see her, and descended quickly.
Stil clutching Ruth, not giving her time to walk or to relieve herself, Caitlin made her way quickly into what looked like a back entrance to the church. The huge front doors, she noticed, were locked and barred, and she didn’t want to enter through the public square, and give any rowdy humans a chance for an encounter.
Instead, she went around the rear of the building, and saw a smal , arched door, probably used by the priests. This, too, was locked. But Caitlin, stronger than she’d ever been, simply looked at it, closed her eyes, and breathed, focusing on becoming one with the doorknob. When she finished, she heard a click, and saw it open by itself. Aiden’s techniques had final y sunk in.
Caitlin walked into the open door, proud of herself for not having to kick it down, and closed it firmly behind her, locking it.
It was dark in here, with just a few lingering candles, dwindling down, spread on the altar, probably the remnants of some evening worshippers. The only other thing that lit up the interior was the moonlight, streaking in through the immense stained-glass windows, which soared al the way up to the ceiling.
Caitlin looked up and took it in. It was some of the most beautiful glass she had ever seen, rows and rows of it dominating the wal s, culminating in a high, arched ceiling with Romanesque columns.
On the wal s were painted huge, ancient frescoes. The stone, too, looked ancient, and she could tel that this church was different, that it had been around forever.
She remembered Lily having told her that this was the oldest church in Paris, thousands of years old, and as she looked at it now, she could tel that it was. It was incredible to her. Here she was, in the year 1789, standing in a place that was already ancient. It made her feel insignificant in time.
Caitlin walked down the long aisle, feeling drawn towards the altar. Her footsteps echoed on the immaculate, shining black and white tiled marbled floor. There were hundreds of smal wooden chairs set out in neat rows and this place looked big enough to hold thousands. Along the wal s were smal arches, and smal statues of various medieval saints.
As Caitlin final y reached the far end, she came to a single, simple altar, recessed into the wal . It contained a large statue of Mary, holding a cross, built upon a marble pedestal.
Caitlin took out the large cross that Lily had given her. She held it up and examined it. As she did, she was shocked to see that it appeared to be the exact size of the cross in the statue’s hand.
As she looked closer, she was also shocked to realize that the cross the statue held was actual y empty. As if waiting for a cross to be inserted into it.
Could it be? Caitlin wondered.
She climbed onto the pedestal, reached up, and held up her large silver cross. She inserted slowly, wondering if it would fit. As she inserted it, she was shocked to see that it was, indeed, a perfect fit.
As she pushed her cross, locking it firmly into place, she heard a noise, and looked down to see the pedestal of the statue swing open.
Caitlin hurried down, and pul ed open the secret compartment. The marble opened slowly, with a scraping noise, letting out ancient air and dust.
Caitlin reached in, grabbing hold of something. She pul ed it out.
She couldn’t believe it. It was another encased scrol , the same size and design as the one that had held the first half of her father’s letter.
She opened it slowly, hands trembling, and her mouth dropped open as she realized what it held.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
As Sam stood there, in the entryway of Versail es, watching hordes of masses storm the steps, he broke into action. He ran to help al the guards, who were scrambling to restore the huge double doors. But the human guards weren’t strong enough to lift them back up in time.
Sam leapt forward, and, using his strength, pul ed them up by himself, restoring them back into place. He quickly scanned the room, and spotted a huge, wooden beam mounted above the fireplace. It looked like the size of an ancient tree trunk, and like it would take twenty men to lift.
Sam ran over to it, and to the shocked look of the guards, he hoisted it alone, carried it