Prologue
Heavy, rushed footsteps echoed through the forest, drawing dangerously closer to Giuliana. She was acutely aware of her reality: if she stopped or tried to hide, they would capture her. And she knew exactly what fate awaited runaways. She would be beaten, violated, and sacrificed like the others before her, her blood serving as an offering in an obscure ritual meant to unearth relics and restore power to a man whose name escaped her. The cold, bitter and premature for October, bit into her skin, but she didn’t care. Nothing could distract her from her sole objective: to flee as far away as possible from this cursed forest. Not the branches lashing at her temples, nor the wind freezing her from head to toe, not even the briars tearing her nightgown and clawing at her legs. She had to run. And above all, never look back.
Her bloody feet caused her agonizing pain. To keep from succumbing to it, she forced her mind elsewhere. Giuliana pictured the smiling, relieved faces of her parents, happy to finally see her return home; her sister, whom she would hold tight despite her cold nature; her companion, Andrea, who must be worried to death after she failed to return from her morning herb gathering. These thoughts fueled her fight for survival. Yes, she was expected home, and she had to do everything to return to her loved ones. She refused to die in these dismal woods. Not her. Not Giuliana Ludovisi.
She veered slightly past a lightning-struck oak and stumbled upon a marked path.
"This path must lead somewhere," Giuliana thought, pushing her exhausted body forward. Her staggering frame begged for rest, but her brain, locked in survival mode, drove her onward. Yet, the further she went, the more she felt the path led to nothing. Panic began to set in, followed by a despair amplified by the terrible sensation of running in circles. After endless minutes of cursing her fate and fearing the worst, the dirt track finally opened onto a road. Letting out a breathless sigh of relief, she allowed herself a few seconds to breathe.
"Show yourself, pretty witch! You can't hide! You know what happens to those who run..."
They were close. Too close. She burst into a sprint again, this time skirting the edge of the asphalt. Someone would pass by, she was sure of it—she felt it in her gut. Her ancestors wouldn't abandon her now. Her prayers were swiftly answered as the silhouette of a car materialized in the dark. Deciding to risk everything, Giuliana stepped off the shoulder, waving her arms wildly to stop the black sedan speeding toward her. Cruelly, the car flew past her without slowing down. Tears welled in the young witch's green eyes. She collapsed onto the pavement, utterly spent. A sound behind her made her gasp.
"Miss? What on earth are you doing out here in that state at this hour?"
"I escaped... I'm in grave danger," she stammered. "Please, help me, they're going to kill me!" Giuliana implored.
"Get in, I'll take you to the nearest village. Where are you from?"
"I live in San Gimignano," Giuliana whispered with her remaining strength.
The driver, who had pulled over a little further down, grabbed her by the shoulders to help her up. She ushered her into the car, and once she ensured her passenger was safe, she hit the gas.
"Thank you so much, ma'am. You just saved my life."
"What happened?" the woman asked, appearing out of nowhere.
Giuliana burst into tears. The stress and terror finally broke, and now that she believed she was safe, she let it all out. Once she composed herself, she recounted the horrors of earlier: her abduction while out walking, her captivity deep in the woods within a manor ruled by madwomen and self-proclaimed priests called the "Occult Brothers." She spoke of the other young women kept prisoner, enduring abuse, torture, and sadistic punishments until one of them was "chosen" for sacrifice. She explained how she had seized a moment of chaos to break free, her frantic flight through the woods, and the stroke of luck on this road when this woman stopped to rescue her.
"My God, that is absolutely horrific! How can anyone inflict such atrocities on human beings? But it's going to be alright now," the driver replied, her voice maternal and soothing.
Giuliana offered a grateful smile and turned her gaze back to the road. What she saw through the window instantly turned her blood to ice. In the distance, she recognized the imposing silhouette of the old estate where her captors had first taken her.
She snapped her head toward her supposed savior. On the woman’s face, so gentle and loving moments ago, a predatory sneer had formed. In her eyes gleamed that exact mad light Giuliana had seen in so many of the zealots back at the manor—a blend of frenzy and bloodlust. As the driver locked eyes with her, Giuliana knew she would never go home. In front of the house, hooded men waited, torches in hand. The car ground to a halt, and one of them yanked the door open, dragging the young witch out. She wanted to fight, to run, but her broken body commanded her mind to surrender. The driver stepped out and, pulling one of the men aside, ordered him to take the youngest Ludovisi to one of the manor's annexes and give her a "proper punishment."
Turning to another follower, she hissed through her teeth:
"I'm warning you, Guillermo, if another one of them flies the coop, I'll ensure He hears about it. I'll overlook it today, but next time, you'll be the sacrifice. Now, do your job. We need to find more witches before the grand day, but for now, this runaway needs to be taught a lesson."
The young man muttered a curse in Italian and dragged her toward the annex. A few minutes later, the first screams pierced the dead silence that had settled after sundown. Giuliana stopped fighting, praying for death to come swiftly. She refused to remain a prisoner, waiting for the next blow or assault to strip away the last of her dignity. She gathered her remaining strength to bait her tormentors, desperate for a fatal reaction. The more hot-headed of the two took the bait when Giuliana called him "impotent"—a pathetic excuse of a man who needed to strike women to feel powerful and make his little soldier stand, laughing in his face as she mocked how his mother had coddled him into a weakling. The man unleashed his rage and frustration upon her, exactly as she expected.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. A silhouette slipped into the room. Giuliana turned her head, and as the newcomer stepped into the light, her eyes widened in shock before she spat on the floor.
"You? It can't be... Tell me I'm dreaming... How dare you?"
Facing the witch's pure rage, the newcomer's face contorted into a chilling, blood-curdling grin. And as the dagger in her hand plunged down to steal Giuliana's life, the frantic horror of the torture chamber gave way to her liberation, melting into a dead silence across the forest.
