In the drunken days that followed, he gambled on cockfights and horse races, losing more and more Money.
One night, he lost a bet he couldn't pay and tried to cheat, which sparked a vicious brawl. He was beaten half to death and thrown under a bridge. It was three days before anyone found him.
In his delirium, on the brink of death, images of St. Peter's Cathedral spun in his darkness.
Satan danced to the melody of Christ. Then Christ, wearing a crown of thorns, summoned Jesuade and asked him to help lift his Cross.
Jesuade reached for it, but found his hand on the hem of the Virgin Mary's purple robe. He tried to kiss her, to feel the body beneath the robe, to pull the robe away.
Demons fought with Angels, the fires of Hell licked at the gates of Heaven, and Jesuade was trapped in the middle.
He saw God and Adam, their fingertips almost touching, and Noah, who vomited gargoyles from his drunkenness.
