In one paragraph Borgia named a demon, Isis, who had written the scroll she was translating. What did this demon have to do with Paolo Borgia and his unrequited love? Had he controlled the woman somehow by calling the demon? Demonologists did things like this, not the Binders she knew. They had to re-enact a battle for honor hundreds of years old. Borgia was like Dr. Faustus, who gambled and lost.
Lucy stood and stretched. No time for this now. She finished the letter and stuffed it into her pinafore pocket. There was a translation to finish. She wanted to separate herself from Ra as soon as possible. Carlo hadn’t returned with bedding, but she didn’t want to sleep anyway. She would work on the scroll through the night.
She worried about Carlo, but she sent it to the back of her mind. One problem at a time.
She looked over the sentence she had translated. The grammar was odd, but she wrote, trying to put the words in a semblance of English.
Lament, lament for the gods of Egypt, cast aside by a jealous hand, fated to live in darkness.
Lucy explored her new room, her very own. There was a doll as big as she was and a rocking horse. However, there was no Octavia. She was sad to be alone.
Mother told her not to worry. There was a perch for Ra, who bothered her less since Mother taught her to shield herself. Madame Dantes would continue to give Lucy lessons and Octavia would have a new tutor for magic. Lucy would be safer, Mother said, although Mother did not tell her why she needed to be safer.
Calpurnia Julii glided into the room. She was a beautiful woman, Lucy thought. Her hair curled perfectly. Not as delicate as Octavia’s, but perfect. Mother had red hair and freckled skin. Lucy and Octavia took after Father, but then Mother didn’t have a demon, did she? Mother was dressed in blue, her skirt wide and soft. She wore a house cap covered in ivory lace.
Calpurnia spread her arms, and Lucy raced to her, wrapping herself in the soft blue skirt.
Mother smiled and knelt down. “Do you like your new room, Lucy?”
“I want Octavia.”
Calpurnia lowered herself into a nursery chair, and the gauzy blue skirt flounced around it. Lucy sat on the floor, her legs folded under her. “I will try to explain why you need your own room, but I’m not sure you will be able to understand.”
Lucy played with Mother’s hem. “Father says I’m ill-formed and he doesn’t want me around Octavia, which is why I have my own room.”
Calpurnia’s smile froze, so Lucy was sure she was right. To Lucy’s surprise, Calpurnia’s delicate hand stroked Lucy’s head. “No, my pet. You know the Klaereon children are all cursed in one way or another. You may be tiny, but you are not cursed to be small, even if your father thinks you are. You’re a good girl. You would never harm anyone. Octavia is not a good girl. She looks perfect on the outside, but her insides are all wrong.”
Lucy shook. “Because she tried to smother me?”
Calpurnia stroked Lucy’s hair, an empty repetition. “I hope after her Trial Octavia will become better. Until then I feel it is best for you to be here.”
So it wasn’t her. Lucy hated Octavia being in trouble, but she was also relieved Mother was not afraid of her. Loved her.
“Maybe Ra and I can help Octavia?”
Calpurnia shook her head. “We cannot help Octavia. When Octavia is old enough, perhaps she can help herself. The best thing you can do is be polite when you see her. Speak gently to her and treat her well. Study your magic as hard as you can. You will take care of her at the end when you are both older, when you will be in charge of the scroll. You must take good care of her.”
“I promise,” said Lucy.
“Tomorrow, you and I will learn some more magic.” Calpurnia kissed her daughter’s head and rose from the chair.
“Your kind?”
“Our kind,” said Calpurnia.
Calpurnia’s family, the Julii, were blood magicians. Octavia couldn’t do blood magic, so this was a special bond Lucy shared with her mother. Lucy hugged herself with the knowledge she and her mother shared something special.
Light fought its way through the broken windows and down to the floor, and Lucy’s eyes fluttered open. Her stomach gurgled. Both Borgias remained absent. If she asked Ra to bring her something, no doubt raw pigeon would be his offering, or a juicy rat. While she would appreciate the thought, bread and water would serve better.
All night there had been no Carlo, no Paolo. Just her and the flickering lamp and the scroll. She had the basic ceremony laid out in a notebook, sketched by the time she fell asleep for the last time, and when she woke up she was amused to see she had left a Lucy-shaped print on the floor. It looked like her shadow.
She brushed herself off. The dirtier she was, the more urchin-like she looked, the less likely someone would assume she was anything but a Venetian child—as long as she kept her mouth shut. A quick search of the desk drawers revealed no money. She scanned the shelves, looking for something useful. Her eyes lighted on book after book of magic about demons. A good Binder would have read them all. She extinguished another flare of anger.
When she had finished her translation last night, she understood perhaps there was no such thing as a good Binder.
Ra fluttered to her shoulder. Together they floated up to the second story, out the window, and landed in the ankle-deep water of the alley. Ra’s wings fluffed her hair as he became airborne. She was going to have to steal food. Magic might come in handy. Splashing around the building, she saw San Marco alive in the daylight and caught the morning smells of bread and pastries. Her stomach growled again. Ra left her on the ground and flew to roost on the cathedral. It was a myth demons couldn’t come into contact with churches.
“I need you,” she said to Ra.
Why would I wish to help you? You plan to get rid of me.
“You don’t know everything. Get me some breakfast and we’ll talk.”
I refuse.
Lucy wandered over to the cathedral. She sat on the stone steps, feeling in her muscles what sleeping on a broken tile floor was like. “Tell me,” she thought at Ra, “what you can of a demon named Isis.”
There is nothing to tell. Isis is a great pretender. She pretends she and her child have a right to my power.
“You must not be too severe upon Isis. After reading her scroll, I have some vague idea you are not just demons with Egyptian names. I asked Father about this once, and he said the Egyptian gods were demons because you all were a mix of animals and humans. I didn’t believe him, but I knew I must be wrong. He had spent his whole life studying you, controlling you. After translating the scroll last night, everything I have been taught about demon-kind is called into question.”
Ra’s cry echoed across San Marco Square and sent pigeons flying into the air like pollen from a dandelion. The falcon swooped overhead as though he had been fired from a slingshot. Lucy shielded her eyes from the bright sun as Ra dropped and glided with finesse, plummeted, and plucked a pastry from a man’s hand. The alarmed man yelled at Ra, who flew over the cathedral with what Lucy expected would be her peace offering. She circled the street and found him perched on a fountain rim in a public garden, the roll beside him. Lucy climbed up, her skirts absorbing the damp, her feet not quite touching the ground, water inside her shoes. Ra bit her hand when she took the pastry.
“Brute,” she said.
Eat and talk. Tell me about this scroll.
The pastry was full of fresh sweet cream, which tingled on her tongue. Hunger was the best sauce. Lucy licked cream off her upper lip. “Isis wrote this scroll. I think Mr. Borgia knows her, maybe. They weren’t like you and me. Their relationship was temporary.”
Isis would fall for a trap like a magician’s spell.
“You tried to convince me we could inherit the Solomon Scroll. You want to rule the demons, you said, bring them to Earth. I suspect you really were Ra, king of Egypt, God of Egypt, and it galls you your people have been banished to the Abyss and called demons. Let me know if I am anywhere near the ma
rk.”
Ra preened the feathers in his chest. You are wiser than I gave you credit for, Lucia.
Lucy licked the cream off her sticky fingers. “Thank you. Do you want to see if Solomon’s Scroll holds the key to freeing you and the others from the Abyss? Do you want to control the scroll through me?”
Ra’s silence, Lucy thought, confirmed her thoughts. “What if Isis wrote a counter magic scroll to Solomon’s Scroll, and used a human agent like Paolo Borgia to get it into this world? Then if a Binder uses Isis’s scroll to free his or her demon, that demon is no longer tied to the Binder? I don’t want to be controlled by you, Ra, and you don’t want to be controlled by me.”
Lucia. Ra paused.
Lucy braced herself. He only called her Lucia when he thought he could persuade her. She gazed into the fountain water, watching the bubbles.
I was wrong about you. I thought you were weak and gullible. You have showed me how strong you are. You have no need to be bound by your family rules, I will grant you. But why do you wish to find a way to Banish me? I could help you be what you want. Don’t you want to be the most powerful Binder? We can take Solomon’s Scroll from Octavia, but only if you let me guide you. I know about these things, and while you are wise, you are young and have much to learn.
This was a new tactic and she admired it. She had changed. Her first thoughts upon trying to kill herself were to end her troubles and to save her family shame. However, she was relieved when Carlo rescued her from the canal. She didn’t want to die.
“You are right, Ra. I do have much to learn. I respect you have much to teach me.”
Let’s leave these people. Let’s go to Alexandria, then have your Trial. You and I, we can be together. We can both get what we want.
“I don’t understand why you don’t want to be free of me.” Lucy wasn’t stupid. Ra was potent and powerful, and it would be wrong to let him have Solomon’s Scroll. However, it was also wrong for Solomon to imprison the Egyptian gods as he had.
Ra’s head jerked. He hopped into flight, gaining a vantage point from the top of the cherub statue in the fountain. Lucy dipped her hands in the water to wash them.
A flash of movement caught her eye. At the end of the alley, Drusus walked around the corner as though he were on a morning stroll.
She had been found. Her confidence drained from her as he approached. She studied her feet, not meeting his eyes. There was nothing to say. Drusus would take her back to Octavia, she would not break her tie to Ra, and neither she nor Ra would win anything. Lucy watched the bustling courtyard waking up, ear toward the conversation, eyes on the stones and the people. Merchants, soldiers, gondoliers.
“Lucy?” Drusus approached her as if she were a rabbit he was trying to capture for a pet. “Is that you?”
She brushed the hair away from her eyes. Her pallor confirmed her identity, and he descended on her like a dark storm. “What were you thinking, running away? Look at you! I would never have recognized you!”
Ra twitched his head. He must not get in our way. I will attack him. Do you want me to kill him?
“No,” Lucy said.
“No?” Drusus echoed.
“Ra wants to attack you, Drusus. I’d rather he didn’t. I… I am sorry to cause you so much trouble. I didn’t mean to.”
Drusus looked at the bird. “Thank you, Ra. Since you think I am dangerous, I fancy you give me some credit. Very generous of you.”
“You’re good at talking to demons,” Lucy said, “even though you’ve only been with us a short while.”
Drusus reached out and pulled her to him. Her heart pounded. “Thank goodness you’re not hurt.” He pulled back, left his hands on her petite shoulders. “Are you well?” Drusus sat down beside her on the stone ledge.
Free me. Let me walk the Earth again.
“Yes. Thank you. Some people have been taking good care of me.”
“People?”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Lucy.
“Would you care to tell me what all this is about?” His voice was coaxing. “Were you afraid? Did you run away from your Trial?”
“You know about the Trial?”
“Octavia told me. I don’t approve.”
Lucy shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if you approve or not. She must have told you I would lose.”
“I don’t believe you will lose.”
“It’s true. I don’t know what I need to know to win. Where’s Octavia?”
Static sparks flashed in Drusus’ hair. “Octavia and I are parted for the moment.”
Lucy swallowed. “What do you mean parted?”
“We’ve had a disagreement. About you. Octavia sent Khun after you.”
“What?” Lucy shook her head. Octavia would never send Khun to hunt her.
Your sister’s consort is correct. Khun was here last night. I felt him. Our secrecy was more important than my defeating him, else I would have gouged his eyes out and sliced him to ribbons.
“And you didn’t tell me?”
Drusus cocked his head, but she ignored him.
It was not important to us. I would have eviscerated him if necessary.
“He was here last night,” said Lucy. “Ra did not seem to think I needed to know.”
“At least Ra keeps you safe.”
After a fashion, Lucy thought. She hopped off the ledge. She had lost. “Are we going?”
Drusus studied his gloved hands. “Where would we go?”
“Back to Octavia. We have to go to Alexandria, and I assume you are going to take us, else we will not get there in time.”
“I’m not taking you back to Octavia.”
Lucy blinked. “Why not?”
“As I mentioned, Octavia and I had a falling out. We disagree about your future. What I propose is taking you to my home. My family’s home. You have a Trial.” Drusus watched Ra as he spoke. “I know the expected outcome. I also know you must go to the Temple of Erasmus to complete the ritual. I propose we leave Octavia behind, consecrate ground at Skye Castle, and hold your Trial there. I will be your Anchor. I will make sure you live.”
Lucy felt embarrassment and hope. “Why?”
“I want to take care of you,” Drusus said.
Her voice trembled. “You want to take care of me?”
He kissed her forehead with lips as soft as a whisper. “You are my little sister. Of course I do.”
I take care of you!
“I—” The sun peeked out from behind clouds of loneliness. Drusus could be hurt or killed by Ra in a Trial. While an Anchor increased her chances for survival, she would not place him in such danger. “Drusus, you’ve given me quite a gift by offering to help me. I am so grateful. Don’t think I’m not.”
“But?”
“I can’t win.”
Drusus reached for her and she leaned away. “I believe you can win.”
She smiled. “There may be another way to try. Something new.”
“I’m listening.”
“There has never been a Binder who has been able to sever the bond between themselves and their demon, but it might not be impossible. Maybe we could avoid the Trial altogether. I’ve been looking at a scroll which may make this possible.”
“Is this why you ran away?”
“No. But finding the scroll was a happy accident.”
“Do you know for sure this scroll can prevent you from having to undergo your Trial?”
Lucy shook her head. “I don’t. I think so, but I am not certain.” Lucy glanced up at Ra. “It’s not right for Ra to be imprisoned like this. I don’t think he should control me, and I don’t think I should control him.”
“Well.” Drusus stood.
Lucy glanced at Ra, then back at Drusus. Drusus’ thoughts seemed to solidify. “I don’t want to be like your family, Lucy. I don’t want to make decisions for you. My primary thoughts are for your safety. Let me see this other scroll, and let’s talk our options through. You agree with me that we will take the least
risky course?”
“Yes. Of course.” The uncertainty inside her mellowed to a satisfied pride.
“Where is this scroll?”
“Not far from here. Let me take you.”
Drusus made a gesture for her to precede him and they walked across the bustling square, Ra’s angular shadow cast over them both.
CHAPTER NINE
The nursery was dark. Nanny had pulled the drapes over the windows. Gray light peeked through like an inverted cross. Octavia turned on her stomach and buried her head in her pillow. Across the room, Lucy’s breath was soft and rhythmic. Khun growled in the dark, but not so much as to wake up Lucy. On his perch, Ra badgered Octavia with promises.
Did you ever tell your father why you tried to kill your sister? Ra whispered to Octavia.
“Go away. I already told you, I won’t do it.”
Your father agrees with me. Look at her. Your family wants her dead. Aren’t you a good daughter? You are beautiful, a worthy vessel for me. You must do this. It will bring happiness to so many, including yourself.
“I don’t need you.” Her whisper was harsh. “Leave me alone.”
You need me. If you were bound to me, you would be the most powerful Binder in your family’s history. We would do whatever we wanted. Your father left you here tonight so you could kill her. Night after night, opportunity slips away. Do it, Octavia. Kill her. When your mother comes back, this chance will be gone.
“Lucy is my sister. I will not kill her.”
You will someday. If I win against Lucy, and I will, you will have to kill her. You could save her by taking me.
“I can’t take you. One demon for one Binder. One Trial.”
If my Binder dies?
“You return to the Abyss.”
Someone returns to the Abyss. Why not Khun? He’s useless. He only wants one thing from you.
“Khun is my friend.”
You don’t listen to the shadows, do you? What they say to you? Khun is weak, like Lucy, weak and deformed. Someone as powerful as you deserves better.
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