Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Bartimaeus
“ I swear to take upon myself, body and soul, the role of he who made the indisputable sacrifice. May my soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.” I kneel before the Pope himself, standing at the altar in the Sistine Chapel. I hold the sacred dagger in both hands and drive it directly into my heart. My hands shake and blood pours from the wound in the center of my chest. I gurgle, my vision goes blurry and I fall forward.
All the breaths I ever took in life, which I’d always taken for granted, all funnel into the last breath. How bitter it is, and how sweet. I can smell the mildew in the air, the dry oil in the painted ceiling, the smoke from the incense, I can taste the Holy Communion. I notice a single drop of blood staining the Pope’s clean white robe. I roll onto my back, mesmerized by the painting of Man’s creation. I reach out and a strong light envelopes me, caressing my blurred sight. Before I close my eyes I feel someone or something touching the tip of my finger.
How beautiful my life was before my vision cleared. How little I knew, and only today can I appreciate the beauty of not knowing, of humanity’s ignorance. The chant in the church grows louder, or maybe it’s my mind playing tricks on me. The organ music makes the chapel’s marble floor shake, and I say goodbye to the life I’d known until now.
I let out my last breath, emptying myself of all familiar, pure, peaceful scents. I sear these sensations into my mind and treasure them in my heart, because I know that very soon I’ll enter directly through the gates of Hell. I close my eyes and take into myself the cold of the marble floor, piercing every pore in my body.
I’m coming for you, Lilith.
That’s my last thought as I feel my skin stinging with the holy water the Pope sprays on my lifeless body.