Somewhere in the world, the gate to hell had opened. I imagined a black slime bubbling out, like red hot lava that would destroy us all. Because we had no time, Mrs. Micari, Allie and I returned to the B&B to regroup and research. Father Corletti kept Eliza with him and returned to the Vatican where she could be cared for by Forza’s amazing medical team while he rallied the troops and did research of his own. We needed to know two things, of course. Where the gate was. And how to close it now that it was open. Both pieces of information were essential, and neither was useful without the other. Unfortunately, we didn’t even know if there was a way to close it. We were flying blind, and had no time. I called Eddie from the car, so he was doing what he could from Los Angeles, with Laura and Cutter and even Mindy burning up the Internet as they tried to find a clue. But I didn’t expect much. I’d also called Stuart—and had been royally pissed when he hadn’t answered the phone.
