Ten years after The Da Vinci Code

Along the banks of the river Arno, I scramble, breathless?.?.?. turning left on to Via dei Castellani,scotch rocks making my way northward, huddling in the shadows of the Uffizi. And still they pursue me.Their footsteps grow louder now as they hunt with relentless determination.For years they have pursued me. Their persistence has kept me underground?.?.?. forced me to live in purgatory?.?.?. ?labouring beneath the earth like a chthonic monster.I am the Shade.Here above ground, I raise my eyes to the north, but I am unable to find a direct path to salvation?.?.?. for the Apennine Mountains are blotting out the first light of dawn.I pass behind the palazzo with its crenellated tower and one-handed clock?.?.?. snaking through the early-morning vendors in Piazza di San Firenze with their hoarse voices smelling of lampredotto and roasted olives.Crossing before the Bargello, I cut west toward the spire of the Badia and come up hard against the iron gate at the base of the stairs.Here all hesitation must be left behind.I turn the handle and step into the passage from which I know there will be no return. I urge my leaden legs up the narrow staircase?.?.?. spiralling skyward on soft marble treads, pitted and worn.The voices echo from below. Beseeching.
They are behind me, unyielding, closing in.I gladly make this ultimate sacrifice??.?.?. and with it I will extinguish your final hope of finding what you seek.You will never locate it in time.Hundreds of feet below, the cobblestone piazza beckons like a tranquil oasis. How I long for more time ?.?.ice stones?. but time is the one commodity even my vast fortunes cannot afford.In these final seconds, I gaze down to the piazza, and I behold a sight that startles me.I see your face.You are gazing up at me from the shadows. Your eyes are mournful, and yet in them I sense a veneration for what I have accomplished. You understand I have no choice. For the love of Mankind, I must protect my masterpiece.It grows even now ?.?.?. waiting ?.?.?. simmering beneath the blood-red waters of the lagoon that reflects no stars.

And so, I lift my eyes from yours and I contemplate the horizon. High above this burdened world, I make my final supplication
They do not understand what is coming?.?.?. nor what I have done for them!As I climb, the visions come hard?.?.?. the lustful bodies writhing in fiery rain, the gluttonous souls floating in excrement, the treacherous villains frozen in Satan's icy grasp.I climb the final stairs and arrive at the top, staggering near dead into the damp morning air. I rush to the head-high wall, peering through the slits. Far below is the blessed city that I have made my sanctuary from those who exiled me. The voices call out, arriving close behind me.'What you've done is madness!'Madness breeds madness. For the love of God,' they shout, 'tell us where you've hidden it!'For precisely the love of God, I will not. I stand now, cornered, my back to the cold stone. They stare deep into my clear green eyes, and their expressions darken, no longer cajoling, but threatening.'You know we have our methods. We can force you to tell us where it is.whisky rocks'For that reason, I have climbed halfway to heaven.Without warning, I turn and reach up,Xinjiang Tour Guidewhisky stones curling my fingers onto the high ledge, pulling myself up, scrambling onto my knees, then standing?.?.?. unsteady at the precipice. Guide me, dear Virgil, across the void.
They rush forward in disbelief, wanting to grab at my feet, but fearing they will upset my balance and knock me off. They beg now, in quiet desperation, but I have turned my back. I know what I must do.