The Wave Trilogy 01 - Irenicon by Aidan Harte

Author:Aidan Harte [Harte, Aidan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quercus
Published: 2012-03-29T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 37

At dawn the towers remained encased in lingering fog, rearing out of the mist like ancient tombstones. Rumour alighted from tower to tower, whispering to sleepers within of some great crime accomplished, and Rasenna awoke, groggy from the night’s revelry and just beginning to remember that they had been foolish, disgraced themselves, received insults cravenly or given them boorishly. The memories of hearty laughter echoed with hypocrisy, deception ineptly masking hatred, disgust still vital.

Any souls with business that morning scurried between the towers like beetles caught in the light. Rasenneisi senses, honed by twenty years of hate, scented fresh blood on the streets.

Only Workshop Bardini was undisturbed by the whispers. It was silent but for the patient respiration of a hundred students, waiting and ready.

A little later than usual the Doctor came down from his tower and smiled to see them sitting there, flags at their sides: his army ready for war, if he said the word. ‘We have cut off the dragon’s head, but its body is twitching yet,’ he announced. ‘Show me your loyalty today. Do nothing. Before the sun sets, the Morello will destroy themselves.’

He looked around. ‘Where’s Sofia?’

‘Nobody’s seen her,’ said Mule.

‘Or Valerius,’ Secondo added.

‘Porca vacca! Nothing’s easy. All right, goddamn it, I’m going over. Stay put!’

Valerius ran through the sloping streets, his gaze on the space between the rooftops. Someone was following him, but this time he had his flag. He was still scared, though; the Morello would love to drop his body on the Bardini doorstep and let the Doc share their troubles. He turned a corner and hugged the wall, listening. The shadow dropped behind him and he turned with a showy banner-swipe. The shadow dodged the blow with ease, snatched his flag and threw it away.

‘Sofia!’ Valerius laughed. ‘Where have you been? You’re supposed to protect me from the Rasenneisi who want me dead.’

‘I’m one of them,’ she said coldly. ‘I know it was you, Valerius.’

He laughed again, but took a step back. ‘What are you talking about?

‘You murdered Marcus.’

‘Who?’

‘That was his name, the boy you killed. You’re really blooded now. How’s it feel?’

‘I preferred you before you started acting like a nun. How did you know?’

‘Fabbro Bombelli saw a northerner crossing the bridge that night. Then the Doc told me you’d been spying on me, trying to act like a Bardini bandieratoro.’

‘That’s what I am!’

She slapped Valerius with an open hand.

‘You don’t raise your hands to me! The Doc—’

‘Won’t be in charge after tomorrow. I’m done taking orders from all of you.’

‘So what if I killed him? It helped the Bardini, didn’t it?’

‘You murdered a paesani in cold blood.’

The cherub’s face creased into a sneer. ‘That’s funny coming from a Rasenneisi. At least Concordians require a reason to kill each other.’

‘Reason? Marcus was a boy – an innocent!’ she said and slapped him again.

He fell against the wall, bursting his nose open, and screamed, ‘I did it for you! You! I love you! You were too busy with the engineer or praying to your pig Madonna to notice that the Morello were winning.

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