Chapter 9
Rome, Italy
Michael always liked walking through Trastevere on the west bank of the Tiber River, an area of old buildings and narrow, cobbled streets heavily populated by the famous cats of Rome.
Early that morning, he located a small group of Chaldeans in Florence, but they had only recently arrived in Italy and didn’t know Father Berosus. They directed him to Rome. He had the address, but the streets were winding and poorly marked. The sky was overcast, and a light rain began to fall before he found the building. It was an old, two-story stone house with no indication on the outside of who lived within. A man in a monk’s habit answered the door, and Michael asked to speak to the leader of the community. He was left to wait in a dark hallway.
A man, one side of his face badl
