That it would.
揟he church has survived for two thousand years by being strong, defiant, and consistent,?the abbess said. 揑t overcame the Reformation and so much other adversity. But the one thing it cannot endure, or survive, is the faithful believers questioning everything it says. Our religion, as every other, relies on unequivocal faith. Without that, there is no church.?
Kelsey understood. 揝o they want to destroy Mary抯 tomb??
揟hat is correct.?
揝o what the maidens just did, rebelling against your authority, that jeopardizes everything this order has worked for??
The abbess nodded. 揥ithout a doubt.?
Kelsey now understood the gravity of the situation.
揕ook at him,?the abbess said.
And she turned her head to face Friar Dwight.
The man stared at them with a smug grin on his lips.
揟he look of victory,?the abbess muttered.
Chapter 69
Vilamur had to regain control of the situation.
Labelle stood three meters away, mumbling a prayer.
揟hou hast sworn unto Thy servants, for Thou alone art He who changest not. Thou alone art the Infinite and Boundless One. Thou only art ungendered, born of Thyself, Self-Father.?
Had to be some sort of Cathar incantation.
揟hou only art immaterial and hast no stain, ineffable in Thy generation and inconceivable in Thy manifestation.?
Definitely Cathar.
揌ear us, then, O Father Incorruptible, Father Immortal, God of Hidden Beings, sole Light and Life, Alone beyond Vision, only Unspeakable, only Unstainable, sole Primal Being, for before Thee was nothing.?
揥hy are you praying??he asked.
Labelle pointed. 揥hy aren抰 you??
揇o I need to pray??
揥e all need the God of Light. You particularly could benefit from him.?
Keep the man talking. 揥hy is that??
揊or your sins against us all.?
揊ather Tallard is dead. Is that not enough??
揧our sins are different from his. Where is Bernat de Foix??
He decided to tell the truth. 揜ome came for him.?
That grabbed the young man抯 attention. 揥ho came??
揌ector Cardinal Fuentes. The man who traveled with me from Toulouse today.?He thought diverting this man抯 anger elsewhere a good idea. 揌e and some Dominican friars took de Foix last night.?
揥here did they take him??
揑 do not know.?
揧ou抮e a liar,?Labelle yelled.
Stay calm. 揑 truly don抰 know.?
Labelle began pacing back and forth in short steps, head down, muttering to himself.
揑t was out of my hands,?Vilamur said. 揧ou need to be confronting them. Not me.?
Labelle stopped pacing and pointed at him. 揧ou抮e from the Church of Wolves, just as that cardinal is. A church that allows its priests to molest children. Its priests to sleep with married women. The last thing you wanted was for Tallard to be prosecuted or for de Foix to be heard. Both would only have brought attention to you. A disgusting adulterous bishop.?
Apparently, his secrets were back on the table.
Good to know.
Nick hiked up the trail, past the cemetery. Wind moaned through the trees, the air cool with the scent of pine and earth. He noticed how the grounds were carefully tended, punctuated at regular intervals by clumps of flowers and trimmed shrubs. The gravel path wound higher, his soles crunching on the dry rocky soil, the terrain gaunt and bony. Off to the left was a magnificent view of the imperious cliffs that sliced down to the turquoise waters of a raging river. Ahead stood a huge plane tree, its trunk about six feet thick, the limbs spread out over a wide swath. Past there the trail turned right, then inclined farther up to what appeared to be a grotto.
And the rock church.
Fuentes watched as Sister Claire stepped past a marble altar, plain with no adornments, like the surrounding limestone walls that towered up twenty meters. He found it all a contradiction. Warmth without color. Character without definition. Statuary filled niches of varying shapes and sizes. Saints and Christ. Nothing of the Virgin Mary. Votive candles sat dusty and cold in wrought-iron racks.
揟his can抰 be the Chapel of the Maiden,?he said.
揑t抯 not,?she answered. 揟his was first a church in the eleventh century and has been in public use ever since. It serves as a diversion. What you want is there.?
And she pointed toward a small devotional, carved into the rear rock wall, behind the altar, a three-dimensional projection with a pedimented top, a cross, and an image of Christ. Beneath the altar shelf a large fleur-de-lys filled the gray stone panel. Sister Claire knelt down and waved a small black rectangle she produced from her smock around the outer perimeter of the front panel, circumnavigating the flowery symbol. She then pushed on the panel, which swung inward, as if on hinges, revealing a hatchlike opening big enough to crawl through.