Chapter Four
"Hello. This way please," the Guard at the entrance to the Vatican Archives said, showing them to the glass and steel entrance to one of the many chambers.
"Oh, beautiful," Langdon said in awe.
"The chambers are vaults. Oxygen is kept at lowest possible levels. It's a partial vacuum inside. Extended stays are not recommended," the Guard informed them.
"So don't panic if you feel lightheaded at first," Langdon said, attempting humour.
They went to the vault marked Il Processo Galilieano.
"I'll be just outside the door, watching you, Mr. Langdon," he said ominously as he ushered them into the chamber.
"What about her?" he asked indignantly.
"Il Camerlengo said she could be trusted," he said, shrugging.
Robert looked over at Illyria and said, "It seems your...what did you call him?...acquaintance has paid off."
Illyria disregarded his comment and began to search for the document. A second later, Robert followed, saying at the same time, "It was confiscated from the Netherlands by the Vatican just after Galileo died."
"I've been petitioning to see it for about ten years," he said, still searching.
"It's here, Robert," Illyria said, pulling the correct codex from the shelf and placing it carefully on the table.
"What makes you so sure that the segno's there?" Vitoria asked.
"Number 503," Langdon said.
"That used to drive you crazy," Illyria said, amused.
"I used to see it over and over again in Illuminati letters, scribbled in the margin, and sometimes just signed 503. It's a numeric clue. But to what? Five?"
"Robert! Time is of the essence!" Illyria reminded him as he pulled out the codex from the casing and placed it on the table.
"Just a few days with this and I could actually have finished my book," Langdon said, gazing at the text.
"And sold dozens of copies at the Harvard Book Store," Illyria added comically.
"Diagrama Veritatis," Langdon said.
"Diagram of Truth," Vitoria translated.
"Yes, this is what he wrote, not what the Vatican forced him to write. It was printed in Holland on sedge papyrus so that anyone caught with it would throw it in water and all evidence would be destroyed. Now, let's look at page five," Illyria said, speeding along the explanation.
Langdon stared at the page for a second before Vitoria asked, "Do you need help with Latin?"
"Sure," he answered.
She looked over the page, not finding anything, but she turned the page. Illyria saw a glint then and said, "There's a watermark!"
"And a line of text," Langdon said, peering through a magnifying glass. "It's in English!"
"English?" Vitoria asked, surprised.
"Because it was not used in the Vatican. It was the language of radicals like Chaucer and Shakespeare. Let me tell you, the Church did not like them," Illyria continued.
"'The path of light is laid the sacred'- could you write this down as I dictate?" Langdon said.
"Sorry, Professors. No time," Vitoria said, ripping the page from the book and standing up.
The two professors stared, aghast until Langdon said, "Yeah. Yeah. What the hell. Yeah." He pulled Illyria up and out the door before she got over her shock.
oooooooooooo
They hurried back to Olivetti, who still waited at the top of the elevator. As soon as she saw him, Illyria said, "We need a car."
Olivetti took off at a jog, closely followed by the other three. Soon, they reached the car.
As they all got into the car, Olivetti said, "20 minutes until eight. Where are we headed?"
"Hold on. Hold on. I'll tell you in a minute. Let me see that page again," Langdon said.
"Already reading. It says, 'From Santi's earthly tomb with demon's hole must roam the mystic elements unfold. The path of light is laid the sacred test. Let angels guide thee on thy lofty quest,'" Illyria said.
"What? Where did you get that?" Olivetti demanded.
"We borrowed it," Vitoria said simply.
"You removed a document from the Vatican Archives?" Olivetti exclaimed.
"She did," Langdon said, vaguely pointing.
Olivetti glanced over at Illyria, who held up her arms and said vehemently, "Not me! It's not my fault!"
"From Santi's Earthly tomb," the first marker is at Santi's tomb," Vitoria said.
"Yeah," Langdon said.
"But who's Santi?" she continued to ask.
"Raphael, the sculptor. He is buried at the Pantheon, but his tomb was moved to there...Maybe it means an angel sculpture... Capella della Terra!" Illyria said, thinking out loud.
"Ten minutes," Olivetti said as he turned a corner, heading off to the chapel.
"Why there?" Robert asked.
"There are only a few Raphael angel sculptures in the city. Capella della Terra has a mosaic on the floor that has to do with a demon. It's nicknamed the 'Demon's Hole'. That's why I thought of it," Illyria explained.
"Thank Goodness you're brilliant!" Robert said seriously as they pulled up in front of the building.
Just as the group got out of the car, the bells tolled 8 o'clock.
Suddenly, one of the Swiss Guards with them said something. They all rushed forward to find an entrance. Olivetti and the others rushed past the actual entrance, because they couldn't open it. Langdon rushed to the door, took one look at it, and yelled to them, "Wait!" They kept running.
"An annulus!" Illyria exclaimed.
Langdon quickly opened the door and the three of them went inside. The church was closed for renovations, so scaffolding was set up all around.
"Which one is the Cigi Chapel?" Vitoria asked.
They looked around until Langdon saw someone walk away. He hurried over with the two women following closely. They looked around and found an angel statue, though half was all muscle and no skin. As they reached that statue, the Swiss guardsmen that had gone around for another entrance hurried into the church. Each had a gun in hand, locked and loaded.
"Pyramids in a catholic church," Langdon commented.
"This is the Cigi Chapel. I recognize the sculpture," Illyria said confidently. Her eyes had not left the angel.
They continued to look until Illyria noticed the mosaic on the floor. She said while squatting near it, "The centre tile of the mosaic is askew, Robert! Whoever it is has already been and gone."
Langdon hurried over, as well as Olivetti, who had entered with the Swiss guardsmen. They as well as another man hefted the stone away, revealing a perfectly round hole leading to a pit cloaked in darkness.
"What's that?" Olivetti asked. Langdon just looked at him for a second.
Olivetti moved to go in first, gun and flashlight ready. Langdon followed, then Illyria. It smelled dreadful.
They searched with flashlights for a second before Olivetti found something. He walked over to get a better look, frowning in curiosity. Langdon walked over to look as well. His eyes widened when he saw it. It was horrific.
Quickly, Langdon turned to try to prevent Illyria from seeing it, but it was too late. She beheld the dirty, hand-cuffed corpse of the Cardinal with a brand saying "Earth" ambigramically on his chest. Rats were eating part of his face. She stared in horror until her cousin turned her away and pulled her over to the ladder. He quickly picked her up and carried her out of the whole before setting her down, facing away from the hole. A second later, she crouched over and emptied her stomach to the floor.