The Devil and the Muse by Mandy Jackson-Beverly

Author:Mandy Jackson-Beverly [Jackson-Beverly, Mandy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mandy Jackson-Beverly
Published: 2018-07-10T00:00:00+00:00

31

Gabriel stood with his parents in front of the fireplace in the main living room at Casa della Pietra. He was aware of a slight aura of anguish pulsing beneath his mother’s normally poised demeanor. There was sadness lingering in her eyes, as if she was hiding something from him. “What’s going on, Mother? You seem distracted.”

Prudence looked up at her portrait that hung above the mantel; the painting Botticelli had created centuries ago. The edges of which had been singed during the Florentine Bonfire of the Vanities, in 1497. The painting that ironically, Kenan had pulled from the raging fire, and was later retrieved by Stefan and Prudence.

“When you were a little boy, you asked so many questions,” she said. “Some I could answer, others I could not. Do you remember what I used to tell you?”

Gabriel smiled. “Of course,” he said. “You told me to search where before I had not found answers.”

Prudence turned to Gabriel, and nodded. “Yes, that is correct.” She turned her gaze back to the portrait. “Perhaps one day, this painting will speak to us, not just of my journey, but of yours too.”

Gabriel frowned. “Perhaps.”

“Ignacio and Caprecia will be here shortly,” Stefan said.

Prudence gave her son a motherly embrace, but he sensed her apprehension. “Is there anything you need to tell me?” he asked.

“Only that I love you.” She kissed his forehead. Gabriel held onto her hands, hoping to sense what troubled her, but she hid her emotions well.

“I love you too, Mother,” he said, then turning to his father to embrace him.

“We shall return soon, Gabriel,” Stefan said. He kissed Gabriel’s cheeks, and then clutched his elbow. “I love you, son.”

“And I love you,” Gabriel said.

They bowed their heads together and whispered. “Sine virtute omnia sunt perdita.” Once again, Gabriel tried to read his mother’s emotions, but his thoughts were interrupted when Ignacio and Caprecia entered the room.

The glint of knives was visible beneath Ignacio’s long black leather coat. Caprecia wore two knives strapped to her hips, and the handle of another could be seen emerging from one of her boots. Stefan helped Prudence strap sheaths to her arms, both of which held her weapons of choice: Venetian stiletto daggers. At close range, when thrust precisely, the needle-like point could cause irreparable damage to internal organs. Prudence squeezed Gabriel’s hand one last time, and then Stefan guided her to the center of the room, where Ignacio and Caprecia joined them.

Prudence lifted a hand to her mouth. “Raido,” she said. She unfurled her fingers, and a small glass ball appeared on the palm of her hand. She drew in a breath and then blew across her hand. The glass ball rolled to the tips of her fingers, and stopped.

“Mother,” Prudence said.

Mist rose around Prudence and extended outwards to encompass Stefan, Ignacio, and Caprecia. The four immortals disappeared into a swirl of dense fog.

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