97

The Hassassin drives to a huge stone structure overlooking the Tiber River and carries the captured Vittoria upward through a spiraling stone passage. He identifies the place as the Church of Illumination, the ancient Illuminati meeting room, and places Vittoria on a divan before binding her hands and feet.

The Hassassin is tempted to assault Vittoria immediately, but he restrains himself because he still has one final task to complete. From the high balcony, he looks toward St. Peter’s under the press lights and imagines Vatican City’s destruction at midnight as revenge for Muslim deaths during the Crusades.

When Vittoria begins to stir, the Hassassin decides she must remain unconscious so she will not exhaust herself struggling before his return. He uses a pressure point beneath her skull to incapacitate her again, leaving her bound and helpless while he goes below.

In a torchlit dungeon, the Hassassin finds the metal brand prepared for the final murder: Water. He heats the object until it is white-hot, then carries it into a cell where Cardinal Baggia stands alone and unafraid. When the Hassassin asks whether Baggia has prayed, the cardinal replies that he has prayed only for the killer’s soul.