The Shadow Box: Paranormal Suspense and Dark Fantasy Thriller Novels

by Travis Luedke

It snapped them out of the trance their initial shock had induced. They raised the pontiff up again. His knees sagged, but they held him firm.

  “Take him to his apartments,” the captain ordered. “And send for the physician.”

  His men carried the ailing Pius away. The captain stood there alone and gazed at the door. Blood still covered his hands. He looked at it with disdain, and wiped it on his uniform. His attention returned to the door. What he had just witnessed intrigued him greatly. What did this to the pope? Was it the door?

  In the short time he had spent with Pius, something else had happened within the vault. The energy there continued to build, but it had no outlet. Andrei grew more and more alert. His mind focused on those trying to gain access to the vault, and then to him.

  He visualised the door in his mind. Even confined to his crypt, he could see it. That, and the man attempting to gain entry through it. The light that filled the vault drew further on the energy coming from his body. Almost at once, the metal heated up. Even on the outside, the captain sensed its warmth. He gripped the handle in both hands, just as Pius had done before him, determined that he would open it.

  And then he screamed. The metal scorched both his palms and his fingers. He tried to let go, but could not. It melted his flesh until the two welded into one. He screamed again, louder than before. Two of his guards ran over and watched him slide to the floor, although he still gripped the handle.

  The guards grabbed an arm each. Their captain cried out again when they tugged. After a short time, his hands came free. He looked down in shock at his palms. They had burned all the way through to the bone. His flesh sizzled on the metal, stuck to it like glue, though blackened and charred.

  His men pulled him clear, feeling his body shake in their grip. The captain mumbled something they did not quite hear. Then he passed out.

  Inside the vault, the blue light vanished with the threat gone. Pius would not again attempt to gain access. Andrei closed his eyes once more. His heart ceased to beat as he returned again to paradise.

  Pius recovered after a few days. Fear gripped him inside when he recalled the events at the vault. He worried more that he had failed Lucifer. The Dark One would be furious with him.

  He racked his brain for a solution. There was not one he could think of, and it left him a grim future. Nobody reneged on a contract with Lucifer. Even so, Pius knew there was no way into the vault. The guards recounted to him what had happened after they had carried him away. He would have to think of another way out of this mess.

  A smile crossed his face for the first time. Lucifer and his demons cannot enter the inner sanctum of the Vatican. As long as I remain within these walls, he cannot harm me.

  Lucifer knew it too. From a distance, he read the thoughts of the man he had given the papacy. He curled his lower lip in anger. One way or another, Pius would pay the price for failing him. While Pius officially took up his office on October 8, Lucifer was already hatching a new scheme to bring him down.

  Chapter 40

  SIENA. THE ESTATE OF PANDOLFO PETRUCCI.

  OCTOBER 8, 1503.

  Lucifer surfaced next in Siena. There, he intended to call in an old debt. Pandolfo Petrucci was the most powerful man in the state. This had not always been the case. After a life in politics, his enemies exiled him in 1483. He had spent years living in the shadow of his wealthy brother, Jacopo.

  In his darkest days, Lucifer came to him and offered him his brother’s fortune and power. This he could have in exchange for his soul. It was a deal he was more than happy to make. At seventy years of age, he had few prospects. He returned to Siena and became captain of the city guard in 1495. His brother died two years later, in which event Petrucci seized his fortune and his office.

  He married Aurelia Borghese soon after, a daughter of the powerful Niccolo Borghese. With the backing of her father, he gained a number of political offices. This added to his vast wealth, and also increased his political power tenfold. Many of these offices he sold for huge sums. Others he gave to his friends to consolidate his authority.

  With his growing power, he made many enemies. In 1500, he learned of a plot to murder him, led by his father-in-law. He smashed the plot and killed all the conspirators. From then on, he imposed his tyrannical grip on the city.

  Lucifer found him in the stables on his estate. Petrucci had been out riding all morning, as he liked to do. When he was alone, Lucifer made his move.

  “Pandolfo,” he said, without any manner of greeting.

  The governor knew the voice, and turned to see Lucifer standing there.

  “I see you have not forgotten me.”

  “How could I forget you? All that I have, you gave to me.”

  “Yes,” Lucifer agreed, nodding. “That is so.”

  “You have come to collect on my debt? My time has come to an end?”

  “Yes and no. That would depend on you.”

  Petrucci patted the stallion on the side of its neck and turned away from it. He had long dreaded this day, though he knew it would come. “What do you mean, Majesty?”

  Lucifer sensed an increase in Petrucci’s heart rate, but liked the man’s confidence and lack of fear. “I want you to do me a service.”

  “And then?”

  “If you succeed, I shall free you of your debt to me.”

  Petrucci processed the statement quickly in his mind. “You would give me back my soul?”

  “Yes.”

  Petrucci had acquired much wisdom with age. “But you are not in the habit of giving back souls, not once you have acquired them.”

  “That is very true,” Lucifer said, his voice taking on a sinister edge. “Though I am willing to make an exception, in this case.”

  The governor did not know that to be spared an eternity in Hell, did not mean he would have access to Heaven. He had a black soul whether Lucifer freed him or not. His fate would be to wander the earth for eternity after his death, trapped and alone, denied contact with any other soul, living or dead. Many walked that path now and would welcome a change, even in Hell.

  Petrucci nodded his understanding, relieved at the reprieve Lucifer had offered him. “Then the favour you ask must be a hefty one.”

  “But of course.”

  “Then what would you have me do?”

  “I want you to kill Pius.”

  “The new pope?”

  “Yes, and I want it done very soon.”

  “He owes you too?”

  “Oh, yes, he owes me.”

  “Then why not collect on his debt? No man can resist you, if that is what you desire.”

  “He is different. The walls of the Vatican protect him from me.”

  “That is why you need me?”

  Lucifer sighed at the question. Why are mortals such stupid creatures? It is no wonder I have never liked man. He is so flawed. Yet my Father favours him over me. It made his blood boil even still.

  Petrucci knew he had annoyed him. “How does one kill the pope? He is so well protected.”

  “There are ways to achieving any end.”

  “In the Vatican, as you say, he can escape even your clutches.”

  “Think on it.”

  “He has a mistress?”

  “Yes, Gina Orsini. I gave her to him.”

  “I have seen her. A rare beauty, she is. I cannot imagine she would even look upon him.”

  “That is why he needed me.”

  “Then I should use her to reach him.”

  “Yes, but do it soon.”

  “I cannot do it myself. It is not safe for me in Rome. Cesare Borgia would surely use it as his chance to kill me.”

  “Pius has thrown him in prison.”

  “I have not heard of this.”

  “It is so. Borgia shall not get in your way.”

  “Perhaps I can use it to my advantage?”

  “What you do is for you to decide. Have Pius dead before the week draws to a close.”

  Chapter 41

&nbs
p; ROME PROVINCE. THE APARTMENTS OF

  POPE PIUS III AT THE VATICAN ENCLAVE

  IN THE CITY OF ROME.

  OCTOBER 15, 1503.

  Pius had not seen Gina in almost ten days, and he missed her the same as a warrior might miss his sword arm. All that made her the woman she was, he adored. Her face, her smell, her smile, her soft voice, her even softer touch, the warmth of her mouth; he loved all these things.

  She also began to miss him. For a long time now, he had consumed her whole being. Her need for him burned strong within her. She felt if she did not see him again soon, she would go mad. For the last three days, she had despatched a messenger several times with a letter.

  He read them all. With each one, his need for her grew ever stronger, but he could not leave the sanctity of the Vatican. If he did, then Lucifer would surely pounce. The last time the messenger called, he gave him a reply to take to her.

  Her heart missed a beat when she held the letter in her hands. She ripped it open and read his words. Smiling, she clutched it to her breast. “He shall see me on the morrow,” she whispered to herself. “He shall see me on the morrow.”

  She slept hardly a wink that night. The next day, she mulled about her home, wishing away the hours. In the early evening, she took a long soak in her bath. She applied her nicest scents and dressed in the clothes he liked to see on her.

  It was rare for Gina to venture out in these times. The tertian fever still claimed many in the city. That was far from her thoughts now. She wanted only to see her lover. Her escort helped her into the carriage, and then sat on top with his colleague. They began the short journey, with a third man sat in the carriage beside her.

  Her father never liked to take any risks with her safety. When she left home, her escorts went too. The last few years had seen some bad elements flood into the city. It made the streets unsafe, and he feared for her. For a woman, Rome was not a good place at all. There was also the threat from Cesare Borgia, his most hated enemy. He had lost much of his wealth to this man, stolen one way or another. His daughter, he could not afford to lose. For Borgia, she would be a great prize for which he could extract any ransom or favour. He therefore employed good men to stay at her side any time she left their home.

  Night closed in, and dark shadows cloaked the narrow streets. Gina’s escorts scrutinised them. They never dropped their guard, not even for a moment. A carriage approached them from the opposite direction. In the narrow street, the man at the helm had to slow the team of horses.

  It gave the driver a bad feeling. The soldier beside him felt the same, and he moved his cape to one side to place a hand on the hilt of his sword.

  Two men sprang up from under a cover on the top of the other carriage. Both held bows in hand with an arrow at the ready. The soldier could not react in time, or avoid the arrow that ripped through his larynx. His hands flopped to his sides as he fell from the carriage. He crashed down onto the road, his skull smashing against the stones before one of the heavy wheels from the carriage crushed his spine.

  The driver fell in the same moment, the missile intended for him striking him in the right eye. It sliced through the soft jelly of his brain and exploded out through the back of his head. He fell down too, but in the path of the oncoming team from the other carriage. The horses trampled him into the road.

  Gina cried out. Both she and her escort felt the wheels run over the other soldier. They heard two thuds on the roof above their heads before the carriages crunched against each other as they passed. The horses in both teams whinnied out loud and bolted.

  The jolt knocked both Gina and her escort from their seats. They landed on the floor in a heap, Gina lying on top of him. He tried to push her clear. The thuds on the roof, he knew, were hostiles jumping onto their carriage.

  The two men climbed down it on either side. By the time Gina’s escort had regained his feet, they were upon him. With a blade in hand, one of the men drove it into his lower back. He climbed into the carriage, and drove the blade into the escort a second time. Gina screamed as she watched her escort fall.

  The second man tried to enter the carriage from the other side.

  “Go and control the team!” the killer shouted at him.

  Gina froze when he looked in her eyes. His companion climbed back onto the top of the carriage to try and grab the reins.

  “It is good to see you, Signorina,” the man said, grinning.

  She reached out with both hands to claw at his eyes. He grabbed her wrists and pushed her down again.

  “Do not touch me!” she screamed.

  “There is someone who wants to meet you.”

  When she looked up again, he punched her hard in the jaw. The blow knocked her out cold.

  * * *

  “HOLY Father, there is a man here to see you.”

  Pius looked up at his guard. He had expected Gina some time ago, and her failure to show left him anxious and agitated. “Tell him to call back another time. I am not seeing anyone right at this time. I am waiting on Gina.”

  The guard hovered for a moment. “He said he must see you, that he has a message from Signorina Orsini.”

  “What is this message?”

  “He would not tell me. He said it is for your ears only.”

  Pius thought about it a moment. Has something happened to Gina? He grew worried. She should have been there, and he needed to know what was wrong. “Send him in, then.”

  The man entered the room. He had the appearance of a soldier of fortune. Although dressed like a noble, he had a brash look about him. It suggested he was not born into his status.

  “You have a message for me?” Pius asked him.

  The man looked around at the guard. “It is a message I must deliver alone.”

  The guard stepped forward. “So you can harm the Holy Father?”

  Pius laughed at him. “You cannot hope to see me without the presence of one of my guards.”

  “Then I shall leave.”

  Pius’s mood turned to one of anger. The stranger was taking a great liberty here. “I can have you arrested and thrown in a cell.”

  “I have come in good faith,” the man said. “I do not mean you any harm.”

  “Then deliver your message in the presence of my guard.”

  “I cannot. The message I have is for your ears only.”

  Pius sighed with frustration. He wanted more than anything to hear what the man had to say.

  “I owe allegiance to no man,” his visitor said. “If any guard raises a hand to me, then I shall defend myself. And I am well able to do so.”

  “Then would you swear an oath on the Holy Bible?”

  The man nodded. “Yes, that I can do.”

  The guard picked up the Bible from a nearby table. “Put your hand on it,” he ordered the man.

  The man did as instructed.

  “Swear you shall not harm the Holy Father in any way.”

  “I swear it,” the man said.

  Pius looked to his guard. “You can leave us, but remain close at hand.”

  The guard could not believe that the pope would entertain the stranger. Still, he had to do as ordered and left the two of them alone.

  “Very well,” Pius said. “Speak.”

  “You need to know Signorina Orsini shall not be coming this night.”

  The pope looked worried. “Why ever not? What is wrong?”

  “My people have her.”

  “What? You have kidnapped her?”

  “We are holding her, yes.”

  Pius flew into a rage; he was so incensed that a trickle of blood escaped his nose.

  “Sit down, old man,” the stranger said. “I do not want your heart to give way.”

  Pius sat down, his face sunken. He looked totally jaded. They had him where they wanted him. He knew right there and then that his time left in the world was short. “Old man? That is a fine way to address your pope.”

  The stranger remained unmoved. “You are nobody to me.”


  “And the oath you swore?”

  “Mere words. It means little to me either.”

  “So you are going to kill me?”

  “No, it is not my place.”

  “Then what is to happen next?”

  “That would depend on you.”

  “Why does it?”

  “How much do you love your mistress?”

  “So you would use her to lure me away from the palace?”

  “I use any means I deem necessary.”

  “You are Lucifer’s henchman!”

  “What? I fear you are losing your mind, old man.”

  “If not on his account, then why are you here?”

  “I am following orders.”

  “I should have your insolent tongue cut from your mouth.”

  “Then you would lose.”

  Pius sat forward. His eyes widened as he drew on the last bit of courage he had left. “Why? Your tongue would go well with a dish of potatoes.”

  “Then I would not be able to lead you to your lover.”

  “And why would I want you to?”

  “If you are not there within the hour, then my men shall each have her, one at a time? When they are done, they shall cut her throat.”

  The threat horrified Pius. He could not bear the thought of another man touching her. The threat, though, was real. He did not doubt it for a moment. If he did not go, then his beloved Gina would die.

  “I did not think that idea would appeal to you,” the man said, showing no emotion.

  “To where is it I must go?”

  “You shall see. My master wants to see you.”

  “Lucifer!”

  “What are you saying? You need to hurry. The clock is ticking.”

  Chapter 42

  ROME PROVINCE. THE VATICAN ENCLAVE

  IN ROME.

  OCTOBER 15, 1503.

  The guards watched Pius walk out with the stranger. “Holy Father?” one of them asked. “Is all well?”

  “Yes,” he answered. “I must go with this man.”