This Rough Magic

'Exactly.'

Again, he gave her that false-satanic eyebrow. It wasn't all fakery, though. Bianca reminded herself sharply that Morando hadn't survived Milan without being willing to shed blood himself, on occasion.

'Just make sure it isn't true, Bianca.' The menace in Morando's voice was barely under the surface. 'If I start thinking that you're playing me . . .'

'Don't be silly! Why would I do that?' She didn't try for offended innocence—Morando wouldn't believe that for an instant—but simple cold calculation. 'This partnership is proving profitable for both of us. Besides, sooner or later—we're doing our best to make sure it happens, after all—the Hungarians are going to pour into this place. When that happens, I have every intention of being on the best possible terms with you.'

She glanced at the flagstone. Morando, following her eyes, smiled. 'It will make a nice hideout, won't it, until the Hungarians have sated their bloodlust?'

His eyes moved back to her, lingering for an instant on her body. 'Simple lust, too, for such as you. Mind you, Bianca, I will expect to be entertained while we're waiting in the cellar.'

She laughed huskily. 'And have I ever given you grounds for complaint on that score?' Her hand reached out and began stroking his arm. 'Now that you bring it up, in fact . . .'

Regretfully, he shook his head. 'Can't, sorry. Not tonight. The Tomaselli slut is coming over later and she's supposed to bring a friend of hers with her.' He rolled his eyes. 'I need to save my energy. And other stuff.'

Bianca laughed again. 'What are you complaining about? Two women, naked, squirming all over you—most men would think they'd died and gone to Heaven.'

Morando's face was sour. 'Most men have never copulated with Sophia Tomaselli in a rut, with paint and ointments smeared all over her body and with her groaning what she thinks are words of passion. I'm coming to detest the woman.' The face grew more sour still. 'God only knows what her friend is like.'

Discreetly, Bianca said nothing. She knew what the friend was like, as it happened, having been the one who steered her to Sophia in the first place. Like Sophia, Ursula Monteleone had all the vices and the unpleasant personality of a Case Vecchie woman moldering in a provincial backwater; unlike Sophia, who was at least physically rather attractive, Ursula was almost obese and had bad breath.

'Some other time, then,' she murmured seductively. That was a waste of time, with Morando. But Bianca liked to stay in practice.

* * *

At midnight, Bianca communicated with Countess Bartholdy. Unbeknownst to her, not five minutes later, Fianelli used almost exactly the same magical methods to communicate with Emeric.

Both mistress and master were pleased at the reports.

Others were not.

* * *

Eneko Lopez glared out the window of the lodgings he shared with his fellow priests. There was nothing to see, in the middle of the night, except the occasional flashes of cannon fire.

Hearing footsteps enter the room, he glanced over his shoulder. It was Diego and Pierre, not to his surprise. Of the four of them, Francis was the least sensitive to evil auras.

'Yes, Diego and Pierre, I felt it also. It woke me up. Twice—and with a different flavor to each. They're using the same rituals but following slightly different procedures. We've got two Satanists, or packs of them, working in this place.'

'Yes. But why two, I wonder? One of them will be Emeric's agent, for a certainty. Who is the other working for? It wouldn't be Chernobog. For his own reasons, the demon avoids satanic rituals as carefully as we do.'

Lopez shrugged. 'Hard to say. The Dark One penetrates everywhere, in this wicked world.' He slapped the windowsill with exasperation. 'This cursed island!'

'It does not really smell like an evil place to me, Eneko. And I am—you may recall—a rather accomplished witch-smeller.'

Eneko sighed. 'Yes, I know. But whether it's evil or not, there's something on Corfu that impedes all of our own magic.' He clenched his fist, slowly, as a man might crush a lemon. 'Were that not true, we could deal with these Satanists easily. I could sense that they are skilled enough—one, especially—but not powerful.'

Diego cleared his throat. 'Two things, then. The first is that we should let Francesca know what we know.'

Eneko's lips quirked a bit. He could guess what the second thing was. 'I agree to the first, not that I think she'll have any more success than we're having. I will not agree to the second. Not yet, at any rate.'

He could hear Pierre's sigh. 'So stubborn! Eneko, this island—whatever lurks on it, rather—is not evil. Not friendly to us either, no. But not evil. So why not try to form an alliance with . . .'

'With what?' Eneko demanded. 'A formless, faceless something? About which we know nothing, really, except that it seems able to absorb all our magic like a sponge absorbs spilled water?'

Pierre cleared his throat again. For the first time since he and Diego had entered the chamber they all used as a common room, Eneko turned to face both of them squarely. The Basque priest's eyes were perhaps a little wider.

'Ah. You're right, actually. We do know something about it. It impedes earth magic, in particular.'

'In particular? Perhaps—exclusively.' Pierre stepped forward to join Eneko at the window. Looking out into the darkness, he frowned thoughtfully. 'I admit, it's hard to prove, one way or the other. None of us can fly and —'

Cannon fire illuminated the night. '—going out on a boat is probably not a practical idea, these days.'