Rise of the Black Cross, Guest Post by Steven F. Freeman

1488: Florence, Italy

The late fifteenth century represented the pinnacle of the Medici family’s ascendance to power. Having survived the Pazzi Conspiracy—an attempted assassination that wounded him and killed his brother Guiliano—Lorenzo de’ Medici consolidated his grip on Florentine politics. Rather than holding a formal title, Lorenzo ruled indirectly via surrogates in the city councils by means of payoffs and strategic marriages.

A humanist and exceptional patron of the arts, Lorenzo commissioned numerous works, including Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. Under this patronage, the arts flourished, and Leonardo da Vinci embarked on his incredible output of not only art but also the design of defensive structures and weapons of war.

In this age, Europe and in particularly the Italian peninsula lay in a constant state of political turmoil. France, Spain, and other European powers viewed the Italian peninsula with jealous eyes and laid plans to conquer its fertile lands. In “Rise of the Black Cross,” this turmoil appears in the form of an enormous fleet of mysterious ships that attack the Republic of Florence’s southern coast.

Knowing the Republic’s naval fleet to be hopelessly outnumbered, Lorenzo de’ Medici sends enigmatic sea captain Niccolo Corsini to discover the source of the invasion and mount a defense. As he embarks on this quest, Niccolo must navigate political waters as treacherous as any typhoon, where discerning friend from foe proves nearly impossible.

While attempting to identify the sponsor of this hostile force, Niccolo enlists the help of young Leonardo da Vinci to devise a strategy against an enemy fleet twice the size of the Florentine navy. Yet even with da Vinci’s assistance, how can Niccolo hope to save the Republic from utter destruction when the overwhelming enemy fleet arrives in one week’s time?

As Niccolo struggles to device a defensive strategy, his frustration at the impossibility of engaging the affections of Lady Andrea Visconti grows—not that the lady does not fancy Niccolo but rather that a dark secret from Niccolo’s past renders such a relationship impossible…or does it?

Excerpt

Chapter 3 takes place immediately after Lorenzo de’ Medici has tasked Niccolo Corsini with determining why the ships of the mysterious Black Cross fleet are attacking the Republic and how they can be stopped.

Leaving the study, Niccolo made his way along the estate’s great corridor, where works of art Lorenzo had commissioned from that fellow Botticelli hung on the walls. He stopped to study one depicting a nude maiden standing in a giant clamshell. The artist would have done better to paint a mighty ship sweeping across the sea at full sail.

Niccolo continued down the hallway, where lush rugs underfoot rendered his passage virtually silent. He had traveled only half the distance when a woman emerged from a door at the opposite end.

Not just any woman. This was Lady Andrea Visconti. The aristocrat had also attended Lorenzo’s dinner party but had been seated at the opposite end of the long table. He hadn’t expected to see her again tonight.

Andrea approached him with a broad smile. Her giornea, the belted dress preferred by titled women these days, was elegant but omitted the ostentatious gold and silver embroidery and other fluffery worn by many female members of the aristocracy. With such modest apparel for one of her rank, few would have guessed that her father, the Marquess of Mantua, had expanded the family fortune greatly by investing in maritime trade in spices and silk.

The lady approached. At five and twenty years, she had lost none of the charms of her youth. Niccolo hoped she regarded his eight and twenty years in a similar manner. Why was he pleased to observe that her curled, raven-colored hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back, as was the custom for single women?

The two met mid-corridor.

“Lady Visconti,” said Niccolo with a bow.

“Come,” said the maiden with a laugh. “That’s not how you once addressed me.” At age twelve, Niccolo had moved to Florence to attend boarding school. Fellow student Andrea Visconti had quickly become one of his closest friends and had remained so throughout their years of mutual study there.

“All right then, my little Farfalla,” he said, using the “Butterfly” nickname he’d given her during their youth. His shoulders relaxed. “I wonder that a lady of your standing allows such informalities.”

Andrea’s voice took on a more serious tone. “Always with you, my friend, as long as I am still allowed to address you as Nico.”

“Of course.”

“Tell me,” said Andrea, taking a step closer, “what brings you here to Lorenzo’s country estate?”

“The dinner party, of course.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Come. What brings you here after dinner?”

“A trading mission on behalf of Lord Medici,” replied Niccolo, nearing the truth as much as he dared. “And you?”

“Backgammon. Lorenzo says I’m to visit every day until he defeats me.”

Niccolo chuckled. “It’s a good thing he hasn’t played you in chess. You’d pay him a daily visit in perpetuity.”

“Not like you, eh?”

Niccolo shrugged. “We were both younger and more inexperienced in those days. I doubt I should emerge victorious now.”

She smiled. “Perhaps we should try a game and settle the question.”

“I’d have no hope of winning…unless I brought a grasshopper with me and threw it at you at a critical moment.”

Andrea blushed as she lowered her head with a laugh. “My old fear. I’m surprised you remember such a trifle.”

Niccolo shrugged. “It didn’t seem a trifle to you at the time, my Lady…I mean, my Farfalla.”

“Go on with you,” said Andrea with a gentle laugh. “You’d never do such a thing—not a man of principle like you.”

“Indeed, I must go,” said Niccolo, turning to leave. “I have many preparations to make.”

“It’s been too long, my friend,” said Andrea, her voice tinged with a strange quality. “I pray your next voyage will be of shorter duration and that you may return sooner. Do be careful.”

“Thank you,” he replied, looking over his shoulder to address her. “I…I wonder if you can imagine how much your concern means to me.”

With a blush, she departed towards the study, where Lorenzo Medici awaited his backgammon partner.

Niccolo watched her leave, perhaps a bit longer than society would have dictated proper, then turned towards the front of the estate with his jaw set in determination. Encountering his old friend had been an unexpected delight, but this was not the time to dwell on pleasant thoughts, not with the threat of the Black Cross fleet looming over the fate of the Republic.

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Black-Cross-Renaissance-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0DG75RT44

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rise-Black-Cross-Renaissance-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0DG75RT44

Meet Steven F. Freeman

Author Steve Freeman is a former member of the US Army’s Signal Corps, an enthusiastic student of history, a thirty-six-year employee of a large American technology company, and an avid traveler who has visited every continent but Antarctica. His novels draw from his love of history and firsthand knowledge of military service, the tech industry, and the diverse cultures of our world.