A WEB OF SMOKE AND SHADOWS

Morning dawned in the cave cold and damp. In the distance, the gurgle of a spring deep back in the rock rang like a sweet pipe, and oily rivulets of the lanterns dripped down rocks. Luca slept not at all. Sitting cross-legged near his brother, his eyes glinting red but his eyes wide open, he tallied each moment of betrayal. Bianca had gone hours before to sweep the outer perimeter, ensuring they were not followed out. Raphael rolled onto his side beside him, coughing brutally. "Easy," Luca strained, pinning him down with a hand. "You're okay now. Breathe." Raphael's eyes snapped open, fighting. "How long. was I out?" "Since last night," Luca replied. "Your body needed the rest." Raphael sat up in the cave, disoriented. "This isn't home." No, Luca added, voice tightening. "And we can't go home. Not yet." Raphael fought to sit up, groaning around his ribs. "Adraine… She lied to us. She promised that the Serpents would let me go if I'd cooperate with them." "She lied," Luca spat out, jaw clenched. "There was no bargain. She used you as bait. Used me.". Raphael's face paled. "She said. the book had names of all the individuals our dad had ever done business with. Judges, cartels, CEOs of corporate firms. And that you—" "What about me?" "Her said I was keeping something from her. That you know where it's already headed. That they'd kill you next if I didn't give an address.". Luca spun around, reeling. The ledger again. A book of legends their father always carried with him said he had in his back pocket as insurance in case "things went wrong." They'd all believed it another lie. Now it was a tool—and Adraine would utilize it. Gravel crunching beneath feet heralded Bianca's return. She materialized within the cave like a specter, her black gear muddy. "We've got movement," she told him. "Two SUVs on the ridge. Drones patrolling the ground. No positive sign of us yet, but they're closing in." "Serpents?" Luca said. Bianca nodded. "Likely. And one of them had a sat phone. Likely calling in to Adraine." Raphael let out a bitter laugh. "I still can't believe it. Our cousin. We grew up together in the same house as children." "She did not betray the family overnight," said Luca. "This sort of betrayal takes years to come to fruition." Bianca sat down next to him. "We have to go. The cave will not be concealed forever. We have to go down tonight and head for the ruins." Luca's eyebrow rose. "The ruins?" "Of the ancient monastery beneath the ancient forest," she said to him. "It is shut down and beyond their grasp. And. I think that there we shall discover what we're looking for." What do you mean?" exclaimed Raphael. Bianca paused, then drew out a thin, leather-bound notebook from her parka. "This was found in your father's office. Concealed in the floorboards. Not the ledger, but a notebook—part confession, part code. It is the 'container of the devil.' I think that this is a code name for where the real ledger is.". Luca extended his hand and picked up the book, browsing through its pages with his fingertips. It contained odd symbols, half-sentences, and numbers where names should be. One sentence stood out, however: "Where stone meets root and time stands still, the devil's container sleeps beneath." "That is the sound of the ruins," Raphael spat. Bianca nodded too. "That monastery was built centuries ago, partly over a petrified forest. Roots through rock. If your father had hidden something in a location no one would ever think to search." Luca stood up and closed the book. "Then that's where we go.". It was dark when the three of them arrived at the edge of the ancient forest. They'd left the truck a mile or so back and approached on foot, faces grim and shot and wary. The ruins loomed like ghosts in the moonlight—enormous toppled columns overgrown with vines and moss, broken statues of agonized saints with vacant eyes upturned to heaven. Bianca led the way, climbing over the boulders. "There's a crypt door in the bell tower. If the ledger's anywhere, it'll be there." Raphael limped along on a cane, still recovering but grim. "I once believed these sorts of places were no more than ghoulish tourist traps. I know better now." Luca's hand closed harder around his gun. "This is a family tomb now. One way or another." The bell tower door groaned like an open mouth. It was chilly inside, and only they lit the path using flashlights. The walls were covered with weathered carvings and very ancient holy texts. They descended a spiral stone stairway to below. Bianca led the way, gun held high. The farther down they descended, the thicker was the silence. At last, they came into a crypt of stone sarcophagi that lined the walls, each of them stamped with symbols. "It's here," Bianca whispered. "Feel that?" Luca did. The air vibrated—nearly a pulse. Magic? No. But something. ancient. He peered into the crypt and then saw a strange carving on the wall in front of him. It was a tree root-like shape between two deformed tree roots that had a book in it. "Where stone meets root…" He screamed in horror. Bianca examined the wall. "There's an opening behind it." No hesitation, Luca tugged on the stones. One gave way, then another. In a moment, he had tugged loose a rusty metal chest. It differed from the rest of the material in the crypt, in that it was embossed with their crest—scabbed, dented shape. He placed it on the stone floor. "This has to be it." Raphael coughed. "Open it." Luca did. The metal creaked, and within, wrapped in oilcloth, was a black leather book. On the cover, in gold lettering, it read: The Family Ledger. Bianca sat back. "We've found it." Luca opened the initial pages. Names. Figures. Transactions. Blackmail accounts that would ruin half the continent. He looked up. "Now we know why Adraine was looking for this one." "But now what do we do with it?" Raphael said. Luca's eyes darkened. "We use it. Not for money. Not for blackmail. For leverage. To bring to light what should be brought to light. To topple what should be toppled." Bianca laughed. "Starting with Adraine?" "Starting with her," said Luca. Their radios burst in a spasm of static. "—copy—Bianca—Luca—come in. This is Enzo." Bianca responded, "We're here. We have the package." Static crackled. "Good. Because you've got less time than you thought. They're at the ruins. Adraine just sent a team. They're heading your way. ETA twenty minutes." Luca stood, taking the ledger. "Then we're not leaving the way we entered. There's a passage out through the eastern catacombs." Bianca nodded. "I can get us out. Let's go.". They moved past the crypt, past coffins, to the iron gate further into the catacombs. Cold air, narrowing walls, and the diminishing light. As they moved, Luca looked down at the book in his hand. It wasn't pages. It was their salvation. or their doom. And at their heels, already, the pursuit was starting.