Langdon could see Sophie was still shaken from recounting her experience of Hieros Gamos. Forhis part, Langdon was amazed to have heard it. Not only had Sophie witnessed the full-blownritual, but her own grandfather had been the celebrant... the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. Itwas heady company. Da Vinci, Botticelli, Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Jean Cocteau... JacquesSaunière.

　　"I don't know what else I can tell you," Langdon said softly.

　　Sophie's eyes were a deep green now, tearful. "He raised me like his own daughter."Langdon now recognized the emotion that had been growing in her eyes as they spoke. It wasremorse. Distant and deep. Sophie Neveu had shunned her grandfather and was now seeing him inan entirely different light.

　　Outside, the dawn was coming fast, its crimson aura gathering off the starboard. The earth was stillblack beneath them.

　　"Victuals, my dears?" Teabing rejoined them with a flourish, presenting several cans of Coke and abox of old crackers. He apologized profusely for the limited fare as he doled out the goods. "Ourfriend the monk isn't talking yet," he chimed, "but give him time." He bit into a cracker and eyedthe poem. "So, my lovely, any headway?" He looked at Sophie. "What is your grandfather trying totell us here? Where the devil is this headstone? This headstone praised by Templars."Sophie shook her head and remained silent.

　　While Teabing again dug into the verse, Langdon popped a Coke and turned to the window, histhoughts awash with images of secret rituals and unbroken codes. A headstone praised by Templarsis the key. He took a long sip from the can. A headstone praised by Templars. The cola was warm.

　　The dissolving veil of night seemed to evaporate quickly, and as Langdon watched thetransformation, he saw a shimmering ocean stretch out beneath them. The English Channel. Itwouldn't be long now.

　　Langdon willed the light of day to bring with it a second kind of illumination, but the lighter itbecame outside, the further he felt from the truth. He heard the rhythms of iambic pentameter andchanting, Hieros Gamos and sacred rites, resonating with the rumble of the jet.

　　A headstone praised by Templars.

　　The plane was over land again when a flash of enlightenment struck him. Langdon set down hisempty can of Coke hard. "You won't believe this," he said, turning to the others. "The Templarheadstone—I figured it out."Teabing's eyes turned to saucers. "You know where the headstone is?"Langdon smiled. "Not whe............