Lair of the Lion

Isabella had seen.
    Isabella shivered in the cold. "What is this place?"
    "This is where Sophia was buried, here beneath the floor." Francesca spoke in reverent tones, indicating the cross carved into the marble in the middle of the floor.
    "But there's nothing here," Isabella protested. "She should have candles, something to honor her. She wasn't guilty of the crimes they accused her of. Why isn't anyone taking care of her resting place?"
    Francesca looked astonished. "Because of her curse, of course."
    "And if the entity was already loose in the valley, preying on human weaknesses, don't you think, in that one moment, when her friends betrayed her, when her own husband betrayed her, it would feed her natural anger?" Isabella shrugged. "I find myself thinking of her often, wishing her well. What a terrible torment she has lived through. I hope at last she is with her husband and has found some happiness."
    "They all despise her—the 'others,' I mean. They blame her for locking them in the valley. None of them go near her. I don't know about her husband."
    Francesca made a soft sound of warning and turned her head to the side, her eyes closing.
    "She is here with us now." She was silent a moment, listening to whispers Isabella had no hope of hearing. "She thanks you for your generosity and kind thoughts. She warns you of great danger, of betrayal." Francesca entwined her fingers with Isabella's as if she could somehow hold rightly to her, prevent the dire predictions, the ominous warnings. "The evil was awakened when you arrived in the valley, and you are its greatest adversary. It is preying on Nicolai." Francesca looked stricken. "On me and all others it can use to harm you."
    "Please tell her I'm so sorry for all her pain and anguish. I hope to set her free. If I cannot, I look forward to meeting her in the afterlife." Isabella felt her heart pound at the thought of how she would meet her death.
    "She can hear you, Isabella, but she cannot aid you. Those trapped within the valley cannot give aid to the living. She says she can only remind you that she, who was strong and very much in love with her husband, fell prey to the entity. Your task is twofold. She is sorry for what she caused." Tears filled Francesca's eyes. "She's weeping. Alexander, her spouse, is in eternal torment, unable to reach her, unable to be with her, nor can she reach him."
    "Nicolai is a good man, well worth saving. I'll do my best. It's all I can do," Isabella said softly.
    Francesca heaved a sigh of relief. "She's gone now. I don't feel her." The cold had seeped into her blood. "Let's go quickly."
    Isabella allowed Francesca to drag her back through the maze of corridors, not really paying attention to the directions they took. Sophia had warned her of the danger Isabella had known all along was there. She couldn't abandon Nicolai and his people. She had grown to care about them. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms for warmth, she forced her mind from thoughts of Nicolai and the beast. She was determined to think of him only as a man. Someone had to see him as a man instead of a beast.
    For most of his life he had been shaped by his legacy, shaped by his isolation and his people's downcast eyes. If she gave him nothing else, she would give him the gift of his own humanity. And while he was hers, she would cherish him. She became aware of Francesca's silence. Glancing at her, she noted the stricken look on her face.
    "What is it?"
    "Didn't you hear what she said? She said the entity was preying on me. She warned you of betrayal and danger. I was the beast following you through the city. Nicolai smelled me.
    Isabella, what are we to do? I don't even remember I could harm you. Nicolai could harm you."
    Isabella stopped in the passageway and hugged Francesca to her. "Sophia didn't say you were the beast. We already knew there was a possibility of danger and betrayal. We'll figure it out together, you and I and Nicolai. We just have to watch one another, try to be prepared for the entity when it feeds our weaknesses."
    Francesca nodded mutely, looking as though she might burst into tears. She took a deep breath and found the panel that swung the hidden door to Lucca's bedchamber open. They extinguished the torch before entering.
    But it wasn't Sarina waiting for them. Don DeMarco was pacing, his long strides taking him back and forth across the floor in his silent, fluid manner. He swung around as they entered, his amber eyes burning with