Read Online The Last Gospel by David Gibbins - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: David Gibbins
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poppy makes me talk, makes my mind wander, makes me say things I can never remember afterwards. They know who I am. Every time I go now they seem to appear out of the mist, reaching out for me.’
‘You should be more careful, Princeps ,’ Pliny murmured.
‘They’ll come here. All my life’s work, all my manuscripts. They’ll destroy everything. That’s why I’ve got to give it to you. I don’t trust myself.’
Pliny thought for a moment, then took the scroll of the Natural History he had been writing on and placed it on the bookshelf. ‘I will return for this tomorrow. It will be safe here for one night, and I will add more to it about Judaea, anything more you can tell me. I will return. There is someone else I must visit here tomorrow evening. Maybe even tonight. I have been starved of her for too long. You will join me?’
‘I sometimes avail myself. But these days I think more and more of my dear Calpurnia. Such pleasures are in the past for me, Pliny.’
‘Tonight I will take my fast galley straight to Rome, I’ll be back here by the morning. After I see you again, I will make the same additions into my master version, then send it to the scribes in Rome for copying,’ he muttered, half to himself. ‘The Natural History will be complete at last. The final edition. Unless you can tell me anything more about Britannia, that is.’ He thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table, then tapped the cylinder Claudius had given him. ‘And I think I know just the place for this.’ He tucked it in a pouch under his toga, then took down the Natural History scroll on Judaea from the shelf, placed it on the table, picked up the stylus and wrote a few lines, paused for a moment, smudged the lines out with his finger, then made a note in the margin. Claudius watched, and grunted his approval. Pliny let the two ends of the scroll roll loosely together and replaced it quickly on the shelf, suddenly remembering the time and his visit to the woman that night. At that moment there was a shuffling sound at the entranceway, something that might have been a knock, and a stooped old man appeared, dressed in a simple tunic and carrying two woollen cloaks.
‘Ah, Narcissus,’ Claudius said. ‘I am ready.’
‘You go to the Sibyl?’ Pliny asked.
‘One last time. I promise.’
‘Then one last thing, Princeps .’
‘Yes?’
‘I do this for you as a friend, and as a fellow historian. It is my job to present the facts as I know them, and to hold nothing back.’
‘But?’
‘You? Why is this so important to you? This Nazarene?’
‘I too am loyal to my friends. You know that. And he was one of them.’
‘My sailors speak of a Kingdom of Heaven on earth, that people with goodness and compassion can find it. Do you believe in this thing?’
Claudius started to speak, hesitated, then looked Pliny full in the face, his eyes moist and suddenly etched with his years. He reached out and touched his friend’s arm, then gave a small smile. ‘My dear Pliny. You forget yourself. I’m a god, remember? Gods have no need of heaven.’
Pliny smiled back, and bowed. ‘ Princeps .’
4
Present day
J ack and Costas hung weightless in the water eight metres below the Zodiac boat off south-east Sicily, their equipment reflecting the sunlight that shone as far down as the cliff base thirty metres below. Jack was floating a few metres away from the shotline, maintaining perfect buoyancy with his breathing and watching the extraordinary scene overhead. The Lynx helicopter from Seaquest II had arrived a few minutes before, and its deflected propwash created a perfect halo around the silhouette of the boat. Through the tunnel of calm in the middle, Jack could see the wavering forms of the two replacement divers who had been winched down to provide safety backup should anything go wrong. He could feel the vibration, the drumming of the propwash on the water, but the roaring of the engines was muffled by his
‘You should be more careful, Princeps ,’ Pliny murmured.
‘They’ll come here. All my life’s work, all my manuscripts. They’ll destroy everything. That’s why I’ve got to give it to you. I don’t trust myself.’
Pliny thought for a moment, then took the scroll of the Natural History he had been writing on and placed it on the bookshelf. ‘I will return for this tomorrow. It will be safe here for one night, and I will add more to it about Judaea, anything more you can tell me. I will return. There is someone else I must visit here tomorrow evening. Maybe even tonight. I have been starved of her for too long. You will join me?’
‘I sometimes avail myself. But these days I think more and more of my dear Calpurnia. Such pleasures are in the past for me, Pliny.’
‘Tonight I will take my fast galley straight to Rome, I’ll be back here by the morning. After I see you again, I will make the same additions into my master version, then send it to the scribes in Rome for copying,’ he muttered, half to himself. ‘The Natural History will be complete at last. The final edition. Unless you can tell me anything more about Britannia, that is.’ He thought for a moment, drumming his fingers on the table, then tapped the cylinder Claudius had given him. ‘And I think I know just the place for this.’ He tucked it in a pouch under his toga, then took down the Natural History scroll on Judaea from the shelf, placed it on the table, picked up the stylus and wrote a few lines, paused for a moment, smudged the lines out with his finger, then made a note in the margin. Claudius watched, and grunted his approval. Pliny let the two ends of the scroll roll loosely together and replaced it quickly on the shelf, suddenly remembering the time and his visit to the woman that night. At that moment there was a shuffling sound at the entranceway, something that might have been a knock, and a stooped old man appeared, dressed in a simple tunic and carrying two woollen cloaks.
‘Ah, Narcissus,’ Claudius said. ‘I am ready.’
‘You go to the Sibyl?’ Pliny asked.
‘One last time. I promise.’
‘Then one last thing, Princeps .’
‘Yes?’
‘I do this for you as a friend, and as a fellow historian. It is my job to present the facts as I know them, and to hold nothing back.’
‘But?’
‘You? Why is this so important to you? This Nazarene?’
‘I too am loyal to my friends. You know that. And he was one of them.’
‘My sailors speak of a Kingdom of Heaven on earth, that people with goodness and compassion can find it. Do you believe in this thing?’
Claudius started to speak, hesitated, then looked Pliny full in the face, his eyes moist and suddenly etched with his years. He reached out and touched his friend’s arm, then gave a small smile. ‘My dear Pliny. You forget yourself. I’m a god, remember? Gods have no need of heaven.’
Pliny smiled back, and bowed. ‘ Princeps .’
4
Present day
J ack and Costas hung weightless in the water eight metres below the Zodiac boat off south-east Sicily, their equipment reflecting the sunlight that shone as far down as the cliff base thirty metres below. Jack was floating a few metres away from the shotline, maintaining perfect buoyancy with his breathing and watching the extraordinary scene overhead. The Lynx helicopter from Seaquest II had arrived a few minutes before, and its deflected propwash created a perfect halo around the silhouette of the boat. Through the tunnel of calm in the middle, Jack could see the wavering forms of the two replacement divers who had been winched down to provide safety backup should anything go wrong. He could feel the vibration, the drumming of the propwash on the water, but the roaring of the engines was muffled by his
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