The Last Odyssey (Sigma Force #15) - James Rollins Page 0,47

and will always be part of our religious life here.”

The two men strode ahead of her, alongside Maria, while the Swiss guard, Major Bossard, trailed behind the group.

Definitely not letting us out of his sight.

As she stepped around a chimney, she felt a heaviness in her bosom, a constant reminder of Jack, of the responsibilities she had left behind. She had already called Kat three times, making sure all was well, that Jack was settling okay, nursing fine without her.

Monk is in heaven, Kat had assured her. After being surrounded by females, he finally has another man in the house. He already bought Jack a little catcher’s mitt. You may never get that boy back.

Despite these words of reassurance, Seichan could not escape the guilt—not for abandoning Jack, but for the thrill inside her. She had never felt freer or lighter. After first carrying the child for nine months, then caring for Jack day and night, she had never felt truly alone. For the first time in what seemed like years, she was her own person, her own self again.

Until she felt that increasing fullness again, noting that she would have to pump soon. A reminder that she was still physically bonded to another.

This is just a temporary reprieve.

Before she could dwell on this, they finally reached a set of stairs leading up to a doorway into one of the domes.

As they climbed the steps, Gray peered at the huge structure. “I don’t understand. What does an observatory have to do with a secret library?”

“Actually, there’s been a library on these premises going back to the early nineteen hundreds, when Pope Pius the Tenth moved treasures of astronomical interest from the Vatican Library to here. Including original works by Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton.”

Maria followed behind the monsignor. “Is that why you wanted the ancient astrolabe brought here, to an astronomical library?”

Roe glanced back at her as he reached the top of the stairs. “Unfortunately, no, it’s not that library where the astrolabe needs to be.”

The monsignor opened the door and led the way through a small anteroom into a vast domed space. It smelled of oil and lemon polish. A huge telescope stood angled and pointed at the closed observatory shutter. The entire interior of the dome was wood-lined.

As Roe passed the telescope, he gave it a friendly pat. “This old instrument dates back to 1935. A decade before I was born.” He pointed at his feet. “Right in a room down there.”

Seichan stiffened. “Are you saying you were born here? In the palace?”

Roe grinned back at her. “In fact, I’m one of the pope’s children.”

Clearly taken aback by this admission, Gray stopped the monsignor. “What are you talking about?”

Roe’s smile widened. “During World War Two, the pope opened the summer palace to refugees from the Nazi occupation. Both Catholics and Jews. Over twelve thousand people crowded in here. Including pregnant women. The pope’s bedroom became a makeshift birthing room. Some fifty children were born in His Holiness’s bed.”

“Ah, I get it,” Gray said, “making them the pope’s children.”

Roe shrugged and continued across the dome. “Is it any wonder then that I still make this my home?”

As they reached the far side of the dome, the monsignor stopped at a blank mahogany panel in the wall. He removed a glossy metallic black keycard from a pocket. Each side of the card was embossed with a silver symbol of a crown surmounting two crossed keys.

The papal coat of arms.

Designed by author

While both sides looked identical, they were not. One had the darker key pointing to the left, the other to the right. They were mirror images of each other.

Seichan shared a glance with Gray, who also noticed. Both knew their meaning. The twin symbols represented a secretive sect within the Catholic faith, known as the Thomas Church. Father Bailey was a card-carrying member of this group, too, as had been Monsignor Vigor Verona in the past. These select few followed the dictates of a gnostic gospel never included in the Bible, the Gospel of Thomas, which followed the basic tenet: Seek and ye shall find. They believed the core of Christ’s teachings was to never stop looking for God in the world—and oneself.

Seichan was not surprised by this revelation. Who else is better suited to be the prefect of a secret Vatican library than a member of its secret church?

Roe slipped the card into a hidden slot, and the mahogany panel slid aside, revealing an elevator, lined in the same wood.