Gigi did not look particularly happy to see Nero and Kyrie when they arrived in the hospital ward, but she became considerably more cooperative when presented with the option of being moved out of the hospital for the duration of her care.
"We just need you to be honest with us," Kyrie explained after she had made the offer. "If you answer our questions truthfully, we'll do what we can to move you someplace more comfortable. All right?"
Gigi glanced between them, then gave a resigned nod. "What do you want to know?"
Kyrie seated herself in the chair Trish had vacated when they'd arrived. It was the only seat nearby, so Nero moved to lounge against the wall beside the window. "You told Trish you're seventeen. Is that true?"
Gigi nodded. "Everything I told her was the truth."
"That's good to know." Kyrie gave her a warm smile. To an observer, it would appear that she was playing the Good Cop role to perfection—though Nero happened to know that she wasn't putting it on; kindness was Kyrie's default. For that matter, he supposed he was a natural Bad Cop. Teamwork, he thought wryly.
"Seventeen's a little young to be hunting demons," Nero put in. "You wanna tell us what made you go that route?"
Gigi shrugged. "Demons need killing."
"Sure do, but most people leave that to the pros."
Her expression darkened. "Sometimes the pros do not do their jobs," she snapped.
Kyrie flashed a look at Nero that warned him not to respond. "Did you… lose someone?" she asked, so gently it made Nero's heart ache. "To the demons?"
Gigi looked away, but gave a terse nod. "My parents."
"I'm so sorry." Kyrie touched Gigi's hand. "Why don't you start at the beginning and tell us what happened? You grew up in Parma, didn't you?"
She spoke haltingly at first, her voice gathering strength as she went. "My father's business was in architectural restoration. After the earthquake, he wanted to come here and rebuild the city. He thought there would be good work here. Good for his… um…" Her brow furrowed, and she glanced at Kyrie. "Il ci-vu?"
Kyrie echoed the syllables. "Oh! Curriculum vitae? It's the same in English; we just say CV."
"Ah." Gigi nodded. "He thought it would bring him more work. My mother did not want to come at first, but she finally agreed, so two years ago, we came here."
"That must have been a big change for you."
Gigi shrugged. "It was not so hard for me. I had some English in school. But it was hard for Mamma. She did not speak any English. We spoke Italian at home, and I had to translate for her when she went shopping. She could not work without speaking English, and Papà did not find as much work as he hoped, so we did not have much money. But we managed." She looked down at her hands. "Then, last summer—the fifteenth of June—Papà and Mamma went out to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They liked to go to this little café with tables by the water. But that night, demons came into the city. The owner of the café called a demon hunter for help, but no one answered." Her gaze shifted to Nero, and it was murderous. "Papà and Mamma died there because you did not come."
Nero swore under his breath. Last June, he'd been in Red Grave City, cleaning up the mess his own father had unleashed on an unsuspecting populace several times the size of Fortuna's. He hadn't known the demons had returned in his absence, or that anyone had been killed.
Kyrie made an attempt to defend him. "It isn't his fault, Gigi. Nero was on another job then, on the mainland."
Gigi shrugged. "That only shows why more hunters are needed. We can't rely on one person to do a job if he leaves to work somewhere else."
There was a certain amount of logic to her thinking—and if she truly blamed Nero for her parents' deaths, it was no surprise that she'd sabotaged his business, vandalized the van, and even taken a few shots at him. Still… "There's something I don't get, Red. If demons killed your parents, you'd normally want to get rid of all the demons on Fortuna, right?"
Gigi lifted her chin. "Someone has to."
"So what the hell are you doing summoning them? Seems like Fortuna's got enough problems without more people opening portals to the underworld."
Her righteous confidence wavered a little. "That is just for practice. I summon a few so I can get better at killing them."
"And what about the times when you didn't?" Nero pushed off the wall to move a few steps closer to her bed. "Like that warehouse, when Lady and I had to wipe out a whole pack of Frosts before they escaped into the city, and we all almost got zapped back to infancy by the Nilepoch?"
"The warehouse was an accident," she said hastily. "I did not know the big demon would come there."
"Fine. What about that flock of Scarecrows at the orphanage?"
Gigi looked up sharply. "What?"
"A little over a month ago? Bunch of demons turned loose in the back courtyard?"
She shook her head. "No. Not there. I only practice in empty places, where no one will be hurt."
Nero crossed his arms. "I found a Solomon's Noose there. The same summoning sigil you've used everywhere else. In fact, I've never seen anyone but you use one."
"It wasn't me," she insisted. "Believe me, I would never go near the orphanage!"
Her desperation didn't seem feigned; in fact, she appeared legitimately horrified by the suggestion. "Then maybe you have some idea of who else might be summoning demons with the same technique."
Gigi's hesitation lasted only a second, but Nero spotted it. "I don't know any other hunters," she said quickly.
Kyrie had caught the momentary pause, too. "Gigi, please tell us anything you know—or even suspect. Someone has put a lot of children in danger by summoning those demons, and we can't protect them if we don't know who is doing it or why they're targeting the orphanage."
Gigi shook her head slowly. "But he wouldn't," she murmured. "Not the orphanage. He knows…"
After she fell silent, Kyrie cocked her head to one side. "Gigi?"
The girl's shoulders slumped. "The only other person I know who can summon demons is my patrono. My… mentor. He taught me to do it. But he only wants to hunt down the bad demons," she added hastily. "He wouldn't hurt anyone. Especially not the orphanage."
"Why not the orphanage?" Kyrie leaned forward, holding Gigi's eyes. "What does he know that would keep him from harming anyone there?"
Gigi's teeth clamped down on her lower lip, and she shook her head fiercely. Her internal conflict was obvious, but Nero could also see the lines of real fear in her expression. What was she so afraid of?
Kyrie looked away for a moment, thoughtful, and then her head snapped up. "Gianna," she said suddenly. "That's what Gigi is short for, isn't it? You're Gianna Benelli."
Gigi's expression turned wary, and her eyes flicked toward the window as though she might make a dash for it. There was little chance of her succeeding, with both of them in the room, but Nero took a step back toward the window as he tried to work out the logic behind Kyrie's deduction. "Benelli? As in Scipio and Flavia?" Now that he looked, Gigi had the same red hair and petite build as the younger children…
Kyrie nodded. "Scipio doesn't talk about his family, but Flavia mentions an older sister from time to time. That's why you wouldn't go near the orphanage—you were the one who left them there, weren't you?"
Gianna's shoulders sagged, and to Nero's surprise, her lower lip began to tremble. "I had no choice. I tried to care for them after Papà and Mamma died—I did!—but I could never find enough food. Then when Flavia became ill, I got scared, and…"
"No one is blaming you." Kyrie's voice was soothing. "Someone your age should never have had to provide for two children all on your own. The important thing is that they're safe and healthy. But why didn't you go with them? The orphanage would have taken you in, as well. You all could have stayed together."
Gianna shook her head. "My patrono said he would only take me as his apprentice if I gave them up and trained full-time on my own. He said a devil hunter can have no family. That it is a distraction from the work."
"Well that's a crock of pure bullshit," Nero burst, earning a disapproving look from Kyrie. "If we didn't have family to protect, we'd have no reason to fight. Nobody's in this business for the material rewards."
Gianna blinked at him. "But… but you are wealthy from hunting, no?"
Nero stared back. "Wealthy?"
"You have a nice house, and a van, and fancy weapons. People pay you a lot for protection."
Nero laughed out loud. "Man, I wish. I hate to shoot a hole in such a beautiful picture, Red, but I barely make enough hunting to keep food on the table. I built my own weapons, back when I had an actual salary from the Order, and the only reason we have a roof over our heads is because Kyrie inherited the house after her brother died."
Gianna's brows pushed together. "But Lor—but il patrono said that if I became a devil hunter, I could make enough money to send Scipio and Flavia to a good school in Rome, and…" She trailed off as Nero shot her a skeptical look. "He would not lie to me."
"Sounds like this patrono of yours has been telling you nothing but lies," Nero replied. "Who is this guy, anyway?"
Gianna's head twisted quickly from side to side. "I am not allowed to say. He would be very angry."
"Gigi, we want to help you," Kyrie assured her. "I understand your loyalty, but whoever your patrono is, he has clearly misled you about some things, and has put you in a very dangerous situation."
She shook her head again. "He trained me. He gave me a sword and a gun, and taught me to kill demons."
"Yeah, from the looks of things, his training is about as reliable as the rest of his advice," Nero said. "Your aim isn't awful for a novice, but your pistol grip is completely wrong, and I think the lack of safety training speaks for itself." He gave her bandaged hands a significant look. "Your hand-to-hand skills are nonexistent; I took you to the floor with one hit, and I wasn't even trying to kill you. And if the sword he gave you was that broken-down Caliburn I saw at the old customs house, it's way too big and heavy for someone your size. You should be fighting with something small and fast, not a blade that weighs half as much as you do. Not that you should be fighting at all," he added quickly, in response to a stern look from Kyrie. "I just mean this guy hasn't been training you seriously. And starting you out practicing on live demons? He could have gotten you killed. You're lucky to be alive."
Gianna's mouth settled into a stubborn line. "It is not luck. I have worked hard to learn how to fight. I can kill demons as well as anyone."
"You've knocked out a few low-level enemies. Now, I'll admit, you seem to hold your own pretty well against things like Scarecrows. Maybe, with a couple years' combat training and about twenty percent more muscle mass, you could take on something a step up, like a Blitz or Assault." The blank look she gave him indicated that the names didn't even register, and he wondered if her mysterious patron had bothered to educate her about demons at all. "But the demons you've been fighting aren't even the most dangerous ones on Fortuna, let alone whatever crazy monsters might crawl through an open portal once you start screwing around with summoning circles. I'm talking demons the size of buildings. Things that can flatten a city block with a single attack." Nero could see he wasn't reaching her, so he moved to the foot of her bed and sat facing her. "Look, you want to avenge your parents. I get it. I've lost people, too. So has Kyrie. But going in half-cocked and getting yourself killed isn't getting justice for anyone, and it sure as hell won't help your brother and sister live a better life."
At the mention of her siblings, Gianna's hard expression melted into despair. "I can't do anything to help them."
"Not if you're dead, you can't," he said frankly. "But there are a lot of options you haven't explored. We can help you, if you let us. But you've gotta help us, too."
Her scowl returned. "By betraying il patrono. The only person who has ever helped me since my parents died."
Kyrie touched Gianna's arm. "Gigi, if your patrono is as benevolent as you say, he has nothing to fear from us. But if it turns out he is the one who has been summoning demons at the orphanage, he clearly doesn't care about keeping Scipio and Flavia safe, and he needs to be stopped before someone gets seriously hurt. You understand that, don't you?"
She nodded, though she looked miserable. "You promise he will not be in any trouble if he is not the one responsible for the demons?"
That wasn't a promise Nero felt comfortable making; the man's treatment of Gianna was problematic, regardless of whether or not he was behind the attacks at the orphanage. "We'll talk to him first," Nero said. "If he hasn't done anything shady, we won't have any reason to go after him."
"If nothing else, someone with the knowledge of how to summon demons might know of others who have that ability," Kyrie pointed out. "Even if he isn't the one responsible, he may be able to help us find the person who is."
"All right." Gianna glanced between them. "But please do not tell him I told you. He will be very angry with me. It is meant to be a secret."
"He won't hear it from me," Nero assured her. "What's this guy's name?"
Gianna chewed her lip. "I am not sure what his full name is. I only know what name he told me to call him, which seems like more of a title than a name. But he never explained it to me when I asked what it meant; he would only say very strange things."
Kyrie glanced uncertainly at Nero. "What sort of things?"
"He talks about… What exactly did he say? 'Wielding the true sword to strike down false destiny.' His ultimate ascension to… something." Gianna shook her head. "When he speaks of these things, I don't understand what he means. He says a lot of things that sound religious, but I don't think he believes in any church."
Nero's stomach had begun an uneasy crawl at the word ascension. Beside him, Kyrie had gone a shade paler than usual. "What do you usually call him?"
"Well… he allows me to address him as mio signore patrono."
Nero huffed a laugh as he shook his head. "Wow. Real humble fellow, isn't he."
Kyrie shot him a look to silence him, and he saw that there was more anxiety than amusement in her expression. "And the name he asked you to use? The one you said was more like a title?"
Gianna glanced between them again. "He said his name was Lord Sparda."
