Birds of Prey - Smith Wilbur (полная версия книги .TXT) 📗

The three Knights had set up the Lodge on the slope of the hills above the lagoon, at the foot of a small waterfall that dropped into a basin of dark water surrounded by tall trees hung with lichens and lianas.

The altar stood within the circle of stones, the fire burning before it. Thus all the ancient elements were represented. The moon was in its first quarter, signifying rebirth and resurrection.

Hal waited alone in the forest while the three Knights of the Order opened the Lodge in the first degree. Then his father, his bared sword in his hand, came striding through the darkness to fetch him, and led him back along the path.

The other two Knights were waiting beside the fire in the sacred circle. Their swords were drawn, the blades gleaming in the reflection of the flames. Lying upon the stone altar under a velvet cloth, he saw the shape of his great-grandfather's Neptune sword. They paused outside the circle of stones and Sir Francis begged entrance to the Lodge.

"In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost!"

"Who would enter the Lodge of the Temple of the Order of St. George and the Holy Grail?" Lord Cumbrae thundered, in a voice that tang against the hills, his long two-edged claymore glinting in his hairy red fist.

"A novice who presents himself for initiation into the mysteries of the Temple," Hal replied, "Enter on peril of your eternal life," Cumbrae warned him, and Hal stepped into the circle. Suddenly the air seemed colder and he shivered, even as he knelt in the radiance of the watch fire

"Who sponsors this novice?" the Buzzard demanded again.

"I do." Sir Francis stepped forward and Cumbrae turned back to Hal.

"Who are you?" "Henry Courtney, son of Francis and Edwina." The long catechism began as the starry wheel of the firmament turned slowly overhead and the flames of the watch fire sank lower.

It was after midnight when, at last, Sir Francis lifted the velvet covering from the Neptune sword. The sapphire on the hilt reflected a pate blue beam of moonlight into Hal's eyes as his father placed the hilt in his hands.

"Upon this blade you will confirm the tenets of your faith."

"These things I believe," Hal began, "and I will defend them with my life. I believe there is but one God in Trinity, the Father eternal, the Son eternal and the Holy Ghost eternal."

"Amen!" chorused the three Nautonnier Knights.

"I believe in the communion of the Church of England, and the divine right of its representative on earth, Charles, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith."

"Amen!" Once Hal had recited his beliefs, Cumbrae called upon him to make his knightly vows.

"I will uphold the Church of England. I will confront the enemies of my sovereign lord, Charles." Hal's voice quivered with conviction and sincerity. "I renounce Satan and all his works. I eschew all false doctrines and heresies and schisms. I turn my face away from all other gods and their false prophets."

"I will protect the weak. I will defend the pilgrim. I will succour the needy and those in need of justice. I will take up the sword against the tyrant and the oppressor."

"I will defend the holy places. I will search out and protect the precious relics of Christ Jesus and his Saints. I will never cease my quest for the Holy Grail that contained his sacred blood."

The Nautonnier Knights crossed themselves as he made this vow, for the Grail quest stood at the centre of their belief. It was the granite column that held aloft the roof of their Temple.

"I pledge myself to the Strict Observance. I will obey the code of my Knighthood. I will abstain from debauchery and fornication," Hal's tongue tripped on the word, but he recovered swiftly, "and I will honour my fellow Knights. Above all else, I will keep secret all the proceedings of my Lodge."

"And may the Lord have mercy on your soul!" the three Nautonnier Knights intoned in unison. Then they stepped forward and formed a ring around the kneeling novice. Each laid one hand on his bowed head and the other on the hilt of his sword, their hands overlapping each other.

"Henry Courtney, we welcome you into the Grail company, and we accept you as brother Knight of the Temple of the Order of St. George and the Holy Grail."

Richard Lister spoke first, in his sonorous Welsh voice, almost singing his blessing. "I welcome you into the Temple. May you always follow the Strict Observance."

Cumbrae spoke next. "I welcome you into the Temple. May the waters of far oceans open wide before the bows of your ship," and may the force of the wind drive you on."

Then Sir Francis Courtney spoke with his hand firmly set on Hal's brow. "I welcome you into the Temple. May you always be true to your vows, to your God and to yourself " Then between them the Nautonnier Knights lifted him to his feet and, one after another, embraced him. Lord Cumbrae's whiskers were stiff and pricking as a garland of thorns from the traitor's bush. have a hold filled with my share of the spices that you and I took from Heerlycke Nacht, enough to buy me a castle and five thousand acres of the finest land in Wales," said Richard Lister, as he clasped Sir Francis's right hand in his, using the secret grip of the Nautonniers. "And I have a young wife and two stout sons upon whom I have not laid eyes for three years. A little rest in green and pleasant places with those I love, and then, I know, the wind will summon. Perhaps we will meet again on far waters, Francis."

"Take the tide of your heart, then, Richard. I thank You for your friendship, and for what you have done for my son." Sir Francis returned his grip. "I hope one day to welcome both your boys into the Temple."