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“Which hed “But who knows? One day yousomebody”
He’d heard what the instigators and supporters of martial law liked to say Poland was surrounded by the USSR, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, and Belarus, all Soviet-controlled Martial law had been implemented to rescue Poland from a possible military intervention by those Warsaw Pact countries Like what happened in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968 when the Soviets crushed all opposition But no one seriously believed such nonsense This was about those in power keeping power
Communism’s entire existence depended on coercion
Polish communism seeroup controlled everyone else, along with all of the resources, while the vast er and poverty
The prisoner on the floor stirred, his frail body twisted as if gripped by a terrible arthritis One of the guards kicked him in the midsection Vomit erupted from the man’s mouth One part of Janusz desperately wanted to help thewhatever was necessary toschool every conclusion, every state him in confusion With no choice, he said as expected, “All right I’ll do as you ask”
Dilecki stood, hands lightly clasped, the shrewd eyes steady “I want you to remember that if you lie to me, or try to trick me, or hide from me, you will end up tied to a stool, too” The thin lips curled into the faintest of sht, co proclai as we still live”
“And what … the foreign force … has taken … from us, we shall … with sabre … retrieve”
The words ca a no attempt to conceal the triumph in his voice as the second line of the national anthem was repeated
Sacred words to every Pole
And ones Janusz would not forget
PRESENT DAY
CHAPTER ONE
TUESDAY, JUNE 4
BRUGES, BELGIUM
Cotton Malone hated when two plus two equaled five Over the course of his for result had happened far more often than not Call it an occupational hazard or ood ever came from fuzzy math
Like now
He was standing inside what the Belgians called Heileg Bloed Basiliek, the Basilica of the Holy Blood, a foreboding 12th-century edifice, home to one of Europe’s most sacred reliquaries The ancient church was tucked into a corner of the castle square, squished between the old city hall and a row of est antiquarian book fair in Europe, one he’d attended several times before In fact, it was a favorite Not only because he loved the city, but also thanks to the best dessert in the world
Dame Blanche White Lady
Vanilla ice creaian chocolate, topped hipped cream Back in America they called them sundaes Fairly ordinary Not here The locals had elevated the treat into an art form Each café possessed its own version, and he’d definitely be enjoying another incarnation after dinner tonight
Right now he’d come to see a spectacle One he’d never witnessed before, but had heard about It used to happen only once a week Noas every day, either s between 11:30 and noon or 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon, according to the placard out front
It even had a title
The Veneration of the Precious Blood
Legend said that, after the crucifixion, Joseph of Ariranted Christ’s body With sole all the blood flowing from the wounds into a sacred vessel, which he supposedly passed down to his descendants Depending on which version was to be believed, drops of that blood es either in the 12th century by way of Jerusaleh Constantinople
Nobody knohich tale was true
But here that blood had stayed, occasionally hidden away froried by a papal bull froences to all who prayed before the relic The whole thing ranked as beyond strange given that the Biblepreserved
Yet that had not deterred the faithful
The basilica consisted of two chapels The lower dark and Roht and Gothic Twice destroyed, each ti ceilings of three richly embellished naves drove the eyes heavenward Iolden rays of afternoon sunlight to seep inside An elegant ceiling, like an upturned boat, stretched overhead, all in stunning polychroh on one wall, shaped like a globe A gold-laden altar stood before a series of ascending murals, rich in color, that, appropriately, depicted Christ shedding blood Tourists filled the rows of wooden chairs before the co pictures
But back to that weirdfive
Starting with three men
Different fro, cautious, unshaven for a few days, with plain, even features Their faces also wore a different expression froent reason to be here thana tension that said these were not tourists A final red flag caically around the chapel, near the exterior walls, their focus s
He glanced at his watch 2:00 PM
A bell sounded
Showtime
In the side nave, beyon
d the arches, a door opened and a priest eed
The veneration had begun
A robed prelate carried a rectangular-shaped, glass-sided box Inside, atop a red velvet pillow, lay the reliquary The phial itself, which harbored pieces of sheep’s wool clotted with blood, was about six inches long and two inches wide Mainly rock crystal of a clear Byzantine origin, the neck ound with golden thread, the end stoppers sealed ax It lay inside a larger glass cylinder with golden coronets ornah about the outer cylinder to know that engraved on the frame was a date in Roman numerals
May 3, 1388
The priest paraded across the chapel, his face an expression of great piety, to as known as the Throne of the Relic, a white marble Baroque altar, its top covered by lass-lined box atop the platform then sat in a chair, ready for the faithful to pray before the relic
But not before they each made a donation
A line formed to the left where another priest stood before a collection bowl People dropped euros into it before stepping up the short stairs and spending a few moments in silence with the relic Cotton wondered ould happen if someone failed to drop a coin but still wanted to venerate Would they be turned away?
The Three A with everyone else, moved from the main nave toward the side chapel Several attendants shepherded the crowd and shushed any voices that rose too loud Pictures, pointing, videos, gawking, and donating were allowed
Talking, not so much
One of the Aos worked his way into the veneration line The other two stayed back, near the archways, watching the spectacle from twenty feet away A bank of devotional candles separated the Throne of the Relic frolass sockets,with flames Several of the visitors approached and lit a candle of their own After, of course, dropping a coin into a metal container