The Serpent's Tooth

A clamor of voices, a woman's screams . . . What was happening, Lucia wondered in fear, as hoofbeats thundered ever nearer. She ran to hide--but it was too late. A pair of powerful hands grasped her and lifted her onto the back of an enormous black stallion. She pleaded pitifully with her cruel captor to release her, but he paid no heed. To Lucia, the terrifying gallop toward the decadent Rome of the Borgias was a nightmare. But she would never have believed that her nightmare had only just begun.