On This Rock

By Dave Leonard

The world’s most secret society has been hidden deep inside the Catholic Church for twenty centuries. Father Joshua Cole had never heard of it even though he'd been working inside the Vatican for ten years. When he finally learned of its existence it turned his once quiet life into a nightmare. Twenty years later his nightmare got worse as he was thrown into a world he never imagined possible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dave Leonard
• Release date: Jul 6, 2010
• ISBN: 9781449553968

Dave Leonard

Dave is an artist who creates heartwarming illustrations that bring forth an outstanding visual presentation to a story.

Book preview

Prologue

In a small cabin tucked away in the woods of Virginia, not very far from Washington DC, a short, slight man wearing an old tattered suit sat alone in the early evening darkness. He was trying to get some rest after a long and arduous journey but the cabin was cold and there was no heat. There was a fireplace but he didn’t dare to light a fire on the off chance the flickering light might be spotted through a window. He’d traveled thousands of miles to get here so he thought one more night without the comfort of a warm fire wouldn’t kill him. But, the man who had been chasing him ever since he’d left Rome would and Father Quinn knew it. His kind had killed many times through the years.

The man had almost caught up with him in New York the previous morning but Father Quinn had managed to escape when the man slipped and fell on the train platform. The train took Father Quinn to Washington where he rented a small car and drove to this little cabin. The cabin was quite isolated but with the help of a crudely sketched map sent to him by his friend Seth Appleton he found it without much trouble.

It had been two years since Father Quinn had first started corresponding with Seth Appleton. Although they’d only met the one time in person they’d become quite close friends through their correspondence and now Father Quinn was counting on Seth to help him escape from his pursuer. Seth would be there in the morning.

Father Quinn had been assigned to work at the Vatican for over thirty years and would likely have spent the remainder of his life there if he hadn’t stumbled on something that would fundamentally change his feelings towards his Church. Quite by accident he’d overheard a couple priests talking quietly about something they called the Order of Simon Magus. Since he’d been at the Vatican so many years and had never heard of any such Order he asked them about it but they quickly dismissed him. As he walked away one of them called out to him and warned him that he’d be wise to forget he’d ever heard the name of Simon Magus. Of course Father Quinn had heard the name before, virtually every priest had, Simon Magus was a well known person in ancient Rome, but he’d never heard of the Order of Simon Magus. What troubled the old priest was that he couldn’t understand why the priests were so concerned that he’d heard them talking the supposed Order. Father Quinn was used to infighting at the Vatican but there was something eerily frightening about the way the priests spoke to him. After that incident it seemed to him that his life had somehow changed but he couldn’t exactly put a finger on just what made him feel that way.

It was only a few weeks after that incident that he was walking across St Peter’s Square when a tourist stopped him. The man asked him a question about a story he’d heard regarding an ossuary that had been discovered in Jerusalem. Before the question was out of the man’s mouth Father Quinn knew what he was talking about. It wasn’t unusual for tourists to ask about that ossuary. It was something the Vatican had been trying to explain for over fifty years without much success. In 1953 an ossuary had been discovered on the Mount of Olives by two Catholic priests and the inscription on it claimed that the bones inside belonged to Simon bar Jona, the original name of St Peter. It had long been a source of embarrassment to the Vatican who continued to claim that St Peter was buried right under the altar of St Peter’s Basilica.

After telling the man that he really wasn’t sure where St Peter’s mortal remains were buried, a strange position for a Catholic priest to take, the two men struck up a conversation and found they actually had quite a lot in common. The two men left the Vatican together that day and spent a couple hours talking over a good meal. The man was Seth Appleton and although Father Quinn didn’t know it at the time, Seth was no ordinary tourist. He was at the Vatican searching for someone exactly like Father Quinn and he had spoken to several other priests before deciding to confide in him. When Seth had finished explaining his true purpose for being at the Vatican Father Quinn understood why the conversation he’d overheard about the Order of Simon Magus had troubled him so much. By the time they parted Father Quinn even surprised himself by agreeing to act as Seth’s eyes and ears inside the Vatican.

The first couple years he thought what he was doing for the American seemed rather foolish. It mostly involved writing letters to Seth about seemingly mundane and insignificant events that were taking place. But Seth seemed interested and he kept asking for more so Alec dutifully complied and sent more information. Then, about a month ago, a series of events rattled the world and suddenly his friend Seth’s concerns seemed all too real. Father Quinn’s current trouble actually began with the death of the newly elected pope only one week into his papacy. His death was shocking to most of the world but inside the Vatican it seemed to barely raise an official eyebrow. The pope was said to have been in perfect health and was only sixty-four years old when he was found dead in his bed one morning by his camerlengo. The official explanation was a heart attack but since no autopsy was ever conducted no one would be able to say that with certainty.

Maybe even more shocking than the sudden death of the pope was the election of his successor. When the cardinals held their second conclave in two weeks they shocked everyone by electing an American. Not just any American but a very young, by papal standards, fifty-three year old outspoken cardinal who was originally from Maryland, Cardinal Jonah Benedetti. Jonah had been working at the Vatican for most of his career but nonetheless his election had the world’s press in a feeding frenzy. They were starving for information about the first ever American pope.

Now all of this might have been interesting enough by itself but it was especially intriguing that the new pope, who’d taken the name Pius XIII, was making the very people who’d just elected him nervous, extremely nervous. He continued talking up an idea that he’d been espousing for years. When he was a younger man no one had taken him too seriously when he talked about increasing the Vatican’s influence. But now, he was the pope and he surprised everyone by continuing to insist he’d been very serious indeed when he said he wanted to restore the Church to at least some of its former glory.

Father Quinn sent a letter to Seth informing him of these developments. He was surprised when he immediately received a response from his friend Seth asking him for a favor and advising him to leave the Vatican as soon as possible. Initially he hesitated but ultimately he agreed. There were a certain document that Seth told him he’d find in a small underground chapel at the Vatican and Seth needed it. When he followed the directions Seth had sent him he found the hidden chapel easily enough but finding the document was something else altogether. The collection was exactly where Seth said it would be but it was far more voluminous than he ever could have imagined. In spite of the fact the chapel was quite cool Father Quinn was perspiring as he searched for the specific document Seth wanted but he was so nervous he’d be caught he found it difficult to concentrate. In addition to his fear, he had to deal with the fact that the filing system in this room was almost indecipherable to him. After searching for over an hour he finally had what he believed to be the document Seth had requested, a list of the current members of the Order of Simon Magus. He wasn’t positive it was a complete list but he was far too nervous to continue looking so he put everything back as it was and left with the document tucked away under his robe.

It didn’t take him long to realize that he had not escaped unnoticed and before he was out of Rome he knew he was being followed. Probably by a Jesuit he thought, the Jesuits had been doing the Vatican’s dirty work for centuries and they were notoriously ruthless. The leader of the Jesuits was addressed as Father General which Father Quinn thought perfectly explained what they were all about.

And that’s how he found himself in the cold cabin in Virginia, shivering in the dark and afraid for his life. The night passed slowly and he prayed for sleep to come but the chill night air made it difficult but sometime around three he finally drifted off to sleep.

Shortly after sunrise that same morning Seth Appleton arrived at the cabin and parked his Cadillac behind Father Quinn’s rental car. A bit overweight and fast approaching sixty it took him a minute to climb out of the car. He looked around carefully and seeing nothing that looked amiss he approached the front door cautiously nevertheless. Before knocking on the door he peeked through a small window in the door. He could see his friend sleeping on the sofa. Breathing a sigh of relief he knocked on the door and waited.

He waited a minute and knocked again, softly, he didn’t want to startle the older priest. Seth looked through the window again but Father Quinn had not moved and Seth felt his chest beginning to tighten and his pulse quicken. He softly knocked once more hoping that his friend was just sleeping but he was beginning to fear that wasn’t the case. Seth knocked again, but louder now, and when he looked inside there was still no response. Placing his hand on the doorknob he twisted it slowly to the right and pushed the door, it was not locked and it opened wide.

Seth walked to the sofa. The cabin was dark in spite of the bright sunshine outside and it wasn’t until he was a few feet from the priest that he could see the large hole in the side of his head. There wasn’t much blood, probably because he was killed almost instantly. Surveying the scene he noticed a piece of folded white paper on the end table. It was held in place by a small gold cross. Nice touch. He said to no one. Seth picked up the paper and read the one word message. TRAITOR.

Seth picked up the phone with a gloved hand so as not to leave any fingerprints and called 911. He told the operator he’d found a dead body but he declined to give her any further information. He checked Father Quinn’s pockets and searched the cabin thoroughly for the list he’d asked his friend to bring along but he found nothing. He said a quick prayer for his friend and left the area quickly and drove away before he picked up his cell phone and made a call. Hi, this is Seth.

Did our friend from Rome make it here okay?

He made alright…but he didn’t survive the night.

They got him?

They got him.

You think it was…

Seth interrupted, The Jesuits are the only ones who’d want to kill a poor old priest like this.

So no sign of the stuff he was carrying for us?

The only thing I found was a note that simply said ‘traitor’ in big block letters. It was sitting on a table by his head. They used a gold cross as a paperweight.

Chapter 1

September 1985

The Vatican

Father Joshua Cole waited nervously in his room for his friend, Father Jonah Benedetti, to arrive. Jonah was known throughout the Vatican as a man with a very hot temper and that wasn’t making Joshua any more comfortable. Many times in the past, and often for no discernable reason, he’d seen Jonah unload on fellow priests, low level Vatican employees and even the occasional tourist. While Jonah could be charming Joshua always felt he was on the verge of an explosion but nevertheless they remained good friends. Unfortunately for Joshua the news he had to tell Jonah would likely test their friendship and that infamous temper.

This wasn’t the first time in Joshua’s life that his natural curiosity had caused him problems but it certainly was the most frightening. He felt like he’d made a mistake, a very serious mistake that might cost him that friendship and perhaps more. In the past the worst thing he could recall happening to him as a direct result of his endless curiosity was when he was attending seminary. He had a professor who Joshua felt didn’t know the material as well as he should and Joshua questioned him relentlessly which angered and embarrassed the man. The professor refused to call on him for the remainder of the semester, flunked him, and told him never to enroll in one of his classes again. Father Cole had a feeling things would go much worse for him this time.

Joshua was an only child raised in a small Massachusetts town. His parents divorced when he was ten years old and he’d spent the rest of his childhood being passed back and forth from mother to father and back again. His mother was an alcoholic who, when she managed to stay sober, was a good mother. She encouraged her son to better himself and to always strive to do the right thing. The trouble was when she was drinking she was a different person altogether. She was a barfly who brought home a wide variety of men and even the occasional woman and made no attempt to hide any of her activities from her young son. Joshua witnessed all this without ever passing judgment on her; he just watched and stayed out of her way.

His father owned a small two pump gas station with two service bays and lived in a small apartment over the garage after the divorce. When Joshua was staying with him he slept on a pullout sofa and worked in the garage. When he was young that work involved nothing more than pumping gas and checking oil but eventually he became a good mechanic. He continued to work for his father off and on until he graduated from St John’s Seminary.

Joshua wasn’t raised a Catholic, in fact he wasn’t really exposed to religion of any sort as a child. The first time he even considered going to church was when he was living with his father at the gas station. A neighbor invited him to attend services at the local Baptist Church but his father discouraged his regular attendance. Bill Cole knew all about the Baptist’s well known hatred of drinking and card playing and he didn’t want his son to go through life not knowing those simple pleasures. Joshua first became interested in the priesthood when he was sixteen and he met a priest who had his car serviced at his father’s station. The ornate Church where he served was just a block from the gas station and Joshua spent a lot of time there talking to Father Butler about anything that crossed his mind. It was his first prolonged exposure to organized religion of any kind. His own father was nominally a Protestant but he never attended any church that Joshua was aware of and his mother had never expressed any religious views at all. The priest took an interest in the teenager and encouraged him to attend mass which Joshua did and eventually he converted to Catholicism. He wasn’t sure how much Church dogma he really believed but attending mass seemed to give his life a purpose and Father Butler encouraged him to pursue his education. He developed an interest in history and old documents and studied to be an archivist.

The road to the priesthood could not have been any more different for young Jonah Benedetti. Raised in a prominent and very strict Catholic family from Baltimore, his very first memories were of his parents telling him that they had dedicated his life to God. If he so much as dared to mention that he was thinking of becoming anything other than a priest one parent or the other quickly made it clear to him that it was out of the question. They were so effective in their brainwashing of their boy by the time he reached his sixteenth birthday he never again allowed himself to dream of being anything other than a priest. He began to allow himself to consider the possibility of working in the Vatican, living in close proximity to the Holy Father and walking where the Saints once walked.

Once in a while, if he was feeling particularly optimistic, he even allowed himself to imagine what it would be like to wear the Ring of the Fisherman himself. Of course he knew it was extremely unlikely because never in the history of the Church had an American been elected pope. But ever the optimist he thought there had to be a first time, there were always firsts in every field.

Both young men were academically gifted and it wasn’t long after they each graduated from seminary that they found their separate roads to the Vatican. It was mere coincidence that they were both assigned there at the same time. They met shortly after they’d arrived when Joshua stopped Jonah in St Peter’s Square to ask for directions and Jonah had to admit he was just as lost as Joshua. It turned out they were both looking for the same place and in the process of locating the building they became close friends. Ten short years later they’d both risen fast in their chosen careers and were both held in high regard by their colleagues.

Joshua loved his work which was in the highly secretive Vatican archives; he couldn’t have imagined working in a more exciting place. To the average person working in what amounted to an extremely small country with a bunch of priests might not sound like the ideal job but to a trained archivist it was as close to heaven as one could be. But as the years passed it gradually dawned on him that it wasn’t serving God that made him so happy but the work itself. It wasn’t that he didn’t love God, he’d grown to believe deeply in a Higher Power. But he did begin to wonder just how much this particular Church cared about the same things he imagined God would care about.

What Joshua really loved were the old documents, looking at them, reading them, touching them and just being in the same room with them. They seemed to have the ability to take him back to another time and he loved it. He called it time travel and he had the ability to lose himself in the documents and imagine what the world was like when each document was written. There were plenty other archives around the world where someone with his experience could find a job and he began to think he might be just as happy somewhere else, someplace that didn’t control every aspect of his personal life. Granted there weren’t many places in the world with the kind of material the Vatican had in its possession but increasingly he could feel the tug of the outside world pulling at him. The fact that he had doubts about the church he served made him realize that after ten years in the priesthood it might be time to call it quits. After all, many of the documents he worked with on a daily basis only served to remind him that the Catholic Church was hardly what Christ envisioned when he founded his Church.

On top of that, the corruption that existed within the Church troubled him and the lack of any serious effort to reign it in made it even more difficult for him to think of staying much longer. How could these supposed men of God abuse children and what was worse, how could their bishops and cardinals work so hard to cover it up, even at the expense of the young victims? That was hardly the only issue that bothered him but it was certainly the most visible lately. To Joshua the church seemed more interested in temporal power than the work of saving souls. It seemed to Joshua that the men who worked at the Vatican cared about money and power and little else. If it wasn’t for the clerical clothing they wore Joshua thought this place wasn’t much different than any other place of business. Oh, they certainly paid lip service to the Lord’s work for public consumption but behind the scenes it was clear to Joshua that saving souls was far from the chief concern of this Church. Working in the archives he’d read many church documents that left no doubt what issues they really cared about and it tried his increasingly fragile faith in the Church. It had been this way from the very beginnings of the Church and it continued to this day. Popes had always cared more about having kings and emperors swearing their loyalty to the Holy See than they ever did for the soul of any pauper struggling to survive.

Those were the issues on his mind when he finally went to see his superior, Bishop Rioux, to tell him he planned on leaving the priesthood for a career in the secular world. Bishop Rioux was a fat man with bad breath and terrible body odor but he had a great intellect and had gone out of his way to help Joshua when he first arrived to work in the Vatican archives. Joshua expected him to try and convince him to stay but to his surprise Bishop Rioux seemed to understand his position perfectly.

Bishop Rioux put his arm around Joshua’s shoulder and said, You know Joshua, many years ago I had a similar crisis of faith myself but I found a way to deal with it within the Church. If you’re interested I could introduce you to some people who might be able to help you. He kept Joshua in his office for what seemed an eternity and told him about a group within the church that tried to fill the needs of priests dealing with a loss of faith. Although Joshua had already decided to leave he thought he owed the Church one last chance to win him back and told the bishop he’d be willing to try anything.

Joshua was assigned to a fellow priest who spent hours talking to Joshua every day. It was a strange couple months for Joshua, instead of receiving the expected counseling it felt as if he were being recruited by a cult. They didn’t speak of God’s love or salvation but they spoke continually of the Church and its place in the world.

Nothing about his guide or their conversations seemed designed to help him strengthen his faith but rather to help him deal with the fact that his faith had deserted him. He wanted more than ever to resign from the church and leave it all behind but his curiosity about this group got the better of him. Joshua found it impossible to imagine that this secretive organization could have existed inside the Vatican without his knowledge for the ten years he’d been here. He became obsessed with finding out everything he could about this group and he allowed his guide to think that he couldn’t wait to become a member. He told himself that once he found out what it was all about he’d resign and be on his way, with his curiosity satisfied. Two and a half months after his initial conversation with Bishop Rioux he was told that he’d been accepted into the group and he was invited to join the mysterious group known as the Order of Simon Magus.

His first meeting was to be held almost immediately after he agreed to join the group. But before he was even allowed to enter the room where the initiation ceremony would be held he was required to swear an oath. An oath that he would never reveal any of the secrets that were about to be revealed to him upon penalty of death, not just death, but apparently a very painful death. The harsh language of the oath didn’t surprise him, he knew many secret organizations required similar oaths. When he became a priest he had taken an oath that was surprisingly ominous. He remembered wondering at that time how many Catholics would be troubled if they knew the oaths their priests spoke before they were allowed to be called a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. The oath damned all other religions and required allegiance to the pope over all else, including one’s country. This oath, however, took it all a step beyond that and somehow these men seemed to take all of this very seriously. Especially the part that spoke of just how he would die if he so much as breathed a single word to anyone of the group’s existence, they seemed very serious about that particular point. He elected to take the oath in spite of the ultimate sanction it promised for betrayal. A friend of his from the States had joined the Freemasons a few years ago and apparently they too had a penalty of death in their own oath. But it was obvious that his friend didn’t take it very seriously because he’d proceeded to tell Joshua all the details of his membership that would supposedly get his throat cut from ear to ear and worse. Maybe the Freemasons didn’t mean it when they threatened death to oath breakers, or maybe they didn’t know about his friend’s betrayal because his friend was still very much alive. Joshua expected that the Order of Simon Magus probably treated breaking the oath in a fashion pretty similar to the Freemasons, a lot of talk but not much else.

The room where he took his oath was dark, the only light coming from a few candles. Joshua wasn’t even sure what building the room was in, he was blindfolded at the altar in St Peter’s Basilica and led on a long walk by his guide. He was sure he never went out of doors after the blindfold was applied but that didn’t mean much, the Vatican was riddled with tunnels and he could be just about anywhere. Everything seemed suitably eerie enough for the occasion and Joshua was duly impressed by the theatrics. He wondered why these secretive organizations felt the need to be so ritualistic and dramatic but he supposed it must come from some need men harbored to feel a part of something exciting and perhaps even dangerous.

Once the oath had been sworn a large door opened and he was escorted into another room that looked very much like a medieval chapel. It was dark and the walls were constructed of large stones, the floor was also paved with stone that was worn very smooth by centuries of use. But who exactly used the room he wondered, and why the hell didn’t he know about it? After working in the Vatican for ten years with access to all the plans and drawings that the Vatican possessed he didn’t believe there was anything he didn’t know about the physical assets of the Church. Yet, he’d never heard so much as a whisper of this place or seen it on any plans of the Vatican. As his eyes adjusted to the low light he saw a man, sitting on an elaborate throne. The man wore a purple robe and an elaborate crown, a three tiered crown like popes had worn for centuries. Pope Paul VI was the last pope to have a coronation and every pope since then had declined to wear the crown, at least in public. The combination of a dimly lit room and a small spotlight that shone directly in his eyes made it impossible to positively identify the man but Joshua assumed it was the current pope. Though he couldn’t recognize the man on the throne he had no trouble seeing the man who replaced the guide who had led him into the room, it was his good friend, Jonah Benedetti.

Jonah hugged him and shook his hand, Welcome Joshua, I was hoping that you’d eventually find your way to us. Once you get to know what we’re all about you’ll understand why I couldn’t invite you to join. I wanted you here but it’s not a group that just anyone can join. You must show us by your actions that you are worthy and sincerely interested. I’m really happy to say you’ve done just that.

Joshua wondered just what there was to be so happy about, supposedly he was here because he’d lost his faith in God, that would hardly seem the occasion for joy of any kind.

The ceremony included a very brief and sketchy history of the Order of Simon Magus delivered by an older priest who Joshua recognized as Father Giovanni Giordano. Father Giordano worked for the Cardinal Secretary who was probably the most important person in the Vatican other than the pope himself.

When Father Giordano was finished Joshua was led through what amounted to an interactive stage play. He was lead through a series of imagined situations where he met a variety of characters. The last station was at the altar of the small chapel where another priest chanted for a few minutes in Latin. Joshua couldn’t understand most of what was being said because the pronunciation of the speaker was horrible. When the chanting was completed the priest poured oil over Joshua’s head and said ‘vos es iunctus nobis’, Latin for you are joined with us. That part the priest got right and Joshua understood quite clearly.

After the strange ceremony, Joshua was required to sign a written oath, it was only slightly more intimidating than the one he’d just spoken outside this room. After he’d signed it in the appropriate place Jonah took a sharp instrument and before Joshua knew what was happening he’d made a small incision on Joshua’s right forefinger. Jonah squeezed his finger and the blood was allowed to drip freely over his signature.

When the signature was sufficiently bloody Jonah took Joshua’s hand and slipped a ring on his right ring finger and said, Welcome to the Order of Simon Magus Joshua.

Joshua looked at the ring, it bore the initials SM and the Latin inscription tantum nobis. The ring looked like a man’s wedding band and the inscriptions were small and difficult to see from more than a few inches away. His attention to the ring was distracted when the small gathering in the room began to chant in Latin. A infractus sacramentum est nex. Joshua knew his Latin well and what the strange gathering was telling him was that if he broke his oath it would mean certain death, a certain and violent death. He felt a chill run up his spine and wondered for the first time if his curiosity might have gotten the best of him, just like that cat he’d heard so much about when he was a child. He fervently hoped he wouldn’t meet the same fate as the cat. As the group filed out of the room they followed a route that led them by the man on the throne where each man stopped, bowed his head and kissed his hand. Joshua watched and followed their example, he wanted to get a closer look at the man on the throne but he kept his head bowed. Today might not be the day to show any disrespect to his new friends. He knelt before the man and kissed his hand.

When it was over Jonah went with him to his room where they talked late into the night about the Order of Simon Magus. He explained that he’d been a member of the Order of Simon Magus for over three years and as time went by he was sure that Joshua would come to understand everything much more clearly and love it as much as he did.

Why is it impossible to see the face of the man on the throne? Is he ashamed of what he’s doing?

He’s not ashamed. I know who he is and you can probably guess but you’ll know for sure soon enough. There are a series of steps you must take in order to be entrusted with all of the secrets of the Order. There are many secrets and we need to be sure that you can be trusted before we fully reveal ourselves to you.

Joshua held up his hand and pointed at the ring he now wore. What’s with the ring?

It’s just a way for our members to identify each other. As I’m sure you noticed it’s not very impressive but when you see a similar ring on a member of the Catholic clergy you can be assured the man wearing the ring is a member, and a friend. He held up his own hand. I’ll bet you never even noticed I wear mine all the time.

You’re right, until this moment I never noticed it at all.

As it should be Joshua.

How many of us are there?

As a percentage of all Catholic clergy we are a very small number but we are the ones who have controlled this Church from its very beginnings. Jonah smiled, We control this immense organization and nobody knows how we do it except for us. In fact, the priests and bishops of this Church are by and large unaware they are even being controlled at all.

And you like this Jonah?

No, I love it and you will too Joshua…I promise.

When Jonah finally left Joshua spent what was left of the night tossing and turning in his bed unable to sleep. Why did he allow himself to get wrapped up in this business? He could have left the Church, lots of priests left. It was hardly unheard of for a priest to return to civilian life, in fact nowadays many were leaving. The church was never happy to see a good man leave but as far as he knew no one was ever killed for it. The oath and the chanting were haunting him.

Eventually he fell asleep but almost as soon as he did his alarm sounded and he woke up in a fog. Joshua’s first thought was the whole thing had been a dream but the incision on his finger reminded him that it was all too real. Before his faith began to fail him the first thing Joshua did every morning was to say his prayers but after what he’d seen last night, prayer was the last thing on his mind.

Not wanting to put off what he knew he had to do he called Jonah to tell him he wanted to leave and pursue a different line of work. Unfortunately, Jonah was busy and couldn’t see him until later that day so Joshua decided to go about his regular duties and go to work in the archives. Looking at the same faces he saw every day now seemed to take on new importance to him. How many of these men were members of the Order of Simon Magus? Were they watching him, looking for signs of betrayal already? Jonah said he wouldn’t be fully trusted initially, maybe there were members all around him, watching him, waiting for him to make a mistake. He just didn’t know. How could he have been a priest this long and not known anything about this group? It all seemed very surreal and very unnerving. Whoever they were, they sure knew how to keep a secret, you had to give them that.

He worked quietly in his office and avoided talking with his coworkers all morning. The thought suddenly dawned on him that now that he was a member of this secret Order he might not be allowed to resign. He certainly couldn’t just go to Bishop Rioux as he had a couple of months ago and tell him he wanted to leave. Bishop Rioux was the one who steered him to the Order of Simon Magus in the first place.

His phone rang just after two, it was Jonah, So what’s so important that you need to see me today? After all the talking we did last night I can’t imagine there’s anything new to say already.

I’d rather wait until I can see you in person Jonah if you don’t mind.

For such an old and dear friend it’s not a problem. Shall I come to see you at your office or would you like to come here?

Joshua hoped to have it in a more casual setting and invited Jonah to his room. Jonah agreed and arrived exactly when he said he would. And that’s when Joshua Cole found out just how seriously Jonah took the Order of Simon Magus.

You want to leave the Order of Simon Magus now? Joshua saw Jonah’s legendary temper beginning to show itself. You haven’t even been a member for twenty-four hours.

It’s not so much that I want to leave Jonah but it just doesn’t feel right for me. I was really uncomfortable.

Not nearly as uncomfortable as you’re going to be. Joshua noticed a vein in Jonah’s neck as it began to bulge.

I know leaving like this is probably something that the Order doesn’t approve of but you don’t have a thing to worry about. The secret is safe with me, I won’t say a word to anyone.

Jonah seemed to calm down, We’re not worried about that in the least.

"Good, because the last thing I’d like to do is upset the Church where I spent the last ten years of my life.

We’re not worried because it’s very likely you won’t be around to tell anyone about us. As I’m sure you remember the oath you took specifies certain penalties if it’s broken.

Joshua looked at his friend hoping he’d see some sign that he was joking but Jonah looked very serious. You don’t mean that …

I mean that it’s very likely that you’ll be put to death Joshua. It doesn’t make me feel good to say it to such a good friend but you did take the oath voluntarily.

You’re not serious Jonah? Are you seriously threatening to have me killed? What in God’s name have I done to deserve that? All I said was that after giving this all due consideration I’ve decided to resign. I’m going back to the States to start a new life. I’m no threat to the Church or to your club.

My club, Jonah laughed derisively, Is that what you call the Order of Simon Magus? What do you think Joshua, do you think this is like it was when you were a small child playing in a little clubhouse with your little friends? The Order of Simon Magus is a far cry from that, we’ve made and destroyed governments and kings throughout history, we’re older than the Catholic Church itself. This is deadly serious business Joshua. I’m sure your guide told you all this before you were allowed to take even the preliminary oath. If you had doubts that would have been the time to express them, resignation is no longer an option that’s open to you. You’re an intelligent man Joshua and I’m sure you understood the words you uttered when you swore your oath. And…I’m sure you understood the chant you heard after you spoke the oath.

I was curious Jonah, just really curious. I was ready to leave the Catholic Church but then this was presented to me as something that might increase my faith, at least that’s the way I understood it. Now, I don’t really know what this is all about but it doesn’t seem to be about serving God and that’s why I became a priest in the first place.

Why did you take the oath when you were waiting to enter the chapel? Before you took that oath you could have simply walked away, now my friend…now… I don’t think there is any walking away.

Joshua laughed uneasily, Okay Jonah, you’ve had your fun. Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on now?

"What’s going on Joshua is that you’ve essentially joined another Church, a very old Church and unlike most Churches you can’t just walk away from us, this is a Church that requires a lifetime membership and we take that very seriously.

You would have learned all this if you had elected to stay and serve but since you’ve decided to leave you may as well know why you have to die. I’m not obligated to tell you a thing mind you but you’re my best friend, on that basis and that basis alone I think I owe you an explanation. Our Order has been in Rome since the beginning of what the world calls Christianity. Shortly after we were formed we founded what became known as the Roman Catholic Church. Our Church was here first and we invented the Catholic faith as sort of an alternative Christian faith. In your reading of the Scriptures have you ever seen anything that even remotely resembles Catholicism Joshua? Simon Magus sort of blended Paganism and Christianity, it made the Romans more comfortable with us. All of this has served us well over the years and we are not about to allow you or anyone else to threaten what we have built."

Joshua was stunned, So the Catholic faith is a sham? Millions of people around the world believe in this Church and you’re telling me it’s nothing more than a front for the Order of Simon Magus? I don’t understand the structure, is it separate from the Catholic Church?

Jonah answered against his better judgment, We are one Church, it’s just that some of us know the real truth of our origins and others do not. No one in our Order believes for a minute that we could be as successful as we are if the public knew the truth. They love the fantasy of St Peter as the first pope and then being crucified and buried here in Rome. So those of us in the Order of Simon Magus keep our existence a secret but never doubt we are the ones who make the rules. We invented confession you know, we use it to gain useful information about Church members. When did Jesus ever say to go to a priest and confess anything, he taught his Apostles to pray directly to God to ask for forgiveness. We’re a Church within a Church, we make the rules, we invent the dogma, there is no God, there’s only the desire to believe in a better life after this miserable existence. Those of us who understand this are the ones who rule this world Joshua and you had the opportunity to join us.

So for the last ten years of my life I’ve been serving a false Church?

You never had a clue?

I told you that my faith was not as strong as it should be but I didn’t doubt God’s existence. I questioned this Church but I never questioned the sincerity of the Church.

Do you read the scriptures Joshua?

Of course I do, you shouldn’t even have to ask that question.

Well tell me Father Cole, where does it say in the scriptures that Peter was the first pope, for that matter where does it even say that he was ever in Rome?

It says that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, doesn’t it?

Pretty weak case, don’t you think? Jesus could have been talking about damn near anything. I think you should look at Acts 8:9, you’ll meet the first real pope there.

I really wish that you hadn’t done this Joshua, you would have been a real asset to us. But for the time being you’re to stay in your apartment until the disciplinary council meets to decide your punishment. Your meals will be brought to you and you are to talk to no one, is that clear?"

Jonah, we’re friends, isn’t there a way you could just not tell them about this and I could sort of slip out of town and disappear, please?

We are friends Joshua but that’s secondary to me. I’m loyal to the Order of Simon Magus.

Joshua nodded his head to indicate he understood.

What you’ve done is unforgivable Joshua and I don’t give you much hope, not much at all. I’ll let you in on one more of our secrets, Vatican security answers to the Order, not the Church you thought you joined years ago. If you leave your room you’ll be jailed immediately. With that said Jonah turned his back and left Joshua’s room.

Joshua heard nothing for two days, his only contact with the outside world was with the priest who brought him his meals. He spent his time reading the scriptures and trying to make sense of what Jonah had said about the first pope. He started reading the book of Acts but he was so worried about the decision of the council he couldn’t concentrate. It sounded like Jonah was saying this Simon Magus, and not Simon Peter, was the first pope. His comment about Peter never having been in Rome certainly seemed to indicate that he didn’t think St Peter was the first pope. While he was eating his supper on the second day his door opened and Jonah walked in with Bishop Rioux.

Before Joshua could even stand Bishop Rioux said, I wanted you to know how disappointed I was when I heard you wanted to leave us Joshua. You’ve hurt a lot of people and now it’s been left to me to decide if you live or die.

Joshua looked at Jonah and said, I thought you said a disciplinary council would decide.

Bishop Rioux answered They did and they ordered you to be executed but your friend here begged for your life and the council gave me the unenviable task of deciding whether or not you could be trusted. Unfortunately, your track record makes me think you are a most untrustworthy creature. Barely one day after joining us you decided that you want to resign? Only one day after you took an oath that clearly stated that once you are a member there is no leaving? The oath is very clear on that point. From my point of view Father, you don’t sound like a man who can be trusted at all but your friend Jonah has convinced the council to reconsider their decision. So why don’t you tell me why you shouldn’t die tonight.

When Joshua heard Bishop Rioux say that he might very well die tonight he swallowed hard and said, All I can say Bishop Rioux is that I beg for your forgiveness and would urge you to show me a kindness that I don’t deserve.

What you say is true Father, you don’t deserve any kindness from the Order of Simon Magus. If that is your entire argument to save your life, you will lose it tonight.

Bishop Rioux, I’m not sure what argument you wish to hear but I will say that whatever little information I’ve learned of the Order of Simon Magus will never go any further than it has right now, I swear. I just want the chance to live a simple life back in the United States. I’ll be no trouble to the Order of Simon Magus…you can be sure of that.

You can swear whatever you choose Father, your oaths apparently mean nothing to you.

I never meant to break my oath Eminence, I spoke it without thinking. My curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to learn more about your Order. I honestly never thought for a moment I wouldn’t be able to leave. The oath I’m swearing to you today is one that I am taking with no reservations. I will not reveal the Order of Simon Magus to a living soul in exchange for my life.

With anger dripping from his voice the Bishop responded, Under ordinary circumstances it’s an argument that would fall on deaf ears but because of the pleas of your friend and my respect for him you’ll live.

Joshua breathed a sigh of relief and said, Thank you both…

The Bishop interrupted, You’ll live…under the following conditions. You are to let us know where you are living, you are to become a communicant of the closest Roman Catholic Church and you will make your confession every week. At that confession you will confess your sins honestly and fully to your priest and you should understand I consider it a sin for you to even think of violating your promise that you made here today. Is that clear to you?

I’m required to remain a member of the Catholic Church?

It’s that or you will be executed. I want you to understand that your death sentence is not commuted, it is only stayed for now. If you miss a single confession the sentence will be carried out, there’ll be no second chances.

Jonah looked at him and shrugged, It’s the best I could get for you Father Cole. I sincerely hope you’ll accept.

I appreciate it Father Benedetti, it’s not exactly what I was hoping for but it sure beats the alternative. Will I be able to contact you? I’d hate to lose our friendship over this.

Jonah smiled at him, You know my phone number but I think it would be better if you waited for some considerable time before you use it.

Bishop Rioux said, Father Benedetti will give you the details of how you are to stay in contact with us. Good bye Father. Before he left he held out his hand, I’ll take that ring Father Cole.

Chapter 2

Present Time

Susan Cassidy was at home working on a story about a UFO that had supposedly landed outside of a small town in Colorado. It was most likely a hoax and she knew it but there was always the slightest chance it wasn’t and that’s what excited her. Susan was a freelance writer who wrote mostly about conspiracies and stuff that serious journalists in general shied away from for fear of being labeled kooks. Susan didn’t pay much attention to what anyone thought of her, she wrote about what interested her and so far it had provided her with a decent living. Her stories had been published in many national publications and she was working on a book about the Skull and Bones Society. If only she could find a publisher. Most of these conspiracies and UFO sightings turned out to be nothing more than someone’s overactive imagination but at least this one in Colorado had more than one supposedly responsible witness. Susan had a school teacher and a cop who were out in the woods doing what came natural when the strange craft supposedly landed no more than a half mile away. Both of them were willing to talk to her as long as she didn’t mention their names in the story; it wasn’t so much that they were afraid of being labeled as nuts as they didn’t want their spouses to find out about their weekly trysts under the pines.

She was just about to call the cop to follow up on her last interview with him when her phone rang; she didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID and almost didn’t answer but just before the call went to voice mail she picked up. The voice on the other end of the line got right to the point and asked if she’d be interested in writing a serious piece about the Freemasons and the Catholic Church. As someone who had come to specialize in stories about conspiracies and secret organizations she loved this stuff, I’m always interested in a good story about the Freemasons but it’s going to have to be something really different, you know what I mean, a different take on the subject. The Freemason thing has been done to death lately and if you don’t have a really unique take on them I doubt I could sell it. The Catholic Church thing is getting a bit overdone too but if it’s any good… is it any good?

You’ll never find a better story or a better source for a story on Freemasonry or the Church, I promise.

Okay, you’ve piqued my interest, so tell me what you have that’s new and exciting that makes this story different than all the rest? Susan grabbed a pen and a pad. "Oh, by the way, who are you, what’s your name?

I hate to start our relationship like this Ms. Cassidy but I’d rather not get into that until we get a chance to meet and I can determine for myself if what I’ve heard about you is true. I think if you’ll bear with me it will be well worth your time.

I’m a busy woman and I don’t have time for a lot of bullshit. If this is a joke or you don’t have what you claim to have you may as well tell me now because it doesn’t take me long to cut through the crap.

Ms. Cassidy, with all due respect, you haven’t had a substantial piece published in some time now. You’re working on a story about a UFO that I seriously doubt even you believe. I’d think you would be grateful for the chance to break something really big. What I’m talking about here is a story that could be a real career maker.

Hold on now, I have a…

The voice on the phone interrupted her, I didn’t mean to say you don’t have a nice little career but this could be the break that catapults you to a whole new level.

How the hell does he know what I’m working on? Susan ignored the comment on her career, it was true but he didn’t need to point it out, at least not so bluntly, What’s your angle Mr.….

As I said, I’d rather wait on the introductions until I meet you in person. It’s doubtful there’ll be a problem as we’ve researched you quite thoroughly but I still must insist on meeting you in person before we commit to letting you write this story. If that’s a deal breaker we can move on to the next name on our list. He wasn’t our first choice but he’ll probably do…

Okay, okay where and when?

Your place in ten minutes.

Susan looked at the mess that surrounded her, papers, books and magazines were everywhere and she was wearing her old boyfriend’s boxers and a baggy tee shirt. "Oh, I don’t think that’s going to work at all. How about you give me a little time to get dressed up and I’ll let you treat me to lunch?

The voice on the phone said, I realize you’d like to make a good impression Ms. Cassidy but I’ve seen your home and it’s a little late for that. Besides I’m not at all interested in your housekeeping habits.

Susan interrupted him, You’ve been in my house?

Of course not, that would be trespassing, but I’ve seen the pictures our investigators took of the place. Don’t worry, no one took anything and as far as the mess you live in goes…well…I always say an empty desk is a sign of an empty mind. Judging you by that standard alone, you must have a very interesting mind indeed. So I’d still prefer to meet at your home but I’ll give you twenty minutes instead of ten so you can put on some decent clothes.

Susan was getting edgy, How do you know how I’m dressed? Are you watching me? She looked around the room for signs of a camera.

Susan, may I call you Susan? The caller didn’t wait for permission, he just continued. No one is watching you but I did tell you that we checked you out very thoroughly, you clean up very nicely but you tend to the sloppy side when you’re home alone.

You’re really creeping me out, you know that?

I don’t mean to, I assure you. But if this is bothering you perhaps you’re not the right person for the job after all. The story I have for you will require someone who doesn’t frighten very easily.

Susan wasn’t going to blow what might be a big story just because she was a little freaked out. Fine, I’ll see you in twenty minutes. I’d give you directions but it sounds like you don’t need them.

She hung up the phone and headed to her bedroom to get dressed. Susan was blessed with a metabolism that kept her slim without much effort and she wasn’t unaware of the way men looked at her. She’d heard it was tough for a woman over thirty to get married but she couldn’t swear to that from her own experience, she was always being asked out and she was closer to forty than she cared to admit. She didn’t accept many of these invitations because none of her potential suitors really interested her that much, it seemed most of the men she met were interested in money or sex or both but not so much in her work. Susan had watched many eyes glaze over through the years when she started talking about the Freemasons, UFO’s or any number of other subjects that fascinated her. Standing five foot six and weighing in at a hundred ten pounds she was hardly an imposing figure but in a pair of stilettos and a tight skirt she had a look that intimidated many men. Not knowing what to expect when her mystery guest arrived she opted for a pair of faded jeans and a white silk blouse. A little lipstick and a dab of perfume on her wrists and she was ready just in time. The knock on her front door was loud and whoever it was kept it up way too long for her taste.

She opened the door and before she had a chance to say a word her guest stepped inside and was standing in her living room. He looked to be about sixty years old, he was a little overweight and had pure white hair and shyness obviously wasn’t an issue for him. He stuck out his hand and said, Nice to meet you Susan.

Susan returned the handshake and the greeting, Nice to meet you too Mr.….?

"Appleton, Seth Appleton. Just so you know, I’ve read just about everything you’ve written and I think you write a damn good story, damned good. I like your choice of subject matter