I start down the cliff.
Venus shines bright in the eastern sky.
I take her white light as a good omen.
I come within fifty feet of the stone circle before I pause. There is a young woman chained to the cliff just below me, and I see Landulf has the Spear ofLo nginus with him at the center of the pentagram. I find it odd that I did not see it at first since I have not let him out of my sight on the hike down the cliff. But the fact does not concern me; the girl does. She is the one who assisted me when I rescued her and her friends from the cage. Like her friend, who was sacrificed at the black mass, she wears a white robe and looks terrified. Yet except for the three of us, I sense no one else in the vicinity. I descend another thirty feet, silently, staring at Landulf s back. I know it is him. The girl sees me and I motion for her to remain silent. Her eyes are suddenly wide with hope, and I have to wonder if that is good. This all seems too easy.
Then I pause again. Something makes me sick.
Lady Cia lies not far from the chained girl.
Her heart has been cut from her chest.
Now I know what Lord Landulf holds in his hands.
He continues to sit with his back to me. Defenseless.
"It was necessary, Sita,"he says softly.
That he knows I am here stuns me.
"Why?" I ask.
He glances over his shoulder.
"The sacrifice demanded the ultimate sacrifice," he says.
"To achieve what aim?" I ask.
"To bring you here, to this spot."
I snort. "I brought myself here, thank you. None of your demons assisted me."
He stands and stares at me. His wife's heart continues to drip in his open palm. His eyes are so dark "That's what you think," he says quietly.
I gesture to the girl. "Why is she here?"
"For you. For the next step in your initiation."
I point to my ears. "I have sensitive hearing. The three of us are alone on this cliff. Not that it matters. You would need an army to protect you from what I am going to do to you now."
He gestures to the circle, using the heart. "You say your ears are sensitive. What about your eyes? Can you not see what you are up against?"
Now that he mentions it, I do notice a peculiar vibration in the air. It's as if we're surrounded by a swarm of insects, yet there is no sound. The sensation of the swarm is psychological. Now I feel as if something foul picks at my skin. I start to brush it away, but stop myself. I fear to show weakness in front of him. Yet a faint thread of fear has already entered my mind, and slowly begun to wrap around the center of my brain. However, I still feel I have the upper hand. I am an ancient vampire of incredible strength. He is just a man. Why, he doesn't even have his spear in his hand to protect himself.
I step toward the stone circle and bump into a barrier.
It is invisible but palpable. A wall.
Or a magnetic force that resists physical contact.
I pound on it with my fist to no effect.
Landulf grins at me from inside the circle.
"To enter," he says. "You will have to sacrifice an innocent."
The girl cries behind me. I silence her with a gesture.
"That will never happen," I say as I slowly probe the perimeter of the stone circle, seeking for a weak spot. But the force field is uniform, and I am amazed that it even exists. My memories of the future are back again, clearer than ever. I have to wonder if the shield is of extraterrestrial origin. The last time I confronted Landulf on this spot, I defeated him by using his wife as a shield. This is the first event that is being played out differently from the last time. So I know I must have come back in time for this final moment.
Yet I do not know what to do.
Landulf follows my movements and does nothing to thwart me. I complete my inspection of the circle and pause to consider the possibility of jumping into the circle from the side of the cliff. Landulf reads my mind, or perhaps he logically figures out what my next move must be.
"You can try it," he says. "I would enjoy watching you bounce off the edge of the cliff."
"You cannot stay in there forever," I reply.
"Dante cannot stay in the underground passageway forever."
I freeze. "You bluff. You cannot stop him from here."
In responseL andulf raises the heart toward the sky and to my amazement it starts beating. The blood squirts on his face and he licks it. Then he lets out a high-pitched cackle, and I hear a loud shifting of stone far above. Glancing up the way I came, I see that the exit to the cliff has been closed over with a fallen boulder. Landulf lowers the heart.
"That is one end," he warns. "I can close the other end the same way. If..."
He doesn't finish. He wants me to.
"If I don't come get you," I say.
"Exactly." He gestures to the chained girl, who is not enjoying the display of the duke's powers. "The life of your friend for the life of a stranger."
I glance at the girl and she shakes her head slightly.
"Don't worry," I snap at her.
"You need to rip out her heart," Landulf explains. "Quickly. While it still beats, you will be able to penetrate the circle."
"I do not barter in human lives." But sudden doubt plagues me. If I do not kill him, he will kill the girl anyway. And I will not be able to take her with me down the side of the sheer cliff. Dante's innocent face haunts me, as do Landulf s hypnotic eyes. I just want to get to the duke and scratch his face off to put an end to his circus. He moves to the edge of the circle, comes within five feet of where I stand. Once more I pound on the barrier but my fists rebound againstmychest. His dead wife's heart continues to beat and now the sound is in my ears. I do not understand how his palm can animate it. How a wizard, no matter how powerful, can infuse life into what should be dead.
"You will barter," he promises. "Fool! There is no part of you I cannot touch. No aspect of you I cannot defile." He stops. "Hear something, Sita?"
The beating of the heart grows louder in my ears.
In my head. Even when I cover my ears it doesn't help.
He shoves the heart toward me and I am forced to stare at it.
This is madnessIcannot even close my eyes.
"Kill her and it will stop," he says.
"No!" I cry.
"Kill her and your friend will live! Kill her and you can kill me!"