Sordello stood up, smiling. "Madonna, you are not aware how I have suffered because of you. Suffered with longing. You owe me much for that." He strolled over to the fire, picked up a big log from the pile next to the hearth, and set it on the burning wood. _Oh, may God shrivel his phallos!_ Sophia felt her stomach burn at the idea of this repulsive man lusting after her. She turned quickly, facing the balcony door, so that he could not see her grope in the bag at her belt for the tiny crossbow and the box of darts Daoud had given her. How quickly, she asked herself, could she take the crossbow out, get a poisoned dart from the box without scratching herself, load it, draw the bow, aim and shoot? _He could be across the room and tearing the thing out of my hands before I got all that done._ Helplessness made her tremble. Having made sure of the location of crossbow and darts, she turned to him again, gripping the skirt of her gown to hide the shaking of her hands. "If you find me attractive, I am flattered, of course, but it is no fault of mine." "You do not wish to escape from Benevento? You wish to be turned over to King Charles's judges?" "I have nothing to fear from them." He bared his broken teeth. "Do you think they will have trouble finding something to accuse you of? Not if I tell them what I know." Then he raised a finger. "It was David of Trebizond who told me where to find you. And you keep asking about him. I always suspected, when I was serving David at Cardinal Ugolini's, that there must be something between you two." "If there is any spark of mercy in you at all, do not play with me like this. Tell me if he is alive." She wanted to seize him by the arm, but she was afraid to get too close to him. The light of the one candle in the room cast shadows like black blots on Sordello's grinning face. "Play with you? Ah, but if there is a spark of mercy in _you_, then you will play with me. _Then_ I will tell you everything you want to know. Being alone with you like this, I burn so with desire, I would do anything, good or evil, to possess you." Scipio's thunderous barks, bursting out suddenly, made her jump. She heard male voices cry out, alarmed, then Scipio's rumbling snarls. Then silence. Sordello glowered at the floor. "God's beard! I almost hope they did kill that brute." To distract him a little longer from herself, Sophia said, "You had better hope Scipio does not hurt _them_." "What do I care if they suffer a few bites? The dog is worth more than they are." He looked up at her. "Do you know anything about journeys to paradise?" "I do not know what you are talking about." Was that a name for some carnal pleasure he wanted to have with her? "Come away from that balcony door," Sordello said. "The air is fresher here." From the street she heard swords clanging, men screaming and cursing, and hooves pounding. There was fighting nearby.