Page 45 of Just for a Taste

“H ello?” My voice sounded hoarse and strange.

The voice that answered me was low and steady. “Is he visibly bruising now? How compromised is his health?”

“I—” I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled the next word. “Very.”

The phone crackled as she sighed into it. “I should have known. His calls to me have gotten fewer and further between. Is he refusing to have a transfusion at a nearby hospital?”

“Yes.”

“Cora, you’re making a mistake. Zeno did not tell any of us where you have been staying. He wants to keep your location secret.”

Even in the cool spring weather, I felt myself flush. “I know that, but—”

“What I am telling you, Cora, is that although I do not know where you or Zeno are, I am certain there are others who do. There are no secrets within the Medici family, and every Medici is a demon with many eyes and ears. Why Zeno is hiding from them, or what will happen when you are found, is unknown to me. What I do know is that it’s only a matter of time until you are found. If you continue to act this reckless, I am confident the two of you will just become caged birds for Zeno’s father and cousin.”

Caged birds.

“Did someone break into the abbey?” I rasped. “And steal Leonore?”

On the other end, I could hear her moving around. When she spoke again, the eclectic chirping of various finches became audible.

“The bird? I don’t see her often, but no one has broken in. Why?”

My mouth felt painfully dry, as if cotton balls were stuck in it. “I found her the other day outside the door. Killed.”

There was a prolonged silence, and I might have thought we were disconnected if not for the sound of steady breathing on the other end. “How long ago was that?” she asked.

“A few weeks ago.”

I heard the door shut, and the birdsong quieted.

“So they’ve known exactly where the two of you are staying for ‘a few weeks and have made no further attempts to contact you?”

Somehow, with my mind so focused on watching Zeno fall apart in front of me, I hadn’t connected such straightforward dots. I paced the same short length back and forth. “Yes.”

“Have either of you left the house?”

My pace quickened. “Zeno leaves a lot.”

“And you?”

“Outside of yesterday and today, I haven’t even been aboveground.”

“So they’ve been waiting for you to leave,” Noor said so gravely, it made me stop in my tracks. “Cora, you need to turn the phone off and go back now.”

I spoke quickly and loudly so she wouldn’t hang up. “I know they want me alone, but Basilio offered to pay me once. It might be possible to make some kind of arrangement now.”

“‘Arrangements’ with nobility take a lifetime to learn to navigate,” she replied with a scoff. “People like them do not make ‘arrangements’ with people like you . Be smart, power your phone off, and go home before they track you.”

I pulled the phone away from my face and considered ending the call and going home. It would be quite easy. Embarrassing if Zeno had already awoken, perhaps. I could already imagine him fretting and holding me. But now that I could imagine that, I could also imagine the bruises gathering beneath his skin.

I spoke into the phone once more. “Thank you for your advice, Doctor Ntumba. I know chances are we won’t come to any sort of truce. But I need to at least try.”

Once again, a low, deep crackling came through the phone. I could practically see Noor on the other side, pushing up her glasses by their base and pinching the bridge of her nose to stave away the beginnings of a migraine, her umber skin turning russet, a single vein visible in her forehead.

“Are you certain?” she asked, words prickling with annoyance.

“Yes.” My answer was firm and quick, immediately tailing the last word of her question.

Yet another groan. “As you wish, Cora. I know better than to try to talk you or Zeno out of something once you’ve resolved to do it. No matter how ill-conceived it is.”

I tucked the phone between my chin and shoulder, returning to the rock I had been sitting on. I felt the need to grip it with both hands, to ground myself as much as possible while literally sitting on the edge of my seat.

“So will you help me?” I asked.

“What exactly are you expecting me to do from here?”

“I imagine you have some way of contacting Basilio, right?”

“I will send you his contact information,” she responded. Then, an unexpected plea: “Cora, promise me you’ll be careful.”

Now it was my turn to be silent. Lying had become an unwanted skill of mine, one I didn’t want to continue practicing. So I simply said, “Thank you for sending me that, Doctor Ntumba. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

The chattering of night animals, which had once seemed so loud, now sounded like a whisper. Everything about my surroundings seemed more remote than ever, but I felt no more in danger. After all, I hadn’t truly been safe in a long time.

She sent over everything a few minutes later—email addresses, a mailing address, and multiple phone numbers. I tried the first one, and it didn’t get the chance to fully ring even once.

“Signorina Bowling, what an unexpected delight!”

Despite his enthusiasm, Basilio‘s voice was raspy, and I could tell that he had just woken up. “What on earth are you doing in the middle of all those farms?” he chuckled. “Surely my dear cousin didn’t drag you out there on some peculiar hike?”

Of course he knew I wasn’t at the trullo. Of course it had only taken minutes of me being connected to 2G for him to track me.

I curled my knees up to my chest and set my phone on top of them on speakerphone. “No, I’m alone.”

“Ah, brilliant, just what I love to hear!” he purred. “Now, to what do I owe this immense pleasure?”

The strange lightness of his voice irked me, and I didn’t bother to hide it in my reply. “I’m tired of waiting for things to get better.”

The answer came quickly. “Of course! I, too, tire of this game of cat and mouse, especially since my dear cousin has mistakenly assumed he is the cat.”

I wished he could see me roll my eyes. “Can we talk in person, then? And figure something out?”

“As nostalgic as a visit to the old Medici summer home sounds, I must admit I’m not in the mood to travel to whatever pile of leaves you’re hiding in. Why don’t we have a helicopter fly you to—”

“No,” I snapped. “I’m not flying again, least of all in your helicopter. You’ve been waiting to talk to me for months. You can wait until I’ve walked to the nearest city. I should be at Cisternino by sunrise if I keep up this pace. If you must be picky, I can catch a bus to Fasano, then a train to—”

“No, no, Cisternino works perfectly! There’s an utterly delightful little cafe where we can grab some coffee. It’s a date!”

I grunted in acknowledgment, then hung up the phone, pocketing it before I even got the chance to see it shut off. I had estimated that I’d be at Cisternino at sunrise, but sunrise was in four hours. I took a few gulps of water and a small snack—sour grape candies—before starting the first leg of what I knew would be a long day.