She motioned.
揃eyond is the Chapel of the Maiden.?
Vilamur remained trapped near the cliff edge, Labelle still blocking the way. He was hesitant to press the man too far. He抎 dealt with disturbed people countless times, both as a priest and as a bishop. They had to be handled with great care. One mistake could set them off.
揌ave you been a Cathar your whole life??he tried.
揑抦 a Perfectus.?
揂s I understand it, that抯 important. Like a priest. Right??
The eyes went hot. 揘othing like a priest. We are not chosen ones. We are not special. We are simply believers, finally ready to leave this evil world and never return.?
揂nd evil it is,?he said, playing to the man抯 convictions.
揇e Foix is dead, isn抰 he??
He debated how to answer that question. Lying would probably do little good. I don抰 know, even worse. So he opted for the truth. 揑 think he is.?
He could see that realization had not settled well. This man had tracked him all the way from Toulouse. Definitely on a mission. But what that was? Hard to say. So he stood still, the steady wind battering the back of his neck, and tried to figure a way out.
揈verything I抳e been taught,?Labelle said, 揾as proven true. The realm of the good God is filled with light. The realm of the bad god, this lousy material world, is nothing but a prison. The bad god fills this place with so much temptation. So much wrong. I fight those temptations every day. I am fighting them right now.?
揑 can help with that.?
Labelle抯 faced screwed tight in puzzlement. 揌ow could you possibly help? You. Are. The. Evil. You were de Foix抯 father. You defiled his mother, while a priest. You are every bit as much a sinner as Tallard was.?
揑 never touched a child.?
揘o. You just touched their mothers.?
And he instantly regretted his words.
Chapter 70
Fuentes emerged through the narrow entrance portal and rose from his hands and knees. He and Sister Claire stood in a cave, the ceiling about three meters high, much tighter than the chapel on the other side of the rock wall. None of the other maidens had joined them. Instead they waited in the outer church, with Rice and his gun keeping a watchful eye on them. A total cloaking darkness, as if he抎 been struck blind, enveloped him, the only light leaking in from the entrance. He heard a metallic grind then a loud click before lights dissolved the darkness.
揟hat抯 some entryway,?he said. 揌ow long has it existed??
揟here was once a larger opening, the original cave entrance, but it was sealed up centuries ago, when the rock church outside was first conceived. Eventually, the devotional was carved into the wall and the panel was opened and closed manually. Twenty years ago, when we electrified the church with lights, we went high-tech and added a magnetic lock.?
They walked a few meters farther in until wrought-iron bars blocked the way, each one thick as a finger and fitted directly into the stone. In the center of the grate was a barred door fitted with hinges and a lock, the bars coated with a crusted layer of rust, the lock and hinges all of shiny brass. Sister Claire stepped forward and produced a key that opened the brass lock. With a sweep of her hand she gestured for him to step inside the lit chamber beyond. The light changed from a hard glare to a pearly glow, the stale air smelling of musk and incense.
He stared around.
In awe.
Kelsey was trying to assimilate all that the abbess was saying. The older woman obviously wanted to explain things and for the Dominican to hear. But her mind remained on Nick and what was happening beyond the chapter hall.
揥hat抯 happening out there??she asked.
揥e are working to find out.?
揝ister Claire抯 betrayal doesn抰 bother you??
揙f course it does. All is in jeopardy now, thanks to men like that one.?
The abbess pointed at Dwight.
揇o you really guard the bones of the Blessed Virgin??
揥e do.?
揌ow is that possible??
揧our tone suggests that it could not be.?
揟hat抯 because I抦 quite skeptical of the claim.?
揘o faith??
揑 have that in abundance. But you抮e asking me to ignore that faith and accept something else as real. For me, that would require proof.?
揝o you don抰 believe the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima? Or that the image on the Holy Shroud in Turin is of our Lord Jesus Christ? Or that the bones beneath St. Peter抯 Basilica are those of the first bishop of Rome??
揓ust like here, there are many questions surrounding all three of those.?
The abbess smiled. 揟hat there are. But we know, for a fact, that fifteen or so years after the death of Christ, the Blessed Virgin traveled by boat from Turkey, where she抎 been living, and settled in the mountains not far from here. She stayed there until the day she died. The women who traveled with her, and others who already resided here, cleaned her body then entombed her. They cared for that tomb until each died, their daughters then assuming the duty. That continued for centuries. Eventually, the women who watched over the tomb organized themselves into a religious group, which became us.?