"Sita?"he says.
"But you believe this story?" I say in an unsteady voice.
He continues to watch me. "I do, but then I am a romantic at heart." He leans close and whispers in my ear. "What do you feel when you touch it, Sita?"
I momentarily close my eyes. "I feel the child," I whisper.
"The baby Jesus?"
"John."
He moves back. "The Baptist?"
I open my eyes, confused. For an instant the face of Suzama flashes in my mind. But she had no children, I think. Suzama was celibate. Yet the name of John haunts me, as does the face of a child I cannot quite pinpoint.
"I was not thinking of the Baptist," I say.
"What then?" he insists.
In that moment, in that castle, I cannot remember.
"I don't know," I say.
He gestures to the table. "Why don't we finish our meal?"
"Thank you."
He takes me by the hand and leads me back to the meal.
12
Later, in my room, I feel dull and tired. I am four thousand years old, I do not normally need much sleep. Yet my vision is now blurred with fatigue. Staring in a mirror surrounded by candles, I feel as if my face changes into that of a person from another time and my blond hair turns dark red. The candles grow to the size of the flames that burned in the fireplace. Splashing water on my face, I feel some of the illusions leave me, but they do not go away. There is an unpleasant taste in my mouth that the water cannot wash away.
Then it strikes me.
I have been drugged.
Landulf, perhaps with his wife's knowledge, had something put in my food. There is no other explanation for my lethargy. But it is unlikely that the drug was administered for my benefitagood night's sleep in a castle rumored to be filled with demons. If he has drugged me it is because he wants me unconscious so that he can do something awful to me. All of Dante's tales come back to me in a haunting wave, and I am amazed at how I have dropped my guard. But could my carelessness have something to do withL andulfs magic?
For all I know, his drug was poison and I am already doomed.
I force myself to vomit. Then I drink the water left in the bowl and vomit again. Within seconds my head clears, but I am still far from being at full strength. Moving to the door, I find it locked by a device as sophisticated as the one I found on the cage that held the young women. The metal parts are made of a peculiar alloystronger than anything I have ever encountered. Fortunately the door, although thick oak, is only wood. Leaning hard on it, and taking deep breaths to clear my system of the lingering effects of the drug, I am able to break it open without much noise.
Marie stands outside my door.
I grab her and pull her inside.
"What are you doing here?" I demand.
She is frightened. I have a strong grip on her neck.
"I was coming to see if you needed anything, my lady."
"You lie. You were waiting outside my door. Why?"
She wiggles her head. "No, my lady, I am here to serve you."
"You are here to spy on me." I choke her. "Did Lord Landulf send you?"
She gasps. "No. Please? You are hurting me."
I tighten my grip and she begins to lose color. "You feel how strong I am? I have the strength of a dozen men. Tell me the truth now or you will die in pain. Were you spying outside my door?"
She can hardly get the word out. "Yes."
"You had been told I was drugged?"
"Yes."
"Who told you?"
"Lady Cia."
"You were waiting by the door for me to pass out?"
"Yes."
"What were you going to do with me then?"
Marie turns blue. But she has enough will left to struggle.
"No!" she gasps.
I dig my fingernails into her neck, drawing blood. "You answer me or I'll rip your head off!"
She moans. "I was to take you to the sacrifice."
I loosen my grip and frown. "What sacrifice? Where?"
She struggles for air. "It is belowin the hidden chambers."
I point my finger at her. "You will take me there, through a back way. I want to see this sacrifice but I do not want to be seen. Do you understand?"
She coughs weakly. "I don't want to die."
I am grim. "You keep thinking that way."
Marie leads me through a dark passageway unconnected to the hallways and rooms of the public castle. We hardly leave my bedroom when we enter a narrow tunnel opened by touching a stone with a series of special pressures. The entrance closes behind us, and I wonder if I would have the strength to reopen it. The effect of the drug continues to plague me. Colored lights flash and trail at the corners of my vision. My heart pounds in my head and I cannot stop yawning. Cramps grip my spine. The power of the poison stuns me. Ordinarily, my system is immune to any kind of abusive substance.