CHAPTER 26

Lia is frozen, staring at the wall. She's mumbling something, over and over as she sways slightly from side to side. On the wall, her blood glistens in untidy handwriting.

The Obstacle must be removed.

I don't know what it means, but I know it's not good. I approach Lia slowly, avoiding the broken glass on the floor. The whole room is a wreck; the one of the windows is shattered, the bed's mattress is torn up, and broken pieces of furniture are scattered throughout the room. For a moment, I wonder how I didn't hear this before I refocus on Lia. I kneel down in front of her.

"Lia," I say gently, worried.

"Must... be removed... The Obstacle..." She mutters.

"Lia, what are you saying?" I ask. "What obstacle?"

I put my hands on her shoulders, trying to bring her out of this trance, but she recoils. Suddenly the room is filled with her screeches.

"Get off me!" She screams. She scrambles back, over the broken glass. She presses herself against the wall. "What do you want from me?"

"Lia, calm down. It's me – Ezio." I reply, scared now.

Lia stares at me for a second before launching herself off the wall, sprinting for the open window. I catch her just before she reaches it and we both fall to the ground, Lia on top of me. I roar as the glass cuts into my bare back. Lia ceases struggling immediately, and looks down at me, scared.

"E-Ezio? What happened?" She asks shakily. She pushes herself off my back, leaving two bloody handprints on my chest. She stares down at her hands, her eyes widening.

"I don't know what happened." I say, gingerly raising myself off the ground. Lia helps me stand, and then sees my back. Without a word, she leads me to what's left of the bed and we sit down, my back towards Lia.

"What happened?" Lia asks again as she begins picking the larger shards of glass out from my back. I try not to move or wince as she does so.

"I don't know. I was asleep, but then I woke up when I heard something break. I came in and you were – ouch – kneeling in front of the wall. You were muttering to yourself, and I tried to touch you, but you got... scared." I explain, gritting my teeth as she pulls a particularly large shard of glass out.

Lia operates on me for a few more minutes before she speaks again.

"Done." She says quietly. I turn to face her, and she looks paler than a ghost. Her eyes are scared.

"Hey," I say gently, taking her hands in mine. "it's all over now. You're okay."

She smiles softly, though her eyes are still sad. I turn and take a piece of the bedsheet. I tear two strips from it and turn back to Lia, opening out one of her hands. Bloody wounds the shapes of fingernails are cut into her palm, and even though they've stopped gushing blood, they still look painful. I wrap both her hands in the makeshift bandages. Suddenly, a loud bang emenates from the door.

"Hey, stronzi! Some of us want to sleep!" A man shouts from the other side.

"My apologies, ser. You won't hear anything more." I call back, trying to get rid of him. Several annoyed grumbles follow before footsteps fade down the hall. I turn back to Lia.

"We should get you to a doctor. I don't think I got all the glass out." Lia says. She still seems quiet, but I think she's feeling better. It's hard to tell – she hides her emotions well when she wants to.

I nod and we stand, treading carefully across her floor as we exit the room, Lia grabbing her purse as we do. We exit the inn, and the cool night air blows across my skin. I shiver.

And a bandaged hand holds mine.

I look down at Lia, a small smile on my lips. She looks up and returns the smile – almost uncertainly – before she returns her gaze to the ground and speaks.

"So, what do you think the obstacle is?" She asks.

"I have no idea. It'd be nice to know what's on the other side of it, but without more information it's impossible to guess." I reply.

~!~

Ezio and I walk along, talking about the mysterious Obstacle. My eyes scan the streets, looking for a doctor.

"What do you remember?" Ezio asks me.

"From when I... wrote the message?" I ask. Ezio nods. "Not much. It was like I was dreaming. Everything was hazy... Then when you grabbed me, I got so scared. I don't know why."

We keep walking in silence. I don't want to talk at the moment, and I think Ezio understands. He can sometimes be hard to understand. Most of the time, I understand why he behaves the way he does, but then sometimes he does something completely out of character that makes me re-think what I already know about him.

"I see a doctor." Ezio says. I look up and see the doctor standing at the end of the street, looking at us. I let go of Ezio's hand, self-conscious, and we approach the doctor.

"Good evening." The doctor greets. "How can I help you?" As Ezio turns around, the doctor chuckles. "Rough night, eh?" He jokes.

I lean against the wall as the doctor pulls the rest of the glass out of Ezio's back. Doctors scare me slightly, with their creepy masks and sometimes odd remedies. After a while, my mind wanders.

"All done." The doctor says. I jerk back to reality.

"Grazie." Ezio says.

I pull out my purse and hand over the doctor's payment. Ezio and I start heading back to the inn, and it occurs to me how odd we must look; a shirtless man and a woman dressed in a shirt and pants. I'm just glad no one's around to see us. All the same, we walk faster than usual back to the inn, reaching our rooms quickly.

"Bella, do you want to sleep in my room tonight?" Ezio asks, his eyes gentle. "You can hardly sleep on your bed, because the mattress is destroyed. And the floor..." He trails off.

"Thank you, Ezio." I say, knowing he's right. I walk past him without another word, into his room. Every part of me wants to climb into his bed with him, to lie down next to him and sleep in his arms, but I know no good can come of it. Instead, I arrange the pillows on the couch into a more comfortable position and lie down.

"You sleep on the bed, Lia." Ezio says. "I'll take the couch."

I give him a small smile before rolling over, so that I face the back of the couch. It's surprisingly comfortable, and as I hear Ezio getting quietly into bed I can imagine myself with him, imagine us falling asleep together.

I squeeze my eyes shut, stopping the thought. I lie awake for hours, eventually falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

~!~

I wake to a knock at Ezio's door. I sit up as Ezio gets out of bed, opening the door to reveal a man half his size in both height and weight.

"Yes?" Ezio asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I have a message for Natalia Cupelli." The man says, holding out a letter. I approach the courier and take the letter from him as Ezio shuts the door.

Natalia Cupelli,

O, beautiful temptress,

How I've watched you, waited for you,

You and your 'Prophet',

Soon we shall meet again, my love,

And I will carry you up into the heavens,

For I am your Angel,

And the false Prophet shall be cast,

Into the fiery depths of the earth.

I stare at the paper, suddenly more scared than I've been in a long time. Last night was nothing compared to this.

"Lia, what's wrong? What does it say? Who's it from?" Ezio questions, obviously worried.

"I-It's from..." I trail off, not knowing whether to tell Ezio or not. "It's from Paola. Elena is sick, that's all. I'm just worried." I lie. I put on a small, sad smile, trying to reassure him.

"Oh. I hope she's better soon." Ezio replies, not fully convinced.

"I think she will be." I say. "I should go get dressed."

With that, I leave the room and enter my own quickly. I shut the door and sink to the floor, leaning against the door.

I'm scared because I know who that letter's from. I recognise the handwriting, the less-than-accomplished poetry, the mocking style in which it is written.

It's from Him.

My 'Angel'.

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