the clawed feet beneath the sarcophagus, moved upward past Newton, past his books on science,
past the two boys with their mathematical scroll, up the face of the pyramid to the giant orb with
its constellations, and finally up to the niche's star-filled canopy.
What orb ought to be here... and yet is missing? He touched the cryptex in his pocket as if
he could somehow divine the answer from Saunière's crafted marble. Only five letters separate
me from the Grail.
Pacing now near the corner of the choir screen, he took a deep breath and glanced up the
long nave toward the main altar in the distance. His gaze dropped from the gilded altar down to
the bright crimson robe of an abbey docent who was being waved over by two very familiar
individuals.
Langdon and Neveu.
Calmly, the Teacher moved two steps back behind the choir screen. That was fast. He had
anticipated Langdon and Sophie would eventually decipher the poem's meaning and come to
Newton's tomb, but this was sooner than he had imagined. Taking a deep breath, the Teacher
considered his options. He had grown accustomed to dealing with surprises.
I am holding the cryptex.
Reaching down to his pocket, he touched the second object that gave him his confidence:
the Medusa revolver. As expected, the abbey's metal detectors had blared as the Teacher passed
through with the concealed gun. Also as expected, the guards had backed off at once when the
Teacher glared indignantly and flashed his identification card. Official rank always commanded
the proper respect.
Although initially the Teacher had hoped to solve the cryptex alone and avoid any further
complications, he now sensed that the arrival of Langdon and Neveu was actually a welcome
development. Considering the lack of success he was having with the "orb" reference, he might
be able to use their expertise. After all, if Langdon had deciphered the poem to find the
tomb, there was a reasonable chance he also knew something about the orb. And if Langdon
knew the password, then it was just a matter of applying the right pressure.
Not here, of course.
Somewhere private.
The Teacher recalled a small announcement sign he had seen on his way into the abbey.
Immediately he knew the perfect place to lure them.
The only question now... what to use as bait.
CHAPTER 98
Langdon and Sophie moved slowly down the north aisle, keeping to the shadows behind the
ample pillars that separated it from the open nave. Despite having traveled more than halfway
down the nave, they still had no clear view of Newton's tomb. The sarcophagus was recessed in a
niche, obscured from this oblique angle.
"At least there's nobody over there," Sophie whispered.
Langdon nodded, relieved. The entire section of the nave near Newton's tomb was deserted.
"I'll go over," he whispered. "You should stay hidden just in case someone— "
Sophie had already stepped from the shadows and was headed across the open floor.
"— is watching," Langdon sighed, hurrying to join her.
Crossing the massive nave on a diagonal, Langdon and Sophie remained silent as the
elaborate sepulchre revealed itself in tantalizing increments... a black-marble sarcophagus... a
reclining statue of Newton... two winged boys... a huge pyramid... and... an enormous orb.
"Did you know about that?" Sophie said, sounding startled.
Langdon shook his head, also surprised.
"Those look like constellations carved on it," Sophie said.
As they approached the niche, Langdon felt a slow sinking sensation. Newton's tomb was
covered with orbs— stars, comets, planets. You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb? It could
turn out to be like trying to find a missing blade of grass on a golf course.
"Astronomical bodies," Sophie said, looking concerned. "And a lot of them."
Langdon frowned. The only link between the planets and the Grail that Langdon could
imagine was the pentacle of Venus, and he had already tried the password "Venus" en route to
the Temple Church.
Sophie moved directly to the sarcophagus, but Langdon hung back a few feet, keeping an
eye on the abbey around them.
"Divinity," Sophie said, tilting her head and reading the titles of the books on which Newton
was leaning. "Chronology. Opticks. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica?" She turned
to him. "Ring any bells?"
Langdon stepped closer, considering it. "Principia Mathematica, as I remember, has
something to do with the gravitation pull of planets... which admittedly are orbs, but it seems a
little far-fetched."
"How about the signs of the zodiac?" Sophie asked, pointing to the constellations on the
orb. "You were talking about Pisces and Aquarius earlier, weren't you?"
The End of Days, Langdon thought. "The end of Pisces and the beginning of Aquarius was
allegedly the historical marker at which the Priory planned to release the Sangreal documents to
the world." But the millennium came and went without incident, leaving historians uncertain
when the truth was coming.
"It seems possible," Sophie said, "that the Priory's plans to reveal the truth might be related
to the last line of the poem."
It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb. Langdon felt a shiver of potential. He had not
considered the line that way before.
"You told me earlier," she said, "that the timing of the Priory's plans to unveil the truth
about 'the Rose' and her fertile womb was linked directly to the position of planets— orbs."
Langdon nodded, feeling the first faint wisps of possibility materializing. Even so, his
intuition told him astronomy was not the key. The Grand Master's previous solutions had all
possessed an eloquent, symbolic significance— the Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, SOFIA.
This eloquence was definitely lacking in the concept of planetary orbs and the zodiac. Thus far,
Jacques Saunière had proven himself a meticulous code writer, and Langdon had to believe that
his final password— those five letters that unlocked the Priory's ultimate secret— would prove to
be not only symbolically fitting but also crystal clear. If this solution were anything like the
others, it would be painfully obvious once it dawned.
"Look!" Sophie gasped, jarring his thoughts as she grabbed his arm. From the fear in her
touch Langdon sensed someone must be approaching, but when he turned to her, she was staring
aghast at the top of the black marble sarcophagus. "Someone was here," she whispered, pointing
to a spot on the sarcophagus near Newton's outstretched right foot.
Langdon did not understand her concern. A careless tourist had left a charcoal, grave-
rubbing pencil on the sarcophagus lid near Newton's foot. It's nothing. Langdon reached out to
pick it up, but as he leaned toward the sarcophagus, the light shifted on the polished black -
marble slab, and Langdon froze. Suddenly, he saw why Sophie was afraid.
Scrawled on the sarcophagus lid, at Newton's feet, shimmered a barely visible charcoal-
pencil message:
I have Teabing.
Go through Chapter House,
out south exit, to public garden.
Langdon read the words twice, his heart pounding wildly.
Sophie turned and scanned the nave.
Despite the pall of trepidation that settled over him upon seeing the words, Langdon told
himself this was good news. Leigh is still alive. There was another implication here too. "They
don't know the password either," he whispered.
Sophie nodded. Otherwise why make their presence known?
"They may want to trade Leigh for the password."
"Or it's a trap."
Langdon shook his head. "I don't think so. The garden is outside the abbey walls. A very
public place." Langdon had once visited the abbey's famous College Garden— a small fruit
orchard and herb garden— left over from the days when monks grew natural pharmacological
remedies here. Boasting the oldest living fruit trees in Great Britain, College Garden was a
popular spot for tourists to visit without having to enter the abbey. "I think sending us outside is
a show of faith. So we feel safe."
Sophie looked dubious. "You mean outside, where there are no metal detectors?"
Langdon scowled. She had a point.
Gazing back at the orb-filled tomb, Langdon wished he had some idea about the cryptex
password... something with which to negotiate. I got Leigh involved in this, and I'll do whatever
it takes if there is a chance to help him.
"The note says to go through the Chapter House to the south exit," Sophie said. "Maybe
from the exit we would have a view of the garden? That way we could assess the situation before
we walked out there and exposed ourselves to any danger?"
The idea was a good one. Langdon vaguely recalled the Chapter House as a huge octagonal
hall where the original British Parliament convened in the days before the modern Parliament
building existed. It had been years since he had been there, but he remembered it being out
through the cloister somewhere. Taking several steps back from the tomb, Langdon peered
around the choir screen to his right, across the nave to the side opposite that which they had
descended.
A gaping vaulted passageway stood nearby, with a large sign.
THIS WAY TO:
CLOISTERS
DEANERY
COLLEGE HALL
MUSEUM
PYX CHAMBER
ST. FAITH'S CHAPEL
CHAPTER HOUSE
Langdon and Sophie were jogging as they passed beneath the sign, moving too quickly to
notice the small announcement apologizing that certain areas were closed for renovations.
They emerged immediately into a high-walled, open-roof courtyard through which morning
rain was falling. Above them, the wind howled across the opening with a low drone, like
someone blowing over the mouth of a bottle. Entering the narrow, low-hanging walkways that
bordered the courtyard perimeter, Langdon felt the familiar uneasiness he always felt in enclosed
spaces. These walkways were called cloisters, and Langdon noted with uneasiness that these
particular cloisters lived up to their Latin ties to the word claustrophobic.
Focusing his mind straight ahead toward the end of the tunnel, Langdon followed the signs
for the Chapter House. The rain was spitting now, and the walkway was cold and damp with
gusts of rain that blew through the lone pillared wall that was the cloister's only source of light.
Another couple scurried past them the other way, hurrying to get out of the worsening weather.
The cloisters looked deserted now, admittedly the abbey's least enticing section in the wind and
rain.
Forty yards down the east cloister, an archway materialized on their left, giving way to
another hallway. Although this was the entrance they were looking for, the opening was
cordoned off by a swag and an official-looking sign.
CLOSED FOR RENOVATION
PYX CHAMBER
ST. FAITH'S CHAPEL
CHAPTER HOUSE
The long, deserted corridor beyond the swag was littered with scaffolding and drop cloths.
Immediately beyond the swag, Langdon could see the entrances to the Pyx Chamber and St.
Faith's Chapel on the right and left. The entrance to the Chapter House, however, was much
farther away, at the far end of the long hallway. Even from here, Langdon could see that its
heavy wooden door was wide open, and the spacious octagonal interior was bathed in a grayish
natural light from the room's enormous windows that looked out on College Garden. Go
through Chapter House, out south exit, to public garden.
"We just left the east cloister," Langdon said, "so the south exit to the garden must be
through there and to the right."
Sophie was already stepping over the swag and moving forward.
As they hurried down the dark corridor, the sounds of the wind and rain from the open
cloister faded behind them. The Chapter House was a kind of satellite structure— a freestanding
annex at the end of the long hallway to ensure the privacy of the Parliament proceedings housed
there.
"It looks huge," Sophie whispered as they approached.
Langdon had forgotten just how large this room was. Even from outside the entrance, he
could gaze across the vast expanse of floor to the breathtaking windows on the far side of the
octagon, which rose five stories to a vaulted ceiling. They would certainly have a clear view of
the garden from in here.
Crossing the threshold, both Langdon and Sophie found themselves having to squint. After
the gloomy cloisters, the Chapter House felt like a solarium. They were a good ten feet into the
room, searching the south wall, when they realized the door they had been promised was not
there.
They were standing in an enormous dead end.
The creaking of a heavy door behind them made them turn, just as the door closed with a
resounding thud and the latch fell into place.
The lone man who had been standing behind the door looked calm as he aimed a small
