Lazzaretto Vecchio, Venezia 'Get them to their feet!'
Gatusso's command brings hooded acolytes out of the shadows.
A large man bends and picks up Efran's corpse. His dangling head brushes Tanina's lap. She's too frightened to scream. An acolyte pulls her to her feet and drags her away. 'Ermanno!' she shouts, then her eyes catch Lydia's. 'Please, don't hurt him!'
'Sweet, how she still cares for her lover,' says Gatusso, sarcastically. 'Who would have thought a Jew could provoke such emotion.' He puts a booted foot against the young man's chest and pushes the unconscious body. 'Take him outside. He may still be good for something.'
Tommaso watches it all, his mind reeling from the multiple shocks the day has dealt him.
'Stand up, Brother.' Gatusso grins. 'You are the star of the show. We must ensure you make a proper entrance.'
He gets to his feet. 'You'll burn in the fires of eternal hell, Gatusso. What you're doing is beyond evil. You will suffer for ever for your sins.'
'Tut. Tut. Such anger.' He mockingly brushes Tommaso's shoulders to tidy his attire, then waves to a pair of acolytes. 'Make him watch everything. Hold his eyes open if necessary. I want him to act as witness for his precious and all powerful God.' He turns to Tommaso, a wide smirk on his face. 'Do you want to pray, Brother? You can get down on your knees if you like. Go on. We don't mind. Feel free to call upon your glorious Jesus to save you.'
Tommaso says nothing. He has no strength – neither physical nor religious.
'Good decision,' says Gatusso. 'Why waste your breath. You don't have much of it left.'
Lydia and the acolytes manhandle Tommaso away.
As he's brought into the open, he instantly sees the area outside has been well prepared.
A perfect rectangle has been drawn and divided into three, each section accommodating a libation altar made from virgin wood.
Three places to shed fresh blood.
Ermanno is already tied to one.
Tanina is stood next to another.
A third lies empty. Presumably reserved for him.
Two acolytes now attend each altar.
Torches are being lit around the rectangle.
In the centre there is a silver stand. On it are the three Tablets of Atmanta. The Gates of Hell are ready to be unlocked.
Lydia stands close to Gatusso. Tommaso notices that their red-lined, black capes bear different markings from the acolytes'. They are clearly the leaders of the coven.
He looks to Tanina.
She's gazing back at him.
Her eyes ask so much. Say so much. He wishes there was time to get to know her. To talk of their mother, their lives, their feelings.
She smiles. It's as though she can tell what he's thinking. As though she understands.
Gatusso sees them gazing at each other, forming non-verbal bonds, bridging the gap caused by their segregation.
He walks towards Tanina. 'Brother Tommaso, contrary to the beliefs of the Catholic Church, my lord Satan is a merciful god. And though I am commanded to shed your blood in his honour, I am also able to bring you great joy and happiness.' He puts a hand in Tanina's hair. 'I have a proposition for you. I will let your sister live. But in return, you must renounce your God – the God that has so obviously forsaken you – the God you do not even feel worth praying to. Renounce him – renounce the so-called Holy Trinity. Proclaim your baptism a blasphemy against the true lord, Satan.' He touches the young monk's face. 'Tommaso, if you get down on bended knee and pledge your soul to Satan, the true lord of everything, I will spare her life.' He walks to an acolyte, picks a thin blade, like a sculptor's clay knife, from a silver tray and paces up to the first altar. 'One other condition. You must take the life of her lover instead. You take it, Brother, and in return I will give you her life.' He turns the handle of the knife towards Tommaso. 'What is it to be – your sister, or a man who means nothing to you?'