The priest inclined his head in a little bow, the light glinting off his black hair. "Just so, signorina. However, you have not been married in a religious or civil ceremony, leaving you unmarried."
Jessie took a slow deep breath to quell the anger rolling through her, searching for a diplomatic way to put the man in his place. "I assure you Lucian and I are indeed married. Perhaps not in a civil ceremony, but our union is blessed by God. Directly. Remember I told you I have a specific reason for needing an audience with the Pope?"
The priest nodded with narrowed eyes, suspicious of what she had to say. "I recall. And you went on to say that because you are both Catholic and a women's health care provider, you had something unique to offer on the question of birth control for believers."
Jessie's turn to nod. "Yes, and those are true. I left out the rest, though, preferring to speak directly with His Holiness." Real interest sparked in the priest's eyes. "I am in regular direct contact with an Archangel, a Warrior under the command of the Archangel Uriel."
The priest's lips curved in a false smile while his eyes shuttered with dismissal. He regarded her as another crackpot zealot. "And we should believe this, why?"
Jessie closed her eyes to concentrate and access the gifts from Dorn, just as he'd taught her. There. The priest as a child, playing in a sun dappled yard. She went deeper. "Your mother waited tables at a little coffee shop in Segni, just outside Rome. Your father was the butcher's son."
The priest smiled. "You could have learned that from a simple Google search."
"I could have." Jessie smiled, ready to deliver the coup de grace. "However, could I have learned that you experienced your first nocturnal emission at the age of eleven? Or that you used your telescope to spy on the young widow next door as she bathed? Or perhaps I could have Googled your name and learned that when you were thirteen, you threatened the fifteen year old girl down the street into allowing you to touch her breasts and see her genitals. You told her you would molest her six year old sister." She paused when abject horror crossed the priest's face. "I'm sure I could convince Allesandra to share her experience with His Holiness. Did you know she considered herself ruined after you raped her? Or that she turned to prostitution? She's very bitter. And it doesn't help that your mother rubs your success in her mother's face every time they meet at the market."
The priest paled and his breathing became labored. "What do you want puttana?" He glared at her, lip pulling back in a snarl, as a guttural sound escaped his throat. "I warn you, I am a dangerous enemy to have."
Jessie forced herself to smile despite the chill rolling through her blood. "I have many dangerous enemies. It's an occupational hazard when your boss is an Archangel."
The priest's eyes took on an otherworldly red glow, barely visible but nonetheless intimidating. "Lies."
Jessie smiled again and, unsure where the impulse came from, swept her hand through the air. Instantly, a transparent scene in miniature unfolded between them. The final moments of the battle at the convent with Dorn and Kharef locked in combat at the center. "I want a private audience with His Holiness the Pope. You will arrange that. No one else will be present, either physically or electronically." She snapped her fingers and the scene disappeared.
The man stared with mouth agape as though trying to figure out what sort of magic trick she’d just pulled. Being unable to decide forced him into submission, even if only temporarily. "Idiota. How do you propose I arrange this? Private audiences aren't even granted for heads of state."
"You'll find a way. I have faith in you." She smiled and stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, mio marito is waiting." She deliberately turned her back and walked away, making sure to add a seductive sway to her hips. Let the bastard think about that.
Lucian stood, waiting for her, when she reached the outer room, a broad smile on his face. "You are the most beautiful, most brutal woman in the world." He took her hand to lead her from the suite. "Thank you for letting me listen in."
She smiled back and tiptoed to kiss him. "You're welcome. It was the easiest way I knew of to combat the mark. Not to mention, it let you help me confirm my suspicions that the priest was at least under demon influence. Now I know I wasn't just imagining it."
** ** **
Sam took a deep breath of the clear cold air, relishing the brightness of the day. The storm had passed, leaving well over two feet of snow in its wake and for the second day in a row, the mercury hung well below freezing. The temperature seemed more brisk and refreshing than actually cold, though. She was pretty sure the past couple of hours with Toren had more to do with that feeling than the actual weather did. Had she really let him do those things?