Votive (30 page)

Katina grunted. ‘It is up to you to make sure she’s safe. We cannot bring her here against her will, nor can we let her put herself at risk. You will have to use your judgement. If at any point you feel she’s in grave danger, don’t hesitate to act. When you no longer have a choice, bring her here into the Limen.’

‘Then what happens?’

‘I am not sure … yet,’ admitted Katina. ‘That is part of what I have to find out.’

Dante nodded gravely. ‘I see.’

‘Do you? Because, by the gods, I am not sure I do.’

Dante couldn’t help it – he laughed. Katina’s eyes crinkled. ‘No, I don’t really. But it felt better saying that.’ He slapped the hilt of his sword. ‘I will do what I am told. Watch her and make sure she is unharmed. Hopefully, you will discover our next step before I am forced to do what I must in order to protect her.’

‘Bene. Another thing – once you’re on the other side, Dante, back in Serenissima, the urge to contact your family will be strong. But you must resist, do you understand? You will cause them pain if you should walk back into their lives after all this time. Not only that, but you’ll place them in great danger.’

‘Danger?’

‘Sì. Our networks tell us that there’ve been many arrests in your quartiere.’

Dante’s heart lurched. ‘Why?’

‘Why?’ Katina threw her hand up in the air. ‘Do you think that what Tallow was, what she did, would go unnoticed? The drama on the bridge was the talk of Serenissima – according to what Elder Maggiore told me, it still is. It attracted the attention of the authorities. That which they feared most has finally happened. An Estrattore has been seen – worse, she’s lived among them. Can you imagine how the Doge, how the Church reacted to that? As far as they’re concerned, three hundred years of worshipping the one God has come to nothing. They realise how shaky their foundations are if all it takes to undermine them is one Estrattore. They’re furious – and they are also terrified. They understand now how tenuous their hold on the popolani really is and they’re lashing out.’ She paused and looked uneasy. ‘Those who hid her, who knew what she was and said nothing, are being punished.’ She looked deep into Dante’s eyes. Her silver flecks gleamed in the dull light.

‘Who exactly are you talking about? Tell me.’ Dread hardened the coldness that filled his chest, turning it to ice.

‘I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, Dante, and now, but your grandfather. He –’

Dante held up his hand in front of her face. His dark eyes were metal. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. Every heartbeat was painful.

‘When? Who’s responsible?’

‘A while ago. It was the Cardinale. He’s capturing those he believes harboured Tallow and who are withholding information. Your grandfather … he was publicly executed, on Nobiles’ Rise. Others are dispatched, quickly, quietly, without ceremony. But the popolani know. They’re afraid, but not so afraid yet that they talk. This will work both for
and against you.’ Katina spoke slowly. ‘The Cardinale’s desperate to locate Tallow; so desperate, he will take any measure. Serenissima is not the place you once knew.’

Dante drew his breath in sharply and threw back his head. He wanted to scream at the mist, cut it with his weapons.
Nonno Renzo! No. No. No.

He took some deep breaths, trying to regain equilibrium.

‘All right,’ he said hoarsely. ‘I keep searching for Tallow and, when I find her I watch unless she is danger. If I judge the threat is too great, I bring her to you?’

‘Sì. Go to the Pledge Stone of Casa di Maggiore. Touch it and wait for me. I will come, wherever I am. Hopefully, you will not have to do that. I will learn what I need in here, then I will find you in Tailors Quartiere. But I fear if I am to see this through, then I will have to stay in the Limen.’

Dante’s mouth became a grim line. ‘Of course, you must. But why are we bringing Tallow here? Surely, if the Estrattore are after her, then we’re making it easier for them. Shouldn’t we just take her straight to the Elders or find another, safer place to take her?’

‘The Elders!’ barked Katina. ‘No. They cannot be allowed to have her either.’

‘Why do you say that? I thought the Bond Riders wanted to protect her? To have her restore their souls so they can return to Serenissima, to the real world, a real life? I thought that was what
you
wanted?’

‘Me? Sì.
I
do. But there are powerful others who do not.’

‘Elder Maggiore told you this?’

‘Sì. He told me everything I am now telling you.’

‘Can he be trusted?’

Katina wrestled with her response. ‘I believe him.’

‘Then that’s good enough for me.’

Katina shot him a grateful smile. ‘He told me they would use her. Oh, they want her to draw their souls out of the pledge stones in order to make them whole again, but not with the intention of returning to Serenissima.’

Dante weighed Katina’s words. Around him, the mist swirled and parted. He thought for a long while. Beneath him, Argento searched for grass. ‘If they don’t want to return, what
do
they want?’ he asked finally.

Katina straightened in her saddle. ‘According to Elder Maggiore, the majority of the Elders want to create a new society here, in the Limen. A race of semi-immortals. A new order that will exist alongside Serenissima, a power to be reckoned with.’

Dante’s eyes widened. ‘By God! And they would use Tallow to accomplish this?’

‘Like a rag. They will force her to release their souls from the pledge stones – every single one. Such a task would be too much for one Estrattore, let alone Tallow. It would kill her.’

Dante thought his head was going to explode. He gazed at the shifting border, his need to cross suddenly greater, to get to Tallow before anyone else could. ‘Then we must make sure that neither the Bond Riders nor the Estrattore get their hands on her. But I still don’t understand why we need to bring her here – it seems to me that the Limen is dangerous for Tallow.’

Katina leant over in the saddle and clutched Dante’s shoulder. ‘Everywhere is dangerous for her. But at least in here, I have the advantage – you have an advantage. And we’ll take that for now. Until we can formulate a plan for keeping her safe and allowing her the time to understand what it is she has to do.’

‘And what is that?’

‘That is for Tallow to decide.’

Dante inhaled deeply and exhaled. ‘Molto bene. Then we will make sure she is able to do that.’

‘That, amico mio, is my intention. That’s the nature of our Obbligare Doppio. You wanted to know what it was? What pledge I made on our behalf? It’s simple. I pledged us both to the child of the prophecy. That’s all. And that child is Tallow – the one who will restore balance, bring light into a world growing increasingly dark.’ She gripped his hand more tightly. ‘I know you care for her – deeply.’ She turned his hand over and ran a finger over the glove, over the place where the scar of his Bond nestled. ‘I put my faith in you and your love for her. I know I did the right thing.’

‘What will you do while I’m in Serenissima?’

‘I cannot say exactly until I meet this friend that Elder Maggiore has told me will help us.’

‘Who is it?’

‘All I know is that it’s an Estrattore, someone who, like Elder Maggiore, believes in the prophecy. Someone who has maintained the old faith.’

‘Like you have,’ said Dante softly.

‘Sì, like me,’ Katina agreed. ‘Together, we will help prepare Tallow to learn the truth …’

‘What’s that?’

Before Katina could answer, a noise in the distance made them both swing round. An icy wind swept through the clearing. Argento’s head shot up and she whinnied, pulling on her reins, her ears flat to her skull. Birrichino raised his head and became skittish, walking sideways, kicking his heels, his tail flicking.

‘What was that?’ whispered Dante, suddenly grateful for the long leather coat. ‘Could it be this Estrattore you’re supposed to meet?’

‘Hush,’ whispered Katina, cocking her head to one side.

A faint wail reached their ears, a plaintive song of desperation and terrible hunger. Dante felt his hair stand on end. ‘What was
that
?’

‘Morte Whisperers.’ Katina was pale, her eyes wide with terror. Birrichino reared, bringing his hooves down hard, jolting Katina. Only her firm grip on the reins, pulling his bit hard against his mouth and digging her knees into his side prevented him from dashing away.

‘What are
they
?’ Dante tried to soothe Argento and see through the haze, catch the owners of the dreadful sound.

‘Creatures you never want to meet. We’ve no time to waste. Breach now, Dante,’ cried Katina, urging Birrichino into a canter. ‘Give the command,’ she shouted over her shoulder. ‘Go Dante, find Tallow!’

Wheeling Argento around, Dante bellowed the words that had been drummed into his head, fear making his voice crack. Katina rode beside him, Dante understood she was determined to see him through the Limen and safe before she fled. As their horses reached full gallop, the wall slowly tore apart a few hundred feet ahead, the grey mist widening, letting the world of time and space enter.

As they rode closer, Dante felt something pass through him, something so cold it made him arch his back in pain. His mouth froze in a rictus, his hands grew numb and the reins fell from his fingers. He began to slide.

Katina lunged towards him and pushed him upright, preventing him from falling. Birrichino and Argento rode neck and neck, their hooves thrumming as they raced towards the opening. Dante scrambled for the reins, twisting them around his wrists, and regained control. He signalled to Katina and reached for his sword.

Katina’s dagger was drawn and she lashed out at not one, but half a dozen of the wraith-like monsters that emerged out of the Limen wall, leaping over Dante and pouncing
on Katina, grasping, pulling her into their skeletal-like embrace.

Dante watched in horror as they tried to wrest her from Birrichino and stop her riding away. With long insubstantial fingers, another wrapped itself around her and tried to prise open her mouth. Birrichino reared, his hooves flailing. Dante yelled and bore down upon them.

Katina screamed. The sound was cut off as her mouth was filled while hands groped at her chest, tore at her heart. Dante slashed at the creatures, dismayed as his sword passed through them. Their shrill song rose to a crescendo, piercing his ears, filling his head with terrible pictures, causing his nerves to shriek.

Katina’s dagger flew out of her hand. Her pleading eyes met Dante’s.

Dante did the only thing left to him. He grabbed her reins and, with one mighty surge, rode Argento through the gap in the wall, pulling Birrichino after him.

They leapt into the air and, as they hit the ground of Vista Mare, the creatures dissolved. Dante rode as fast as he could away from the barrier, looking over his shoulder, terrified in case the vaporous fiends returned. Trees tore at his shirt, whipped Argento’s flesh, but still Dante rode on.

It took him a minute to realise the sounds he heard were not pursuit, but Katina’s faint cries. Quickly, he drew the horses to a halt and watched as Katina, her face white, her eyes glazed and her body shrunken, slid off the saddle and crumpled to the ground.

‘D
ID ANYONE SEE YOU?’
asked Elder Nicolotti, holding aloft the candle, its flickering light striking the rough-hewn walls of the passage.

‘No, Signor, not a soul. We were very careful.’ Stefano emerged from the shadows followed closely by Santo. They bowed before the older man and raised his outstretched hand to their lips.

‘Bene, bene,’ said Elder Nicolotti, accepting their benediction before stepping back and appraising them. They’d dressed hastily, despite instructions. Santo wore his sword instead of carrying it. Elder Nicolotti decided to ignore the serious breach of protocol. Only guards were allowed to bear arms in the palazzo. ‘She has gone?’ He did not have to say to whom he referred.

Santo and Stefano nodded.

‘And the chandler?’

‘Sì,’ said Stefano. ‘They left Settlement a while ago, heading for the Limen.’

‘Bene.’ Elder Nicolotti doused the candle, plunging them into darkness. ‘Then walk with me,’ he ordered, and turned down one of the narrow corridors that riddled the Elders’ palazzo.

Sure-footed, he knew his way. The Bond Riders behind him stumbled and fell. They tried to be quiet, but Santo’s sword scraped the walls, Stefano’s shoulder thudded into a rocky outcrop, forcing a muted groan. Elder Nicolotti grinned as they struggled to keep up. One did not always need a weapon to exert power.

The corridor widened into a small cave. Grey light from the opening spewed in, revealing a bench and some unlit sconces. Elder Nicolotti placed the candle he carried in an empty one and spun round.

‘The time has come for you both to fulfil the pledges you made. You to Casa Nicolotti and you to your partner’s house, Casa Maggiore.’ His eyes alighted on first Stefano and then Santo. Both Riders lowered their heads. ‘You understand what it is you’re to do?’ He directed the first
question to Santo. ‘You will enter Vista Mare and follow them. Watch them. Report their every move to Stefano, who will remain in the Limen and relay any information back to me. You’ll use the Pledge Stone of Casa di Nicolotti to communicate. I will give Stefano any further instructions that you, Santo, will follow. No digressing, no elaboration, no unnecessary killing. The timing for this must be right. Do you understand? I want to know who they see, where they go and, above all, I want to know when they find the Estrattore. Am I clear?’