The Angel of Milan Read Online Free Page B

louder the second time. My head turned with a snap.
                  “I’m sorry, Eminence, I was just—”
                  “Yes, you were just replaying what you know of Grigori through that photographic mind of yours. What have you concluded?”  
                  “Eminence, it is not exactly photographic, but rather—”
                  “Adama, what have you concluded?” The cardinal interrupted sharply. I cleared my throat, knowing my next words would not please Burtuchi.
                  “Surely, Eminence, you cannot be serious. What could bring you to such a conclusion?” Burtuchi became red-faced again, but quickly regained his composure.
                  “My path has crossed his once, a long time ago, and I have good reason for my suspicion.”
                  “What reason, Eminence? What happened?”
                  “I’m sorry, Adama, I have said too much already. Please, just accept what I have told you at face value. If what I suspect is true, he will want the Atonement Lot above all other possessions. If he obtains it, it may well be his undoing, and ours as well.”
                  “As you wish, Eminence.”
                  “One more thing, Father. Victorio Del Cielo will be drawn to you like a moth to a flame. The fact that he will believe, as the others do, that you will be in possession of the Atonement Lot has certainly caused him to take notice already. In a direct confrontation with him, you have no chance. I want you to stay away from him. Under no circumstances are you to engage him in any way. Keep your distance. Enough, now. 
                  “I am posting you at the Basilica of St. Andrew, where your skills in archeology may be put to some use as a cover. You will pretend to plan the continued excavation beneath the existing building. Your pretext can be locating the west façade of the original Basilica. Now, kneel before me.”
                  I knelt in obedience as I had many times before, and Burtuchi raised his hand above me, making the sign of the cross as he spoke.
                  “Indulgeo. Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris et filii et spiritus sancti. 5 Go with a clear conscious. Now, rise up, my son. Find and authenticate the Atonement Lot, retrieve it, and bring it directly to me. Pack your bags. I want you in Milan tomorrow. You’re leaving tonight.”
                  Leaving the cardinal’s office, I replayed in my mind the events that had led up to my present circumstance. A mere month ago, I had been sent to Milan to verify the inventory of the treasure room in the great Duomo Cathedral. During the standard audit, I had made a startling discovery. The Atonement Lot had been there, right under everyone’s noses for hundreds of years, incorrectly cataloged only as a gift from Emperor Constantine among the many precious objects in the treasury. However, the small gold Seal was more, much more. It was an object from the first temple, Solomon’s Temple 6 , and was used in one of the most mysterious temple rituals, The Drawing of Lots. I had documented that discovery in my report, and hand-delivered it to Cardinal Burtuchi’s office. How could he have known that one of the administrative clerks would open and read the report while it sat on Bishop Marconni’s desk? The discovery had been made known to others, and within days someone had removed the Atonement Lot from the Duomo Treasury.
                  I was sure that the cardinals had held back information of some sort, or that at the least, they had distorted the truth, all at Burtuchi’s instruction, no doubt. Secrets within secrets…information was not something the Holy See 7 gave up easily.
                  There were so many secrets within the Vatican, and those who paid much to learn of those