Chapter 21 #2
“A clan of gold dragons restored it, and as penance for her actions, the woman who damaged the painting was required to learn how to paint and dedicate a few hours a day until she was able to contribute a piece of significance to the art community. In the years leading up to her death, she painted several masterpieces. She was absolved of her sin, her penance paid in full. We have one of her paintings here, actually.” The archbishop led us across the gallery to a landscape scene featuring a mountain overlooking a great valley with a river cutting through it and skirted with desert.
“This is her interpretation of the promised lands from the age of Moses.”
In some ways, the scene reminded me of Sumeria, which made sense. “The Nile, the Tigris, or the Euphrates?”
Archbishop Kellan smiled at my question.
“A good question. While Moses was raised in Egypt and had been found in the life-giving waters of the Nile, I am of the opinion that she modeled this landscape after the Euphrates, and the mountains are the Taurus, which give both the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers their life. She was quite taken with Mesopotamian lore, and it colored her artistic works. In truth, I appreciate that she painted subjects lesser known. The Euphrates and the Tigris rivers are both beautiful and deserve recognition. Alas, most fixate on the Nile, as those are the stories those of the faith are more familiar with.”
After humoring us for a few more minutes to admire the artwork, he led us to one of the nearby tables, inviting us to sit.
I did so, taking the box from Erik and starting with the papers, which I offered to the archbishop.
“Considering the situation with the Merorie clan, the FBI has already taken steps to verify that this was a fully legal acquisition. It is, and the paperwork to finalize my inheritance of the piece was completed yesterday.”
Unfortunately for my peace of mind, as I had endured several physical injuries and had been rushed into shifting for the first time, everything I inherited from the Merorie clan would be untaxed with a few caveats, including how long I had to sell items before I was on the hook for income tax.
The total estimated value of everything in the manor, after the victim fund, left me feeling more than a little sick.
With a little luck, buying the land in Iraq would knock out a great deal of my new wealth, and I’d find ways to unload the rest.
When I acquired my personal wealth, I would do so through the efforts of my own hands rather than through an unwanted inheritance.
While I technically could have refused the funds, if I had, would the next person in line use it for others?
As I doubted that, I would straddle the line and do what I could to make the world a fairer place.
Iraq would be an issue, as Pascal indicated the land was for sale, had been for sale for years, and would go for a pittance.
War had destroyed most of it, and what hadn’t been destroyed was littered with mines, mines the next owner would have to contend with. Uruk’s fate bothered me, as the archaeological site still belonged to Iraq but went by the wayside due to the damage of past wars.
It was supposed to be a treasure, not something left abandoned and doomed to return to ruin.
While the archbishop read over the papers, I reined in my thoughts.
First, I needed the money. Once I had the money, I would live up to my promises and make certain the Sumerian girl returned to her home so she might once again give life to the desert.
I would be taking the sickle with me so the claws of Krikolios and Marmariatta might remain together.
One way or another, I would have one of Krikolios’s claws carved to match Marmariatta’s.
Unlike the Sumerian girl, I would not be delving into the waters of necromancy. I would change the world in my own way. Until the day I died, I would admire the girl’s courage and her dedication to city and family.
I would purchase the land she had viewed as home, and I would lean on my parents to help safeguard her final resting place, and I would even fund the archaeological expeditions to free Uruk from the sands and fight to preserve it.
And, perhaps, in time, I would build an echo of the ancient city so we might see it in its full glory.
Once the archbishop finished reading, he offered the papers back. “I am satisfied. You have done a lot of work with this.”
I accepted the sheets and returned them to the drawer. “I can’t claim any of that credit. The FBI did the work. Honestly, I’m not sure why there isn’t a whole lot more red tape.”
“The kidnapping and attempted murder happened in Dragon Heights,” my father replied, and he checked on the kittens, who still slept in the basket at his feet.
“I may have growled a time or two to make it clear that the red tape would mysteriously disappear. I’ll be honest with you, Kellan, I want that chalice out of my daughter’s household immediately.
The last thing I need is worrying about rogue religious fanatics targeting her for owning it. ”
I took that as my cue to open the box and retrieve the Holy Grail, which continued to glow with the same golden radiance it had when we’d first discovered it.
“I’ll be doing a mix of donations and sales of any other religious items that might be found in the manor, making certain they get back to where they belong.
The money I earn from the sales will be used for charity purposes, as I am not comfortable using someone’s religious beliefs for profit.
” I gestured to the casket across the art gallery.
“I expect the majority of the sale will be spent returning her to her rightful resting place and safeguarding her body.”
Archbishop Kellan crossed his heart and murmured a prayer for her as he’d done upon our arrival. “You show great honor going so far for someone long dead.”
“She gave her life for her city and her home, and it seems only right to restore her to her rightful place.” Like Madam Merorie, we’d collected all the water we could have, losing a saddening amount to the spillage in the manor.
Unlike her body, the water remained on the plane under guard by a few dragons my parents trusted.
They had needed to hire a serious cargo plane to cart the fifteen thousand gallons of water the girl had produced since her sale at auction in 2049.
The discovery of the drums in the hidden sections of the basement had created complications for our flight, but the way I figured it, it would be an excellent starting point for reviving her precious oasis.
Water would once again flow in the desert if I had anything to say about it.
“You are quite the determined hatchling, I see,” the archbishop stated with a smile.
“Walter, how did you manage to hide having her? She looks just like you. Walter is what you are going by nowadays, or are you forcing those inferior dragons in Dragon Heights to spew out that mouthful of a name your mother saddled you with?”
“I’m going by Walter,” my father confirmed in an amused tone. “I was trying to be a little less intimidating than normal. It did not work. Now I’ve just given them a complex over my current name.”
My mother snickered. “I tried going by Rosie, but hysterical laughter from my idiot family put an end to that, so I’m going by Chelsey right now, because if you think his name is bad, mine is far worse.
And yes, Kinsley, we’ll teach you how to pronounce our actual names later.
Be glad that we limited our urge to be difficult through naming you Kirani and giving you an easier middle name. ”
“Thank you, Mom. I appreciate your mercy.” I took care with setting the Holy Grail on the table. “Archbishop Kellan, is it true that this chalice was used at the Last Supper?”
The gold dragon smiled, and with reverent care, he lifted the Holy Grail and peered at its myriad of colors.
“Like with all holy relics, there are the seeds of truth in the legends surrounding them. For example, Jesus Christ and his mother Mary are cornerstones of our faith, but they were not as they seemed. However much some of the faith would prefer for Jesus to have been the product of a virgin birth, the reality is that Joseph was Jesus’s biological father.
Early humanity had not yet understood what it was for there to be dragons when Mary and Joseph lived.
Joseph was a gold dragon of little strength, for at the time, there were very few gold dragons.
Mary was an older dragon with black tendencies, but she had not yet found her mate until she had met him.
Jesus was one of two children of theirs, and he was as much his mother’s son as he was his father’s son.
I am descended from their second child, a daughter named Leah.
But after what happened to Jesus, Mary and Joseph went into hiding with Leah and kept her secret, afraid history would repeat itself.
Much of what the religious texts state are a mix of truth and legend, although what Jesus stood for is accurate enough.
During the Last Supper, he understood he had a choice: he could reveal he was a dragon and shatter the faith of humanity or he could accept his death.
He chose to accept his death, maintaining the secret he was not just another human doing the Lord’s work.
Or, as those of the faith decided, that he was the Son of God. ”
“But why are you telling us this?” I asked, unable to keep the puzzlement out of my voice. “Won’t the knowledge of this be damaging to your faith?”