Knight of the Cross by Steven A McKay Read Free Book Online Page B

Sir Richard shouted over his shoulder, running now, as if desperate to put as much distance between himself and the repugnant rite that was occurring in the cyclopean cavern behind them. “She's dead already! Now move, before they finish their filthy ceremony and start to head back to their homes!”  Tears of rage and sorrow streamed down his face as he ran, sickened to be leaving the girl to her fate but knowing there was nothing he could do to save her.
    “Where are we going?” Jacob demanded, hurrying to catch his master. “What are we going to do?”
    “First, we get out of here,” the knight replied. “Then we find Leontios – I have some questions for him. After that we'll head back to St Luke's and rest, before we take this news to the Grand Master in the morning.”
    They reached the front doors and, swords still in hand, burst through, ready for any attack.
    None came.
    The guards they'd killed earlier hadn't been discovered and the village lay enshrouded in silence. All was quiet, just as it had been when they entered the hateful tunnel a short time ago.
    As they passed the field from earlier on that day neither man was surprised to see the 'straw man' had returned, watching in silence from the gloom as they passed.
     
    * * *
     
    “Flat stones?”
    “Aye, Leontios, stones that bear some inscription. We've seen them dotted around the town. What are they?”
    The Greek merchant's eyes flickered nervously around the market and he shrugged his shoulders but the Hospitaller knight grabbed him and slammed him against the sandstone wall.
    “Don't play with me!” Sir Richard roared, his voice startlingly loud in the quiet of the evening despite the bustling of the market. “You know a lot about these heretics – devil-worshippers – you even have the black eyes they all share, which suggests to me you were one of them at some point if you're not still some agent of theirs. I believe the symbol we've seen painted on flat stones around the town is related to this Dagon and his followers. Tell me what you know about it, now, or by God I'll see you tried as one of them!”
    The man sighed and Sir Richard softened his tone, surprised to see a tear spilling down the merchants face. “Tell me what I need to know, Leontios and I'll see you well rewarded.”
    The merchant nodded slowly, his expression unreadable as he pondered his options. “They… they gave us all a choice. Join them and reap the rewards when the Deep Ones return to reclaim their rightful place, or watch as our families die. I joined them but...” More tears streaked his face which twisted in anger as he continued. “My wife Alexis – a good Christian, incorruptible,” he smiled, gazing into space, “refused. As I should have!”
    There was silence for a while until Sir Richard prodded the man to continue.
    “They sacrificed her to Dagon.”
    The sounds of the market continued around them as Sir Richard and Jacob watched the Greek merchant relive his wife's death, the pain evident in his damp eyes.
    “I vowed then to see them stopped, but I could do nothing by myself and could approach no-one for help. The villagers are too frightened to do anything for fear of losing their loved ones and, until you arrived, there seemed no way to stand against them. The religion only came to prominence recently, brought here from somewhere in Mesopotamia I've been told, but I believe their underground cavern to be much older than any of the Christian buildings on the island. You've seen those bas-reliefs – they depict scenes from a time long forgotten by any historian. And the Dagonites seek to bring those times back; to destroy Christian, Muslim and Jew alike so their evil god and his brethren can enslave us all!”
    “I knew this was all true,” Jacob mumbled fearfully. “I knew it...”
    “Well, we're here now,” Sir Richard said, throwing a murderous glance in his superstitious sergeant's direction, “and our Order won't allow these