FW nodded solemnly, took each man by the arm, and led him up the last few feet of the winding hill of Megiddo, where he paused to reflect. He swept his hat across the space in front of them in a grand gesture. “It is from here that Jesus will come on the clouds of glory, to call us home. This two-hundred-mile-long valley will be three feet deep in blood by the time He finishes His great work.” He squeezed their arms again from behind, wanting them to be a palpable part of his joy. “Just envision this beautiful Valley of Jezreel awash with the blood of what my people have calculated must be more than two billion people! And we will be with Him!”

The spell he created lasted right through their descent, back to the parked armor-plated Mercedes and two waiting point men below. The professor was in a rare place, and the mood was hardly broken when his cell phone rang in the dusty half-light. He waved his traveling companions into the cool of the car, and answered.

“It’s Guy, FW.”

“A little later than expected, Guy. News?”

“We have a very interesting collection of papers, but judging from the notes in the family’s Bible, this is not the whole set. They may be holding out on us; but I have a feeling they may not know about them—or where to get hold of them.”

“Yes. I see. And Calvin hasn’t been able to add any illumination?”

Guy hesitated. “No. Well, not as yet.”

“So, Guy, it’s perfectly clear what you must do. Keep watching the house, keep close to the boy; and try not to let anything”—he considered for a moment—“untoward happen. I abhor unnecessary violence. Call me tomorrow.” He ended the conversation and climbed into the car, which had only waited for him to be off, raising a cloud of fine red dust as it trailed away.

THE PEACE OF THE QUIET LANES STOOD IN SHARP CONTRAST TO THE disturbed minds of the driver’s three passengers; but eventually it was Lucy who spoke.

“It’s true, Alex. Your ancestors—Dee and his circle—were involved in searching for illumination and tolerance outside the religious narrowness of their times. They started from a more unified premise of belief in God than we have now. You remember they believed that communication with the angels was a path to the truth, without doctrinal interference. They hoped the angels could tell them what God really wanted, in the same way that Moses had received the word of God directly.