XVII. Italian policies

Alice Huet

With the autumn heat, Venice was caught in a fog that rose from its canals. Last time I visited the city I was with Manuel, my former husband, on our honeymoon. We had lived at the Grand Hôtel des Bains on the Lido. It was February 1917, the whole Veneto was on fire and the fallen soldiers' ghosts haunted the city.

As we left the station, I saw three stray dogs in the square. My eyes lingered on them. Their outlines were blurred. I strained my gaze, piercing the Mist, and they turned into sort of cows, walking with their heads down.

I stopped, taken aback.

"But these are ...

- Katoblepas. Don't look at them. "

I ran after him.

"People think they are stray dogs. Tell me, they are not ...

- No Alice, they're herbivores. They eat the canals' poisoned grass.

- Where do they come from?

- Ethiopia. They arrived there at the same time as Saint Mark's remains, when we looted them in Egypt.

- Wait, in Egypt, you mean that… "

I swore that if he was to say the word Sforza again, I was going to bang my head against a wall.

"Obviously, the Sforzas jumped at the chance to pass this filth on us. They breed at full speed and infest the city.

- But you're not doing anything about it?

- From time to time, we organize hunting beatings, but they always come back. Large families hunt them for sport. We tried to send them to Naples but without success. So we sent them rot demons instead.

- Rot demons ?

- Cheese demons subspecies. A bit like your miasma. Quite vicious I must say.

- The Sforzas from are neapolitan?

- I never told you? "

He grumbled for a moment against those imbeciles of Southern Italians. We boarded a gondola which carried us along the Grand Canal.

"How beautiful it is… I sighed."

- ''There is enough civilization in Venice for our existence to find its delicacies there. Heavens seduction prevents us from needing more human dignity; these vestiges of grandeur exhales an attractive virtue, so do these traces of arts that surrounds you. The debris of the old society that produced such things, disgusting you of any new society, leave you with no desire for the future'' Giacomo recited.

- Chateaubriand?

- Yes. He only began to love Venice when he was old and depressed. "

He pointed to a palace with an elegant Renaissance façade: "La casa dell'Angelo." "

I registred the information.

"What about the Bellini Palace, where is it?

- Towards the east, on the Rio de San Severo. "

After we got into the hotel, I left Giacomo there and went out for a walk in the city. I needed to think a bit. My head was full of ideas. Since our conversation, new possibilities, as I tried to reconstruct the great spider's web.

It seemed very clear to me that the House of Life had a separate agenda. They'd never get involved with the other pantheons. Well, except perhaps during the French Revolution… Or maybe this is what's happening in the USSR right now, this great hideous mystery? I should inquire. There were exceptions however, or rather one notorious exception: Setne. Years spent dismantling the rest of his armies, arresting former allies, and Michel had not yet really understood what had happened there. Setne is toying with the gods. Like Jean does.

Well, Jean was yet another story. Jean, it seemed, was on the contrary very inspired by the House of Life's policy towards the gods. He had brought together a whole bunch of discontented people, to live in autonomy, far from Olympus' preying eyes.

The war itself had brought together men from all sides, and Jean's special brigade had stirred up people from all the Pantheons. In other words, an entire generation of pagans from the Entente forces knew each other quite well. Obviously, it had to backfire. They had much in common, these veterans: anger, revolt, sometimes hatred. The hurt. Jean had found me. There was a time when he was still a promising and gifted son of Zeus, and I was little Alice, from Cabin 7. Now he was a suffering adult. He had tried to convince me, had explained to me:

"We are the generation they slaughtered. I waited months for my own death in the mud trenches. Monsters thrived there. For four years I waged a double war, for my homeland and for Olympus, but all our gods were never but great cannibals. And while they smiled on our little show, while we, operetta gladiators, paraded for their entertainment, I tasted what it meant to be an epic hero. I received the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. Olympus honored me, Jean d'Aubigné, son of Zeus, he spat bitterly, hero of Verdun and the Marne. But I understood all their lies of Glory and War. I have armed myself against their justice. You were right Alice, you were always right. We were born to be free.

- I want to be free Jean. But that means being free from you as well. I did not leave the Colony to join another military camp, sorry. You are angry. You are angry with Olympus, you act according to it, to harm it, therefore you are not free. Not really. "

His alliance with the Celts was quite mysterious to me. The Celts had a lot in common with Egyptians, but lived in the countryside, whereas the Magicians had settled in Europe's biggest cities. I had discussed it with Erwan. The two had their own peculiar way of estimating time as well as a culture of secrecy. Both made use of sacred scriptures, although among the Druids their very form was kept secret. They were probably wary of another "Champollion effect", that is, that somebody dare to try to decipher them. The Celts do not oppose their gods though, and they have the same possession practices as the Egyptians had. Their alliance with Jean is an alliance of circumstance. Still, they are lending him territory. Indeed, the ground the band controlled right now were the former Celtic lands in the heart of Europe.

Ganymede was paying me to keep an eye on them. Just like the valet Bontemps under the reign of Louis XIV, he maintained for his master a small network of informants. Even the greek Heavens' ruler did not have access to everything. And let's say I didn't have any friend among the Olympians. I needed to stay in Zeus' good graces.

What was really disturbing and new, however, was a phenomenon that Giacomo and Bérénice Koité called "Convergence": enhanced interactions between mortals and specific groups of pagans. Usually, these interactions took place through families of mortals, which dealt with several pantheons at the same time. Typically the Chase family, or, according to Giacomo, the di Angelo.

France was employing me as a snitch to get information about Mussolini. We shared quite an ambiguous bond, the French government and I : to their eyes, I was a mere mortal, and most of those secret events were incomprehensible to them. But the Fourteenth Nome had a clearer idea of what was going on, and had advised the Council's Chairman to investigate. They had then sent agents (me among others) to Italy. La Roque wanted to compare his own information with that of his government, to get a clearer idea of the danger that the fascist government could represent for our house. Of course, he had no idea that one of his most senior magicians, Lupin, was reporting all of those informations to Iskandar. Finally, though the Fourteenth's leaders suspected that I was a demigod, they did not seem to know that I was closely acquainted with some of heir magicians or ex-magicians. And fortunately, hardly anyone knew the exact whereabouts of my children (the press wasn't aware that they even existed), and it was better that way.

In the end I was just a tireless liar, and I didn't really know what else I could be. I liked it this way though. It dated back to my younger years. I had never fellt at home at the Camp. At first there had been the language barrier. Yes, Aphrodite's children spoke French, yes, Jean and I had been there at the same time, but I had never got along with him. I was the only Frenchie in cabin 7, and for a long time I couldn't speak to anyone.

Then, just like I used to in school, I had ended up as the class dunce. Aren't the children of Apollo supposed to be good at archery? Well no, not me, and let's not even talk about my fencing skills. I couldn't even make myself useful in the infirmary. Whenever I tried to heal someone, I usually ended up making their condition worse. Aren't demigods supposed to be naturally good in ancient Greek? Yeah, well it depends... I had a pretty voice and could sing at the evening's bonfire, that was about the end of my skills' extent. Someone even started a silly rumor that I was a hidden child of Aphrodite. Except that I had an ordinary physique, (translation: too ugly for cabin 10). Well, at the time, Camp Half-Blood was much more like this : "men are talking, you shut the fuck up!" This is also why I never really got along with Jean. It was a military camp, the stake was survival and I wasn't good at it.

Then I started hanging out more and more in the city. I performed there, in bars and cafés, trying to make a little money. Dealing with monsters wasn't that difficult : I was not very powerful, and I knew how to find the right lovers who would take care of my protection. When I turned seventeen, things got out of hand with one of them. I killed the chief of the First cabin. I hadn't wanted it, it was a mixture of alcohol, and bad luck, but the result was there: years and years of training, and little Alice just killed him with a small bullet.

I returned to Paris following this disaster. I had left France eight years earlier, I hardly knew anyone there. Paris was dense, easy to disappear there, Marie knew something about it. You know the rest of the story. I made an act of patriotism and started working as a spy during the Great War, not as much because my friends were at the front, than as as a snub to my old life. I became a celebrity in the real world, although I was never a great heroine in the eyes of Olympus. But real life is elsewhere, I had finally understood that.

This question also remained: why Paris, among all the cities, had such a magical density? Why did all the Pantheons meet there? When I was a kid, it was difficult to take two steps without meeting a monster, a warrior, a mage, a priest… How did the population ignore them? French pride, Chiron had told me, they believe so much in the reign of reason that they will never see, even under their noses, the existence of the supernatural. Even though we were a bunch of swollen ankles, it was still a bit light as an explanation. But after all, the Mist was so thick in Paris that at times it rested like a monster fog over the City. "Industrial pollution is a weapon, which reinforces the magical illusion" a druid once told me. So typical from them. I didn't know why their had been banned from Paris. I had only heard that it went back to the time of the wars of religion and the St. Bartholomew massacre, about three hundred and fifty years ago.

I ruminated those thoughts as I wandered between the canals. I had told Giacomo I wanted to rehearse, but frankly, I just needed to think. What is so bothering about this? It was a question of land, I thought, all these quarrels were always about controlling some territory. Power comes from the earth as much as it does from men. And it's a bit crowded in Europe, no wonder everyone is leaving...

Everyone is waiting for the end of the world ; it makes you wonder whether everyone just wants the end of the world ... Everyone calls the great war "the last of the lasts", but everyone seems to be waiting for its returning.

And you Alice, on scale from Ma'at to chaos, where do you score? I observed my reflection in a window. One hundred percent chaos, since the very first day. I got married during the war to an Argentinian aviator and poet. I then went through a catastrophic divorce. Then there were others, especially Hermes. As if it wasn't already complicated enough. Then I kept the child, and then I met Johann Orsini. And then I let go, and then I found him again. And then I dumped him again, and then there was the other, and Jeanne. And now he's writing to me. Is it never enough? How much longer do we have to tear each other apart?

I imagined going back to Johann once more. Michel would be happy! The last time they had seen each other they had ended up fighting. My friend kicked the Greek hero out with his things. More laconic, Giacomo suggested calling him to a duel.

"He doesn't deserve one" Michel had answered, "we should just stuff him in a bag and bury him somenwhere!

- Even so it's a noble name, Orsini. He deserves a fight, " his lover had grumbled.

Esme had left me a vial of poison while the two argued. I always had it with me. Welcome to my life, you never know when you'll need to poison someone.

With Michel… Michel was my guarantee, where my lie ended. Where I could see my real self. The one who would say to me "you're kidding there my old lady", who would show up at my house to explain to me that I could not eat only champagne and oysters for a month and a half, who would reread my contracts to avoid various scams.

An unpleasant and familiar feeling suddenly fell on me. I am being followed, I realized after a while. I turned to a deserted alley. The figure followed me. I opened my purse, grabbed and loaded the revolver in it as discreetly as possible. At three... I turned, but instead of a monster, I saw a female figure, dressed in black, with a dark veiled hat. She reassured me, in French mixed with a heavy Italian accent: "It won't be necessary." She then gestured towards a Gothic building at the end of the dead end: "This way. "

Puzzled, I walked after her. We entered the hall of an old palace, almost abandoned, covered with dust. Furniture was hidden under covers. We passed large, deserted reception rooms with tarnished gilding. In an old drawing room upstairs, a single table had been set up, and two armchairs dusted. The lady walked around one of them and sat down.

"You are traveling with my brother, aren't you?

- If I knew who you are, I could answer you " even though I already had a guess.

She raised her veil without saying a word. She was a stunning woman, dressed in a sober and expensive dress, made up in Egyptian style. She motioned for me to sit down, and I immediately obeyed, among other things, because she was one of those people whose natural authority does not like to be contradicted.

"Help yourself," she offered.

The cakes were mouth watering, until I remembered that Giacomo's older sister was one of the best poisoners among the Per Ankh.

"Laura or Chiara? "

She studied me before answering :

"I am Laura Bellini.

- I think I'll skip the sugar then. "

She gave me a sort of satisfied smirk, and leaned on one of the chair's armrests. I felt quite uncomfortable. The cakes lay between us like a silent threat.

" Half-blood ? She asked.

I nodded. How do they all know that?

"The tabloid press," she answered my silent question.

"And his Frenchman, where did he put him?" She showed me that slightly crazy and creepy smile that Giacomo also had. "Where is he hiding him? "

I shrugged, which wasn't the most convincing answer I've found, yes I admit it.

"Giacomo made a mistake coming back here. He's not welcome anymore, she resumed.

- Did you see us get off the train? Nothing escapes you, right?

- In this city ? Not really.

- If you wanted to threaten your brother, you could have done so directly. Unless of course you intend to keep me hostage ... "

Of course, I should never have gone out alone in a city like Venice. But Laura pouted.

"They are expecting you this evening at the Doge's Palace. I respect the music. But you can always tell him that Sforza is in Venice, such boldness has not been seen for centuries.

- Sforza? What Sforza?

- It doesn't matter. I don't know what exactly Giacomo could have done to them… but he was one of the best duelists in our house, more than anyone, he stirred up their grudge.

- And why don't you tell him that yourself?

- As I said before, Giacomo made a mistake coming here, I won't make one talking to him. What's more, I'm not really here for that. I have a letter for you, an invitation. "

She handed me an envelope. Oh, oh... I could see the old-fashioned seal and instantly understood who it was before I even opened it.

"Venice was once Austrian.

- Occupied by the Austrians to tell the truth.

- Doesn't matter, it left its mark. You seem surprised. Have you ever wondered what the king of the seas would have to do with an Austrian girl? Unless of course she grew up in a former maritime republic...

- I know all this. A party ? I questioned her to change the subject.

- A masquerade ball.

- It's not carnival time.

- No. But it is the time of Samain, the day of the gods. We will be waiting for you right here at Neptune's Palace.

- Here ? "

I looked around the room. This palace would need months of work to be restored, or at least cleaned. Moisture seeped onto the walls, ghostly grass grew on the ground floor. Laura watched me with cold eyes, an amused smirk on her lips.

"Bring my little brother back to us, and tell him to arm himself. My family is on the warpath. "

In a rustle of fabrics, she then disappeared. I stayed with Johann's letter, as a mixture of fear and hope fell over me.

Giacomo Bellini

Alice went out to rehearse. We were staying at the Danieli hotel, facing the lagoon. I was waiting for the dark, to get myself into the di Angelo house, and rummage through their documents and correspondence. I knew Claudio and his daughter were in town right now. The palace didn't seem to have very advanced magical wards, but I thought I should go check them out anyway. The Bellinis were inevitably aware of my presence in Venice, the quicker would I act, the better. I paced around for a moment, uncertain. Was it really a good idea to launch myself in broad daylight? I most often acted under cover. I then felt a draft. Air Elementalist, I thought instantly, just in time to block a blade inches from my face.

Blonde Desdemona Sforza was facing me, a smile on her lips.

"Mmm, you haven't lost your reflexes.

- Sforza! Do not set yourself up as murderers, you know nothing of the art of it!

- If I had wanted to kill you, you would have died already, Bellini.'' She spat, then put away her long knife and sat down on one of the armchairs by the window.

"You owe me a year of my life. If you only knew the First Nome cells' condition...

- I tried them once" I replied, recalling the 1918 trial." I can imagine it. Don't sulk, beautiful Desdemona, you Sforzas have been relaxed.

- While your brothers are stil in Antarctica.

- Not for long.

- Terrified then? "

She gave a feline grin.

"You have no one left, you spat on your kin. You're at my mercy and they wouldn't even lift a little toe for you.

- Well, I suppose it will be quite enjoyable for you to observe from above the spectacle of Bellini people slaughtering each other.

- Pleasant, yes, but I have better in mind. A Bellini serving a Sforza, that would be a really enjoyable sight. "

I spat disdainfully.

"Fortunately, the rest of you are known for your unrealistic ideas.

- You see me as the enemy, but you'll see soon, I'll be all you have left.

- You have a lot of nerve! Where are you hiding in Venice?

- It is not your city, contrary to what your pride says. I still have friends there.

- The Casa dell'Angelo, of course ... What else Desdemona? Have you allied yourself with the Romans?

- The Romans… dirt on our heels. Voiello lowered himself, he swore allegiance to the fascist government. Mussolini, the legions, what a shame...

- Don't lie, Sforza always supports Rome.

- Oh yes, our old men love Rome, just as Bellinis love Carthage, with your pretty tattoos on your arms. But if we were to scratch away our dirt and we'd find Egypt, the same iron, the same thousand-year-old skeleton, when Rome was nothing, Carthage, dust, and Troy just a dirty stable where the kids run naked next to the dogs!'' Her green eyes blazed with anger.

"You know your history well, Desdemona.

- In truth, our two bloods are diluted and mixed. There is probably exactly the same blood in a Sforza than there is in a Bellini. But we still have the young blood! We can accomplish what you failed to do : America, alliances, glory... Gian knew it, others understood it too.

- What do you mean ? What did they promise you?

- Which is rightfully mine. The Sforza estate. The Eighth Nome!

- Your male cousins want to eat your birthright, don't they? So it's true, Bartolomeo Sforza is sick, possibly dying. "

I shook my head. "You must be really desperate to run after a Bellini.

- Are you even still one? You serve Iskandar, Giacomo. I heard the whispers. You have fought the war though, the real war, while all here exhausted themselves in their sterile quarrels. I also know that you ran away from your family, because you loved another, a man. You know love too.

- Have you come to recruit me? I said, incredulous.

Oh Desdemona, if only it was that simple ...

"New forces are at work, grandiose forces! We can come back to the agreement you had with Abdias. Strengthen it. We will not need anyone else, neither in the face of the Celts, nor in Rome, nor in front of Baal, nor the red devil.

- You helped the Hogans. Jabari Kane will never want anything to do with you.

- Maybe, but he's not the only Kane outhere. It takes almost nothing, Giacomo. Make the dead talk... Find the murderers... You know the story, I'm talking about the Bellini dowry of course.

- How do you know all this? "

Oh gods, of course! I had forgotten. Her green eyes were on me, filled with a mixture of pain and rage.

"Gian… what did he promise you? He spat bits of information mixed with nice words at you in exchange for your help, didn't he?

- I loved Gian.

- Yes Yes that's it. Did you think you were the fucking lovers of Verona?

- One of you took him from me. But I will find out, you will see, I will discover who killed him, and who killed Abdias Kane as well. They are probably the same people. But I will find him.'' What will it take to bury the dead permanently?

"You are wrong Desdemona, Gian has never loved you. He was using you for advancement. He came from a minor branch of the family, but was one of the most gifted. It always left him bitter. "

Dear Desdemona, he would have lived and you would have really suffered. I have spared you many evils. Now you will always have your hate to keep your heart warm.

"Think about it Giacomo. You'll need me soon.

- What do you know? What are you doing in Venice, Desdemona?

- I'm here to party.

- What kind of party?

- You will see. The kind you'll like, I'm sure. And if not ... otherwise you will know where to find me.''

She walked out as she had entered, light and quick.

A great burst of laughter rang out. I turned, but the room was deserted. My heart quickened. I turned again, right, left. I went out into the hallway, no one. I returned to the bedroom. The window had closed. The air in the room was hot and dry. I felt his presence before I saw him. I closed the door gently, took a dagger from my sleeve. A sand silhouette formed in front of me with a hiss.

"Hi, Bellini.

"Set…" I whispered, tightening my grip on the gun. "Where is your host?" "

I looked around the room. An Asian-looking teenager was curled up on the floor near the window, smoke coming out of his mouth.

"He hasn't much time left, I noticed.

- Too bad, he served me well. Well, it is kind of difficult to find hosts these days. The servants of Horus took care of the best of them.

- Are you listening at the doors? You were the one laughing, right?

- If I had known, I would have come much sooner! Poor Sobek, it always has to end well like this! What a hell of a spectacle, eh, I'll never tire of it! You always amaze me, you people. Romeo and Juliet was all that was missing, right? You have fucking competition now. "

He passed behind me, put his sandy hands on my shoulders, they began to change into hands of flesh. I tried to ignore how his features gradually became fixed in an Egyptian man, tall and muscular, shaven head, eyes rimmed with kohl. The boy cried out in pain as Set finished materializing behind me.

"You can't possess me," I reminded him, more to reassure myself.

"What a pity," Set sniffed. ''You used to be such great hosts. Well, I shall never attempt to challenge Baal for his due.

- When did you leave the Duat?

- Oh, don't worry, I don't intend to proclaim myself master of the world, not this time. I was just looking for my abominable nephew. He's been pretty… hectic these days… "

I had an idea of what that meant, and needless to say, I didn't like it too much.

"Who released you?''

Set had been banished to the Duat in 1901, at the end of the Boxer Revolt.

"Nobody," he scoffed. "

Strangely, I believed him.

"You have another host then, a regular host. You couldn't have broken through the barrier like that. "

He narrowed his eyes without answering.

"What do you want ?''

It was getting pretty boring having to ask this question over and over.

"The usual deal. You have given up (he put on a scornful air) the great honor of being my hosts, because as good grocers you would rather haggle.

- Very well Set, let's haggle! What do you want ?

- From you ? Nothing. Who do you think you are, little mage? "

For a moment a plan took shape in my mind. Distract Set, kill his host, jump out the window and flee, send a message to Koité.

"I have a proposal for your famous grandmother, but your palace is guarded. I would need a Bellini to get me in.

- I'm not exactly welcome at the Bellini Palace, Master of Chaos.

- You are a flatterer, it has been a long time since I could appreciate this title. You're investigating Rome, right? Good thing, I hate Rome. They are so… cocky and organized. Interchangeable if you want my opinion. And then I am the god who smites the enemies of Pharaoh, after all.

- Really ? Where the fuck were you then when Egypt fell?''

He snorted, dismissive.

"Oh, ask Horus that, he knows.

- You talk a lot Set. Come to the point.

- I'm a talkative god, he laughed. "

It was true. Gossip was a vice in ancient Egypt, opposed to the silent intelligence of the wise man. Of course Set was a chatterbox.

"Let me inside the Bellini's palace. Otherwise…

- Otherwise what ?

- Oh, how silly I am! I almost made a threat. I never make threats, it's terribly unnecessary. Not to mention the appalling lack of class… "

Suddenly I felt very, very tired. A feeling of immense anger overwhelmed me at the same time. I wanted to do something impulsive, like charge Set, or give him access to the First Nome and see what happens. I swallowed my instincts and instead started shouting:

"Otherwise you'll kill me ? Torture me ? Report me to fascists?"

- Oh, come on, please Bellini, you're insulting me. These well-ironed black shirts' parades, that's not my aesthetic at all, you know that. "

It was true.

"What's your aesthetic then?" "

He thought about it for a moment.

"Moscow on fire, that's more of my aesthetic. With the little French people in the snow too, it was very entertaining. "

The whole situation was getting downhill. Romans, Sforza, Desdemona and her mysterious allies, rebel bands, Mussolini's Blackshirts… The young woman had mentioned the Celts as well. And my family. And now Set has come to Venice to throw a match in the oil. Oh, and hell, I can't deal with Set right now.

"The day of Samain. The Bellini Palace will be almost empty. I'll bring you in.

- Devil's day? It's perfect. Oh, and then don't forget to send nonna a little note, don't let her be surprised. "

After all… I'll just let you in, and then go back and tell everything to Iskandar. And let them take care of it! Hopefully the Italians will be so busy that they won't even have time to look towards Sarajevo. Something caught my eye then:

"Your host ..."

Blood was flowing from the kid's eyes. The sight repelled me but I was careful not to show my weakness.

"Well, I'll find another one. A monk, I find them funny. "

He disappeared in a whirlwind of sand which wrapped around the young boy's body, lifted him up, carried him out the window. Panting, I dropped to the floor for a few minutes and caught my breath. I found Alice at the hotel.

" What happened to you ?

- The devil is in Venice, I summarized.

- Sforza? She said smiling.

- Not exactly. But Sforza found me too. I'll explain you. "

So far the only thing I dreamed of was washing off from my body the thick chaos-scent dust Set had left in the air.