For once, Molier was right. 'Kill him and darkness wins,' I stood and yelled down at Albray.

'He cannot hear you,' the G.o.ddess informed me.

'But he must hear me,' I protested.

'Do you not trust that our knight has evolved enough to reach that conclusion on his own?' Hathor challenged.

'Of course,' I realised, and seated myself again. I would place my faith in the soul I had grown to love and trust implicitly.

The longer the death blow was delayed by Albray's soul-searching, the broader Molier's insincere smile grew. 'It is just as I suspected...you have developed a conscience and no longer have the const.i.tution for killing.'

I held my breath, knowing that the observation would be disturbing to any warrior.

'No, Molier. The difference between you and I is that I always had a conscience...and if you had exercised the same, you would not now be on the border of d.a.m.nation!' Albray was riled. 'But if you are to be d.a.m.ned, you can take responsibility for it.' My knight cast his weapon into the abyss and relief washed over me as Albray looked to the heavens to appeal. 'I beseech the great ladies of the Elohim, can this man's fate not be of his own choosing?'

'Yes!' I cheered my knight's scruples, and looked to she who sat in judgement.

'It seems that the next chapter of Albray's tale shall be the start of a whole new book.' Hathor and indeed all the women seated alongside me were smiling.

It was exciting to know that Albray had secured himself a future. I would have questioned the ladies further, if the outer world of inner self had not suddenly launched my consciousness into a downward spiral. I knew my consciousness was returning to the physical world for it felt like descending to the bottom of the ocean. My body felt suddenly dense and laborious.

I raised myself from the floor where I lay in the doorway to the Ark chamber, to find Molier and Albray standing on either side of the Ark. The Mercy Seat spun over its treasure and the Ring of Testimony glowed invitingly between the two men, right at their eye level.

'Wait!' Albray cautioned Molier from taking advantage of the situation too quickly. 'Look down upon your being.'

Molier was amazed, as was I, to see that his subtle body was freed of its blackness and was pulsating with light.

'The ladies of the Elohim are awarding you, and the souls you have corrupted, the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and move back into alignment with cosmic law,' Albray advised Molier. 'A step forward to take the ring will return you to the eternity of darkness you have been endeavouring to shake for centuries. A step backwards into the flames will return you to the matrix, where you will be a.s.signed to a suitable era in which to further evolve.'

Molier didn't seem to fancy his options, and he observed Albray with ungrateful eyes.

'Only through death shall you ever obtain the chance to be reborn of the blood.'

The statement came as something of a revelation to Molier, who had become accustomed to the inevitability that he would never incarnate.

'This is your chance to prove that you have the moral fibre from which a son of the blood is fashioned.' Albray spent his last words of wisdom and fell silent to let Molier decide his own fate.

Clearly, it was difficult to be grateful to Albray for this unexpected opportunity and for the first time since I had started following this ancient mystic tale I actually felt for Molier. How difficult would it be to ignore your natural instinct for survival in order to achieve your greatest aspiration?

Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

Molier began quoting from the Proverbs of Solomon in an attempt to strengthen his courage and make the decision we all knew he wanted to. Still, his hand was poised before the great ring of power and he had to exercise restraint not to take it.

Remove not the old landmark; And enter not into the fields of the Fatherless.

His fingers recoiled from the temptation.

Better is little with the fear of the Lord, Than great treasure and trouble therewith.

Molier looked to Albray resolutely and held wide his arms.

Albray nodded to a.s.sure Molier that his decision was sound.

For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away as an eagle toward Heaven.

As my knight completed the verse, Molier allowed himself to plummet backwards into the flaming liquid and his life was extinguished in an instant.

My attention was s.n.a.t.c.hed from the gruesome scene by a throbbing pain in my chest. I placed my hands to my heart to calm my intense emotions. On discovering my shirt was moist and sticky, I looked to find my hands covered in blood. 'I am dying?' With that revelation the ground rushed up to meet me.

'Miss Montrose?' Montrose?' I heard a voice calling to me, although it sounded far away. I heard a voice calling to me, although it sounded far away.

I was so peaceful. I wanted for nothing as I held no conscious thought-except to ignore the summons.

'Mia!' I was being shaken from my focused-inward bliss and, despite my unwillingness to wake, I recognised the voice calling me. A sharp pang of yearning in my heart spurred me to surface from the sanctuary of my unconscious state.

As I stretched out, I became aware that I was propped up in a seated position against someone and my eyes came to focus on the face of my knight.

'Albray.' I turned toward him and held him close. 'I have died and gone to heaven.'

'No.' He pried me from his body and holding my face in his hands he brushed my hair aside and kissed me.

Perhaps this was just a brief interlude on the astral plane, while my fate was being decided. I didn't care, as long as it lasted.

It took some time for me to exhaust my delight in having my dream lover close and tangible, but as this reality didn't seem to be going anywhere, I drew away. My hands and shirt were still blood-spattered, but my wounds were mysteriously absent. 'This is a dream. You have come to say goodbye.' My heart jumped into my throat and the swelling pressure it caused nearly choked me. 'You are free.' I forced a smile, only to set tears rolling down my face.

'Yes I am,' he confirmed, 'but I rather thought I might hang around for a while.'

I shook my head. 'You've done your time as a guardian spirit and although I shall miss you every time I sleep, I cannot condemn you to that purgatory any longer. You must move on,' I urged, bravely denying my own feelings on the matter.

The look on Albray's face was not grat.i.tude or regret, but a rather odd look that I didn't know how to intepret. 'Well, if that is what you want.' He sat me up, placed the two vials in my hands and stood to depart. 'I was rather hoping that you would show me the ropes of living in the twenty-first century, but if you have other plans then I guess...' He shrugged and then waved to me as he moved toward the exit tunnel.

The vials. I looked to the items in my hand, then to the dark chamber around me. The door to the Ark chamber was closed. I stood up and noted the flat sack lying nearby; the bones were no longer in it. I looked to the items in my hand, then to the dark chamber around me. The door to the Ark chamber was closed. I stood up and noted the flat sack lying nearby; the bones were no longer in it. Albray used the Star substance on me! Albray used the Star substance on me! It had miraculously healed before, and that was why my wounds had vanished. My consciousness hadn't shifted to Albray's realm of existence, his consciousness had somehow returned to mine! 'The G.o.ddess,' I uttered under my breath and an inner voice told me: I It had miraculously healed before, and that was why my wounds had vanished. My consciousness hadn't shifted to Albray's realm of existence, his consciousness had somehow returned to mine! 'The G.o.ddess,' I uttered under my breath and an inner voice told me: I am only complying with the wishes of all involved. am only complying with the wishes of all involved.

Albray heard me running after him. He turned to catch me as I overpowered him with a hug. 'I suppose, as I did draw you into this era, the least I can do is make you feel at home.'

'I have never had a home before.' Albray considered the notion, well disposed toward the concept. 'You make me feel like I have finally found one.'

For the first time we kissed and there was no urgency attached-no time, dimension or alternative existence waiting to pry us apart.

'Mia!'

The sound of Andre's voice sent shockwaves through my system. I had forgotten about Molier's three partners in crime.

'What the h.e.l.l is going on?' he asked as he was accompanied down the path into the Star-Fire Temple at the tip of Akbar's sword. They both looked badly beaten about and rather the worse for wear.

'Thank heavens you're all right.' I conveyed my relief to the Arab. The Frenchman was not happy about this development.

'You're on his side!' Andre protested, genuinely surprised. 'What about me?'

I was about to tell Andre exactly what I thought of him, when it clicked that his subtle body was quite free of darkness.

'He doesn't remember a thing,' Akbar advised. 'Neither do the other two.' He motioned with his head back toward the daylight, where Tusca and Conally were being held by other members of the Melchi brotherhood. 'We had a little trouble bringing them under control, but then all three lost consciousness.' Akbar shrugged.

'Who is this?' Andre motioned to Albray, who was still wearing nothing but his thirteenth-century trousers.

'This is the new man in my life that I've been telling you about,' I informed him and introduced them.

'Did Molier bring you down here?' Andre was suspicious of the stranger being let into the site before Andre himself had been in.

'Molier entered the chamber beyond those doors and did not come back out,' I told him truthfully. 'I fear he has ventured to go where no man ought, and has paid the ultimate price for his defiance.'

'He is dead!' Andre was disturbed by the news, but seemed more worried about the complications this might cause him than about the probable death of Molier. 'That's the trouble with these archaeologists. They are always getting themselves killed before they finalise their b.l.o.o.d.y accounts...when am I going to learn.' He threw his hands up, then noticed the vials I held. 'What are they?'

'These belong to Akbar.' I moved to hand the keys to him, and when Andre protested, he again felt the tip of the Arab's sword in his back.

'All right, they're yours.' The Frenchman held his arms up in submission. 'I think I'm beginning to understand the situation a little better.'

'My deepest grat.i.tude, Dr Montrose.' Akbar sheathed his sword and accepted the vials from me. 'There are sites more secret than this one where the keys can be stored until their ultimate purpose is revealed to mankind. As long as the keys reside here, the security of the porthole will remain at risk.'

'I agree.' It was a relief to hand the keys over to the Order of Melchi, for they were the true custodians, who would not abuse their position as guardians of the vials. 'Still, this is not the thirteenth century.' I voiced my only concern. 'With modern surveillance and tracking systems, how can you be sure that the keys can be delivered to a safe location without some ancient brotherhood creeping out of the woodwork to abscond with them again?'

Both Akbar and Albray were amused, but Albray played ignorant and allowed Akbar to explain. 'There are places on this Earth that even the most sophisticated machines cannot find and the most ingenious men cannot go, without an invitation.'

'How do you mean?' Andre didn't understand. Neither did I.I wondered if Akbar was being a little naive-Albray most certainly was.

My expression must have reflected my doubt, for Akbar said, 'If it will rea.s.sure you, doctor, why don't you attempt to track my party when we leave this place? Molier has left the most modern technology at your disposal...use any and all means that you have,' the Arab challenged us with a winning smile. 'But first we shall bury this gateway once and for all.'

Albray and myself nodded to second the motion.

'But it has taken me months to get it open!' Andre protested. 'I haven't even had the chance to look around yet!'

'Believe me, you don't want to,' I advised, accompanying my guardians up the red-gold pathway to the exit.

'But what about the fame and fortune?' Andre was reluctant to leave the grand chamber and its walls of glittering gold.

'The sun is setting,' Akbar commented to his one-time employer. 'You could stay here alone alone for all eternity, if you choose.' for all eternity, if you choose.'

Andre, not finding this a very attractive scenario, hotfooted it up the exit path behind us.

Outside, as the sun set, Andre, Conally and Tusca watched in bemusment while a mult.i.tude of Arab warriors buried the gateway in dirt and sand with the aid of Andre's dormant excavation machinery. When the job was done the site was pretty much as they had probably found it. A few sirocco storms and no one would ever know that this side of the mountain had been excavated. The Melchi, having completed their ch.o.r.e, abandoned the equipment and took to their horses.

'Just fantastic,' Andre grumbled. 'The most promising dig ever, ruined by some backward cult of thieves!'

'It is you who are the thieves.' Akbar overheard the comment and took offence. The murder of his two young companions was fuelling his resentment. Still, as the offenders had not been in possession of their sensibilities at the time, Akbar had decided not to seek retribution-he knew well enough the power of the creature that had been controlling them. 'If you treasure your lives,' he advised Andre and the others, 'you will be gone by tomorrow noon and you will never return to the Sinai.' Akbar looked at me and all his anger melted away as he approached to say farewell. 'You, on the other hand, doctor...I feel sure we shall meet again.'

I was going to bow politely, or offer him a handshake, but at the risk of offending the man, I embraced him, albeit briefly. 'No offence, Akbar, but I hope you are wrong about that.' I pulled back to find him looking stunned but honoured. 'Thanks for being there to catch my fall.'

'Your death at this time would have been a great loss for humanity.' He accepted my grat.i.tude graciously before turning to Albray. 'Fare thee well, my mysterious friend. I suspect I am more indebted to you than I know.'

'Likewise.' Albray returned the Arab warrior's grin, as they shook hands.

'Take very good care of this woman,' Akbar requested, as I slid under Albray's arm. 'She has a thing for flinging herself off cliffs in the middle of the night.'

Albray looked at me in confusion-the stone had not been in my possession at that time, so of course my knight knew nothing of my near-death experience whilst trying to save the amulet.

'Tell you later.'

'Mia's wellbeing is my reason for being,' Albray a.s.sured Akbar, who nodded to wish us both well. If the man had questions he wanted to ask Albray, he refrained and mounted his horse instead.

We watched the hordes depart on horse and camel. 'You do realise that my fee for this job just tripled,' I said to Andre.

'You speak as if the job is over, but we are just getting started.' Andre winked at me ahead of striding off toward camp.

'The project just got sabotaged by a local religious sect. Claim it on insurance and move on,' I suggested, going after Andre to prevent him from picking a fight he would never win without starting a war.

'I am not going to allow months of work to go to waste!' Andre quickened his pace and waved forth Conally and Miss Resi. 'I am taking our c.o.c.ky Arab friend up on his challenge,' Andre said. 'I planted a tracking device on him.'

'That is not really standard excavation equipment,' I chided, concerned at the development, as I had seen Molier's high-tech office.

'Molier was not your standard archaeologist. He had ways and means.' Andre did remember that much about his recently deceased employer. 'I also planted the micro-camera from the headset that Molier gave me earlier.'

'Good for you.' Conally was inspired into action. 'I'll chase up Marty and we'll follow the thieving b.a.s.t.a.r.ds in the chopper.'

'Here we go again.' I threw up my hands, exasperated. 'Do you people never learn?' My colleagues ignored me as they shifted into hunting mode. I looked back to Albray, to find him having a quiet chuckle.

'How do you expect them to learn from an experience they cannot remember?'

'There is that,' I granted, as my knight caught me up.

'Not to worry, they shall realise their folly presently.' Albray took up my hand and kissed it. 'Shall we retire to your tent and leave them to their wild goose chase?'

I wished that I were as confident that Akbar could not be tracked. 'It is not that I don't trust you, or that your proposal is not far more inviting-'

'I know, you just worry that I am a little old-fashioned and naive,' Albray said, not insulted, but aware.

'I need closure.' I backed up to follow Andre and Miss Resi into Molier's abode.

'Suit yourself.' Albray changed course from my tent to follow me.

'Let me handle Andre.' I urged my knight against accompanying me. 'Your presence will probably just aggravate the situation.'