Ezio whirled round to see a familiar, jovial, bearded figure behind him. Older, perhaps, and greyer, and heavier, but no less deft. 'Uncle Mario!' he exclaimed. 'I knew I'd seen you earlier!'
'Can't let you have all the fun,' said Mario. 'And don't worry, nipote. You are not alone!'
But a Borgia guard was bearing down on Ezio, halberd raised. The moment before he could deliver the crushing blow which would have sent Ezio into an endless night, a crossbow bolt appeared as if by magic, buried in the man's forehead. He dropped his weapon and fell forwards, a look of disbelief etched on his face. Ezio looked round again and saw - La Volpe!
'What are you doing here, Fox?'
'We heard you might need some back-up,' said the Fox, reloading quickly as more guards began to pour out of the building. It was as well that more reinforcements, in the shape of Antonio and Bartolomeo, appeared on Ezio's side.
'Don't let Borgia get away with that box!' yelled Antonio.
Bartolomeo was using his greatsword Bianca like a scythe, cutting a swathe through the ranks of guards as they tried to overpower him by sheer force of numbers. And gradually the tide of battle turned back in favour of the Assassins and their allies.
'We've got them covered now, nipote,' called Mario. 'Look to the Spaniard!'
Ezio turned to see Rodrigo making for a doorway at the rear of the loggia and hastened to cut him off, but the Cardinal, sword in hand, was ready for him. 'This is a losing battle for you, my boy,' he snarled. 'You cannot stop what is written! You'll die by my hand like your father and your brothers -for death is the fate that awaits all who attempt to defy the Templars.'
Nevertheless, Rodrigo's voice lacked conviction and, looking round, Ezio saw that the last of his guards had fallen. He blocked Rodrigo's retreat at the threshold of the doorway, raising his own sword and preparing to strike, saying, 'This is for my father!' But the Cardinal ducked the blow, knocking Ezio off balance, yet dropping the precious box as he darted through the doorway to save his skin.
'Make no mistake,' he said balefully as he left. 'I live to fight another day! And then I'll make sure your death is as painful as it will be slow.'
And he was gone.
Ezio, winded, was trying to catch his breath and struggle to his feet when a woman's hand reached down to help him. Looking up, he saw that the owner of the hand was - Paola!
'He's gone,' she said, smiling. 'But it doesn't matter. We have what we came for.'
'No! Did you hear what he said? I must get after him and finish this!'
'Calm yourself,' said another woman, coming up. It was Teodora. Looking round the assembled company, Ezio could see all his allies, Mario, the Fox, Antonio, Bartolomeo, Paola and Teodora. And there was someone else. A pale, dark-haired young man with a thoughtful, humorous face.
'What are you all doing here?' asked Ezio, sensing a tension among them.
'Perhaps the same thing as you, Ezio,' said the young stranger. 'Hoping to see the Prophet appear.'
Ezio was confused and irritated. 'No! I came here to kill the Spaniard! I couldn't care less about your Prophet - if he exists at all. He certainly isn't here.'
'Isn't he?' The young man paused, looking steadily at Ezio. 'You are.'
'What?'
'A prophet's arrival was foretold. And here you have been among us for so long without our guessing the truth. All along you were the One we sought.'
'I don't understand. Who are you, anyway?'
The young man sketched a bow. 'My name is Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli. I am a member of the Order of the Assassins, trained in the ancient ways, to safeguard the future of mankind. Just like you, just like every man and woman here.'
Ezio was astounded, looking from one face to the next. 'Is this true, Uncle Mario?' he said at last.
'Yes, my boy,' said Mario, stepping forward. 'We have all been guiding you, for years, teaching you all the skills you'd need to join our ranks.'
Ezio's head filled with questions. He did not know where to begin. 'I must ask you for news of my family,' he said to Mario. 'My mother, my sister.'
Mario smiled. 'You are right to do so. They are safe and well. And they are no longer at the convent but at home with me at Monteriggioni. Maria will always be touched by the sadness of her loss, but she has much to console herself with now as she devotes herself to charitable work alongside the abbess. As for Claudia, the abbess could see, long before she could herself, that the life of a nun was not ideal for one of her temperament, and that there were other ways in which she might seek to serve Our Lord. She was released from her vows. She married my senior captain and soon, Ezio, she will present you with a nephew or niece of your own.'
'Excellent news, Uncle. I never quite liked the idea of Claudia spending her life in a convent. But I have so many more questions to ask you.'
'There will be a time for questions soon,' said Machiavelli.
'Much remains to be done before we can see our loved ones again, and celebrate,' said Mario. 'And it may be that we never will. We made Rodrigo abandon his box but he will not rest until it is back in his possession, so we must guard it with our lives.'
Ezio looked around the circle of Assassins, and noticed for the first time that each of them had a brand around the base of his or her left ring finger. But there was clearly no time for further questions now. Mario said to his associates, 'I think it is time.' Gravely, they nodded their assent, and Antonio took out a map and unfolded it, showing Ezio a point marked on it.
'Meet us here at sunset,' he said, in a tone of solemn command.
'Come,' said Mario to the others.
Machiavelli took charge of the box with its precious, mysterious contents, and the Assassins filed silently out into the street and departed, leaving Ezio alone.
Venice was eerily empty that evening and the great square in front of the basilica was silent and unoccupied save for the pigeons which were its permanent denizens. The bell tower rose to a giddying height above Ezio's head as he began to climb it, but he did not hesitate. The meeting to which he'd been summoned would surely provide him with the answers to some of his questions, and though he knew in his heart of hearts that he would find some of the answers frightening, he also knew that he could not turn his back on them.
As he approached the top he could hear muted voices. At last he reached the stonework at the very top of the tower and swung himself into the bell-loft. A circular space had been cleared and the seven Assassins, all wearing cowls, were ranged around its perimeter, while a fire in a small brazier burned at its centre.
Paola took him by the hand and led him to the centre as Mario began to utter an incantation:
'Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale koulon moumkine. These are the words, spoken by our ancestors, that lie at the heart of our Creed.'
Machiavelli stepped forward and looked hard at Ezio. 'Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember -'
And Ezio picked up the rest of the words as if he had known them all his life: '- Nothing is true.'
'Where other men are limited by morality or law,' continued Machiavelli, 'remember -'
'- Everything is permitted.'
Machiavelli said, 'We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins.'
And the others joined in, intoning in unison: 'Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Nothing is true, everything is permitted. Nothing is true, everything is permitted.'
When they had finished, Mario took Ezio's left hand. 'It is time,' he told him. 'In this modern age, we are not so literal as our ancestors. We do not demand the sacrifice of a finger. But the seal we mark ourselves with is permanent.' He drew in his breath. 'Are you ready to join us?'
Ezio, as if in a dream, but somehow knowing what to do and what was to come, extended his hand unhesitatingly. 'I am,' he said.
Antonio moved to the brazier and from it drew a red-hot branding-iron ending in two small semi-circles which could be brought together by means of a lever in the handle. Then he took Ezio's hand and isolated the ring finger. 'This only hurts for a while, brother,' he said. 'Like so many things.'
