The Raven (The Florentine 1)

“I already gave you my word.” He sounded offended.

William adjusted the cuffs on his black dress shirt. Raven noticed that the cuff links were in the shape of a lily and appeared to be made out of gold.

“I’ll make arrangements for you to have access to the villa.” He gave her a heated look. “Perhaps in time you’ll come to desire my company for other reasons.”

“You made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” she muttered, turning back to the window.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing.”

His eyes narrowed, but if he was going to scold her, he appeared to think better of it.

“After the hospital, I will take you to meet my brethren. They will not be expecting you. No matter what happens, you will act as if you are perfectly at ease with everything that is said and done.”

Now Raven was afraid. His words caused her stomach to flip.

He reached out a finger to lift her chin, angling her head so he could see her eyes.

“I am about to bring you into the underworld, Persephone. Can you be brave?”

She swallowed. “I think so.”

“I know so.” He hazarded a smile and swiped his thumb across her lower lip.

“There’s just one last thing.”

She gave him a questioning look.

His gray eyes glinted as he brought his thumb to his mouth and tasted it.

“You need to pretend you’ve spent the last twenty-four hours in bed with me, mindless with pleasure.”

Raven was terrified of William’s associates. She hoped she wouldn’t witness a human feeding frenzy or some other horrific event. She doubted very much if she could be brave under those circumstances.

He didn’t spend a long time in the hospital. He reported that he’d been able to slip into Bruno’s room and administer a small amount of vampyre blood, enough to stabilize his condition. A contact at the hospital would provide updates, which would be shared with Raven.

As the Mercedes approached the city center, William withdrew a length of black silk from his pocket and gestured for Raven to turn her back.

She eyed the silk with alarm. “Why?”

“The blindfold will enable me to ease you into the experience.”

“I don’t think there’s anything easy about being blindfolded.” Her green eyes were wary.

William ran the black silk through his fingers.

“I’m taking you to a place you are not supposed to see. This will protect you and make it easier for you to stay calm.”

Raven stared at the fabric, unmoving.

He cocked his head to one side, listening to the escalating rhythm of her heart and her shallow breathing. He could smell the anxiety on her skin.

He placed the silk across his knee and eased his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his body.

“Raven.”

The sound of her true name from his lips caught her attention. She stared into his eyes.

“I need you to be brave and I need you to be calm. The blindfold will help. If you won’t wear it, I’ll have to use mind control.”

“Mind control?” she repeated.

“Vampyres have the ability to manipulate human beings, but it doesn’t work on the strong-minded. I doubt it will work on you. I’ll have to try it if you won’t cooperate.”

“Is it like a Jedi mind trick?” She waved her hand in the air. “Pay no attention to these familiar looking droids.”

He scowled. “Can you stop indulging in non sequiturs? What we are about to do is dangerous. I’m not the one who will end up dead if something goes wrong.”

“I was trying to be funny.”

“Vampyres don’t indulge in comedy. Now, will you wear the blindfold or not?” He was moving swiftly from impatience to anger.

“I’ll wear it.” She turned her back.

He placed the silk over her eyes and knotted it behind her head. Then he rested his hand on her shoulder.

“Be brave, Raven.”

She didn’t feel brave, but she had no choice but to act the part. She focused on her breathing, trying to inhale and exhale deeply. She felt the car continue for a while, until it turned and seemed to enter a building of some sort. Shortly thereafter, the car came to a halt.

William helped her from the vehicle and held her elbow as he escorted her through a door. The ground beneath her feet felt like stone, which indicated to her that they were probably in one of the older buildings in Florence.

She wondered if they were in the Palazzo Riccardi.

William led her through a series of hallways and doors and down a winding staircase that seemed to last forever. She was almost convinced they were journeying to the very center of the earth.

Once they descended the staircase, they walked through a door and down a long, echoing corridor. She heard voices—men and women, but no children. She heard scraps of conversation in various languages, some of which she couldn’t identify.

She heard laughter and the very obvious moans and rhythms of sexual encounters.

She felt the color rise in her cheeks, wondering if the underworld was actually a sex club for vampyres. She wondered if the erotic groans and sounds were those of human men and women, giving up their blood as they climaxed.

“Steady now,” William whispered.

His hand slid down her arm and squeezed before returning to her elbow.

Raven took a deep breath, trying not to shake.

The air surrounding them was damp and carried with it a hint of mold.

She coughed.

“Be brave and be silent, no matter what you hear.” William’s grip tightened on her arm.

Her stomach pitched.

A door opened and they entered what must have been a huge hall or theater. Raven could hear the echoes of metal clanking against metal, and the sounds of grunts and yells.

She lifted her chin slowly.

Despite William’s best efforts, the blindfold had shifted. It was failing to cover a tiny field of vision to the right of her nose. If she moved her head, she could see.

And what she saw overwhelmed her.

She was on a balcony that overlooked an immense space, like a gymnasium. Men and women were engaged in various kinds of combat on the floor below. Some used weapons; some used just their bodies.

As Raven tried very hard not to move, she saw people leaping from the ground and seeming to fly through the air. She also saw them inflicting what she thought would be mortal wounds, although the victims remained unscathed.

She cursed impulsively.

“No sounds.” William squeezed her once again.

What she had just seen was impossible. It defied gravity. It defied everything she had come to believe about human beings and their abilities.

It confirmed what she already believed—that William and his kind, whatever they were, weren’t human.

He led her through another door and into a hallway. It was dark and appeared to be lit dimly by torches that were placed on the walls.

As they moved forward, Raven noticed that the underworld was hewn out of stone.

She heard voices in the distance, but no one passed them.

They stopped and Raven heard another door open. William led her inside a small, dark room.

She heard the striking of a match and inhaled the scent of smoke. A small light grew visible from a short distance away.

He must have lit a candle.

“Take a few moments to calm yourself.”

Raven breathed deeply.

She heard the opening of a bottle and the splash of liquid. He placed a cold, smooth object in her hand and closed her fingers around it.

“This is Vin Santo. Sip it slowly, but drink all of it. It will relax you.”

She brought the glass to her nose and sniffed.

She pressed the glass to her lips and drank.

“Humans are not allowed here unless they’re under mind control and reserved as food. You must preten

d your very will is slave to mine. You cannot reveal what you’ve seen. Or I’ll be forced to silence the lark I’ve come to admire.”

Chapter Twenty-nine

“What is the meaning of this? Why have we been convened?” Aoibhe strode into the council chambers below the Palazzo Riccardi. She was in a foul mood.

Pierre shrugged. “No one knows. The order came from the Prince himself, and he would not accept delays.”

“But for what purpose?” She turned her attention to Lorenzo, who shook his head.

“Something came in from the human intelligence network but the report went straight to the Prince. I haven’t seen it.”

Aoibhe frowned. “That’s irregular. You’re second in command.”

Lorenzo opened his mouth to comment, but closed it almost immediately.

“Where’s Max?” She scanned the large room.

“He’s been summoned.” Lorenzo took his place at the front of the hall, holding the staff of the city out to his side.