The Dark City Read Free Page A

key from her pocket. ‘Come on, let’s do it! Let’s have a bit of fun with that old grouch.’
    They hurried over to the magical painting in the alcove beside a potted orange tree. It was a scene of a balcony overlooking a beautiful leafy landscape, enchanted so that it looked like a real extension of the room that you could walk into. The sun in the painted sky glowed and the leaves of the trees waved slightly in a magical breeze. Bianca smiled as she remembered Catriona hiding Master di Lombardi’s special blue chalk underneath the painted couch inside the picture. That
had
been pretty funny. She hoped that secretly di Lombardi had thought so too.
    Holding up the paintbrush, Bianca whispered, ‘Hidden rooms, secret passages, second city!’ The minuscule cogs inside the thin wooden handle of the paintbrush clicked and whirred as the handle slid away and the copper prongs folded out into the shape of a key. With another grin at the Duchess and Marco, Bianca stepped over the threshold into the painting and turned the key in the lock of the small wooden door at one side of the balcony. It swung open and she stepped through into the secret passages.
    Bianca smiled as she breathed in the cool, fragrant air and ran her hand over a wall that looked and felt like stone but smelled like canvas and paint. This whole place had been painted into existence, a way to travel between every one of the magical paintings in La Luminosa. She guessed it had been di Lombardi who’d created the passages – but she still had no idea how, why or when it had been done.
    â€˜Lead the way, Bianca!’ Catriona said, coming after her with Marco on her heels.
    Bianca turned left from the Duchess’s drawing room, then took the next right, and counted ten doors along as Marco and Catriona hurried behind her, laughing. She’d started to learn her way around, at least when it came to the most useful paintings inside the palace. The trick was to try and put the real world out of your head completely – paintings that were next door to each other in the secret passages might be miles apart in the real city. And there were still areas of the painted world she hadn’t explored.
    The painting in Secretary Franco’s office was a sombre depiction of San Pietro studying the Elder Mysteries, surrounded by teetering piles of books, glimmering scientific instruments and a large, bleached white skull. The saint moved a little, not too much, just enough to give the impression that he was reading the page in front of him with great attention and wisdom.
    Bianca opened the door at the back of the painting a tiny crack and Catriona and Marco crowded up behind her to see through into the office. Looking past the saint’s elbow, Bianca could see Secretary Franco in almost the exact same pose, poring over a huge pile of parchments and scrolls. His beaky nose practically grazed the surface of the document on the top of the pile. The letters that Duchess Catriona had signed and sealed sat in a neat basket by his left hand.
    â€˜What should we do?’ Marco whispered.
    â€˜I bet I could hit the back of his head from here, but I don’t have anything to throw,’ Duchess Catriona said thoughtfully, patting her pockets. ‘Apart from my rings.’
    â€˜No.’ Bianca pushed the door shut. ‘Even if he didn’t see us, where would he think it came from? I’ve got a better idea, let’s just ruffle his feathers. I need something long and pointy.’
    â€˜I’ve got just the thing.’ Duchess Catriona bent down, her huge, silky skirts pooling around her. Bianca winced as she grabbed the hem and ripped along the seam. ‘It’s all right, it’s always getting caught on the roses when I go walking in the garden – Helena will just think it’s torn itself on a bush.’ She fiddled for a second and brought out a long, curved strip of thick wire.
    Bianca took the