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  The pain in my head had also disappeared, and now all I was left with was a tingling sensation in my hand.

  I looked down at my arm and realized that a sharp turn by Dame Elisabeth had caused me to hit my funny bone against the door, snapping me out of whatever trance I’d been in.

  “Everything okay?” Asher looked at me.

  “Yeah. I think so,” I muttered, stretching out my arm to get feeling back in my fingertips. I wasn’t sure what had just happened, but it was gone now. The only thing that remained was the knowledge that something having to do with the spear was still happening to me.

  And my gut told me it was something bad.

  I wanted to tell Asher everything I’d seen. Maybe he could help me make sense of it. But I was afraid to say too much while we were with Dame Elisabeth. I sunk back into the leather seat, waiting for my heart to slow to normal.

  A few minutes later, she pulled the car into a side passage and brought it to a stop. A panel above us slid open, letting in a faint light, and the floor rose on some type of lift. When it all stopped, we found ourselves in the middle of a messy and cramped garage.

  “Is this it?” Asher put his hand on the door handle. “The safe house?”

  “Not quite. Stay put.” Dame Elisabeth got out and went to a wall lined with shelves that held paint cans, tools, and other junk.

  She tilted a can forward, and the wall slid back to reveal a hidden room. Flicking on a light, she grabbed a large duffel bag and stuffed it with a laptop, some other electronic equipment, and a small leather backpack.

  My mouth popped open in surprise. This very proper-looking woman was so much more than what she appeared. My grandmother was hard-core.

  Tossing everything in the trunk of the car, she returned to the driver’s seat. “Now we’re ready to go to the safe house,” she said.

  We exited the garage and made a right turn onto one of Rome’s busy streets. Dame Elisabeth spoke up again. “I should’ve asked you before, but neither of you have a cell phone or any other electronics on you, right?”

  “I have one, but it can’t be traced and I haven’t used it,” Asher said.

  Dame Elisabeth lowered the window next to him. “Toss it.”

  “But it’s a burner phone. We might need—”

  She slammed on the brake, sending me crashing into the back of her seat.

  A car honked and swerved in order to avoid ramming us from behind, but Dame Elisabeth ignored it.

  “Toss it,” she repeated, looking back at him with a deadly serious expression. “My orders aren’t up for discussion. Understand?”

  I nudged Asher. We needed her help, which meant doing what she asked of us.

  Asher grimaced as he threw the phone toward the sidewalk.

  “Good.” Dame Elisabeth started the car again and focused on the road ahead. “I can’t take the chance of having any electronics traced when we get on the highway toward Malafede. We’ll be there soon.”

  “Malafede?” Having been in Rome for less than a year, I was still unfamiliar with the names of the different neighborhoods and suburbs that surrounded the city. “Do you have an apartment there?”

  “It’s not in the city,” Asher said, his face tense with worry. “Malafede is a national park. There’s nothing out there.”

  “Don’t worry, I have a small cottage hidden away near the lowlands. I used to go there for bird-watching and to escape the city.” Dame Elisabeth smiled. “No one will find us. It’s very secluded.”

  Asher shook his head in silent disapproval. “But if they do,” he muttered, “no one will hear us scream, either.”

  At first Malafede was a place of large open fields and only small patches of shrubs and trees. Then, gradually, the forest became more dense. There was a sense of solitude and peace in the air, and I could see why Dame Elisabeth chose to come here.

  When we pulled up to the cottage itself, it was almost exactly what I’d expected of a small place tucked among the trees in the middle of nowhere: tiny rooms, wooden floors, and not much furniture. We had taken several dirt roads in order to get there, and I could see why Dame Elisabeth considered the place a secure location. But Asher was right: The isolation made us vulnerable.

  Once inside, Dame Elisabeth flipped a large lever on the wall next to the front door. “All right. The security system is now armed and ready.”

  “A house alarm?” I asked.

  “No, better than that. A perimeter alarm that circles the property with an invisible fence about a kilometer out. It’ll give us a few minutes’ warning if someone approaches the area.” She yanked off a large white cloth that was draped over a leather couch, kicking a cloud of dust into the air.

  “Where do I put this?” Asher had lugged the large duffel bag into the house. I could tell he was straining a bit to hold it up.

  “You can set it down over there.” Dame Elisabeth pointed to a small table next to the kitchen. “Thank you.”

  “Won’t animals trigger the alarm?” I asked. “I’m sure there are some wandering around here.”

  Dame Elisabeth unzipped the bag and pulled out a bunch of electronic equipment, including the laptop, and placed it on the kitchen table. “No, it emits a high-frequency sound that scares off most animals. Humans can’t hear it.” She glanced up at Asher, who was hovering over the table of electronics. She snapped a wire into place and gave him a stern glare. “Make sure you don’t touch any of this. It’s very sensitive.”

  Asher raised his hands and took a step back.

  “This place is nice,” I observed, trying to keep the peace. I sat down in a wooden rocking chair by the window. It was beautifully carved, and placed with a view of the fireplace and of the woods out the window. The whole space was rugged, yet refined. Like my grandmother.

  “Yes, well, the cabin isn’t really designed for more than two people, but we’ll make do.” She adjusted some dials on one of the boxes, then focused on Asher and me. “There’s a bedroom over there with a bed big enough for Cassie and me to share, and, Asher, you can sleep on the sofa tonight until we make other arrangements for you.”

  “I’m not leaving Cassie,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “Well, you’re a minor, and your family—”

  “I have no family. Not anymore.” I could hear the sadness in his voice. “And I’m not leaving Cassie.”

  Dame Elisabeth eyed the two of us for a moment. “Very well,” she replied, turning her attention to the laptop. “In the meantime, you can make yourself useful and get some wood for the fireplace. The cottage can get a bit chilly at night.”

  “Um …” Asher stayed where he was. He silently mouthed to me, “Should I go?”

  I couldn’t see the harm in him going, and I certainly wasn’t afraid to stay with Dame Elisabeth by myself. I nodded my approval.

  “There’s a shed about fifty yards toward the back. You should be able to find an ax and some logs to chop back there.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Asher replied, and headed outside.

  “And, Cassie,” Dame Elisabeth added without looking up from the electronic gadgets, “you can check out the kitchen and take stock of what food we have.”

  There wasn’t much to take stock of because most of the food was survival-style, military-looking food packages that didn’t expire for another fifteen years. All the packages were covered with a heavy layer of dust. It was obvious she hadn’t been here in a while.

  “You have twenty-seven meal packages,” I reported a few minutes later. “Four of them say chicken and rice, but the rest are beef Stroganoff.” I couldn’t help making a face, but immediately regretted doing so. I knew it made me seem very immature. I pointed to the equipment on the table. “What is this stuff exactly?”

  “Our link with the outside world. Not even the Hastati can access it.” She smiled. “The finest satellite technology that China, Russia, and the US military can supply.”

  “Wow.”

  Dame Elisabeth swiveled to face me. “I�
�m sending an encrypted message to a friend. He’s going to make sure that your information about Sarah Bimington reaches the Hastati and the Knights.”

  I still wasn’t completely over the shock of learning that I had a grandmother, let alone the fact that she was involved with the Knights of Malta, but this took things to another level.

  “Don’t look so surprised, Cassandra. You come from a line of very strong, resourceful women.” She smiled warmly at me, her eyes crinkling at the sides. “We know how to answer the call when the time is right. You will, too.”

  “What call?” Asher asked, coming into the room, arms heaped high with logs and kindling.

  Dame Elisabeth shifted her gaze to him, but the soft look stayed on her face. “Whatever we’re called to do in this life. The Lord has plans for each of us … It’s all a matter of choosing which path to follow.”

  Choices. That was my problem. I had only used the spear once, and that one choice had apparently set the world on a path toward destruction. Again I thought of the visions I’d seen when I’d entered the Realm of Possibilities. Of the one that still haunted me: people in hazmat suits walking among scores of dead bodies that littered the streets of Rome …

  I couldn’t let it happen. I had to get the spear back and reenter the Realm of Possibilities so I could choose a different future.

  “Cassie. Cassie.” Dame Elisabeth touched my arm. “Are you okay?”

  “Huh?” I snapped back to the moment at hand. My skin was covered in goose bumps.

  “You seemed lost in your thoughts,” she said.

  I fiddled with the ring Brother Gregorio had made me wear, and then stopped, remembering it was embedded with a poison that could kill me. “I was just thinking about everything that’s happened. Nothing else.”

  “Mm-hm.” Dame Elisabeth studied me for a few seconds. “Well, I see the Hastati already have you both wearing their rings. I’ll see if I can find a way to remove them without releasing the venom.”

  I couldn’t believe she knew what the rings were.

  “How do you know about these things?” Asher asked, staring down at his own finger.

  She smirked. “There’s not much about the Hastati that I don’t know.”

  “Here, have a seat,” she said, pulling out the chair next to her. “Instead of talking about the rings, why don’t you tell me about what happened to you? We have some time.”

  “I’m not sure where to start,” I said, sitting down next to her.

  “Let’s begin with Simone. Tell me about how she stole the spear.”

  “Um, okay.” I glanced across the room at Asher. He was sprawled on the sofa, watching us intently. “It was … well, she used to be …” I tried to gather my thoughts, still unsure if I understood everything that had happened. “Simone helped her mother take it from us—but I don’t think she was really planning on stealing it … at least not in the beginning.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Asher interjected. “I think it was part of her plan, or her mother’s plan, all along. Get us to trust her, and then, when we let our guard down, that’s when she’d betray us.”

  “No.” I faced him. “You don’t know her like I do. She was my best friend. When we found Brother Gregorio dead, she probably panicked.”

  “So, she secretly called her mother while we weren’t looking, filled her in on everything having to do with the Hastati, and then handed over the spear to her … all because she panicked? Without consulting either one of us.” He shook his head. “C’mon, Cassie, just admit it. Simone’s not the person you thought she was. She was never really your friend.”

  I jumped up. “How would you know? You met us both a couple of days ago. You have no idea who either of us are!”

  Asher’s jaw muscles tensed. “I know you, Cassie. I knew you before we ever met.”

  “What does that mean?” I said, exasperated with him. “You don’t even make sense.”

  “He means that he’s your Guardian, Cassie.” Dame Elisabeth smiled, unbothered by our argument.

  “Huh? Yeah, well … but …” I stammered, thinking that she might have also figured out that I was bound to the spear. I glanced at Asher.

  “I can see by your reaction that this is something you both already knew. I’m guessing Gregorio informed you of it.”

  Once again, Asher intervened. “Yes, my uncle told me it was what I was born to do. That everyone who is marked and becomes bound to the spear has a Guardian. And that being a Guardian to Cassie would be my role to fill one day … if she ever became bound.” His eyes were focused right on me, even while he spoke to Elisabeth. “That’s why I knew about her even before we met. Before she knew what her role would be.”

  “I was never told anything about who I was,” I muttered. My dad had spent years trying to locate the spear, but had never told me the truth about my heritage. My thoughts turned back to my dad, who we’d left lying in a hospital room. I’d told him to meet us at the Knights of Malta compound, and I’d meant to get in touch with him sooner. By now he could already have gotten there, only to find me gone!

  “Wait!” I exclaimed, turning to Dame Elisabeth. “I need to get in touch with my father, before we do anything else.”

  “Your father?” A concerned look flashed across Dame Elisabeth’s face.

  “Yes.” I turned to Asher. “We need to let him know that I’m okay. That our plans changed.”

  Asher nodded. “We could have someone go to him or leave a message at the Priorato.”

  “One minute. Are you talking about … ?” Dame Elisabeth left the end of the question up in the air as if she was afraid to finish it.

  “My father. His name’s Felipe Arroyo, and we left him at a hospital.”

  “Oh, I see.” Dame Elisabeth’s shoulders relaxed and dropped a bit. “He is ill, I take it?”

  “No, not really,” I explained, not understanding why Dame Elisabeth looked so relieved. “I mean, he was recovering from a gunshot wound and all, but what stopped him from coming with us was some drug he was given. He was still too weak to walk when one of the Hastati’s assassins showed up. We had to leave, but I told him to meet us at the Priorato. He’ll freak out if I’m not there.”

  “I’ll make sure word gets to him that you’re safe.” Dame Elisabeth faced the equipment on the table. “We don’t want him stirring things up.”

  “Wait a minute.” Asher eyed her carefully. “Who did you think Cassie was talking about?”

  “Her father, as she said,” Dame Elisabeth answered. “I simply didn’t know his name.”

  But it seemed clear that wasn’t it. She’d gotten ruffled when I mentioned contacting my father. I had seen the confusion on her face when I talked about Papi. Suddenly, it dawned on me.

  “My biological father,” I said. “That’s who you thought I was talking about.”

  Dame Elisabeth stayed quiet and continued typing.

  “You know who he is … don’t you?” Asher took a few steps to stand next to me.

  Her posture stiffened and she shifted in her seat.

  I put my hand on her shoulder. “Please, I need to know who he is. There’ve been too many secrets already.”

  She stayed still for another moment, then turned and took my hand in hers. “Yes, yes, you do. But you have to understand that you are nothing like him. You are your mother’s daughter … I can see it in your eyes … you aren’t his.”

  Excitement welled up inside me. Obviously, Dame Elisabeth didn’t like him, but maybe this person would help us get the spear back. His blood ran through my veins, and it was that connection that had led me to accidentally save him from the brink of death when I thought I was saving Papi. My biological father might even know how to use the spear’s power to change what I’d seen in my visions. This could be the break we’d been waiting for!

  Dame Elisabeth sighed. “Your father is—was—Tobias.”

  My heart fell. I could feel the room swirling, and I stumbled back.

  It coul
dn’t be. Tobias was a madman who wanted to destroy the world. He was evil. He had tried to use the power of the spear to bring on the apocalypse.

  No, I told myself, this couldn’t be true.

  I took a deep, shaky breath and looked to Dame Elisabeth to tell me she had made a mistake. But she was watching me with pity in her eyes.

  I was the daughter of a monster.

  And, what was worse, I had brought that monster back from the dead.

  Asher had a look of horror on his face as his eyes met mine. He knew what this meant.

  Tobias wasn’t dead after all.

  The spear had misled me. I had thought I was using it to save my father, Felipe Arroyo, but it seemed like he’d never been in danger of dying. It had been Tobias’s death that I had sensed … and his life that I saved.

  The power of the spear must have come to me the moment he died, and then I brought him back to life by mistake.

  “Are you sure?” I squeaked out the words. “He’s my father?”

  “Yes.” Dame Elisabeth motioned for me to sit down. “How much do you know about Tobias?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I know that he killed people and had some crazy plan to get rid of most of the people on the planet.” I shook my head. “I can’t be related to him.”

  “Well, Tobias wasn’t always like that. Your mother loved him. He was charismatic and handsome. A real charmer.” She sighed. “And I do believe he loved her. But he changed after becoming bound to the spear.” She glanced away, recalling something from the past. “There was something ugly inside him. He slipped down a dark path … one where even she couldn’t reach him. In the end, she only feared him.”

  I had so many questions. About my mother, about my background, and now about Tobias. How had the spear changed him? Would it change me, too? These were things only Dame Elisabeth would know. “Is that why my mother left Italy?” I asked. “Why she ended up in the US with my dad … the one who raised me? Did she have it all planned out?”