A Conspiracy of Alchemists: Book One in the Chronicles of Light and Shadow by Liesel Schwarz

Author:Liesel Schwarz [Schwarz, Liesel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Action & Adventure, Young Adult, Paranormal
ISBN: 9780345545077
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 2012-12-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 30

The journey back to Venice on the boat felt much longer than it had on the way there. Elle’s fingers ached from gripping the revolver, but she kept it trained on Marsh under the folds of her cloak. He sat beside her in stony silence, looking deeply troubled, and he maintained his brooding presence all the way to the hotel.

With her new portmanteau packed, she found a quiet little hotel with wrought-iron trelliswork in front of every window and large iron locks on every door. She paid for the room with the emergency money she carried tucked away inside her corset. It took a little while to convince them to accept sterling, but in the end, they relented.

Safely inside her room, Elle sagged against the door, exhausted. The tiredness left a deep chill that seeped right into the marrow of her bones and she shivered at the profound strangeness of the sensation. As if in answer to her thoughts, the sun broke though the clouds and reached with watery light through the window casements. The sensation of warmth on her skin made her groan with delight. Sunshine and rest were what she needed. She raised her hand and studied the light as it fell over her, bathing everything inside the room in shadows and light. Everything except her.

Elle stared at her arm with growing horror. She stood up and looked behind her. The chair cast a dark shape beside it. So did the little dresser and the washstand, but behind her was no familiar outline. The sunlight seemed to pass straight through her. It was almost as if she was no longer anchored to anything. As if her presence no longer made an impression, no matter how much she waved her arms or jumped up and down. She no longer cast a shadow.

Elle felt the chill inside her return. Marsh had taken her threats seriously, which was unexpected, and she had bought herself a little time, but she was in big trouble. She needed to find a way to fix things, and there was no time to waste.

Her stomach rumbled. She glanced at the clock, and she realized that she had missed lunch. Lost shadow or not, at least she was fairly sure she was still alive.

She rang the bell for service and ordered a tray of tea and a plate of little balls of deep-fried rice that the Venetians favored. She also asked that stationery be brought to her room.

She was writing furiously when her meal arrived. An hour and several cups of tea later, she bound the dispatch with string and sealed it with wax.

With the papers in hand and with the revolver in place, she donned her cloak and locked the door behind her.

Outside on the canal, she hailed a boat. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure that no one was following her, she told the man to take her to the British Consulate. No one seemed to notice that her small, cloaked figure cast no shadow as she strode into the building.

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