The Da Vinci Code
Chapter 2
One mile away, the hulking albino named Silas limped through the front gate of the luxurious brownstone residence on Rue la Bruyère. The spiked cilice belt that he wore around his thigh cut into his flesh, and yet his soul sang with satisfaction of service to the Lord.Pain is good. His red eyes scanned the lobby as he entered the residence. Empty. He climbed the stairs quietly, not wanting to awaken any of his fellow numeraries. His bedroom door was open; locks were forbidden here. He entered, closing the door behind him. The room was spartan-hardwood floors, a pine dresser, a canvas mat in the corner that served as his bed. He was a visitor here this week, and yet for many years he had been blessed with a similar sanctuary in New York City. The Lord has provided me shelter and purpose in my life. onight, at last, Silas felt he had begun to repay his debt. Hurrying to the dresser, he found the cell phone hidden in his bottom drawer and placed a call to a private extension. "Yes?" a male voice answered. "Teacher, I have returned." "Speak," the voice commanded, sounding pleased to hear from him. "All four are gone. The three sénéchaux…and the grandmaster himself." There was a momentary pause, as if for prayer. "Then I assume you have the information?" "All four concurred. Independently." "And you believed them?" "Their agreement was too great for coincidence." An excited breath. "Superb. I had feared the brotherhood's reputation for secrecy might prevail." "The prospect of death is strong motivation." "So, my pupil, tell me what I must know." Silas knew the information he had gleaned from his victims would come as a shock. "Teacher, all four confirmed the existence of the clef de voûte…the legendary keystone." He heard a quick intake of breath over the phone and could feel the Teacher's excitement. "The keystone. Exactly as we suspected." According to lore, the brotherhood had created a map of stone-a clef de voûte…or keystone—an engraved tablet that revealed the final resting place of the brotherhood's greatest secret…information so powerful that its protection was the reason for the brotherhood's very existence. "When we possess the keystone," the Teacher said, "we will be only one step away." "We are closer than you think. The keystone is here in Paris." "Paris? Incredible. It is almost too easy." Silas relayed the earlier events of the evening…how all four of his victims, moments before death, had desperately tried to buy back their Godless lives by telling their secret. Each had told Silas the exact same thing-that the keystone was ingeniously hidden at a precise location inside one of Paris's ancient churches—Eglise de Saint-Sulpice." Inside a House of the Lord," the Teacher exclaimed. "How they mock us!" "As they have for centuries." The Teacher fell silent, as if letting the triumph of this moment settle over him. Finally, he spoke. "You have done a great service to God. We have waited centuries for this. You must retrieve the stone for me. Immediately. Tonight. You understand the stakes." Silas knew the stakes were incalculable, and yet what the Teacher was now commanding seemed impossible. "But the church, it is a fortress. Especially at night. How will I enter?" With the confident tone of man of enormous influence, the Teacher explained what was to be done.
When Silas hung up the phone, his skin tingled with anticipation. Synopsis, Intro, Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Next page>Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, The Challenge
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Copyright© 2003 by Dan Brown.
Excerpted by permission of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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