Starling (82 page)

slither inside like a snake,” Piero said, pausing to let Belladonna’s
anger build. “And then I ambushed him.”

Belladonna shook her head slowly. “I cannot believe after all I
have done for you that you would dare to interfere in my business,”
she said. “And for what?” She gestured at Cass. “This criminal?
Please tell me she is not the reason you have so coyly spurned my
advances. Do you know what she will look like when she is my age?”

“At least I won’t be a monster,” Cass said.
“Do not be so certain,” Belladonna shot back.
Falco blinked his eyes sleepily as if the commotion had only just

awakened him. He struggled to clear his throat. “There’s been some
sort of confusion, I fear,” he said a bit breathlessly. “Although it’s
true that I know Signorina Caravello, I came here looking for you,
Signorina Briani. When no one answered the door, I feared you
might be in danger, so I tried to break in.” He gripped one side of his
rib cage as if the mere act of speaking put him in great pain.

Belladonna’s lips tightened into a hard line. “And why would you
fear I was in danger, Signore?”
“I’d heard rumors of vampires in this area,” Falco said. “Vampires that prey on beautiful women.”
“He lies,” Piero exclaimed. “Every word that spills from his lips
is a falsehood.”
But Cass was impressed. Falco managed to speak of vampires
with a straight face. He sounded wounded and confused. He sounded
utterly convincing.
But Belladonna wasn’t convinced. “And how did you know you
could find me here?” she asked. Her fingers toyed with a chain
around her neck.
Falco faltered for a moment. “I—I’m sure someone must have told
me. One of your servants, perhaps.”
“Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any servants to Venice with me,
unless you count Dottor Basso.” Her eyes narrowed. Next to her,
Piero stiffened slightly at being referred to as a servant. “And something tells me he wasn’t the one who informed you of my location,”
she finished.
“Perhaps I overheard you speaking at Donna Domacetti’s,” Falco
said.
Belladonna shook her head. She was finished listening to his lies.
Any spell he had once had over her was broken. “I saw possibilities
in you that obviously were never there. That surprises me, as I am not
wrong about many.”
Falco opened his mouth to speak again, but Piero cut him off.
“What should I do with him, Bella?” Piero asked.
“Drain him,” Belladonna said. “Make her watch.”
Minerva whimpered from the next cell. Belladonna stopped suddenly. Her feline eyes settled on the cowering girl. “Even better.
Drain
her,
and make both of them watch. Let them witness how their
actions have brought about another’s demise.” She turned back to
Falco, who had given up all pretense of being loyal to her. His face
twisted into a mask of disgust. “Let’s keep him,” Belladonna continued. “My father thought only female blood could be recombined to
create pure samples of the fifth humor, but we’ve never tested
male
Venetian blood. Who knows what sort of humors lurk beneath
his
skin?” She gave Falco a long look before spinning on her heel. She
paused at the doorway. “Don’t forget to document what you extract,”
she told Piero. “And insert your notes into the book.”