Succubus Shadows Page 0,56

life had darkened me, I'd thrown myself into being a succubus, never questioning Hell's role or the corrupting of men like Niccol貌.

"Yes," she agreed. "Sometimes they are." Her smile vanished. "This isn't up for debate. You will yield your stash immediately. And maybe try to seduce Father Betto while you're at it. That'd be a nice perk."

"But I - " The word "can't" was on my lips, and I bit it off. Under the scrutiny of her stare and power, I felt very small and very weak. You don't cross demons. I swallowed. "Yes, Tavia."

The next time Niccol貌 and I made love, he managed a tired but happy attempt at conversation in his post-sex exhaustion. "Lenzo's going to bring me one of his paintings tomorrow. Wait until you see it. It shows Venus and Adonis - "

"No."

He lifted his head up. "Hmm?"

"No. Don't bring me any more." It was hard, oh God, it was so hard speaking to him in such a cold tone. I kept reminding myself of what I was and what I had to do.

A frown crossed his handsome face. "What are you talking about? You've already collected so much - "

"I don't have them anymore. I gave them up to Savonarola."

"You...you're joking."

I shook my head. "No. I contacted his Bands of Hope this morning. They came and took it all."

Niccol貌 struggled to sit up. "Stop it. This isn't funny."

"It's not a joke. They're all gone. They're going to the fire. They're objects of sin. They need to be destroyed."

"You're lying. Stop this, Bianca. You don't mean - "

My voice sharpened. "They're wrong and heretical. They're gone."

Our eyes locked, and as he studied my face, I could see that he was starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, I spoke the truth. And I did. Sort of. I was very good at making people - especially men - believe what I wanted them to.

We dressed, and I took him to the storage room I'd previously hidden the objects in. He stared at the empty space, face pale and disbelieving. I stood nearby, arms crossed, maintaining a stiff and disapproving stance.

Eyes wide, he turned to me. "How could you? How could you do this to me?"

"I told you - "

"I trusted you! You said you'd keep them safe!"

"I was wrong. Satan clouded my judgment."

He gripped my arm painfully and leaned close to me. "What have they done to you? Did they threaten you? You wouldn't do this. What are they holding against you? Is it that priest you're always visiting?"

"No one made me do this," I replied bleakly. "It's the right thing to do."

He pulled back, like he couldn't stand my touch, and my heart lurched painfully at the look in his eyes. "Do you know what you've done? Some of those can never be replaced."

"I know. But it's better this way."

Niccol貌 stared at me for several more seconds and then stumbled for the door, uncaring of the curfew or his weakened state. I watched him go, feeling dead inside. He's just another man, I thought. Let him go. I'd had so many in my life; I'd have so many more. What did he matter?

Swallowing tears, I crept downstairs to the lower level, careful not to wake the sleeping household. I'd made the same journey last night, painstakingly carrying part of the horde down here - a part that I didn't give to the Church's minions.

Splitting the art and books had been like choosing which of my children had to live or die. The silks and velvets had been mindless; all of them went to Fra Savonarola. But the rest...that had been difficult. I'd let most of Ovid go. His works were so widespread, I had to believe copies of them would survive - if not in Florence, then perhaps some other place untouched by this bigotry. Other authors, those whom I feared had a limited run, stayed with me.

The paintings and sculptures proved hardest of all. They were one of a kind. I couldn't hope that other copies might exist. But I'd known I couldn't keep them all either, not with Tavia checking in. And so, I'd chosen those which I thought most worth saving, protecting them from the Church. Niccol貌 couldn't know that, though.

I didn't see him for almost three weeks, until we ran into each other at Savonarola's great burning. History would later know it as the Bonfire of the Vanities. It was a great pyramid stuffed with fuel and sin. The zealous threw more