“Warrior monks? That’s certainly a colorful title,” Dr. Winter said. “I suppose you’re somewhat right. The Orphans were a feuding clan back then, with their armored wagons and swords and such. But they were more than that. They were the defenders of a great secret, a secret they didn’t even own.”

“What secret?”

“It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you, now, would it?”

April shook the cup with the hand. “Did I mention it was your right hand? You’re right-handed.”

“I’ll tell you as much as I know,” Dr. Winter said, grimacing again. “The secret had to do with the Order of the Dragon. They were said to possess something so powerful that the Holy Roman Empire was completely at their command.”

“What was it?”

“Only Gutenberg knows. At an early age, he had a fateful meeting with John Huss—the father of the Orphans. Huss was being led through the streets to the middle of town, where he was to be burned at the stake. He handed the young Gutenberg a token— an ancient coin—that would change the course of his life. From that point on, Gutenberg swore his allegiance to the Orphans.” He paused.

“What did he do for them?” April asked.

“Gutenberg’s work developing the printing press became central to the Orphans’ plans. They knew that putting the Bible in the hands of commoners would create radical social change. And it did, ushering in not only the Reformation, but the Renaissance too.”

“Get to the point,” April said, irritated. “How does the Order of the Dragon come into play?”

“The Order was first known as the Dragon of Saint George, formed to fight the onslaught of the Ottoman army. Each of the twelve members bore a sculpted dragon on their helmets. They were regarded as the fiercest soldiers in the land, but even so, each of them fell until only one remained: the Serbian prince Stefan Lazarevi. The organization disappeared, until the German emperor Sigismund revived them under a new banner in 1408.”

“The Order of the Dragon,” April whispered, hardly sensing the words had drifted from her mouth.

“Exactly. The newly arranged Societas Draconistrarum, which is where the term draconist comes from—”

“Draconist? That’s a word?”

“It’s what the members of the Order call themselves. You won’t find it in a dictionary, but my ghastly state attests to its reality. The term was first used by Emperor Sigismund. He chose the popular Prince Lazarevi as the Order’s first member, allowing him to convince a number of other powerful individuals to join their ranks, including Vlad II, Dracul of Wallachia.”

“Dracula?”

“Dracula’s father. He swore his allegiance to the Order as a way to continue his battle against the Ottoman Empire.”