Starling (17 page)

headed down the gloomy hallway, wrinkling her nose in distaste at
the foul water that soaked her slippers. The palazzo definitely had
some flooding problems. A scratching sound made Cass jump. A pair
of shining copper eyes peered at her from a crack in the wall. Vermin
problems, too.
Ignoring the rat, Cass continued down the hallway. More closed
doors. She pressed her ear to the first one, listening for movement
beyond. Quiet. She tried the knob. The door swung open, revealing
what appeared to be a butler’s office—parchment scattered across the
desk, crates marked “linen” and “silver” stacked on shelves against
the wall. Apparently, the last Viaro relative had left in a hurry.
The next door was locked, as was the third. Cass could see the
doorway to the kitchen at the back of the house, just beyond one
more closed door on the left. The knob twisted beneath her fingers
and the door opened with a creak. She had expected a storage area,
but instead there was a small bed, desk, and bookshelf, all balanced
on stone blocks in the corner of the room, as though someone was
living down there.
A book sat open on the desk, its crumbling pages threatening to
pull loose from the binding. Cass knew there was almost no chance
it was the Book of the Eternal Rose, but she had to check. After all,
the yellowed parchment looked very old. Tiptoeing into the room,
she bent low and squinted at the faded ink.
“Take Earth of Earth, Water of Earth, Fire of Earth, and Water
of the Wood. These are to lie together and then be parted. The spirit
of life is made up of three pure souls, as purged as crystal. Blood,
bone, and hair grow into a stone, which in turn will break the hold of
eternal slumber.”
Blood, bone, and hair grow into a stone? What did that mean?
Cass skimmed through the rest of the pages. The book was full of
stories about people who had risen from the dead. It made Cass think
of Belladonna. Was her history contained in this volume? Cass
didn’t have time to read the whole thing.
She turned her attention to the bookshelf and skimmed the other
titles. It was empty except for a few books about alchemy. There was
nothing that seemed to connect to the Order of the Eternal Rose, but
she flipped quickly through each of them to be certain. As she went
to replace the last book, a flicker of light startled her.
Leaning in, she realized there was an opening cut into the wall
behind the shelves. Someone had tried to hide it, but the corners
didn’t quite match up.
Cass pushed at the bookshelf. It didn’t budge. She inhaled deeply
and leaned against the wood. As she exhaled, she shoved with her
whole body. The set of shelves slid over, revealing a narrow doorway. Light danced against dark walls from within.
Holding her breath, she stepped into the secret room. The flash
of light had come from a swirling bronze candelabra that stood
against one wall. Four candles sat atop it, arranged in a Y shape. The
center candle was unlit. Four canvases hung behind the candelabra,
mounted in plain wooden frames. Four marble pedestals that looked
as if they might have been relocated from the portego were spread
across the room in a larger Y shape.
Despite the dancing flames, the room felt colder than the rest of
Palazzo Viaro’s lower level. Cass didn’t know what someone was
doing down here, but it wasn’t good. People didn’t just vacate their
houses and leave candles burning. It was much too dangerous. Either