Quotes
»Jeg burde have fulgt min intuition.« Matthew stod henne ved vinduet og knyttede og løsnede højre hånd og ofrede mig ikke den ringeste opmærksomhed. »Vi forstår ikke din forbindelse til besværgelsen. Du har været i alvorlig fare, lige siden du så Ashmole 782.«
"Why couldn't I get the script the second time?"I was shocked that Knox had turned out to be right.
"I should have followed my intuition."Matthew was standing by the window, clenching and unclenching his right hand and offering me not the slightest attention. "We don't understand your connection to the spell. You've been in grave danger ever since you saw Ashmole 782.«
»Du skal bo i Woodstock i et par dage. Jeg vil have dig væk fra Knox – ikke flere tilfældige møder på universitetet, ikke noget med at gå forbi ham i Bodleian.«
»Knox havde ret: Jeg kan ikke få manuskriptet tilbage. Han vil ikke ofre mig mere opmærksomhed.«
»Det er ønsketænkning, Diana. Knox er lige så interesseret i at forstå hemmelighederne i Ashmole 782 som du og jeg.« Matthews ellers ulastelige udseende var flosset. Han havde strøget hænderne gennem håret, så det strittede til alle sider.
»Hvordan kan I begge to være så sikre på, at der er hemmeligheder i den skjulte tekst?« spurgte jeg og gik hen mod kaminen. »Det er en bog om alkymi. Måske er der ikke andet i den.«
"It may well be that Knox threatens me, Matthew, but he would not do anything stupid in the eyes of so many witnesses.«
"You're going to live in Woodstock for a few days. I want you away from Knox – no more chance encounters at the university, no more walking past him in the Bodleian.«
"Knox was right: I can't get the script back. He will not sacrifice me more attention.«
"That's wishful thinking, Diana. Knox is as interested in understanding the secrets of Ashmole 782 as you and I are. Matthew's otherwise immaculate appearance was frayed. He had stroked his hands through his hair so that it streaked on all sides.
"How can you both be so sure that there are secrets in the hidden text?"I asked and walked towards the fireplace. "It's a book about alchemy. Perhaps there is nothing else in it.«
»Jamen, da Ashmole 782 blev skrevet, vidste de ikke noget om biologi eller havde din sans for kemi.«
Matthew kneb øjnene sammen til smalle sprækker.»Diana Bishop, jeg er chokeret over dit snæversyn.« Og han mente det. »De væsener, der lavede manuskriptet, vidste ganske vist ikke noget om dna, men har du nogen beviser for, at de ikke stillede de samme spørgsmål om skabelse som en moderne forsker?«
»Alkymistiske tekster er allegorier, ikke brugsanvisninger.« Jeg rettede de seneste dages frygt og frustration mod ham. »Det er muligt, at de kommer med forblommede hentydninger til større sandheder, men man kan ikke opbygge et pålideligt eksperiment efter dem.«
»Det har jeg heller aldrig sagt, at man kunne,« svarede han med øjne, der stadig var mørke af undertrykt vrede. »Men vi taler om potentielle læsere, der er hekse, dæmoner og vampyrer. Lidt overnaturligt læsestof, en smule ujordisk kreativitet og nogle gamle minder til at fylde hullerne kunne give væsener nogle oplysninger, som vi ikke vil have, at de får.«
»Oplysninger, som du ikke vil have, at de får!« Jeg huskede mit løfte til Agatha Wilson, og min stemme steg i styrke. »Du er lige så slem som Knox. Du vil have Ashmole 782 for at tilfredsstille din egen nysgerrighed.« Det prikkede i mine hænder, da jeg snuppede mine ting.
»Tag det roligt.« Der var noget hårdt i hans stemme, som jeg ikke brød mig om.
»Hold op med at fortælle mig, hvad jeg skal og ikke skal.« Den prikkende fornemmelse blev stærkere.
"Alchemy is the story of Creation told chemically. Beings are chemistry plus biology.«
"Well, when Ashmole 782 was written, they didn't know anything about biology or had your sense of chemistry.«
Matthew squinted his eyes together into narrow crevices."Diana Bishop, I am shocked by your narrow-mindedness."And he meant it. "Admittedly, the beings who made the manuscript did not know anything about dna, but do you have any evidence that they did not ask the same questions about creation as a modern researcher?«
"Alchemical texts are allegories, not instructions for use."I directed the fears and frustrations of the past few days at him. "It is possible that they make veiled allusions to greater truths, but a reliable experiment cannot be built on them.«
"I never said You could either," he replied with eyes still dark with suppressed anger. "But we are talking about potential readers who are witches, demons and vampires. A little supernatural reading material, a bit of unearthly creativity and some old memories to fill the gaps could give beings some information that we don't want them to get.«
"Information that you don't want them to get!"I remembered my promise to Agatha Wilson, and my voice increased in strength. "You're as bad as Knox. You want Ashmole 782 to satisfy your own curiosity."My hands tingled when I grabbed my things.
"Take it easy. There was something in his voice that I didn't like.
"Stop telling me what to do and what not to do."The tingling sensation became stronger.
Impressions
