I descended the short wooden steps, aware that Sydoni was watching me all the while. I hid the rood among the baskets of stores and supplies in the hold of the ship, and then rejoined the others on deck. I stood at the rail and nervously watched the quay for any sign of the Templars. But de Bracineaux did not appear. A few moments later, Persephone pushed away from the dock, and we left Cairo behind for good and forever.

The green-bordered Nile spread its slow, gentle curves before us, bearing swift Persephone north to Alexandria and the sea. I stood at the bow as the tiny riverbank settlements receded, and watched the twin columns of smoke rising in the distance-all that could be seen of Cairo now, and soon that was gone, too, blended and vanished in the heavy blue summer haze.

Leaving the rail, I descended to the hold, retrieved the prize and rejoined the others gathered around the mast where Wazim Kadi had been telling them about our escape from the palace. Yordanus and Sydoni were seated on cushions, and Padraig reclined on his elbow on a rug, listening to the little jailer as he spun the dull dross of our ordinary trials into the gleaming gold of great adventure.

'And this!' Wazim said proudly, waving his hand with a grand flourish as I lay the bundle on the rug before the seated listeners. 'This is the Holy Rood of Christ, rescued from the treasure house of Khalifa al-Hafiz.'

Padraig rolled up onto his knees, and Yordanus and Sydoni leaned forwards eagerly as I slowly unwrapped the sacred relic. I pulled away the cloth to reveal the dark, deeply grooved length of ancient timber. Padraig gasped, and reached out a hand, hesitated, and stopped short.

'Go on,' I said. The priest lowered his hand and with trembling fingers, stroked the age-polished wood. The sunlight revealed a feature in the wood I had never seen before-a narrow cleft, sharp and very deep, in the centre of the piece, much, I imagine, like that which would be made by driving a spike into the wood.

Padraig's fingers found the cleft, and he gasped again. 'On this rough beam our Blessed Saviour King, the Holy One of God, shed his lifeblood for our redemption,' he said, his voice losing solidity as the tears began to stream down his cheeks. 'See here,' he said, 'this rough beam bears witness that our hope is not in vain.'

Pressing his finger to the hole in the wood, the weeping priest said, 'Here the cruel spike was driven which split the vein, divided bone and sinew, and slew the Blessed Jesu. But the wisdom of the All Wise Father encompasses things undreamed in human hearts. In Him, all divisions are united, all torn and broken lives made whole.

'Through the nail-riven body, the rent between time and eternity is joined. In the dying of the Only Begotten, life everlasting is born. For the Swift Sure Hand did not leave him in the grave, but raised him up. And all who cling to this black and Holy Rood shall likewise be raised up on the final day.'

We were silent then for a time, gazing on the holy object, filling our eyes with the homely crudeness of the relic, even as we filled our hearts with the certain knowledge of God's power to bend all things to his redeeming purpose.

'We heard in Antioch that the rood was lost,' Yordanus said, after a long silence. 'I never expected to see it with my own eyes.' He, too, lowered his hand and reverently stroked the rood-much, I expect, as people have done since that morning when the women ran from the empty tomb to tell the twelve that the Master's corpse was missing. For the faithful, it is a natural response, like that of lovers linking hands, to reverence the beloved with a touch.

'Thank you, Duncan,' he said, his eyes growing misty. 'I know I shall not abide this world much longer.'

'Papa, no,' chided Sydoni gently.

'Look at me,' he said. 'It is the simple truth; I am an old man. But I will go to my reward with a better courage now, thanks to Duncan.'

'All gratitude goes to you, Yordanus,' I replied. 'If not for you, I would still be a prisoner, and the rood would be lost to the world.'

'Not at all,' he replied, waving off the compliment. 'Our friend Renaud was working tirelessly on your behalf from the very first.'

His words did not square with what I had seen of de Bracineaux in the caliph's treasure house. But I held my tongue and let him finish.

'I see now why you wished to leave Cairo without delay,' Yordanus said, 'but maybe now you will not mind telling me why you were so anxious to leave the Templars behind.' When I hesitated, he said, 'Was it because you feared they would take it from you?'

'If they knew I had it, nothing would stop them trying to get it back.'

'But it rightly belongs to them,' Yordanus pointed out. 'At least, it belongs in Antioch.'

I heartily disagreed, but did not have it in me to dispute Yordanus. So, instead, I said, 'Tell me how you knew to look for me in Cairo.'

'Ah, now that is a tale in itself,' said Padraig, making himself comfortable.

'But if we are going to tell it,' Sydoni said, 'then I will fetch the cups.' Wazim liked the sound of that and scurried off to help her, returning a few moments later with his arms full of round, wheel-like loaves and two jugs of wine. Sydoni followed with a wooden tray on which were stacked a number of bowls. One of them was filled with olive oil and crushed garlic, and another had salt mixed with black pepper. She set the tray on the deck and handed around the cups.

'At first we did not know you had been taken,' Yordanus confessed, pouring wine into his bowl; he passed the jar to me. I poured and handed it to Padraig. 'We thought you were right behind as we raced to escape the Seljuqs, and it was not until Padraig looked back that we discovered you were no longer with us.'

'Would that I had looked back sooner,' said Padraig, passing the jar to Wazim.

Sydoni, meanwhile, had begun breaking bread into another of the bowls, which she then ranged before us. 'By the time we rode back to find you,' she said, 'the Seljuqs had taken you.'

'We found your horse,' added Yordanus, 'but that was all. There was nothing for it but to ride back to Anazarbus for help.' He shook his head sadly. 'What a terrible, terrible business.'

'Why?' I asked. It was exactly what I would have done if our places had been reversed.

'The Seljuqs did not content themselves with destroying Bohemond's army,' Yordanus replied solemnly. 'They decided to punish the Armenians for withholding the tribute. They attacked the city. It must have happened just after we departed. There were Seljuqs inside the city already, and as the royal family and nobles were attending to Prince Leo's funeral, it was a simple matter to bar the church doors and take over the garrison.'

'Those who resisted were killed,' Sydoni added sadly.

Yordanus took a piece of bread and dipped it in the olive oil and then the salt, chewed thoughtfully, and said, 'Although there was very little resistance.'

'What about Roupen and his family?' I asked, a weight of sorrow beginning to descend upon me.

'A great many people fled the city,' Padraig said. 'We met them on the road and they told us the royal family had been killed at their prayers-although this was far from certain.'

'No one knew anything for certain, save that the Seljuqs were in command.' Sydoni offered me the bowl of bread. 'They had closed the gates and no one was allowed in or out of the city.'

'We had no choice but to turn around and ride for Mamistra,' said Padraig. 'It is an eight-day journey, as you know-well, we made it in six, and regretted every day that it kept us from finding you. I wish there had been another way, but what else could we do? Our best hope lay in getting to Antioch as swiftly as possible. As soon as we reached Mamistra, we sailed for Saint Symeon, and then hastened to Antioch to alert the garrison there what had happened.'