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THIRTY THREE

LAVELANET, FRANCE

7:00 PM

THE SENESCHAL STOPPED THE CAR IN THE VILLAGE CENTER HE and Geoffrey had been traveling northward in aroute for the past five hours Intentionally, they’d bypassed the larger co instead to stop in a tiny hamlet, nestled within a sheltered hollohere few tourists see the h the secret passages near the main kitchen, the portal cleverly concealed within a brick wall Geoffrey had explained how the ht him the routes, used in centuries past for escape For the last hundred years they’d been known only to masters and rarely utilized

Once out, they’d quickly found the garage and appropriated one of the abbey’s cars, leaving through the ned to the motor pool returned from noontime prayers With de Roquefort unconscious in his cha for soht themselves a solid head start

"It’s ti that there would be no

"I’m prepared"

They left the car and walked to a cafe where an older clientele filled outside tables roofed by stately elht an hour ago in a quick stop A waiter appeared and they placed an order The evening arm and pleasant

"Do you realize e did back there?" he asked "We shot two brothers"

"The master told me violence would be inevitable"

"I knoe’re running fro to?"

Geoffrey reached into his pocket and produced the envelope he’d displayed to de Roquefort "The ive you this, once ere free"

He accepted the envelope and tore it open with a erness and trepidation

My son, and in ht of you as that, I knew that de Roquefort would prevail in the conclave, but it was ie him The brothers will recall that when your time truly arrives For now, your destiny is elsewhere Brother Geoffrey will be your companion

I have faith that prior to leaving the abbey you secured the two volumes that have held your attention the past few years Yes, I are of your interest I, too, read both long ago Theft of Order property is a serious breach of Rule, but let us not consider it a theft, , as I’m sure you will return both books The infor hat you already know, is supremely potent Unfortunately, the puzzle is not solved solely by it There is more to the riddle, and that is what you ht think, I do not know the answer But de Roquefort cannot be allowed to obtain the Great Devise He knows ed to extract from our records, so do not underestimate his resolve

It was critical that you leave the confines of our cloistered life Much awaits you Though I write these words in the final weeks of my life, I can only assume that your departure was not without violence Do what is necessary to complete your quest Masters for centuries have left words for their successors, my predecessor included Of all who cah of the pieces to reassemble the entire puzzle I would have liked to have accooal with you in my lifetime, but it was not to be De Roquefort would have never allowed our success With brother Geoffrey’s help you can now succeed I wish you well Take care of yourself and Geoffrey Be patient with the lad, for he does only what I have bound him to do by oath

The seneschal looked up at Geoffrey and wanted to know, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine"

"You bear a lot of responsibility for one so young"

"I was frightened when the master told me what he expected of me I didn’t want the duty"

"Why didn’t he tell me directly?"

Geoffrey did not immediately answer "The master said you withdraw in the face of controversy and shy away from confrontation You do not, as yet, know yourself fully"

He was stung by the rebuke, but Geoffrey’s look of truth and innocence stareat emphasis onto his words And they were true He’d never been one to search for a fight and had avoided every one that he could

But not this time

He’d confronted de Roquefort head-on and would have shot him dead if the Frenchht He cleared his throat of emotion and asked, "What am I to do?"

The waiter returned with two salads, crusty bread, and cheese

Geoffrey srinned "Then what?"

"Only you can tell us that"

He shook his head at Geoffrey’s fervor of hope Actually, he’d already given their next ht on the drive north fro resolve foro

THIRTY FOUR

AVIGNON

5:30 PM

MALONE STARED UP AT THE PALACE OF THE POPES, WHICH stretched skyward a hundred yards away He, Stephanie, and Claridon were sitting at an outdoor cafe in a lively square directly adjacent to the main entrance A north wind swept in from across the nearby Rhone--the h the city unchecked Malone recalled a medieval proverb that spoke to the foul snon, with the wind loathsome, without the wind poisonous And what had Petrarch called the place? The most odiferous on earth

From a tour book he’d learned that thebefore him, at once a palace, fortress, and shrine, was in reality two buildings--the old palace built by Pope Benedict XII, begun in 1334, and the new palace erected under Clement VI, finished in 1352 Both reflected the personality of their creators The old palace was a measure of Romanesque conservatism with little flair, while the new palace exuded a Gothic eed by fire and, during the French Revolution, looted, their sculpture destroyed, all of the frescoes ashed In 1810 the palace was turned into a barracks The city of Avignon assumed control in 1906, but restoration was delayed until the 1960s Tings were now a convention center and the rest a grand tourist attraction that offered only fleeting glances of its forlory

"Time we enter," Claridon said "The last tour starts in ten minutes Weto do?"

Thunder eased past overhead

"The abbe Bigou, to whoreat family secret, would, fros That was before the Revolution, so many were still on display Lars discovered there was one in particular he loved When Lars rediscovered the cryptogra"

"What kind of reference?" Malone asked