Buzz!
Linda stared at Damian as though he had completely lost his mind, but even she was less shaken than the people inside the cathedral.
Damian's demand had struck them harder than any physical attack could have. For generations they had been taught that the divine would answer their prayers, that angels watched over them and that the Vatican stood beneath the protection of Heaven itself. Yet now they stood beneath a black dome with their connection to those very beings severed, while the man they had been taught to fear stood before them and demanded that they kneel to him.
"Begone demon!" The old Pope finally spoke, his voice trembling slightly despite the conviction behind his words. "If I must die, I will die a saint rather than bow my head to evil!"
