Chapter 15

    It was time.
    Silas felt strong as he stepped from the black Audi， the nighttime breeze rustling¹ his loose- fitting robe. The winds of change are in the air. He knew the task before him would require more finesse² than force， and he left his handgun in the car. The thirteen-round Heckler Koch USP 40 had been provided by the Teacher.
    A weapon of death has no place in a house of God.
    The plaza³ before the great church was deserted⁴ at this hour， the only visible souls on the far side of Place Saint-Sulpice a couple of teenage hookers showing their wares⁵ to the late night tourist traffic. Their nubile⁶ bodies sent a familiar longing⁷ to Silas's loins. His thigh⁸ flexed⁹ instinctively， causing the barbed cilice belt to cut painfully into his flesh.
    The lust¹⁰ evaporated instantly. For ten years now， Silas had faithfully denied himself all sexual indulgence， even self-administered. It was The Way. He knew he had sacrificed much to follow Opus Dei， but he had received much more in return. A vow¹¹ of celibacy¹² and the relinquishment¹³ of all personal assets hardly seemed a sacrifice. Considering the poverty from which he had come and the sexual horrors he had endured in prison， celibacy was a welcome change.
    Now， having returned to France for the first time since being arrested and shipped to prison in Andorra， Silas could feel his homeland testing him， dragging violent memories from his redeemed¹⁴ soul. You have been reborn， he reminded himself. His serv ice to God today had required the sin of murder， and it was a sacrifice Silas knew he would have to hold silently in his heart for all eternity¹⁵.
    The measure of your faith is the measure of the pain you can endure， the Teacher had told him. Silas was no stranger to pain and felt eager to prove himself to the Teacher， the one who had assured him his actions were ordained¹⁶ by a higher power.
    "Hago la obra de Dios，" Silas whispered， moving now toward the church entrance.
    Pausing in the shadow of the massive doorway， he took a deep breath. It was not until this instant that he truly realized what he was about to do， and what awaited him inside.
    The keystone. It will lead us to our final goal.
    He raised his ghost-white fist and banged three times on the door.
    Moments later， the bolts of the enormous wooden portal began to move.

正是时候。

奥迪车里出来后，塞拉斯感到浑身是劲，晚风轻拂着他宽大的教士服。不断变换的风在吹着。他知道他手头的这个任务需要更多的精细而不是暴力，所以把手枪留在了车里。

这把十三转的赫克勒。克奇USP40 型手枪是导师提供的。

教堂前广场上这个时候没有什么人了，唯一能见到的是圣叙尔皮斯教堂广场远处的一两个向夜游客们展示各自器物的十几岁的妓女。她们已发育的身体引得塞拉斯两股间产生一种放肆的冲动。

那种欲望转眼便烟消云散。十年了，塞拉斯完全克制住自己的性欲，甚至连自慰也不曾有过。这是路途。他知道为信守天主事工会教义，他牺牲了许多东西，但他得到的回报更多。宣誓要独身和放弃个人的全部财产几乎算不上什么牺牲。如果考虑到他以前的贫穷和在狱中忍受的性恐怖，独身实在是没什么不好。

此刻，自从被捕、被押送到安道尔的监狱以来，他还是第一次回到法国。

你能忍耐多少痛苦，你就有多少信仰，导师曾经这样告诫过他。塞拉斯可没少忍受痛苦，他非常急于向导师证明自己。导师曾告诉他，他的所作所为都是经一个更伟大的力量授权的。

"天主事工会。"塞拉斯用西班牙语小声唠叨着，并开始向教堂入口处走去。

他在门廊巨大的阴影里停了下来，深深地吸了一口气。直到此时此刻他才真正意识到自己要做什么，里面有什么在等着他。

拱顶石！它将引导我们走向我们最终的目标。

他举起煞白的拳头，在门上猛捶了三下。

过好一会儿，那巨大的木门的门栓开始松动。

1 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

2 finesse   

n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕

参考例句：

• It was a disappointing performance which lacked finesse.那场演出缺乏技巧，令人失望。
• Lillian Hellman's plays are marked by insight and finesse.莉莲.赫尔曼的巨作以富有洞察力和写作技巧著称。

3 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

4 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

5 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

6 nubile   

adj.结婚期的

参考例句：

• Rich old men often like to be surrounded by nubile young women.一些上了年纪的富翁总喜欢被到了适婚年龄的年轻女人围绕。
• What is this current television obsession with older men and nubile young women?现在的电视节目为什么这么喜欢描写老男人和妙龄性感女郎的故事呢？

7 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

8 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

9 flexed   

adj.[医]曲折的，屈曲v.屈曲( flex的过去式和过去分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• He stretched and flexed his knees to relax himself. 他伸屈膝关节使自己放松一下。 来自辞典例句
• He flexed his long stringy muscles manfully. 他孔武有力地弯起膀子，显露出细长条的肌肉。 来自辞典例句

10 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

11 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

12 celibacy   

n.独身(主义)

参考例句：

• People in some religious orders take a vow of celibacy. 有些宗教修会的人发誓不结婚。
• The concept of celibacy carries connotations of asceticism and religious fervor. 修道者的独身观念含有禁欲与宗教热情之意。

13 relinquishment   

n.放弃；撤回；停止

参考例句：

• One kind of love is called relinquishment. 有一种爱叫做放手。
• Our curriculum trains for the relinquishment of judgment as the necessary condition of salvation. 我们的课程则训练我们把放弃判断作为得救的必需条件。

14 redeemed   

adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She has redeemed her pawned jewellery. 她赎回了当掉的珠宝。
• He redeemed his watch from the pawnbroker's. 他从当铺赎回手表。

15 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

16 ordained   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句