Page 58 of A Dangerous Bargain

My brother is sitting somewhere behind me. His presence feels overwhelming—like a mountain or a raging river. “Of course.”

Leonardo’s mouth thins, but all he does is nod.

When the congregation stands for Communion, the three of us don’t file out with the rest of our pew. I watch the queue go to the priest, heart in my throat as Niccolo gets closer and closer.

When he reaches the end of our bench, Lupa slips out.

She slams into Niccolo.

He catches her. She pulls back with a gasp. “Apologies, signore! I am so hopelessly clumsy. It brings great shame to my family.”

Niccolo frowns. “I—erm—yes?”

Lupa grabs his wrist and rightens herself. Niccolo hisses once and grabs his arm.

But Lupa’s already pulling away, her index finger in her mouth.

She’s tasting his blood.

My entire body strains toward her, desperate to know what she sensed. She finds my fervent stare through the crowd.

And does nothing but stare back.

I shake my head, then nod, raising my eyebrows. Did she forget what we discussed? She ducks her head and arrows over, knocking people out of her way. Annoyed grumbles fan behind her, and my temper spikes. What the hell is she doing? She’ll get us noticed.

She thunks on the bench and speaks before I can tell her off. “Your brother has no soul.”

“What?”

She’s frowning like I’ve said something she doesn’t like, but there’s a frightful white ring around her eyes that doesn’t match the expression. “His soul is missing. Gone. I tasted nothing.”

I feel like a rock someone’s skipped over the river’s surface. Everything’s spinning so fast, I can’t get my bearings. I look to Leonardo, hoping he can make sense of it, but he’s shaking his head, mouth paper-thin. “That can’t be possible. Niccolo’s right there. He’s alive.”

“Of course he’s alive,” I hear myself say. “What are you two going on about?”

Both of them turn to me, concern and fear warring across their faces. Lupa’s words finally sink in, water closing over my head.

When my brother first went missing, my greatest fear was that he was dead.

The truth is worse.

His soul is gone. Stuck somewhere I can’t reach. What if I found him but it’s too late to save him?

“How do we get it back?” Curious heads ripple in my direction.

Leonardo motions for silence. “Virgil—”

“How do we get it back?”

Lupa blinks, biting her bottom lip. “I don’t know.”

“But you knew it was missing. You can figure out where it went, can’t you?”

Leonardo grabs my elbow. “Be quiet and think.” There’s a wheedling edge in his voice that stings like nettles. I toss him an annoyed glare, but he doesn’t stop talking. “Your brother is involved with the Medici, who are involved with—” He mouths the word “demons,” hands twisting helplessly. “I’m sorry, but I think there’s only one place it could be.”

I gasp and shove away from him.

Hell.