Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

and Gostanz followed them, nearly running to keep up with Giovanni's long strides. Gently Nicoletta placed her hand against the don's blue-shadowed jaw. It took him a few moments as he rushed her through the palazzo to notice the tender gesture.
    Almost at once he could breathe more easily. She felt it. He felt it. By the time they had reached the bedchamber, he was back under some semblance of control.
    "Signorina Sigmora, I did not keep her as safe as I had hoped," Don Scarletti bit out between his teeth, each word clipped and precise. His eyes were very black, icy cold, his expression conjuring up the feel of a graveyard. "I wish you to see to her injuries while I join those hunting this snake. Gostanz will bring you whatever you need." He placed Nicoletta in the middle of the bed and bent to brush a kiss against her temple. "I fear you will have to be placed in that tower, or I will have no peace of mind." For a moment his hand touched the terrible marks on her throat and lingered there, his pain reflected in the depths of his dark eyes.
    Maria Pia watched him leave before she touched the swollen, bruised skin on Nicoletta's throat. "I do not think he was jesting, bambina." Tears filled the older woman's eyes. "I came very close to losing you."

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    "It was Aljandro. I did not feel the warning until it was too late, until he had his hands on me," Nicoletta whispered hoarsely. "I did not feel Cristano's death. How could such things be, Maria Pia? What is happening that I can no longer rely on what has always been a part of me?"
    Maria Pia patted her hand consolingly. "Hush now, bambina." Someone had to keep a clear head. "I will need fresh water, Gostanz." She wanted the man gone, out of hearing. She waited until he had disappeared before she sank onto the bed beside Nicoletta. "I do not know why your gift is failing you, Nicoletta, but it must be a frightening thing to lose it when you need it the most."
    Nicoletta looked at her with wide eyes, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "Suppose I haven't lost it, Maria Pia. It is possible Aljandro had no idea I was in the maze. I think he was as surprised as I was that he was about to walk right into me." She touched her throat and moistened her lips with her tongue. "The bird and the shadowing came just before he grabbed me." She sat way up and pushed at stray tendrils of hair that had escaped the knot she had tied. "It is possible that Aljandro did not come here to kill me, but that the don is his real target. I had no prior shadowing or warning because Aljandro was not prepared to strike yet."
    "You do not know that, Nicoletta," Maria Pia cautioned her. "And what of Cristano? How do you explain away his disappearance? Surely you do not believe he is alive."
    She took the bloodstained shirt from the bed where Nicoletta had dropped it.
    "In truth, Maria Pia, I do not know what happened to Cristano. No, he is not alive. I feel his death in that bit of cloth." Her voice was filled with sorrow. "But something else is wrong. Something is just beyond my reach, but I am missing it. Will you call Sophie for me?"
    "You cannot mean to expose the child to this vile conspiracy." As she had done all her life, Maria Pia was still protecting her young charges.
    "She is a part of this. I do not know why, but she has already been exposed to danger. If I am going to solve this riddle, I must have more pieces. I think Sophie can provide me with them. I will wrap a scarf around my neck to hide the marks. My voice is nearly normal again." Nicoletta's throat hurt abominably, and her voice was husky, but she was afraid to wait any longer. Something was very wrong in the palazzo, and she feared if she didn't find the answer soon, there would be more deaths.
    While Maria Pia went in search of the child, Nicoletta applied soothing herbs to the bruises on her throat and neck. Gostanz returned with the water, obviously upset by the event, his eyes anxious and grave. It occurred to Nicoletta that she had made a few friends in the palazzo after all. She was arranging a scarf around her throat when Sophie arrived, her bright eyes red from crying.
    Immediately Nicoletta held out her arms. "What is wrong, Sophie? And is Ketsia upset as well? We cannot have that. Maria Pia, will you see to Ketsia? Tell her I will join her in the kitchen in a few minutes."
    The older woman frowned. "I do not think the don wished you to leave