"Then go with God. I must ensure the safety of these people."

Ezio took stock of the crowd gathered in the Sanctuary. In the gloom he could make out, among the rest of the fugitives, the features of not only Claudia, but his mother. He breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"There is no time to be lost," he told them, jamming the door shut behind him with a sizable iron bar.

ELEVEN.

Quickly, his mother and sister dressed and bandaged his wound properly and got him to his feet, as Ezio directed the master-sergeant to twist the hidden lever built into the statue of the Master Assassin, Leonius, which stood by the side of the giant chimneypiece at the center of the northern wall of the Sanctuary. The concealed door swung open, revealing the corridor through which the people could escape to the safety of the countryside half a mile beyond the city limits.

Claudia and Maria stood by the entrance, shepherding townsfolk through it. The master-sergeant had gone ahead with a platoon, bearing torches, to guide and protect the refugees as they made their escape.

"Hurry!" Ezio urged the citizens as they rushed into the dark maw of the tunnel. "Don't panic! Be quick but don't run! We don't want a stampede in the tunnel." Ezio urged the citizens as they rushed into the dark maw of the tunnel. "Don't panic! Be quick but don't run! We don't want a stampede in the tunnel."

"And what of us? What of Mario?" asked his mother.

"Mario-how can I tell you this?-Mario has been killed. I want you and Claudia to make your way home to Florence."

"Mario dead?" cried Maria.

"What is there in Florence for us?" asked Claudia.

Ezio spread his hands. "Our home. Lorenzo de' Medici and his son undertook to restore the Auditore mansion to us, and they were as good as their word. Now the city is in the control of the Signoria again, and I know that Governor Soderini watches over it well. Go home. Put yourselves in the care of Paola and Annetta. I will join you as soon as I can."

"Are you sure? The news we've heard about our old house is very different. Messer Messer Soderini was too late to save it. In any case, we want to stay with you. To help you!" Soderini was too late to save it. In any case, we want to stay with you. To help you!"

The last remaining townspeople were filing into the dark tunnel now. As they did so, a great hammering and the crashing of blows fell on the door that divided the Sanctuary from the outside world.

"What is that?"

"It's the Borgia troops! Make haste! Make haste!"

He ushered his family into the tunnel after the last remaining citizens, bringing up the rear with the few surviving Assassin troops.

It was a tough haul through the tunnel, and halfway along Ezio heard the crash as the Borgia men broke through the door into the Sanctuary. Soon they would be in the tunnel itself. He urged his charges forward, shouting at the stragglers to hurry. Then he heard the stamping of armed soldiers running down the tunnel behind them. The group rushed past a gateway that ended one section of the passage. Ezio grabbed at a lever on the wall beside the gateway-and just as the last of the Assassin fugitives rushed through he yanked hard, releasing the portcullis gate. As it came crashing down, the first of the pursuers caught up-only to be pinned to the floor by the heavy ironwork of the gate. His screams of agony filled the passage. Ezio had already run on-knowing that he'd bought his people precious time to make good their escape.

After what seemed like hours but could only have been minutes, the passage seemed to change incline-leveling out and then rising slightly. The air seemed less stale-they were nearly out. Just at that moment, they all heard a heavy rumbling of sustained cannon fire-the Borgia must be unleashing their firepower at the citadel, a final act of desecration. The passage shook-eddies of dust fell from the ceiling, and a sound like cracking ice could be heard, quiet at first but getting ominously louder.

"Dio, ti prego, salvaci-the roof is coming down!" sobbed one of the townswomen. The others began to scream-the fear of being buried alive flooding through the crowd.

Suddenly the roof of the tunnel seemed to open up and a torrent of rubble came cascading down. The fugitives rushed forward trying to escape from the falling rock, but Claudia reacted too slowly-she disappeared in a cloud of dust. Ezio wheeled around in alarm-hearing his sister scream, but unable to see her. "Claudia!" he shouted, panic in his voice.

"Ezio!" came a shout back, and as the dust cleared, Ezio's sister picked her way carefully across the debris.

"Thank God you're OK-did anything fall on you?" he asked.

"No, I'm OK. Is Mother OK?"

"I'm fine," answered Maria.

They dusted themselves down, thanking the gods that they had survived this far, and made their way along the final stretch of the escape passage. At last they broke out into the open air. Never had grass, and the earth itself, smelled sweeter.

The mouth of the tunnel was separated from the countryside by a series of rope bridges swung across ravines. It had been designed like this by Mario as part of a master escape plan. Monteriggioni itself would survive the Borgia desecration-once the Borgia had razed it, it would be of no further interest to them. Ezio would return in time and rebuild it. Once again it would be the proud stronghold of the Assassins. Of that Ezio was certain. And it would be more than that. It would be a monument to his noble uncle, so pitilessly slain, Ezio promised himself.

He had had enough of the depredations wrought on his family by pointless villainy.

Ezio planned to cut the bridges down behind them as they fled, but they were shepherding elderly and wounded stragglers, and at his back he heard the yells and footsteps of their pursuers approaching rapidly. He was scarcely able to carry anyone on his back, but he managed to haul a woman whose leg had given out onto his good shoulder and staggered forward across the first rope bridge. It swung dangerously under their weight.

"Come on!" he yelled, encouraging his rear guard, who were already engaging with the Borgia soldiers. He waited on the far side until the last of his own men had reached the safety of the rocks. His men ran from the bridge-but a couple of Borgia soldiers had also made it across. Ezio stepped across their path and, using his good arm to wield his sword, engaged the enemy. Even hampered by his wound, Ezio was more than a match for the Borgia men-his sword parried their attacks with a blur of steel, taking on both blades at once. Stepping to one side, he crouched low under a wild swing from one of the men and used his own weapon to slice at the knee joint of the man's leg armor. The man toppled-his left leg useless. The other attacker lunged down, thinking Ezio off balance, but Ezio rolled aside and the blade clanged off the rocks, sending shards of rock skittering into the ravine. The man winced as the blow vibrated along his sword, jarring the bones of his hand and arm. Ezio saw his chance and, heaving himself upright, brought his sword above his foe's lowered arm and across the man's face. The man went down-and in a single fluid movement Ezio brought his blade to bear on the ropes supporting the bridge. They severed instantly, the tension sending the ropes pinging violently backward across the ravine. The bridge concertinaed away from the rocks, and the Borgia men who had begun to cross fell screaming into the abyss below.

Turning back, on the other side Ezio saw Cesare. Next to him was Caterina, still in chains, and held by a vicious-looking Lucrezia. Juan Borgia, the deathly pale Micheletto, and the sweaty Frenchman, General Valois, stood by them. Leonardo was nowhere to be seen-but how could he have sided with such scum? Surely there must be a threat hanging over him. Ezio couldn't believe that Leo would voluntarily stoop so low.

Cesare was waving something at Ezio.

"Yours next!" he screamed in fury.

Ezio could see that it was his uncle's head.

TWELVE.

There was only one place for Ezio to go now. The way forward for Cesare's troops was cut off-it'd take them days to work around the ravines and catch up with Ezio's survivors. He directed them to towns out of Borgia control, at least for the moment-to Siena, to San Gimignano, to Pisa, Lucca, Pistoia, and Florence. They'd find sanctuary there, and he had tried to impress upon his mother and sister the wisdom of returning to the safety of Florence themselves, whatever had happened to the Villa Auditore-despite the sad memories the city held, and despite the fact that both were seized with a compulsive desire to avenge Mario's death.

But Ezio was bound for Rome. Rome, he knew, would be where Cesare would go now, to regroup. It might even be that Cesare in his arrogance would think Ezio beaten, even dead on the road, like carrion. If so, then that could only be to the Assassin's advantage. But something else was haunting Ezio. With Mario dead, the Brotherhood was leaderless. Machiavelli was a powerful force within it, and at present Machiavelli did not seem to be Ezio's friend.

This was something that had to be resolved.

Along with the human survivors of the town, they had managed to bring livestock with them, and among the animals was the great chestnut warhorse Mario had loved so much.

He now mounted the steed, held for him by the old stable-master, who had managed to get out, too-though, alas, most of his horses had been captured by the Borgia.

As he reined the horse in, he took his leave of his mother and sister.

"Must you really go to Rome?" asked Maria.

"Mother, the only way to win this war is to take it to the enemy."

"But how can you possibly succeed against the forces of the Borgia?"

"I am not their only enemy. And besides, Machiavelli is already there. I must make my peace with him, and work with him."

"Cesare has the Apple," Claudia said soberly.

"We must pray that he does not master its powers," Ezio replied, though privately he felt great misgivings. Leonardo was in Cesare's pay and Cesare's power now, and Ezio was well aware of the intelligence of his former friend. If Leonardo taught Cesare the mysteries of the Apple-worse still, if Rodrigo got hold of it again...

He shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts. Time enough to confront the threat of the Apple when it presented itself.

"You shouldn't be riding now. Rome is miles to the south. Can't you at least give it a day or two?" asked Claudia.

"The Borgia will not rest and the evil spirit of the Templars rides within them," rejoined Ezio drily. "No one will be able to sleep easily until their power is broken."

"What if it never is?"

"We must never give up the fight. The minute we do that, we have lost."

"e vero." His sister's shoulders slumped, but then she straightened them again. "The fight must His sister's shoulders slumped, but then she straightened them again. "The fight must never never be given up," she said firmly. be given up," she said firmly.

"Until death," said Ezio.

"Until death."

"Take care on the road."

"Take care on the road."

Ezio leaned down from the saddle to kiss his mother and his sister before wheeling the horse around and onto the road south. His head was pounding with the pain of his wound and the exertions of battle. More than this was the aching of his heart and soul at the loss of Mario and the capture of Caterina. He shuddered at the thought of her in the clutches of the evil Borgia family-he knew all too well what fate might befall her in their hands. But Ezio also knew that if ever a person would go down fighting, she was that person. He'd have to skirt the Borgia troops but his heart told him that, now that his main objective had been achieved, to break the Assassins' stronghold, Cesare would head home.

But the most important thing was to lance the boil that was infecting Italy, and lance it soon, before it could infect the whole body of the land.

He dug his heels hard into the horse's flanks and galloped south down the dusty road.

His head was swimming with exhaustion but he willed himself to keep awake. He vowed he would not rest until he arrived in the broken-down capital of his beleaguered country. But he had miles to go before he would be able to sleep.

THIRTEEN.

How stupid had he been...to ride for so long, wounded; and so far-only breaking the ride for the horse's sake and then impatiently flogging the poor beast on before he was properly rested. Post-horses would have been a more sensible choice, but Campione was his last link with Mario.

Now-where was he? He remembered a crumbling, dingy suburb and then, rising out of it, a once-majestic yellow stone arch, an erstwhile gateway that pierced a formerly magnificent city's walls.

Ezio's impulse had been to rejoin Machiavelli-to right the wrong he had committed by not making sure that Rodrigo Borgia, the Spaniard, was dead.

But by God, he was tired!

He lay back on the pallet. He could smell the dry straw, its odor carrying with it a hint of cow dung.

Where was he?

An image of Caterina came suddenly and strongly into his mind. He must free her! They had to be together at last!

But perhaps he should also free himself from from her-though part of his heart still told him that this was not what he really wanted. How could he trust her? How could a simple man ever understand the subtle labyrinths of a woman's mind? And, alas, the torture of love didn't get any less acute with age. her-though part of his heart still told him that this was not what he really wanted. How could he trust her? How could a simple man ever understand the subtle labyrinths of a woman's mind? And, alas, the torture of love didn't get any less acute with age.

Was she using him?

Ezio had always maintained an inner room within his heart, where he was himself alone, where he had his sanctum sanctorum sanctum sanctorum; it was kept locked, even to his most intimate friends, to his mother (who knew of it and respected it), to his sister, and, formerly, to his late brothers and father.

Had Caterina broken in? He hadn't been able to prevent the killing of his father and brothers, and by Christ and the Cross he had done his best to protect Maria and Claudia.

Caterina could look after herself-she was a book that kept its covers closed-and yet-and yet-how he longed to read it!

"I love you!"-his heart cried out to Caterina, despite himself. The woman of his dreams at last-at last, this late in life. But his duty, he told himself, came first-and Caterina-Caterina!-never truly showed her cards. Her brown, enigmatic eyes, her smile, the way she could twist him around her little finger. Her long, expert fingers. The closeness. The closeness. But also the keen silence of her hair, which always smelled of vanilla and roses...

How could he ever trust her, even when he laid his head on her breast after they had made passionate love and wanted-wanted so much-to feel secure?

No! The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood. The Brotherhood! His mission and his destiny.

I am dead, Ezio said to himself. Ezio said to himself. I am already dead inside. But I will finish what I have to do. I am already dead inside. But I will finish what I have to do.

The dream dissolved and his eyelids flickered open. They bestowed a view of an ample but elderly cleavage descending toward him, the chemise the woman was wearing parting like the Red Sea.

Ezio sat up rapidly in the straw he'd been lying on. His wound was properly dressed now, and the pain was so dull as to be almost negligible. As his eyes focused, they took in a small room with walls of rough-hewn stone. Calico curtains were drawn across the small windows, and in a corner an iron stove burned, the embers from its open door giving the place its only light. Then the door was shut, but whoever it was with him in the room lit the stump of a candle.

A middle-aged woman, who looked like a peasant, knelt beside him, came within the frame of his vision. Her face was kindly as she tended to his wound, rearranging the poultice and bandage.

It was sore! Ezio winced in pain.

"Calmatevi," said the woman. "The pain will end soon." said the woman. "The pain will end soon."

"Where's my horse? Where's Campione?"