be gorgeous.”
Tania said, “Their guess is that the commander put it up on blocks then boarded it up before they fled from the Russian advance. He must have hoped he could get back and recover it.”
“The surprise is that the Russians never found it. They were pretty good at looting, from everything I’ve read.”
“It was well hidden. The wall had been lightly plastered over, then lumber moved in front of it,” Tania said as we walked into the central square facing the palace. “They’d been searching for the other end of one of the old secret passages.”
“There are a million of those, I remember. Tania, it sounds like you haven’t had any time for your crystal experiments. I know you said you’d help with the wedding stuff, but you don’t have to run every errand. We can hire more people.”
Tania’s smile was brief but real. Tall and long-faced, Tania looked as studious and earnest as she was. I’d hired her to try to run some experiments with the crystals that seem to focus Vrajhus—that is, magic. I could sort of deal with the idea of Vrajhus as a mysterious (and dangerous) power source, but the word
magic
threw me.
Tania said, “I needed a break to think. No matter how careful I am, I still can’t reliably reproduce effects. I’m beginning to understand the warnings of the old folks about how unreliable magic can be. As for the wedding, I like the preparations. Your mother makes me laugh—and then she always makes me lunch. Ah, such lunches,” she said with a sigh of deep appreciation.
By then we’d crossed half the central square, with its gigantic, mostly obliterated hammer and sickle painted on the patterned brick. From long habit, Tania scuffed her foot as he walked over part of the hammer. The Dobreni had been silently rubbing it out with their feet for three generations.
On the left and right sides of the square stood the imposing buildings of government and finance, including the Council building, now nearly rebuilt after the fire that had gutted it during the vampire fight just after New Year’s.
We headed for the main gate to the royal palace, where a cute Vigilzhiguy stood on duty. He saluted, crisp in his blue uniform with the red stripe down his trousers, the gold buttons on his tunic, and the twin falcons on the brass plate at the front of his helmet. The Vigilzhi are the police and army combined. And if Alec gets his way (which he will), women will soon be able to join. The first will be his distant cousin, Baroness Phaedra Danilov, a sharpshooter, a first-rate fencer, and an expert rider.
I gave the guard a grin and a wave, and as soon as we were out of earshot, I said, “You happen to know him? I’m trying to learn the names of the staff.”
“Him? That is Chaim Avramesçu, cousin to my friend Sara.”
“Sara Avramesçu—the rabbi’s daughter?”
“Yes. Sara and I studied lens making together, but she went on to work with gems. She has a gift for restoration and faceting. I don’t know the two guards at the sentry station.”
“I’ll find out,” I promised, as we entered the main building.
The heavy, wet smell of plaster was evidence that the refurbishing of the royal suite—which hadn’t been done for nearly a century—was proceeding as planned.
Tania lifted her hand in a friendly wave and peeled off on an errand of her own as I walked into Alec’s outer office.
Alec was alone, as I pretty much showed up at the same time every day. When I walked in, there was that transformative smile that somehow made his eyes seem bluer. I still don’t get how that works. He tossed down his fountain pen and came to meet me in the middle of the room for a good-morning kiss.
“How’d the interview go?” he finally asked.
“Not as bad as I dreaded. I didn’t have to lie, except about Ruli. For the rest, I just sort of skimmed over the nastier stuff.” We sat side by side on the edge of his desk, and I leaned into his warmth as I gave him a fast recap.
I
Tania said, “Their guess is that the commander put it up on blocks then boarded it up before they fled from the Russian advance. He must have hoped he could get back and recover it.”
“The surprise is that the Russians never found it. They were pretty good at looting, from everything I’ve read.”
“It was well hidden. The wall had been lightly plastered over, then lumber moved in front of it,” Tania said as we walked into the central square facing the palace. “They’d been searching for the other end of one of the old secret passages.”
“There are a million of those, I remember. Tania, it sounds like you haven’t had any time for your crystal experiments. I know you said you’d help with the wedding stuff, but you don’t have to run every errand. We can hire more people.”
Tania’s smile was brief but real. Tall and long-faced, Tania looked as studious and earnest as she was. I’d hired her to try to run some experiments with the crystals that seem to focus Vrajhus—that is, magic. I could sort of deal with the idea of Vrajhus as a mysterious (and dangerous) power source, but the word
magic
threw me.
Tania said, “I needed a break to think. No matter how careful I am, I still can’t reliably reproduce effects. I’m beginning to understand the warnings of the old folks about how unreliable magic can be. As for the wedding, I like the preparations. Your mother makes me laugh—and then she always makes me lunch. Ah, such lunches,” she said with a sigh of deep appreciation.
By then we’d crossed half the central square, with its gigantic, mostly obliterated hammer and sickle painted on the patterned brick. From long habit, Tania scuffed her foot as he walked over part of the hammer. The Dobreni had been silently rubbing it out with their feet for three generations.
On the left and right sides of the square stood the imposing buildings of government and finance, including the Council building, now nearly rebuilt after the fire that had gutted it during the vampire fight just after New Year’s.
We headed for the main gate to the royal palace, where a cute Vigilzhiguy stood on duty. He saluted, crisp in his blue uniform with the red stripe down his trousers, the gold buttons on his tunic, and the twin falcons on the brass plate at the front of his helmet. The Vigilzhi are the police and army combined. And if Alec gets his way (which he will), women will soon be able to join. The first will be his distant cousin, Baroness Phaedra Danilov, a sharpshooter, a first-rate fencer, and an expert rider.
I gave the guard a grin and a wave, and as soon as we were out of earshot, I said, “You happen to know him? I’m trying to learn the names of the staff.”
“Him? That is Chaim Avramesçu, cousin to my friend Sara.”
“Sara Avramesçu—the rabbi’s daughter?”
“Yes. Sara and I studied lens making together, but she went on to work with gems. She has a gift for restoration and faceting. I don’t know the two guards at the sentry station.”
“I’ll find out,” I promised, as we entered the main building.
The heavy, wet smell of plaster was evidence that the refurbishing of the royal suite—which hadn’t been done for nearly a century—was proceeding as planned.
Tania lifted her hand in a friendly wave and peeled off on an errand of her own as I walked into Alec’s outer office.
Alec was alone, as I pretty much showed up at the same time every day. When I walked in, there was that transformative smile that somehow made his eyes seem bluer. I still don’t get how that works. He tossed down his fountain pen and came to meet me in the middle of the room for a good-morning kiss.
“How’d the interview go?” he finally asked.
“Not as bad as I dreaded. I didn’t have to lie, except about Ruli. For the rest, I just sort of skimmed over the nastier stuff.” We sat side by side on the edge of his desk, and I leaned into his warmth as I gave him a fast recap.
I
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