Each of us is a God, Buddha had said. Each of us knows all. We need only open our minds to hear our own wisdom.
It was in that moment of clarity, as Vittoria plunged deeper into the earth, that she felt her own mind open… her own wisdom surface. She sensed now without a doubt what the camerlegno’s intentions were. Her awareness brought with it a fear like nothing she had ever known.
"Camerlegno, no!" she shouted down the passage. "You don’t understand!" Vittoria pictured the multitudes of people surrounding Vatican City, and her blood ran cold. "If you bring the antimatter up… everyone will die!"
Langdon was leaping three steps at a time now, gaining ground. The passage was cramped, but he felt no claustrophobia. His once debilitating fear was overshadowed by a far deeper dread.
"Camerlegno!" Langdon felt himself closing the gap on the lantern’s glow. "You must leave the antimatter where it is! There’s no other choice!"
Even as Langdon spoke the words, he could not believe them. Not only had he accepted the camerlegno’s divine revelation of the antimatter’s location, but he was lobbying for the destruction of St. Peter’s Basilica—one of the greatest architectural feats on earth… as well as all of the art inside.
But the people outside… it’s the only way.
It seemed a cruel irony that the only way to save the people now was to destroy the church. Langdon figured the Illuminati were amused by the symbolism.
The air coming up from the bottom of the tunnel was cool and dank. Somewhere down here was the sacred necropolis… burial place of St. Peter and countless other early Christians. Langdon felt a chill, hoping this was not a suicide mission.
Suddenly, the camerlegno’s lantern seemed to halt. Langdon closed on him fast.
The end of the stairs loomed abruptly from out of the shadows. A wrought-iron gate with three embossed skulls blocked the bottom of the stairs. The camerlegno was there, pulling the gate open. Langdon leapt, pushing the gate shut, blocking the camerlegno’s way. The others came thundering down the stairs, everyone ghostly white in the BBC spotlight… especially Glick, who was looking more pasty with every step.
Chartrand grabbed Langdon. "Let the camerlegno pass!"
"No!" Vittoria said from above, breathless. "We must evacuate right now! You cannot take the antimatter out of here! If you bring it up, everyone outside will die!"
The camerlegno’s voice was remarkably calm. "All of you… we must trust. We have little time."
"You don’t understand," Vittoria said. "An explosion at ground level will be much worse than one down here!"
The camerlegno looked at her, his green eyes resplendently sane. "Who said anything about an explosion at ground level?"
Vittoria stared. "You’re leaving it down here?"
The camerlegno’s certitude was hypnotic. "There will be no more death tonight."
"Father, but—"
"Please… some faith." The camerlegno’s voice plunged to a compelling hush. "I am not asking anyone to join me. You are all free to go. All I am asking is that you not interfere with His bidding. Let me do what I have been called to do." The camerlegno’s stare intensified. "I am to save this church. And I can. I swear on my life."
The silence that followed might as well have been thunder.
120
Eleven-fifty-one P.M.
Necropolis literally means City of the Dead.
Nothing Robert Langdon had ever read about this place prepared him for the sight of it. The colossal subterranean hollow was filled with crumbling mausoleums, like small houses on the floor of a cave. The air smelled lifeless. An awkward grid of narrow walkways wound between the decaying memorials, most of which were fractured brick with marble platings. Like columns of dust, countless pillars of unexcavated earth rose up, supporting a dirt sky, which hung low over the penumbral hamlet.
City of the dead, Langdon thought, feeling trapped between academic wonder and raw fear. He and the others dashed deeper down the winding passages. Did I make the wrong choice?
Chartrand had been the first to fall under the camerlegno’s spell, yanking open the gate and declaring his faith in the camerlegno. Glick and Macri, at the camerlegno’s suggestion, had nobly agreed to provide light to the quest, although considering what accolades awaited them if they got out of here alive, their motivations were certainly suspect. Vittoria had been the least eager of all, and Langdon had seen in her eyes a wariness that looked, unsettlingly, a lot like female intuition.
It’s too late now, he thought, he and Vittoria dashing after the others. We’re committed.
Vittoria was silent, but Langdon knew they were thinking the same thing. Nine minutes is not enough time to get the hell out of Vatican City if the camerlegno is wrong.
As they ran on through the mausoleums, Langdon felt his legs tiring, noting to his surprise that the group was ascending a steady incline. The explanation, when it dawned on him, sent shivers to his core. The topography beneath his feet was that of Christ’s time. He was running up the original Vatican Hill! Langdon had heard Vatican scholars claim that St. Peter’s tomb was near the top of Vatican Hill, and he had always wondered how they knew. Now he understood. The damn hill is still here!
Langdon felt like he was running through the pages of history. Somewhere ahead was St. Peter’s tomb—the Christian relic. It was hard to imagine that the original grave had been marked only with a modest shrine. Not any more. As Peter’s eminence spread, new shrines were built on top of the old, and now, the homage stretched 440 feet overhead to the top of Michelangelo’s dome, the apex positioned directly over the original tomb within a fraction of an inch.
They continued ascending the sinuous passages. Langdon checked his watch. Eight minutes. He was beginning to wonder if he and Vittoria would be joining the deceased here permanently.
"Look out!" Glick yelled from behind them. "Snake holes!"
Langdon saw it in time. A series of small holes riddled the path before them. He leapt, just clearing them.
Vittoria jumped too, barely avoiding the narrow hollows. She looked uneasy as they ran on. "Snake holes?"
"Snack holes, actually," Langdon corrected. "Trust me, you don’t want to know." The holes, he had just realized, were libation tubes. The early Christians had believed in the resurrection of the flesh, and they’d used the holes to literally "feed the dead" by pouring milk and honey into crypts beneath the floor.
The camerlegno felt weak.
He dashed onward, his legs finding strength in his duty to God and man. Almost there. He was in incredible pain. The mind can bring so much more pain than the body. Still he felt tired. He knew he had precious little time.
"I will save your church, Father. I swear it."
Despite the BBC lights behind him, for which he was grateful, the camerlegno carried his oil lamp high. I am a beacon in the darkness. I am the light. The lamp sloshed as he ran, and for an instant he feared the flammable oil might spill and burn him. He had experienced enough burned flesh for one evening.
As he approached the top of the hill, he was drenched in sweat, barely able to breathe. But when he emerged over the crest, he felt reborn. He staggered onto the flat piece of earth where he had stood many times. Here the path ended. The necropolis came to an abrupt halt at a wall of earth. A tiny marker read: Mausoleum S.