chapter Four
Tomasia (Florence, 1452)
he castle came into view at the edge of a black and winding river, its tall gray walls rising forty feet above the dark waters. Steep cliffs backed the fortress, which meant the stone bridge was the only way in or out. The keep was well fortified, designed to repel a siege. But its defenses would soon prove useless.
"We'll stop here, lest we give away our location," Tomasia Fosari decided, and the team drifted into the shadows of the forest. The air was damp and smelled of the rotting river, its murky waters rippling with the current.
"Are you certain you can do this?" Giovanni Rustici asked. In the moonlight his hair was like a halo around his handsome face. Gio was not only the best Venator among them, he was also a fellow sculptor at Donatello's studio, and Tomasia's closest friend. He knew how hard this was for her. They had spent days on the road tracking the Dark Prince to his hiding place in Verona.
"Yes," Tomasia told him, her face set. She had believed that Andreas del Pollaiuolo was the love of her life. Michael to her Gabrielle. But she had been deceived. Dre carried the spirit of Lucifer within him. Simonetta de Vespucci had named him as the father of her baby. "The Mistress," Simonetta was called, consort to the Dark Prince, his human bride, the mother of Nephilim.
The dark-haired beauty had cowered from Gio's blade.
"We shall not suffer the demon child to live," Gio growled.
But Tomi had stayed his hand. "No. She will be kept under guard, protected and watched by our finest Venators. We would be no better than our Silver Blood brethren if we kill her. We shall not shed devil blood, not in the name of all that is Divine."
Simonetta had revealed Andreas's location, had begged them to show her lover mercy. They had left the weeping, pregnant woman in the care of the Petruvian priests tasked with her safety.
Tomi shivered at the thought of what might have been if they had not discovered the deception. She would have bonded with Dre, with Lucifer. She would have pledged her troth to his. How could she not have known? How was it that she had been able to see her mate in his soul? It did not make sense.
She looked at the castle looming in the distance. Andreas was hiding inside with a Coven of Silver Bloods, and she was going to burn it down with the Black Fire.
"I know you loved him once," Gio said softly. "I know how hard this is."
Gio - dear, lovely Gio. Tomi put a hand on his. "I cannot love one who has been false." She scanned the castle once more for any sign of life. Torchlight flickered in a distant window. She heard horses neigh, and a shadow of a hawk passed over her head. Otherwise, the night was quiet and nothing moved. The castle towers' red terra-cotta roofs glowed in the dark. Truly, no terrestrial fire could harm this place, but the Black Fire of Hell was another matter.
She pulled a tinderbox from her cloak and motioned the others to gather around. There were five of them in all. Five Venators, five sides of a pentagram.
The small container glowed with an unearthly light, and the air around it hummed with energy. Tomi ran a finger along the box top, and the lid slid open to reveal a small glowing spark, red flames with a black heart. The air smelled of sulfur and smoke.
"The Black Fire is held in check by a containment spell for now. The spell will not abate until I release the enchantment," she said as, one by one, the Venators lit their wooden torches with the dark flame.
"Each of us will take a corner of the castle. Wait for my word. Once released, the flame cannot be extinguished. It can destroy stone as well as flesh, and immortal souls as swiftly as mortal. Toss the torches onto the castle, then run away as fast as you are able." Her voice trembled a little. "Remember, the Black Fire of Hell is treacherous; it will burn you as easily as it will burn our enemies."
The team disbanded, carrying their torches high in the air. The three other Venators disappeared along the river's edge, while Tomi and Gio sprinted across the bridge, toward the keep. Tomi watched as the dark flames flickered on both sides of the wall, the Black Fire sucking all light from the murky night.
They crossed to the far side of the bridge.
When she was certain the team was in position, she gave the signal.
Now, she sent to each Venator as she released her torch, sending the flame to the sky.
Gio sent his flying to the air, toward an open window. "RUN!" he yelled, as they fled the black flames.
Tomi knew the danger, but couldn't stop from looking backward. The sight was magnificent in its horror. The Black Fire erupted over the castle wall, melting the gray stone as if it were made of wax. The two towers and the mighty gate collapsed backward into a black hole of swirling flames. The far side of the bridge toppled behind them, pulling one of the bridge's broad pillars with it into the dark waters in a thunderous crash.
The black flames began to consume the river, making the water steam as the fire raced across its length. The smell was hideous, sick and rotten; it consumed everything in its path: air, water, and rock.
When they reached the far bank and the edge of the forest, they heard the first screams from inside the castle. They ran along the riverbank, the fire receding behind them. A mile from the castle, they reached high ground and looked down at the valley below. The river rode in a broad circle around the promontory and back to the castle, and the Black Fire would not spread beyond it once it had consumed the soul of the Dark Prince. Two of the three Venators appeared out of the smoke.
"Where's Dantos?" Tomi asked.
"The Black Fire caught his eye. I tried to subdue it, but it was no use," Bellarmine said.
"He burned, I saw him," Valentina said. "He rests with the angels now."
Tomi felt her heart wrench in anger. Like Bellarmine and Valentina, Dantos had been part of her loyal Venator team since the days of Rome. Tomi leaned against Gio, blinking back tears.
She watched the castle implode upon itself, and crumble into a thousand dark pieces. Good-bye, Andreas. Her hatred of her former love was as great as her grief for her fallen comrade.
Burn, devil, burn.