By the time Simon and the others had climbed up to the kitchen, the man in black had vanished into the maze of dark rooms on the first floor of the palace.
Simon, wild with rage and grief, forced himself to think. He was alive, G.o.d be thanked, and he had saved the Tartars, but just for this moment.
The man in black, seemingly routed, might renew his attack at any time.
_And Friar Mathieu. Dear G.o.d, don"t let him be dead!_
What was the creature Simon had fought in the darkness? Christian?
Saracen? Or, as his most frightening imaginings hinted, a being from h.e.l.l itself?
Clearly it was not some Filippeschi bravo who had somehow broken through the palace"s defenses. Simon"s inspiration on the battlements had been right; the Filippeschi attack had been only a diversion.
If a demon of this sort opposed the alliance, Simon felt more than ever determined that the alliance must succeed. This was the hidden enemy whose presence he had sensed since coming to Orvieto. The force determined to prevent the alliance of Christians and Tartars. The one who had incited Orvieto"s people against the Tartars when they first came. Who had set that poor devil of a heretic to draw his dagger against them in the cathedral. Alain"s murderer. Stalker. Enemy. Killer.
Devil.
Hatred blazed up within Simon.
If only he could have killed the man in black or caught him before he escaped. Now he must guard against an enemy as evil as Satan. An enemy powerful enough to throw an army against a fortified palace, subtle enough to reach into an impregnable chamber and strike at his intended victims. A being whose strength and skills made him seem more than human. Cruel and pitiless, ready to murder anyone who stood in his way.
It was as certain as the judgment of G.o.d that they would fight again.
This was war to the death.
To be concluded in THE HOLY WAR Book Two of THE SARACEN