true enemy. Which was still an unknown. I considered this new information carefully. My sister had believed in Greed. I’d believed in Wrath. And Envy was still the obvious murderer except . . . he hadn’t bragged about ripping hearts from anyone’s body, and he didn’t have my amulet. Which meant our murderer could still be out there. “Domenico isn’t really on the mainland, is he?”
“No,” Signore Nucci admitted, sniffling. “He’s at the monastery.”
All roads kept leading back to the monastery. And I no longer believed in coincidences.
My sister’s body was found there.
Claudia’s scrying session went horribly wrong there.
Domenico prayed there almost daily, but, according to Claudia, he also spoke with members of the brotherhood. I’d bet anything he may have confided his troubles to the wrong person, especially with how they acted the night I found Claudia.
I bid Signore Nucci good-bye and hurried off to hunt down my next clue.
Before Vittoria was murdered and my world went to Hell, Nonna said there were witch hunters actively seeking prey on the island. I’d ruled them out after I’d summoned Wrath and found three other princes of Hell roaming the earth. But maybe I’d been too hasty.
If someone wanted to kill witches, the holy order was the perfect suspect. Who better to eradicate the world from evil than those ordained by God?
I thought back to the night I’d found Claudia, to Brother Carmine, who’d had a murderous gleam in his eyes. He’d stepped forward, looking hungry for blood. I knew he despised witches, and he hadn’t given one of his vitriolic speeches in the marketplace in years. I could only imagine how much he’d love to climb back onto his soapbox and spew more hatred.
His open contempt for magic-users made him a prime suspect for a witch hunter.
Today, one way or another, I’d uncover the secrets the holy brotherhood were keeping.
Forty-Six
A group of robed figures was gathered in the courtyard. Tension was as thick as the summer heat among the brotherhood. One of their members was missing, and several young women were dead. I wasn’t surprised they were blaming the devil. I hid near the edge of the main building and my gaze swept around the crowd, searching for one member I knew I wouldn’t find.
Brother Carmine stood at the center, his hand punching the sky with each impassioned word that left his mouth. Apparently I’d arrived at the apex of his speech.
“Our God is a mighty God, and will not tolerate an infestation of evil,” he said. “We must lead by His example in these dark and troubling times. The hour of judgment is upon us. We must stop the devil before he sows the seeds of his wicked ways! Come, let us speak the Good Word to our fellow man. Let us lead them into their Salvation.”
“Amen!” they all yelled in unison.
The crowd disbanded toward the city, off to save human souls. I inched around the corner and released a tight breath. Brother Carmine wasn’t talking about the devil breaking the curse, but what he said was a little alarming in its accuracy. For once, human souls really were in danger. My suspicion of him deepened. If a mysterious group of witch hunters had formed, it was very, very likely I’d just located them. I was contemplating whether or not I should follow him when I felt the call of magic coming from within the monastery. It was just like the night I’d found Vittoria’s body.
If not more powerful.
Maybe I was just better at sensing it now. Or perhaps it had something to do with the full set of horns in my possession. I removed my sister’s cornicello from where I’d hidden it in my dress and held it up. Even for a non-human witch it seemed sacrilegious to wear the devil’s horns into a holy space. But there was no way I’d go inside without protection. I slipped her cornicello on along with the one I already wore, feeling a prickle of magic in my veins.
Before I slipped inside, I cast one final look around. All was quiet now. The brotherhood was gone. I crossed the small courtyard and pushed the door open. As I hurried past the mummies in an otherwise empty corridor, I felt . . . something watching.
I turned in place, and scanned the hallway that used to cause my heart to speed and my hands to shake. This time, when my pulse raced, it wasn’t because I was afraid of what I’d find. I