The Savior

Part 25

Jules didn’t answer that.

Just then a young priest came over to them and said “Good morning gentlemen. A pleasure to have you here. Good to see you again Mr. Zelf.” Then he walked to another table leaving Adam stunned.

“Don’t worry Adam” said Al. “We will not abandon you.”

Adam was just about to get up and walk out of the church when some priests appeared from behind the far wall. Two of them carried wooden saw horses which they set up against the wall. A third priest acme out with a wooden plank which he placed on the saw horses. The three priests then went behind the wall and reemerged with a folding table which looked to Adam like a card table. The third priest was holding a plastic bag. Two priests set up the table on the dirt floor away from the plank of wood.

A cold breeze blew across Adam’s face and a moment later a man emerged from behind the wall dressed in an elaborate robe with a tall hat on his head. Adam thought that must be Archbishop Califano.

Califano walked with a stride to the wooden plank, knelt down and put his head to the plank, then stood and started intoning something in Latin which Adam couldn’t hear. But he noted that Califano had a high, nasal voice, not pleasant to the ear.

After a while Califano turned and, with a stick looking object, reached into the plastic bag while the priest held it open. Adam knew the object was an aspergillum, but he didn’t know why he knew that. When the Archbishop brought the stick out he splashed a red liquid on one corner of the card table. He repeated that action. Flinging the red liquid at all four corners of the card table.

“The blood of the goat” said Al.

(To be continued.)