2 - The Spear

For almost 2,000 years she wandered. Without him, without anyone.

Jerusalem 1998

"Funny. I always imagined it to be well... more." Nareena said to herself as she gently placed the spear into the cushioned travel case at her feet. Levi grunted his agreement as he closed and locked it. Sure that the spear was secure in it's new home, Levi reached out his hand to help Nareena stand up. Dust stained her black trousers from where she has knelt down to open the tomb, she brushed off the mountain dirt and straightened her back. Levi held a finger to his ear and nodded in silent response to whatever was being said into his earpiece "Your plane is ready. Latest take off is in 2 hours." he informed her politely.

 

"Very well." she replied flatly. Nareena looked back at the open tomb where the spear had been hidden for 1,000 years. She smiled to herself at the thought of it resting here undisturbed for so long. The stone had been worn smooth, the Greek Key pattern that had been etched into it was now barely visible from years of exposure; if you weren't looking for it, you'd never notice it. 

"How could you have possibly known which tomb it was in? There are thousands here." Levi asked her as he looked around at the graves, tombs and crypts that made the mountain famous. It was one of the things she enjoyed about him, his endless wonder and need to know why.

"Bartholomew Longini, 1099." she read the name from the stone "And the decoration of the tomb." she explained, when Levi's face remained confused she continued. "Peter Bartholomew supposedly had a vision telling him that the spear was buried in Antioch in Greece, he smuggled it out of the city during the siege of Antioch and brought it here a year later. Longini is part of the spear's Latin name, as it belonged to Longinus. The Key pattern was popular in both Greece and Rome, the spear belonged to a Roman but was found in Greece. Quite an eloquent disguise really." it had taken her decades to work out which of the many so called Holy Lances was the real one but something about the story she heard about Peter Bartholomew had always rang true to her, finding where the Monk had hidden it took even longer. 

Without giving Levi time to say anything she walked passed him and began the short decent to the bottom of the mountain where several cars would be waiting for them; it wasn't long before she heard the footsteps behind fall into sync with her own as Levi followed her lead. Her body was vibrating with anticipation, things were finally falling into place, soon she would have everything she needed to do what had to be done. It wasn't long before they reached the bottom of the path; where three black sedans waited patiently in the darkness. Levi walked ahead of her at this point and loaded the case into the boot of the car at the back of the convoy, he then turned to the middle car and opened the back door for Nareena, she slipped into the back seat with ease and waited for her companion to join her. He spoke to the men that stood by each car, two of the men nodded and made their way to the lead car, while the second pair walked to the last car. Levi himself got into her car and sat beside her. "We're going straight to the jet. No need to prolong our visit." he told the driver sitting silently in front of them.  

They sat in silence for a time, Nareena took the time to look out of the window and enjoy the views, Jerusalem has greatly changed since her last visit, but the air was till full of magic and wonder. the stars were still the same as they ever were, over the centuries their light may have dimmed but they were as permanent as she was; they too would outlive a thousand mortal lives and only fade when He decided. "Almost there love." Levi comforted her, he reached for her hand only for her to pull it away at he last moment. "Yes. Almost there." once more she turned and offered him a simple smile, she had no desire for his affections right now. 

A dull and monotonous ring interrupted them, it was the satellite phone. Nareena reached into the bag next her and pulled the antenna out before answering. "Yes" she remained silent as the voice on the other end of the line spoke to her, when the voice was finished speaking she didn't bother saying goodbye, she just ended the call. "Thomas and his team have acquired the last remaining fragment from St Paul's in London. It wont be long until all 6 fragments are together." One of the other relics that Nareena needed was a  piece of the true cross. unfortunately it had been fragmented centuries before. She had already retrieved 3 fragments from the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Rome and a further two pieces that had been buried beneath the spire of Notre Damn. What had vexed her was the location of the last and largest fragment which had been gifted to King George II of England by Pope Benedict XIV in honour of the Monarch's 60th birthday; after months of research she discovered that it had been placed in the centre of the cross that rested on top of the Cathedral. It hadn't taken long for Thomas to suggest simply flying over the Cathedral and removing the cross that way. 

"They are going to meet us in New York with the fragment. We'll then lock it in the Vault with the other relics." that was the safest plan for them.

"Am I then to prepare my team and arrange travel to Turin?" Levi's face told her that he was already planning their next trip down to the most finite of details. 

"No, we will have to leave if for a while, we have desecrated Holy sites. No doubt places of Religious significance will be on high alert for the foreseeable future." she stayed silent as the entered the village of Silwan, it was an old village, it had seen much of the unease caused by Religion much like herself. "Besides, a rest will do us good" laying a hand on his arm she offered him some of the affection he so enjoyed. 

         

It was another hour before the convoy pulled onto the small airfield they had landed in only a week before. While Levi and his team flitted about the field, Nareena remained in the car,thinking to herself as she often did. A light tap on the window alerted her to the fact that everything was ready and it was time to board. She stepped out into the gloaming, the air was crisp and sweet it tasted clean. Her men were all stood by the craft waiting for her to board first, making no attempt to speak to any of them she climbed the steps. 

The comfort and luxury of the Jet contrasted the dry and dusty landscape outside. Large, cream leather seats lined the aisle leading to the back of the plane, she walked past them and chose to sit right at the back, away from the men that had followed her aboard, this washer seat and they all knew not to sit in it. The leather enveloped her as she sat back, it was a familiar comfort to her, one she allowed herself to enjoy for a moment. To her left was a bench that ran along the width of the aisle of seats and acted as a table; on her private table lay the travel case. She took some time to examine it more closely as people sat down around her and chatted fondly to each other. It a brittle thing, the wooden body had decayed and broken over time, it was now less that half it's original size. No matter, she only required the spear head, the metal that pierced the flesh of Christ, the blood stain remained on the blade, parts had faded in the last 2,000 years but she could still see what blood had remained. 

Engines roared to life around her and the last man on board sealed the door and gave a quick knock on the pilots door, giving him the go ahead. It didn't take long for the plane to start taxiing down the runway. She hated flying, always had, she had lived so long on the ground that she felt exposed and to close to her enemies for her own good, but her confidants had persuaded her that it was the most effective and fastest mode of transportation. Pressure built around her as the craft climbed higher into the night. 

"You should rest before we get to New York." suggested a tired looking Levi who had taken his place on the other side of the aisle. 

"I am fine. You on other hand look positively exhausted." she inclined her head towards him playfully. "I think you might benefit more from a few hours sleep." he smiled at her before releasing a large yawn.

"You have a nasty habit of always being right." he laughed in agreement before turning in his chair to get some well deserved sleep.He had been with her for 7 years now, he was charismatic and wise beyond his age and Nareena was becoming uncharacteristically attached to him. His gentle breathing gave way to light snoring as he drifted into a deep sleep, despite her better judgement she pulled down a blanket from the shelf above him and covered his muscular frame. He was a good man she mused, better than she probably deserved but she was also aware that she needed someone like him, someone who was indefatigably loyal to her.   

  

Reviews

[matrixmark]

I can see vast improvements in this piece ehen compared to chapter 1. Your sentence length on that much stronger and seems to be packing more of a punch.

Paragraph 5, sentence 1 - needs to be shorter or split. Along with a couple more in that paragraph.


The above is just a guideline to steer you in the right direction and not meant in any other way.

I enjoyed the piece and shall continue to read it as i am getting quite into your story.

Mark.

[DanielleA94]

Thank you again for another constructive review, I'm finding them to be very helpful! I'll take a look at change the sentences in paragraph 5 but at the moment i'm neck deep in research for upcoming chapters! Thanks again!

[matrixmark]

Do what you gotta do. Glad that I can help. Good luck with the research.

Mark.

[aj milton]

Very descriptive and good storytelling.

Technically: your dialogue punctuation is frequently incorrect. Example:
"Very well." she said.
Should be: "Very well," she said. You need to use a comma within the quotes when followed by 'she said' or similar dialogue prompt. Seems a small thing but if you ever want to publish, better to learn and correct now. Same applies in reverse:
She said, "Very well." Otherwise you effectively have two full stops in one sentence. Hope I don't sound too pedantic but it's intended as positive advice.