Read Online The Venice Code by J Robert Kennedy - Free Book Online

the tower, near the top.
    A chorus that sounded like far more than three men.
    The sound of swords clashing echoed through the openings of the stairway and Giuseppe felt his chest tighten as he realized his master had been discovered. Cries from above had him frozen, then as the swordplay continued, he realized his master must still be alive, bravely battling his enemy, while his slave stood, doing nothing.
    Giuseppe charged forward just as a group of men numbering at least half a dozen poured from the entrance, looking for accomplices. Giuseppe skid to a halt, shooting his final arrow. He was about to draw his sword when he turned to see the first four victims near the gate, not thirty paces distant. Two arrows streaked silently into the courtyard dropping two more of the men as Giuseppe turned and sprinted toward the bodies. As he reached the nearest one, the one who had crawled, he yanked the two arrows from the corpse, spinning as he placed a used arrow in position, taking aim at the first man.
    He let his fingers open, the sinew snapping, sending the arrow through the air at an impossible speed, embedding itself in the belly of its unsuspecting victim. As the body crumpled to the ground he fired his second shot as another pair of arrows from his partners outside hit their targets. He scrambled toward the next body, pulling at the arrow buried deep in the man’s shoulder, but it snapped.
    Roars of anger erupted behind him as he rushed toward the last two men, those originally on guard and eliminated by Marco and himself at the beginning of this entire fiasco. The sounds of swords continued to give him hope for his master, but he was quickly losing it for himself. He pulled the first arrow from a guard’s belly, rolling on his shoulder and onto his knee, his bow at the ready as he fired at the nearest guard, four of them now charging at him. He dropped as Giuseppe yanked at the last arrow available to him but it wouldn’t give. One final yank failed and he tossed his bow aside, drawing his sword as the first attacker arrived almost immediately joined by two others.
    He was surrounded on three sides. He kept his back to the gates of the compound, parrying the first blow from his nearest attacker. An arrow skittered across the stone, missing its intended target, but it was enough to cause all three of his enemy to look up for just a moment.
    He swung, slicing the belly of his attacker open, his innards pouring out as the man screamed in agony, dropping his sword and instead focusing on pushing his intestines back inside as he quickly bled out. Enraged, his two remaining friends charged forward. Giuseppe parried, shoving the first attacker’s sword upward then dropping to a knee as his blade swung wide and high, then forcing it down and below the man’s guard, slicing his leg in two just below the knee as the final guard rushed in from behind. Giuseppe looked over his shoulder and saw the man’s sword held high over his head begin to drop for the death blow.
    Giuseppe leaned forward, still on his knee, his sword carrying through the down stroke interrupted only by the leg it had just sliced through. He twisted his wrists, redirecting his weapon up in a desperate attempt to parry the final blow, when he heard a thump and saw the man’s eyes bulge wide in shock as he fell on Giuseppe’s blade, his own flying from his hands and clattering to the ground. Giuseppe shoved the now twitching corpse off him, freeing his sword with a yank, the body rolling to its side then stopping, an arrow protruding from the back.
    Giuseppe jumped to his feet, sword at the ready, but found himself alone, surrounded by corpses, the swordplay at the top of the tower continuing. He pushed himself forward, exhausted from the battle he had just endured, but determined to reach his master before it was too late. As he stumbled toward the entrance to the mosque he readied his sword, trying to catch his breath as best he could.
    Plunging through the