Bloody Roses
Chapter Three
Arcanum Cella Ex Dono Dei

Leon entered Cardinal Caterina's office, dressed in his priest robes and ready to give his report on the girl. He truly felt bad for Natasha and hoped that there was enough evidence to force the Inquisition to let her go. He stood in front of Caterina's desk. The Lady Cardinal looked up, her gray brown eyes piercing his.

"So, Father Leon. What have you found out about the girl?"

"Her name's Natasha Summerz. She says she's from Canada, the year 2008," Leon began. "She said she was born in 1986 and she's twenty-two years old. She has a younger sister. Her mother went missing in 2005 and hasn't been seen since."

"Anything else?"

"Well, she gave me this." Leon pulled out a small object and placed it on Caterina's desk. "She calls in a flash drive. She says it holds two giga-something of computer stuff and that it may prove her innocence." Caterina picked up the flash drive and held it in her hand, her eyes looking over the item with a small air of curiosity.

"By saying 'giga-something', I'm assuming you mean gigabytes," the Professor commented.

Leon frowned. "Er ... yeah. That."

"Father William, would you be able to look into this?" Caterina asked.

"Oh course, Your Eminence," William replied, taking the flash drive in his hand and looking it over. "It doesn't look too complicated and it is most certainly intriguing. It's not everyday you come across a piece of Lost Technology such as this."

"Just be careful not to blow up anything this time," Sister Kate warned.

"Nonsense, this won't make anything 'blow up', Sister Kate," William commented. "All I should need to do is place this in one of the empty ports in the computer and see what's inside. It shouldn't take too long."

Caterina nodded and William turned to leave. Leon turned back to the cardinal. "So, do I get any time off my sentence for this?"

"If this proves her innocence, then yes," Caterina replied. "In the meantime, we will wait."

"What? No missions?"

"Not yet," the Lady Cardinal answered. "There are currently no situations that need our immediate attention. If necessary, I will send someone but you will remain here for now."

"Me? Why here?" Leon questioned.

"You are the first person this Natasha has formally met," Caterina explained. "If there is anyone she would trust at a time like this, I would be you."

Leon nodded in reply. Natasha certainly seemed to trust him. If this did prove her innocence, that trust would be maintained. Although, Leon had this feeling that if the situation was different, she wouldn't have nearly been so trusting. She must have felt like she didn't have a choice otherwise. Sighing, he leaned against the wall by the window and crossed his arms. His eyes met with those of the android, who stood as stiff as always. Leon held his gaze with Tres for a while before breaking away, choosing instead to stare at the floor.

Leon's eyes immediately shot towards the door when he heard the handle turn. William entered the room, a victorious smile plastered on his face and a paper in his right hand. He approached Caterina's desk and handed the paper to her. He watched quietly as the Lady Cardinal read every word.

"This will be enough to free the girl?" she questioned.

"Absolutely," the Professor replied. "All you need to do is sign at the bottom and the Inquisition will have no choice but to let her go."

"This report contains falsified information, William," Caterina warned. "This very risky."

"Perhaps, but it's more risky to let the Inquisition know the truth. If Cardinal Francesco got word that she comes from the 21st century, he'll be after her faster than you can say Amen. We have to protect her identity until we can find some way to get her back home."

"Agreed." Caterina signed the paper and gave it back to the Professor. "Go with Leon to free the girl, then bring her to me. I would like to speak with her."


Natasha yawned for perhaps the one hundredth time since Leon left. It was too quiet and her thoughts could only keep her preoccupied for so long. She considered taking a nap at one point but she decided against it. What time was it? It was six thirty when she fiddled with the clock but she didn't know what the time difference would be between then and now. There were no windows, so she couldn't see if it was dark or not. She knew it would take a while for things to get settled, if Leon was at all successful. She wanted to trust him. He wasn't hostile or negative, or she'd be able to feel it.

Natasha jumped when she heard the sound of a moving door and knew it was one of the guards. She watched for the guard and was surprised to find it was actually two of the people who had arrested her earlier. From what Leon told her, she assumed they were part of the Inquisition team. Both wore red fabric over metal armour. The man had long blue hair and a stern face; the woman, the one who had punched her in the stomach, had short gray-white hair and a neutral expression. They quietly opened the cell and the man motioned her to come forth. She did as she was told and they led her down one hallway, then another and through several door along the way. When they opened the final door, Natasha's face lit up as she saw who was waiting on the other side.

It was Leon, wearing a more formal attire and standing was a man she assumed was a colleague. The blue-haired man from the Inquisition unlocked her cuffs and stepped out of her path. She rubbed her wrists to get some of the circulation back and walked up to Leon.

"You really did it."

"Yep. Now you can say it," Leon commented with a smile.

Natasha nodded. "Thank you, Leon."

The man beside Leon smiled as well, holding a pipe up to his mouth with his left hand. He didn't say anything until they were outside the building and walking through the cold, wet snow towards the Vatican. "You are Natasha Summerz, I presume."

"Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me 'sir', Miss Summerz. I am Father William Walter Wordsworth. You may call me William, Professor or Father Wordsworth if you wish."

"Father," Natasha repeated. "So, you're a priest?"

"In a matter of speaking," William replied. "All members of AX are fully ordained members of the Roman Catholic Church, with a few exceptions."

"Like Leon?"

"Yes," the Professor answered. "Leon is one of a few special cases. You will find out more when you speak with Cardinal Sforza."

"Cardinal Caterina? I get to talk with her?"

William chuckled. "Of course. She would like to know the details that led to this point. It would help us greatly if you could tell her everything you know."

"I'll do my best."


Natasha couldn't help but stare at her surroundings as Leon and William led her through the halls of the Vatican. They led her to an area Father William referred to as the Palazzo Sparta and eventually stopped in front of a solid wood door. William opened it and motioned for Natasha to go inside. She quietly walk in and several people turned to look at her. They were all nuns and priests, or is seemed that way. One so-called priest was actually a woman dressed in a priest's attire and another nun was transparent. She figured it was a hologram, like those from the science fiction shows she used to watch with her father as a child. She never really liked the idea of so many people staring at her but that thought flew from her mind when she caught sight of the female cardinal from earlier, the one Leon told her about. Cardinal Caterina Sforza.

"You are Natasha Summerz," Caterina said as Natasha was led closer to the desk by William.

"Yes, ma'am."

Caterina smiled. "You may call me Cardinal Sforza, Cardinal Caterina or simply Your Eminence."

Natasha nodded. "Okay ... Your Eminence. I was told you wanted to know how I got here."

"Yes, but first, would like some tea? You seem tired and could probably use a good pick up."

"Um ... yes. Thank you," Natasha replied as one of the priests began pouring the tea for her. She knew Caterina was being generous with her words. Natasha wasn't just tired but cold and sore too, no thanks to the Inquisition.

"Don't thank me," Caterina said in reply, turning her gaze to the holographic nun for a moment. "It was Sister Kate who prepared it. Her teas are the best in Rome."

Natasha looked at the blonde hologram for a moment before taking a sip of the hot tea. At first, the liquid was too hot for her to taste anything but the more she sipped, the more she could taste. She quickly realized that this was indeed the best tea she had ever tasted. Natasha smiled.

"I see you like it," Sister Kate commented.

"Yes," Natasha replied with a bright smile. "I thought my mother's teas were great, but yours are excellent!"

"Thank you. Feel free to ask for some anytime."

"Oh, you know I will!"

"Are you ready to proceed, Miss Summerz?" Caterina asked, breaking up the conversation.

"Yes, Your Eminence," Natasha replied with a slightly apologetic tone. She placed the fine China cup gently on the desk and met the Lady Cardinal's gaze.

"Please, start from the beginning," Caterina said. "All details you can remember of the events that led you to this point."

Natasha nodded. "Well, it's my birthday today ... or, it is in 2008, and my best friend Jeanine wanted to treat me. So we went to a mall downtown and browsed for hours, eventually coming to an antique store. I figured it was fairly new, because I had been to that mall only a few days earlier and that store wasn't there."

"I take it you like antiques," Sister Kate commented.

"Yes, especially old roman-numeral clocks," Natasha replied. "Anyway, the only employee of this store that we could see was this tall creepy woman was dyed blue hair and dark blue eyes and gave off a very evil vibe. I didn't trust her. Jeanine insisted that we buy something and the woman pushed us to buy a small gold-plated wooden roman-numeral clock. Jeanine didn't care how expensive it was and bought it for me."

"Evil vibe, you say?" Father William repeated.

"Yeah. Her aura was just dripping with it and she sent a cold chill down my spine. She had a German accent, too." Everyone in the room exchanged glances. Natasha didn't noticed as she continued. "Anyway, Jeanine went to bed at six thirty, so I proceeded to set the clock, but there was so handle with which to wind the clock nor were there any compartments for batteries. I figured the woman ripped me off and decided I'd bring it back tomorrow but then I heard a clicking noise. As if something was moving."

She paused to catch her breath, having let all that information out at once, and she still wasn't finished. Father William took as a opportunity to ask a question. He held out the old clock in front of her. "Would this happen to be the clock you speak of?"

"Yes! That's exactly the clock I'm talking about," she replied. "It's hands began to rotate counter-clockwise and once they stopped at twelve o'clock, the clock rang twelve times and sent me here."

Caterina nodded. "And you have no idea who that woman was? None at all?"

"No, it was the first time I'd seen her."

Caterina became absorbed in her thoughts and a shroud of silence fell upon the room. If it wasn't for the fact that floor was carpeted, you could've heard a pin drop. The Lady Cardinal continued to stare into the air in front of her as she spoke. "And how is it that you could ... 'detect' this evil vibe from that woman?"

Natasha seemed a little shocked with the question. Then again, no one really believed her anyway. Could it be that Caterina did? Natasha sighed. "Well, it in the family. At least, that's what my mother told me. The Summerz family has apparently always been highly sensitive to surrounding energies. I guess you can say we have a sort of 'sixth sense' for that stuff. A person's aura can reveal a lot of information if you know how to read it properly. I also have limited experience with reading thoughts, so I haven't quite mastered that yet."

Caterina exchanged glances with Father William. He then focused his gaze on Natasha. "Well, that sounds like a branch paranormal abilities coined by pre-Armageddon parapsychologists: people who studied paranormal psychological phenomena. I believe the correct term is psionics. From what you are saying, you demonstrate the use of telepathy, as well extrasensory perception."

"Hmm ... powerful abilities for someone from pre-Armageddon," Caterina commented, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, most people in the 21st century believe it's just fiction, including Jeanine. I won't be hurt if you say you don't believe me. I'm kind of used to hearing that." Natasha replied with a slight frown.

"If what you say is true," Caterina said, "then tell me exactly what I am thinking."

Natasha's grew wide and her mouth fell open. Didn't she hear what she said? I just told I hadn't mastered it yet! What is she thinking? Caterina's gaze, however, told Natasha she was serious. She sighed and closed her eyes, clearing her mind of all thought and focusing on summoning the image of Caterina in her mind's eye. She opened her eyes and stared directly at Caterina, the Lady Cardinal noticing Natasha's eyes had become clouded with a mist that seemed to carry a faint glow.

"You are thinking about the Pope," Natasha said in a slight monotone. "You are pleased with his new-found desire to forge a peaceful aliance between humans and vampires, but you are also concerned about Cardinal Francesco. His possessiveness over Alessandro and the papal throne as a whole threatens to consume the Vatican and destroy the alliances forged with the Kingdom of Albion and the New Human Empire." Natasha blinked a few times and the mist left her eyes. "So, how'd I do?"

Caterina closed her eyes and smiled. Natasha got it spot-on and reminded her of NoƩlle Bor; Caterina found herself thinking of the raven-haired beauty who had died in Barcelona. After a moment of silence, submerged in her thoughts, Caterina opened her eyes and focused her gaze on the young woman. Her decision had been made. "Arcanum Cella Ex Dono Dei."

"Huh?"

"The full name of the special operations group I founded seven years ago, after I became the Chief Minister of Holy Affairs," Caterina explained. "It is more commonly known as AX for short. Everyone you see in this room is a member of AX. Their unique skills make each person a valuable asset to the team." Caterina paused for a moment before continuing. "I believe your skills will be a great asset to this team as well. I would like to request your services on behalf of the Department of Holy Affairs. Will you accept?"

Natasha's eyes went wide. "You ... you're asking me join your team, the AX?"

"Correct."

"So, that means I got it right? Your thoughts, I mean?"

"Yes."

Natasha mouthed "wow" and swallowed hard. "Well, sure. As long as I'm not a burden."

"Nonsense. You will start your training immediately," the Lady Cardinal. "Come to my office tomorrow mourning and I will assign you a partner with who you will begin your firearms training."

Firearms? I get to shoot a gun? Natasha smiled somewhat nervously. "Sure thing, Your Eminence."

"Good." Caterina turned her gaze to the priest standing next to her. His long brown hair fell across his shoulders and reminded Natasha of how the Roman Catholic Church pictured Jesus. "Father Havel, please escort Sister Summerz to her new quarters and make sure she is given a proper meal. Sister Kaya, make sure she gets settled in and obtain her measurements for a habit."

"As you wish, Your Eminence," Havel relied, his kind eyes resting on Natasha. The young nun nearby with dark brown hair and tanned skin nodded and smiled in reply.


Author's Note: Whew! Another chapter completed. If you feel that any of this is rushed, than I apologize. I'm on a roll with this story and want to get it all out before my creativity slows down again. Three chapters within one week. That's a new personal record. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Cheers. :)