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small bowl and squeezed the tip. A small drop of blood fell and a whirling sound began. After a second, a green light began blinking and the click of a lock sounded.
    He pushed open the silver gate and made his way into a small courtyard with a fountain in the middle, its basin dry and filled with leaves. The garden around it, by comparison, was very well kept. Diego rolled his eyes, shook his head, and made his way for the front door. He reached into his pocket, extracted a small key and inserted into the lock. There was no need to ring the bell. He doubted the butler would let him in so he let himself in and made his way into the front hall.
    “Where have you been? Mother has been worried. Were you out conning those idiots of the ton? Come on, we can’t wait for you.” His younger brother Roberto came out of a side door and grabbed Diego’s hand. With strength he didn’t know his brother had, Diego was pulled up a grand staircase to the second floor and down the corridor to the end of the hall.
    Despite Roberto’s urgings for him to go inside the darkened room, Diego couldn’t. He was assailed by too many memories of being brought into the room to face his stern, strict father.
    “Come on, she’s waiting for us,” Roberto said. “The doctor can’t proceed without us.”
    With a deep breath, Diego steeled himself for what he was about to see and made his way into the room. He was confronted by the sickly image of his mother, sitting up in her oversize bed, nearly obscured by the massive pillows surrounding her. Her skin was almost translucent. Diego could actually see the highway of veins under the flesh. She had become thin, virtually skin and bones. It was a difficult sight to behold. The once vibrant woman who ruled her house with an iron fist in a velvet glove seemed so weak and frail. Yet the hard stare she gave Diego made him stand up a bit straighter. The look transported Diego back to when he was a child, guilty for eating cookies before dinnertime or breaking some expensive vase. Despite the outer shell, his mother was still the same woman he had feared and revered.
    “Diego, good of you to show up. Now, the reason why you’re here… You and I both know that I’m sick—very sick—and may not be long for this Universe. Your brother has taken care of everything else but I need you to carry out one last request. I know you are a con artist. I understand why you went that route, and you didn’t disappointment me in the least.” Pride shone in her eyes. “I am actually proud of you. Stick it to those ton bastards.” A smile ghosted her lips before she continued. Diego’s mother had always hated society, coming from such a humble background. “Now, for my last request of you, I need you to deliver this message to the ambassador going to Veritas 10.”
    She reached over and handed Diego a heavy envelope embossed with writing on the front in a language he couldn’t read.
    “It’s more than just delivering the message,” she continued. “You must become one of his entourage and protect him. He will be using the Hades’ Helmet as transportation and security. Captain Drogan will be hard to convince, so you must be spot on. It is very important that the ambassador get to Veritas 10. You must do this for me.”
    A weight settled on Diego’s shoulders and conflict rose in his mind. He didn’t like the position he was being put in. On the one hand, he would get to see Anarrae again, and even work with her; on the other, he would be deceiving her. There was no way he could go in looking the way he did. Frustration rose within him, presenting itself outwardly in the form of a growl. Diego turned away from the bed and began to pace.
    “Problem, brother?” Roberto asked.
    Diego ignored him as he tried to think of what to do. It would take months to get to Veritas 10. He doubted he would be able to stay away from Ana for even an hour. The memory of her curled up in his bed, head on his pillow with her