Limassol, Cyprus
Present day
Aristo had decided that it was time for his mother and Katerina to meet. Today was the big day that he was to introduce her to his mother. It would be Katerina’s first visit to the famous mansion on the peak and a meeting with the legendary Elli Symitzis. The meeting was arranged three days earlier to slot into Elli’s hectic schedule.
Aristo and Katerina were now standing outside his mother’s home, the house in which Aristo grew up in, the house that was firmly lodged in the deepest regions of his heart. Katerina was rooted to the spot enthralled by the house she had heard so much about. None of what she had heard did the house justice and that was just the outside first impression.
Aristo could see she was deeply moved. He felt invisible fingers clutching at his heart and he involuntarily felt protective of her. He took her hand and squeezed it gently. He was amused but not surprised by her reaction. Katerina turned to him.
‘I’ve always dreamed of coming here and seeing this house. It’s beautiful. I’m really glad I’m here.’
The light was fading fast and the city’s night face was coming alive like little stars switched on by an invisible higher force. They went straight to the veranda. Elli stood up and went to greet them.
‘I’m very glad to meet you at last.’
‘Mrs Symitzis, it’s an honour.’
‘Katerina, please. I’m not the Archbishop. And please call me Elli.’
‘OK, Elli. It’s a pleasure.’
‘That’s better. Come and join me.’ Elli said and, with Katerina and Aristo following close behind, walked back towards the table and chairs set on the best vantage point of the verandah and enjoying an uninterrupted view of the sea and the city below, a veritable West-South-East feast and, so as not to offend any direction of the compass, if you looked to the North you could just about make out in the distance the Troodos mountain range standing tall and proud.
They all sat down and there was a short but comfortable silence as they all admired the view. As if on cue, Mrs Manto appeared with a very respectable spread, fit for a regiment. Aristo looked at his mother and smiled. She smiled back. Katerina noticed and her face joined in.
With Mrs Manto setting the table and chatting away, Aristo turned to Katerina and with a quick look at Mrs Manto could not resist enlightening Katerina on Mrs Manto’s wily and bossy but generous ways.
‘Mrs Manto has been feeding us since we were kids. You’ve seen nothing yet. It’s amazing half the animal and plant kingdoms are not extinct. She believes that everybody’s malnourished and needs fattening up. It’s a miracle we are not able to roll down the hill to the beach by now.’
Mrs Manto paused from her task and reached to pull Aristo’s ear.
‘Aristo, I’m constantly amazed by your talent of finding new ways to show your affection. You know how much I adore you too, you scoundrel.’
Aristo just laughed and the others laughed too. Elli broke the spell.
‘Thank you, Mrs Manto.’
‘The tea is getting cold. I know, I know.’ Mrs Manto’s face pretended to be stern, but you could not miss the twinkle and warm smile in her eyes.
‘Mrs Manto, I’ve always known you are not just a pretty face.’
‘Thanks, it’s sweet to be appreciated.’
Mrs Manto smiled at them and started to walk away, but half-turning she declared in a voice that tolerated no objection.
‘Remember I want to see empty plates.’
Elli turned to Katerina.
‘I can never tire of all this mothering. I’ve had enough time to get used to it and get hooked. I’ve known her all my life and, my dear Katerina, I will not lie to you, that’s a long time. Don’t be fooled by this.’ She touched her hair. ‘It all comes out of a bottle. I’ve never had plastic surgery, though. This is my real and pure face and neck. Thank you, God, for small mercies; there are some decent genes somewhere in there. Now my dear, tell me a little about you.’
Katerina smiled at Elli. ‘Elli, I’m sure you know everything about me and my family already.’
‘Too true.’ Elli half-turned to Aristo, still smiling at Katerina. ‘Aristo, she’s smart and beautiful. An unbeatable combination.’ She caught the looks Katerina and Aristo gave each other. They were in love. It was a good match. She had planned it, but it happened anyway. It saved her the trouble. And Aristo was happy. She couldn’t want anything more for her son. She could not be happier.
‘Elli, your house is magnificent. The moment you arrive you can almost hear its seductive call, the invitation to fall in its arms and to be hugged tight. Of course that is only partly due to the house itself, which, even from a brief acquaintance, shows the love and care that has been lavished on it. But it’s your warm welcome that makes all the difference. Thank you for the kindness you’ve shown to me. As you’ve just met me, I’m touched and overwhelmed.’
‘Thank you. I like you already.’ Elli declared, looking around the table and then at Katerina, an amused smile forming at her mouth, colouring her face and pulling at her eyes, transforming them into pools of liquid warmth for the young woman sitting opposite her.
Elli was not easily impressed, but she was a good judge of character and could see Katerina was sincere. But most important was that Katerina was her son’s choice and that was what mattered. Elli had already decided that Katerina would be welcomed into the family. She was already beginning to be taken in by Katerina.
She wondered whether Katerina could see in her eyes the open invitation into her heart. Then again Elli could be a foolishly sentimental woman. And yet she wanted to know more about this charming and intriguing woman who seemed to have captured her son’s heart.
‘This house certainly has a very special place in all our hearts. It’s part of us and yet it will most probably still be here long after we are gone, to, hopefully, nourish and shelter generations to come.’
Katerina wanted to know more about the house. ‘How long has this house stood here?’
‘For about eighty years now.’
‘In a strange way it looks as if it was built yesterday. It must have been so much ahead of its time.’ Katerina’s comment brought a huge smile to Elli’s face. Katerina was left in no doubt of Elli’s pride in this very special house.
‘It certainly was. But, modern though it was when it was built, as you might imagine it has been renovated a few times throughout the years.’
Katerina shifted in her seat and her scarf came slightly undone revealing the area just above her breasts. Elli did a double-take. She didn’t want to be seen to stare, so she averted her eyes. But her mind was on the pendant hanging on Katerina’s neck. Could it really be the pendant? Could it be the real thing?
‘Would you excuse me for a moment?’ Elli said in a relaxed manner and, smiling warmly to hide her shock, she, slowly, got up and went inside and straight to the library. She called Iraklios.
‘Iraklios, that story you told me the other day… I think the pendant with the cross attached to it has just cropped up.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You won’t believe it, but it’s hanging around the neck of Aristo’s girlfriend.’
‘Katerina?’
‘Yes.’ Elli paused. She missed nothing. Iraklios just gave himself away; the name and his tone were clear signs of his betrayal, she thought amused. ‘Iraklios, you have met her already, haven’t you?’
‘I confess that yes. Aristo wanted my opinion. The three of us had lunch a couple of weeks ago.’
‘I will not pretend to be offended that you met her before me. The two of you have always been as thick as thieves.’ Elli paused and when she continued she feigned hurt. ‘But I do feel a little bit hurt at this blatant act of betrayal. Though, I think, I’ll get over it.’ Elli became serious. ‘Did you not notice the pendant back then?’
‘She was wearing a high neckline dress at the time and a scarf over it, so no, I didn’t see anything.’
‘If you saw it, would you recognise it?’
‘I believe that I would.’
‘I think you should come over straight away.’
‘I’ll be there in about half an hour.’
Elli went back outside and joined the others. They were talking about Katerina’s recent tour of the Far East on a buying trip for her father’s company when Iraklios appeared.
‘Hello everyone.’
Elli had not warned them, so it was a surprise. Iraklios greeted them all, but saved special affection for Katerina, hopefully soon to be the new member of the family.
‘My dear, it’s very good to see you again. My day looks brighter already.’
Katerina smiled and thanked him. Elli could not resist teasing him and threw a scathing remark in his direction.
‘Iraklios, sit down. You’ve embarrassed us all already. Katerina may not be used to your killer charm, but we know you and like us she will learn not to be susceptible to your compliments. Yet I may be underestimating her. I think she can see through you too.’
Katerina reached across the table and touched Elli’s arm affectionately in a placating gesture. ‘It’s alright Elli. No-one can refute a compliment, especially one given with such warmth. We all like to think we are appreciated and a little sweetness does not go amiss.’ She turned to Iraklios. ‘I’m flattered, sir. Thank you again.’
‘Spoken like a true beauty. Unaware of her impact on all around her. Humility is not always necessary, my dear.’ His eye caught the food on the table. ‘You haven’t touched a thing. Mrs Manto will have your heads on a platter.’ He took a plate and started to help himself, piling food on it. ‘Let me help you with this to save you from a harsh sentence.’ Then he sat down and gave an imperceptible nod to Elli. It was the signal to get onto the subject preoccupying them.
‘Katerina, I’ll be honest with you. I asked Iraklios to come. It was not a chance visit. I’ll tell you why. Earlier when your scarf slipped I could not help but notice the pendant with the attached cross hanging around your neck. May we see it up close, please?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Katerina acquiesced, an expression of puzzlement on her face. She moved her hands to undo the clasp.
‘Aristo, could you help her, please?’ Aristo had beaten her to it already and having undone the clasp, placed the pendant on the table.
‘Mother, uncle, what is all this about?’
‘We will explain in a while.’ Elli said as she took the pendant in her palm and stared at it, before handing it to Iraklios. He studied it carefully for a while in silence. The others did not break that silence and waited. Elli prodded Iraklios.
‘Iraklios?’
‘I believe this is the cross.’
Aristo became impatient. ‘Would you please tell us what’s going on?’
Elli nodded and looked at Iraklios.
‘Katerina, how did you come by this cross?’
‘It was given to me by my grandmother when I was twelve. Why?’
‘Did she tell you how she came to have it?’
‘She said it was her grandmother’s, and her grandmother’s grandmother’s before her and so on, that it had been a family tradition for the cross to be handed down from grandmother to granddaughter at the age of twelve and it has been so for many generations going back a few hundred years.’
‘Do you know exactly for how long?’
‘Not exactly Would you like to talk to my grandmother?’
‘Yes, we would. I would be grateful if you could arrange it.’
Aristo joined in. ‘But, Iraklios, won’t you tell us what it’s for? Why is the cross so important?’
‘That cross is not a usual cross. Look at it carefully.’
‘It looks valuable, but otherwise I don’t see anything special about it.’
‘If it is what we believe it is, that cross has a story. That cross was a gift to each newborn heir to the throne of Constantinople and we have evidence in historical accounts that shows drawings of that same cross.’
Katerina looked puzzled. ‘But couldn’t anyone who had seen those drawings or the cross itself have reproduced the design?’
‘It is possible, I suppose, and that’s why we need to speak with your grandmother. She may be able to shed light on this matter. But for verification we will need the cross to be examined by an expert, an archaeologist who specialises in this period and more specifically the Palaiologos dynasty and the last Emperor.’
Elli knew the answer. The thought passed through Katerina’s mind as well, but at that moment did not properly register. ‘Katerina, I think your brother would be the right person to examine the cross and confirm this.’
‘Giorgos?’ Katerina was still confused. ‘Yes, of course. You are right. But would he not have mentioned something about it all these years? After all I have been wearing it in full view for sixteen years.’ Katerina said, her tone pregnant with doubts, and a strange feeling of guilt she couldn’t shake, as if she did something wrong and she had to fix it.
She looked at Elli with eyes full of unanswered questions, hoping for a satisfactory explanation, for help to extricate herself from her predicament.
Elli saw Katerina’s suddenly furrowed brow and felt a bit uneasy for worrying this lovely young woman sitting opposite her, only a few minutes earlier relaxed and nonchalant making pleasant conversation. She wanted to try and put Katerina’s mind at some rest at least.
‘It is possible that he never paid real attention. He must have seen it just for what it was, a cross, a gift from your grandmother, a family heirloom. Like when we don’t notice something that is under our nose, perhaps it was the same with this and the thought never crossed his mind.’
‘But he’s always been extraordinarily observant and inquisitive. He would have asked to study it closely.’
‘Not necessarily. He must have become so accustomed to the sight of it that his curiosity was not aroused.’
‘It sounds plausible. I’ll call him and arrange a meeting. But Elli and Iraklios, you are not interested in it solely for its historical significance.’
Iraklios explained. ‘No. If it is what we believe it is, it could be the one worn by the last heir at the time of the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Almost four weeks before the fall of the city, the heir, a child of three years old at the time, was kidnapped from the Palace of Vlachernae. He was never found, nor was a body ever discovered. Nobody ever found out what happened to him. And he was, probably, wearing this cross when he disappeared.’
At the same time, at his apartment in Athens, Giorgos was on the phone to James Calvell in New York.
‘Giorgos, I’ve got the information we wanted.’
‘Already?’
‘I told you the guy was a genius.’
‘Well?’
‘I think he may have made a mistake. I’ll ask him to run the program again. It must have a bug or something.’
‘James, don’t play games. Just tell me. Come out with it.’
‘Giorgos, the donor of both icons was Ariana Paresteris.’
‘What? But that’s my grandmother’s name. It can’t be. It must be a coincidence.’
‘Giorgos, I’ve asked him to dig deeper. There’s no doubt. It was your grandmother.’
‘But how? It can’t be. It just can’t.’
‘Why not? Why do you find it so hard to believe?’
‘I don’t know. I guess I’m just surprised, that’s all.’
‘What will you do now?’
‘I need to speak to her. I need to see her. I need to know. Now. James, thank you. I have to go. I’ll call you in a couple of days.’
‘Alright. Call me, if you need anything else. I’ll help you with this.’
‘Yes, I know. I will call you in a couple of days when I will know more. I’ve got a feeling there’s more to this story. James, I just had a thought. The icon, the Imperial ring. Do you think all this may be connected to my project?’
‘It’s very possible.’
‘My God, do you know what this means? James, I have to go. You are a good friend. Speak to you later.’
Giorgos was on the first flight out of Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport. He landed at Larnaca International Airport shortly after seven in the evening and took a taxi straight to Limassol and his grandmother’s house.
It was just before nine o’clock at night when Giorgos found himself knocking on his grandmother’s front door. She opened the door herself and, hiding her initial surprise, her face opened up with a huge smile for her grandson. She pulled him into the entrance hall and into her arms and they exchanged kisses.
‘My darling Giorgos. It’s so good to see you. When did you get back to Cyprus? And what are you doing here at this time?’
‘I arrived in Larnaca less than two hours ago and I’m back for good, or, at least, until the next project. And do I need a reason to visit my grandmother?’
‘You certainly don’t. You don’t need to give advance notice either. It’s just that I was not expecting you, that’s all.’
‘I’m not interrupting anything, am I?’
‘No, not at all. Come in. Go to the sitting room. I’ll ask Alina to prepare some coffee for us. I’ll only be a moment.’
Giorgos walked towards the sitting room and Ariana Paresteris turned to the direction of the kitchen where she found Alina busy preparing the marinade for the lamb that would be the following day’s centrepiece for lunch. Alina looked up as Ariana entered the kitchen.
‘Mrs Ariana, I thought I heard Giorgos’ voice. I thought he was still in Athens. I didn’t know he was back. Is everything alright?’
‘Yes. And it seems he may back for good. I know it’s late, but you know his crazy schedule. If he can spare a moment for his grandmother he will use it to visit me irrespective of the time and, perhaps, crossing a couple of continents in the process. And I am glad for that. You know how much I love him. He’s very precious to me. We’ll be in the sitting room. Alina, bring us some coffee, would you?’
‘Yes, Mrs Ariana.’
‘Thank you.’
Ariana left the kitchen and walked back to the entrance hall and from there to the sitting room. Upon entering she noticed Giorgos’ worried and pensive expression before he looked up and smiled at her giving her his full attention.
She walked briskly to the sofa facing Giorgos and sat down. She did not want to allow him the opportunity to hesitate as she sensed that he was debating with himself how to broach a difficult subject.
She decided to save time and to make it easy for him so she avoided further pleasantries and went straight for the jugular. Seated in the late evening coolness of the sitting room, Ariana turned to her grandson.
‘I raised you and I know you as if you were my own child. Something’s troubling you.’
‘Yes. You know about my project, don’t you?’
‘Your quest for the last Emperor’s tomb, yes.’
‘We found something in Cappadocia.’
‘Not the tomb? But why have you not told me before? Why has it not been on the news?’
‘We found a sarcophagus and a well-preserved body, but we don’t know yet for sure. But that’s not why I’m here. Do you remember James Calvell?’
‘You were together at university. I remember you being inseparable, practically Siamese twins back then. He’s the deputy director of the Metropolitan in New York, isn’t he?’
‘Yes, he is. A few weeks ago he found something or rather an expert restorer of Byzantine icons came by a hidden compartment in an icon. Inside he found a ring.’
Ariana blinked. Her face was ashen.
‘You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?’
‘I do. It’s about my donation isn’t it?’
‘Yes. You donated two icons, right?’
‘Yes.’
‘One of them was stolen a few weeks ago. There was an attempt to steal the other one as well.’ Ariana’s face was suddenly mapped with enough lines to compete with the surface of the moon, her jaw almost dropped to the floor. ‘But thankfully, James had the foresight to ask John, the restorer, to produce good copies, which John did in record time, and which were put there in place of the originals. The originals were placed in a safe place. We still have them. They are at the Metropolitan under very sophisticated lock and key. But I’ll tell you about that later. Grandma, why haven’t you ever told us about this? Especially me. You know about my obsession with the last Emperor.’
‘Because it is a long and very sad story. It’s something about our past that was regrettable and shameful and my ancestors and I thought we could protect you from it. But, obviously, we were wrong. The truth would have come out eventually. It always has a habit of outing itself, in spite of even the most elaborate precautions.’
Ariana looked at the far wall lost in thought, then down at her lap and then she raised her head, looked deep into her grandson’s eyes and began her story. ‘It’s something that happened in 1453 in Constantinople, a few weeks before the city fell to the Ottomans of Mehmed II. The last Emperor had a child. The mother died at birth. That child was a son and he was the heir to the throne of Byzantium. Of course it was not expected that he would ever ascend to the throne. Only a blind and deluded person could not see that the Empire was finished, that it was only a matter of a very short time before the city fell to the Ottomans.
‘However, that child was doted on and protected as if he was the most precious thing in the world. And he was precious. He was the son of an Emperor after all, part of a proud line, going back through different dynasties and generations all the way back to Constantine I, the Great, and, more specifically, one of the sons of Theodosius the Great who upon his death presided over the split of the Roman Empire to the Eastern and the Western Empires respectively. On 4 ^th May 1453, the child and heir was kidnapped from the Palace of Vlachernae. He was never found. However, the icon and ring that were stolen with the child found their way to my ancestor, Sotirios Vendis.’
The doorbell rang. Alina opened the door and was surprised by the illustrious group standing in front of her. There was Elli, Iraklios, Katerina and Aristo. Alina recognised Katerina and greeted her.
‘Katerina, it is good to see you. And Mr Aristo, it’s a great pleasure.’
‘Alina, it’s good to see you too. This is Elli, Aristo’s mother and this is Iraklios, Aristo’s uncle.’ Elli and Iraklios politely greeted Alina. ‘We’d like to speak with my grandmother, please.’
‘Yes, of course. Please wait here.’ Alina walked to the sitting room and knocked on the door. Ariana called her in.
‘Alina, what is it?’
‘Mrs Ariana, Katerina and Mr Aristo are in the hall. Aristo’s mother and his uncle are with them as well. They want to see you.’
‘Please show them in.’ Alina went back to the hall. Ariana turned to Giorgos.
‘Quite a gathering. It must be important. I wonder whether it has something to do with Katerina and Aristo. Do I hear the bells of upcoming nuptials? So much excitement and all in one night. What a treat for an old woman. And to think I was only looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the television watching my favourite and mostly depressing soaps.’ Giorgos laughed and Ariana laughed with him too. ‘We’ll finish the story later.’
There was a knock on the door and Ariana called them in. As the door opened, Ariana and Giorgos rose and smiled warmly to the incoming crowd. Introductions were made and Ariana asked them all to sit down. Katerina was surprised to find Giorgos there.
‘Hi, brother. This is a coincidence. We were just talking about you.’
‘Oh? What about?’
‘We’ll explain soon enough.’
There was a brief silence, as they all seemed to defer to Elli. She looked at Ariana.
‘We do apologise for barging in like this and at such a late hour. However, there is something we want to talk to you about. We wanted Giorgos’ opinion on something too. So finding you both here is very convenient.’
Nobody interrupted. They all waited. You could taste the tension in the room. Not just because of the new arrivals, but there was something else hanging in the air already, something was going on before they arrived. Elli felt it. And so did the others. Ariana and Elli sized up each other as people in powerful positions do.
They both were matriarchs of their clans, with long histories. What those eyes had seen. A respectful understanding passed between the two women as only between such two great women could.
‘Ariana, I want to ask you about Katerina’s cross. We think we recognise it, but we are not sure.’ Elli paused. Ariana waited. ‘We believe that cross is identical to the one given to the newborn heirs of the Byzantine Imperial family. It could be a copy of course, but it could also be an original.’ Elli looked at Katerina.
‘Grandy, I’ve told Elli about the tradition regarding this cross.’
Elli continued. ‘Ariana, we know the cross is very old. We don’t know how old it is or whether it is a genuine Imperial cross. That’s where Giorgos comes in. We hoped that he may be able to verify its authenticity.’
Giorgos, who until now had been sitting like the others in silence, made a move to take the cross from his sister who had already unclasped it. His mind was already processing what his grandmother had told him and even though the story was not finished, he was subconsciously already connecting the dots. Ariana did not let him complete the process.
‘That will not be necessary. That is indeed the Imperial cross.’
Ten pairs of eyes turned to her in shock. They were all thinking of what had not yet been said. Their minds were travelling in all sorts of weird directions and assumptions.
Elli dreaded the truth. Was Katerina’s family descended from the child or from the child’s nanny who may have stolen the cross? Is that how they knew about the icon and the ring and came to have the cross? Or, and this was the most outrageous possibility, were they connected with the kidnapping somehow, maybe through the nanny who may have assisted with that, or… was it possible… were they descended from the kidnapper? She did not utter any of this speculation, but like the others she waited. Ariana continued.
‘My family name is Vendis. My ancestor was Sotirios Vendis who lived in Constantinople in 1453.’
Now that had not come up in the check on Katerina’s family that Elli had carried out. And there was the matter of her ancestor’s, Eleni’s, son, Michael, having married the daughter of a Sotirios Vendis, Leyla. That certainly was not a coincidence. The two families were distantly related.
What other secrets were hiding in their past? Elli thought she knew everything. The inner circle of the Order of Vlachernae and all that.
Ariana continued. ‘The Vendis family was one of the most prominent in Constantinople. Sotirios Vendis was the head of the family and part of the Emperor’s inner circle. About a month before the city’s fall, he started to observe a change in the last Emperor’s behaviour. It was subtle, but he had known the Emperor well and for a long time and he was one of very few who could see it. He began to become concerned. The Emperor’s behaviour in public was credible — nobody seemed to have noticed anything different or strange — but in private he was becoming increasingly erratic, a different person. And it was not just the expected different persona of a public figure like the Emperor.
‘My ancestor knew him personally, so he could be confident of knowing the Emperor’s private side, life in his most private moments. And he decided to take action. He arranged for the taking of the child from the palace and for him to be taken to a safe place until at least he could see the situation had changed and it was probably safe to return, if at all. This is what became known as the kidnapping. He wanted to protect the
child. The kidnapping took place on 4 th May 1453.’
Elli remembered rumours about the identity of the last Emperor before the siege, rumours she heard from her family, stories that were handed down the generations of the Symitzis family.
Ariana, your ancestor was perplexed by the change in the Emperor’s behaviour, wondered maybe it was the tense built-up leading to the siege. But my ancestor and head of our clan and the Valchern business at the time suspected otherwise. My ancestor, Eleni’s son, Michael, visited Constantinople on 28 ^th May 1453, on the eve of the final battle and fall of the city. Michael met with the Emperor and had an extensive audience with him in secret. Michael asked him about the disappearance of the child and about the city. He was surprised with the Emperor’s total indifference to the plight of the child, his own son, and about his not initiating a search for the child. And he was surprised that the Emperor was seriously considering fleeing to Venice with many of his treasures. And Michael believed he was not joking.
‘At the time he thought the Emperor was out of his mind. It was totally out of character for him, one of the bravest people he had ever met, to take the coward’s way out. Eleni and Michael suspected that it was not the Emperor that he had met, but an impostor. I know it may sound crazy, but with everything we’ve heard so far, maybe it was not such a crazy suggestion after all.’
Ariana resumed her story. ‘Eventually the items that were stolen with the child found their way to my ancestor and that’s how they came to be in our family.’
Katerina could not hold it any longer. ‘What happened to the child Gran? You said the items came to be in our ancestor’s possession, presumably bought by him. But you said nothing about the child being taken to Sotirios Vendis as well.’
Before Ariana could reply Elli interjected. ‘Ariana, you said items. So it was not only the cross. What else was there?’
‘Giorgos had been here for some time before you arrived. I was telling him a story. Strangely enough it was a long story related to what we have just been talking about.’
Katerina turned to her brother. ‘Giorgos, why are you here?’ Giorgos proceeded to explain and repeated what his grandmother had told him. Elli was stunned. She couldn’t speak for a while. Then she found her voice.
‘Ariana, there’s more to this story, isn’t there?’
Ariana did not hesitate. She nodded, her eyes formed an iron-cast connection with the expectant eyes fixed on her and when she spoke her voice was clear and strong. ‘Yes. Those are the famed Likureian icons. The second one came to my family in Smyrna in 1922. It was my ancestor, Kostas Vendis, who found it by accident. The two icons relate to the legend of the last Emperor. They are the ones that are supposed to wake him from his sleep.’
Katerina shook her head in disbelief. ‘Surely that’s not true, is it?’
Elli intervened. ‘Actually, we believe that it may not be that implausible and, though we should not take it literally, there may be some grain of truth in the legend.’
Katerina tensed. ‘Do you mean to say that…?’
Elli gently cut her off. ‘Yes. There is a lot more on this that you don’t know. And some of it will seem fiction, but, in view of what has been revealed today, it is time for that to come out too, as it seems to be connected with the rest.’
Katerina remembered her earlier question. ‘Gran, what happened to the child?’
Ariana’s memory needed no jump-start. She had replayed the story in her mind too many times over the years to forget a single detail. Even though it all happened more than five hundred years ago, almost five hundred years before she was even born, it was such a big part of her life that she felt as if she had just lived that story a few moments earlier. Her account of the fateful events of that distant day was clear and precise.
‘When the kidnapper encountered a group of riders, he panicked and he could not risk the child making a noise and betraying him. So he left it there in the forest and ran away. But as luck would have it, the kidnapper did not go far. Two men working for my ancestor, and enjoying his complete trust, were on their way back to the city when they had an unfortunate encounter with the kidnapper when they bumped into him sleeping in the forest. They knew about their master’s plan. They tied the kidnapper and dragged him back to Constantinople to face their master’s judgment. The kidnapper stupidly demanded part of his promised reward for his trouble, claiming that the child was stolen from him. But of course my ancestor knew the scoundrel before him was lying and was outraged. He had no doubt that the kidnapper deserted the child either at the first sign of trouble or just because its cries or just its presence was proving tiresome and had probably decided that nothing like that was worth the reward promised to him or any reward for that matter.
‘Sotirios Vendis led a search party and dragged the kidnapper with him to show him the place where he last saw the child. But they found no child, nothing, however long and hard they searched the surrounding areas. They returned to the city where not only did the kidnapper not collect his reward, but my ancestor had the kidnapper put to death and retained the items the kidnapper had kept after he deserted the child to the predators of the forest and a fate of certain death. The items have been part of this family’s heirlooms ever since, at least until I donated the two icons to the Metropolitan. I thought that would be the safest place for them. That was, of course, after I had their true depictions concealed with others to hide their true importance and prevent their theft. Obviously, I was not that successful as their true identity had been discovered by those people who attempted to steal them.’
Elli had a sudden thought. ‘Giorgos, what was it that you found in the tomb in Cappadocia?’
Giorgos turned to Elli, surprised at the unexpected timing of the question. ‘We found a sarcophagus bearing depictions of Byzantine art and Imperial insignia. Inside we found the mutilated naked body of a woman, surprisingly well preserved.’
Elli remembered the dream that had been troubling her lately. ‘Lately I’ve been having this strange dream about a woman’s mutilated body, and a woman and child that seem to be saying something to me, something I cannot remember, who then disappear screaming. Considering what you have found it could not be a coincidence.’
‘It sounds like it.’
‘Giorgos, have you been able to make any progress in identifying the remains?’
‘Not yet. But I would guess it must have been an important woman, if she were buried in a sarcophagus bearing Imperial insignia. It can’t have been a random use of the sarcophagus. Do you think she may have had a connection to the last Emperor? We did see the name Palaiologos on an inscription we found inside the sarcophagus under the body, but the rest was in a language we didn’t understand.’
Katerina still did not have an answer to her question. ‘But we still don’t know what happened to the child. He may have lived. He may have been found and raised by another family. If that’s the case, God only knows who his descendants are. It would be interesting to find out. And now hearing of your dream, Elli, do you think that your dream is somehow related to the child, that there is something that you need to do?’
It was as if Katerina had turned on the light switch and had indicated the elephant in the room, the obvious that had been staring them all in the face, but that nobody had consciously dared to acknowledge.
Each of the assembled group mourned for the child, in their own way, but while wondering about his fate and the possible connection of Elli’s dream with it, felt hopeful as well for the child’s survival.
Someone had to put flesh and bones on Katerina’s theory and take it to its logical conclusion. Elli put the situation into perspective.
‘It seems to me that we need to pull our resources together and not keep anything from each other. These are the things we need to do. One, we need to locate the stolen Likureian icon. Two, we need to know whether there was indeed an impostor on the throne during those last few weeks, although it will be very difficult after all this time. Three, we need to find out what happened to the child. Four, we need to assist Giorgos with his search for the tomb of the last Emperor. There is a possibility that the search for the child’s fate could be connected to the tomb in Cappadocia and the search for the last Emperor’s final resting place. Five, when I was recently in Mount Athos in Greece, a monk, the librarian at the Monastery of Pantokrator showed me a very old manuscript called the Book of the Pallanians which relates to the legend of the last Emperor and something called the Temple of Wisdom, whatever that is, but there are unfortunately some missing pages. It looks as if someone ripped them out. We need to find them.
‘And there is something else. Carrying out these missions will be dangerous. We are dealing with a powerful enemy, called the Ruinands. Legend and stories handed down in my family has it that there has been a long war between the Ruinands and the Pallanians who eventually became the Order of Vlachernae. It seems that it has fallen upon me to end this drawn out war. I will need your help. The Book of the Pallanians will be our guide. But please be prepared and forewarned. We are embarking on a mission, a journey that will test your scepticism regarding belief in supernatural events. Iraklios and I are the current keepers of the secrets of our family going back to Eleni and her sons in the 15 ^th century A.D.
‘That was, as far as we know, the last time, apart from now, that the war between the Pallanians and the Ruinands was taking place. Since then neither the Pallanians nor the Ruinands have been involved in active warfare. But things have changed. We have seen a few events that tell us that the war has started again. The ancient rivalry between the two groups has been reawakened and this time it’s going to be the final reckoning. We really need to finish this now, once and for all. We will be assisted in our mission by powers that we can use, not born of magic, but technology. These powers are temporary and they only allow us to use certain devices to catch glimpses of the past by travelling back in time for short periods. It is a technology we cannot abuse as it has side effects, and possibly future consequences, if improperly used. We can only use these devices for so long, otherwise they will kill us. But we have no other way of defeating the Ruinands. However, these powers will not be a substitute for using our brains. The source of these powers is one of my family’s best-guarded secrets, which I will not reveal just yet. It’s better if you don’t have this information for your own safety and for the purposes of our mission of course, in the event that you are captured by the Ruinands. Once the mission is completed, we will put those powers to sleep permanently.’
Ariana turned to her granddaughter.
‘Katerina, open the cross around your neck.’
‘It opens? It has always looked perfectly solid to me.’
Katerina looked down as if she had not seen it before, surprised at the thought that this simple cross that had graced her neck since she were twelve was hiding a secret. She was almost afraid to touch it, as if it had suddenly come to life, pulsating like a beating heart, as if it would leave burns on her skin.
She unclasped it and almost dropped it on the floor, as if it had suddenly become too hot to handle, a glowing inferno on her skin, burning through all the way to her heart that felt like breaking and that would never mend. She suddenly felt very upset about the child that was lost all those years ago.
Inside the cross was a chip the size and shape of a coin, but thicker, with a glowing amber stone in the middle of one of the facets. Elli continued.
‘Katerina, as the current holder of the cross, you will need to carry out this part of the mission. Today it is the twelfth of September. What you need to do has to be done on the fourteenth of September. You need to go to Constantinople. Once you arrive go and see old Dimitris who will help you with the task. You will need to go to the Ayia Sophia Church. You will have to stand on the Eastern side of the gallery and hold the chip when the sun is setting. As the light goes through the windows of the dome and hits the Eastern side, you will then see an inscription that will appear on the mosaic next to you. You will need to repeat this at dawn when a different inscription shall appear. Dimitris will help you interpret the inscriptions.’ Elli turned to Aristo. ‘Aristo you are to accompany Katerina to Constantinople.’
The next day Elli arranged for the booking of two seats on the flight to Constantinople via Athens.