“But why would he be in Italy unless…” And then Schuyler realized: Jack’s mysterious errands. The other night when he had asked her what she wanted most for their bonding, she had told him that she only wished her friends could be there on the most important day of her life. She had told him she knew it was impossible and that it was silly of her to wish for something she could not have. Oliver was working for the Repository back in New York, and who knew where Bliss had gone. But Jack had made it happen. Her love had invited her friends to their bonding.

Her heart melted a little, but her happiness at discovering Jack’s secrets had to wait. Oliver was a hostage. Her dear sweet friend—she felt a lump in her throat when she thought of the extent of his generosity. He had come to her bonding to celebrate. He had arrived as a guest only to become a victim.

Schuyler kept her sword at the Venator’s throat. “What do you want for his life?”

The Truth Seeker smiled. “I knew you would come around. This could have been accomplished without all this ruckus.” He removed a velvet pouch from his pocket and shook out a white metal ring. “Give this to Abbadon,” he directed, and whispered a few words into her ear. “Make sure he wears it always.”

“What will it do?” Schuyler asked, staring at the ring.

“The spell will keep him from being able to express his true nature. When we meet again, he will not be able to overpower us, and we will have both of you in our custody. Your love for Abbadon is molded into the ring. As long as your love for him holds, the ring will keep his power in check.”

She balked. The ring had the power to turn the deepest, most important part of her soul into a restraint, a handcuff. They meant to trap Jack with her true love for him. “No. I cannot. I will not.”

“You will do as told, or I will make certain that your friend not only perishes, but that his death is long and painful. If you tell Abbadon the truth, if you try to find help, your friend will die immediately. Take the seeing stone and wear it around your neck. It will enable us to see what you see and hear what you say, even in the glom. Give Abbadon the ring. Or sacrifice your friend. We will be watching.”

Then, with a few words, the Venator restored the room to its former, uncluttered state.

THREE

Reunion

The man in black disappeared out the window just as the door opened again. This time it was Jack who entered. Schuyler hurriedly put away the ring in the velvet pouch, but as the Venator had instructed, wore the seeing stone around her neck.

Jack had a worried look on his handsome face, and sat on the bed with a heavy sigh as he removed his boots.

“What’s wrong?” Schuyler asked, moving to kneel behind him so that she could gently rub his shoulders. His muscles felt tight and strained, and she worked her fingers on the knots.

“The Countess’s Venators will be here soon. I fear the Petruvians have betrayed us,” he told her.

“Ghedi?” she asked, alarmed.

“No—he is a friend. He was the one who warned me. But the bonding cannot wait until Saturday. We must leave as soon as we can. They will be upon us if we do not move.”

If only she could tell him the Venators had already found them.

“I’m sorry,” he said, turning to her and reading the distress on her face. “I know it’s not the kind of news a bride wants to hear before her bonding.”

“No, no…it’s not that….” She wanted to tell him everything, but she did not have a choice. She would have to do what the Venator had ordered her to do. Oliver would die if she did not. She removed the velvet pouch from her pocket and, as if in a dream, she offered it to Jack.

“What’s this?” he asked.

Her hands shook. “I wanted to wait and give you this at the bonding, but since we have so little time…Will you wear this for me now?”

In answer, Jack held out his hand with a broad smile, and she slipped the ring on his finger. She whispered the words the Venator had ordered her to say. “This ring is a symbol of my faithfulness, it binds you to me, and my love shall hold you always.”

There. She’d done it.

She held his hand for a long moment, and with her finger traced two circles under his palm. The gesture was part of the code they had developed when they had been under the Countess’s “protection.” The two circles meant that they were being watched. They had developed the secret signs in order to communicate with each other and plan their escape while under the Venators’ guard.

Jack looked at the ring on his finger but his face betrayed nothing. Did he understand what she had just told him? Did he remember their code? He had to.

Oliver’s life depended on it.

A knock on the door interrupted them. “Jack? Schuyler? You have a visitor,” Ghedi said. They exchanged a wary glance. Schuyler steeled herself—had the Venators come back so soon? But when the door opened, the face that appeared was so beloved and familiar that she immediately rushed to greet the new arrival. “Bliss!”

“Sky!” Bliss Llewellyn burst into the room, her copper tresses bouncing. She moved with a new vibrancy, and Schuyler was glad to see her friend looking so well—there was color in her cheeks and her green eyes sparkled with life. There was something different about her—her arms did not bear the telltale sign of the sangre azul. She did not know what happened to Bliss, only that her friend had survived the darkness that had tried to claim her as its own. Bliss had come out on the other side, looking better than ever; and for that Schuyler was thankful.

She hugged her friend tightly. “You’re here.”

“Of course. Once Jack said you guys were getting bonded, how could I not be here for you?” Bliss smiled. “I know this was supposed to be a surprise, Jack, but I’m sorry, I couldn’t wait. I have awful news.”

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Schuyler asked, but she had an inkling that she already knew.

Bliss crossed her arms. “I saw Oliver at customs, and we were supposed to meet up at baggage claim to catch a cab to the hotel together. I waited for him and he never showed. I looked around and I felt like I was being watched. Venators, by the looks of them. They were everywhere. I managed to slip away, but I think they got Oliver.” Bliss explained that she and Jane Murray had been in Chicago when Jack had called. Since she was supposed to be gone for only a few days, she had left the Watcher to stay on the trail of the Hellhound they had been tracking. “Do you know why they would take him?”

“It’s the European Coven. They’re after us,” Schuyler explained. “The Countess wants us dead. She’s still loyal to her brother—Lucifer.”

Bliss nodded to indicate she understood. They were never too far from the threat of the Morningstar—she knew better than most.

“Schuyler, can you find Oliver in the glom? We need to see where he’s being held, and you carry his blood. You should be able to find him faster than I,” Jack said.

Schuyler closed her eyes. She knew Jack was right, but she had a feeling they were walking into a trap. The Venators wanted them to find Oliver. They were being jerked around like puppets, but she had no other options. She couldn’t tell Jack what had happened earlier, about the danger that came from the ring he wore on his finger. She could only trust that he remembered the meaning behind her signal, and that somehow, they would be able to outsmart the Venators. They had done it before.

She reached out into the spirit world, searching for her friend and former familiar. Ollie…where are you? Can you hear me? No harm could come to him, not to Oliver, not to Bliss, not to her dear friends who had come to Italy for the purpose of celebrating her bonding. Whatever happened, Schuyler promised she would keep them safe.

Oliver?

I’m here.

Are you all right?

For the moment. Where are you?

Coming to get you.

Schuyler opened her eyes. “They’re holding him in the Villa Malavolta, the old Villa Feri. In the tower room.”

“I will go,” Jack said, putting on his jacket.

Schuyler shook her head. “Not alone. We’ll come, too.”

“You’ll need us,” Bliss agreed. “Even if I’m just human now.” She waved off their confusion. “I’ll explain later. It’s a long story.”

Jack turned to Schuyler and shook his head. “I cannot risk it.” I cannot risk you.

“Jack,” Schuyler said softly. She took his hand, and glanced again at the traitorous ring he wore on his finger. “I am already in danger, my love, and you cannot protect me always. I can protect myself.”

And I need to be there to protect you, she thought, but could not say or send, lest the Venators hear.

FOUR

Lord of the Underworld

Jack knew he could not argue Schuyler out of joining the rescue party. He was glad she had Bliss with her—it would help to have a friend fighting by her side. Not that anything was going to happen, of course; he was going to make sure of it.

He pointed to the ceiling. “They’re right above us.”

The three of them had raced through the city’s ancient underground tunnels toward the intersection of Via del Podestà and Via Bernardo Martellini. The Florentine maze was identical to the one in Lutetia, and Jack had maneuvered through the twists and turns with ease. The building had been owned since the early fifteenth century by the same Blue Blood family that had close ties to the Medicis, but had recently been sold to an unknown bidder. Unlike most buildings in Florence, the villa had a basement so that its first floor would be symmetrical to the road. The tunnels led directly to its basement, and they had arrived in mere moments.