Page 43 of The Dark Mirror

‘Thanks. Domino asked me to dye it.’ He smoothed a hand over it. ‘Just as I got my first greys.’

‘Bit early, aren’t you?’

‘I was a child prodigy. I’ve always aged early. And you’re responsible for at least half of my grey hairs.’

‘Right, like working for Jax never turned your hair grey.’

‘That’s the other half.’

I smiled and put the sunglasses on. It felt good to have my best friend at my side again.

Despite it being late in the afternoon, the air was still thick and warm. I lingered by a shop with a rainbow of glass ornaments in the window, then followed Nick over a narrow canal. On the other side, a man paced back and forth on a rooftop, shouting at the top of his voice.

‘Abbracciate Scion! Non temetelo,’ he called. A few people laughed, while others ignored him. ‘A Venezia dimorano forze soprannaturali. Solo l’àncora può salvarvi tutti. Quando arriva in Italia, accoglietelo a braccia aperte!’

‘Va a remengo.’ An elderly woman gesticulated in disgust. ‘Ti xe drio dir monae!’

Nick ushered me on.

‘He mentioned Scion,’ I said. ‘Why?’

‘He’s urging Italy to embrace Scion when it comes. Apparently the anchorites are spreading across Europe.’ He steered me towards a shop. ‘Here. This place should have something you like.’

Fashion was the least of my concerns, but Nick was right. Most of the clothes and shoes in the shop were the sort of thing I would choose in London – though I usually dressed for the cold, not the melting point of iron. I couldn’t get used to being this warm in September.

Nick passed me a roll of banknotes and left me to it. When I emerged from the shop, I had three stuffed bags, which he insisted on taking. ‘From what Verca told me, your arms won’t cope with these for long,’ he said, giving me a look. ‘Did you hang off an old bridge?’

‘I hung off an old and rusty bridge.’

‘I’d scold you, but I did give you that particular itch. I only wish you’d make a normal entrance every once in a while.’

‘You think I don’t want the same?’

‘Not sure.’

I sat down to exchange my boots for the sturdy wedge sandals I had chosen. Nick had instructed me to buy a sun hat, which I donned. He took me to a pharmacy so I could buy and stock a washbag. As I browsed the shelves, I thought of my trusty old backpack, which contained almost everything I owned, including the gift Arcturus had fashioned me for my twentieth birthday. I had left it with the perdues in Paris.

My inheritance from my father was also in that backpack. An applewood box. Jaxon had stolen its contents, and now he could be anywhere, including the æther. I might never know what Colin had given me.

It was almost sunset by the time we got back to the Palazzo del Domino. Nick showed me into a magnificent bar, dominated by a huge carved fireplace (mercifully unlit), marble pillars and a glistening chandelier. Like the rest of the building, it was air-conditioned. A few people sat at polished tables, eating or working on laptops.

We chose a spot behind a folding screen. I kept my dissimulator on. Once Nick had ordered our food and returned to his seat, he clasped his hands on the table.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Tell me everything.’

7

GRAPEVINE

VENICE

22September 2060

‘Does it make more sense for me to start, or you?’ I said. ‘Our stories are going to overlap at some point.’

‘You go first,’ Nick said. ‘I imagine you have more ground to cover.’

A waitron brought us a bottle of ersatz wine, as close as we could get to mecks. Nick filled two glasses, and I began.