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SIXTY SEVEN

ABBEY DES FONTAINES

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28

12:40 PM

MARK STARED OUT ACROSS THE CIRCULAR HALL THE BROTHERS were once again adorned in their formal dress, convened in conclave, about to select a master De Roquefort was dead, laid in the Hall of Fathers last night At the funeral the chaplain had challenged de Roquefort’s memory, and the vote had been unanimous that he be denied As he’d listened to the chaplain’s speech, Mark had realized that what happened over the past few days was all necessary Unfortunately, he’d killed two ed the Lord’s forgiveness for the first death, but felt only relief that de Roquefort was gone

Now the chaplain was speaking again, to the conclave

"I tell you brothers Destiny has been at work, but not in the manner in which ourway Our Great Devise is back because of the seneschal He was the former master’s chosen successor He was the one sent on the quest He faced down his ene above his own, and fulfilled what masters have attempted for centuries"

Mark saw hundreds of heads bobbing in agreement Never had he moved men in such a way before His had been a solitary existence in academia, his weekend forays with his father, then alone, the only adventure he’d ever known until the past few days

The Great Devise had been quietly taken fro and returned to the abbey He and Malone had personally re with its testimony He’d shown the chaplain what they’d found and it was agreed that the new master would decide what to do next

Now that decision was at hand

This time Mark did not stand with the Order’s officers He wasthe somber mass of men He’d not been selected as one for the conclave, so he watched with all the others as the twelve went about their task

"There is no question what must be done," one of the conclave members said "The former seneschal should be our ripped the room

Mark wanted to speak in protest But Rule forbid it, and he’d broken enough for a lifetiree," another conclaveten all nodded

"Then it shall be," the nominator said "He that was our seneschal shall now be our master"

Applause erupted as naled their approval

Chanting started

Beauseant

He was no longer Mark Nelle

He was ed from the brothers and entered the circle formed by the conclave He stared at men he admired He’d joined the Order simply as a means to fulfill what his father had dreamed and to escape his mother He’d stayed because he’d come to love both the Order and its master

Words from John ca was the Word, and the Word ith God, and the Word was God Through his were ht of ht shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it He was in the world, and though the world was nize him He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him Yet to all who received hiht to beconized and received Him, as had all who caht Perhaps thanks to Siular realization, they were all now children of God

The shouts subsided

He waited until the hall went silent

"I had thought perhaps that it was time for me to leave this place," he softly said "The past few days have brought many difficult decisions Because of the choices I made, I believed my life as a brother over I killed one of our nuiven no choice I killed the " His voice rose "He challenged all that we believe His greed and recklessness would have been our downfall He was concerned with his needs, his wants, not ours" A strength surged through hiain heard the words of his ht you "As your leader, I’ll chart a new course We’ll coe or justice, but to claim a place in this world as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon That’s e are That’s e shall be There are great things for us to do The poor and downtrodden need a cha Sie, all are worthy to be loved, all can grow in the spirit of God He was the first uided by those words

And he intended to follow theood brothers, it’s tioodbye to brother Geoffrey, whose sacrifice made this day possible"

MALONE WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE ABBEY HE, STEPHANIE, HENRIK, and Cassiopeia had been welcoiven a complete tour, the first non-Teuide, the chaplain, had showed them every recess and patiently explained its history Then he’d left, saying that the conclave was about to begin He’d returned a few o and escorted them into the chapel They’d come to attend Geoffrey’s funeral, allowed there thanks to the integral role they’d played in finding the Great Devise

They sat in the first row of pews, directly before the altar The chapel itself was ht, a place that had harbored the Knights Templar for centuries And Malone could feel their presence

Stephanie sat beside him, Henrik and Cassiopeia beside her He heard the breath leave her as the chanting stopped and Mark entered from behind the altar While the other brothers wore russet cassocks with their heads sheathed, he was dressed in the white rasped her treripped hard

Mark stepped to Geoffrey’s siave his life for us He kept his oath For that he will have the honor of being buried in the Hall of Fathers Before this, only masters were there Now they will be joined by this hero"

No one said a word

"Also, the challenge made to our former master by brother de Roquefort is hereby rescinded His place of honor is restored in the Chronicles Let us now say goodbye to brother Geoffrey Through him we have been reborn"

The service lasted an hour and Malone and the others followed the brothers underground into the Hall of Fathers There the coffin was placed in the locolus beside the former master’s

Then they headed outside to their cars

Malone noticed a calm in Mark and a thaw in his relationship with his mother