Chapter 27

There was only darkness. A strange sound sent chills crawling over skin. When she realized the sound was her own pounding heart and shallow breathing, she found herself uncontrollably sprinting in the blackness. It was too quiet, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Where was she? A golden spectrum illuminated before her, leading her forward through the vast room of nothing. There was an odd smell... familiar yet unnerving. Blood. Somewhere there was blood, and a lot of it.

A strange sensation made her freeze as she began clawing wildly at her arms as if her body had spontaneously caught fire. The golden figure appeared before her as she searched in panic for the face of her attacker, but there were no eyes to reciprocate her gaze.

"Alcina?" she jumped at the sound. She was not alone. She searched franticly through the darkness for the voice, ignoring the scalding sensation plaguing her skin. "Donato?" she screamed, panic stricken. "Donato! Answer me!" but there was no reply. The golden form followed her relentlessly through the black maze, blocking her escape route over and over. "Leave me alone!" her voice shattering.

The glowing form smiled evilly without lips as it began to transform. It's already giant stature doubled in size, erupting into a twisting monster of scorching flames. Two massive holes forged black eyes into it's face as it's jaw unhinged into a terrifying shriek.

She fell backwards in terror, struggling to regain her footing before bolting away from the beast. Flames licked her back as she felt her skin stinging and melting off of her bones.

"Alcina?" the innocent voice returned. There in the distance she finally saw him. His chest boldly flaunting a giant crimson cross painted from what appeared to be his own blood. Her feet collapsed beneath her as her face dragged across the midnight surface. "Donato go! Run!" she locked eyes with his own for a few moments, memorizing the sinless and untainted expression depicted on his face. She felt herself pinned to the ground as if her limbs were made of solid iron. "Donato! Please run! Go!" she begged through sobs as the fiery demon drew closer, it's unhinged jaw swirling and howling in bloodlust.

She watched helplessly as Donato's lips began to move but the voice in her ears was not his, "We can try to run from our fate, but there is nowhere to hide from our true destiny." She choked on her tears as he smiled briefly before being swallowed by the monster. It's bloody, red, tongue sizzling over his flesh, bursting him to flames.

She screamed repeatedly in protest as Donato's cells turned to fire, mutating him into a replica of the beast. The monster gave one last ear splitting shriek before discarding him, tossing his collapsed body to the floor. The flames vanished, taking the creature with it, leaving only his broken corpse sprawled motionlessly ahead of her. "Donato?" she gagged through her hysteria. The body began to stir, rising slowly to his feet.

Her gasps clotted in her throat as she saw the form was no longer her brother, but another monster entirely. "I told you you could not kill me ragazza..." the gruesome templar scar sizzling across his face as he wiped away the blood seeping from the fresh brand on his cheek. The giant cavern chiseled into his chest from her blade dripped a trail of gore at his feet, growing nearer and nearer to her frozen body. "This will only hurt for a moment... like most things," he hissed before raising his foot to her throat, stomping down with all the force he could muster, plummeting her back into the darkness.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Her body jolted upright in her bed, gasping for air. Her hands instinctively flew to her throat and checked her skin for burns. All she found were beads of sweat and terrified shivers. The nightmares were becoming more vivid. She flumped back down onto the bed and tucked the sheets to her chin.

"What's wrong?" the voice startled her having forgotten she was with company.

"Just a dream," she sighed. His arm stretched across her body, holding her close. He yawned softly, "What kind of dream?"

"The worst kind," she whispered

"What happened?" he rested his chin on top of her head.

"I'd rather not relive it."

"Fair enough," he yawned again. She held onto his arm pinned tightly across her chest as she tried to forget the nightmare, but Donato's eyes stared back at her through her every thought.

"I have been having a lot of nightmares recently," she confessed.

He stirred beside her, "how long?"

She mentally counted the nights, "ever since I saw my brother."

"He was in your dream?"

"Yes," she whispered. He pulled himself from his groggy lull and turned her to face him.

"It is going to be alright..." he softly touched her face. "I meant what I said at the river." He kissed her lips gently, making her smile.

"I know you did," she buried her face in his bare chest, savoring the warmth and steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Her whispering had already begun to grow muffled with sleep as she faded back into dreams, lulled away by the soft pinging of rain outside the window. Her panicked breathing gradually slowed to match the pace of his rising and falling chest as he observed her face relaxing in the shadows. He smiled to himself at the tiniest upturn of happiness hinting at the corners of her blush colored lips.

He waited until he was certain she had fallen asleep before cautiously sliding out of her bed, careful not to rouse her. After having to search blindly in every corner of the room for his sprawled articles of clothing, he stole one last glance at her sleeping silhouette before getting dressed and slinking out the door. The sudden cold of the granite hall was as unwelcoming as the first few moments beneath the surface of the freezing river; sharp, chilling, and stealing the breath from his lungs. The dark loneliness made him suddenly miss the warmth of Alcina's unconcealed body against his. The faithful melody of her pulse swiftly became the only sound he ever wanted to hear. He cringed at the frozen echo of his footsteps across the floor, no doubt waking everyone in the villa.

"Salute Nipote." He winced through clenched teeth as he heard his uncle summon him into his office.

"Good morning uncle," he nodded and entering Mario's presence, wondering how he was going to explain both his and Alcina's disappearance from the previous night. Mario hunched over his desk stirring a cup of tea. "How are you feeling?" Ezio added.

Mario groaned slightly and shrugged a shoulder, clearly feeling the affects of the festivities, "Some bodies simply do not recover like they used to. Nor do they have as much vigor as others." He eyed Ezio accusingly.

"I do not think I know what you are referring to uncle," Ezio chuckled almost sarcastically.

"The hell you don't," Mario muttered into this tea. "There was something I wished to go over with you. I would have suggested discussing it later, but... I am afraid it cannot wait."

Ezio's face smiled with humor, "I am sorry for abandoning you at the party Uncle. Alcina and I were truly grateful for your hospitality. I only hope we did not give you the impression that we were not thankful for the gesture..." Mario's forehead straightened into worried creases as his lips shaped in a thin line. "That is not what you were referring to?" Ezio's sentence descended to a serious tone as Mario shook his head silently, his eyes narrowing. "This is serious..." he muttered. Mario answered only with a disappointed nod. "What is wrong Uncle? Is everything alright?"

Mario stirred his cup with a clanging spoon, letting the steam sooth his aching head. "I do not know nipote." He waited before continuing, "Your friend Senor Da Vinci shared with me his knowledge of the codex pages." Ezio received the sudden childlike feeling that he was about to be punished. "We all knew of the prophet and the pieces of Eden... but rumor has it there is a 'protector'." He peered up at his nephew with an admonishing look. "Were you planning on telling me this knowledge or leaving me to discover it once it was too late?"

"Forgive me uncle. I did not think it was necessary..."

Mario erupted, "Of course it is necessary Ezio!" his tea sloshed onto his desk as he pounded the cup onto the wooden surface loudly. "We are a brotherhood of assassins nipote. No one works alone. Every decision, every lead, every shred of knowledge, is shared amongst us." Ezio scowled in annoyance, beginning to feel defensive. "Ezio if there is anymore information you have, I must know it now." The harshness in his tone lessened, "Forgive my temper nipote, I am not well." He squeezed his temples.

"Alcina is the protector." Ezio swallowed, "Those were Enzo Gavino's dying words to her. The codex page he left in her stead was the final piece to the prophecy stating her blood was necessary to open the vault." He struggled with the last words at their potency pricked his heart.

"I see..." Mario sighed, returning his hand to his forehead. "No wonder you kept it a secret from me." He dabbed at the cold sweat forming at his brow, "Do the Templars know this?"

"I am not certain," Ezio spoke bluntly.

"Certainty..." Mario sighed, " would be a blessing at a moment such as this."

Ezio confidently raised a hand, curling his fingers into a confident fist, "Let them come. I will not allow them to harm her."

"Do not be so brash as to underestimate our enemy Ezio."

"If Rodrigo wants to kill her so he may open the vault, I welcome the challenge. It would be the opportune chance for me to slit his throat."

"So you would use her as bait then?" Mario asserted, his nephew's face offensively hardened to his words. "We should discuss this with the brotherhood and see if we can come to an agreement of some kind."

"Agreement for what Uncle?" Ezio's tone sparked with an edge of defiance.

"Both keys to opening the vault rest below my roof nipote. Rodrigo Borgia knows this. Where do you think he will send his armies to strike? Do not let your new romance cloud your judgement."

"So what do you suggest then? Surrender her to the Templars?" Ezio snapped. "I swore that I would protect her from whatever force sends her into harm, and that is precisely what I intend to do. From whatever force..." Mario understood the implied threat toward the council, narrowing his eyes into a warning stare.

"The brotherhood would not do that Ezio... Alcina's role is far too important, not to mention she is a member of the order and the daughter of my closest friend. I would gladly fight alongside you to protect her," Mario raised a promising clenched hand to his heart.

"Then I do not understand the purpose of this conversation." The assassin's scowl glowered with brazenness.

"Ezio, this is not a lecture. I merely worry for you. I fear you are ignoring your sense of reason."

"Reason," Ezio repeated. "In what way?"

"Nipote, you must be cautious. The defiance you imply tears you from the rest of us, leaving only you standing between the Templars... and Alcina. How long do you plan on singlehandedly fighting against the entire order?"

"I seem to be handling myself well enough so far," he said curtly.

"You are too close to see the dangers I warn you of Ezio. Step back a moment." Mario's tone hushed into a rational manner. "Does Alcina believe she is protector?"

"Si, she would never doubt the word of her father."

"Nor I."

Ezio backed off, at last speaking in a regular tone, "She tried to leave last night, afraid that her presence among us would martyr us all with danger."

"Do you agree with this accusation?"

"No," he said coldly. Mario waited silently as Ezio's defenses began to crack, contorting his face into an angry state of confusion. The bitterness of uncertainly tasting as potent and as foul as poison. Ezio didn't want to believe the prophecy, but Alcina's fears were so genuine, so tangible. His uncle's face contoured into a regretful frown, able to see the bond between Ezio and Alcina had clearly been made permanent.

"You came from seeing her now?" he pointed in the direction of her room. Ezio's eyes scanned across the room anxiously before nodding without a word, realizing his actions probably were not the wisest. Mario sighed again, "This complicates things."

"Complicates what uncle?" his tone defensive again.

"You may not believe in the prophecy as we do nipote, but mark me... if the time comes... do you truly think you can fight off and change someone else's fate? To what lengths are you willing to protect her?"

Ezio's hands slipped into his pockets as he scowled at the floor, rendered speechless. His uncle strayed from his desk and made his way for the door, patting his nephew on his shoulder. "I will not tell you what to do Ezio, that is for you to decide. Just keep in mind, there are more people counting on your actions than you will ever know. So perhaps you should consider what is best for the both of you."

He brooded over his words. His heart began to sever into shards as he felt himself shuddering in anger. He had devoted everything to his life's mission, sacrificing every joy and every pleasure that presented itself. Why was it so difficult for him to have her in his life? Was he not allowed one small source of joy? He found himself seething in bitterness, hating the plague of misfortunes that attacked the span of his existence over and over. "This truly is not fair uncle. I did not ask for any of this!"

"But you were chosen just the same Ezio. As was she." Mario looked back through the doorway, "I know you will do the right thing nipote." Mario left the office and retreated into his chambers, leaving Ezio alone to deal with his turmoil of emotions.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Alcina awoke alone in her bed, fluttering her eyelids and yawning quietly. It was still dark out as the tip of the sun just barely grazed the horizon. She sighed happily to herself as she welcomed the soothing sound of the rain. Her body remained motionless as she stared at the empty half of her bed, his sunken outline still visible in the vacant spot. She faded in and out of sleep as she revisited the happy memories from the night before, ignoring the nightmare that had scared her witless. It was a mere stain now, like the unnoticeable drop of ink in the corner of a poetic text, out shadowed by beauty in every way. She smiled to herself as the sound of the door creaked open followed by the sound of masculine footsteps approaching her bed.

"Come back for more?" she purred, but there was no response. She rolled over to meet his gaze as a gloved hand savagely dug it's fingers into her throat. Her eyes enlarged in shock as the grip crushed her windpipe. The stranger watched her gasping face in amusement, sinking his fingertips deeper into her neck. Her lungs burned with fire as she gagged for air beneath the grip, her pupils beginning to roll back into her head. She experienced the familiar sensation of slipping back into blackness, only this time it wasn't a dream.