THE PRIEST OF SANTA MARIA

  ( CHAPTER  49 )  -  { PT.  1 } - Hans drew the curtains open, and shafts of powdered light illuminated the Cardinal seated at his desk across the room. His bandaged hand gripped a newspaper. That will be all, Hans. Your Eminence, he said, bowing his head and leaving the room. The Cardinal's virulent eyes started at the headline. Italian Cargo Ship Sinks in the Mediterranean Sea. The article went on to describe that the Greek coastguard found only one survivor on the lifeboat, the ships's cook, who was currently in hospital with a broken and severely gashed arm in need of several stitches, and a minor leg injury. The Cardinal called Kristoff's cell phone and left the usual cryptic message. As he waited for the equally cryptic return call, there was a knock at the door. Hans entered the room. Your Eminence, your physician is here. Let him in, will you. He placed the cell phone in his desk drawer. The doctor, a distinguished gentleman of wizened years, entered the room clutc

  { PT.  8 } - It's going to get rocky. Frya blocked the door and made her way to the helm. The next explosion tore the ship in two. The screeching metal carcass careened to an extreme angle sending cargo containers the size of coaches spilling into the sea. Frya frantically pumped the release lever, and the lifeboat slid off its davits. It nosedived into the water like a playful whale, submerging into the sea and causing crashing ripples around them before it sprung to the surface. It danced on the stormy waves as Frya steered the boat like a native seaman, taking them a safe distance from the swirling vacuum. Only the four of them had made it to safety. A tortured Angelica rose from her seat and pushed her way past Achilleus. She pulled the door open, slumped on the flood and looked towards the sinking mass before her. The ship's mast, now a flaming beacon of the ship's existence--the rest of its body submerged beneath the ocean. Christiano, she whimpered unable to steer