of this text for centuries.”
    “Yes. For almost two thousand years.”
    Caine’s eyes narrowed as she assimilated Donovan’s data. “Do you read Aramaic, Archbishop?”
    “Yes. In searching for the bones of Michael, it was imperative that I learn the ancient tongue.”  He studied the top lines of the parchment and read the following:
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
    “My assumption,” said Donovan, “is that the Council of Nine has possessed one of the underground copies of the text for quite some time. My inner circle within the Church of England has only heard rumors of what is in the text and its dire prophecy of the end of the world in relation to the discovery of Michael’s bones. Now . . . ”  Archbishop Donovan was clearly moved by the manuscript just inches from his fingertips. “Now, we can see the prophecy for ourselves and learn the alleged connection between the Apocalypse and Michael’s bones.”
    “Angela Marshall is studying the maps found on Whittington’s computer,” Caine said. “Do you mind if she reads the manuscript before our next briefing?  She has been helping Charles research this whole matter for quite a while.”
    “Angela?”  Donovan hesitated for several seconds. “No, of course not.”  He smiled. “The more minds we have working on this, the better.”
     

Chapter 16
     
    Baybridge Abbey, 1408
    Sussex, England
     
    Father Albertus followed the Benedictine rule as few other monks at Baybridge Abbey. Some of his brothers regarded