Episode Six Sign of the Dove If the occult traveler believes he is in the region of Netsah (Venus), and he sees a horse or a jackal, he knows that something has gone wrong, for in that sphere one would expect to see doves... Richard Cavendish Madeline motored the scooter through the gates of Château Columba, the estate upon which the Jackal made his temporary office and home. A diverse clientele, intent on purchasing a dove from Juan Carlos, had assembled in the garden, enjoying their host's complimentary cocktails, as if waiting for a show at the theater to begin. To enter the sublime retreat, Maddie passed under a stone archway carved with the Latin inscription from Virgil: Latet Anguis in Herba or, more simply put, perhaps: a snake lurks in the grass. The Cybersybil had to laugh at the irony of the castle's motto, having herself noted such before quitting Château Gâteau. A wooden gate creaked as it opened onto flora and fauna and a young Asian woman was revealed, bowing and smiling, she took Ms. Madeline's cape. The guest unhooked her helmet slowly and responded almost automatically to the charming young attendant's smiling suggestion. She went on to find Juan Carlos amongst the flower beds enjoying conversation with his male neighbors before preparing to work into the evening. The Jackal, in his customary place by the perennials, was talking to a group of what appeared to be businessmen and one comely, petite woman of noticeable chic whose dark eyes snapped and sparkled. Madeline paused, about to pass mental judgment, then checked herself, remembering that her favorite Saint, Mary Magdalene, had been called a prostitute, too. And had she not, herself, been born on the Dove's own feast day, July 22nd?    Text Copyright © 1999 - 2005 cybersybils.com All rights reserved.