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Lauren’s jaw fell open as she took the picture the professor held out to her. “My name?” Her vision blurred as she glanced down at the image. Rowan’s grip on her tightened as she swayed, supporting her as he looked over her shoulder. There, in the lower left corner, written in perfect 12-point Latin font — a form of calligraphy from antiquity — was Lauren’s full name neatly printed. The image only showed her name, and the unusual font no one else recognized—none of the other text. Dr. Lauren Grayson-Pierce, PhD. The unusual font in the margins was Cherokee. Tsi stu wu-li-ga’ na-tu-tu’n une’gu-tsa ge-se’i. The rabbit was the leader of them in all the mischief.
“Can you explain this?” Masa asked.
“Photoshop?” Lauren looked up. She could feel a mist of sweat forming on her upper lip as he scowled and shook his head. Lauren shrugged. “No. I can’t.”
“I’ve heard of the Devil’s Bible, but we’ve never investigated it.” Rowan could tell she wasn’t telling everything she knew. “Dr. Masa, why don’t you have a seat so we can talk? Lauren, come sit.” Rowan stepped back and invited the man in. Lauren’s heart leapt in her chest. Dammit Rowan, you never invite a vampire in! Didn’t he know better?
Rowan played host, offering coffee or tea, but the visiting scientist declined. “Is this ... part of the original text or is it some kind of ... vandalism?” Lauren asked when she found her voice.
“And you’re sure it came from the Codex Gigas?” Rowan added.
“We’re not certain,” he said. “We thought perhaps it would be best to begin by interviewing you before we went to the expense of further testing ... most of which is destructive. We hoped to spare the page from any further damage.”
“What clues do you have to suggest it might be genuine?” Lauren asked breathlessly as she studied the picture.
“The original Codex was not written on paper, but rather on vellum, made from animal skins. The legends say the hides of 160 donkeys were used, but perhaps it is calf skins. We haven’t tested this page. The original tome is three feet long, two feet wide. There are 320 sheets in the existing document. We know some were subsequently removed. We don’t know why, or what happened to them. Altogether, the ancient manuscript as it exists today weighs more than 165 pounds. The pages are sewn together by hand. This missing page appears to show all the same characteristics of the original. It is the same size, and the ink, at least visually, appears to be consistent with the Codex. It appears the page has been torn out. Such an act would have taken a great deal of effort, even for an aged manuscript. The print containing the unknown language and your name appears, at least on the surface to be the same ink, and your name is written in the same print.”
“Is this ... blood?” Lauren pointed to a smear across the script just above her name in the photo.
“We think so, but we haven’t had a chance to test for that either.”
Rowan took the picture, wishing it showed the whole page. “You mentioned there had been previous examinations of the Codex?”
“Scientists have studied it for centuries, Mr. Pierce. A team from Frankfurt had unprecedented access to the Codex for a National Geographic documentary a few years ago. They are the only ones who have had access to it in the past half-century.”
Lauren ran an unsteady hand over her face. Her hair was disheveled and while she didn’t wear make-up often, Rowan thought the dark circles under her eyes made it look like her mascara had run. It could have just as easily been the weariness from having been sick. “I’m at a loss, Dr. Masa ...” she finally said, taking the picture from Rowan, handing it back to the man. “I have no explanation for why ... how ... my name might have turned up in an ancient document. Surely, it’s some kind of a mistake. Some hoax-monger, perhaps ...”
“Dr. Pierce,” he said. “There has been much discussion about this having been some sort of fraud, but I have my reservations. I do not suspect you were personally involved, but I have orders to investigate the matter. If there is some criminal element at play, the museum will turn it over to the authorities.”
Lauren said, glancing at Rowan, “What do you need me to do?”
He sat back and gazed at her a moment. “Dr. Pierce, your reputation is wide-reaching. If you are willing, I want you to come to Prague. I suspect you will wish to see the page for yourself.”
“Prague?” Lauren gasped. “I can’t go to Prague.”
“Dr. Pierce, after your amazing find in the Yucatán, and your more recent work in South Africa, your reputation as a scientist and linguist has not gone unnoticed. We had hoped you might be able to decipher the text. That you might help us authenticate it.”
“Can’t you just send her pictures?” Rowan asked.
“I’m afraid that is something the museum is not willing to do,” he said. “We cannot risk the information contained in the text being disseminated before we know what it says. Please do not think us unkind or that we do not trust you, Dr. Pierce. But the legend of the Codex Gigas makes us untrusting of anyone. The knowledge contained — rumored to be contained — could lead to the destruction of all mankind.”
“Dr. Masa,” Lauren started, but hesitated.
“We’ll pay for your travel, and ... for your time.”
“It’s not about the money,” Lauren said. “I have two little boys. I’m ...” she stopped. “I ... I can’t go off and leave them. Rowan can’t go with me. He’s got classes. I can’t just pick up and take off any time I want to. I have responsibilities here.”
“Lauren,” Rowan lowered his tone as he stood. “Dr. Masa, will you excuse us a moment?”
“Of course.” He stood when Lauren got up. “Perhaps you need some time to consider.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved a card. “I’m staying at the Luxor Hilton. I’ll be returning to Prague in three days’ time. I’ll allow you to discuss. Please, call me when you have decided. I will take care of all your travel arrangements.” He jotted down some additional information on the back of the card. “Here is the fee we are willing to pay for your trouble.” Rowan took it and flipped the card over. His jaw fell slack.
“You needn’t bother,” Lauren snapped at her husband, without even seeing the figure. “I can’t go.”
“We’ll call you.” Rowan walked Dr. Masa to the door, offering his hand. The man accepted it. “Thank you for coming by.”
* * *
Once the door closed behind the professor, Rowan turned to face her wrath. Lauren’s hands were clenched, her lips were pursed. Her eyes were practically on fire. “Have you lost your ever-lovin’ mind?”
Rowan held up the card and his other hand in self-defense. “Just think about it, honey. This is a lot of money. We could really use this right now. With neither of us working, we’ve put a significant dent in our savings. With a baby on the way, this would give us a nice nest egg until we’re ready to go back to work. This would cover almost a full year of living expenses and allow for all the extras we might want.” He reached out for her, but she took a step back. Clearly, she would not be placated by a soft touch. “Aren’t you the least bit curious how your name ended up in the Codex Gigas?”
“Curious? I’m absolutely terrified!” She shivered, turning away.
“What? Why?”
“This isn’t about money, Rowan. Do you know the legend of the Codex Gigas?” She screwed up her face a moment, but her anger seemed to abate. Her whole countenance imploded on itself as she sank into the chair behind her.
Rowan sat down across from her. “I’ve heard of the book, but I don’t think I know the whole story.”
“It was written in the early 13th century at a Benedictine monastery in Bohemia. That’s now part of the modern Czech Republic. It contains the complete works of the Bible as well as the entire content of human knowledge up to that point in time. It is said to include Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, and De belle iudaico, Isidro of Seville’s encyclopedia, Etymologiae, the chronicle of Cosmos of Prague, medical works and two books by Constantine the African. It’s handwritten in perfect script. No errors, no typos. No sign of any corrections having ever being made. Pristine, exactly as the original works are found.”
“What’s so scary about that?” Rowan shrugged.
“According to one version of the tale, the scribe was a Benedictine monk who broke his monastic vows and was sentenced to be walled up alive.”
“You mean, bricked up into a room and left to die?”
“More or less, yes,” Lauren said. “The story goes that he pleaded for his life and in order to avoid such a long and miserable death, he vowed to create — in one night — a book to glorify the monastery forever. He vowed the book would contain all human knowledge. Near midnight, knowing he could not complete the task, he could all but smell the fresh mortar being mixed. He prayed, not to God, but to the fallen angel, Lucifer. He pleaded for the ability to finish the book and offered his soul in exchange.”
“And let me guess, the Devil took him up on the offer?”
“The Devil gave him the power to complete the manuscript and the monk added a sketch of the Dark One out of gratitude for his aid,” she said. “It’s probably the most disturbing representation of Satan you’ll ever see.”
“I take it you’ve seen it before?”
“Pictures on the internet,” she said. “When we were working to name The Veritas Codex, Jacob suggested we should do an episode on the Codex Gigas, but I declined at the time.”
“Why?”
Lauren turned and looked at him. “I’m not really sure,” she said. “The whole idea of the Devil’s Bible has always been frightening to me. I’d rather go back to that cavern in Peru than go to Prague now, especially after everything that happened in South Africa.”
Rowan considered this for a moment. “I hate that I am saying this, but ... if it’s your destiny to face Enlil, the Dark One ... this may be part of the preparations that need to be made.”
“All the more reason I don’t want to go.” A shiver washed over her, and her hand went to her arms, rubbing her chilled flesh. “Especially now.”
“How do you think your name got on that page?”
“It has to be a hoax of some kind,” Lauren said. “The Devil’s Codex was written before 1299, before the monastery was destroyed in the Hussite Revolution. At the end of the Thirty Years’ War, it was plundered and taken by the Swedish army. Legends say it’s cursed, and it was nearly destroyed in a fire in 1697. The wooden and metal binding was damaged then, and several pages went missing when a vicar tried to save it by throwing it out the window. It landed on an innocent bystander and nearly killed him.”
“But if one of those pages has your name and that strange writing on it,” Rowan said. “How can you not go?”
“What about Henry? John Carter?” She furrowed her brow.
“I can take care of my own sons,” Rowan said. He was almost offended that she hadn’t even considered that.
“What about your classes?”
“I’ll see if one of Tima’s daughters will come by and watch the boys when I have to go to a lecture,” he said. “Maybe Shemi could just come and stay with us while you’re gone.”
Lauren grimaced but sat back in her chair. The thousand-yard stare she got so often when she was thinking overtook her face.
“Look.” Rowan reached out and took her hand. “If I know you ... and I do, you will want to figure this out,” he said. “You’ll regret it if you don’t go.”
“I wish you could come with me,” Lauren said, her voice trembling.
“Me too,” he said. “But ... knowing the powers you have, knowing the gods protect you, I feel only slightly better about sending you alone. I have classes and the boys to take care of. I know you. You can take care of yourself.” She couldn’t believe he was saying that. He’d been so over protective of her since Washington. He’d come a long way in understanding what had happened to her, and his confidence in her gave her comfort.
She returned her thoughts back to the discussion at hand. “But ... why would a monk pray to Lucifer, rather than God?” She thought aloud. Her voice sounded small and frightened.
Rowan leveled his gaze at her, tilting her chin so she’d look at him. “Go find out.”