IV
IV
Asthe?" Asthe wondered why her dead partner was calling her. It didn't make sense.
"Huh?" she groaned.
The blackness turned to a light blur; the blur eventually became clear. Her face was covered by some kind of cloth. Then she caught his scent. "Father Nightroad?"
"So, you're awake," he responded. His glasses were broken, but his eyes peered at her softly, without blame. He smiled weakly.
Where are we? It looked like a combat zone—nothing but debris and blood.
"Endre! Where is he? Oh . . ." she moaned.
"Don't move," he quietly bade her. He held Asthe's arm still when she tried to get up. She felt a sharp pain in her stomach.Then she registered the bandages that were wrapped around her waist. She winced. One of the orbs' reflections had probably hit her. It left a horrible burn.
"I applied some first aid," Abel said. "A Methuselah will recover from this, but please stay still until help arrives."
"Stupid! We have to go after Endre now . . ." she objected. She felt so woozy; it stood to reason that she'd lost a lot of blood in addition to getting burned. Still, she had no time to let the priest play doctor. Endre must be stopped!
"Out of the way, Father! I must . . ."
His unusually strong hand held Asthe down. His voice, in contrast, was gentle. "Asthe, have you not killed enough already?"
"What?" she whispered. Eventually, she understood what he'd meant. Thin metal supports poked out from the rubble, eerie voices screamed, water rushed through the streets — this part of Venice looked like a bomb had gone off.
In actuality, the Sword of Gae Bolg had gone off.
The last remnants of Rialto Bridge crumbled into the canal. The stores lining the bridge had been completely destroyed and collapsed into the water while she'd been unconscious. But the real horror was between the rubble.
There were hands sticking out, begging for help. A young couple embraced each other as they were crushed to death. Mothers held their babies as they blistered and burned to ashes. People cried out, looking for lost loved ones or missing limbs.
"Father? What happened?" she asked. Asthe looked down at her bloody hands. Did I do this? "F-Father, did I ... ?" She couldn't say the words. Her eyes welled up with tears.
No answer came. The priest simply closed his eyes.
"... Father?" she begged.
Asthe noticed fresh blood was seeping into her pores and healing her wounds. Whose blood is it? Surely a Methuselah like herself would thirst and lose control after such an ordeal.
It was Abel's blood.
"F-Father!" She jerked in shock.
Abel's body slid off her. She saw the Sword of Gae Bolg piercing his torso from behind . . .
She blacked out again.
"This is Your Eminence's itinerary for the visit to Venice two days from now. The visit to the tide gate is at the same time as the big Mass, but if you wish to see it during high tide, this is the only available time," the secretary said.
"It's fine. I don't mind," Cardinal Caterina Sforza said. She crossed her legs and smiled reassuringly to her secretary.
"If I attend the Mass, the duke of Florence will probably go nuts. Let's let the bishop of Venice take care of the ritual," she reasoned.
The secretary chuckled softly. Caterina and the duke of Florence, her half brother, Cardinal Francesco di Medici, were known for their squabbles. In particular, they fought about their younger brother, the current pope.
"Excuse me, Your Eminence. This came from Venice." A squire brought forth a note.
Usually, this time of day was scheduled for her to meditate, but as the Vatican's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Caterina had an endless line of visitors requesting an audience. She glanced down at the memo and nodded.
"Is that it for reports?" she asked. "Good, then. Everyone, carry on."
Once the staff finished their morning reports, they left the church. Alone, Caterina stayed behind for her meditation. Instead, she lightly pressed her finger against her temple and spoke.
"Sister Kate?"
"Yes, Your Eminence," came the disembodied response. It was a hologram of Sister Kate standing before the altar. She smiled at the cardinal. "Regarding Father Nightroad ... did he accomplish his mission so quickly?"
"Bad news .. .There was an incident in Venice," the cardinal replied.
"I'm bringing up a visual now . . . Holy God! Did a war break out?" Sister Kate asked.
"I don't know. But the Empire had something to do with it, for certain," Caterina stated.
The New Human Empire—the largest territory that vampires controlled—was the only non-human nation on the plant. With an abundance of vampires who possessed technologically advanced weaponry, the Empire was quite dangerous.
To the Vatican, the paragon of humanity, the Empire was a threatening enemy. Both nations were embroiled in a centuries-long Cold War. They had not clashed head-on, but it was sure to happen someday. The Vatican's mission was to prepare for such a conflict.
Cardinal Caterina boldly moved to create a mutually beneficial diplomatic pipeline with the rival nation. If found out by her peers, it would mean death by firing squad for her. Especially if Francesco ever found out. He would gladly oust his sister and dissolve AX Agency at the first opportunity.
A papal trial was surely in her future if anything went wrong with this tenuous alliance.
Even so, Cardinal Caterina hazarded the risk because she knew of a third, more deadly enemy. Once the world learned of it, humans and vampires alike would tremble in its wake.
Her current plan had to be carefully crafted and guarded •with the strictest secrecy. She informed the Empire of a criminal hiding out in Vatican territory, and asked to have one of their undercover agents arrest him.
Even for such a simple operation, sacrifices had to be made.
It was all over now. There had been open fighting during Carnival. It had been a colossal failure. Is it my fault? Am I to blame for trusting a vampire to value human lives'!
Regardless, even Caterina's political influence couldn't cover up such a fiasco. She would have to destroy the evidence before Department of Inquisition started digging.
"Sister Kate, hurry to Venice. Secure the imperial agent," Caterina said.
"Understood. Count of Zagrev is still at large. Will the vampire agent be willing to return empty-handed?" Sister Kate asked.
"She doesn't have a choice in the matter. Secure her and escort her to the imperial border. If she refuses to return to her homeland . . ." She let the sentence hang in the air for a moment. Then she faced Tres, also known as Gunslinger or the mechanical Killing Doll, who sat motionlessly in her office. "You know what you need to do,"
"Affirmative,"Tres replied. His voice was dry and emotionless. As always.