The Warring States (The Wave Trilogy) (41 page)

‘My Lords, I will not speak long. You know me as a soldier, but today I’m a dove. We have spies in your cities; you, in ours. Your spies’ work has never been easier, for Concord’s problems are no secret. I assure you we do not
want
peace, but we
need
it. The Collegio dei Consoli respectfully invites the Contessa of Rasenna to Concord to discuss terms.’

The general paused while the southern ambassadors whispered to each other, directing sceptical glances at Sofia, until the procurator rang a bell. ‘Enough! This isn’t a music hall. General Spinther is obviously under the misapprehension that our league – putative as it is – is bound to be led by Rasenneisi. I assure you—’

‘Not at all, Procurator. Any viable Southern League would rely on Ariminumese money. That’s why we’re here today in your exquisite city, instead of Montaperti’s killing fields. If war comes, Ariminum
will
be dragged into it, but the fact remains that it will not be
your
war.’ The Concordian looked suddenly and with unexpected tenderness at Sofia. ‘It is
ours
, Contessa.’

Sofia’s hand went instinctively to her side and grabbed – nothing. Levi was right to say it would be undiplomatic to go armed to a negotiation, but without her flag, she felt naked.

General Spinther looked around the room. ‘Doctor Ferruccio, you were alive to see it, but the rest of us learned from our grandfathers of the terrible war Concord and Rasenna fought, how it eventually involved the whole peninsula. We’re on the brink of another such cataclysm. Peace doesn’t interest me, but a period of stability does. Ask your spies: they’ll confirm that Concord has been plagued by schismatics since the siege of Rasenna.’

The procurator smiled. ‘On the northern frontiers, you’ve had reverses too—’

The general took this jibe personally. ‘The Europan war does not concern anyone here! The war you’ve been discussing these last few days concerns all Etruria – for make no mistake, that
war
is what you mean when you say
league
. Today, I have placed my person in your hands. I only ask the same gesture of trust of you. Thus are bridges built. Leap the chasm, Contessa, and
the day may come when
our
grandchildren look on each other as friends and not enemies. Peace is worth the risk.’

Not waiting for an answer, he bowed and strode out, spurs ringing, heels smartly snapping on the marble floor. The ambassadors were silent until he left, though Sofia felt their eyes on her.

Doctor Ferruccio spoke before the procurator could. ‘Now, everyone take a breath and don’t get hung up on details. If Concord wants to talk, we should talk. The boy’s right. I
was
at Montaperti.
Anything
’s preferable to that. Even at our most optimistic, no one expects a war to end in anything better than stalemate. What do we have to lose by talk? ’Tis fitting that they ask the Contessa. Her grandfather fought the first war – so how magnificent if she could stop this one. Friends don’t make peace; enemies do. The Scaligeri and Bernoulli broods have been—’

Stunned at Ferruccio’s matter-of-fact betrayal, Sofia blurted, ‘I’m not Contessa any more. I’ve given up my title.’

Levi was shocked at Sofia’s public admission, but the Tarantine ambassador waved her announcement away dismissively. ‘Then why are you here? Gonfaloniere Bombelli’s no fool. Whatever you call yourself, you’re a Scaligeri. It’s in your blood.’

Levi interrupted with exasperation, ‘You’re all taking this seriously? The Concordians mean to trick us. The Contessa escaped the belly of the beast – would you ask her to return? Whoever goes will never come back.’

‘Yes!’ cried Count Grimani in exasperation. ‘A thousand times yes. Would you ask us to go to war for you? We are each of us representing our people; thousands of lives depend on our decisions. For peace,’ he said portentously, ‘no risk is foolhardy!’

The procurator stifled a giggle into a handkerchief and hammered his gavel. ‘On that we can agree. Let’s adjourn. We all have some considering to do in light of this offer.’

Sofia was first out of her chair.

‘Tranquillo,’
said Levi. ‘We’re not at war yet. Are you all right?’

Sofia stepped back from the table, knocking her chair. Her feet didn’t work any more. She was f a l l
_{i n
g}

Levi carried Sofia back to their apartments and laid her down. In whispers he told Pedro the Concordian offer, and finished, ‘It’s a trap, a damn good trap. Spinther knows full well Sofia won’t go, and that if she doesn’t, this league will collapse before it’s even begun.’

‘You’re being irrational – what would they get from killing one girl? Call their bluff and go. I know it’s not easy to trust them, but maybe it
is
worth the risk. Giovanni was Concordian. They’re not
all
bad.’

‘If Sofia goes, they’ll just keep her till they’re strong again. The war’s opening salvo will be her execution.’

‘Water …’

They both looked down at Sofia. Levi poured a glass and handed it to her. She took a long drink, placed the glass on the locker by the bed and looked at them. Her face was wan, but she spoke with certainty. ‘Pedro, Levi’s right. War’s coming, no matter how we dull our ears to the thunder. And Giovanni wasn’t a Concordian.’

‘He may have died for Rasenna but that doesn’t change his nationality.’ Pedro gathered his courage and said, ‘And he wasn’t just
any
Concordian. Sofia, you need to know: Giovanni was Girolamo Bernoulli’s grandson.’

Pedro expected a furious denial, but she didn’t blink. ‘I know who he was.’

‘I don’t understand – since when?’

She took his hand and placed it on her belly. ‘Pedro, this all I have of Giovanni.’

Pedro pulled his hand away. ‘I’m an engineer, not a doctor, but even I know that’s impossible. Giovanni died two years ago. I miss him too, Sofia, but—’

‘No.
Listen
to me: the person we called Giovanni wasn’t human. He was a buio.’

‘… impossible …’

‘—but true. The Reverend Mother knew it, and died for it. It wasn’t an accident that brought Giovanni to me. Whatever Girolamo Bernoulli ripped apart in Nature is trying to heal itself, and I’m part of it now. The child I carry can restore things to their right track, and that’s why I can’t go to Concord. This isn’t some stratagem, it’s bigger than that. We burned the Molè, but not the beast incubating in the pit below it, and it’s getting stronger as I get weaker. Whatever makes the Irenicon flow, that power is in me now.’ She pulled herself to her feet. ‘If my baby dies, it’ll be for nothing. I have to run!’

Pedro looked at Levi. ‘She’s delirious.’

‘I’ve seen Sofia do things I can’t explain.’

‘Don’t ask me to believe that. Giovanni, whatever he was, made me an engineer.’

Sofia held him, her eyes full of pain. ‘Stand back then. I haven’t done this lately—’

She took the glass of water, turned it over in a fast, fluid motion, and – slowly – pulled the glass away from the water. Pedro stared dumbly, a child once more, and Levi tensed, though he’d seen this sorcery before.

Inside the mound of water, bubbles appeared and swirled, getting faster until they were boiling as Sofia spoke. ‘Giovanni Bernoulli died a decade before you met him, in the killing fields of Gubbio. The man we knew was a buio cursed to live in his place.’

In moments the water had dispersed into wreaths of vapour.
‘I will never get the same water back into the glass, but it hasn’t died. Water never dies.’

Sofia fell back exhausted and waited for Pedro’s decision.

‘What are we hanging around for?’ Pedro said. ‘We’re not captives – not yet. Our horses can be saddled in an instant—’

‘Where can I go? When I leave, Concord will withdraw the truce offer and all Etruria will blame me for destroying the peace. There’ll be no welcome for me in any city south of here, not even Salerno – you heard Ferruccio.’

‘Home, then.’

‘No! If I return to Rasenna, disaster will come, not just to me and my baby, but to everyone around me.’

Levi swore. ‘There must be somewhere.’

‘Not in Etruria,’ said Sofia.

Pedro looked about as a flashing green on the side of the annunciator caught his eye. ‘Hold on. There’s someone still in the basilica.’ He adjusted the control boxes and the shriek of feedback turned into something recognisable: the procurator’s smooth voice.

‘Of course we know you tried to bribe the Moor.’

‘Can’t blame a chap for trying.’

‘Not at all, General. We believe in the Free Market.’

‘Then you don’t object to a Concordian harbour?’

‘Ha ha, you’re pushy. What does Concord need a navy for, to sail its rivers? Come, we both know that the sea-corridor was just a ruse to scare us. Our spies tell us it was barely begun when work stopped.’

‘Many things have been disrupted of late. If it were a ruse, I would hardly admit it, would I?’

‘That true. It’s also the main reason we’re hosting this summit. We have no long-term interests in petty Etrurian quarrels. Without Ariminum, the Southern League’s no danger to you. So how’s this? We’ll give you the land if you leave us the sea.’

‘Divide the world? You ask a lot. The Tyrrhenian is large.’

‘And the cost of war is high.’
A pause.
‘Your offer to the Rasenneisi, you realise they won’t accept it.’

‘I know that. If you can convince the other delegates to go home, Concord will give you anything that you want. What is that, Procurator? The corno?’

‘Bah, none but a fool would wear that cap. We’ll let you have your way with Etruria if you help us invade southern Oltremare.’

‘That would isolate Byzant, but as you pointed out, we’re not a seafaring people.’

‘No, but when it comes to siege-craft, you have no equal. No point sailing all that way unless we can take Catrina’s coastal cities. Akka especially will be a tough nut to crack …’

Darkness was falling in the harbour, and the pale lights of the boats were briefly an adequate mirror for the stars. They reached the end of the dock and found the old sailor sitting there, still reading, as if he hadn’t stirred since yesterday.

‘Ezra, you said you’re close to the
Tancred
’s captain,’ Sofia started. ‘I need passage to Oltremare. How much?’

‘You once boasted of being a good cook if memory serves – that’ll do. But I hope you’re not expecting to go anywhere soon. We’re locked down.’

‘We need to go tonight.’

‘Forget it. Captain Khoril isn’t authorised to start a war.’

‘Too late for that,’ said Pedro. ‘The Ariminumese mean to ally with Concord.’

Ezra didn’t look very surprised. ‘The
Tancred
’s fast, but one galley can’t outrun several. You’d want at least a day’s start to be sure. And that’s not the real obstacle.’

‘So what is?’ Levi asked.

Pedro answered before Ezra: ‘The chain. It’s designed to keep enemies out of the harbour, but serves as well to keep us in.’

‘Ram it,’ Sofia said.

‘The arsenalotti know their trade,’ said Pedro. ‘Even if it was possible, there are a hundred eyes on the harbour. We’d be boarded before we even got close.’

‘Then we’re trapped,’ Sofia said, a black knot in her stomach.

‘Not necessarily,’ Ezra said. ‘See that white line creeping up from that east? Feel that moisture in the air? By Vespers, there’ll be a fog so thick you won’t be able to see the colour of your own flag.’

‘Unless a wind comes.’

‘It won’t. I know a thing or two about winds.’

‘That still leaves the chain,’ said Levi flatly.

‘It’s suspended from towers either side of the bay,’ said Pedro. ‘Which is the control-tower?’

‘The southern one,’ said Ezra. ‘There’s a watchman, but something tells me you’re a lad good at solving problems.’

‘He can’t go alone!’

‘If I don’t go alone there’s no point. Be rational, Levi. Sofia can fight better than any man, but not in this condition. She needs you. If I get the chain lowered, there’ll be no time to wait. I’ll return to Rasenna – it’s where I need to be if things are about to get worse anyway.’

‘… if you’re certain,’ Levi said after a moment. ‘I don’t like the idea of Sofia landing on strange shores without a friend, but I’m still Podesta.’

‘Yes, and your job is to
protect
Rasenna. It won’t survive without allies, and there are none here. Concord’s going to get stronger, and then it will turn south. The league’s failed before it’s even begun. Our last hope is that the Crusading spirit is still alive in Oltremare. You have to persuade them.’

‘We will, Pedro,’ Sofia said. ‘Tell Isabella I’m going where she told me to.’

‘This is all very touching, but we should get going,’ said Ezra. ‘The fog’s rising.’