The Brothers' Keepers by Matthew Peters

Author:Matthew Peters [Peters, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller
Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing
Published: 2014-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

Nearly twelve hours after the pope died, Dottrina stood with his arms folded behind his back, looking through his richly draped office window. The gray day, constant rain, and misty air lent the scene a dream-like quality. But Dottrina was not dreaming. He was awake, and had been for the past thirty-six hours. He had a funeral to arrange, a conclave to convene. The traditional waiting period, four or five days, would allow pilgrims to arrive and view the body. After that, the novemdiales, or nine days of mourning, would ensue.

Below him, a grieving black mass descended upon St. Peter’s Square, like a colony of ants deprived of its queen. So docile these dark masses, so willing to be led, so very afraid of not being led. Well, they needn’t fear, for he would lead them. He would lead them all. Things would go according to plan. Within the increasingly apathetic and divided College of Cardinals, a power vacuum allowed the small council of cardinals, where Dottrina and Stato vied for control, to rule the Vatican. It had been so since the onset of Bernatti’s debilitation. Now, with one exception, Dottrina’s rule within that council was virtually unchallenged. And in just a matter of weeks—days, if Dottrina had his way—the senior Cardinal-Deacon would step onto the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and proclaim “Habemus Papam!” Then, onto that balcony, clad in white, wearing the Ring of the Fisherman, Dottrina, now Pope Innocent XIV (he’d already chosen his name), would step… Unless—

Damn you! Dottrina almost shouted aloud to quiet the voice of doubt festering in his mind.

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