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My grandfather left me a phone message, Sophie had told him. He said he needed to tell me the
truth about my family. At the time it had meant nothing, but now, knowing the Priory of Sion was
involved, Langdon felt a startling new possibility emerge.
The bumper broke off suddenly with a crash. Langdon paused to catch his breath. At least the truck
would no longer look like a Fourth of July sparkler. He grabbed the bumper and began dragging it
out of sight into the woods, wondering where they should go next. They had no idea how to open
the cryptex, or why Saunière had given it to them. Unfortunately, their survival tonight seemed to
depend on getting answers to those very questions.
We need help, Langdon decided. Professional help.
In the world of the Holy Grail and the Priory of Sion, that meant only one man. The challenge, of
course, would be selling the idea to Sophie.
Inside the armored car, while Sophie waited for Langdon to return, she could feel the weight of the
rosewood box on her lap and resented it. Why did my grandfather give this to me? She had not the
slightest idea what to do with it.
Think, Sophie! Use your head. Grand-père is trying to tell you something!
Opening the box, she eyed the cryptex's dials. A proof of merit. She could feel her grandfather's
hand at work. The keystone is a map that can be followed only by the worthy. It sounded like her
grandfather to the core.
Lifting the cryptex out of the box, Sophie ran her fingers over the dials. Five letters. She rotated the
dials one by one. The mechanism moved smoothly. She aligned the disks such that her chosen
letters lined up between the cryptex's two brass alignment arrows on either end of the cylinder. The
dials now spelled a five-letter word that Sophie knew was absurdly obvious.
G-R-A-I-L.
Gently, she held the two ends of the cylinder and pulled, applying pressure slowly. The cryptex
didn't budge. She heard the vinegar inside gurgle and stopped pulling. Then she tried again.
V-I-N-C-I
Again, no movement.
V-O-U-T-E
Nothing. The cryptex remained locked solid.
Frowning, she replaced it in the rosewood box and closed the lid. Looking outside at Langdon,
Sophie felt grateful he was with her tonight. P.S. Find Robert Langdon. Her grandfather's rationale
for including him was now clear. Sophie was not equipped to understand her grandfather's
intentions, and so he had assigned Robert Langdon as her guide. A tutor to oversee her education.
Unfortunately for Langdon, he had turned out to be far more than a tutor tonight. He had become
the target of Bezu Fache... and some unseen force intent on possessing the Holy Grail.
Whatever the Grail turns out to be.
Sophie wondered if finding out was worth her life.
As the armored truck accelerated again, Langdon was pleased how much more smoothly it drove.
"Do you know how to get to Versailles?"
Sophie eyed him. "Sightseeing?"
"No, I have a plan. There's a religious historian I know who lives near Versailles. I can't remember
exactly where, but we can look it up. I've been to his estate a few times. His name is Leigh
Teabing. He's a former British Royal Historian."
"And he lives in Paris?"
"Teabing's life passion is the Grail. When whisperings of the Priory keystone surfaced about fifteen
years ago, he moved to France to search churches in hopes of finding it. He's written some books
on the keystone and the Grail. He may be able to help us figure out how to open it and what to do
with it."
Sophie's eyes were wary. "Can you trust him?"
"Trust him to what? Not steal the information?"
"And not to turn us in."
"I don't intend to tell him we're wanted by the police. I'm hoping he'll take us in until we can sort
all this out."
"Robert, has it occurred to you that every television in France is probably getting ready to
broadcast our pictures? Bezu Fache always uses the media to his advantage. He'll make it
impossible for us to move around without being recognized."
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