Starling (126 page)

The servants were fleeing alongside the guests. A girl about Cass’s
age dropped a tray of delicate blown-glass goblets, spilling a puddle
of burgundy wine onto the floor. The musicians had abandoned
their instruments and were shoving their way through the crowd.
Cass caught a glimpse of Flavia, one hand over her mouth in pretend
surprise. She and the other courtesans were moving toward the door
with everyone else. A pair of masked mercenaries were pulling
frightened women and servants from the corners of the room. Cass
recognized Luca immediately from the span of his shoulders and the
length of his stride. He had a blonde woman by her arm and was
gently guiding her toward the exit.
Dubois’s guard charged at Rowan. He swung his sword in a
deadly arc, and Cass cringed at the thought of more spilled blood.
But the blade sliced only through the edge of the wooden club, rendering the guard defenseless but alive. He fled toward the back of the
house, and that’s when Cass saw a shadowy figure duck across the
hall and dash toward the doorway to the dining room.
“It’s Dubois,” she shouted. “He’s trying to escape.”
The chandelier above their heads trembled from the heavy footsteps as Cass chased Dubois past the long mahogany table. Ancient
vases wobbled behind the glass of a display cabinet. She heard shouting from behind her. Boots on wood. The mercenaries were coming.
Cass dodged a high-backed chair Dubois tossed into her path, suddenly feeling powerful. She would be the one to catch him, and she
would hold her dagger to his throat until he gave her the Book of the
Eternal Rose.
Dubois looked back at her, his eyes hot with anger. He leapt from
the top of the servants’ staircase, and Cass was just behind him.
Until she tripped.
For one long, sickening instant, the floor beneath her feet disappeared. Cass saw herself tumbling to the base of the stairs, the hard
steps cracking ribs, breaking skull, as she bounced to the bottom. But
a hand grabbed her around the waist and steadied her. Luca. “Your
services are needed elsewhere,” he murmured. “We’ll catch him.”
The masked men plowed past her. Luca was right. She had gotten
swept away in the idea of revenge, but she needed to find the book.
The Guard were probably on their way. Time was limited. Turning
back, she returned to the portego. Pushing past a couple of serving
boys who were salvaging food from the half-destroyed table, she
plucked a wavering candle from between what looked like a roasted
badger and a boiled porcupine drizzled in honey.

The second bedroom had a deep green rug and black lacquer furniture with gilded edges. Two of the walls were painted with scenes
from Greek mythology: Dionysus dancing in a field of grapes and
Nike and Athena facing off against the Titans. The wall opposite the
bed was empty except for a tapestry showing four men on horseback
battling over a royal flag. As Cass neared the wall hanging, she noticed it didn’t hang flat in the middle. She swept the tapestry to the
side. Beyond it was a wooden panel shaped like a door, but with no
handle. Carved in the face was the symbol of the Order of the Eternal Rose—six petals inscribed in a circle. Holding her candle close,
she saw there were letters etched inside each of the petals, a random
assortment of vowels and consonants. Cass’s heart started thrumming in her chest. This was it. This was the entrance to the secret
room.