Huntress of the Fallen

Signora Pearson is in a feisty mood today, Vittoria thought with no small amount of relish. This could be fun.

For her part, Bianca was finished with this damnable woman's skepticism and constant second-guessing which over the course of the last seven days had gradually worn her down until Bianca began doubting her own self. They met twice every day this last week without fail, using their precious time together to pour over ancient maps and documents that Vittoria had pulled from the Biblioteca. For all her intelligence and expertise, the esteemed Professor Soriano had given Bianca nothing to aid her in finding an entrance to the underworld beneath Venice. She would have given up on their sessions entirely by now except she actually enjoyed the company of this woman.

For Vittoria, each meeting with her unofficial pupil was the highlight of the professor's day. Bryana mesmerized Vittoria with her understated beauty, with the strength of her convictions, and with her willingness to listen intently and learn from her. If only the woman's obsessions weren't so unbelievably silly. Vittoria was stunned that a well-bred woman of such obvious class and intelligence could harbor these preposterous delusions.

"You're early, Signora," Vittoria said with a gesture toward the bewildered student sitting in the chair across from her. "I could have sworn our meeting didn't start for two more hours."

Bianca blushed with embarrassment at her own impropriety when she realized Vittoria had already been meeting with a student when she burst in. She immediately apologized

"I'm so sorry, Professor Soriano. I needed to see you right away but I think now I will simply leave."

Vittoria gave her surprise visitor a stern look but inwardly she was beaming. Bryana needed to see her? Needed?

"Same time next week, Mary?" Vittoria told her student using a tone of clear dismissal.

"Of course, Professor Soriano," said a young beauty with short, dark hair. Mary bowed her head submissively and gathered her books and documents in her travel bag before leaving.

This girl really is quite lovely, Bianca thought with secret admiration for the skinny legs and supple bottom seen exiting from Vittoria's office.

Mary reminded Bianca of a naive but willing girl she knew a lifetime ago. That youngster had worked as a serving girl at Bianca and her husband Stefan's estate. The dirty peasant required very little convincing to engage in filthy orgies with her lord and lady. Bianca stared at Mary's rear and wondered if this girl enjoyed having fingers, tongues, and cocks up her behind as much as that servant had. She noticed Vittoria also admiring the view of Mary's bottom and now Bianca was intrigued by what sort of private tutoring this girl normally received from her instructor.

Could it possibly be? Bianca wondered. No. That would be indecent. Vittoria is a proper lady, not some skirt-chaser lusting after younger women.

Vittoria waited for Mary to close the door behind her then explained, "Mary is one of our most promising graduate students. She's been receiving some, ah, intensive tutoring from me for the last few years."

"She's a very pretty young woman," Bianca said with a knowing smile.

Vittoria coughed into her hand and agreed, "Er, yes. Quite so. I couldn't help noticing your appreciative eye."

"Do you often have pretty young girls alone in your office, Professor Soriano?" Bianca couldn't help teasing Vittoria further.

"I have a pretty young girl in my office right now," Vittoria snapped, hoping she could quickly change the subject. "One who is not my student yet is somehow more difficult and uncooperative than any pupil I've taught."

Best left unsaid that she and Mary had been occasional lovers during the girl's first year of graduate studies. Mary was a petite girl with the cutest, tiniest little cunny that Vittoria adored stretching open wide using a combination of fingers and toys. But as usual, Vittoria broke things off with Mary after sleeping with her for a couple months. Mary visited Vittoria's office today under the pretense of consulting her old professor for advice on Mary's graduate thesis. She was really there to hopefully reignite their previous relationship but Vittoria only had eyes for one woman any longer. Bryana's unexpected arrival fortuitously provided Vittoria the perfect excuse to dismiss Mary until a later time when she could be more effectively dealt with.

Vittoria's expression morphed from a look of annoyance into a happy, pleased grin as she bridged her fingers and leaned back in her chair. She puffed her chest out ever so slightly, her hungry smile widening when Bryana noticed Vittoria's cleavage showing more prominently. The professor's rapid transformation seemed to put Bryana at a loss for words.

"So what can I do for you today, Signora Pearson?"

Bianca's fingers slid the photograph across the desk until the picture sat directly beneath Vittoria's gaze. The professor stared critically down at the photo for a moment.

"Okay, what exactly am I looking at?" Vittoria finally wondered.

"A symbol carved into the doorway leading to a place your skeptical arse is convinced doesn't exist," Bianca explained with a triumphant glare at her companion. "I took the photograph this very morning."

Vittoria smiled at the offhand reference to her arse which made Bianca worry she struck the wrong tone if she wanted to sound convincing.

"I've never seen anything like it," Vittoria confessed. "Where did you take this?"

"In the basement of another dark house," Bianca said. "I found it two nights ago. It's only half a mile away from here, actually."

"Another one?" Vittoria said incredulously, her eyes widening behind the lenses of her spectacles. "I thought I knew everything there is to know about this city. How have these places escaped my attention for so long?"

"The houses are cleverly hidden," Bianca explained. "Left in plain sight but only visible if one is actively looking for them. Have you had any luck in discovering the owner of the plots the houses reside upon?"

"Sadly, no," Vittoria responded. "Which is most perplexing. I pulled records from the city archives and learned that the site in the park was slated for demolition years ago until some mysterious purchaser swooped in and bought up the property. Then the buyer somehow influenced the city council into designating that hovel a protected historical site. But there is no evidence of any evaluation or archaeological inspection proving the veracity of that declaration.

My research into the owner only turned up a limited liability corporation that is owned by another corporation. That one is of course owned by yet another corporation. With so many shell companies it's nearly impossible to decipher the true owner. Insane, isn't it? Who would go to such lengths to preserve abandoned, decaying property sitting on prime real estate?"

"I can't say I'm particularly surprised at the resources in play here," Bianca answered with a shrug.

"You know something I don't," said Vittoria, her eyes narrowing in scrutiny. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Believe me, it's better for you not to know."

"Very well, Signora Circumspect, let's go then," Vittoria chided Bianca as she lifted from her chair and grabbed a leopard-patterned felt jacket off her coat rack.

"What do you mean?" Bianca asked worriedly. "Where are we going?"

"Bryana, my dear," Vittoria said with a hint of condescension. "If what you're telling me is true, there is a section of this city that has somehow gone undiscovered and unexplored for centuries. This hidden place even escaped my notice and I'm arguably the foremost authority on the archaeological and architectural history of this city. This underground may be the most important historical find in Venice in my lifetime. Do you really intend to keep me from seeing this for myself?"

"Vittoria, wait."

Bianca grabbed Vittoria as the professor made for the door. Both women looked down at the hand grasping Vittoria by her wrist. The skin contact affected Bianca like a surge of energy bursting inside her chest while sparks of electricity danced along the fingertips curled around Vittoria's slight wrist. Bianca felt woozy as the feelings she'd tried so hard to contain threatened to overwhelm her. The gorgeous professor gave Bianca a wicked smile which prompted the blonde to instantly snatch her hand away.

Why did she have to be so pretty? Bianca lamented. Why couldn't the professor be a shrewish elderly woman with wrinkled skin and sagging tits instead?

"We shouldn't, it's too dangerous," Bianca mentioned as she kept her gaze firmly planted on the awkward back-and-forth shuffle of her feet. She couldn't meet those gorgeous hazel eyes right now, she might lose herself forever then.

"You'll need to do better than that tired line, Signora Pearson," Vittoria said with a roll of her eyes. "Archaeology isn't like the movies, there are no booby traps or treasure hunts. You're simply afraid I will discover some mundane explanation for your fanciful delusions."

"They are not delusions," Bianca seethed with gritted teeth and an impudent stamp of her foot.

Vittoria tried not to gape at Bryana but gave up and willingly lost herself in the midnight pools of her eyes. The nervousness and timidity exhibited after their awkward touch a minute ago was gone in an instant and replaced by such passion and ferocity that Vittoria became instantly aroused. Vittoria was struck by Bryana's vehemence and the conviction in her beliefs. She blushed with shame at her casual dismissal of the woman's outlandish but dearly held claims.

"I apologize, Bryana," Vittoria said with a deferential bow of her head. "My intention was not to belittle you. I am a skeptic by nature and I require concrete proof to engender belief. That's why I have no belief in gods, angels, or devils. If you believe there exists evidence somewhere that will change my mind, please show me."

Bianca became so distracted by the mesmerizing eyes she had sworn to evade that she hardly realized it when Vittoria took her by the hand. Vittoria slid her slim fingers through the gaps between Bianca's fingers until their palms were clenched together. The unexpected sensation was pleasant enough to make Bianca gasp while also somewhat distressing her after so many years without experiencing a positive or comforting touch. Not thinking through the ramifications first, Bianca squeezed Vittoria's grip and ran her thumb across the back of Vittoria's hand before hurriedly pulling away.

"Follow me then," Bianca said hoarsely.

+++++

The river tides crested and ridged evenly beneath calm winds and the rank stink of untreated saltwater remained bearable with the glaring afternoon sun not yet heating the canals. Vittoria enjoyed the rear view of Bryana's tight jeans as the younger woman led Vittoria down a familiar street. The blonde wiggled her tight, curvy buns back and forth obliviously as she strutted in the form-fitting fabric. The line of Bryana's asscrack was nearly visible beneath denim that adhered to her so snugly Vittoria almost thought she detected the barest hint of Bryana's mound between her legs. Bryana of course had no idea the effect she was having on Vittoria as her sizable rump bounced with every step she took.

Good lord, this woman is absolutely delicious, Vittoria thought as she bit down hard on her bottom lip.

Before Vittoria managed to conceal her lechery, Bryana glared back resentfully at the professor blatantly leering at her ample posterior. The blonde coughed loudly to draw Vittoria's attention from her plump behind while a deep flush of shame darkened Vittoria's tan cheeks. They had reached a dead-end street where a small, dark stone house had been narrowly constructed between two larger buildings. Just as Bryana described, the house appeared startlingly out of place yet Vittoria hadn't even noticed the domicile until they were nearly on top of it and that was after Bryana indicated it clearly.

"Stay behind me," Bianca gravely advised the bespectacled professor.

Vittoria scoffed at Bryana's precautions but dutifully followed her command as Bryana tested the wooden door at the house's entrance using the palms of her hands. Bryana threw her shoulder forward and with a resounding crash she violently forced the door to swing open. The interior of the house looked darker than dark through the yawning doorway, as if sunlight were reluctant to pierce the black veil indoors.

"Is this legal?" Vittoria nervously wondered. "Aren't we breaking and entering on private property?"

"What's wrong, Professor Soriano?" Bianca mockingly challenged. "Cold feet? I seem to recall just an hour ago you derided my warnings of danger."

"I've told you a thousand times to call me Vittoria," Professor Soriano insisted as she haughtily strode in front of Bryana and passed beyond the threshold into the dark house.

"Behind me!" Bianca hissed as she grabbed Vittoria by the arm and pulled her back. "I haven't ascertained whether there is anyone else in here first!"

"Look at this dust," Vittoria said with a screwed-up face before sneezing loudly enough to raise the dead. "No one's been inside here for ages."

"For once, will you listen to me?," Bianca grumbled as she retrieved a flashlight from her backpack and switched it on. She also produced from her pack a long silver knife with serrated edges that gleamed brightly despite the absence of light. Bianca tucked the blade into her belt where it could stay in close reach.

"What is that for?" Vittoria asked nervously as she eyed the hilt of the wicked metal blade.

"Just a precaution," Bianca answered.

Bianca held out her arm and a grateful Vittoria clung to it tightly as they explored the house room-to-room. They quickly verified that aside from the usual pests there were no hidden presences haunting the decrepit ruins of what used to be a small but opulent household. Even with a beam of battery-powered light cutting through it, the darkness was so suffocating it sucked the air out of every room until Vittoria could hardly breathe. The thick cobwebs clinging to every surface, the cracked stones endangering every footstep, the chattering movement of rodents both winged and tailed and the eerie, dark silence all combined to take hold of Vittoria's mind until terror of this awful place nearly overwhelmed her senses. Only Bryana's confident, steadfast presence kept her from bolting to the exit.

Vittoria used every excuse imaginable to touch the body of her latest fascination. Her and Bryana rubbed shoulders together, accidentally caressed each other's fingers and arms, bumped hips, and Vittoria even reached out to stroke Bryana's platinum-gold hair between her fingers whenever she found an opportunity. Bryana never resisted Vittoria's affections though she didn't exactly encourage them either.

These rare exhibitions of heat or coolness toward Vittoria had been the most frustrating aspect of their regrettably platonic relationship so far. Bryana's unexpected outburst earlier this afternoon had excited Vittoria more than she could articulate. Vittoria wondered what event in Bryana's past led to her becoming so purposely controlled and unemotional. She suspected once the beast within her was unleashed, Bryana's passions turned violent and untameable. Vittoria couldn't wait to see this filly unbridled.

Bianca knew she should be irritated at having to drag Vittoria along with her sword arm encumbered by its linkage with Vittoria's clinging hands but despite her reticence Bianca found warmth and comfort in the nearness of Vittoria's body beside hers. The only emotions Bianca allowed herself these last four years were a cold distance toward her fellow humans and violent rage against the unholy monsters she opposed. It felt wondrous and life-affirming to experience something good for a change.

Once Bianca was assured that no hidden persons were secreted within the household, she led Vittoria downstairs to a damp, mildewy dungeon. Bianca directed Vittoria to the stone barrier set in the floor that prevented entry to the tunnels below. A sinister symbol matching that from Bianca's photograph was scrawled in red across the front of the doorway.

"Dio mio," Vittoria said breathlessly as she pressed her hand against the cold stone and inspected the writing up close. "You weren't lying!"

"I've never once lied to you about this," Bianca said flatly, not even attempting to mask her resentment.

"I know that," Vittoria replied distractedly as she traced the etching with her fingernail then felt along the edges of the barrier. "It's one thing to be told everything you thought you knew of history was false. It's another to see it for yourself. Do you recognize the symbol written on the face of the stone? It's part of the original construction, not graffiti added years after the fact."

"No," Bianca lied mere seconds after she professed her truthfulness so confidently. She was glad darkness concealed the wince accompanying that falsehood.

"I've never seen anything like it," Vittoria said with wonder. "The script is almost Semitic in origin but totally unlike any Hebrew writing I've studied. You've found no way to open this door?"

"I spent all of yesterday trying to pry it open," Bianca told Vittoria. "I have the blisters to prove it. The entrance is sealed from within somehow. There's no way of opening the door from this side short of blasting it with dynamite."

Vittoria dusted her hands off on her skirt as she stood back up. "We need to close off the area and get a team down here immediately. Excavation will begin as soon as the necessary permits are approved by the city."

"What?" Bianca shouted incredulously. "No!"

"Bryana, this might be the most important archaeological find in Venice in the last decade, maybe even the last century," Vittoria said. "This site must be preserved and studied."

Bianca grabbed the collar of Vittoria's blouse in both hands but there was nothing romantic about the gesture. She said, "Vittoria, believe me when I tell you that any team you send down here to excavate will never be seen alive again."

The seriousness of Bryana's imperious expression gave Vittoria pause. Bryana had already proven herself true and now Vittoria was inclined to believe anything she said no matter how outrageous.

"Is this another case where you know more than you're letting on?" Vittoria asked.

"Just trust me," Bianca pleaded. "Tell no one of what we've found down here."

"I do trust you, Bryana," said Vittoria as she stroked her fingers across Bianca's cheek. "I trust you completely."

Bianca relinquished her hold on Vittoria's collar and shied away from the woman's touch. Vittoria cringed at her own forwardness. Despite her confident swagger and intimidating stature, Bryana sometimes seemed delicate as a flower. Vittoria knew she must treat this one delicately lest she allow her paramour to slip gently through her fingers.

"Is there anything more you wish to see here?" Bianca inquired.

"For now, no," Vittoria replied. "Besides, this place gives me the creeps. What are all those stains around the epigraph?"

Black smears from some dark fluid had dried into permanent stains around the prominent red symbol. The liquid very well might have comprised the writing material for the crimson markings. Bianca of course knew precisely the origin of those blotches but she wasn't about to explain to Vittoria what vast quantities of blood must be spilled to leave such enduring marks on the damp stone in perpetuity.

"We must take leave of this place well before sunset," Bianca advised. "We can return at any time during the day."

Bianca led Vittoria upstairs then back outside where the mid-afternoon sun had only just begun its slow descent over the horizon. Vittoria closed her eyes and lifted her arms in the air to bathe in the heat of the solar rays radiating over her body.