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Chapter six

SOPHIE'S POV

Why is the Professor on his way here? I don't realize the words have left my mouth until Richter answers me. "He's coming because we have just received a fax bearing the same word as the one on the paper you hold in your hand and because a priest was just killed in his laboratory while working on antimatter. The Professor has been alerted to this and will be here shortly along with a woman named Vittoria Vetra." The information crowds my brain. My senses are overloading and my head is spinning. I can't get enough oxygen. Have you ever heard the saying too much information makes your brain choke? That was what was happening to me, right now. My brain was choking on all the information it was receiving. The Pope is dead, the Illuminati have attacked the church, the preferiti have been stolen, sentenced to death, and now we are on a race against time to save them. A priest who must have also been a scientist has been murdered in his laboratory and now the Swiss Guard is receiving a fax bearing the word ILLUMINATI. Professor Langdon has been summoned here to-help, I guess, and he's bringing a woman with him named Vittoria Vetra.

"Quai?" (A/N What?) l whispered aloud. My head spun again, more violently than before, and the next thing I know, I am shrouded in blackness.

SILAS' POV

"Quai?" I hear, and look over at Sophie. Her face is pale and lips bloodless. Although very little fazes her, this is enough gruesome information to make anyone feel dizzy. So, let's be honest, I'm not surprised to see her like this. However, once her pupils shrink to mere dots and her breathing becomes fast, I worry. Hurrying over to her, I catch her as she begins to collapse and it's easy for me to swing her limp body into my arms. Sighing, I look down at her. Poor girl. Across the room, the Camerlengo rises from his chair, his lips already uttering her name. Commander Richter sits impassively in his own seat and makes no move to help. Bastard. I think the word before I can help myself. "Is there a place I can take her?" I ask, as a blonde haired, mousy faced attendant hurries into the room. "Oh my." He says, moves toward me, "do you need me to take her to an infirmary?" no thanks. Almost reflexively, I hold her a bit tighter. "I can take her myself, thank you. Can you point me in the right direction?" The mousy-faced man gives a quick nod and turns to the Commander. "Commander Richter, the Professor and Dr. Vetra have arrived." Richter rises from his chair. "Take me to them." He commands, and gives the blonde man the no nonsense look of i-could-care-less-that-girl-fainted-take-me-to-the m-before-i-fire-you. The poor man stutters out an apology to me, and the Camerlengo says, "That's quite alright, I can take them there." He nods, and we go our separate ways. Patrick leads me down the hall. "Poor thing." He says quietly, looking at the limp girl in my arms. "It must have been all the pressure." Very true. I nod. There's a soft moan, and she begins to stir. I tighten my hold and slow my pace before I drop Sophie. Her head lifts. "Silas?" she asks, looking up at me. I smile at her. "You fainted." I explain. "Oh." She looks a bit unsettled for a moment, and then says. "You don't have to carry me. I can walk." Not a chance, I think to myself, and tighten my grip more. She seems confused. "Sophie." Patrick says as we resume walking, "it's just a safety thing. Besides, we're almost there." She sighs, but slips her arm around me anyways. "Thanks." She mumbles head down, hiding her mortification. We reach the door and walk inside. I set her on the side of the bed and stand next to her. "Are you okay?" I ask, and she smiles. "I'm fine, Silas. I don't know what happened, but I swear, I'm fine." A nurse hurries over, and begins taking Sophie's pulse. Behind me, I can hear Patrick explaining, "She fainted. We just wanted to be careful." They begin speaking softly, and all the while I just stand by the bed, holding her hand. The nurse shoos me out of the way, then follows me to the door like a mother hen protecting her chick. To my surprise, I even see Patrick being pushed out, too. As the door slams behind us, I turn to look at him. "What just happened?" I ask. "Very strict doctor/patient confidentiality here." He says. "Come on, she'll be fine. I told the doctor we'd be in my chambers and to send her on her way when they're done." He begins to stride down the corridor into the direction of his rooms. Wordlessly, I follow. "We have to call Them, don't we?" I say. He nods. "It's unnatural for this to happen. She's never fainted like this before, and it might mean trouble. The you-know-what needs to know, just in case."

I just hope they don't blame me, I think to myself, remembering their open disgust for me living with the Sangreal; considering my history with the Holy Grail and its keeper, I wasn't surprised. But Robert Langdon had approved, and here was Sophie, three days later, with ragged hair, bloodshot eyes, a tear stained face (she told me later she'd cried on the plane from fear and sadness) and the attitude of a polite young French girl towards Patrick, almost open hostility towards me. She had warmed up towards me later on, and now, she even called me her best friend. The Priory of Scion, however, though their ward loved me, they resented me. As we neared the room, I dreaded the words that would cross over the speaker on the phone.

Please don't blame me. Because if they truly believed it was my fault, who was to stop them from taking Sophie away?

Please don't take her away.