Innocent Blood by James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell

Author:James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell [Rollins, James & Cantrell, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Thriller, Fantasy, Adventure, Vampires, Mystery, Horror
ISBN: 9780061991066
Amazon: 0061991066
Barnesnoble: 0061991066
Goodreads: 18089930
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: 2013-12-10T06:00:00+00:00

29

December 19, 10:11 P.M. CET

Cumae, Italy

Leopold stood on the shore of a blue lake in southern Italy, starlight reflecting in the quiet waters. He took in a deep breath, readying himself for what must come. He noted traces of sulfur in the air, the odor too faint for mortal senses to detect, but it was still there, revealing the volcanic nature of Avernus Lake. Thick woods rose along the ancient crater’s steep banks. Across the water, a scatter of lights marked distant homesteads and farms, and much farther out the city of Naples glowed at the horizon.

In the past, the lake had once steamed heavily with volcanic gases, so strongly that birds passing overhead would drop from the sky. Even the name Avernus meant without birds. Ancient Romans came to believe that the entrance to the underworld could be found near this lake.

How true they were . . .

He studied the unruffled blue waters, picturing this peaceful place birthed out of fire, born from lava blasting into the sky, burning the land, killing every creature that crept, crawled, or flew. Now it had become a calm valley, offering a haven for birds, fishes, deer, and rabbits. The surrounding pines and shrubs teemed with new life.

He took that lesson to heart.

Sometimes fire was necessary to cleanse, to offer a lasting peace.

That was Leopold’s hope, to bring salvation to the world through the fires of Armageddon.

He stared out at the lake, pausing from his task to thank God for sparing the lives of those on the train. He had called the Damnatus after viewing his own coffin at Castel Gandolfo, only to learn that the others had survived, that the Damnatus had made a pact with that Russian monk to ambush the others in Stockholm.

Resolved to do what he must, he turned his back on the lake. His leather sandals scuffed red volcanic soil as he followed a path that led toward the Grotta di Cocceio. It was an old Roman tunnel, a kilometer long, built before the birth of Christ, burrowing from the lake to the ruins of ancient Cumae on the far side of the crater wall. Damaged during World War II, the tunnel was closed to the public, serving now as the perfect place to hide secrets.

Leopold reached the entrance, an archway of dark stone sealed with an iron gate.

It took little of his strength to break the lock and slip inside. Once through, he had to crawl and traverse a broken landscape of rock, to reach the main tunnel. With the way now open, he ran through the darkness, not bothering to hide his unearthly speed. No one would see him here.

His footsteps slowed when he reached the far end, where it opened into a complex of ruins outside the crater. He stepped out into the cool breezes off the neighboring sea. Above his head, perched at the rim of the valley, was a temple to Apollo, an ancient complex of broken pillars, stone amphitheaters, and crumbling foundations of structures long gone.

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