“You were quiet, Sinibaldus. Nothing to add?”
Sinibaldus lowered the hood of his cape. His head was small, hairless, and incurably white. Folds of thin, dark skin accented his powder blue eyes. He looked sick to death.
The secret meeting in the cella has concluded and Gherardus Fabbro believes he is alone, but lurking in the shadows like he always does, is Sinibaldus, a giant, creepy old magician that advises the Lord Commander on many things.
“My Lord, you know I never speak in the presence of Catholics. They do not approve of my dark arts.”
Sinibaldus is a wanted man. The Church knows he is here in Parthenope, knows he is somewhere abouts because he operates a circus of misfits on the black sands beneath Vesuvius, but they have never laid eyes on him, so they can’t know it for a fact.
Sinibaldus replied, “Indeed good man, I think you fear Rome more than you esteem me.”
Sinibaldus is a loyal servant and adviser, as well as an interrogator and torturer, but trust between these two only goes so far. Sinibaldus sees that Gherardus is willing to betray Pero de Alava. He has no intention of being betrayed also.
Gherardus was upset about the mistrust at first but realized his own mistake when he remembered that Sinibaldus has an important role to play in Pero’s betrayal.
Gherardus reminded Sinibaldus. “I’m putting a great deal of faith in you. You must be sure. If Pero outwits you and somehow escapes Eagles Pass, there will be hell to pay.”
Another layer has been added to the betrayal.
Pero and the people in the keep at Capua are being betrayed but apparently, Pero won’t die there. He’s going to be on Eagles Pass where it will be Sinibaldus’ duty to make sure Pero dies.
Gherardus is not leaving anything to chance.
The giant used both hands to jerk open the v-necked collar on his robe. The dramatic move revealed a large translucent crystal the size of a large man’s fist dangling from a hemp cord over his heart like a glimmering talisman. “The power of Bellerophon is still with me.”
Sinibaldus is reminding the Lord Commander that he possesses magic that shouldn’t be questioned and refers to the crystal as a Bellerophon Crystal.
Gherardus, knowing all about the crystal and its magic is not that impressed. He begin to make to leave the cella, but before he does, he reveals an inconvenient truth to Sinibaldus.
“You are correct, my friend, I would betray you.”
Gherardus reaches the doors to leave and mutters one final statement about himself to close the chapter.
“And to think, I admire Pero more than any other bastard in my court. Awful surely does not do me justice.”
And that’s all for now.
We will, however, further down the road and in another book, learn why I referred to Sinibaldus as a spawn.
Next chapter we travel back in time to the creation of the Bellerophon Crystal.
What is a Bellerophon Crystal?
How did it come to be?
And like I stated in “Understanding the Beginning”, it was a conscious choice present the world Pero is trying to survive in before finding out anything about Pero himself. We’ve seen why Gherardus Fabbro is on the throne. We see the mechanisms behind the scenes that are plotting his downfall. And next we will see what is up with this crystal the giant magician Sinibaldus carries around and why it is pertinent.
Until next time, keep reading and stay inspired.
Allen M Werner is the author of the epic dark fantasy books The Crystal Crux Series
Author Allen M Werner 
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