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Chapter 37

"This is no house of God," Ezio thought to himself as he took in his surroundings. The room in which he found himself was tastefully decorated, with flowers in every corner. A few courtesans were flirting with the men who stood inside, and still other courtesans were leading other men into private rooms.

Just as Leonardo had predicted, he found Antonio on his left. His arms were wrapped around two more courtesans, and his face was buried in the chest of one of them, who giggled as he leaned back and finished some wine. The closest thing he could find to what looked like a "sister" in the room was the woman who stood nearby and observed the thief. Her head was covered as a nun's would be, but the remainder of her attire left little to Ezio's imagination.

"Antonio," he called, "we need to talk."

The man squinted as he looked in Ezio's direction, but said nothing. Ezio realized he was wearing his mask, so he took it off so that Antonio could see him, hoping nobody else in the brothel would recognize him. Antonio's response, however, destroyed any hope Ezio had of remaining anonymous.

"Ezio! Ezio Auditore!" he shouted, the volume of his voice reflecting the tremendous amount alcohol in his body. "Teodora," he slurred as he turned to the woman observing him, "meet the most…talented man in all of Venezia!"

The woman turned to meet his gaze, and Ezio bowed.

"Madonna," he addressed her. "Ah, 'Sister' Teodora?" he realized. She nodded to confirm his guess.

"I never imagined you as a religious type," he told Antonio. The thief laughed.

"It depends how you understand religion, my son. It's not just men's souls that call for soothing," Teodora interjected. "Heart and body must be healed as one."

"And what exactly is Antonio healing right now?"

"Nothing at the moment," Antonio laughed, "but as the doctors say, prevention is better than any cure!"

Teodora sighed, "He's been sitting here 'preventing' for hours. My good wine is gone too."

"Come! Join us, Ezio! Have a drink! Meet the ladies!" Antonio invited.

Before Ezio could respond, a scream echoed through the hallways, and everyone turned to find a man running out the front door, a bloodied knife in his hand. In the room from which he was running, a courtesan was kneeling over the lifeless body of a girl whose throat had been slit, screaming after the man between sobs.

The rest of them stood silent for a moment, processing the scene with disbelief. Teodora was the first to speak, tears filling her eyes.

"So, Messer Ezio, let's see just how talented you are. After him!" she cried.

Before Teodora could finish her sentence and before Ezio could think straight, his feet had carried him to the door, which he promptly opened and ran in the killer's direction.

It was not long before he found the deranged man hovering over another courtesan in an alleyway, knife in hand. Before Ezio could hide, he was spotted.

"Don't come any closer, or I will carve up another one!" the man warned.

Ezio's stomach turned at the thought, but he had regained his senses enough to assess the situation. Much to his relief, no guards were around.

"Please, stay calm," Ezio pleaded, carefully placing his hands in front of him, slowly angling his left wrist toward the man. "Look, I am unarmed. I want to talk."

The killer growled and stepped slightly away from the girl, giving Ezio the shot he needed. "Unarmed? Then I'll kill you too!" the man yelled. "I am finished talking! I'm going to sli-"

His sentence was cut off by the deafening sound of Ezio's new weapon, which ripped through his chest, causing him to fall to the ground. The courtesan violently backed away from the scene, unable to speak.

Ezio rushed over to his target, who was lying on the ground clutching his wound, wincing in pain. Before he could scream, Ezio released his hidden blade and silenced him.

"Requiescat in pace."

The woman next to him was still in shock, so Ezio gently took her arm and led her quietly back to the brothel, making sure to avoid any city guards who came to investigate the noise.