Work Text:
Janet had once bet with her sort-of-brother, Cat, that when Julia was grown, she would be a raving beauty. Janet had won the bet easily. Julia kept her plumpness (and maybe added a bit more) and the way she carried herself, along with her father's bone structure and features, led to a beautiful yet formidable presence.
Janet liked to think about Julia. Right now, on the train, Janet was thinking about Julia's singing voice, a golden contralto, and the lessons Julia was going to receive at Casa Montana at the invitation of their childhood friend Tonino. The Montanas were one of the two finest spellhouse families in the city state of Caprona (the other being the Petrocchis), and the Italian way of doing magic was through song. Beautiful song that could make all sorts of things happen.
Julia had been reluctant, since going to study in Caprona would involve using more Italian than she'd really paid attention to in their lessons, as well as being away from home. But Janet had talked her into it, pointing out that it would be a good time for them to have independence, learn new things, and have the privacy that only a foreign country could provide.
That, and Janet really really wanted to go to Italy. She'd managed her own plans for Caprona, securing a spot studying at the university. Her Italian was much better than Julia's, and it had been easy to convince Chrestomanci to agree to let her spend a year there for her studies.
Janet stopped her musing to lean over and kiss the bit of Julia's neck that met her shoulder, since their only audience was asleep. "Excited?"
"Oh yes. Just resigning myself to no longer being the best singer once we're at Casa Montana," answered Julia, turning her face from the window to smile at Janet. Janet reflected again that kissing Julia at Christmas two years ago was the best thing she'd ever done.
Janet had plans for their time in Caprona. Some were completely innocent. Some, on the other hand, were rather romantic. Janet felt if she couldn't swing France, Italy would do just as well for early romance. The major problem with those plans, however, was that they could not properly get started until Janet and Julia had some privacy. Chrestomanci Castle had more than its fair share of people and chaos, and Casa Montana where they were staying in Caprona was full to the brim with Montanas. And then there was Klartch, the griffin.
Klartch, sleeping on the train carriage floor in front of them, had no idea he was a wrinkle in Janet's carefully laid plans. He would be with them for the first month of their trip. He was a healthy griffin, about the size of a pony, with a bushy chestnut-and-black mane. He was also one of the Chants. He'd declined an offer from Cat, Janet's sort-of brother -- long story -- to give him the appearance of a smaller human form for his time in Caprona, though he did say he'd keep it under consideration if he caused too much distraction in the city.
When the young griffin had found out that Julia and Janet were to study abroad he'd been excited. Klartch loved trips and here was a chance to see Italy, a place he'd never been before! France and one other world had been the total of his explorations so far. He hadn't managed to go on an Atlantis family trip a few years ago, due to catching an influenza that no one had realized a griffin could even catch.
Janet hadn't had the heart to tell him that he would only be in the way when he asked if he could come along for the first month. She had a soft spot for the griffin. Klartch was like a nephew to her, what with her sort-of brother -- again, long story -- Cat raising him. A large, four-legged, flying nephew. Janet felt a surge of responsibility towards him, until he made a snorting noise, then rolled over onto his back, legs in the air. She shook her head and looked out the train window.
Outside the train window the countryside had totally vanished, replaced by buildings with golden walls and red pan-tile roofs. The sun even seemed different here.When the train pulled into the station, Janet walked off the train and took a deep breath. She mostly smelled train exhaust, but on the tail end of it was the exhilarating scent of a completely different country. Klartch came off right behind her with Julia beside him, and headbutted Janet's hand to get her attention.
"There they are!" He said.
Tonino was waiting at the station, along with a few other Montanas to help with transporting the luggage. They weren't terribly big Montanas, because you don't need size when you have magic. Klartch hurried off to a spot free of people, desperate to spread his wings after such a long trip. He got more than a few looks, but didn't seem to care, rearing on his back legs and spreading his wings as far as they would go. Janet chuckled, ducking as she walked past. "You're a show-off."
"I'm stiff," he retorted.
Julia, meanwhile, was talking to Tonino in English. "Yes, it went well. There was a bit of trouble with the food carts ignoring us early on, because they thought Klartch would eat them, but otherwise it was a lovely trip."
Hefting at Klartch's mane like a shirt collar, Janet pulled him over to Julia and the Montanas.
"Janet, Julia, Klartch," said Tonino in pointing at the three in turn, then continued in Italian. "And guests, meet part of my family. My older brother Paolo you already know, but this is my sister Corinna. She's a student at the university too, Janet. And this is my cousin," he pointed at the organizer, "Domenico."
They exchanged greetings and with a burst of song, the luggage was floating serenely ahead of them to a lovely carriage with a set of gorgeous white horses at the front.
"Oh, they're lovely!" said Julia. She'd gotten over her childhood horse trauma -- you can read the story of Janet and Julia's demon horse elsewhere -- but not enough to become horse mad again, though sometimes Janet implied the old madness was returning when she caught Julia gushing over one. In any case, these were fine horses.
"Don't admire them too much," said Paolo with a grin. "They're actually cardboard. Much cheaper to care for."
Klartch eyed the carriage dubiously. "Should I ride on the top?"
Tonino shook his head. "We considered that. There's a charm inside to make it larger. You are our guest! No guest of the Montanas rides on top of the carriage!"
"So serious, Tonino," said Corinna. "You're only sixteen, save it."
"I'm the host!" protested Tonino as he held open the door for his guests and family.
"We appreciate it," assured Julia as she climbed in. "I have a pack of cards, do you think we have enough time for a round of Snap before the carriage arrives at the Casa?"
"We should play for bets. We could use some extra money in Caprona," said Janet, taking a seat beside Julia.
"Hush," said Julia. She pulled out two napkins and laid the bigger one on the floor where Klartch hadn't taken his spot up yet. Picking up the other napkin, she began to tie knots in it. As she pulled the first knot tight, the one on the floor rose and stiffened out flat. After pulling the last knot, she reached out and rapped her hand on the napkin. "There. We have a table for cards."
Janet and Julia were soon separated when they got to Casa Montana after a flurry of greetings, "this is my cousin Piero, this is my Aunt Gina, this is my cousin Rinaldo -- stop flirting will you -- this is my sister Lucia..." Julia was shuffled off to see Old Niccolo, the head of Casa Montana who'd agreed to let Julia come and study with them after Tonino had proposed the idea.
Janet, meanwhile, was shown to the guest rooms they'd be staying in as organized by Tonino's aunt. To her irritation, she'd been given a room several doors down from Julia's. She hadn't told Tonino how much privacy she would have preferred with Julia -- sharing a room or at the very least being right beside Julia's room would have been ideal -- Janet reminded herself. It wasn't fair to expect him to be a mind reader. Then again, she thought to herself, it wouldn't have been fair to put him in the position of telling his Aunt Gina (she thought that was the name -- there were a lot of Montanas), what she and Julia would have liked, especially since they were not married. Yet. And Janet was certainly not going to tell her.
"You need to give me a map, Tonino," she said after making sure all her luggage was in the right room. "Me and Julia have a lot of exploring of Caprona to do."
"I can give you your first tour after Mass tomorrow, if you'd like," he said.
Janet frowned and considered. "That's sweet, but.." she trailed off. The way things were going, blowing off Tonino wouldn't get her more time and privacy with Julia anyway, as well as being rude. "Tonino, I'd love your tour. Walking, or shall we use our bikes?" She said. Janet liked the idea of cycling through Caprona on the bikes she and Julia had brought, Klartch loping beside them.
Tonino shook his head. "I don't have one. It'll be by foot, but I promise to show you the best parts."
Janet clapped him on the shoulder. "That'll do."
Tonino nodded, glad things were arranged, at least with one of his guests. "I've got so much preparing to do for school," he said. "You have all your supplies for the university?"
Janet nodded and thumped on a particularly heavy trunk. "All my books. I'm going to be the best-educated Chant ever, if I have my way." She glanced out the window. Then she opened it to get a better look outside. "Klartch has grown cats."
"What?" Tonino pushed beside her to look. In the courtyard, Klartch was laying half on a water butt with his back end on the ground and about ten cats laying on him at various points, including a few nesting in his wings.
"That's Annuziata on his head," said Tonino, pointing at a black and white persian grooming itself, one paw on Klartch's beak.
"As long as he's making friends," said Janet.
"If Annuziata likes him, that's good news. She's the head of the cats at Casa Montana."
"I thought..." Janet tried to remember the name of the cat Tonino had told her all about, the one that considered itself Tonino's cat.
"Benvenuto was an old cat when he became my friend."
"Oh," said Janet and didn't pursue the topic.
Julia, meanwhile, was singing a scale for Old Niccolo and various other older Montanas, and was being greeted with much approval. The idea of teaching the daughter of the Chrestomanci a thing or two was appealing to Casa Montana. Another feather in their cap, as it were.
Elizabeth took Julia aside after her demonstration and began going over lessons. They had to be done when the Montana children weren't receiving them, as Elizabeth was the family's music teacher.
"How does it become spells?" asked Julia, looking at the spell scrips neatly arranged in the room. The scrips were green with a flying horse emblazoned on them, the symbol of the Montana family. Julia could see words written on them, but couldn't make out what they said.
"That's part of your lessons," said Elizabeth. "You'll pick it up in no time."
"I warn you," said Julia, looking at the writing. "Sometimes my calligraphy is atrocious."
Their first breakfast at Casa Montana was a noisy one. All of the Montanas seemed to have something to say, a lot of which was to their guests. The younger ones were smitten with Klartch. There had been debate over whether Klartch would prefer to eat at the table or from a bowl on the floor for comfort. Klartch had politely declined the bowl and had been given a spot at the table. Throughout it all, there were questions for the girls. Julia fielded quite a few of them, having paid more attention to large-scale socializing as her parents’ daughter.
Some of the Montanas were especially interested in the latest fashions from England, as depicted in a magazine Julia had bought at the train station, specifically in the bodices that were constructed, inexplicably, from hosepipes. The girls tried to assure the Montanas the outfits were haute couture from a lone designer, not actually meant to be worn by real people (no matter what Tonino's sister Lucia's favourite magazine had reported), and England had not lost its collective mind.
Julia modeled - as best she could while sitting - some of the designs that hadn't made their way out to Italy. "As you can see, this is where I would fasten the cage with the little bird. They called it Revolution Style." Well, that was what she tried to say. Her Italian wasn't the best and it was coming out a little garbled. What came out was: "As you can see, this is where he would fasten the cage with the bird. The named style revolution."
Chrestomanci was also a topic of interest, being a friend of the Montanas. "We aren't making you homesick, are we, dear?" asked Aunt Francesca in her best English to Julia.
"I've had him near for nineteen years," said Julia, smiling, "I think I can handle some months apart." Julia reasoned this was true, even if she was already feeling homesick.
"So independent, the British!" said Aunt Gina. She sounded disapproving of what seemed like loose family ties.
Janet was quickly monopolized by a pair of little boys to her left. "Our Nonna's British," said the one with bright red hair. He pointed at Elizabeth.
"Does your friend sing as well as she does?" said the blond one.
"I think so," said Janet. "Julia's one of the best I've ever heard, but I may be biased."
"Why are you both Chant?" asked the redhead. "Are you sisters? You don't look like sisters."
"Oh no," said Janet. "We're first cousins once-removed, I think it goes."
"You don't look related at all!" said the blond vehemently.
"Her mother is very different looking than my parents. She comes from a desert," said Janet. "Now, you two haven't told me your names."
The redhead pointed at himself. "I'm Guido Montana and he," he pointed at the blond, "is Niccolo Petrocchi. We're brothers."
"Why the different last names?" asked Janet.
"We're different at different houses! So we chose the ones we liked best. We're named after our bisnonnos."
"Well, a pleasure to meet you."
"Excuse me," said a man from the end of the table, the one that Janet remembered had flirted with her. She wasn't sure how old he was, but there had been some uncomfortable laughter. "I must leave early, the Duke is waiting for me."
"Rinaldo! He works you so hard!" said Tonino's Aunt Gina, whom, judging from the fussing, Julia thought might be Rinaldo's mother. Julia assumed Gina had said work, the rapid-fire Italian when they weren't speaking careful English to her was hard to follow.
"Mama, I need to go," Rinaldo said, looking both noble and long-suffering, as he bowed and left.
"That Duke Livio! He's nothing like the old duke, God rest his soul," grumbled Tonino's father, Antonio, from his spot beside Elizabeth at the table. "He won't do business with the heads of the houses," he said to the Chants in explanation, "he just chooses someone from the house itself that he takes a shine to. It's no way to do business."
"We are still doing business," said Old Niccolo. "Very good business. He pays us very well and keeps us from being idle even in our off-season."
"Poor Duke," said Elizabeth with a sigh. "He was such a friend to the family after what he did for us. But... a sad man. After the White Devil got through with him..."
The table quieted. Janet had a feeling that the old Duke hadn't had a good ending.
Klartch chose this moment to give a loud "AWK!" when a toddler managed to get a hold of his long mane and swung from it like two chunks of rope. Soon the noise was back - the Montanas at that end of the table trying to rescue Klartch, others laughing, and the rest talking about happier things.
Day One in Caprona was a huge success with the Chants. Tonino had given them the huge walking tour. Caprona turned out to be interesting enough that Janet soon forgot her irritation over her plans for alone time with Julia being thwarted. There had been frequent stops for photos, food (an exquisite gelato stand had been discovered, and the girls were in love with it), and window shopping. In the middle of the tour, Klartch had to physically drag the other three out of a newly opened bookstore that was on their route.
The highlight of the photos they'd taken for home were of the cathedral, the New Bridge, and the Duke's palace. On the back of the photos were little notes. 'Tonino nearly died here!', 'We raced sticks at the bridge!' and 'The Angel didn't come to life for us, boo'. When they passed the palace, Tonino took a moment to pay quiet respects to the old Duke.
After that they went to a museum full of modern and ancient art. "Just founded by the new Duke," said Tonino, pointing at a portrait at the front. The Duke was nothing to speak of, but Janet did like his necklace. The artist had devoted quite a bit of time to the filigree silver cage with a soft purple pearl inside. She gave a hint to Julia that she might like one like that someday, before Janet led her off to look at a statue missing a head.
By the time they got home, the sun was nearly set and they were sore all over from the walking, the book carrying, and general good times.
"Mm. And tomorrow I start university," said Janet, stretching on her bed after she and Julia had separated from Klartch and Tonino.
"Yes. Worried?" said Julia, fluffing up Janet's newest dream omnibus pillow. Julia had gotten it for her as a birthday present. It was the top ten dreams of an adventure series Janet had fallen in love with after trying one on a whim a year ago.
"I'm not sure," said Janet, changing the subject. "Tonino and Klartch seem to be hitting it off."
"Well, remember how Tonino reacted when he met Klartch the first time?" said Julia. It was true. When Tonino had seen the griffin for the first time, he'd suddenly been much less reluctant to face his travel sickness to come to Chrestomanci castle for regular magical checkups.
"Now they get to bond," Janet said and yawned. "I like him, but I wanted some time with you without a million interruptions. I may have assumed too soon that I'd be able to accomplish that."
Julia leaned down and kissed Janet's forehead. "We'll have time once things settle down. For now, let's focus on our lessons. I just hope I don't do something like sing your hair blue."
"Have I ever told you about punks?" asked Janet.
"Tell me tomorrow," said Julia and handed over the pillow.
"Will do. Okay, Blimp Battle Omnibus," she said addressing her pillow and sticking it under her head, "here I come."
"Rub it for luck," said Corinna. "It's tradition."
Janet saluted and gave the flank of the pale grey stone lion a rub on his shiny, well-rubbed, flank. It was a huge statue just inside the gates of the university. "He's a big one," she said, stepping back to get the full view.
"Si," said Corinna switching back to Italian. "He's been here as long as the university has." Corinna pointed at a pair of green and red discs on the ground in front of the lion. "My family helps maintain the spells that keep him from falling into disrepair."
"I love the statues here. We took some good photos with Klartch and them when we came by here on our little tour. I need to show Klartch those griffins we passed on the way here. He'd like that," said Janet, hefting her bag back onto her shoulder and walking along beside Corinna.
"There's a funny story about those..."
The classroom was not as Janet had imagined it. She'd thought it would be like the classrooms back in her world, desks all in a row. But it was more like a theatre. The seats were in a half circle in the room, rising up. At the bottom was a large blackboard and a desk. On the ceiling, lights were pointed at the desk and board.
Janet took a seat quickly, checking with her seatmate to make sure she had indeed come to the right class. The girl beside her nodded at Janet's hurried question and pulled out the book they would be studying.
The class was so full of talking and hustling students that Janet didn't hear the footsteps of the professor.
"Ahem," said a quiet voice that somehow boomed. Standing on the teaching platform was the professor. A heavyset, tall woman, she stood like a general surveying an army. On her chin was an assortment of short black hairs, somehow giving the impression of a bristling beard like the male professors Janet had seen in the hall.
The class quieted mostly down and looked at the professor.
"I am Professor Fusco. You are all here to study eighteenth century literature, I hope," she said with a smile, and there were a few chuckles around the class. "I am a fierce teacher, I have heard, but not unkind. However, when I am speaking, I expect Shell Silence."
Janet blinked. Her Italian, it seemed, wasn't as good as she thought it was. She had no idea what Professor Fusco had really said, since 'Shell Silence' didn't make an iota of sense. But she didn't have a chance to ask the girl beside her what the professor had said, as Fusco immediately launched into her lecture. Before long, Janet had forgotten the question entirely.
"You need to enunciate the 'clio' more clearly, Julia," said Elizabeth Montana as they wrapped up Julia's first singing lesson. "Otherwise, my compliments to the tutors that Christopher has assigned you."
"Thank you, ma'am," said Julia, taking a sip of water -- which caught in her throat when there was a sudden crash and a stream of curses from the stairs. Hacking, she barely noticed Elizabeth running out.
"You stupid cats!" Yelled the yelling. And then further curses, which Julia wasn't actually sure were curses as she hadn’t learned those Italian words yet, but the tone was a good hint.
"Rinaldo!" said Elizabeth in a scandalized voice.
"I think they've broken my foot!" yelled apparently-Rinaldo. Julia remembered him from the flurry of introductions when they'd arrived at Casa Montana. He'd barely looked at Julia.
Julia felt the air change, just slightly, then suddenly Montanas were streaming out of rooms and hallways as though an alarm had been pulled to check on Rinaldo. Julia stood at the head of the stairs, joined by the two cats that had presumably knocked Rinaldo down. One was a rangy little black cat, but the other was a huge black persian with a big white spot on its back. Julia could almost swear she saw a satisfied look on their little faces before they ran off.
Down below, Rinaldo had been fixed up by a pair of plump older women (Julia thought one might be Aunt Gina, but it was hard to tell when all she could see was the hair and a big black dress) and Elizabeth was assuring him she'd have Tonino talk to 'Annuziata' about it. Julia slipped off to go entertain herself with Klartch while she waited for Janet and Tonino to come back from their classes.
It was over a week later that the first glimmer of something wrong came to light (not counting the feline attempts on Rinaldo's life, which had become so frequent that Tonino had been sent bearing fish to broker peace, but failed). Janet walked through the university gates and was immediately hit with a feeling that Something Was Not Right. But she was late, so she hurried by without paying attention too closely to it, or her fellow students.
When she arrived at Professor Fusco's class, her first of the day, no one even seemed to notice she was late. They were all standing around whispering to each other. Professor Fusco wasn't even in the room.
Janet went to her usual seat and nodded to her seatmate, who she'd learned was named Ottavia after their second class together. Ottovia gave half a nod back. "Isn't it weird?" she said.
Before Janet could answer, Professor Fusco walked in and raised her hands for silence. The class quickly obeyed.
"Students," began Professor Fusco. "By now you will have seen that our lion is missing."
That's when Janet realized what had been wrong. The front gates had been distinctly lacking in giant lion statue.
"We are doing what we can to find out who could have broken past our protections to steal our lion as some sort of prank," continued Fusco, "And when we find out who did this, they will be severely reprimanded and possibly expelled."
It had been hard concentrating on class after that. Janet did her best to participate in the discussion, but many students kept getting distracted talking amongst themselves, wondering if it was their rivals from Pisa. Eventually Janet gave in too, and by the end of class, Fusco was leading a discussion amongst them all on how it could have even been done, although Fusco would sometimes try to switch it to the significance of lions in literature.
After her final class of the day, hunger warring with curiosity, Janet went out to the gates to see where the lion had been. There was absolutely no trace, except for darker cobblestones where the lion had kept out the wear and tear of time beneath it.
"I've got a good school anecdote for Julia now, at least," thought Janet to herself. Nearby, a group of students were laughing and trying to come up with ways the lion had been stolen. As Janet walked off, two of them began flapping their arms, pretending to be lion-thieving fairies.
Bored of watching the students flutter around, Janet strode out the gates to go back to Casa Montana and see if she could talk Julia, Klartch and Tonino into going out for gelato. Janet had decided gelato was very very nice. Julia did not discourage this rapidly-becoming-regular treat, either, liking it almost as much as Janet.
Thinking about the gelato -- and what she'd tell Julia and her friends about the lion -- Janet didn't notice Rinaldo Montana standing just outside the gate until she'd walked right into him, practically headbutting his chest.
"Oof!"
"Sorry! Sorry! I wasn't looking at all, I'm sorr--Rinaldo? That was your name, wasn't it?" She tried to remember. There were so many Montanas and he was never there for a full meal. "I'm sorry," she said as quickly as she could in Italian, and reached out a hand to steady him as he stumbled backwards.
There was a flicker of something like surprise in Rinaldo's face, then he bowed. "Miss Chant. I've come to walk you home." He flashed her an immensely charming smile. "If you'll permit me."
To Janet's annoyance, she felt a red flush coming up her cheeks. He really did look like an Italian prince, now that she got a proper look at him outside the chaos of Casa Montana. After an inner debate, she decided that being friendly didn't mean anything. Besides, she told herself, it's not doing anything wrong to let someone walk you home even if he did mean anything.
Janet wasn't sure what to talk about on the walk back with Rinaldo or why he wanted to walk with her -- it had just been a little flirting and Tonino said he did that with every girl at the time -- but the topic soon turned to the lion, and the discussion kept them busy until they returned to Casa Montana. Janet waved a quick goodbye and rushed to find Julia.
The lion was found by the end of the day. The Chants heard about it when Tonino's Uncle Umberto, a professor at the university, came for dinner. The lion had been discovered in an old stable on the university grounds.
"That's not the unusual part," said Umberto loading his plate with a second helping. "What's unusual is, it walked there under its own power."
"It doesn't usually do that?" asked Janet.
"No," said Umberto with a head shake, spearing a tomato. "You could say that one of its defining traits is its immobility."
"In this world, I've found it's best to clarify these things," said Janet.
After dinner, as soon as it was polite, the Chants excused themselves and hurried to the university to look. Klartch was bounding on ahead of them and doubling back each time he realized he'd outpaced them by too much.
"Do you think it looks more like a statue or a real lion now?" said Janet. Umberto hadn't been terribly forthcoming with details, and Tonino had told them after that Umberto's memory wasn't to be trusted anyway. Umberto calling Tonino 'Paolo' the whole dinner had rather reinforced that point.
"Should we have waited for Paolo?" asked Julia.
"He was already gone, off to see Angelica Petrocchi," said Tonino with a grin, and tried to catch Klartch to make him slow down with them. He nearly tumbled over when Klartch flattened himself to the ground and rolled to dodge the grip.
"Your brother's fast," said Julia.
"You have no idea," replied Tonino. "Spells, schools, and girls."
The gates were now in view. Ahead, they started to hear a rumble of noise that turned out to be a huge group of people at the university.
"I think we’ve found the stable," said Janet. "Klartch, can you make sure? I don't want to push through all those people to find it's something else."
Klartch nodded, bunched up his hind legs, then leapt into the air, wings spread wide. With strong, swift flaps he rose up above the crowd and circled once before diving back down. "It's there!" he reported. "But they're doing something peculiar."
They were finally close enough to hear what the rumbles were. As one the crowd would shout 'left!' and the whole crowd would shift slowly, starting with the front and ending in the back nearly a minute later. Janet recognized much of the milling mass as students she'd seen at the university. Gesturing to Julia and Tonino to follow, she started climbing up a tree in the courtyard.
When they'd all scrambled up to a good vantage point, they saw what the students were doing. Whenever the lion moved, the students moved to block it and would stop its progress. Janet laughed.
"They're testing it! To see how it works!"
And so they were. Now that they'd determined that the lion wouldn't walk over them, the figure up front lifted a bullhorn and began barking new instructions. "And now... surround!"
"That's Professor Fusco," said Janet. "Should we join them?"
"It might be fun," said Julia.
"Oh!" said Tonino. "I see other people behind the lion! Listen close!"
Confused, they did so and the Chants blinked when they heard a faint tune in the air. Tonino smiled. "I saw redheads back there. The Petrocchis must be trying to disenchant the lion." The lion walked to the left before being stopped by students again.
Julia looked at the lion. It was her first view of the statue and she found she rather liked it. The lion itself didn't exactly look like a lion, and not just because it was the size of an elephant. Its mane was stylized, and so was the face. It looked like an idea of a lion more than anything else, except its paws, which had been rendered with incredible realism. She could almost see the claws in their sheaths.
Tonino slipped off the branch to the ground. "I should go help them. Julia, will you help me move the crowd?"
Before Julia could answer, Klartch snuck up behind Tonino and headbutted him on the back of his legs, tumbling Tonino onto Klartch's back. "I want to try something," said Klartch, stretching out his wings.
"Oh, do be careful," said Janet. "It would be terrible if you squished some students."
“Psh. I haven’t squished anyone in months.”
Tonino re-arranged himself quickly and got a good grip on Klartch's mane when the griffin took off again. The ascent was slow, but Klartch had judged his strength correctly, and he flew past the surprised crowd to land in among the Petrocchis, where Tonino dismounted. As far as the girls could tell, Tonino greeted the Petrocchis and joined in.
But the lion didn't react, even with Tonino's abilities added to the Petrocchis’. For all the effect their singing was having, they might as well have been transistor radios rather than powerful spellcasters. Unconcerned, the lion strode back and forth as much as it could with the students blocking its way. Finally, when they'd closed in completely, the lion simply sat down and gazed towards the main building of the university, its long stone tail twitching.
"Hm," said Julia, taking Janet's hand. "I don't think it's going to do anything interesting."
"I think the fact that it's moving is interesting enough," said Janet.
"Well, only for a bit. Then it had better step up its game," said Julia. "Come on, let's go. It'll be a nice walk back to the Casa and Klartch can come back with Tonino."
"Sounds wonderful," replied Janet, and the two girls climbed down.
The lion quickly demonstrated two traits: first, nothing could make it stop altogether. The best spells of the Montanas and the Petrocchis bounced right off it. Second, it didn't really do anything but walk the university grounds, sometimes pausing to sit and stare. It damaged nothing and seemed inclined to do little else.
After a day or so it became just another part of university life.
That night Janet was braiding Julia's hair and talking about their lessons -- Julia was particularly enamoured with Elizabeth's teaching style -- when Klartch came in and collapsed at the end of their bed.
"That's why I'm going to start drinking olive oil," Julia was just finishing saying.
"Hello, young Klartch," said Janet, smoothing out a section of hair.
"Keep them away," muttered the griffin.
"Who? Are the toddlers after you again?" asked Julia.
"No, not them..." At the door was the sound of purring and mewing. It seemed a group of cats had followed Klartch.
"You're popular," said Janet and tugged the last piece of Julia's hair into place, tying it with a ribbon. "Come up here, I'll do you next."
Julia pecked Janet's cheek and got up, shooing the cats out the door and shutting it. "Do we have enough ribbon for him?"
"If I'm careful," said Janet as she brushed out Klartch's mane and rubbed him behind the ear -- the one that always flopped down, ever since that incident involving a particularly troublesome nixie. Klartch gave a happy sigh - he loved being fussed over.
"Where's Tonino?" asked Julia, sitting down to run her hand over Klartch's feathers. "You two have been spending most of your time together since we got here."
"He was helping his brother with something," said Klartch. "And there was this wonderful soft spot right in the courtyard on some grass for me to sleep on and then I woke up and there were cats all over me. It was terrible."
"Was not, you love cats."
"Not that many, and not all at once!"
"Poor little Klartch," said Julia reaching over to scritch an ear. "Have you written to Cat yet? You know he'll worry about you, and he has to know that there's other felines competing for your love now."
"I am in the middle of composing a letter," said Klartch. "I told him about the gelato. I'm sure he will agree with me that a slab of steak at the bottom would much improve it."
"Very good. He'll like that," said Janet starting the first braid now that she'd straightened out the thick black and chestnut mane.
There was a knock at the door. "Julia? Is anyone there with you?" came Tonino's voice.
"Janet and Klartch! Come in, it's not locked," called back Julia. "Mind the cats if there's any back there, they're terrorizing our poor defenseless griffin!"
"They'll do that." The door opened and Tonino quickly slid in, shutting it behind him. "It's either you or the lion the cats are talking about these days, Klartch. For all their attempts on Rinaldo, they never mention him if they can help it."
"I'm more interesting than a stone lion," hmphed Klartch. "I'm alive."
"So's it, sort of," said Tonino sitting on the edge of the bed. "The cats think they're better than the lion too. Say they take up less space. But they don't like the lion, I don't think. Especially Annuziata." Tonino frowned. "She's been so upset lately."
"Cats are odd. The ones back at the Castle get up to all sorts of things," said Julia. "Of course they're descended from temple cats, so who knows with them?"
"I liked yours," said Tonino. "They were... different. Not that there's anything wrong with Casa Montana's!" He said in a louder voice for the benefit of any eavesdropping cats.
"When do you think the lion's going to go spare and start eating students?" said Julia.
"I don't know. Maybe if they start yelling at it with bullhorns again..."
Klartch's troubles continued with the cats, who seemed to love him more than catnip. He couldn't stay still for a moment without one curling up on him for a nap, and at night they would scratch at his window to be let in.
The window scratching was frequent, as most of the cats were now exiled from the inside of Casa Montana unless desperately needed for spells. They had refused to let up on their persecution of Rinaldo, who had to look down at the ground wherever he walked. Their success, however, had been limited. The first fall had hurt his foot, but it had been quickly mended, and he'd been on the watch ever since.
Janet tried asking Rinaldo what he could possibly have done to the cats, but he remained evasive.
The lion was still on the move. It had adopted a regular route from the gate to the main building, on to the library, then back again. Janet sat on a carved stone bench watching it, working up the urge to walk home. She knew that Rinaldo would be waiting for her at the gate as usual. Not for the first time, she wished that Julia's lessons didn't overlap with the end of hers, so Julia could be the one to meet her after class. Rinaldo was pleasant enough to talk to, and it kept her from being bored on the way back to the Casa. But he wasn’t Julia, and it bothered her that she couldn't figure out why he'd taken such an interest in her. At Casa Montana he ignored her completely, which suited her fine.
She got up from the bench and walked towards the gate, bag over her shoulder, and indeed, there was Rinaldo with his most charming smile.
At the Casa, she made a beeline for the music room to listen to Julia sing. In the room a variety of items were hovering around Julia as she kept them aloft with her song.
As the notes rose to their highest, Elizabeth nodded and said: "And now descend, Julia." A shift in pitch and the objects lowered down to their places on the ground.
Janet applauded and Julia gave her an exaggerated bow.
"That will be all for today," said Elizabeth. "Hello, Janet."
Janet curtsied.
"Come on," said Julia, grabbed Janet's hand. "You look like you're thinking, and I demand something sweet if we're going to do that."
"That makes no sense, you know," said Janet as she let herself be led.
"What's on your mind?" asked Julia as they went out the Casa Montana gates towards the gelato stand.
"The lion. And Rinaldo."
"Do you think Rinaldo made the lion do that?" said Julia confused.
"No, no. It's just he's always meeting me at the end of my day and trying to be so charming," said Janet. "And if he's trying to be more than a good host, I'm not having it."
"Yes, you're a hard one to flirt with," said Julia drily.
"Harumph," said Janet, and continued to complain: "I've got no time for whatever he's planning. I have studies, and you, and--" before being distracted with ordering her treat. Life was always better when you had something strawberry flavoured, she reflected.
"What does he have to do with the lion?" said Julia. "And you'll just have to tell him to charm less."
"The lion is a separate issue, Julia. I want to solve its mystery. It'll be wonderful to write home about."
"Would it make you happy?"
"It would make me delirious. And give me an excuse to stay longer after class." Janet gave Julia a meaningful look.
"I'm not sure how much of an excuse you need, if the current one will be 'I'm solving a mystery'," pointed out Julia.
"I'm going to say I'm researching. Professor Fusco's quite interested in the whole thing, so I'm going to volunteer to help her."
"Well, give me your new schedule when it's all worked out, and I'll make sure to come walk or bike you home," said Julia. "I did catch the hint."
Janet reached out and took Julia's hand, lifting it to her mouth for a kiss. "Thank you."
"Can I be there when you tell Rinaldo his attentions won't be needed anymore?"
"So you were jealous!" said Janet.
"Just a bit. But only because I haven't mastered smiling at girls the way he does yet."
When Janet arrived to the university Thursday morning, there was panic on the campus. One of the second floor storage rooms had collapsed into a first floor classroom, and from there into the basement, the weight of the previous floor pancaking the next. Fortunately, no one had been inside the building at the time, given the early hour of the morning.
While the building was being inspected, classes were cancelled. So, seizing the moment, Janet set off to find Professor Fusco, whom she was sure would be near the action.
Her hunch was rewarded when she found the professor ordering around a rescue crew. "That room had quite a bit of research material, young man!" Fusco huffed. "You will be exceptionally careful digging it out. It's priceless! Priceless!"
Janet waited for the worker to escape from Fusco, then she made her move.
"Professor, what do you think caused it?"
Fusco turned around, chin bristling. "I am sure it has to do with that lion, Miss Chant."
"Wonderful!" said Janet.
Fusco blinked.
"Professor," Janet continued, "if you'll have me, I'd love to help you find out about the lion."
"Well, girl," said Fusco, "I'll take you. Umberto and Luigi refuse to do any running around themselves. They think the solution to this is in one of their old spellbooks. I could use a spare pair of legs owned by someone who won't laze off, and since you most certainly do not look like a magician, I expect you to think sensibly."
Janet grinned.
"Research is the key, girl! Research of this University's history. It's been around hundreds of years and someone must have written the key to the lion down in the records. Now, help me rescue as much as we can from that fallen class."
When Janet came home to Casa Montana, she was covered in dust and had managed to get a solid bruise on her arm where a bit of falling masonry had whacked it. She'd also seen a master in action as Fusco had driven away anyone who tried to tell them that she and the professor shouldn't be in the rubble.
It had been a good day.
Classes resumed on Monday and Julia was forced to shelve her research with Professor Fusco until her last class of the day.
Janet packed her book as her last class ended and made her way to Professor Fusco's classroom. On her way she glanced out the window and blinked. Rinaldo was near the gates. She frowned and walked faster to get to Fusco.
"Ah, just on time, Miss Chant." Fusco finished cleaning her board and clapped the dust off her hands. "Come along, we're going to one of the antiquity storerooms."
"Professor," said Janet as she followed, "what makes you think the answer will be in the storeroom?" Much of the items in the first collapsed room had been destroyed, but Fusco had squirreled away some books and objects that looked particularly lion-like, letting the rest be stored in new rooms. It seemed none of them had borne fruit.
"This university never throws away anything, Miss Chant. In those rooms there are items dating back to when the lion was first built. One of them may be the key."
"Why not the library?" said Janet.
Fusco stopped and glowered. "Those old fools Luigi and Umberto are in there, and their arguing is giving me migraines. No, we're leaving them to their magic and we're doing it my way."
"I thought a literature professor would enjo--"
"Literature! I don't look to a novel when I find a door! I look for its key," Fusco waved an arm. Janet ducked. "I have more than one degree, girl!"
"I'm sorry, Professor!" said Janet quickly.
"Harumph," said Fusco, stroking the hairs on her chin. "I've always said we needed to catalogue these items better, but they always said there wasn't enough time. This'll show them to make time."
Janet trailed along behind, out of arm's reach. Eventually they got to a room in the west of the building with no windows. Inside, it was filled wall to wall with shelves, with all manner of items. Janet noticed some looked familiar, and some were covered in mortar dust (easily recognizable now from her extensive work at the previous site). She realized this was the room where the objects that had been dug out of the first collapsed store room had gone.
"Look for something that involves lions, girl," said Fusco. "It's not the best way to go about it, but I've found people like to make their enchanted objects obvious."
Janet nodded and grabbed one of the stepladders to begin her search. She found she wanted to spend much more time looking at each object instead of rushing through to select what would be useful to their search. There were ancient black and bronze vases covered in strange scenes (and she noted at least two griffins on one, which would be of interest to Klartch), what looked like a human skull but was three sizes too large, and small gold statuettes.
"Where I come from, Professor, these contents would be the start of a very excited news article," she said as she pushed away a jar filled with shimmery objects that looked like gossamer leaves. The jar was labelled 'shed wings; 1683' with no further explanation.
As she got to the bottom of her first shelf, she found a dusty, jewel-encrusted oyster shell.
"Oh!" She exclaimed. "This is pretty."
Fusco was walking past with an armload of things she wanted to investigate further. Fusco had a section set up in her offices -- and had taken up the office of an absent colleague to aid her cause -- for whatever she deemed needed a closer look. "What is it, girl?" she asked.
Janet showed her.
"Oh, I know that one. Don't know how it ended up in here, it's not nearly old enough," said Fusco. "It's the silent shell."
"What?" said Janet.
"I'm sure I told you at the start of term, how I expect Shell Silence? Well, about a hundred years ago, that used to be the reward for a professor who'd proven they deserved it. It's broken now, though."
"I'm... not sure I follow," said Janet.
"It had a pearl inside. When you pulled the pearl out of the shell, the only thing those in the room with you could hear was your voice, if you willed it. Damn fine tool. I should have had it, and it's where the term 'shell silence' comes from. But first the pearl and shell was lost, and when we found it again the pearl was gone." Fusco leaned over and tapped the shell, which popped open. "The hinge is loose, you see? The pearl must have fallen out."
"Oh," said Janet, looking at the shell. "It is awfully lovely."
"If you like that sort of thing. Come on," said Fusco as she walked out the door. Julia stopped to put the shell in her pocket so she could look at it while they were investigating the artifacts.
That was when the floor beneath their feet collapsed.
This time the damage was much worse, as there had been an occupied classroom beneath the storeroom. Rescue crews and the spellhouses had been called in to clear the rubble and free the students.
Julia was frantic. She had been walking up to the university to meet Janet when the first rescue crew had run past her. And now she couldn't see Janet anywhere in the crowd.
She quickly joined the rescue crews, relying on her knot tying method to lift the rubble, not wanting to risk lives on the singing techniques she was only just learning.
And then, on the sixth piece she lifted... there was Janet. Julia yanked her knot so tight the rubble nearly went flying across the campus. Before a rescue crew could get to Janet, she'd tied another knot and was lifting Janet herself and onto a gurney down far below on the ground.
It took everything Julia had not to abandon the rescue and hurry down to Janet, but there weren't enough magicians yet to handle the lifting and freeing of the trapped students in a speedy manner. Janet had been one of the lucky ones, she'd been on the top. Julia just had to trust she was sure she'd seen Janet's chest rising and falling.
Suddenly the rubble started moving faster and faster. Julia thought for a half-second that her distress had made her skills improve instead of worsening them, when she realized that Tonino had arrived and was boosting the rescue. Thanks to his efforts, the rubble cleared quickly enough that Julia could run to Janet before her last nerve snapped from worry.
Janet was definitely alive. She was still laying on the gurney, but she was alert, and listening to a very angry old woman’s ranting.
Julia rushed in and grabbed Janet into a kiss.
Janet shrieked and Julia jerked away.
"Don't make me sit up!" gasped Janet.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," said Julia wide-eyed.
"It landed right on my side!" Janet clung tightly to Julia's hand.
"You're okay. We got you out," said Julia. Behind them the large woman in professor's robes harumphed about over-emotional young girls.
A shadow fell over them. They looked up and saw the stone lion looking down at them. Then it sat. And stayed.
"Do you think..." said Janet to the professor.
"No. But I think it's related," the professor replied.
Janet looked up at Julia. "Get me home?"
"I will," said Julia, getting out her napkin.
Janet had a slow, careful flight back to Casa Montana, where the doctor was called quickly. Fortunately the worst that had happened to Janet was cracked ribs which were easy enough to help heal.
After the doctor left, Julia was sorting out Janet's clothes, and a sparkly object fell out of the pocket of her jacket. "Oh, what's this?"
Janet looked over from where she was covered in blankets and pillows to aid the healing process. "Oh dear. I'm a thief, Julia."
"Oh?"
"That's the silent shell, from the university. I've gone and stolen it."
"We'll return it and stop your life of crime when you're feeling better," said Julia, and put it on the nightstand.
"How did you get there so fast, Tonino?" asked Janet from her pillow nest.
"I rode Klartch. When the general alarm went up, I knew that the rescue crews would need help," said Tonino. "It was his idea," he added defensively. "I don't think of him as my horse."
Klartch grunted from the end of Janet's bed. Despite its size, bits of him still dangled over the edge. "It's good strength-building."
A Montana aunt came in to check on Janet. Their guests didn't often almost die, and Janet suspected they were very relieved they wouldn't have to explain to Chrestomanci exactly how his ward had been squished.
As Janet was saying all the right things to reassure the aunt (Maria, Tonino had said), Julia slipped back in with a tray of food. "For strength they have included quite a lot of dessert."
"This isn't half bad," said Janet digging in. "I'm not as bed-ridden as everyone is treating me."
Tonino stroked Klartch's mane. "It helps the healing spells work faster if you stay in place," he explained. Aunt Maria finished her fussing and headed back out, not quite managing to close the door as she yelled out news to the rest of the household.
"I can't quite move with all these pillows, regardless," said Janet. "Who wants a bit of pie?"
"Me," said Julia.
The not-quite closed door opened itself. Everyone looked and blinked, until the mystery was solved by Annuziata leaping up onto Klartch and snugging between his wings. Klartch sighed. Tonino moved to pet Annuziata instead, then stopped, frowning.
"Annuziata says something is very wrong. With Rinaldo."
Janet nodded. "Yes, I told him to leave me be and he was still coming to the university to see me."
"No, no, not that kind. Julia, will you come with me? I need to see about something," said Tonino, frowning. "You too, Klartch."
"That's not fair!" said Janet.
"I don't want you getting excited and getting up before I know anything!" said Tonino and went out with them.
"When I'm queen you'll all be sorry!" called Janet after them. Then she lay with her arms crossed.
She strained her ears, but couldn't hear them over the noise of Casa Montana. With a hrmph, she tried to distract herself with thoughts about Rinaldo. Had he really been there following her? When she'd told him she didn't want him walking her anymore, he had been upset, but it hadn't seemed like he felt rejected, just frustrated somehow. Then his appearance before the collapse.
Janet mentally gnawed on the problem.
There was a knock at the door. Janet knew the others too well to assume they'd come back to tell her already. "Come in!" she called, and in strode Professor Fusco.
"Just doing my checkup on the injured students," she said and glanced at the nightstand. "Ah, I see you saved that. Very good. Keep an eye on it, wonderful piece, and with the university collapsing around our ears it's not safe there. But don't think you own it," she finished with a most fearsome look.
"Yes, Professor Fusco," said Janet meekly.
Fusco started pacing the room. "We were close. I'm positive we were close, girl."
"To the lion?" said Janet.
"Not the blasted lion! There's something else. Something is destroying my university around my ears, and I aim to find out what it is!"
Janet relaxed. "I'm glad it's not the lion, at least. It doesn't seem very dangerous at all."
Fusco nodded. "Good eye. It's supposed to be our guard. Of course, I've never known what a university needs guarding against. Censors, I suppose. Some governments."
Janet fiddled with her fingers. Fusco seemed almost deflated.
"It was a bit of a lark. I'm an old woman, I do like my larks. Solve the mystery of the lion, have a bit of an adventure," said Fusco after a bit, slowing down her pacing. "It's a miracle no one's dead. I should have been finding out what was attacking the university. For God's sake, structural damage! With the charms the Montanas and Petrocchis have placed? We're old fools!"
"I wanted to solve it too, Professor," said Janet.
"Well, it's out of our hands now. The Duke says he's assigning his own people to it. I don't like him. Not now, not when he was a professor."
Janet saw a chance for a topic to distract Fusco. "I didn't know professors could be dukes," she grinned, knowing this would make Fusco smile. "A bit of a demotion."
"Ha! Not to him. Livio was always clawing and grabbing. Turns out he was some Count's illegitimate son and managed to get his way up in the hierarchy. When the old duke did himself in, Livio managed to get himself appointed," said Fusco, waving an arm. "He hasn't driven us to war like the old one, I'll give him that, but he was a weak little man, Livio was. And I have no interest in his kind, not as a colleague and not as my leader."
"He does good business with the Montanas," said Janet, feeling like she should defend the poor man who wasn't even there.
"Ha. Buying up protection spells, if I know him. He used to buy them from the carts on the bridge. He thought we were plotting against him in the university. I told you. Weak man." Fusco stopped her pacing and looked down at Janet. "Look at me and my ranting. You're a good girl," she added. "Get better and into my class again soon. I like you in class discussion, and it's not often a student nearly dies trying to help me."
"I'll do my best, Professor," said Janet smiling.
"Good." Fusco strode out, stopping to give Klartch a glance as the group returned.
Julia sat on the end of Janet's bed. "Shut the door, Tonino," she said. "We can't have anyone hearing this yet."
"Oh, do stop with the blasted mystery," said Janet. "It's only fun when it's us doing it to someone else."
Julia patted her hand. "Rinaldo's doing it."
"Rinaldo's pushy, but I doubt he'd kill me for telling him to get lost," protested Janet.
"You're right about him, Janet. Well, I hope you are. No, Annuziata says he's been acting weird since he started seeing the Duke," said Tonino, frowning. "They were trying to keep the family honour. By breaking Rinaldo's legs to keep him away from the Duke."
Annuziata turned to glare at Tonino, who sighed and continued. "She doesn't think I would have been believed. Cats think we're too happy about getting all the money from the Duke to look closer." Annuziata mowed, Tonino turned his face away from her and resumed explaining where they'd gone. "I was interrogating the cats and Klartch' is so good at luring them... They say Rinaldo's been making the building collapse, they've seen him doing the spells."
Julia shrugged apologetically at Janet. "I wanted to know as soon as possible who I had to punish for hurting you."
There was a long pause. Klartch, who was still getting the hang of things, and much younger than the others, said: "When you say seeing the Duke, do you mean seeing the Duke?..."
"No!"
Janet raised a hand for attention. "I am getting out of bed for this because I have a plan and it involves me. Now listen up."
Duke Livio, with his coat of variegated blue and his pear-shaped body, put Janet in mind of a blue penguin. A balding penguin. Around his neck he wore a necklace with a small silver cage at the end and inside was the purple pearl.
Janet and Julia sat politely, waiting for what he had to say. He didn't look like a man who would collapse a university to destroy evidence, but you couldn't really tell with some people, could you.
"Now, young ladies, most esteemed daughters of--" He began in odd English.
"Actually, sir, I'm just his ward," said Janet. She could feel her side aching from where the mortar had hit it when the ground collapsed under her during class.
"Oh? Oh yes." Duke Livio glanced at his papers. "I was confused, given you are both Chant."
"Easy mistake," said Julia. Beside her, Janet shifted uncomfortably. Julia remembered she owed the Duke for what he'd done to Janet. In her hands, she was slowly knotting her napkin.
He turned to look at them down his nose, which seemed to start somewhere at his forehead and carry on past his upper lip. "Niccolo Montana was very insistent I meet with you two," Janet made an inner prayer that Tonino wouldn't get into too much trouble for faking his grandfather's signature, "and the Montanas are such an important part of the city, I could hardly deny him. What was such an emergency, young ladies?"
"It's about the university." Janet kept her voice steady as she said it. "And Rinaldo Montana."
"I don't follow," said the Duke, but his knuckles whitened around the pen he was holding.
"I," Janet said and glanced at Julia, "we believe he is responsible for what's been happening at the university."
"That's a very serious accusation," said the Duke in a soft voice.
"We have evidence."
"You'll have to show me," he said.
Janet met his eyes. "We think he was doing it for you." It was a gambit, but if she could get a rise out of him, she would know for sure that she was right.
But she never saw his reaction. Instead, everything went dark.
Duke Livio nodded regally to his servants as he strode down the hallway, Janet and Julia following behind with blank eyes and impassive faces. In her head, Janet knew that things could go very wrong very quickly. All she could do now was trust in her plan.
"This way, girls," said the Duke as he opened up a gilt-covered door. "We're going to the roof for some privacy."
Janet felt like she was running around inside her own head battering at the walls, but there didn't seem to be any give. The walls she was hitting seemed to be made of this: what the Duke wanted and what the Duke was thinking.
When, with Tonino as translator, Annuziata had told them what she'd seen the Duke doing to Rinaldo, Janet had had a breakthrough. The oyster shell’s presence in both destroyed storerooms could have been just a coincidence, but something about Fusco’s description of how it blotted out everything else had stuck with her. What if you could make it so all your audience heard were your thoughts, instead of your voice?
Then she felt it in her head, a bit of give in Duke Livio's thoughts. She 'pushed' at it just enough to test her strength and was satisfied. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
They finally reached the top of the stairs and the Duke led them to a little covered area with some finely wrought chairs and tables inside.
"I like to bring my guests here. It's harder to eavesdrop," he said. He bent over further and pulled out chairs for Julia and Janet. The tail of his coat flapped in the wind. The girls felt his thoughts to sit down and did.
"I'll get right to the point," he began with an apologetic look. "I'm doing this for the city's own good. It needed a firm ruler who wouldn’t give us up to some Devil, or put us to war. Wouldn't the Angel have stopped me if I was doing bad? I'm a good ruler. Yes, some people had to die, but do you think that didn't happen under the old dukes?"
Janet and Julia stared ahead, listening. They had no choice.
"I am not some outside threat. I am Caprona itself," said the Duke leaning over them. "I'm the man the city needs. Rinaldo understood. I needed help. He was the man to do it. He needed some subtle motivation, when he started having qualms, but I wasn't going to go back on my word. I was going to help him become head of the Montana Spellhouse. I never go back on my word."
Janet didn't like the wheedling tone in his tone.
"Don’t worry. You two are very important. I don't doubt that horrible Chrestomanci would force the British government to declare war on us if I had you killed outright." He patted their shoulders. "I don't want to kill you. Or make you kill yourselves. The consequences would be terrible. And of course I would feel just awful. That sort of thing always does. But... I can't just let you blab to everyone."
He gave a deep sigh.
"It will be hard, thinking of a credible reason for you to stay near. I could arrange husbands in Caprona for you, I suppose, but that would mean even more puppets. You've made it very complicated. But for now, we'll just keep you under thumb, shall we? And if I'm scaring you, I'm sorry, but that just makes the control easier. I need weak, desperate minds..."
A shadow fell over him and Tonino leapt out of the sky onto the Duke's head. Janet had expected them to come in through the window back in the office, but Tonino and Klartch -- thankfully -- could think on their feet. Even if those feet were in the air.
Both girls were up like a shot, Julia yanking the knot that she'd begun tying back in the office closed tight, while Janet pulled up Tonino, who'd hurt his knee in the fall. The Duke reached up to claw at his throat as the knot was pulled tighter and tighter. But it wasn't his throat he grabbed - it was the pearl. Everyone froze as their world filled with the sound of the Duke's thoughts. Behind the Duke, Klartch crashed to the ground.
"That... that was a mistake," he said, gasping for breath. "I can't believe this. My own citizens. My own citizens. Don't you understand how I slave for this city?" He aimed a kick at Tonino. "I slave for you all. And you do this. I'm afraid I'm going to have to make one thing very clear." He looked over at Julia.
"I'm sorry, but you're the most dangerous and I did not appreciate your little trick. He touched the pearl and Julia began marching to the edge of the roof.
The Duke smiled.
With barely a noise, Julia tipped over the edge of the roof slowly. Not falling, not yet, but it was only a matter of seconds until it would be too late. Her eyes were as blank as the cats had described Rinaldo's from their spying trips and if she was afraid of her imminent death, she didn't show it.
That was when Janet found out how just how fast she could move when she had to, smashing through the weakness of the Duke's thoughts as though they were wet paper.
With a cut-off scream, Janet elbowed the Duke in the face, smashing his nose, crashing him to the ground, and made it to the edge of the roof in time to grab Julia's wrist. Another scream as Julia's weight yanked Janet flat onto the roof, but Janet kept her grip as Julia dangled above the ground.
In the few seconds it had taken Janet to bash the Duke and run to Julia, Klartch had broken free. With a roar he broke through the last mental bindings Duke Livio had placed on him and leaped upon the wizard. Klartch wasn't aiming to kill, but the griffin was the opposite of small or dainty and he was armed with huge claws.The Duke wasn't going anywhere.
"Tonino! Help me!" yelled Janet, using her other arm to try and grab onto the back of Julia's dress and drag her up. Her grip was slipping. Tonino scrambled over as fast as he could with his knee and grabbed Julia's other arm.
Julia let out a stream of creative curses as Janet's hand slipped again, but with a heave, Tonino and Janet got Julia halfway onto the roof. "This damnable skirt!" yelled Julia as she tried to hook her leg over the side. "I can barely get a grip!"
There was a snapping noise from the direction of the Duke and Klartch. The Duke yelled in rage and the last bit of fuzz in Janet and Julia's heads cleared.
Janet helped Julia to her feet and turned to look at the Duke, who was struggling weakly under a growling Klartch. Hanging from Klartch's mouth was the necklace and in the silver cage, the pearl.
"You're wonderful, Klartch," said Janet, giving him a fierce hug. Julia hugged Janet from behind.
Tonino pulled himself up on one of the statues lining the roof. "How do you arrest a Duke?"
Janet frowned. "I don't know." She took the necklace from Klartch and flicked the cage open, removing the pearl. She pulled the shell out of her pocket and returned the pearl to where it belonged. "You're horrid, controlling those people with this thing."
"Murder is a horrible way to run a country," said Julia, patting Janet on the shoulder to calm her down, but Janet wasn't done.
"It just figures someone like you would learn how to mis-use this. Rinaldo hurt those people just to tie up your loose ends and break this shell. And making him use me as an excuse to be there! You just kept using people!" Janet stopped to take deep breaths. The Duke wasn't listening anymore anyway.
"You know," said Julia, looking down at the Duke -- who'd passed out from a combination of Klartch's suffocating weight and terror that he would be eaten alive, "it's a lot easier when they get sucked away into other worlds at the end."
"Or turn into rats. Or dust," said Tonino.
Klartch shrugged. "Sometimes they just die."
"We're not killing the Duke," said Janet firmly.
"He'd probably taste terrible," said Klartch endeavouring to look hungry and menacing in case the Duke awoke.
Janet sat on one of the chairs, chin in her hand. Then brightened. "Julia, call your father. He can deal with the red tape and he'll be wanting to know how we've been getting on in Caprona."
Julia grinned. "Good idea. You know, Janet, I'm glad you convinced me to come to Caprona after all. Chrestomanci, Chrestomanci!"
It was a good plan. After much careful explaining - and assurances that Julia and Janet really were okay - Chrestomanci took the situation of dealing with Duke Livio into his own hands.
But for brevity's sake, as well as the fact it mainly consisted of a lot of terribly dull political talk as well as many misremembered names from Chrestomanci, it will suffice to say things were dealt with.
It was a week later and they were packing Klartch up to send him back home to England now that his visiting time was over. He'd been too long away from his family and his lessons. Chrestomanci had taken the souvenirs they'd gotten for the family with him when he'd left, leaving Klartch with significantly less luggage to keep track of.
"Don't let the dining cart ignore you, Klartch," said Julia as she stroked his mane. Janet was checking to make sure Klartch had enough money in his pouch.
On Klartch's back, a cat had settled and fallen asleep. He leaned into Julia's petting and assured them that he wouldn't let himself be treated as livestock by the train staff.
"Good! Good," Julia leaned down and gave him a hug. "All alone! Oh, Klartch."
Janet laughed and hooked the pouch over his neck. "You're good. Come on, let's go down for breakfast."
Breakfast at Casa Montana was, as usual, a noisy affair. However, a quick glance showed Rinaldo Montana was nowhere to be seen. Since being freed from the Duke’s influence, he'd spent his time in his room, avoiding the family he'd lied to -- for originally, his alliance with Livio hadn't been forced -- in his bid for control. Tonino had mentioned to Julia that this had put a stopper on Rinaldo's aspirations to be head of the household, at least for a short while.
The talk around the table was of the coronation of the new Duke. Janet was not looking forward to the complicated, fancy clothes that came with attending such a complicated, fancy event, but she, Julia, and Tonino had received invitations. Julia would just have to help her with the damned petticoats. Janet smiled to herself. Every uncomfortable coronation gown has a silver lining.
Classes had resumed and Janet's ribs were almost healed, thanks to the help of the Montanas’ spells. Julia's wrenched arm was much better as well and all in all, things were going very well.
And no, we haven't forgotten the lion. It returned to its home at the gates. As Fusco had so nearly guessed, the poor thing had come alive to protect the university, but its power had been so undermined by Rinaldo's spells that it could only roam the grounds. Janet made a point of rubbing its flank whenever she passed from then on.
It was an interesting start to a school year.
