Page 10 of The Secret of Secrets

The bizarre coincidence of seeing a radiant crown this morning was startling and a bit unnerving, but Langdon reminded himself that ghoulish costume play was common in Prague.

As she drew closer, though, the scene became stranger. The woman in the spiked halo seemed to be in a trance, walking as if half-dead, her doe eyes staring blankly ahead. Langdon was about to ask if she was okay when he noticed what she was holding in her hand.

The sight stopped him short.

But that’s…impossible!

The woman was clutching a silver spear.

Just like in Katherine’s nightmare…

Langdon eyed the pointed weapon, immediately wondering if maybe now he was dreaming. As the woman drew level with him, Langdon realized he had stopped walking, paralyzed by his own confusion. Snapping out of his stupor, he turned and called to the woman, trying to get her attention.

“Excuse me!” he blurted. “Miss?!”

She never broke stride, as if unable to hear him.

“Hello!” Langdon shouted, standing still, but the woman simply drifted past like an apparition…a blind spirit drawn across the bridge by some unseen force.

Langdon turned to run after her but advanced only two steps before halting in his tracks, this time arrested by a putrid smell.

Wafting in the apparition’s wake was an unmistakable odor.

The smell of…death.

The stench had an instantaneous effect on Langdon. He was flooded with fear.

My God, no…Katherine!

Reacting on pure impulse, Langdon spun away, frantically digging his phone from his pocket while breaking into a full sprint along Charles Bridge. As he ran toward the hotel, he held the phone to his mouth and shouted, “Hey, Siri, call one-one-two!”

By the time the call went through, Langdon had already crossed the bridge and reached Křižovnická Street. “One-one-two,” a voice announced. “What is your emergency?”

“The Four Seasons Prague!” Langdon shouted as he turned left and sprinted along the dark sidewalk toward the hotel. “You need to evacuate! Now!”

“I’m sorry, what is your name please?”

“Robert Langdon, I’m an Am—”

A taxi emerged from a parking garage in front of him, and he collided hard with the side of the car, dropping his phone onto the snowy street. He scooped it up and kept running, but the call had been dropped. It didn’t matter; the entrance of the hotel was right in front of him.

Breathless, he burst into the lobby, spotting the manager and calling to him. “Everyone needs to get out!”

The police officers were gone, but a handful of guests enjoying morning coffee all glanced up in surprise.

“Everyone is in danger!” Langdon shouted again to the manager. “Get out!”

The man rushed over, looking horrified. “Professor, please! What’s wrong?!”

Langdon was already running for the fire alarm on the wall. Without hesitation, he shattered the glass and pulled the lever.

Immediately, alarm bells blared.

Langdon dashed out of the lobby and sprinted the long corridor to the annex where their suite was located. Reaching the rear of the hotel, he skipped the elevator and bounded up two flights of stairs to the private foyer, unlocked the Royal Suite, burst inside, and called wildly into the darkness.

“Katherine! Wake up! The dream you had…!” He flipped on the master light switch and ran to the bedroom. The bed was empty. Where is she?! He ran to the bathroom. Nothing. Desperate, he searched the rest of the suite. She’s not here?!

In that moment, a nearby church bell began to toll mournfully.