“Please,” Zanobius said, his dark eyes softening for a moment. “Have mercy on me.”
But Giacomo couldn’t give Zanobius the kind of mercy he wanted. He truly believed in his friend’s goodness and knew that his actions weren’t his own. So instead of wielding the Straightedge, Giacomo surrendered it.
33
PIETRO’S PLEA
Soft, soothing notes drifted in the breeze, finding purchase in Milena’s ears. The music seeped through her muscles and deep into her bones. Sensation began to return. She tasted dirt in her mouth and felt the cool grass brushing against her cheek. Her head throbbed like it was being repeatedly hit with a hammer.
What happened…?
In a flash, it all came back: Zanobius’s grabbing her, hoisting her up … Then, nothing.
Milena’s eyes fluttered open, taking in the daylight. She rolled onto her side, and Savino groaned next to her. Aaminah knelt between them, playing her flute. Yellow circles pulsed from Luna’s gem and slowly passed over Milena’s and Savino’s bodies. Yaday stood behind her, looking on.
Gaia shook her feathers and stretched her neck, cawing.
Aaminah lowered her flute, and the yellow light dissipated. “Are you all right?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Milena rubbed her temples. “I think so…” She got to her feet, and her legs gave way. Yaday reached out and steadied her. Once she regained her balance, Milena looked around at the warriors and soldiers still engaged in fierce battle. “Where are Giacomo and Zanobius?”
“We’re not sure,” Yaday said.
Savino stood up, and Nero flew to him, landing on his arm. “How did you know we were out here?”
“We were in the palace when we heard all the fighting,” Aaminah replied. “The next thing I knew, Soraya was running off. We followed her outside and found her caught in the middle of the battlefield. I was about to try to get her when Ozo rushed in.” Seeing the alarm on Milena’s face, Aaminah quickly added, “Soraya’s safe now. Ozo carried her out of harm’s way.”
“That’s when I saw Giacomo disappear into a portal with Zanobius,” Yaday explained. “We rushed over here and found you both knocked out.”
“We need to figure out where they went,” Milena said, her heart racing.
“Found them!” Savino announced suddenly, gesturing to the palace. Zanobius lumbered down the steps, pulling Giacomo with two hands; in his other two, he carried the Compass and the Straightedge.
“Oh no,” Aaminah muttered.
“Let’s go!” Milena waved for everyone to follow her.
They were too late. In the sky, Nerezza had been fending off attacks from Lavanthi and Pietro, but seeing Zanobius loft the Straightedge skyward, she guided Victoria down and grabbed the Tool as she flew by. Victoria swooped back up and circled the dome. Nerezza lifted the Straightedge, and its patterns began to glow, along with her Genius’s gem.
“Take cover!” Milena shouted as Nerezza sliced the Sacred Tool through the air. The group dove behind a row of hedges.
A blinding beam cut through the sky. Milena winced as a wave of heat washed over her. The rest of the warriors and soldiers must have felt it too, because they all ceased fighting for a moment and crouched down. When the light receded, the gardens were smoldering, with trees lying strewn about, and the main path had been obliterated.
With a heavy thump, Victoria landed at the bottom of the palace steps, about a hundred feet from where Milena was hunkered down with her friends. Giacomo squirmed in Zanobius’s grip as the Tulpa dragged him toward Nerezza. Milena looked around for Mico but didn’t see him. She hoped he had escaped.
A loud hoot rang out, and Tito sailed overhead, then landed across from Victoria. Nerezza’s Genius screeched her displeasure. Pietro slid off his Genius’s back and leaned heavily on his cane.
With Savino and Aaminah by her side, Milena raced over to her teacher. “What are you doing?”
Pietro waved them away. “Stay back. I’ll deal with Nerezza.”
Milena found Savino’s and Aaminah’s hands and squeezed, praying for Pietro’s safety.
Nerezza smirked. “You think a few wise words will persuade me to stand down? Not a chance.”
“Remember the last time we stood in front of this palace?” Pietro said, his voice growing calmer. “Our first kiss was right over there.” Pietro gestured out toward the gardens. “You were different then. We both were.”
“You must have lost your mind as well as your sight, traitor,” Nerezza said. “You never meant anything to me.”
Pietro tensed. “That’s a lie!” he shouted. “We were in love once, but maybe all the horrors you’ve committed over the past sixty years have clouded your memory.”
“What I remember is how you betrayed me,” Nerezza fired back. “And apparently, nothing has changed. You and your students will face the harshest punishment for fighting alongside Rachana.”
Milena traded worried looks with her friends. The likelihood that Pietro was going to talk their way out of this was growing slimmer by the moment, but he pressed on.
“When we were young, you were so optimistic. So full of hope…”
Nerezza scowled. “My youth is gone, my optimism left when you walked away, and as for hope? It’s nothing but a myth used by the weak to soothe their fragile minds.”
“You deceive yourself. You once had hope,” Pietro insisted. “Why else would you have taken pity on me all those years ago? You could’ve killed me, but instead you let me live. There’s still a sliver of your heart that’s capable of goodness. I know it.”
Nerezza cackled with disbelief. “You think I showed you mercy? No, I wanted you to suffer. Art was everything to you; it was your life. I knew that living as a blind painter would be a far worse punishment than death.”
Too stunned to form a response, Pietro fell silent.
Milena tensed, listening to Nerezza’s callous words. Whatever remorse Nerezza might have had buried within her was nowhere to be found. All Pietro had been able to unearth was the woman’s evil core.
“But perhaps you’ve suffered long enough,” Nerezza continued. “You want me to take pity on you? Fine.” She raised the Straightedge. Its patterns gleamed. Victoria’s gem erupted with a powerful blaze.
“No!” Milena screamed.
Pietro’s reaction was swift. He swung his brush, and Tito countered with an orange beam that collided against the violet, the energy pouring out like molten light.
Victoria let out an earsplitting roar and thrust her head forward. Boosted by the Straightedge’s force, her ray easily overpowered Tito’s beam, driving it back toward his crown. In an instant, Nerezza’s attack had devoured Pietro’s, turning the world violet.
Milena had to shield her eyes from the brightness, and when the light dimmed, Pietro lay sprawled on the ground. Tito had collapsed next to him, a lifeless mass of feathers. His gem had been dislodged from his crown and now lay dull and fractured in the grass.
Nerezza wound a sacred geometry spiral around the gem and brought it to her. She dropped it into her lap and ran her spindly fingers over its surface. A satisfied smile crept across her face.
“Give that back!” Milena screamed.
Giacomo tried to break free, but Zanobius threw Giacomo onto Victoria’s back and climbed on after him.
Nerezza called to her soldiers to retreat, then soared away, but she wasn’t done wreaking havoc yet. She cut an arc with the Straightedge, and Milena and the others ran for cover as Victoria’s deadly ray focused on the palace itself. It obliterated the dome and most of the top floors. Shards of stone rained down, and melted gold dripped from the remains of the white marble walls. By the time Nerezza had returned to her ship, Victoria’s beam had cut down any Rachanan warrior in her path and the earth was torn apart by fissures.
As Nerezza and her Genius flew away, Milena rushed back to her fallen teacher. She dropped to her knees and gently laid Pietro’s head in her lap. His form blurred through her tears. Aaminah a
nd Savino gathered next to her.
Aaminah leaned in close to Pietro’s face. “He’s still breathing…” On instinct, she brought her flute to her lips and began to play.
But Tito was beyond saving. With mournful squawks, Gaia and Nero circled the fallen Genius as he broke apart into specks of light that floated away.
“Keep Pietro stable,” Milena said, wiping away her tears. Aaminah nodded as Luna wove strands of light around their teacher.
Savino put a hand on Milena’s shoulder. “She can’t play forever,” he said sadly.
“She won’t have to,” Milena said, her resolve slowly returning. “Not if we save him.”
“How?”
Milena gazed up at Nerezza’s remaining two ships, which had become dark smudges against the dusky sky. Giacomo was up there with them, along with the Sacred Tools. He could be rescued, the Tools recovered. And along with them, Milena sought another prize. “We need to get Tito’s gem back.”
34
REBEL SOLDIER
Giacomo sat on Victoria’s back, caught between Nerezza and Zanobius. The wind whipped his face, and dizziness overcame him, but not because he was flying hundreds of feet above the ground.
Pietro is dead …
Or at least he would be soon. As they sailed away from the fortress, Giacomo looked back to see Tito break apart into light. The faint whisper of Aaminah’s flute traveled up to his ears, but not even her music would be powerful enough to save Pietro now.
If only Giacomo had been more courageous—more cruel, he thought—he would have destroyed Zanobius. Then maybe Giacomo would have been able to help save Pietro and his Genius. Maybe Nerezza wouldn’t have gotten away with the Sacred Tools. Maybe I wouldn’t be Nerezza’s prisoner right now …
Victoria neared one of the winged ships and glided toward its stern. Archers and soldiers with handguns cleared the rearmost deck as Victoria came in for a landing. Giacomo noticed Baldassare’s sullen face among the crowd, and he wondered why the man wasn’t basking in Nerezza’s victory.
Giacomo looked off into the distance as the samraat’s fortress disappeared behind the dunes. He was on his own now. Zanobius grabbed Giacomo and jumped off Victoria’s back, landing with a thud.
“Where’s his Genius?” a deep voice demanded. Giacomo turned to find a man in golden armor and an opulent bird-shaped helmet crossing the deck to meet Zanobius. “Did you capture it?”
“It flew away before I could grab it,” Zanobius replied.
That was the one bright spot in all the darkness—back beneath the palace, Mico had darted away before Zanobius could get his hands on him. Giacomo had no idea where his Genius had taken off to, but at least Mico was out of harm’s way.
“Don’t worry, Minister Strozzi,” Nerezza said. “It won’t be a problem. Soon, Giacomo’s Genius will be compelled to return to him.”
“Is that what Minister Xiomar told you?” Strozzi asked, looking skeptical.
Who is Xiomar? Giacomo wondered, dread creeping through his bones. And why is Nerezza so sure that Mico will come back?
Nerezza snatched the Compass from Zanobius and ordered him to take Giacomo inside. Zanobius ushered Giacomo down a set of stairs that led from the quarterdeck to the main deck. As they passed by Baldassare, Giacomo locked eyes with him.
“I’m sorry it had to come to this,” Baldassare said, sounding like a man defeated.
“What happened to Enzio? Is he all right?” Giacomo asked. Baldassare shook his head and looked away.
Before Giacomo could ask any more questions, Zanobius hauled him off.
“What’s Nerezza planning to do to me, Zanobius?” Giacomo said.
Zanobius stopped short of a cabin door directly below the quarterdeck. “My orders forbid me to tell you,” he said. “But you’ll find out soon enough.”
“What are you waiting for?” Nerezza snapped as she and Baldassare came up behind them. “I told you to take him inside.”
Zanobius pushed on the door, but it didn’t open. “It’s locked.”
Nerezza’s face flashed concern. She tried the door herself, then banged on it. “Minister Xiomar! Are you in there?”
No one answered.
Nerezza scowled and turned to Zanobius. “Break it down!”
Zanobius kicked with his two left legs, splintering the wood. He kicked again, and the door fell away. Nerezza marched into the cabin, then halted abruptly, emitting a sharp gasp.
Giacomo quickly took in the space. In the center of the room was a metal table equipped with restraints. At the rear of the cabin, a uniformed soldier stood behind a hunchbacked old man, holding a knife to his throat.
“Stay back!” the soldier shouted desperately.
“Enzio?” Even through the bruises and dark circles under his eyes, there was no mistaking him. Enzio’s ragged appearance seemed to explain why Baldassare had looked so upset. Perhaps he cared more for his son than Giacomo had realized.
Nerezza fumed and paced toward Enzio.
“Not another step!” Enzio shouted. “Or Xiomar is a dead man.”
Nerezza froze. Giacomo found a pleasant satisfaction in watching her follow someone else’s orders for once.
Baldassare cowered in the doorway. “Enzio, don’t do this. Please, let Minister Xiomar go.”
“Not unless Nerezza releases Giacomo first,” Enzio said, then mustered up the strength to give a smile. “Hi, Giacomo.”
* * *
Aaminah continued to play as Luna’s light wafted over Pietro. Normally, Milena would have enjoyed her friend’s music, but today it was tinged with death.
Now that the fighting was over, Ozo emerged from the warriors’ quarters and carried a frightened-looking Soraya over to her mother. Lavanthi grabbed her daughter and hugged her tightly. Then she leaned in to Ozo with a warm smile. Ozo touched her cheek gently, and they kissed.
At least one good thing came out of this horrible day, Milena thought.
She looked at the smoldering wreckage of the fortress. Part of the outer wall had crumbled, the once-beautiful gardens were in ruins, and many warriors had been wounded, some killed. Those who had survived began to collect the fallen, and the healers took the injured to the warriors’ quarters for treatment. Many horse-Geniuses had been wounded as well.
“We’re going to need some horse-Geniuses if we want to catch up to Nerezza’s ships,” Savino said.
Milena nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”
She spotted Kavi in the garden swishing his tail. The Genius’s mane was still dripping from when Zanobius had plunged him into the pool. Nearby, two warriors were loading the injured Ajeet onto a stretcher. Milena and Savino rushed over to speak with him.
Ajeet was bloodied, and half his armor had fallen off. He was in no condition to lead a charge against Nerezza, but other warriors could.
“Your Excellency, we need your help,” Milena said. “Savino and I need to borrow some of your warriors to get on board Nerezza’s ship.”
“Look around—we lost this battle.” Ajeet winced in pain. “I’m not about to risk any more lives.”
“But we have to get Giacomo and the Sacred Tools back,” Milena said, growing desperate. “If you really want to protect your empire, you can’t let Nerezza keep her hands on the Compass and the Straightedge.”
Milena’s words seemed to hit a nerve. Weakly, Ajeet waved his daughter over, and they conferred in Rachanan.
“So…?” Milena said, looking to Ozo. “Is it good news or bad news?”
Ozo summed up the conversation. “Lavanthi thinks a few warriors could drop you off on the ship and keep the army distracted while you rescue Giacomo. But getting you off is another story…”
A spark of inspiration hit Milena. “Once we recover the Compass—” Milena started.
Savino seemed to have had the idea at the same instant. “We can make a portal back here!” he finished.
Overhearing their suggestion, Ajeet turned to Milena. “I won’t order any warrior
s to go, but if anyone wishes to volunteer, surely the gods would look favorably upon them.”
Milena wanted to hug the samraat but thought that might not be appropriate, so she hugged Savino instead.
“All right, all right, don’t get too excited,” Savino said, pulling away. “We still have to actually go through with this crazy plan.”
Lavanthi called to the warriors nearby. They gathered around as she explained the situation. While Milena waited to hear if anyone would be willing to join them, Yaday approached, carrying bellows.
“I’d like to come too,” he said.
“No offense,” Milena said. “But you’re not exactly a fighter.”
“I know, but I failed Giacomo back at the caldera. I want to make it up to him. And I can help you deal with the other Tulpa.” Yaday held up the bellows. “I think this will subdue him.”
Savino grabbed the bellows out of Yaday’s hand. “You’re not going to overcome Zanobius by blowing a little air in his face, trust me.”
“Be careful!” Yaday said, snatching back his device. “There’s a very potent sleeping powder inside.” Yaday pointed to the bag between the two handles on the bellows. “I use a small amount in my tea for relaxation. But in large amounts, it can calm Padma when she’s anxious.”
“It’ll take an elephant’s worth of powder to knock out Zanobius, that’s for sure,” Savino said, then turned to Milena. “I say we bring him.”
“Fine,” Milena said, nodding to Yaday. “You’re in.”
Yaday bowed his head. “Thank you.”
Lavanthi mounted her Genius. The four warriors who had accompanied them to the caldera had volunteered to join her. The team was smaller than Milena had hoped, but she was grateful to every one of them.
Milena worried that Ozo might try to join the mission so he could continue his pursuit of Zanobius, but to her surprise, he picked up Soraya and kissed Lavanthi again.
“I’m going to sit this one out and keep an eye on Soraya,” Ozo told Milena. “Good luck.”
Milena went to Aaminah and told her to keep playing until they returned. Aaminah responded with a nod, then Milena leaned down to Pietro, who was still unresponsive, and kissed his forehead. His skin had taken on a sickly yellowish tint. “Stay with us. We’ll be back soon.”
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