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CHAPTER 78

Sophie felt a wild excite in the letters An ancient word of wisdo see as they looked on

S O F

"Carefully," Teabing urged "Ever so carefully"

I A

Sophie aligned the final dial "Okay," she whispered, glancing up at the others "I’ar," Langdon whispered with fearful exhilaration "Be careful"

Sophie knew that if this cryptex were like those she had opened in her youth, all she would need to do is grip the cylinder at both ends, just beyond the dials, and pull, applying slow, steady pressure in opposite directions If the dials were properly aligned with the password, then one of the ends would slide off, much like a lens cap, and she could reach inside and remove the rolled papyrus docuar However, if the password they had entered were incorrect, Sophie’s outward force on the ends would be transferred to a hinged lever inside, which would pivot doard into the cavity and apply pressure to the glass vial, eventually shattering it if she pulled too hard

Pull gently, she told herself

Teabing and Langdon both leaned in as Sophie wrapped her palms around the ends of the cylinder In the exciteotten what they expected to find inside This is the Priory keystoneAccording to Teabing, it contained a dalene and the Sangreal treasure the ulti the stone tube, Sophie double-checked that all of the letters were properly aligned with the indicator Then, slowly, she pulled Nothing happened She applied a little more force Suddenly, the stone slid apart like a well-crafted telescope The heavy end piece detached in her hand Langdon and Teabing almost jumped to their feet Sophie’s heart rate climbed as she set the end cap on the table and tipped the cylinder to peer inside

A scroll!

Peering down the hollow of the rolled paper, Sophie could see it had been wrapped around a cylindrical object - the vial of vinegar, she assuar was not the customary delicate papyrus but rather, velluar can’t dissolve a laain down the hollow of the scroll and realized the object in the center was not a vial of vinegar after all It was so asked "Pull out the scroll" Frowning, Sophie grabbed the rolled vellu them both out of the container

"That’s not papyrus," Teabing said "It’s too heavy" "I know It’s padding" "For what? The vial of vinegar?"

"No" Sophie unrolled the scroll and revealed rapped inside "For this"

When Langdon saw the object inside the sheet of vellu said, slurandfather was a pitiless architect"

Langdon stared in a this easy

On the table sat a second cryptex Smaller Made of black onyx It had been nested within the first Sauniere’s passion for dualis in pairs Double entendresMale fedon felt the web of syives birthto black

Everyfro over, Langdon lifted the smaller cryptex It looked identical to the first, except half the size and black He heard the faar they had heard earlier was inside this s said, sliding the page of vellum over to him "You’ll be pleased to hear that at least we’re flying in the right direction" Langdon examined the thick vellum sheet Written in ornate penain, in iadon needed to read only as far as the first line to realize that Teabing’s plan to co to pay off

IN LONDON LIES A KNIGHT A POPE INTERRED

The remainder of the poe the second cryptex could be found by visiting this knight’s todon turned excitedly to Teabing "Do you have any idea what knight this poegiest But I know in precisely which crypt we should look"

At that moment, fifteen miles ahead of them, six Kent police cars streaked down rain-soaked streets toward Biggin Hill Executive Airport

CHAPTER 79

Lieutenant Collet helped hierator and strode back out through the drawing roo Fache to London where the action was, he was now baby-sitting the PTS teah Chateau Villette

So far, the evidence they had uncovered was unhelpful: a single bullet buried in the floor; a paper with several sy with the words blade and chalice; and a bloody spiked belt that PTS had told Collet was associated with the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei, which had caused a stir recently when a news progra practices in Paris

Collet sighed Good luckdown a lavish hallway, Collet entered the vast ballroo for fingerprints He was a corpulentThe exa those in the rest of the house" "How about the prints on the cilice belt?" "Interpol is still working I uploaded everything we found"

Collet s on the desk "And this?" Thepeculiar" Collet walked over Peculiar?

"This Brit’s a strange one," the exah the evidence bags and selected one, handing it to Collet

The photo showed the main entrance of a Gothic cathedral - the traditional, recessed archway, narrowing through multiple, ribbed layers to a small doorway

Collet studied the photo and turned "This is peculiar?" "Turn it over" On the back, Collet found notations scrawled in English, describing a cathedral’s long hollow nave as a secret pagan tribute to a wo the cathedral’s doorway, however, hat startled him "Hold on! He thinks a cathedral’s entrance represents a woman’s"

The exaes and a nice little cinquefoil clitoris above the doorway" He sighed "Kind of o back to church"

Collet picked up the second evidence bag Through the plastic, he could see a large glossy photograph of what appeared to be an old docu at the top read:

Les Dossiers Secrets - Number 4o lm1 249

"What’s this?" Collet asked

"No idea He’s got copies of it all over the place, so I bagged it" Collet studied the document

PRIEURE DE SIGN - LES NAUTONIERS/GRAND MASTERS

JEAN DE GISORS

1188-1220

MARIE DE SAINT-CLAIR

1220-1266

GUILLAUME DE GlSORS

1266-1307

EDOUARD DE BAR

1307-1336

JEANNE DE BAR

1336-1351

JEAN DE SAINT-CLAIR

1351-1366

BLANCE D’EVREUX

1366-1398

NICOLAS FLAMEL

1398-1418

RENE D’ANJOU

1418-1480

IOLANDE DE BAR

1480-1483

SANDRO BOTTICELLI

1483-1510

LEONARDO DA VINCI

1510-1519

CONNETABLE DE BOURBON