Sofia swore when she saw the coffin drop. The historian had already brought food that day; she hoped that he hadn’t come back for seconds.
Over the week she had negotiated a new bargain: he fed her in return for an audience—the problem was that Tremellius often tried out several drafts a day. Sofia, knowing she was finished as soon as the text was, tried keeping him distracted with irrelevant questions. Luckily, he liked to talk about himself.
But instead of the fat little man, the Third Apprentice emerged with a tall, dark-skinned prisoner. The scarecrow of a man was shackled and hooded, but his rapidly moving jaw was working fine. “Kid, don’t be naive,” Sofia heard him say. “Every prison I’ve been in the guards did favors.”
She went to the window. The voice was familiar.
“Look, we can do business—you have something I need, and I’ve got disposable income.”
“But not at your disposal,” the Third Apprentice said equably. “Why should I believe you?”
“Every condottiere has a stash in case he’s taken hostage.”
“We don’t trade hostages,” the boy said, removing the hood.
“And is that really economically responsible?”
The last time she had seen him, he had been in armor. That was gone, but he wore the same green neckerchief, and he had the same cajoling manner as when he’d visited Workshop Bardini a year ago. His patter had not persuaded the Doctor then, and it did not seem to be working on the boy now.
Colonel Levi, close to panic, was talking fast. “Look, the market’s big enough for everyone. Your engines give you an edge, you exploit it: I respect that. But war’s an expensive business. When Concord stopped returning hostages, it overturned the right of the Etrurian market to regulate itself. That’s barbaric.”
“Not to mention all the people they kill,” Sofia hollered.
“That’s bad too,” Levi agreed. “Hey, I know you! Rasenna, right?”
The Third Apprentice searched for the cell key, not really listening. When he opened the door, the body of the previous owner slumped against his feet.
“Cavolo! Was he shocked to death?” Levi asked.
The boy examined the corpse briefly. “No, looks like cardiac arrest. Stress-aggravated, I imagine.”
“Stressed? Here?”
Apparently impervious to bribery and sarcasm, the boy hauled the corpse over the railings. The splash’s echo in the darkness galvanized the condottiere. This was his last chance. He lunged, but the boy just stood aside and let him hit the railing, then dropped low with a sweeping kick. Levi landed facedown and gave no further trouble.
Sofia was staring up at the disappearing coffin when Levi’s befuddled face came to his cell window.
“Contessa!” he shouted over, “nice to see you again. Shame about the circumstances. Doc Bardini was wise not to team up with us after all. Madonna, the Company took a hiding at Tagliacozzo!”
“I’m here too. Didn’t make much difference.”
“I guess not. Hey! My wall moved. What’s that sound?”
“Get ready for lights out.”
“Isn’t it early for that?”
Tap
Levi groggily stumbled to his window. Across the void he found Sofia looking back. “Contessa? Oh, I forgot where I was.” He pulled on the window bar. “Unfortunate. Dying’s not part of my five-year plan.”
“Didn’t you say you’d escaped from lots of prisons?”
“I’ve been in lots of prisons. I got out the civilized way,” he said, rubbing his thumb and two fingers. “This is the Beast, kid. Even if you get out of your cell, there’s nowhere to go. I don’t know how to call that thing down. Far as I can see, there’s only one way out of here.”
“You don’t seem too worried.”
“Well, what’s the point in getting upset? Not everyone in Etruria is as emotional as Rasenneisi. Occasional imprisonment is just the cost of doing business as a condottiere. We accept that. The problem, as I tried explaining to the little fellow, is when the competition changes the rules. It’s killing us. They just march in and take over!”
“As opposed to?”
“As opposed to marching in and threatening to take over, like civilized people.”
“Contractors profit from war more than anyone. You don’t have much to complain about.”
“I’m not doing much profiting over here, you know.”
“So how did you find yourself in the position of a lowly soldier?”
“Don’t ask.” Levi sighed.
“Come on. I’m curious; I thought that condottieri drop flags at the first sign of trouble.”
“That’s a classic small-town misunderstanding. Yes, we have been known, on occasion, to make tactical retreats. And what’s wrong with that? We’re paid to win, not to get killed or taken prisoner. One ransom can eat a condottiere’s whole season’s pay packet.”
“The horrors of war.”
“Some of my bills are horrifying! Armor, mail, squires, horses, repairs—I could go on—”
“No thank you. Don’t you just steal from civilians?”
“Nothing to steal these days,” Levi said slowly, “and by the way, go easy! This hasn’t been a great week so far, and we just met!”
“How long does it usually take?”
“I get it: you don’t like condottieri.”
“No matter who suffers, you prosper. You bleed towns of their last soldi, then leave them to Concord. What’s to like?”
“Well, I wish life was as simple as Doc Bardini explained it. You think he became boss of Rasenna though eloquent oratory?”
“No, I suppose not.”
“Sorry, kid,” Levi said quickly. “Didn’t mean to bring up a sore spot.”
“Just for that, when I break out, I’m leaving you here.”
“Come on. We’re neighbors. We should be making friends.”
“Right. So how did you end up here, Colonel?”
“Call me Levi. Seriously? I think we were betrayed.”
“I know the feeling.”
Levi told her about the Hawk’s Company’s defeat at Tagliacozzo. John Acuto had attempted to meet Concord on its own terms, and though he’d conscientiously prepared his alliance and strategy, everything had come undone in a moment. Sofia listened with an odd sense of déjà vu.
Before she could tell him about it, Levi cut himself off. “Oh, Madonna, what’s that sound? Not a visit of the blue fairy?”
“Relax,” Sofia said. “This is my own private torture: the death of a thousand footnotes.”
Levi sank back into the darkness of his cell as the historian pulled himself free from the coffin.
“Now, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve brought some more chapters of my book,” he said as he saw her. “It’s so rare to find a good listener!”