The Alchemist's Apprentice Read Free Page B

Maestro might be hiding in one of the marquetry chests, but Sciara seemed to consider that possibility as unlikely as I did.
    â€œWhere does his horse sleep?”
    â€œHorse, lustrissimo ? He owns no horse that I know of.”
    â€œYou know who I mean! The mute.”
    â€œAh!” I led the way along to a smaller room—a comparatively humble room, although some of the richest men in the Republic sleep in worse. I marched in, not bothering to be quiet, for Bruno has been stone deaf since birth. Stretched flat out across two beds put together, the giant was snoring loud enough to raise waves on the lagoon. Being very close to naked, he was an impressive sight. “There is more of him,” I said, “but we keep the rest in storage.”
    I did not draw Circospetto ’s attention to the Veronese Madonna on the wall. It is only a small one, but Bruno likes it.
    â€œYour tongue will strangle you yet, Zeno. Let me see the study.”
    I led the way again, going a little slower as I worked out what to do. So far so good—the Maestro had gone, leaving Bruno behind. Wisdom had departed and Silence was deserted . But, although Sciara had visited the Maestro’s atelier before, he had never had a chance to snoop around there at will. Now the brave Riddler must guard the treasures. My first problem was that I had not only locked the door, but also warded it, as I always do at night. The one time I forgot to disable that curse, it threw me halfway across the salone and tied me up in an agony of cramp. What had disabled a healthy youngster like me might well kill a man of Sciara’s age.
    I unlocked the door, but then I hung my keys back on my belt and turned to face him, folding my arms. “First you must give me your oath that you will not remove anything.”
    â€œStand aside.”
    I said, “Gladly,” and did so. “But I warn you, lustrissimo , that if you touch that door handle you may receive a very unpleasant surprise.”
    Lantern light turned his osseous smile into a sigil of crooked shadows. “Are you threatening me with violence, messer ? That is a serious criminal offense.”
    â€œWarning you of danger, merely.”
    â€œOpen the door, or you will come back with me and explain your refusal to the magistrates.”
    â€œI expect sier Alvise Barbolano will lodge a complaint with the Council.”
    â€œWhat the nobleman may choose to do is not your concern. Open the door or fetch your cloak.”
    I was damned either way. My refusal might even be all the evidence the Ten would need to issue a formal search warrant. I knew of evidence in there that could be used to hang the Maestro and me with him. Among his papers were prophecies, letters written in cipher from people all over Europe, horoscopes for senior members of the government, and many other documents that could be regarded as evidence of treason or heresy.
    Furious, I turned my back on the intruder to conceal my hands. I made the passes and muttered the incantation needed to remove the wards. Then I led the way inside.
    The room was dark and unoccupied, but the poisons I had brought back the previous evening still sat in full view on the desk. Both Gerolamo the herbalist and Danielle the apothecary had warned me to be careful with those. Sciara made a methodical circuit of the room, starting at the alchemical workbench with its mortars and alembics, lingering to look at the scores of jars on shelves above it.
    I stayed very close, prepared to grab away anything he tried to pocket.
    He took even longer at the wall of books, raising his lantern to scan the titles—books and more books, all bound in embossed leather and lettered with gold leaf. The Republic is the greatest center of printing in Europe, so the Maestro’s collection is far from being the largest in the city, but it contains many rarities—manuscripts and fragments centuries old. More to the point, no library in Europe