The Cana Mystery Read online

  She nods thoughtfully. “I have something that might interest you,” she says.

  The queen crosses the chamber and pulls a tattered portfolio from the alcove where she found it, quite by accident, more than a decade earlier. It must have sat undisturbed for years. The reign of Louis XI ended long before Catherine’s time. Befouled by a century’s accumulated dust and rat droppings, and with the Spider King’s royal seal broken, the packet appeared worthless, but its contents were intact. Opening the folder, Catherine withdraws seven sheets of fragile vellum and passed them to the curious doctor. He is amazed to behold a bizarre ancient apocalypse. Someone had translated the prophetic text from Old Syriac into Latin and organized it into quatrains. As Catherine has anticipated, the physician is enraptured. Eagerly, Michel de Nostradamus spread the vellum across his desk and begins to read.

  The enemy of Romans killed

  On the anniversary of his accession.

  The stable maid’s constant son

  in this sign shall conquer!

  The new city contemplates damnation,

  Birds of prey circle the heavens.

  After victory, pardon to the captives,

  Cremona and Mantua witness great evils.

  Allies repel invaders eastern,

  Flaming swords across the river,

  The scourge is merciful before death,

  A lion crowns his heir.

  Cities twin of seven hills,

  The younger stands one thousand years,

  Before the desert army cheers,

  Never again under Rome!

  The wise vicar defends the Tiber,

  One walks barefoot to the white kirk

  After him, the papal vessel is lost,

  Shattered to its great detriment.

  Here the crusader lies—death at Ancona,

  Venetian sails too late, too late,

  The sultan survives a night attack,

  The dragon’s son twelve years in chains.

  Though Colossus’s island falls,

  The Christian city is retaken,

  After the great invader’s death,

  Italy again defended.

  By the hermitage—a lost castle found,

  Do pilgrims arrive too late?

  Surprised by night, seven guards attacked,

  Can the last act be done?

  Winds howl against the travelers,

  Letters intercepted on their way,

  Great disaster near, combat very bitter,

  Even the bravest heart trembles.

  Without succor from the devil,

  Pilgrims cannot pass from Egypt,

  Pursued by a wicked African heart,

  Who terrifies the heir of Romulus.

  One leads divisions against the shepherds,

  Where veins open, food for the dead,

  Cries, tears at Malta,

  Combat by night, valiant captain victorious!

  The infamous man, who gathers gold,

  Raised from low to high estate,

  Reverses course, takes up the cross,

  Under the pyramids’ shadow.

  Sons of England sent from France,

  By grapes, goose, and stag,

  Now come great floods and storms,

  Flags! Shipwreck! An ocean fleet defeated.

  The spider stings the fisherman,

  An opening to the Mahometans,

  Dreadful horrors and vengeance,

  Malta sold for a falcon.

  As for the light, led thus by its angel,

  The princes draw near to judgment,

  Famine and war beyond cease in Persia,

  Heaven’s arrow stikes the northern kingdom.

  From the fifth celestial light

  A lion speaks in riddles.

  The Bishop of Rome resigns his throne

  The lady cannot answer.

  Mankind misled by a false prophet,

  Foolish lords wage ignorant war,

  Witness the rapacious, bloodthirsty demon

  Evil laughter and rejoicing.

  A crafty one avoids the snares.

  Enemies assail from three sides,

  Strange travelers concealed by hoods,

  The translator’s grandeur must not fail.

  Unless the prophecy is proclaimed

  Where the great leaders gather

  A new devil rises: invincible deceiver!

  Rage and terror consume the world of man.

  Behold your Antichrist: He is here.

  How much blood must flow, valiant, and be gone?

  The demon stokes the furnace of war,

  And burns the last Golden Age from Earth!

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  Back cover

  BACK COVER

  “In this gripping mystery adventure, Ava, an MIT graduate student and expert in ancient languages, is awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call from an old friend, Paul, with a baffling request: Could she fly to Yemen immediately? He’s found something important and needs her help.

  Paul’s subsequent coded e-mail alludes to what he and his boss, Simon Demaj, have found: the lost jars of Cana—the very jars that Jesus used at the wedding at Cana—and a puzzle to be solved. Are the jars authentic, and is there a prophecy somehow hidden in them?

  At the same time a shocking global announcement is made: “. . . Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will resign for the good of the church . . .”

  Is there a connection? Ava and Paul set off on a deadly global adventure to Yemen, Egypt, Malta, and Rome searching for answers. Every step of the way they’re chased by Paul’s unscrupulous billionaire boss, a drug lord, and corrupt officials.

  A thrilling mix of historical and contemporary intrigue, The Cana Mystery keeps the reader wanting to know more.

  DAVID BECKETT studied English, German, and philosophy at the University of Texas in Austin and at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität in Würzburg before attaining his doctorate in jurisprudence. He received the Willie Morris Award for Editorial Excellence in 1997. A committed husband and proud father, David resides in Terrell Hills, Texas, with his beautiful wife, their adorable son, three rambunctious guard dogs, and one brave cat.