“I do know,” she said. “He gave his life for you. For what you mean to both worlds. And you wonder if he cared that you were his great-granddaughter. I can assure you he was very proud and filled with much love for you. Wizards from his generation were taught never to show their emotions. But know I tell the truth.”
The look on Gian’s face before Conemar had killed him played across my mind. His peaceful eyes stared at me as if to tell me he’d accepted his fate. He had made the ultimate sacrifice for me, for his belief in what I could do for both worlds. Mardiana saying he was proud of me filled me with resolve. I would make sure he hadn’t died for nothing. I might not win, but it wouldn’t be for giving up.
“Good girl.” Her slender, wrinkled hand covered mine resting on my lap. “Now, I believe you need something of mine. Turn your hand over.” I did as she asked and she dropped a small silver container on my palm. “What you need is inside.”
I leaned over, pretended to fix my boot, and stuffed the container next to the leather canister.
“Don’t you wonder why I sit here every day?”
“I’m guessing I should?” I straightened. “You weren’t just waiting for me all this time, right?”
“Correct. I haven’t been waiting for you,” she said, nudging the cat off her lap before standing.
I reached my hand down to pet the white furry creature, and she hissed at me, again. Angel? More like Devil Kitty.
“Mantello is the city of Gian’s birth,” she said. “That bookstore there holds many works by him, including one that may have great interest for you. One you should never let out of your sight.”
“I won’t.”
Mardiana stared down at me. “Do not wait for the two young men you’re traveling with to return to Mantello. You must go to Tearmann straightaway. There’s a storm heading for the haven. You won’t want to miss your opportunity to retrieve what you need there.” She bowed her head slightly. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, cousin. May Agnes guide you in your travels.”
I kept my eyes on the bookstore as Mardiana walked off, only sneaking a glance when the sound of her heels softened with distance. Angel Kitty kept close to Mardiana’s heels as she clipped down the road.
Does she mean an actual storm or metaphoric one? Whichever one she meant, I decided to go with her warning. Tearmann was an ally. I’d be safe there.
After wiping the frosting from my hands and face, I threw my trash in a fancy nearby can.
A cart, pulled by a brown horse with white hoofs, bumped over the road. I waited for it to pass before crossing over to the bookstore. Everything in the haven was quaint and old-world feeling. I tugged the door open.
“Buongiorno,” said the same scholarly looking young man with glasses and a bright smile from the last time I was there.
“Morning,” I said and leafed through a stack of magazines on a table.
“English?”
“Sì.”
He straightened his glasses. “Please to tell me if you’re in need of assistenza.”
Déjà vu. I could’ve sworn we’d had the same exact exchange when I was here before.
“Grazie,” I said.
It would be a lot easier to find Gian’s books if I asked him for their location, but I didn’t know if it would raise suspicion. And I didn’t know who in Mantello had seen my face and knew that the Wizard Council had a warrant, or whatever they called it in the Mystik world, out for me.
My finger bounced across the spines of books as I searched the shelves for Gian’s name. I finally came across them in the special studies area. There were a few I’d already read, one about Mystik creatures and another on charms and spells. I paused on one titled My Magnificent Journeys. I removed it from the shelf and flipped through the pages, leafing through the photographs until I came to it. A picture of three large mountains capped with snow.
I recalled Gian’s message. You shall find the entry into a mountainous, frozen land. The Four sleeps under the tallest peak…
I ran my fingers across the photograph, and it tugged at my fingers. I’d found it. Mardiana came here every day, sat on that bench from the time the bookstore opened until it closed. She was here to watch over the book. The entry to where the Tetrad was caged was in its pages. Until today. Her job was done. It was now my turn to protect it. I grabbed another book of Gian’s, not wanting the one containing the Tetrad’s prison to stand out, and went to the counter.
“Just the two?” the man asked in his broken English.
I handed him a gold coin. “Yes, please.”
His gaze went to the window. “Signora Acardi never leaves the bench until the sun lowers past the buildings. Strange, no?”
It didn’t seem like he was talking to me so I stayed quiet.
“Buona giornata.” He handed me a few silver coins in various sizes, his eyes still watching the window.
I hugged the books to my chest and rushed outside, worried that he’d look closer at me. My boots pounded against the cobblestones as I hurried down the road.
One you should never let out of your sight. Mardiana’s warning went off in my head. I had to keep Gian’s book with me.
Bags in the window of a store stopped me, and I went inside. With my head down, I grabbed a satchel with long straps, paid the girl operating the register, and tucked Gian’s books inside.
Mardiana had told me not to wait. But it was early. Bastien and Edgar wouldn’t be back until late that night or in the morning. I decided to listen to her and go to Tearmann. They were allies. There hadn’t been an uprising there like in Santara. Besides, I was shielded. I could sneak in and out without being noticed.
It took me nearly an hour to find the outbuilding with the tunnel leading to the Riccardiana Library in Florence, Italy. I’d been there before, but I was following Bastien and hadn’t paid attention to where we were going. I kept running into dead ends until I noticed the stucco structure just down the hill from the haven.
The store windows with their displays and decorations were enticing. I passed a costume shop with a long blond wig sitting on a porcelain head. The door stuck a little, and I tugged it open. A round woman dressed in a black dress and wearing a red cape took a gold coin for the wig and handed me a small silver one. She let me put it on in front of the mirror.
I didn’t look too bad as a blonde. It actually seemed like real hair—long with a little wave. Hopefully, no one would recognize me.
“Bellissimo,” the woman said.
“Grazie,” I said and exited the shop. The hill was steep, and my steps were fast on the way to the outbuilding.
I thumped down the stairs to the tunnel. It was narrow, just like most of them were, with a series of stone steps going up and down and twisting left to right. The light from my globe bounced across the rock walls. As I neared the end, there was a line of people. I held tight to the straps of the bag holding Gian’s books.