Alcantaras so much,” she commented. And then she began to see where all this was going. “Is that what Costanza was after? Did she want ancient history to repeat itself?” Rosa was gasping for air, because only now did she realize just how crazy her grandmother had been. “Did she stage the Hungry Man’s arrest so that she could fix his downfall and restore the old power of the Lamias?”
“At last you’re beginning to understand.”
“But that’s sick!”
“Every time a priest says Mass, he declares that the wine has turned into the blood of Christ. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims go on pilgrimage to Mecca every year. And how about the traditional tales of the Buddha and what he did? Good heavens, even scholars aren’t immune to that kind of thing when they speak of an author called Homer, when they can be fairly sure that no one of that name ever lived and wrote. Many people say that even Shakespeare is just an invention! People cling to myths, false and true alike. Why would the Arcadians be any exception? They’re all saying that the Hungry Man is about to return, as if he weren’t just a leader of Cosa Nostra but really the mythical being he’s named himself after.”
In pain, Trevini tried moving again. His face was distorted as he went on talking. Perhaps he guessed that this knowledge would die with him if he didn’t pass it on.
“Costanza believed in the truth behind the myths, and she was convinced of the Lamias’ claim to power. If she had to enter into a pact with a man like Pantaleone to get it, then she would accept that. Nothing could make her give up the idea that she, or one of her female descendants, would rise to power over all the dynasties again. As in the old days of ancient Arcadia.”
“What about the serum?” she asked. “Does that come from TABULA, like the furs?”
“Presumably.”
“I’ve had it analyzed. It was made using blood that has both human and animal characteristics. But we Arcadians are either one or the other, never both at once.”
“Hybrid blood,” he whispered.
She obviously knew less about that than everyone else. But what had she expected? She had entered the world of the Arcadians only four months ago—she had a lot to catch up on.
“Who are these hybrids?” she asked.
“Mongrels. A cross between humans and animals. Arcadians who didn’t complete their last transformation in one direction or the other.”
“Do you know any?”
“Me?” Trevini laughed bitterly. “All I know, I know from Costanza. And I worked out a few things for myself. I’ve told you everything, Rosa. We’ve reached the end.”
“Why did you send Valerie to me? That whole story about how she ran away at the airport—”
“It’s the truth. My men”—he corrected himself—“or rather the contessa’s men, now…they were supposed to put her on a flight to New York. But she got away from them. A clever little thing, your friend. Manipulative, too. Who knows, maybe we could all learn from her.”
“She was hardly in any state to stand on her own feet,” she objected. “Your interrogations didn’t pass over her without a trace, avvocato. How could she have run away from men like those bodyguards out there?”
There was genuine surprise in Trevini’s face. “She was in good health when she left here. A little weak, maybe, but in perfectly good health.”
Rosa’s eyes narrowed, and they were no longer the eyes of a snake. She had shifted back without being aware of it, feeling no more than a little tingling and itching. “When Valerie turned up at the palazzo yesterday, she was totally exhausted.”
Now that the spell of her snake gaze was broken, the malicious sparkle that made her so furious returned to Trevini’s smile. “Then either something happened to her on the way, or she’s been acting a part for your benefit.”
“How could she have—” But her words died away, because she already knew the answer. “Iole would never have let Valerie in if she hadn’t been in such poor condition. But as it was…”
“A cunning little thing; I said so. You didn’t simply leave her behind in the palazzo, did you? Maybe even without anyone to guard her?”
Rosa rubbed her face. She took her cell phone out of her pocket. It was switched off, and she had to type in the code. Then she called the number of the palazzo.
Trevini bent his head. “No one answering, I suppose?”