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CAVE OF THE SIBYL

NAPLES

2October 2060

Naples sprawled across a bay in southern Italy, where summer clung with all its might. As Verca drove towards it, I kept an eye on Mount Vesuvius. No wonder this city attracted voyants – everyone here must accept the proximity of death, living in the shadow of the sleeping giant.

Command had taken some convincing, but I had a stronger voice in the network now. In the end, Pivot had agreed that Arcturus was worth a third and final attempt for a team to set foot on Capri. I had clinically explained his value. He had been a prisoner for half a year, and had still been able to communicate in July. He might have gained valuable information from the enemy. If anyone could help us crack Operation Ventriloquist, it was him.

The stakes were high. If Scion caught us on Capri, it would wreck the whole investigation into Operation Ventriloquist. It might even provoke Scion into attacking Italy. Ducos had wanted to join us, to ensure it went smoothly, but Nick had persuaded her that we could do it alone. I was getting the distinct impression that she trusted him to temper me.

I was glad she had relented. The fewer people who risked their necks, the better – because this wasn’t really about intelligence, for me. That wasn’t the reason I was putting my life on the line.

I was doing this for Arcturus.

Be careful, Flora, Pivot had told me.We don’t want to lose you again. At the first sign of danger, you must abort.

Naples hit my senses like a fist smothered in paint, its knuckles raw and bare. Almost every building had some kind of art on it, from cramped scrawls to detailed murals. Overhead wires and laundry crisscrossed above its roaring streets and timeworn alleys, which rippled with heat. Those alleys were awash with spirits, mostly ghosts and shades. Verca had told us that Naples had thousands of years of history, and it looked it – somehow both decaying and defiantly alive, appealing to the part of me that thrived on chaos.

‘I absolutely love this.’ Maria leaned out of the window on her elbows. ‘It looks you in the eye.’

‘I agree.’ Verca smiled. ‘Napoli can be overwhelming, but it will reward your persistence.’

‘Oh, I’m already planning a getaway.’

‘President Sala has an official residence nearby,’ Verca said, ‘but she isn’t there, according to Pivot.’

Nick pushed his sunglasses back up his nose. ‘How long did you live in Naples, Verca?’

‘About three years. It was the second place I moved after I graduated. I’d just broken up with my first girlfriend, and I needed to be … screamed awake, shaken back to myself. Napoli did that for me.’ She turned the car on to a wide thoroughfare. ‘This has always been a difficult city to govern. I wonder if that’s why it was chosen. To bring it to heel.’

A moto chose that moment to cut in front of her. Verca slammed on the brakes and leaned out of the window.

‘Neh, ma che cazzo stai facenno, strunze!’

Maria clutched her chest. ‘Veronika Rachele Norlenghi. Did you swear at someone?’

‘I fear I did.’ Verca blew a tuft of hair from her eyes before driving again. ‘My apologies, everyone.’

‘No, no.’ Maria chuckled. ‘I like this side of you.’

‘Drive like an idiot near me, and perhaps it will come back out, Maruška.’

Their loving conversations filled my chest with a dull ache. I looked away, resting my folded arms on the door, so the wind tore at my hair. Despite the heat, I wore my dissimulator. If our suspicions were correct, Scion would likely have spies in this city, monitoring and counting its voyants, making sure no one noticed the two islands had been annexed.

It had been a long drive from Venice. We had set out before dawn, stopping only to charge the car. I had spent most of the time asleep across the back seat, my head in Nick’s lap.

Now Verca drove along the sweeping Bay of Naples, away from the heart of the city. She pulled up outside a small house on the seafront. This would be our local base of operations.

‘Here we are,’ she said. Nick got out. ‘My contact works at the port. You should get some rest.’

‘We can go with you,’ I said.

‘The group I need will close ranks around strangers, even an Underqueen,’ she said. ‘I might be a few hours.’ She passed Maria a key. ‘You should be able to see Capri from here.’

She drove away, while the others filed towards the building. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I needed to stretch my legs after spending the best part of a day in a car.

The others went in, leaving the door on the latch for me. I turned to face the Tyrrhenian Sea, the sun burning on my hair. Passing two palm trees, I went up to the railings that separated the street from the waves. I squinted past the haze of light and glimpsed it in the distance.