Chapter Text
V. Laura Bellini
Venice, Italy
I. May 14, 1931
"Any news from your mother?" asked my grandmother.
A thin ray of sunlight made its way between the heavy curtains and touched the ebony table where we had breakfast. The curtains were never opened wide here. The rooms were dark, the furniture dark wood, our clothes black: we were all mourning my uncle Antonio, killed by Azzio Sforza a few days earlier. In the middle of the aisle, Zaira Sabbia, my three-and-a-half-year-old niece, chattered happily, waving her spoon. I was concentrating on the toast I was buttering for her, so I took some time before answering:
"She is still in Rome. "
"She is still in Rome. »
My sister Chiara rolled her eyes.
"She laments over her sons," I added.
- She's always lamenting about everything" grumbled my little sister.
Chiara was quite unhappy to be kept away from hostilities. Nonna answered up, but reached out to grab the coffeepot. There were only four of us in the palace. Orfeo had gone ahead to the station, to greet Chief Lector. The other children were in Bologna, only little Zaira remained with us. Nonna watched her chatter, a smile on her face, drinking her coffee with that elegance of which only she was capable.
"Your brother was seen in Sicily, she told us.
- Which one ? grumbled my sister. I have five.
– The rare one. "
I jumped.
"Comello? I asked.
– Not Comello, Chiara corrected me, he not five years old anymore and he's a traitor! What the hell is he doing there? »
Nonna smiled slightly.
"I guess he's working.
– Working, working, said Chiara. How working ? He's never been damned to work a single day in his life. Cretino. "
She jumped up and stormed out. The door slammed. Zaira stopped humming to look at us with wide, inquisitive eyes. I turned to my grandmother.
"Nonna, what are you going to do to him?"
– To him? Nothing. He is one of us, we never reject ours. Do you see this family? Full of hate, bones, and knives. There is madness in our blood. Giacomo is not really different, he is just the most Bellini of us. "
I digested the information for a moment. Suddenly, the door opened on Trimalcion, one of our shabti-servants, in vaguely human form.
"They are here," pronounced the shabti distinctly.
Nonna got up slowly and headed for the entrance, I went after her to welcome the Chief Lector. Iskandar was accompanied by a man in the person of whom I recognized Isaac Jacobi, of the Fourth Nome. I was struck by the darkness of his face, he looked aged, if that was even possible. They greeted us quickly and went to lock themselves up with Nonna in the library.
After that, I went to play with Zaira in the red room, to beat the wait. Shortly after, my sister burst into the room, slamming the door as usual.
" He's there !
– Who? »
Chiara made a small pose, savoring her effect. My sister had always had a certain fondness for melodramatics.
"Thoth." She just said.
Then turned on her heels, presumably to meet him. I rushed ahead to warn Iskandar. The Chief Lector was in the bookstore with Nonna and Jacobi. I saw them talking in low voices, looking worried. I heard the few words he confided to Nonna:
"The balance must be preserved. Whatever the price, whatever our pride. Don't try anything, follow the lead. We'll await the return of the gods. They should soon emerge from the Duat. When the son of Osiris appears we will act. "
He stopped when he saw me.
" He's there. " I huffed. "Lord Djehuti I mean. »
Jacobi's eyes widened in surprise. I stepped aside respectfully and let Thoth enter the room. Then I carefully closed the door behind them.
The Chief Lector did us the honor of staying at the palace for dinner that evening. He was to return to Egypt at night. Jacobi would take over to ensure compliance with the agreement and the smooth running of the peace process. Having said what he wanted to say, Djehuty left without another word.
Iskandar thanked us and left the room, the other magician faithfully following him like his shadow. The rest of the family members left the table in turn. I was about to get up and leave the room after them but Nonna held me back:
"Stay with me for a while, darling. Keep an old lady company. »
I sat up slowly. The shabti-servant poured us two glasses of red wine. We watched him in silence. Some secrets should not be told in front of the statues, not when our Chief Lector knew how to make them speak. When he was gone, Nonna turned to me and stroked my cheek with her ringed hand.
"You are wise Laura. The Bellinis are children, one day it will be up to you to ensure the survival of our family. "
These words surprised me. Yet I used to be in the confidence of Nonna's projects. She continued.
"Duccio is a good boy but he doesn't have the shoulders. Maurizio and Cosimo are soldiers, nothing more. Giacomo… Giacomo is no longer one of us, and he never knew how to place the general interest above his feelings. And Orfeo is of the same caliber I believe. As for Chiara… another fate awaits Chiara I think.
"But my father...
"His horses and his paintings, that's all your father is interested in! You are going to Rome, to represent the family in the elections for the Chief of Nome. We will give our voices to Desdemona Sforza.
- So the war is over?
– The war is never over. But the legions will leave the territory. It is essential. Baal must be satisfied. "
A shiver ran through me. Was that why he had come? Thoth? The pact.
I stared at her, this formidable woman, my grandmother, but also my master. She had orchestrated Voiello's assassination with Johann Orsini, because he was bothering her, but had taken care to ensure that Iskandar had his eyes present. The shrewd trust that bound us to the First Nome still held. I couldn't help but ask:
"Where's Set, Nonna ?"
- Hidden. "
Nonna's voice was tinged with surprise. Then his eyes gleamed with satisfaction. She resumed:
"See my darling, understand this and remember it for the rest of your life: it is never good to give too much power to Horus. The universe needs balance. They were two rivals, two shares of power under the old empire. The greatest of our pharaohs have used his services, he assisted Ramses II at the battle of Qadesh and was respected as the symbol of Pharaoh's anger and violence against his enemies. Set is the guardian of Egypt. The Hyksos invaders understood this well when they assimilated Set to Baal, their tutelary god.
– And we are descendants of the Hyksos pharaohs.
- You know all that, I'm not telling you anything new.
- You made a pact with him. "
No need to deny. She didn't try. I resumed:
"The last time we made a pact with the Red Lord, Borgia rule descended into chaos. "
- I needed those dead. Voiello was going to make a pact with Rome. Baal could not have stopped there. The war would not have engulfed Italy, it would have engulfed the whole of Egypt, as in the time of the Punic Wars.
– The Punic wars spared Egypt precisely.
– But we are a turntable. Familia ante omnia. Then we will have had only a small guerrilla, but they are turned away from us, the wrath of our god and the swords of Rome.
- For how long ? And didn't we sign up for something worse? What does the master of the desert want?
- A host.
- He never had one. The best magicians knew how to do was controlled possession.
– There was a time though… But the last Eye of Set sank in the bay facing the ships of King Minos. "
The silence fell for a time, as we both remembered, times we had not known. We were both comfortable with him. I watched the shadows lick the dark walls. Grandmother then told me:
"Chiara is going to travel east for a while.
- What East ?
– The Great East. »
Slowly, she lifted the glass of scarlet liquid to her painted lips.
"Uncertain times are ahead of us Laura. Narmer's sons are impatient, feverish. The American war has shown this enough. They fight for power, they seek to rekindle their blood. In the past this had always resulted in a campaign against the Red Wizards. »
I thought of the ever-growing fighting families, their sharp khopesh biding their time, and a shiver of fear ran through me.
"Even banished, the gods continue to fuel turf wars. Dark times are coming for our house. Our bodies have always been available. It is necessary, it is necessary to keep the balance. It will be up to you to guide them. You are the future of this family. "
Iskandar knows, he knows we don't control anything, and that we've met him.
"What does the Chief Lector want? Why don't we...
– Iskandar wants to end it all, to trap them all, at the same time, to put an end to the recurring troubles. There are five of them. Whenever we hunt one, another comes back and takes his place. We need all of the five together. Locked up. "
And here we are talking about the gods again. Do they even know why they are fighting, all these little fighters in the mud?
"We saw it with Sekhmet, their misdeeds got too big. It only took one magician to start one of the most terrible epidemics in history. Only one. Comes the war and we are exposed.
- And us ? Do we want this Nonna? Permanently lock up the gods? »
She didn't answer. Then whispered softly:
"Our duties are to Baal, not Set. It's different. Slightly.
– It's a dangerous game Nonna, to play with the devil.
– I already told you Laura, you are wise. It won't be enough. »
II. 20 juin 1931
Esme and I returned to Venice, accompanied by Abdias' daughter, after the triumph of the infamous Sforza. We found Nonna in the Chinese boudoir. She was sitting on a velvet armchair, next to a young woman with red hair. I had already met her, two years ago, at a ball that I would have liked to banish from my memory.
"Lady Marion du Fayou, priestess to Morrigan, introduced her to us, Nonna, in English out of politeness. »
The priestess had her eyes fixed on Jelila Kane. Two hard eyes the color of stagnant water.
"The Kane girl, she admired. Just like her father, I see. One of the few Kane that got along well with chaos magicians. »
Nonna turned to Jelila, and studied her thoughtfully. She gestured for us to sit down. We complied. Jelila looked a little disconcerted.
" He was a strange man, your father. Brilliant, proud, eccentric. He had a bit of that fierce madness that sometimes shows in your family. He could see far, see with clarity. When he came to us, I had hoped… Well, it's useless, it all fell apart. With his death I mean.
- A strange man indeed, said the red-haired woman. Judicael put high hopes in him. He had great ambitions for him.
– Do you know him? Judicael? Esme exclaimed almost involuntarily.
– We're not from the same circle. I come from the independent confederation of Broceliande. He's from central Gaul. But every Celt knows him. He's the greatest power in Gaul, maybe western Europe.
– Much stronger than the Fourteenth, probably stronger than Rome itself, supported Nonna. "
Esme blushed. Nonna turned to her questioningly. Esme bit her lip but said nothing. Nonna then gestured for us to leave the room to leave the priestess alone with Jelila. She whispered in my ear outside the door:
" Non riesco a credere di aver scopato un capo celta senza saperlo!
- Era buono?
- Si lo era!
- Ho sentito che i Celti fanno molta magia sessuale.
- Laura sta zitta! "
The three of us met that same evening, outside the palace walls, to talk about the agreement we had made with Desdemona. I was late. We had set up an appointment at one of the area's bars, where my brothers and cousins usually met to do their accounts and manage their business. I found Esme and Jelila seated in the alcove reserved for us, busy cursing their respective lives. They were probably not on their first drink:
"See, maybe you come from a family of sociopath and but you do not know mine, they are all war criminals and murderers here. Oh hello Laura. Sorry about the last bit.
– I didn't heard anything. "
Esme and Jelila. What an infernal duo. The two were quite a match. They had been inseparable since the stay in Rome where they had spent long hours together waiting for the end of the deliberations behind closed doors.
"So, how are we going to do it? I questioned them.
– Thank you so much Laura! Without you…"
Jelila's face expressed intense gratitude.
"I told you my cousin was great," Esme raved in Spanish.
– You are drunk.
– You are too Jelila.
– Christ, we were supposed to work, I grumbled. "
Esme ignored me and continued her conversation with young Kane.
"Just, in conclusion. Go ahead, I'm telling you. He's young, well he looks young, he's hot, he's smart, he's single and he's free! "
What are they talking about? Jelila took another sip and continued, more timidly, switching to Spanish:
"You know, it doesn't happen too much in my house.
- Why ? At worst you have a bastard. It will be one more khopesh for your family. And then there are plants otherwise… Ask Laura. "
I rolled my eyes. I was the regular pharmacist for the whole family, especially when it came to abortive potions. I should open a business, I thought. The Menshikovs do sell malachite, I could sell poisons. There would be a lot of takers. I asked for a drink. I needed one, if we were to spend the night discussing exhumation of bodies.
"Why did you leave Spain? Esme asked.
"Why do you think I left?"
- Ah, of course, the rumors…
- They are not just rumors, are they?
- Nothing was done without Iskandar's consent.
– Without… It was a fucking political assassination! "
People turned around taken aback. Jelila had just shouted. I ignored them. Normally, women were not even allowed in this kind of establishment, but we were Bellini women, things were different.
"What about the Nome?" Esme replied. Do you think they deserved to be slaughtered? Rank magicians?
- It was your uncle!
- Welcome to our house. Cheers ! »
She raised her glass. I stifled a weary laugh.
"And Gian, replied Jelila, was it also the same thing? Who was he bothering that much?
- Gian was an asshole," Esme muttered. "Together with Maurizio they took care of the family finances. Where do you think the money comes from?
- He knew my father," Jelila pointed out.
- Pfff, Esme sighed.
– It's funny, I noticed, your father had a much better reputation than your uncle. Among houses that don't align with Horus, I mean. Since his death, tongues have loosened and do not hesitate to tarnish his memory. But they forget the essential.
- Which is ?
– He was a reformer, he would have reformed the House. No one dares to raise their voice. The chief reader has clipped the fangs of all of them. But Iskandar won't be long. "
I wondered at my own words. Jelila stared ostensibly at the bottom of her glass, apparently prey to a strong but carefully controlled emotion. I continued:
"Do you see our palace? A few centuries ago it rustled with noise and joy. Now the songs have died down, the children are no longer running, the cups are gathering dust. We are in full decline. And not just us, the big families, each one of them is doomed. We're just a little ahead.
- What you say is a lie," she protested. Look ! The Menshikovs rose from their ashes. The Mazrui, the Hogan prosper all over the world. I have dozens cousins, the young generation, ready to succeed us.
– And all these jolts are but a rehearsal of the great tragedy. But you are the Kanes, and you run to the flame. How many other families are just shadow and dust? The Montespan, the La Roque, the Borjas y Centellas, the Alvensleben, the Si, the Koité are almost extinct. Not to mention all the other big names that have sunk into oblivion. Make no mistake, we have moved away from our sacred cradle. The House of Life is in the hands of bastards, lost descendants and low blood. Commoners and scum. "
– Why all this?
- We have renounced our gods.
- So you believe it too?" It's treason, Jelila murmured.
I shrugged.
"I have already betrayed enough. A few words will not finish me. We denied our gods, but did we really have a choice? They abandoned us the day Augustus' armies marched through vanquished Alexandria. The gods had no love for their people, they let them die like a thug on a gallows. They submitted to the One and let the priests of Rome close the doors of the temples.
Beside us, Esme burst out laughing. I continued looking at her:
"The Celts were defeated by Rome too, but they did not spit on their own. Their druids kept the secret, reappeared in the countryside at the fall of Rome. But we are centralized, the chief Lector decides for all. Iskandar carried out his avenging crusade alone and imposed it on all of us. "
But Esme was still laughing.
" What is it ? asked Jelila.
– Your father, she said, your father was talking about that with Gian. He knew quite a lot in this kind of nebulous business. And here you are at the bistro, plotting after them, with your big words, as if you were saying rare and intelligent things. "
My bastard cousin's eyes sparkled with insolent mischief.
"Talking about decadence and the old ways is common. Every family has dreamed one day or another of bringing back the gods. Iskandar never needed to do anything, why? Because you don't know anything anymore.
– Esme…
– It's true, the knowledge has dried up. Nobody knows how to prepare one's body and soul to host a god. "
Esme finished her drink. Jelila said nothing, but a smile escaped her, the grimace of desire of one who searches. I looked at her in the shadows, eyes shining, heart knotted. She is gifted this girl, and I am afraid of her desire. It was the same spark that once lit up my brother's mouth when he read his genealogies, the same slightly crazy thing that animated Anna as she taught me to read the fire and the winds. It was probably the grimace that shook the face of the first Champollion deciphering what should have remained hidden.
"When Gian came back from France, he was worried, I remembered. He kept saying things like that, about the gods, the prophecies, the Snake… He had become obsessed with them. »
My brothers used to talk in front of me. Most of the time they even forgot me. I took advantage of it. Bellini men, vain, pretentious, and completely off the mark.
"How are we going to do it? Jelia asked.
- Without me," Esme said. "I did my part of the job.
- Gian isn't buried with the rest of the family," I explained. "It was Chiara who found him, a hole in his forehead, buried under the grass, in front of our palace in Rome. Grandmother buried him with Antonio, his father, and Maurizio, I explained. I only prepared the body, the embalming rites, I specified. They proceeded to the usual incantations, to prevent necromancy. These are at least three thousand years old. When you have the body, you won't know what to do with it.
- We will see that answered Jelila calmly. The body first. "
A corpse to pay for an alliance.
"Antonio died a month ago. Only grandma knows.
– We have so many enemies. It could be anyone, Esme whispered. And Maurizio is still in Antarctica.
- He's coming back tomorrow," Jelila told him. In exchange for information. But I still need you. "
I raised an eyebrow.
"Have you already arranged everything?
– With the Chief Lector, yes. This type of agreement is common. I'm leaving tomorrow for Antarctica. "
So Maurizio is back… I don't know if it's good news or bad news… He still needs to talk. If Grandma had chosen it, it wasn't for just any reason. Maurizio was a grave, nothing ever left his lips. And our best fighter. Sforza better watch out.
III. June 29, 1931
We had chosen a moonless night. The Teutonic cemetery in the Vatican was particularly creepy. Where the Teutons are, Maurizio had said. His wild lips had curled into a grin. Good luck budding necromancers, he added.
He's right, it's stupid. Jelila and Desdemona strode ahead of me. The two looked quite cheerful, considering the situation. They almost looked like they were going to a picnic, instead of being about to desecrate a grave.
"Just imagine the face of the pope, if he ever comes out and sees us! " joked the Sforza.
Very funny. She is really not afraid of anything this girl. As if it weren't enough to desecrate the Vatican cemetery. I made the sign of the cross discreetly. Virgin Mary, forgive our trespasses. Jelila glanced sideways at me. I ignored her.
" How long left to go ? " Jelila grumbled.
Is that all she cares about? I had come to understand that Jelila loved to moan and complain. French-style. Actually, she could have matched well with Como.
Finally, I stopped in front of an unnamed Gothic vault. The protective hieroglyphics crackled as we approached. The place is full of energy.
"Stand back, I ordered them. They react to your presence. »
A Sforza and a Kane, it's no wonder the alarm gets activated. I approached slowly. I performed most of the embalming rites within my family, the portal had to let me through. I went inside. The interior of the vault was bare, black stones, without any inscription. There was room for a dozen coffins, which wasn't helpful.
I muttered the hieroglyph to reveal hidden things. No reaction. I then took a vial and a brush out of my pocket and painted the walls with a transparent liquid. Finally, letters began to appear in the light of my torch. Phoenician. I read it wrong. Nonna had always insisted that I study it. I understood better why.
I barely managed to decipher my cousin's name. Gian Bellini. It's this one. I muttered a few words in Phoenician. Once the alarms were off, I switched to Egyptian. Finally, the tombstone disappeared and the coffin came out of the wall then out of the vault, levitating, at my command.
I went out after it. Jelila and Desdemona had their eyes on it.
"It is yours, I spoke to my priestess Sem. Do as you see fit. »
Am I not selling him family secrets? But if peace is at this price, I am willing to pay.
IV. July 10, 1931
The words burned my hands. I had reread them an indefinite number of times, but its meaning still worried me as much.
" Tonight. Meet before midnight, behind San Giorgio Maggiore. Do not tell anyone. Como. »
Maurizio is back. He watches over the city. Como will never escape him. What an idiot. If he comes to Venice he will die . I watched them all at dinner, especially my elders. Duccio was sitting to my father's right who was facing Nonna. He was feeding his daughter Zaira while joking with Giulia, seated across from him. Cosimo was absent, he had joined my mother in Rome, with Orfeo. Chiara was also absent. Her usual place, to Nonna's left was occupied by Maurizio. This one, his face closed, hounded his meat without really touching it. His beautiful face was emaciated. He had lost two fingers.
My father was in a good mood that evening, he kept babbling about a whole bunch of irrelevant things. Duccio answered him cheerfully. Maurizio glared at them, Duccio in particular.
Duccio had had Zaira with some prostitute, but instead of doing what anyone here would have done, leaving her to her mother, he had brought her back here to raise her as a Bellini. My father had also taken a liking to this kid, his darling little girl, who answered so well to his smiles. And then she did magic, she was able to summon chaos when she got into a rage. Maurizio will never consider her as one of us. But Nonna never rejects anyone, if they have a drop of blood in common. I watched him carve his meat, over and over. Eat, won't you eat?
Finally, I sighed, relieved, seeing him swallow a piece. It was too easy. A small vial poured into a soup tureen, and that's it. A second vial tomorrow morning and everything will be solved. What do I do ? Am I still very wise Nonna?
Comello. For a moment I was again in Sicily. Mother wasn't with me, she was in the house, laughing with Uncle Ignacio. They had always been in love with each other, but were forbidden to follow their hearts. Or maybe not, maybe she was adultery. It would be a very banal story for the walls of this palace. They have seen more. While my father went hunting near Bologna, my mother always took us to spend our summers in Sicily. Giacomo and Chiara met their cousin there. The three were inseparable and unbearable. Especially Chiara, she made them cry, or initiated stupid games, like: let's climb this funny cliff.
I closed my eyes, overcome by a vague nostalgia. Orfeo had not yet been born. My older cousins and brothers stayed with my father. My mother was with Uncle Ignacio, in the loggia, they were singing opera arias and old Sicilian romances, eating blood oranges and reading poetry. We met them in the evening, our uncle recited Dante to us by candlelight. Como was hiding in my skirts during the scariest passages.
I remembered his good-looking child's face, with big gray eyes, carefully combed locks. You were so cute when you were little.
The Giacomo whom I found the same evening, behind the San Giorgio cathedral had very little to do with the child of the beaches of Sicily. He was worried, his face wrinkled and tired. Gone were the nocturnal frights as well, he moved in the night as if it was his kingdom. What have they done to you? Why did you have to go to war? You went to France one day, and now it seems that there are only French people you deign to love.
"Laura..."
He remained uncertain, frozen a few meters away. I suddenly realized that we hadn't seen each other in almost ten years.
"Thank you," he said softly.
- You wanted to see me ? I asked him, surprised by the dryness of my own tone.
- I wanted to see you. I would have asked Chiara but I can't find her anywhere.
- She left.
- Where ? "
My face remained closed, my mouth shut. He always preferred his sisters, his cousins. Understandable, after what his brothers did to him…
"Where's Set Laura? How did the praetores die?
– Maurizio has just been released. He swore on Ma'at to come find you. He watches over the city. If he finds you...
- I had to come. You know I know. You have to stop this.
– Grandmother made a deal with death. She gave the names of Voiello, then of the Roman praetores. I don't know who else. You know you can't stop a deal with Set. Iskandar is taking care of it. Thanks to him, we'll get the rest, the rest of the Five
– She's trying to double him Laura, you know it, you've understood that. The usual way. You will fall. And the fighting families will exterminate what remains of Setians. And if they don't, Baal will devour you.
– The only way to fight against the gods is to impose others on them.
– It's an act of hubris.
– For the Greeks, yes. But we are not Greeks, we are the competitors and rivals of the gods.
– Baal and Set were assimilated. They are two sides of the same coin. We no longer speak of two gods. What do you think you are doing?
– It is by playing this division that we keep control. If we are only Egyptians, we are weak. If we are Hyksos, an in-between, we are powerful again.
- I beg you, listen to me.
– Chiara is gone, it's too late. As for Set, you won't find him. He's not moving, he's biding his time, it may take years.
– Set is never so foresighted.
– Rarely, not never.
– He already caused a massacre in the South of France a few days ago. He needs to feed until he gets a strong enough host. And it will be a long time before he receives this last payment. Lucrezia took too big a risk for us. She knew she was bonding with the Chaos Lord for several years. "
Do I tell him? What will it change? What will he do with it?
"It's a game of survival. And it's getting tougher. Because Iskandar is not eternal. In less than a century he will be gone. And when he's dead, nothing will stop the rest of Horus' priests from killing us all. They are many, infinitely more numerous. »
I took a step towards him.
"We are the most powerful of the Setians. We must protect ourselves and our members. Against the whole world.
– It's a cog Laura, a cogwheel. As before the Great War, it came upon us through the alliances' cogwheels : and Russia supports Serbia, and France and the United Kingdom Russia, and Germany Austria.
– And it's very sad, but that's how things work. "
I stared into his eyes, struck by their seriousness which replaced the usual malice.
"Abdias Kane is dead. Nahum Kane is dead. Our chances of reforming this system are gone. When Iskandar is gone, it will explode.
– Laura. I came to see you, because I know that you are the only one attached to this family. To its members, not to its name. You can help. You don't have to go down there. The tragedy that will come out of this will engulf all those who touch it, from near or far.
– But you can't do anything, you have nothing to say. Because you're not a part of it anymore, I hissed angrily. "
Oh Champollion, he had sworn to destroy the House it seems. One shot, and then nothing, he threw chaos in such a short time. Once again we are here murdering each other.
"You have chosen your side. "
I turned my back on him reluctantly.
V. Conclusion: July 11, 1931
"Did you miss me little brother?"
As I was about to descend from the parapet, Maurizio's voice cracked behind me like a whip. The world exploded in a deluge of fire. I followed the hurricane.
"You should have expected it, the day you chose to spit on your family, you should have known that I would come back to kill you. "
I couldn't hear my little brother's answers, just Maurizio's angry voice. Other sounds of battle sounded, I ran with all my legs in the direction of the noise.
"Do you take me for a fool? I saw Azzio's body. I know this kind of work. Nonna had him buried in a closed casket of course. "
The fight of my brothers moved quickly in the city, they had already passed the Giudeca, and were heading towards the lagoon. I couldn't catch them. I changed into a crow to follow them.
"He'll leave you eventually, like all the others did. »
The struggle was intense but brief. When I finally joined them, north of the Arsenal, the fight was already over. Maurizio held Como by the throat and lifted him into the air. I landed and resumed my initial form:
" Let him go !
- Don't get involved in this!
– Maurizio, leave him alone! "
Giacomo couldn't add much given his position.
"You don't know, you don't know anything about what he did, what he did to all of us. After dipping his hands in our blood, he threw us into the hands of the fighting families. "
I took a deep breath to calm myself down.
" Listen. I put poison in last night's dinner. I poisoned you all. Let him go, or I won't give anyone the antidote. "
He looked at me, shocked and lost.
" You lie !
- Do you want to check? You think I wouldn't have planned it? Didn't take my precautions before?
– Laura, you filthy slut!
- He's a Bellini. If you take him down, then we'll all go down with him. Leave him. »
Maurizio hesitated for a last moment, then, reluctantly, let him fall to the ground. He spat in his face.
"We'll talk about that in due time little sister. Don't expect to get off so lightly, he threatened me. "
Furious, he pushed me and left the parapet in a black whirlwind. Giacomo struggled to his feet, massaging his throat. He opened his mouth, but I didn't let him speak.
"I warned you. Can't you just go? You made your choice a long time ago. It's too late, you know? Too late!
– Laura...
- Clear. And if you ever come back here, I'll kill you. With my own hands, do you hear me? Get out. "
. Can't you just go? You made your choice a long time ago. It's too late, you know? Too late !
– Laura...
- Clear. And if you ever come back here, I'll kill you. With my own hands, do you hear me? Get out. "