Company of Angels 02 - The Demoness of Waking Dreams

her.
    * * *
     
    Getting Jude to Venice was so easy, Luciana could have done it in her sleep.
    After dealing with the Company of Angels, manipulating humans was a walk in the park, the demoness realized. Human minds were so malleable. After dealing with stubbornly strong-willed Brandon and his complicated dream sequences, Jude was like dealing with a child.
    Nor did the airport security present a problem, for the human security guards were just as easy to manipulate as Jude. Sitting on the flight home, she finally relaxed for the first time in a very long while, more content than she had been the last time she had departed from America.
    “We’re going to a very lovely place,” she said aloud to Jude, who sat next to her.
    Jude, eyes glazed over because she had temporarily suspended his brain functioning, did not answer. However, the fact that Luciana was conversing with herself didn’t spoil her mood in the least.
    Prendere due piccione con una fava. Kill two birds with one stone.
    The expression arose in her mind again.
    In one stroke, she would finally complete her yearly sacrifice.
    And exact revenge for Brandon’s human death.
    * * *
     
    A beat behind Luciana, Brandon arrived at the airport in Detroit and strode up to a ticket counter.
    “I’m sorry, sir,” said the ticket agent. “You just missed our only direct flight to Venice today.”
    His gaze skimmed the dozens of departures listed on the electronic board behind her. “There must be another way. What’s the fastest connection you can get me?”
    Her fingers rattled over her computer keyboard as her eyes scanned its screen. “I can route you through London. It’s a very tight connection, but you might make it.”
    “Do it.”
    Sitting on the plane, he forced himself to sit still without fidgeting. Time was of the essence. His ability to guess Luciana’s destination would determine if Jude lived or died.
    Why Jude’s life was so important to him, Brandon didn’t know. He knew only that it was important, even after what Jude had done.
    Brandon stared out the window, into the clouds.
    Where is she going?
    The Redentore Church is too obvious. She’ll never go back there.
    A voice drifted into his head. Not Luciana’s voice, but the voice of her sister, the day he had met Carlotta in the glass gallery. “…the pieces are lovingly crafted on the neighboring Island of Murano, where all the studios were originally established because of the risk of fire…”
    And he knew exactly where the demoness was headed.
    * * *
     
    On Corbin’s yacht, still anchored in St. Mark’s Basin, Massimo stood in front of the Archdemon, offering his services as a Gatekeeper.
    “I’m so glad you’ve come around to my way of thinking,” said the Archdemon. “Now we can work together, toward our mutual goal. The downfall of the Company. And more than that. The downfall of humankind.”
    “Yes, signore, ” Massimo said.
    “Luciana trained you well. But you must forget your allegiance to her. She abandoned you to run off with that brute of an angel, Brandon. You know he was responsible for the disappearance of your little girlfriend, don’t you?”
    “Yes, signore, ” he repeated.
    In Massimo’s heart, revenge was brewing.
    And it was only a matter of time before he would be able to savor it.

Chapter Twenty-Two
     
    L uciana dragged her sacrifice toward her destination. This time, it was not to the Redentore Church. On landing at the airport in Venice, she commandeered a boat and drove out to the nearby island of Murano.
    To the place she had sworn she would never come.
    To the place she knew she could finish off the sacrifice, once and for all.
    “I’m taking you somewhere very special,” she told Jude as she steered the boat. “We’re going to visit a fornace, a glassblowing factory. You’re going to get an exclusive opportunity to experience the glassworks as no other tourist has before.”
    Jude continued to stare blankly into space, not registering their surroundings or her words. She slowed as she approached the island, winding the boat through the canals until she reached the building she was looking for, where she pulled up and tethered the boat. She led him out onto the fondamenta, guiding him toward the fornace.
    Like the glass gallery in the Rio Tera dei Assassini, the factory had a storefront where products were sold to tourists. Rows of glassware stood in the darkness. Much like the gallery at this time of night, it was totally