"We know one tunnel's exit has a high probability of existing," Cosimo said with a thoughtful expression. "Ludovico had a passage built to the Santa Maria delle Grazie, and it still stands."
"It was bombed, so the tunnel exit could have been destroyed, and it's a UNESCO site. It will have its own security just for Da Vinci'sLast Supper. Beatrice's body might still be located there, but her actual tomb monument, which originally marked its location, was moved to Pavia," Marcella argued.
Valentine hadn't looked up from the plans. "The church security is a lot less to deal with than within the castle."
"If there were an opening to the tunnels in the church or its crypts, it would have been found by now. There are thousands of visitors there every year too. Huge efforts would have been made to protect such an opening from anyone too eager to explore,"Marcella replied logically. She had been there many times and never saw any doorways that weren't meant to be there.
Bas pulled himself away from his staring competition with Bridget to say, "You are all forgetting about Hermes."
Marcella halted and stared at him. "What about Hermes?"
"He is your family's patron god, right? Because of that, you probably have magicians in your bloodline that you don't know about because they were hiding from the Church," Bas explained, leaning back in his chair. "What is Hermes the god of, apart from magic?"
"Lots of things…" Marcella began
"Doorways," he stressed.
"Of course. Bas, you brilliant boy." Cosimo's face lit up, and he looked at Marcella. "You clearly got your charisma and some of your necromancy gifts from Hermes, but what if there were other gifts that your ancestors had. Ludovico got Da Vinci to design the tunnel to the church, and if they were studying magic and not just alchemy, like we suspect, then they could have used some kind of doorway magic to hide exits and entryways."
Marcella's eyes went wide. "Magic to hide a doorway? So that could mean…."
"It's still there, hidden to everyone but magicians," Cosimo replied.
"Or specifically Sforza magicians," Valentine added. "They could have created it with blood magic. It could be keyed to only reveal itself to a family member because it was their escape if they were under siege. They wouldn't have left it for just any magician to find."
Marcella sat before she fell down. "How do you know that?"
"It's an educated guess. It's what I would do if my family were constantly under attack like the Sforzas were. In fact, the wards around this mansionareprogrammed like that. Only a person of Greatdrakes blood, our mates, or someone with ourspecific permissions can enter," Valentine explained. "Yelena got through our wards just by flicking some of her blood at them."
"I can't just go intoSagrestia Vecchiaand start flinging blood everywhere!" Marcella said, throwing her hands up.
"Not with that attitude,tesoro," Cosimo replied, a wicked glint in his eyes. "But you are right that the Old Sacristy would be a good spot to start."
Marcella stared at him. "This is insane, right? We can't do this…can we?"
"We are Greatdrakes," he said, his smile widening. "We can do whatever we want. The only thing that could stop us from digging deeper is you,cara mia."
Marcella looked around at them, expecting them to laugh and say it was a joke, but they were all deadly serious about it. A dark, unexpected thrill ran through Marcella as the reality of the proposition sank in.
She wouldn't have to try and wait for permissions or permits. There would be no damage, because there would be no digging. They really could do this without any authorities being the wiser. Magic tingled in her fingertips as she gazed at the image of the church before her, her intuition sparking and her third eye burning.
After a lifetime of searching, could this be the answer?
Marcella stared at Cosimo. It was his research as well as hers, and now Bridget's, that brought them to this point. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to investigate Bridget's lead.
Marcella took his hand and kissed it. "Let's do it."
42
Two days later, close to midnight, Cosimo stood at the back of Santa Maria delle Grazie on Via Caradosso, Marcella's hand in his. Valentine, Yelena, Bas, and Bridget waited with them, staring up at the church's lit-up red and cream facade.
They had decided that it was less risky to go through one of the back entrances. It would give them the shortest route to the Old Sacristy and avoid the main part of the church with its extra guards and cameras to watch over Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece.
Cosimo had tried to hide his disappointment that they couldn't take advantage of a visit with no crowds. It was such a beautiful building and had always been one of Cosimo's favorite churches. At times like this, he could feel the threads of fate tugging at him.
One of the last times he had been with Maria before her disappearance was during a trip to Milan, when they had visited this church together. Earlier, Cosimo had asked if she wanted to come along and search the tunnels with them. She had declined, wanting to be at home in her tower and study the bracelet she had found in Minerva's temple.
Apollo and Reeve had promised to keep her company and make sure that she was okay. She was his sister, not his child, and Cosimo knew she could handle herself. He had another woman to worry about.
