Count Ugo Carnifex has built himself a palace high in the mountains of Sardinia. As head of the sinister Millenaria society, he has secret plans to recreate the Roman Empire. He has a hatred and fear of dirt, dresses all in white and wears silver jewellery dug from the mines beneath his palace.
‘His fingers were festooned with silver rings; he had silver chains around his neck, and small silver earrings. His skin, unlike that of the two guards, was a pure, milky white; so pale that James could see the blue veins beneath it. And his close-cropped hair was as white as everything else about him.’