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“Good morning,” Natalia said entering the office.
Isabel smiled, responding to her greeting.
Natalia left her purse and coat on the coat rack, went to her desk and turned on her computer.
“What do we have for today?” She asked Isabel, pointing at some things on her agenda.
“Getting more clients, my dear. I have an idea for it.” She was excited to see Natalia paying full attention. “I have been thinking the remodeling of the last three estates have been wonderful and word is spreading how well we work but, I want something bigger, something that represents a real challenge.”
Isabel paused leaving her pen on her desk to explain everything more clearly to her new employee.
“I've been exploring the area and I've noticed there are many farms that seem to be completely abandoned. If we could restore two of those, we would take off in a big way. I'm sure it would even earn us an article in the famous decoration magazine.
“It is a good idea. There are not many abandoned estates and I know the history of some of them. Most are in lawsuits.”
Isabel deflated a little.
“Don’t be discouraged. We could get lucky, I'm sure. Go to the ones you like the most and take some pictures. When you return, you show me and I’ll tell you what could be available for us.” Natalia finished with a wink as Isabel applauded excitedly. She gathered her belongings to leave.
“There, on the agenda, are the things to do today. Not many, the most important should be passed to Caserío Peña to check the work progress on the site.”
Natalia checked the schedule.
“Count on it. See you this afternoon. Oh! I forgot to tell you I may arrive a little after 5 p.m. because I plan on visiting my grandmother. I have not seen her in a while and I want to take her to lunch.”
“No problem, Nat. See you later.”
Natalia watched Isabel cross the great avenue through the store window. She was fortunate to have gotten this job at such a low point in her life. It was like a light suddenly appeared in the darkness she had been trapped in for some time.
From a young age, Natalia was very demanding of herself. She was never allowed to fail because that would make her a loser. That attitude suited her well as she grew up. It made her achieve honorable positions in elementary school, high school, and then at college. She was lucky her parents could pay for her good education. She wanted to become the best in the world and thought a post-graduate degree in New York and a Master's degree in Florence would catapult her to the position she dreamed of so much: Director of a creative team.
By then, she was about to turn 26 and had gotten a job at German decoration branch which taught her a good lesson. She supposed due to her amazing career in her studies, her positions of honor and her high level of exigency, she would be chosen as the new head of the interior design department. That was not the case, of course. She lacked something indispensable: experience. Life does not always make everything so easy. So yeah, they hired her, as the new department head’s third assistant.
A very low blow for her considering she expected more. Not to be the messenger, to serve coffee to the “new boss” and the whole department if necessary.
At first she took it as a real challenge. She would show she was worthy and she deserved a better position, however, her “nice boss” didn’t allow her to participate during the project meetings in which she had to serve water and coffee.
“Do the work for which you are paid,” said the man she was beginning to hate. When the second assistant position opens, then you can change jobs, if you want, of course.
Natalia tried to appear calm every time she heard that and watched as time slipped through her fingers.
Thus a year passed and the first assistant position became available.
“You cannot expect to be first assistant if you have never been the second assistant. Don’t try to skip positions, girl. In order to get to my position you have to earn it and I intend to occupy it for a long time,” her boss said sarcastically.
He claimed in a huge outburst of outrage that he would not choose her even if he had to choose someone who hadn’t even graduated.
Natalia began to experience life’s injustices in the flesh. Although her parents suggested to her a thousands of times to look for another job, she was still determined to get her ass of a boss’s job. Several years passed. For five or six, Natalia was not very sure of considering her life was no longer a challenge, at some point she became a conformist. Always ready to complain about all the bad things happening to her. She became a specialist in hallway gossip. She had become what she hated so much. A person who doesn’t expect anything new from life and resigns to what they have because that is what they deserve.
A flurry of excitement always passed through her as she watched the creative team gather and listened to design proposals she herself would throw in the trash, they seemed like terrible ideas to her. Nonetheless, her opinion didn’t count.
She demonstrated to herself that she had the audacity to stay in the office late working on an idea she had for the project her colleagues were working on. The next morning, she took it to her boss. He promptly he threw it in the trash saying she needed to stop disobeying the rules and trying to skip positions.
Two hours later, she watched through the conference room window the applause from the creative team over an idea the boss himself presented. To her surprise it was her design projected on the wall while the man gave her a mocking smile.
The right thing to do would have been to reveal him for stealing her ideas but she didn’t think anyone higher up would listen to her accusations and take action since, her “boss” was a pet and the owner’s best friend of said branch.
Depressed and defeated, she returned home never to return. It didn’t improve her mood. On the contrary, she became an unbearable victim of all the bad things happening to her. She sank head first into a vicious circle which took a long time to get out of.
After therapy, a couple of trips with her parents and a specialization course in California, Natalia got her focus back. This time, calmer but with the same level of determination she had lost in the past.
On her return to Valencia, she had the opportunity to meet a charming couple traveling from the United States to Spain. On the flight they engaged in a conversation leading to her present position.
She sighed at the pleasant memories.
On the flight Isabel asked to see her trajectory in a brief resume. She had been glad to study it. A couple hours after talking to her and her lovely boyfriend Juan Carlos, telling them a little about where she studied, the honors she received and how she served coffee at the important German design agency as a result of not having experience for a macho boss. Isabel was so surprised she took Natalia’s phone number informing her as soon as they arrived in Spain, she would be in touch with her. She was in the process of opening a new branch of her design company and would love to have her as a co-worker.
Coincidences didn’t exist. She met Isabel because they were destined, Natalia thought. They lived in the same city, shared the same passion, and there was a good “feeling” between them.
She loved the idea of working with Isabel and even more, on account of it being a small agency for very exclusive clients.
She looked at the clock. It was almost time to go check the work on Caserío Peña. She picked up her things, switched off the lights, lowered the blinds a little, and locked the door behind her.
They needed a secretary. Isabel had already mentioned it. It seemed like a good idea due to it being a bad idea to leave the store closed during working hours. They could lose customers like that.
Before getting into her car, she received a text message from Isabel.
“Oh my God! I think I found gold in the rough. Look:”
She received a picture of a house in very, very bad condition on a vast expanse of weedy land. She frowned. It looked like a very old estate. So old, it seemed strange to Natalia that she didn’t recognize it. She had toured the ancient estates standing or in ruins when she was still studying Interior Design and didn’t remember that one.
“It will have to be investigated because it’s the first time I’ve seen it”
“It’s inhabited. I just saw a man in the window and he almost scared me to death.”
“Maybe he's an invader.”
“I have already thought about that, and I'm crossing my fingers we get it”
Natalia sent her a smiley emoticon. “We'll talk later I'm leaving now”.
She got into the car and took the CV-35 in the direction of Caserío Peña. She really wanted to skip it so she could go visit her grandmother.
***
Isabel came into the office with uncontrollable anxiety. It was not yet 5 p.m. She prayed for Natalia to hurry up. She wanted to take her to the estate she discovered. It looked smaller than it was as a result of a part of it was almost in ruins. A surprise inhabitant gave her a good scare after looking out of the window. The house was in such a bad state you could not imagine anyone living there.
At first, she was tempted to knock on the door to talk to the person she saw leaning out the window. She berated herself for the sudden attack of stupidity and decided to calm down.
The memory of the night Juan Carlos was kidnapped was still fresh in her memory even though it had happened a little more than a year ago. They were still at the estate, waiting for Edward, Carlota, and their daughter, Alice to return from the book signing tour and presentations Carlota had scheduled. Whenever they mentioned, perhaps, they would be back soon, her sister's agent would extend the tour a bit longer. She had never spent so much time on tour and knew Edward would be antsy to get back in touch with the planting in the Alcalá Orange Grove. She could hear it in his voice every time he spoke to them. She expected to see them soon. She missed them a lot.
She notified them about what happened the night she and Juan Carlos were taken by surprise inside the estate. She had to ask her brother-in-law and her sister not to return and assure them everything was fine. The police were handling it. Which was true, but without positive results because they still hadn’t found those strange men. Not surprisingly, the police had the simple version of the facts since Isabel and Juan Carlos could not give some details considering it was unthinkable to betray Juan Carlos’ former immortality. No way. They would look at them like they were crazy. Especially since Juan C, was a normal man. You could see the passage of time in his physique, like any other person.
Isabel still couldn’t believe the magnificent legend her late mother-in-law told her children. It was very true. Juan Carlos regained his mortality the moment he met and fell in love with Isabel. He loved her like no other.
She smiled, thinking how happy he'd been since she’s been with him.
He was a unique and wonderful man. They were thinking about getting married soon.
Juan Carlos still worried he had not found his brother. Isabel could see it in his eyes. He needed to know Francisco's whereabouts. They were using every available resources they had in their reserve however, they were still quite limited. With Francisco's 'special' condition and God only knew who was looking for him, they did not dare hire anyone to help search. So even though it was a bit difficult they had to find him on their own.
Her cell phone rang.
“Isabel, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won’t be able to return to the office this afternoon. I promise to cover the hours in some way; my grandmother doesn’t feel very well. I have decided to stay with her a while longer.”
Isabel deflated.
“Send me the estate’s picture and location, tomorrow, before I come into the office, I'll go see it. Maybe we could meet there?”
She responded to Natalia.
“Don’t worry Natalia, you can take the time you need. It is a blessing to have grandparents alive at our age.”
She looked for the house address and sent it to her.
“I hope you get it. Is that it hidden behind some bushes? I don’t know how in the hell you found it. See you tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Isa. See you tomorrow”
Isabel worked at her computer a little while longer. She took the time to organize her agenda for the next day and then, tried to distract herself but it didn’t work. With the estate on her mind, nothing else could dominate her thoughts. She finally gave up and collected her things, closed the business and went home. Natalia would scold her if she found out but it was a dire situation. She needed to get back there and this time, if she saw the man, she would try to talk to him.
She climbed into her car and drove to the estate.
It was already dark, as to be expected at this time of year. The tree leaves had begun to fall forming crumbling beds on the ground.
There was no street lamp nearby so Isabel decided to direct her car headlights toward the property. If Juan Carlos learned she was here at this time of night and alone, he would give her a good earful. However, she just couldn’t wait. She had to know more about that house.
The property was imposing even though much of it was in ruins. Isabel could imagine how it had been and everything she would do to restore it to its original state.
Of course, it was a rather vague idea. Everything would be much clearer in her head when she could actually enter and feel every space on the site.
What story would the house tell her?
If The Alcalá Orange Grove had a legend surrounding a sarcophagus buried in its depths, which proved to be true, even though they didn’t make it public, it encouraged her to think the ruined house before her eyes might also have a story to tell.
She saw movement through the window pane, though there were no lights on.
She wanted to go up and knock on the door, but for some reason she was afraid. Perhaps her cautious side was setting some limits on her impulsive side.
So much for criticizing her sister about getting into trouble to discover a bestselling story. There she was, making use of that curiosity that ran in the family.
The ringing of her cell phone startled Isabel.
“Carl!” She replied effusively after seeing the international number on the screen. Please tell me, you are coming home.
Carlota burst into laughter.
“Not dear, not yet though I've already talked to Ramsey so next month I'll be released or at least organizing tours in Europe allowing me to spend more time at home. It's going to be a bit difficult. My readers went crazy with this story. They are already asking about a second book.”
“How wonderful, Carl!” Isabel could not be more excited for her sister. “How are the dwarf and Edward?”
“Good. Good. Wonderful. Those two are such a pair, they spend their time playing. They are at the park now. And you? What's New?”
“Good, darling. Everything is under control. I’m trying to get more work at the new office and—” Isabel broke off because she heard the door locks of the property open. Instead of running to her car door, she ran to the house’s door.
“Isa, Isa...” Carlota called through the phone.
When Isabel approached a little more, only the center of the door was open. A square window allowing her to see a man leaning his shotgun on the edge aiming it at her.
“Oh my God!” Isabel shouted, stopping and backing away without turning her back on the weapon pointing at her. “I'm not a thief, sir.”
“Isabel! What the hell is going on?” Carlota shouted with concern.
The man loaded the gun while pointing it directly at her.
“Get off of my property or take a fucking souvenir from me!”
“ISABEL!” Carlota was screaming hysterically.
The youngest Alcalá ran to her car, started the engine and left the site leaving a thick cloud of dust in her path.
She clutched the steering wheel to calm her trembling hands a little. She wished she could do the same with her legs. She pressed the accelerator while merging on the highway almost causing an accident. She was lucky she did not run into a speed trap or a policeman that would stop her for speeding and driving crazy.
She was not aware of the road she took until she reached the strong solid iron gate of Alcalá Orange Grove.
There she stopped, took a deep breath before reacting and processing everything that just happened.
She looked at her cell phone remembering her sister was on the line.
When she put it to her ear, she realized Carlota was still on the active call.
“Carl, I'm sorry.”
She heard Carlota sobbing.
“Good Lord, Isabel Alcalá! Don’t you ever do that again, you nearly scared me to death!”
“I'm sorry, I just discovered an abandoned estate in the middle of nowhere, Carlota. It seems forgotten in time but it’s like it wanted to tell me a story.”
Carlota let out an ironic laugh, her voice trembling with tears.
“I'm the one looking for stories.”
“Well, now is not the time, but you know how it felt when you were opening the sarcophagus that you shouldn’t have.” Carlota remained silent, assuming her old guilt. “I had seen a man lived there but Carl, I can’t take it, the property is beautiful and I'm dying to look at it.”
“Stop talking about death and don’t you dare to go back to that place alone, is that clear?”
Isabel didn’t answer because she knew she could not promise something like that.
“Isabel, is that clear?”
“Yes, it’s clear, but I promise nothing.”
On the other side of Alcalá Orange Grove, Juan Carlos’ SUV skidded around the curve before reaching the main gate.
“Did you tell Juan?”
“What were you expecting? The first thing I thought of was the kidnappers.”
“Carlota Alcalá! When I get that house and have a story to tell, I swear I will not tell you. That will be your punishment.”
Carlota groaned across the phone.
Isabel disarmed the security alarm opening the doors to the property.
“Good-bye, I have to calm my boyfriend. The poor fellow is truly panicked. I'm really sorry, Carl. It is something stronger than me. I'll try not to get in trouble. I love you.”
She hung up before her sister could protest again. She got out of the car just as Juan Carlos approached her to see if she was okay.
***
Juan Carlos felt his soul return to his body when he saw the woman he loved get out of her car in one piece and as beautiful as ever.
“What happened to you? Are you okay? Did they follow you? Who were they? Did you—” Isabel planted a sweet kiss on her boyfriend, who was struck dumb for a few seconds.
“I'm fine, nothing serious happened to me.”
“But Carlota called me and said—” Isabel kissed him again and hugged him tightly.
“Remember I told you about an abandoned house I found. How I would love to redecorate it?” Juan Carlos nodded, frowning but not letting go of his beloved. “Well I was going again with Natalia, but she couldn’t make it so I went alone.”
“Are you crazy, honey? I swear if anything happens to you—” another kiss. “Don’t try to soften me up with your kisses, Isa.”
“I'm not trying to soften you up, Carlota exaggerated a little.”
“She said she heard a gun. Is that true?”
Isabel tried to stare into Juan's eyes and fudge the story a little to make it credible but, she did not succeed.
“Tell me the truth, Isabel Alcalá.”
Isabel rolled her eyes.
“Okay, Juan Carlos, yes. The man took out a shotgun and told me to get out of there or he would give me a “fucking souvenir from him” — she gave him another kiss and placed her head on Juan's chest. “That man spoke very badly, by the way.”
“Don’t go back to that place, Isabel. You do not know who he is or what he’s capable of.”
Isabel didn’t want to deceive Juan Carlos. She knew she would return to the estate but it would take a few days. The truth was everyone around her was right for taking care of her and she had to admit she was very frightened when the man aimed his shotgun at her.
“I'll make some inquiries at Town Hall before returning,” she said, trying to free herself from Juan Carlos' strong arms.
He knew that meant she would return and it would take a miracle to change her mind.
He nodded with a frown. This time it was he who kissed her.
“Promise me you will not go alone.”
She smiled mischievously.
“It's OK darling. I'll let you know so you can join me. Now, let's go home I‘m starving.”
They each got into their respective cars and set off toward the house.
“Holy God!” Isabel exclaimed as soon as she entered the house. “What are you cooking that smells so good?”
“I'm baking an orange pie, but I also baked a pork loin with roasted potatoes and caramelized onions.”
Isabel's stomach made itself known as they walked to the kitchen. She rummaged for a piece of bread to sink into the pork sauce.
Juan Carlos eyed her with amusement. She always did the same thing when she came home hungry. He loved her desperation to taste the food before sitting at the table and to eat properly. His mother would have popped his hands with the wooden spoon. At that time, a young lady would have had those manners but since things had changed so much, even he would be unrecognizable to his mother.
He dedicated himself to planting oranges on the estate, which was marvelous. The activity he had known for so many centuries lost its complexity as time passed. Once, it was a task that robbed men of almost the entire working day.
Now, Juan Carlos had the support of machines, fertilizers, automatic irrigations and many other things making the task so much easier. Some days he had a lot of free time and didn’t like it at all.
He could understand the evolution of things through the centuries and could adapt to new behaviors between men and women. He even managed to accept a woman went outside the home to work and man stayed home caring for the house and children. What he couldn’t conceive of was Isabel going to work and him remaining perfectly idle at home.
Ah no! That couldn’t happen!
So as cleaning was done by a girl who Isabel hired, Juan Carlos assumed the kitchen would be under his command. He seemed to do very well because his wife —almost always— licked the dishes.
His wife, he thought.
He sighed as he poured wine into wine glasses, handling her one as he sat with her at the table.
Isabel smiled at the precise moment he thought again that yes, she was his wife. So perfect, so beautiful, so his.
He leaned in front of her placing his hand on the back of her neck. She smiled seductively at him and a growl escaped him.
He caressed her lower lip with his thumb and kissed her.
The kiss was nothing like the innocent kisses from minutes earlier at the entrance of the estate.
No.
This kiss came from the deepest desire had for her.
Isabel let Juan Carlos explore the inside of her mouth, answering with a moan that suffocated in her throat.
With the same quickness in which he bent to kiss her, he parted from her. She saw his amused gaze.
“Shall we eat?”
He loved watching Isabel's cheeks redden, trying to regain her composure by inhaling slowly and avoiding his face for a few seconds. Her few seconds of embarrassment were Juan Carlos’ ecstasy.
They were silent while he served the food.
She drank some wine.
“Please remind me, as soon as we finish eating, to call Natalia so tomorrow she will not show up at the house I fled today.”
Juan Carlos looked at her with disapproval.
“Go and call her now.”
“It can wait until after dinner, Juan. Besides, it's not late.”
Juan Carlos tilted his head with a single glance at Isabel. She rolled her eyes as she got up to go get her cell phone.
She returned a few minutes later.
“Did you talk to her?”
“No. Maybe her battery died. She was at her grandmother's house. Apparently, her grandmother was not feeling well. I hope it's nothing serious.”
“Try again.”
“Relax, my love. I already left a voice message and a text message. As soon as she gets home, she’ll see them.”
Juan Carlos nodded, frowning.
He could not stop thinking about the madness he would have suffered if something had happened to his Isabel today. Just like that night with those men.
He shook his head trying to forget the terrible memories of the night those men dressed in black stormed into the house with weapons and threatened them both. When they took him away, he could only think about his beloved Isabel and how much he wanted to defend her from these criminals.
On that night, Juan Carlos learned from these men his brother was still alive. In fact, the men were looking for him. He did not know why or what they wanted, but something inside him led him to think if they found him, Francisco would go through the hell he had surely survived so many centuries ago when the inquisitors had taken him prisoner for heretics.
He remembered his mother and her attempt to save them from the plague without knowing she was serving them up on a silver platter to the wickedness. Until this day, Juan Carlos still could not look at priest without resulting in an almost uncontrollable fury mixed with a paralyzing fear.
It took Isabel a while to get used to it. The first time he went before the city’s parish priest closest to the estate, the color drained from his face, he almost fainted and it took him more than an hour to stop trembling to the point of convulsion.
With the passage of time and the study of the history of those centuries in which he was enslaved in the sarcophagus, he had lost some of the fear of the clergy. However, sometimes it was stronger than him.
“You're very quiet tonight, sweetie. What's happening with you?”
Isabel pulled him out of his thoughts.
He set the silverware on either side of the plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
He gazed into her eyes.
Isabel smiled sweetly at him. She knew what was going through his head.
“If only I could remember more of that night, Isabel. Something could lead us to identify the sect that kidnapped me.”
“It's very difficult for us to find them, Juan. We have nothing to go on except believing they belong to an ancient sect according to their vestments.”
“They thought I was still immortal.”
“You thought so, too. It was not until they shot you and it almost killed you, when we all realized that your immortality was not going to save your life.”
“They left me without knowing where Francisco is.”
“Don’t torture yourself any more, Juan. At some point we'll find your brother, I'm sure.”
Spain, 1630
“The prisoner is gone, sir.”
The second inquisitor studied his guard with concern.
“Clarify your words, please.”
“I went to the cabin, just as you ordered me and...” The man spoke with a gasping breath. His face morphed into an expression of horror as his gaze was lost in his memories.
“And... what? What happened?”
“They're all dead, sir.”
The Inquisitor sat down suddenly in his massive elaborate chair.
A few drops of sweat beaded the man's pink forehead. He knew it would end badly. He warned the Inquisitor General. He was so driven by his desire to destroy every evil being in the world. He longed to possess eternal life like that infernal being.
He took out his immaculate handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead. He focused directly on the guard’s eyes.
“You can’t say a word about what you're going to tell me next. That's an order. Got it?”
The guard nodded briefly and narrated the scene he had witnessed hours before.
The inquisitor, in front of him, was the second in command of the area. He sent the guard to search for the Inquisitor General who, almost a week before— left with a guard to go to a cabin where they had imprisoned Lucifer’s servant a couple of years ago.
The guard mounted his horse early in the morning and arrived easily to the indicated spot. The horse neighed nervously before approaching the gloomy hut. It seemed the same served as a detector of evil energies and warned him something very bad had happened. He didn’t want to go any closer however, his duty told him otherwise. His service to the Crown and to the Holy Church prevailed everything, even his life.
He braced himself as he dismounted the animal and calmed him a bit. He found a tree to which he tethered his horse. He drew his double-edged dagger in case he needed to defend himself. Something was not right. The hut’s door was open; as he drew closer he could see three bodies lay in the meadow, lifeless and swollen.
He recognized two of them. They were good companions and lamented the loss of both.
What the hell happened here?
His instinct told him to stop and leave. He was about to witness something monstrous, but his sense of duty, once again, overrode his instinct to leave.
Crouched with the dagger in front, ready for combat, he entered the cabin. The wood creaked loud under his weight and his senses were on high alert. That noise could alert anyone still in there of his presence.
He swore to himself. He would listen to his instinct next time it gave him advice.
He had been in numerous battles, he had seen people die, he himself had killed some but never in his life had he witnessed anything like he observed with his own eyes now.
On the floor, the Inquisitor General’s body lay lifeless. He could hardly recognize him due to the severity of the swelling of his face. Lumps the size and color of eggplants protruded grotesquely. He had no nails. His intestines hung by his side and his cassock was ripped between his legs. His testicles were torn and when the guard went to cover his private parts he noticed the base of his penis had been pierced by a dagger.
There was blood splattered everywhere. The scene was totally demonic.
The guard departed terrified. He looked for his animal that became more agitated after sensing how nervous he was. He mounted his horse and left at once.
“Was there anyone one else there?” Asked the second inquisitor.
“No sir.”
“I suppose, you searched the area.”
The guard was ashamed because no, he didn’t nor did he think to lie.
“No, sir, I'm sorry. What I saw left me speechless and without thoughts. I had no head to look for anything. I'll go back if you like and inspect the area.”
The second Inquisitor wiped sweat from his forehead again.
“There's nothing to look for, officer. Go, take a break and pray for your soul so you will not be haunted by the memories of such an unpleasant scene. Also pray for the agony your colleagues and the good Inquisitor General suffered.”
The guard nodded.
“Remember,” said the Inquisitor right before the guard left the room they occupied, “not a word of this to anyone. Right now I'll send a messenger to report what happened to the King and—” “Who else should I tell?”
He was accountable to the Inquisitor General, however, the man was dead. So, would he contact the Pope? He didn’t know what to do in these cases. Yes, some ordinary inquisitors died sometimes, though never the General.
The guard just nodded and left.
The inquisitor trembled to think what was coming. A man who could not die was free, having killed three guards and the Inquisitor General.
It was better that derelict hid well, he thought as he wrote the letter to His Majesty the King of Spain. As soon as they found him, he would make sure he didn’t see the light of day again. He smiled with clear vengeance in his eyes, thinking of all the suffering he was going to inflict on the unfortunate man.
He detailed everything that had happened on the parchment, rolled it up and, after sealing it with wax, placed it in the messenger’s hand who was to deliver it to the king.
Several days later, the boy returned with a parchment for the Ordinary Inquisitor. Remaining completely alone, he proceeded to open it and read the contents:
“Hunt the bastard. I will notify the Pope of the action taken. Began the search for the man and his demonic soul immediately. He shall be punished severely. Apply all the punishment artillery you have available when you encounter him. Please, handle this discreetly. Put your best guards on this special assignment. Only dedicate them to look for the miscreant. If they die in this attempt, then replace them since this is only the beginning of the search that may last years, as a result of the cursed one’s condition. Please let me know when you have him. You are a faithful servant and God will reward you for it. As soon as there is a new Inquisitor General I will inform you. Understand this matter will only be known by the guards, you, the Holy Pontiff and me. Remember: your utmost discretion in this matter.”
Threaten the guards with death if their tongues go awry; form a secret society if necessary but never mention the words eternal life outside this circle”.
He recognized the King's signature immediately and threw the parchment into the burning fireplace.
He already knew which guards he would assign to this important mission. He knelt before the crucifix hanging from the wall, made the sign of the cross and after reciting his prayers in a perfect Latin, asked the son of the 'Lord' to grant him the necessary life to catch Lucifer’s servant.